Generational Connections: A Pay It Forward Guest Post On The Nerdy Book Club

This week Rockin' With Grams! will be on The Nerdy Book Club where I am a guest. 

Come join us as we discuss the importance of generational connections!

Anyone Can Be A Teacher It's Such a Breeze Contest

 Tweet
     What on earth can teachers be whining about? How difficult can it be to work only nine months out of the year and get off work at 3:30pm? Right? 

*Read This And Enter The Contest Below*

     During the last 30 years I have spent hours volunteering, working and spending time in the education system. My children have graduated and now my grandchildren have entered the public school system and I'm taking time out again, to lend a hand.  I find myself in awe of what a teacher is required to do on a daily basis.

    These challenges would never be tolerated in a normal work environment. The amount of extra time and money spent outside of school in any other profession would be reimbursed or rewarded by overtime pay or merit increases and bonuses.


What would happen if people in other professions faced the same realities teachers do on a daily basis...


1. You manage 28 employees that all talk at once, won't stay at their desks, aren't catching on to the expectations of the job, stop you every 5 minutes to ask a question completely unrelated to the project at hand or don't finish their work. What happens? THEY'RE FIRED.

Teachers don't choose their students nor can they terminate being their teacher. 
   

2. You're a doctor and you have 28 patients that all need to be screened, evaluated and appropriate treatments found all at the same time in the same exam room. RIDICULOUS?
  Teachers do it everyday. 


3. You are an hourly sales employee and a big event is coming up that requires extra preparation and training which means you are working longer than 8 hours. YOU'RE PAID OVERTIME.
  Teachers on average spend two hours each evening correcting papers, calling parents or planning curriculum.

 

4. You're a lawyer and you have a client that insists on discussing the progress of their case on a daily basis through email and phone calls, another client needs to be coached for tomorrows trial, you win a settlement for one of your clients. HOURLY CHARGES APPLY AND YOU TAKE YOUR PERCENTAGE OFF THE TOP.

Teachers may receive an apple, coffee mug, maybe even a brownie, however usually they are lucky if they receive a thank-you. There's no bonus for students that are successful on tests or graduate.


5. You work for your company long enough to earn six to eight week paid vacation so you plan a trip to Europe and maybe a cruise. YOUR VACATION IS YOUR TIME.
Teachers summers are filled with learning new curriculum, continuing education(at their expense) and running summer programs. And besides, who can afford a cruise on a teachers salary.

6. Banks take our money and invest it, create a sub-prime crises, shatter the economy and create the highest unemployment rates in years.  THEY GET A BAILOUT. (Still our money.)

  Teachers spend at least 10% of their own income supplementing their classrooms: paper, pencils, art supplies, hats and gloves, books, lunch money, materials, snacks, student awards, special programs...where's their bailout?


7) The average salary in the U.S. is $52,029 the average teacher salary in the U.S. is 42,225.  
      NO ONE GETS RICH ON A TEACHERS SALARY. 
  More and more quality teachers are leaving the profession in order to support their families. 

I challenge anyone to spend an entire week in the classroom and see how easy-breezy it is. When was the last time you visited a public school? 


In honor of the hard work teachers do on behalf of children I'm running a contest. 

The prize is a five page critique and a $25 Office Depot gift card for the teacher of your choice or you if you're a teacher.

To Win: 
1) Must be a follower.
2) Mention this contest In your blog.
3) Tweet about this.
4) Enter a comment about the teacher you would like the gift certificate for and why. Confirm that you have done 1-3. 

So When Do They Talk Grandma?

Tweet  We have often heard the sentiment, "from the mouths of babes." Bill Cosby even capitalized on the funny things that kids say with his television show, Kids Say The Darndest Things. 

   The other day I was looking at some old pictures and remembered some of the great lines my kids have said over the years.

What makes them so great? They're honest, children call them how they see them.


Here are a few of my favorites:


My daughter looking into my grandmothers face, "Grandma why do you have so many lines on your face?"


My granddaughter at her first time seeing the Nutcracker Ballet, "So when do they start talking, Grandma?"

My grandson when he jumps real high he says, "Grandma, look I can jump up sky." or "Look at the bird, up sky." 

 

When I was little our neighbor asked why our mom didn't drink coffee, my brother said, "'Cause it turns her bottom brown." 


What are some of your favorite lines? 

Why I Write For Middle School

Tweet There are many reasons I have chosen to  focus on middle school writing.  Each reason plays a vital role in my development as a writer and I hope you find them interesting. Since there are too many for one blog post I will be giving you small glimpses into my paradigm in hopes that you will share yours with me. 

