Winning Words 1/10/12
“There are some people who, if they don’t already know, you can’t tell ‘em.” (Yogi Berra) Yogi is expressing some of his frustration as a baseball manager. It also happens in the business world and in the classroom. I read that British TV once produced a reality series called, “The Unteachables.” Average, bored and unruly kids were put together with the best teachers. How do you think it turned out? ;-) Jack

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: I'm betting, in the reality series, it turned out well; otherwise probably the series would never have been aired. However, I do believe some people are going to reject even God's telling them though I personally know some people, among them a teacher, who insist ultimately everyone is going to heaven, God is so powerful and He won't let hell happen to anyone. Pondering over how many of us can't be told anything or don't listen. Thank God for Grace!!!!!////FROM JACK: One of the episodes showed the teachers taking the students to a farm pasture and having them read to some cows. They were much more at ease that when reading to peers.

FROM BM IN MICHIGAN: I think they were successful.////FROM JACK: I think that good teachers make a difference. That was my experience.

FROM DL IN RURAL MINNESOTA: My guess is that some of those bored kids got fired up if you gave them some unique learning involvement activity. On the other hand, for adults? Maybe a bit of active listening and then a question relative to their response(s). Gotta get on a line with folks.////FROM JACK: In "preaching" class I was taught to take the Bible message and connect it up with the life that the listeners were living. "Connect it (the sermon) up with life!"

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: I have no idea, but I am a positive thinker and activist. do you know the answer? ////FROM JACK: You're the teacher. What was your experience?////RESPONSE FROM TAMPA: I was teaching in the stone age where if there happened to be an unruly student, Mr Welch would have him run around the track quite a few times. In California, it was a different story because so many families were falling apart. Our principal wanted us to call the parents and to explain the problem to them. It did work most of the time, though. When we moved to Florida, the children were mostly well behaved or they were paddled with a ping pong paddle-with witnesses. In those days the lunch hour each day had a prayer before the meal- Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish- alternating each day. When the schools were integrated, the principals hesitated to enforce their discipline for fear of being called biased. The standards were definitely lowered for a while. Our experience as parents was with private, Catholic, and public schools, and everyone got a very good education to prepare for a good career in life.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: The bored kids got unbored, the average kids stayed average.////FROM JACK: Look at how you and I turned out.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: My nephew's church has a saying, "Kids won't listen till they know you care." I imagine all those teacher's found values in each child and they blossomed.////FROM JACK: The series was a "reality show."

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN: Rick and I are talking about this. We do not know this answer,but hope it is that they all did better Which we think gives hope to everyone. What is the answer? We hope that no one is hopeless.////FROM JACK: I like it that someone is trying to do something to solve a problem. There's more to "no child left behind" than a political slogan.

FROM CL IN MICHIGAN: I would wager that the "BEST" teachers learned a great deal during this project ////FROM JACK: I hadn't thought about it in that way. Sometimes we forget that we are continually learners, and that includes teachers...even the best of them.

FROM HAPPY TRAILS IN NOVA SCOTIA: don't leave us in suspence!////FROM JACK: Too bad! As in all classrooms, there are successes and there are failures. In this instance, the success was that someone recognized a problem and did something about it. Creativity and caring seemed to make a difference...in the long run.

FROM JO IN MICHIGAN: I like that one...most people I know already know everything...////FROM JACK: I'm glad you wrote "most" instead of "all."

FROM IKE AT THE MIC: On that thought there is a saying that people who believe that "you can't teach new tricks to old dogs, chances are you couldn't teach those dogs new tricks when they were young dogs"..////FROM JACK: Who taught you "tricks" when you were a young dog?