We Teach to Reach 2 ~ The Velveteen Rabbit Approach to Helping our Childrens' World Become Real

~ We Teach to Reach 2 ~ 

The Velveteen Rabbit Approach to Helping our Childrens' World Become Real

Sometimes we're told we may get hurt doing what we're doing. 

But if I get hurt keeping a child from getting hurt then it seems to make sense to risk it. It takes much more to hurt a man than it does a child. Very simple logic.

If I die then I'm dying for something more beautiful than myself. I'm dying trying to create the real world that could be. A little more complex but still pretty simple.

But being this simple and logical doesn't take away the fact that it makes me seem crazy and illogical and unacceptable as I am. No matter what anyone says in the beginning, after a few years, it's just too hard to put up with me. I'm a live wire who doesn't know how to dial it down and be normal, trying to give everything to everyone, even those who have made me look bad or hurt me and don't deserve it.   

The day after I got punched I was grumpy and not liking myself very much, looking at my students and wondering if I was just throwing my life away. I've already told the gods I don't want to go to their heavens when I die if the world is still full of so much hell. 

The devil has barred me from hell so I can't get sent there either. He has put up a Not Wanted poster with my picture saying, "No matter what this guy says, you don't have a chance down here." (You don't have a chance in hell, get it? I say you do, you just have to get hell out of your head and tell the devil to go to hell.)

What's odd and unacceptable to me is so much dying; 4 a day from child abuse, 100+ a day from suicide, 1 in 5 teen girls cutting themselves each day, ????? teens doing drugs a day, isis and ther forms of terrorism killing ??? on average a day.

And if we aren't one of the 167,000 dying each day, many more are dying before death, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually; living life like the walking dead, by waking up, going to school or work, coming home, going to bed, waking up to do it again. Rinsing and repeating in a cycle of birth, school, work, death. 

The Godfathers - Birth, School, Work, Death

And that is why my why I do this is just a prayer for the dying, with the learning target being more (and eventually all) people being alive inside mentally, intellectually, and spiritually and living fully before dying physically.

The hell with death. We're too busy living life fully.

But this means that with today's ideas of Heaven and Hell I've got no place to go when I die and no one to go there with.

The pain in my nose made me think of Robynique again and I felt more convinced I was either an idiot or a Doctor Who from another planet who loves earth people with both of his two hearts but is driven crazy by their limited thinking. 

I still gave my best to the students and they had a great day becoming more than they were when they first arrived, but I felt sad inside like the Velveteen Rabbit who wishes becoming Real didn't hurt so much.

"Generally, by the time you become Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes don't see as well and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all. Cause once you are Real, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand....But once you are Real, you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always." ~ The Skin Horse

"The rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like. And yet, the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him."

The Velveteen Rabbit: Told by Meryl Streep (Official Rabbit Ears Video) 

I drove home that night and for the past few weeks knowing I was growing shabby, but sighing, wondering if I was growing Real enough to make any real difference in my students so they could become Real, for always. 

I woke up grumpy and sad, threw it away during the day so I didn't infect my students, then went home and fell asleep grumpy and sad again.

And then Robynique contacted me. And I began to feel better. I felt better about being me even if it meant I'm being worn away in the process, because the process is love, and it does make a real difference in helping others become Real.

I asked her for permission to share her message. I'm happy to say she's become Real. 

Hey mr.stuart I don't know if you remember me but I was one

of your students at sandlake my fit grade year ,


I thought about your words everyday after I left and went into

middle school and now into high school.. I remember you 

with all these pictures and signs up that said dream big and

believe . 


You played this music that had the class ready to learn 

something and had everyone hyped. Everyone was ready to 

come to school lol I remember when it was like an honor to 

be in your class.. until this day your words are still in my head

and I don't think I will every forget them, 


I'm now a junior in high school and I'm doing so good, I'm 

working on going to the Navy whem I graduate now I'm 

pregant and I thought I didn't have a reason to go to school 

anymore and just give up and I was actually going to do it 

until I went through my things and seen a picture of you that 

said " believe and always have faith " 



and I got up and stopped feeling sorry for myself and made

something happen so I started going back to school and 

picked all my grades up and now on an honor roll lost at 

school I just wanted you to know years later that you still 

motivate me and will always be someone I look up to and I 

thank you for that

Robynique, thank you for becoming Real and letting me know that it's really worth it, even if it makes you seem odd and unacceptable. 

