Lessons Life Taught Me

Regina Britt wrote the following in the Plain Dealer in 2006, and on Britt's blog in 2007. It's being presented here just for something to think about as a new school year starts.

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Essential Question: How might these lessons on life be used in the classroom?
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“American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper”

An article appeared in the April 27, 2009 online issue of Pravda that could engender some conversation in the classroom – teaching the students to move from thoughts based on opinion to thoughts based on facts.

I like to look at news articles from a variety of national sources when I have the time (the only one I regularly peruse is the BBC Minute News online, but I have a couple of other sites that I check on occasion) as it gives an interesting and sometimes disturbing perspective that is not presented in the American news media for a variety of reasons. Sometimes I find articles on other blogs I read. This article came via The Examiner.

The title of the article is “American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper”, and is attributed to Stanislav Mishin. While the article is in the opinion section of Pravda, it must be remembered that Pravda is the newspaper representing the State. Hence, is it incorrect to assume that articles published represent the view of the State, or at least of the individuals of influence in the State?

While his article is not something most American’s want to hear or think about, it does have some interesting points. It’s basic premise is that the United States is rapidly and inexplicably moving toward Marxism – and he presents his evidence. I’d encourage you to read it and see what you think.

Essential Question: What is the value of using the perspective from other nations – so readily available on the Web today – in the classroom?

PHOTO RESOURCE: Pravda

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FFQF: Decline of the Press

This week's contribution to Founding Father's Quote Friday:

Fisher Ames (1758 – 1808) was an influential Federalist who served in Congress from 1789 – 1797, and was a noted orator who helped gain support for the new Constitution in his home state of Massachusetts through his acceptance of the Bill of Rights.

“We are, heart and soul, friends to the freedom of the press. It is however, the prostituted companion of liberty, and somehow or other, we know not how, its efficient auxiliary. It follows the substance like its shade; but while a man walks erect, he may observe that his shadow is almost always in the dirt. It corrupts, it deceives, it inflames. It strips virtue of her honors, and lends to faction its wildfire and its poisoned arms, and in the end is its own enemy and the usurper's ally, It would be easy to enlarge on its evils. They are in England, they are here, they are everywhere. It is a precious pest, and a necessary mischief, and there would be no liberty without it.” - Fisher Ames, Review of the Pamphlet on the State of the British Constitution, 1807.

As vexing as they may be, the printed newspapers are failing in the United States – not so much in news content as in closing their doors or turning to on-line publication. What effect will this have on the citizens of the United States?

A March 2009 Princeton University study concluded after the Cincinnati Post folded in 2007, that “the next year, fewer candidates ran for municipal office in the suburbs most reliant on the Post, incumbents became more likely to win re-election, and voter turnout fell….” The study went on to say that their research “demonstrated that newspapers – even underdogs such as the Post, which had a circulation of just 27,000 when it closed – can have a substantial and measurable impact on public life.”

USA Today (March 19, 2009) commented: “Sometime soon, millions of people may find themselves unwittingly involved in a test that could profoundly change their daily routines, local economies and civic lives. They'll have to figure out how to keep up with City Hall, their neighborhoods and their kids' schools — as well as store openings, new products and sales — without a 170-year-old staple of daily life: a local newspaper.”

Newspapers give one time to reflect on the news, not to just react to it; time to consider the source of information, not lured into a commercial or the next 30 second news blurb as often happens on the visual media; something to come back to, not to be forgotten. They also give the local communities local news.

Not to mention the effect of the loss of newspapers on our NIE (Newspapers In Education) program.

There is even a website - with the slogan "Don't just read the news - predict it" that allows viewers to predict which newspaper will fold next.

I think Ames was accurate when he said "It is a precious pest, and a necessary mischief, and there would be no liberty without it.”

Essential Question: Do newspapers have the significance to our students that we would desire in the process of encouraging enlightened and concerned citizens?

Founding Fathers Quote Friday is hosted by Meet the Founding Fathers