     Some of my earliest memories are my mother as she read to us. I remember the way she brought each character to life with only the sound of her voice. I think that's where my siblings and I learned to create voices. Get all of us in a room and you quickly learn that we have a unique way of communicating; we love to imitate inflection and sounds of voices other than our own. We seem to have a knack for putting words in other peoples mouths by imitating not just what we think they would say but how they would say it. This often is confusing for people that don't "get us". (Sometimes mistaken for multiple personality disorder.) In any event, we have all become expert observers of behavior and communication. 

     When the Harry Potter series first came out, I immediately began reading this to my children. This was long before Hogwarts was a household word.  I found her characters easily brought to life by my repertoire of voices. So distinct were my voices that when the first movie came out, my children complained that the voice of Dobby was all wrong. These characters changed and grew up with my children which made them incredibly compelling. 


     The huge changes and growth that occur during the middle school years are ideal for creating characters with conflict.  

 Do your early memories play a role in your writing? Does anybody else create voices for their characters?

   

Brain Lurking

This is boring!

 People often say, “My mother always said” or “You know what Dad always says". I wonder what my children will carry with them. A few things come to mind: My ridiculous morning wake up song, *obnoxiously loud* “Time to wake up, up, up”, and my response to the their statement, “I’m bored.” *hands on hips* “Well, that means you must be a boring person Surely, you can think of something to do.” That’s it? That’s the legacy of wisdom I have passed down to my offspring?

Needless to say, I hope that there are nuggets of wisdom I have passed on that I just can’t think of right now. Reflecting on my own childhood I dug to see what was lurking in my brain. “Honesty is the best policy.” “Skin the cat.” (This was my mother’s creative way to get us to help take our shirts off. I guess out of context it sounds kind of morbid.) “The healthiest meal has lots of color on the plate.” Ok, that’s a start. Then I started thinking about unspoken messages passed from generation to generation. Grandma Dorothy was always whistling or humming and I find that there is always some kind of music in my head. (It is often some annoying jingle from a commercial or even a Christmas song. Blah) However, it gives me a connection to her, a memory that is etched in my brain forever. We always knew how grandma and grandpa felt about each other. No big physical displays of affection, only glances and subtle touches and a warm safe feeling. But the biggest way we knew were the little things they did for each other. There were little acts of kindness, pulling a chair out, cooking a favorite trout dinner, speaking to each other with gentleness and respect.

What nuggets have you received from important people in your life? Are there any unspoken messages lurking in your head? I would love to hear about them!

Check out my new page entitled “Mom Says” This week is the first in a three part series on what I think are the essential ingredients of a happy life…

My Dearest Children,

As I start my fiftieth year, I am beginning to feel my own mortality. Gone are the days that never ended, the summers that never came and the years that seemed to crawl.  Now the days and weeks speed by and there is never enough time in a day.  Waiting for the light to change at an intersection doesn't make me crazy anymore, well maybe sometimes. I have spent most of my life rushing to the next destination, thinking more about tomorrow than today and counting the days until my babies would be out of diapers and starting school.  Now that I am here, I 'm really wondering what the hurry was all about. Why do we feel pressure to get that one more thing done a day or make that one last phone call? Often at the expense of those we love.
      Don't misunderstand; I have a huge bucket list.  There are many things I want to do and places I'd like to visit in my life. However, I am enjoying each day. Now I want my days to slow down, I want to treasure each moment as it comes and be in that moment. I've always been able to appreciate my surroundings because I have always lived in beautiful places. Many of my hardest times have been tempered by listening to soft wind in the trees, walking or sitting outside and allowing my heart to be lighter as the things I can't control blow off my shoulders.
    I am concerned that lost in the speed to get to the next day and the huge changes that were forced upon you, my children, you may be at a loss as to what your "Mom" really thinks, what she believes and what is important to her. I think that Dane, Bryce and Chris were blessed to be around a calmer, gentler Mother. We have had many talks about life, the future and our place in it.
     So, I have decided that while I labor away on the great American novel and other projects, I would use my love of writing and words to express what is important to me, what I believe and what I hope for the future. I feel so privileged to have what I believe are the most interesting, thoughtful and creative people I have ever known as my very own children. I love you all so very much and I am proud of the men and women you have become.            
                                                         All my love,
                                                                             Mom

Stay tuned for what I think
the three most important ingredients to a happy life are...