Because to me, the world as it is is odd and unacceptable. 

ISIS is unacceptable. Poverty is unacceptable. Crime and murder are unacceptable. Student failure is unacceptable. Human limitation is unacceptable.

Being anything less than crazy for what this world could be and should be, is unacceptable. 

And I will keep teaching the way I do Robynique because there's a you in every one of my students waiting to become Real in the real world full of real problems....And they will overcome them like you and really succeed. 

Congratulations! You are passing life's test and my heart is proud of you.

The School of Athens News ~ Earn Your A by Helping Others Earn Theirs

The School of Athens News

and

The International School of Intelligent Students (the MORE POWERFUL ISIS)

presents

In a world of so much negativity

We want to share so much POSITIVITY!

Building Eiffel Towers of Courage, Confidence, and Capability in our Students.

~ Earn Your A by Helping Others Earn Theirs

This was the scene at the beginning of yesterday.

Okay, here we go. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but the road FROM hell and TO heaven is paved with INTELLIGENT & COMMITTED intentions........Let's see if my intentions this week have been intelligent & committed enough to pave the way for all students to get all A's on all 3 of their tests today.

Almost. We almost did it.

While others (students still choosing to give average effort and be average students) did the average traditional work of;  read story, answer questions, do workbook pages, do traditional centers, etc.)

The School of Athens members were Marzano deep-dived into becoming Einstein Panther Cubs, exploring the who, where, when, what, why, and how (the Doctors of Reading ~ a.k.a Doctor Who)

And then build centers intending to help all others achieve.

And we did it, almost.

On the easiest test, spelling (memorization)...... 11 A's, 1 B+, 1 F

Bit harder, vocabulary (interpretation).......13 A's

Hardest, comprehension (compare and contrast)........13 A's

 1. All A's is the first step to entrance into this school within a school, because if you don't have the knowledge how are you supposed to help others gain it?

So 11 out of 13 met this challenge.

2. Self-control. 

You are not my dog and I am not your master having to control you or tell you what to do. 

You have a mind, use it. 

Most humans are emotional creatures motivated by pride, vanity, jealousy, anger, etc.

You are the most evolved species on this planet.....evolve.

3. AR reading points.

You set a goal and you get that goal.

No excuses.

Find solutions.

You do this now and you'll do it in life.

The most important thing in your life is you.

Throw your entire self at it.

Go Big!

Become Big!

Help others do the same!

This has been a School of Athens Production. Thank you for reading.

The School of Athens News ~ Every Day is a Day Worth Fighting For

The School of Athens News

and 

The International School of Intelligent Students (the MORE POWERFUL ISIS)

presents

In a world of so much negativity
We want to share so much positivity

Building Eiffel Towers of Courage, Confidence, and Capability in our Students.

~ Every Day is a Day Worth Fighting For

Every day is a day worth fighting for; breaking down the barriers that are preventing us from becoming the best possible versions of ourselves.

Every day Xavier wants to quit.

Every day we persist in helping him learn to believe in himself again.

Persisting over and over, using Bruce Lee's wisdom of letting our dreams, beliefs, and actions flow like water, KNOWING our persistence WILL pay off.

Persisting in our belief that THEY CAN do it and giving them UNLIMITED opportunities to prove it and to BECOME UNLIMITED.

Not telling them WHAT to think, but HOW to think.

Over and over until we succeed in wearing away their CURRENT limitations.....

Until JOY is achieved.....

Throughout the ENTIRE classroom!

*On Friday Xavier gave up and walked out of the classroom, twice. Because he chose to give up on himself, he chose to give up his position as my assistant. 

On Monday he came in asking what he had to do to earn his position back. I told him he had to become strong enough not to quit on himself.

He tried. He failed. He quit.

On Tuesday he came in asking what he had to do to earn his position back. I told him he had to be become strong enough not to quit on himself.

He tried. He failed. But he didn't give up.

He tried again. He failed again. But he didn't give up, again.

He tried again. He succeeded......

And my happiness for him flowed out of the tired cells of my body into the tired cells of his.....

And we both became re-energized and overjoyed as he had EARNED his position back As my assistant. 

Today he's going to come in asking what he has to do to keep his position.....

And I will ask him,

What do YOU THINK, Socrates?

And he WILL succeed!

This has been a School of Athens & International School of Intelligent Students production. 

Thank you for reading :-)