Equity and Inclusive Education: From Policy to Practice

Throughout the world, governments and school boards are facing challenges as they work to put equity policy into systemic practice. To further equity practice for all, the Toronto District School Board hosted a conference called:  FUTURES – Equity and Inclusive Education, from May 3 – 5, 2012.

After an incredible conference with inspiring keynote speakers, such as Dr. Pedro Noguera – who asked:

How do we get kids excited about learning?

and Connor Steele – who said:

We’re all different and that’s OK

— it’s exciting to think about how we can take what we’ve learned back to the classroom and use it to support our students.

How do we put equity in place to support all of our students?

The answer is simple and combines the Keynote address from both Dr. Pedro Noguera and Connor Steele:

How do we get kids to get excited about school?

We have them build on their differences…

When we give young people a vehicle to apply the curriculum to:

• Personally meaningful experiences
• Real-life experiences
• Future goals

Then we are putting – what Craig Kielburger, founder of Free The Children, says best – ‘Me to We‘ into action.

When we give kids a chance to take something they love to do, like art and use it to help someone they love, like animals (in a project such as creating awareness posters to collect blankets for the Humane Society) then we are getting kids truly excited about learning while impacting the community.

We are building an environment in  our classroom that VALUES INTERESTS!

And when we create a classroom that values interests we are leveling the playing field because:

You can’t buy interests
You can’t sell interests
Interests are there for EVERYBODY to discover and share!

Who Is NOBODY? is a practical tool that empowers students to impact their communities and when it has been implemented in inner-city schools (where students are often the recipients of donations) we have found that their stories and pictures describing their Who Is NOBODY? Projects make statements like:

I was a hero

And this… this is the power of valuing interests in your classroom and putting equity into place within our schools.

EVERYBODY is different.

EVERYBODY fits in by being different.

EVERYBODY uses their differences to make a difference.

Who Is NOBODY? has been continually awed by more than 45 000 participating students who have experienced first hand why:

EVERYBODY is SOMEBODY

EVERYBODY knows that respect is important – in fact, it is the number one indicator for success.

Where confusion lies is in how to build respect, as media, peer groups and countless other sources seem to point to all that is superficial.

On April 25th we had the honour of addressing the graduating class from the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University.  Our Keynote Speaker focus was on the amazing responsibility and incredible opportunity their 700 graduates have, as collectively over their careers, they will impact more than half a million young people.

Our message was the importance of creating a classroom environment that values interests.

You can’t buy interests or sell interests.
Interests are there for EVERYBODY to discover and share.

Who Is NOBODY? believes that interests – the very things that drive career, personal and interpersonal goals – are the key to leveling the playing field and setting students up for success.

Interests make the world go round.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to the graduating teachers at Queen’s University and to the lucky young people everywhere who will have them as teachers.

We wish we could give EVERYBODY a resource but because all our programs are run at cost we have randomly drawn 7 names.

Please email your preferred shipping address to info@whoisnobody.com by May 31st to receive your resource!

Who Is GREEN? Kit – Jennifer Cleary

The SOMEBODY Project Book, DVD & $30 Voucher – Stephanie Guerreiro
The SOMEBODY Project Book, DVD & $30 Voucher – Melanie Chesterman
The SOMEBODY Project Book, DVD & $30 Voucher – Nat Monastero
The SOMEBODY Project Book, DVD & $30 Voucher – Lindsay Eva
The SOMEBODY Project Book, DVD & $30 Voucher – Brittany Danielle
The SOMEBODY Project Book, DVD & $30 Voucher – Jennifer Schulz

By Simon Martin

When you first meet her, Isha Verma comes across as softspoken and gentle.

The Grade 6 student at Unionville Meadows Public School can’t wait to participate in an exhilarating game of manhunt just like the next girl.

There is, however, more to her than her passion for having fun with friends.

Underneath the calm demeanor is the spirit of a tiger ready to pounce on any opportunity to do good work.

“She has a soft voice, but there is a fire burning inside her to be that change she wants to see in the world,” said Isha’s former teacher Julie Lovatsis.

Isha was a nominee for the Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards.

Over the past three years, she has raised more than $500 for the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) through bake sales and a lemonade stand.

The idea of fundraising for the WWF came from a project she did at school called a nobody project.

Isha and her partner chose the teetering on extinction panda as their nobody and made their quest to make it into a somebody through increased awareness and fundraising.

“I have always loved animals,” said Isha.

She was able to convince some of her friends to help with her bake sales.

“Cupcakes were the favourite,” she said.

Ms Lovatsis said Isha has the characteristics of a true leader.

“She’s more of a shared leadership kind,” she said. “[Students] look at her as a role model. She’s well liked by others but is also a person they can seek help from.”

This genuine helpful nature can be heard when Isha talks about her dreams.

“I want to be a doctor,” she said. Isha’s mother, Romila, said her daughter often talks about being a veterinarian as well.

