20April2012
Old Guy And A Bucket Of Shrimp…
Posted by Ed Conti under: Be Yourself; Death; Faith; Survivor; True Story.
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16March2012
Don’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree – The problem with assessment
Posted by Ed Conti under: Be Yourself; Know the Facts.
Ed’s note: This is one of my favorite stories highlighting some of what is wrong with assessment.?
“Everyone is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -
Albert Einstein
The Animal School: A Fable
by George Reavis
Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world” so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.
The duck was excellent in swimming. In fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school so nobody worried about that, except the duck.
The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much makeup work in swimming.
The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a “charlie horse” from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and D in running.
The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there.
At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceeding well and also run, climb and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.
The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.
Does this fable have a moral?
Note: This story was written when George Reavis was the Assistant Superintendent of the Cincinnati Public Schools back in the 1940s! This content is in the public domain and free to copy, duplicate, and distribute. If you would prefer a full-color, illustrated book, one is currently available from Crystal Springs Books at1-800-321-0401 or 603-924-9621 (fax 603-924-6688)
12March2012
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
Don’t let the fear of striking out
hold you back.
-Yogi Berra
12March2012
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
God grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot
change,
the courage to change the things I
can, and the wisdom to know the
difference.
~ Reinhold Niebuhr
5March2012
The “Self Made” Person…
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
There is no such thing as a “self-made” person.
We are made up of thousands of others.
Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us,
or spoken one word of encouragement to us,
has entered into the make-up of our character
and of our thoughts, as well as our success.
-George Matthew Adams
4March2012
ABRAHAM LINCOLN SAID THIS OVER 150 YEARS AGO:
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.”
“The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.”
“If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.”
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
“To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men”
“Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward”
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
“I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.”
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right”
“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”
“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”
“Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
“You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.”
“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.”
“If I am killed, I can die but once; but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again”
“What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.”
“If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
4March2012
WINSTON CHURCHILL SAID:
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
“Without courage all virtues lose their meaning.”
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
“Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.”
“A man is about as big as the things that make him angry”
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
“The rule which forbids ending a sentence with a preposition is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put.”
“It is my belief, you cannot deal with the most serious things in the world unless you understand the most amusing”
“The first quality that is needed is audacity.”
“A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
“By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.”
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”
4March2012
Believe…
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren’t the way you had hoped they would be. That’s when you have to tell yourself that things will get better. There are times when people disappoint you and let you down. But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself. There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them. Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are. So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be. Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.
4March2012
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you,
they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.”
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
AND MARK TWAIN SAID IT FIRST ~ 100 YEARS AGO
“You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”
“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”
“Always do right. That will gratify some of the people, and astonish the rest.”
“When in doubt, tell the truth.”
“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”
“Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.”
“Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
“The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.”
“Where prejudice exists it always discolors our thoughts.”
“All you need is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.”
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
10-Foot Rule of WAL-MART
The 10-foot Rule is one of our secrets to customer service.
During his many store visits, Sam Walton encouraged associates to take this pledge with him: “I promise that whenever I come within 10 feet of a customer, I will look him in the eye, greet him, and ask if I can help him.”
The 10-foot Rule was something Sam practiced his entire life.
“I learned early on that one of the secrets to campus leadership was the simplest thing of all: Speak to people coming down the sidewalk before they speak to you,” Sam once said. “I would always look ahead and speak to the person coming toward me. If I knew them, I would call them by name, but even if I didn’t, I would still speak to them. Before long, I probably knew more students than anybody in the university, and they recognized me and considered me their friend. I ran for every office that came along.”
They’ve kept Sam’s promise.
Not only was Sam elected to nearly all of those offices at the University of Missouri in Columbia, but the 10-foot Rule helped Sam build a successful business too. Today, in stores around the world, associates put Sam’s rule into practice every day. From the greeters at the front doors, to associates throughout the store, and the friendly smile at the checkout lane, the 10-foot Rule is one of the things that makes Walmart great.
5January2012
A pint of dignity, a sip of humour
Posted by Ed Conti under: Uncategorized.
A pint of dignity, a sip of humour
JIM COYLE Toronto Star©
Tonight, in a Toronto church basement that’s bright and cheerful as such places go but is still a church basement, a man I know will receive a medallion marking 20 years of sobriety.
To say the least, 7,305 days is a long time between drinks. To illustrate just how long, the year the last one was taken Wayne Gretzky and his Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup, the Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles summer Olympics and Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” was a top single.
If it’s a long time, it’s also a long way from a life of self-centredness, irresponsibility and despair to one of generosity, duty and contentment. To some, such a transformation is a miracle. At the very least, it is astonishing. And this one happened, as such things frequently do, in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Read the rest of this entry »
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