Courteous and Bien Educado

This nugget from Lloyd D. Newell on "Music and the Spoken Word reminded me how important it is for us to teach our Esperanza scholars to be courteous and to be "bien educado." 

The Greater Courtesies

Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell 1/29/12

Nineteenth-century American writer Christian Bovee once said, "The small courtesies sweeten life; the greater, ennoble it.”1 Sometimes, with the pressures and stresses of life, we might forget that in many cases, the small things are the big things. The lessons of good manners we learned as children—to say "please” and "thank you” and "excuse me”—may seem outdated in today’s demanding adult world. But politeness is never out of style, kindness is never old-fashioned, and we never outgrow courtesy. And it goes much deeper than polite words. As one commentator noted: "Making people feel important is part of courtesy, so it’s important to remember that whether or not people remember what we say or do, they do remember how we made them feel. . . . Always be kinder than necessary because you can never be too kind.”2 Helping people feel respected and loved takes more effort and, at times, more self-discipline than just remembering to say please and thank you. But it’s the mark of a great soul. This type of courtesy focuses more on how we make people feel than just what we say to them. It springs more from sincere love for others than from a mere sense of social obligation. It measures not the size of the courteous act but the size of the heart behind it. A smile, a returned phone call, a thank-you note, a word of congratulation on a special occasion, verbal and nonverbal responses to those who need our attention—even these seemingly small things, if inspired by genuine love, can turn out to be the greater courtesies, the big things, that both sweeten and ennoble the life of the giver and the receiver.

Remembering Our Childhood

As we are working with our Esperanza scholars it's good to remember what we felt and loved as a child. 

"Families"

I listened this morning to the BYU Devotional speech that Julie Beck gave on January 17, 2012.  Although her speech had to do with the organization of the LDS Church in quorums and relief societies, it reminded me of something we might want to consider at Esperanza.  While I was teaching at Jackson Elementary we organized our students into "families" with students from different grades getting together periodically with a staff member to participate in projects/activites together.  I feel this is something we might want to consider doing at Esperanza.   After all we may argue that there are some Esperanza goals that can't be accomplished alone--- individuals will  need each other to accomplish them.

This concept also fits really well with the idea of Suzi Ramos to cluster Esperanza parents and families in clusters. 

Let's Stay Together

At a campaign fundraiser  at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, President Obama took the stage, crooning a line from Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" during his speech.  After the President's rendition the sales jumped 490%.  There are some lessons from this for Esperanza:

1. Great things can come from small things
2. Music is powerful
3. Take a risk

Also, the lyrics of this song can be applied to us at Esperanza. 


Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"

I, I'm so in love with you
Whatever you want to do is all right with me'
Cause you make me feel so brand new
And I want to spend my life with you
Let me say that since, alright, since we've been together
Loving you forever is what I need
Oh let me be the one you come running to
I'll never be untrue
Oh let's, let's stay together
Lovin' you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad, alright, oh yeah
Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad
Oh tell me why, why, why, why, why, why
Why people break up, turn around and make up
I can't see, you never, never, never do that to me
You better not do, staying around you is all
All these eyes will ever see
Why won't you say that me, everybody says
That let's, let's stay together
Lovin' you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad
Everybody says, "Let's, let's stay together
I'll keep on lovin' you whether, whether
Times are, oh times are good or times are bad
Whether, whether good or bad, happy or sad
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah

Three Models of Pedagogy

"The flower that sits on the right has its roots next to the basic skills teacher; when kids ask questions, it grows leaves, and when minds expand, it bursts into flower."

Thanks to Rossana Quiroz for sharing this on FB this morning. 

Potential

This posting on Facebook by my friend Sharon Andrews reminded me of another of my favorite sayings:  Be patient.  God isn't finished with me, yet."

It is my hope that all of us at Esperanza will make the effort to not only look at each other for what we are now but also at our potential. 

What Success Looks Like

This is a great reminder as we strive to teach our Esperanza scholars, their families, our educators, and our board about being a Glasser Quality School.