Monday Quotes

"Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it" -Albert Camus

Monday Quotes

I am a big fan of quotes. I love finding quotes that put into perspective things that I believe and feel. Currently I put quotes up in my office at school every Monday, so I figure why not here as well. Enjoy.


"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is key to unlocking our potential." - Winston Churchill

“It is the responsibility of leadership to provide opportunity, and the responsibility of individuals to contribute.” - William Pollard

That is it for today. I will have more next Monday.

Sent to Jail and Deported at age 18 after 15 years in the country

I recently read a letter to the President that was written by a young student who had been deported after INS discovered that he and his family did not have green cards. The student had lived in our country for 15 years. He was 3 years old when his parent's brought him to this country. I will link the letter and video. There needs to be some considerations in this country about how our nation was formed and the basic human rights that all people deserve. Immigration is a core foundation for our country.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

            - Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus

What has happened in our country that we would treat people with such disregard. It's Un-American.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saad-nabeel/a-letter-to-president-oba_1_b_733130.html

A lecture worth watching

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted." What a great quote.

Words of Wisdom

I tell kids all the time that success is not achieved by how smart you are. It's not achieved by luck. You aren't even guaranteed success if you come from a privileged family. Success is found, not through these things, but through hard work. When life begins to feel uncomfortable we should all have a little alarm inside go off. That alarm, that discomfort, should tell us we are on the right track. Success, progress, growth, change are not found in comfort. They are found just on the other side of pain, hardship, fatigue, and frustration. I just finished watching OUR President's back to school speech and I get the feeling He and I might enjoy talking about these subjects. You may not agree with his politics, but his vision for our students is inspiring and hopeful. I hope everyone involved knows what is at risk and is willing to grow.

What a beautiful and terrifying thing.

Steph Davis - Castleton And Diamond Free Solo from Andrew on Vimeo.

These Problems are real. What are you going to do about it?

Tread Softly

I want to pose a question. What does a revolutionized school/school system look like? I believe that there is a need for schools to make dramatic change. 

What is it in man that makes us so curious about life. There is something. Look at the effort we go through to view and discover things unimaginable. If you can got to Vimeo and watch this in HD at full screen. Wow.

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Smile

Smile

smilelapse from mediamold on Vimeo.

Schools Kill Creativity

I enjoyed this lecture concerning the possibility that schools kill a child's creativity and furthermore that schools ignore the importance of creativity's role as a major factor in the workplace. I will leave my opinion out and just say that this is a discussion that every school faculty member should be having.

Introduction

I guess it is time for an introduction. 

              My name is AJ. 

I am married with a son and a little one on the way.

       I am a firm believer in education and the importance of learning. Working with youth to build  academic motivation is what I do for a living.

             I am a school counselor.

                                    This is a profession I have chosen. 

My strong belief in the potential of young people drives me to continue this work on a daily basis. I see a need for more adults to make a positive impact on children, so I put my money were my mouth is and became a counselor. It was a great decision for me. Counseling is what I was built to do. Connecting with young people and helping grow their love and passion for life is about the most rewarding thing I can imagine. 

My goal is that my site will lead people toward action and toward commitment to the success of our children. 

Please feel free to contact me with ideas, links, resources and comments about how we can reach this goal. 

I am but one man

and share no illusions that I am the only 

source of information. Please enjoy the site and spread the love.

AJ

This is a beautiful animation about random violence.

Two Inches to the Right from Matt Frodsham on Vimeo.

Uh Ha...


Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

Welcome

Greetings All,

Welcome to my site. I hope you find it interesting and thought provoking. I would like to lay out my thoughts as to how this site came about, but I am having trouble putting them down on paper. So let's try this...

thought

so much information

share

why won't my brain focus

archive

where

blog

hmmm

blogger

I guess it went something like that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the content and please feel free to leave comments and feedback.