When Isha is not at school you might see her walking her dog Mango, hanging out with her younger sisters and friends, playing guitar or reading.

Ms Lovatsis said it’s inspiring when students like Isha come along not only with dreams but the drive to make them happen.

“She took on the [fundraising] initiative on her own and was able to develop a plan. It wasn’t a classroom based project,” she said.

The 12 young finalists in the Ontario Junior Citizen Awards will be recognized next weekend at the Ontario Community Newspaper Association banquet taking place at the Fairmount Royal York Hotel.

This article was published on The York Region Newspaper  website on April 19th 2012

You can download this article Click Here

When the UK’s Daily Mail Newspaper ran a story written by their own journalist Samantha Brick yesterday, titled:

“’There are downsides to looking this pretty’: Why women hate me for being beautiful”

the article became a worldwide sensation. The New York Magazine, Canada’s Globe and Mail Newspaper and countless other media outlets from around the world were quick to report on the article and include the backlash following the piece going viral.

The majority of comments critique her looks, either by blatantly stating how ‘ugly’ they think she is or through quippy little comments, such as:

That woman is not even remotely beautiful. She’s cute in a housewife-who-just-had-her-hair-done way. But I would never consider her to be beautiful or even pretty.

Or

You ladies don’t get it. If she had posted her REAL photo with this article, we all would have been too jealous to read it. So she used a picture of one of her less attractive colleagues to fool us. That must be what happened, right?

And

I generally have a hard time putting names to faces, but in her case, it’s all too easy.

To date, over 1.5 million people have read the original article and the above are just 3 of the 4500 comments generated in the first few hours on a single site. Some comments have as many as 18 000 ‘likes’. Most comments were posted by usernames such as “bananarama” and likely from the safe, anonymous distance of a personal computer.

Bullying via Twitter? Click to Enlarge

To put this in perspective, compare Sam’s article with 12 comments made after an article about the up-coming James Bond film and 0 left for a Rihanna article, both also found on-line in the Daily Mail.

Now, more than 24 hours later the name “Samantha Brick” continues to trend globally on Twitter as users banter back and forth sharing the story with friends and continuing to comment on what a false sense of beauty they think Samantha Brick walks around with, using the internet as their playground and ‘Sam’ as the new girl.

This article came to my attention while talking with my partner, Alex, over dinner.  I wasn’t interested so much in my response to the story as I was in the literate population’s.  How does someone virtually unknown rise to the top and capture the world’s attention in a matter of hours when the rest of us slave for years to get ideas out and reach people?

Whether we’re talking musicians working the circuit trying to break into the mainstream despite writing incredible, soul-wrenching songs like this or self-esteem building education programs like Who Is NOBODY? powered by people who drive as far as their car can take them, just to speak with a small audience about how to empower youth?

Imagine what that access and exposure could do for so many organizations, causes, businesses, talents and ideas?

Alex’s response was:

Self image is bigger than Biebs (Justin Beiber).

Brilliant!

He’s right.

This is why Facebook and ‘face time’ is so big.  Seeing people and people seeing us – and what we all think about each other.

The diet industry, cosmetic surgery stats and so on support Alex’s argument as well as Sam’s.

This is why such a simple article has sparked such a huge debate on the lowest level.

But the amazing thing is I don’t think appearances were even Samantha Brick’s point.

We live in a world that so easily gets the wrong end of the stick and runs with it rather than looking at the bigger picture.  Samantha Brick has dared to point out the elephant in the room and she is actually talking about bullying by bravely using herself as an example through sharing her experiences and the rest of the details are in the eye of the beholder.

And it’s readers like the one below who have twisted her words and turned this article into something else:

I too have this problem, I tell people how pretty I am and then no one wants to be my friend. Weird.

As Samantha Brick states:

detractors have simply proved my point

There are dynamics in every group of people, whether family, friends, school, the office, the broader community and beyond…

In each of these groups there are bullies, bystanders, victims and followers.  As we’ve seen with the response to Samantha Brick’s article, the followers are always the biggest ‘active’ group (second to the inactive bystander bunch) and sadly the most influential, dictating the volume and weight of the focus.  The followers aren’t forming their own opinion, they are making the easy and popular vote.  That’s why there’s the saying ‘the masses are *sses’. Which is why Oscar Wilde famously said:

When people agree with me I always feel that I must be wrong

Where does bullying begin?

It’s always an easy target – something superficial and tangible and easy to see.  Sometimes it’s jealousy over material things, accomplishments or yes, appearance.  Sometimes it’s the bottom feeder of bullying, picking on someone who is already down. Like the children, many who took their own lives, whose families share their stories in the documentary ‘Bully’‘.

Samantha Brick’s story is similar to stories we all have.
Similar to situations we’ve all experienced for one reason or another at one time or another.

Who hasn’t been bullied?

