Mockingbird

"In hopes that we may all understand each other better." - Kathryn Erskine

This weekend I read the book 'Mockingbird' by Kathryn Erskine.
Its audience is late-elementary and early middle-school children, but I'd recommend it for everyone to read.

It's the story of a 10 year old girl, Caitlin, with Asperger's. Her brother was recently killed in a senseless school shooting. He was her protector, her only friend - she played Scout to his Jem (To Kill a Mockingbird).

Caitlin struggles to understand the emotions and feelings of the people around her. The book beautifully portrays how a person with Asperger's syndrome doesn't see some things that we think are obvious - such as voice inflection, sarcasm, literal and figurative meanings of words, and empathy.

It is a genuinely touching book (National Book Award winner for Young People's Literature) with a great afterword by the author.

Students First

And now a message from Michelle Rhee...

America's children have been left waiting long enough.

In a country as great as ours, there is no excuse for even one child to be denied the opportunity to get a great education. And yet millions are robbed of the chance at a better future every day.

The wait is over. The time to achieve comprehensive education reform in America is now.

Teachers, parents, concerned citizens, and students have known for years that access to great teachers should not be left to luck. Every child in America deserves an excellent teacher, and every teacher deserves the resources they need to succeed.

For the first time, we have all the pieces we need to make a lasting change to our education system: proven models of successful reform and a nation outraged over the conditions of our schools.

Now it's time we turn our outrage into action. Get started right now: 

Sign the Pledge to reform America's schools now.

Join the Movement and get involved.

Spread the Word tell everyone you know about this exciting movement to put students first.

Check out Students First and Ms. Rhee's article in Newsweek.

Pearl Harbor

We were just at Pearl Harbor; the National Park Service and US Navy hosted a joint memorial commemorating the 69th anniversary of the attack. The USS Arizona Memorial is now known as The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
To learn more, check out PearlHarbor.org

To help support the monument, text PH to 20222 to make a $10 donation.

the secret of happiness...

... as told through TED talk sound bites (genius).

The Secret of Happiness from Maria Popova on Vimeo.

How Good Grows

Yahoo launched a How Good Grows project.
The program hopes to create a ripple of kindness around the world.

Your single good deed, big or small, can inspire others and cause a ripple effect of kindness that continues to grow as others join in. Start something today — the more people who take action, the larger your ripple will become.

Dragonfly Holiday

I just got the book, The Dragonfly Effect by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith (an amazing husband and wife team). The book looks at ways to use social media to drive change, but it is also so much more.

When asked by the Pink Blog: What are three ways people can use the remaining six weeks of the year to both spread their idea and boost their satisfaction?” They gave three amazing tips.

1. People overestimate the buzz they get from doing something nice for themselves — and underestimate the benefit they get by doing good for others. 


2. ... if you want to make a change this holiday season, consider not just who you are spending time with -– but also what activities you do with your time.  One simple way to guide your decision about how to spend your time  is to ask yourself the question, “Is what I’m doing right now going to be of lasting value to me or to others?”


3. In the lead-up to the holidays we often find ourselves caught up in buying gifts and finding the best sales; but consider going into this holiday season with an eye towards systematically giving back. As Khalil Gibran said, “You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”  


Have a Dragonfly Holiday this season and be empowered not by your purchases, but by the value you give back to the people and causes that matter most.

Happy Anniversary Montgomery

55 years ago... December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery public bus. In so doing, Rosa Parks was arrested, ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott and ushered in the civil rights movement.

But, make no mistake, change rarely comes from a single isolated event.

The year before Rosa Parks' arrest, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith each made a similar stand against the unfair laws.

By the afternoon of December 1, 1955... the collective consciousness was ready. Rosa Parks was ready. The community leaders and pastors were ready. Enough was finally enough.

"It always seems impossible until its done." - Nelson Mandela

Mastermind

With our thoughts, we make our world — Buddha


The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen. — Frank Lloyd Wright


We are designing the lives we want to lead by living and working where we’re happiest on projects that call to us. — Jessi Arrington


I have been reading Napoleon Hill...
I am searching for my Chief Aim, my own meaningful work.
I have been examining my beliefs about education, about trying new things, experimenting, making mistakes - learning from them, and trying again.


Dive into life with gusto, learn from  mistakes, create new ideas, rise up to challenges, and set high goals.


What gets you up in the morning?

Learning Lab

Check out my favorite nonprofit, Learning Lab, in Boise, Idaho.

Imagine how you would feel if you couldn’t read to your child, fill out a job application, understand your bills, or use your medications correctly?   Those feelings are a reality for 20% of adults because they are barely literate.  


You can help!

I am asking you to click on: Learning Lab/Donate to donate to Learning Lab’s literacy programs.  You can give low-income adults and families the power to break the cycle of illiteracy and lift themselves out of poverty and despair.

Every contribution allows Learning Lab to unleash the amazing potential in each student.  Your donation will pay for the books, educational software, staff and facilities needed to continue this important work.

Do you believe in the power of literacy like I do?  All it takes is one click to help someone learn. You can change their lives, their children’s future, and strengthen our community.  Join me and support this terrific organization’s work!

Donate here: Learning Lab/Donate

For more information about Learning Lab and their great programs, check out their website at www.learninglabinc.org.

Thank you!