“He who, having lost one ideal, refuses to give his heart and soul to another and nobler, is like a man who declines to build a house on rock because the wind and rain ruined his house on the sand.” – Constance Naden

How often we wish for another chance To make a fresh beginning. A chance to blot out our mistakes And change failure into winning. It does not take a special time To make a brand-new start, It only takes the deep desire To try with all our heart. To live a little better, To always… Read more »

1- Purchase or make a small marble size bag that has a pull string for opening and closing. 2- Hold the bag open as kids enter the classroom or walk your classroom lines. 3- Invite kids to tell stories they want you to know about into the bag. 4- When all kids have entered the… Read more »

If you find your mind wanders when there’s work to be done, Or your thinking’s mighty dark when you’re out in the sun, If you’re thinking that your life is soon about to fail, You are probably on the wrong end of the “Gotta Have Hope Scale”. Oh, the “Gotta Have Hope Scale” is the… Read more »

HONESTY My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he’d dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and… Read more »

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon–instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. – Dale Carnegie

PERKASIE, Pa., April 30, 2003 One of Carol Hurlbrink’s students reads to a pooch. (CBS) Shawn O’Brian is a second grader working like a dog to improve his reading. He could never paw through books and sound out the tough words until he started reading to a friend. “I think he likes “Magic Tree-house” books,”… Read more »

“Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci

The Penny Drill One of the activities I use with teens in our Teen Respect Seminar is the Penny Drill below. The implementation procedure includes the following. 1- Invite the students to form a circle for the activity. 2- Pass out one penny to each participant. 3- Explain that you are going to read a… Read more »

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. – Theodore Roosevelt