A Poem

This entry is going to be based on a poem by Edgar Guest. He was a newspaper name in the Detroit Michigan area. He first, wrote a weekly article titled "Chaff" which eventually became a daily article titled "Breakfast Table Chat" which was syndicated around to 300 plus newspapers through the United States. Edgar's popularity eventually leads him to getting a weekly NBC radio broadcast, and then into a TV show in 1951. Edgar Guest was a well known TV personality at the start of the TV industry. He was known as the Poet for the people and wrote well over 11,000 poems.

Myself

I have to live with myself, and so,
I want to be fit for myself to know.
I want to be able as days go by
Always to look myself straight in the eye.
I don’t want to stand with the setting sun
And hate myself for the things I’ve done.

I don’t want to keep on a closet shelf
A lot of secrets about myself,
And fool myself as I come and go
Into thinking that nobody else will know
The kind of man I really am.
I don’t want to dress myself up in sham.

I never can hide myself from me;
I see what others may never see.
I know what others may never know;
I never can fool myself, and so,
Whatever happens, I want to be
Self-respecting and conscience free.

So, after reading this poem, what are your thoughts and feelings about the poem? What insight do you have to offer towards the meaning behind the poem, and what does it mean to you? Take your time and answer these questions.

The Neatness of Examples

Back in the day, the coaches of coaches was known as Knute Rockne. He was the head coach of Notre Dame's football team and during his leadership he lead the Fighting Irish to 105 vicotries and only 12 loses during a span of 13 years. This included 6 national championships and 5 undefeted seasons. He was nationaly known as the best coach in the college game. He was a very powerful and popular coach or his time period. While coaching Knute Rockne was created for giving this quote.

"One man practicing sportsmanhip is better than a hundred teaching it."

What do you think he meant by this statement, and granted it is a football coach talking about football, but how does it relate to our life and our life within this school? How can this statement be associated with, lets say Character Counts?

The Power of Choices

So, today I was checking my email, and I came across my email newsletter from Michael Josephson the Founder of Josephson Institute, which is the group that created Character Counts. You know that little program that we use here in the school district to promote the development and growth og good character. Which we use to hopefully not just develop good students but good people and citizens of this great country.
Anyway, I was reading the newsletter that I get, and I read this statement from Mr. Josephson about the power of choices. He stated,

"It's often said that our choices reveal our character, but it's also true that our choices shape our character. Thus, the more aware we become of the choices we make every day - about our attitudes, words, actions, and reactions - the more power we have over our destiny."

I am wondering how this statement is true in your life.? Please provide specific examples in you life how the power of choices can effecgt not just our daily activities but also our future plans and outcomes. Think, type and respond.

Thanks, Mr. C!

The Power of Voices

Character Counts is a process that we use here at the school to promote the use of highly functioning behaviors. The Six Pillars that Character Counts is based on are:
Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Citizenship, Fairness, Respect, Caring.
Each one could be debated and discussed all year long, but I was wondering what might be the biggest problem here at this school? After thinking for a long time, (yes I can think and yes for a long time) I kept coming back to a problem that I see often in my classroom, in the halls and just from the stories being told around the school. GOSSIP! How would our school be different if there was no gossiping going around!
In an article in the Uinta County Hearld on Sept. 29th entitled, Bullying: Can inflict emotional, physical damage that can last a lifetime, Mr. Bennett was quoted saying: "gossip is usually what starts bullying. He said it starts when someone says that somebody said this or that. Then it keeps going round and round and getting stirred up."
Which of the six pillars of Character Counts does gossiping take out or destroys and why do you think so?

Learning Process

Well students, we are one month into the new school year and the beauty of school is it flows differently for everyone. For each of you these four weeks have either been the fastest four weeks or the slowest four weeks. No matter what these four weeks have been for you, before you know it we will be celebrating the end of another school year. Hopefully in between the start and the finish you will learn some important lessons from you classes and from your interactions with friends and teachers. So my thinking today is focusing on what is the ideal learning process for you? Here is an old Chinese proverb, "I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand." How could this statement work in your behalf, or in other words how could you use this statement in your learning?

Jordan Wisdom

In honor of the Great Michael Jordan's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend, who by the way was the greatest to ever step onto the basketball court, I thought we would draw our topic for discussion from his 2005 autobiography Driven From Within Michael Jordan. In his first chapter titled Earned, Michael stated,

"I wanted to prove what I could do. When my play started providing me with rewards, then I wanted to prove I deserved them. I never felt the desire to rest on what I had accomplished. I never felt like I deserved to drive a Bentley when I got my first contract, or live in a mansion. Those things might be symbols of success to some people, but there are a lot of people who confuse symbols with actual success. ...NOTHING OF VALUE COMES WITHOUT BEING EARNED."

So my thinking and the question that I want to pose is this, How does Mr. Jordan's statement about symbols being confused for actual success, fit into the world of school? How are symbols of success and actual success confused during your high school career?

The First Post

Welcome to the first posting of Youthful Musing! This is going to be a great year! Remember to come back often to see the comments of your fellow students, and for new thought provoking discussions. I am excited to read and learn from all who participates this school year. Remember take your time and be intent with your deep thinking and comments. Well, let us begin with our first thought inducing discussion.

One of the greatest gifts we have in our lives is the ability to think, reason and learn. They are powerful tools that can be a benefit to us, all of our lives, not just in school. To truly be successful in our lives, we need to realize that self-improvement through educating ourselves and learning is a lifelong process. High school should be a time to practice and develop our ability to learn. Basically now is the time to learn how to learn. High school is the only place where you don't need to fear failure, so try new ways to learn, who knows you may learn something new. Now, my question for you is, what specific things will you do this year to improve your ability to learn?