Samantha Brick has found a way to tap into the majority of people and get them to focus on only one angle of the article (while drawing an even larger audience to the Daily Mail’s #1 Award Winning Site) that proves her bigger point. Samantha Brick’s article brings to light so much more than people’s petty opinions over whether or not she is pretty.

Samantha Brick proves how much we hang on people’s appearances and how un-evolved we are.

Her article was about how people react to situations, and boy did we react! And don’t our words and actions really say so much more about ourselves?  Don’t our thoughts and the ones we chose to share reflect what we focus and fixate on?

Not only does the generation commenting on Samantha Brick’s article focus on the most basic level, her looks, they still haven’t learned to like themselves enough to resist putting somebody else down, much less shared how to build real self-esteem with younger people, to help break the cycle of bullying.

Too many young people today, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, answer ‘ famous’ without any idea what they want to be famous for.  The desire to be famous, rise in social media; such as self indulgent tweets boasting the most basic of acts, and the reaction to Samantha Brick’s article all suggest how desperately we all want a sense of belonging, a stamp of approval, the weight of the followers behind us – before we can feel good about ourselves.

Too many people, as Samantha Brick’s article has discovered by becoming a ‘hot or not’ debate, have not yet learned to value themselves.

We need to support people, while they are still young, in discovering their interests and then experiencing using their interests to help others.

We need to focus the next generation on figuring out who they are so they experience the message in every great coming of age movie:

BE YOURSELF

We need to encourage school age children to connect with others by being themselves – to use their differences to make a difference!

So regardless of what you think about the appearance of Samantha Brick you have to commend her for taking a subject, obviously so close to the surface, and bringing it out in the open to burst in front of us.  Samantha has broken down a brick wall and hopefully now we can see a bit better and do something about it.

Whether or not you think ‘Sam’ is beautiful on the outside, perhaps you can refocus your attention and value her for the ability and courage she has on the inside, to make an important topic hot.

In case you read this post straight through and planned to click on the link to the band above, that should be so much bigger than it is, please listen to the song below:

I love starting with an idea and seeing where it takes you – whether in conversation with friends or watching a YouTube video on the computer.

This morning, on the ‘Boxing Day’ of Earth Hour, I checked in to see how we stacked up against our greatest competitor, ourselves.

When I Google-ed “Earth Hour Toronto” up popped the trusty Toronto Star with some grim facts about this 6th annual event. I found out the city saw only a 6.8 per cent drop in power use throughout the hour, compared with the same time frame on any other Saturday Night.

6.8% is:

• An improvement over the 5 per cent reduction last year
• But falls short of the 10 per cent drop in 2010
• And is less than half of the 15 per cent reduction in 2009

I’m surprised, given all that Toronto prides itself on being.  A quick search brought me to a sentence that sums up my thoughts from the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure:

Ontario has invested in a variety of other sectors in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, including education.

How can such an educated audience forget to turn out the lights? What is contributing to this drop over the past few years and the unfortunate ‘slow’ but hopeful ‘climb’ back towards what we achieved during Earth Hour in 2009? Especially after the winter we’ve had! Feeling disappointed, I looked at a few different sites and found some statistics that makes the future seem more bright.

WWF reports:

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries and territories worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 making it the largest climate campaign ever!

And the Toronto Star updates these figures for 2012:

Toronto was one of 6,494 cities in 150 countries — 511 in Canada alone — flicking off the lights along with millions worldwide

Then my eye caught the caption: “Earth Hour anthem sends strong message” so I clicked on the link and found that over 900 people submitted lyrics between March 5th and 19th for a Canadian Earth Hour Song and that Andrew Huang was commissioned by WWF Canada to write the piece by cutting and pasting these lyrics together and putting them to music.

Earth Hour - Candles leading up the stairs to better living

“Who is this guy?” I thought, typing in “Andrew Huang ” and hitting the search button.

Immediately I came to a short bio about a very original SOMEBODY. Andrew Huang is using his interests and abilities to help the environment.  Essentially doing something he loves to do, to help something he loves. Thus, impacting the world in a personally meaningful way. Andrew is a Toronto-based new media artist whose work is a distillation of his passion for music, video and audience engagement.

And at the tap of my finger tips I found myself on Andrew’s Homepage stating “Andrew makes songs based on your ideas”:

http://www.songstowearpantsto.com/

One thing lead to another and then another.

Kind of like last night.

We went to our friends James and Tracie’s house for dinner – people who were GREEN way before there was ever a blue bin.  At 8:30 we simultaneously lit candles while turning off the lights.  We used a BBQ instead of an oven.  We switched off the tv.

No big sacifice.  No big deal.

9:30 came and went and so did 10:30.  Hour by hour was added on as the candles continued to light up our conversation.  Then, rather than switching on the tv we played ping pong, using a cool ‘portable’ set that has weighted posts and a retractable net to fit any kitchen table.  The whole set packs into a 7″ X 7″ X 6″ pouch and is easy to play by candlelight. Perfect Ping Pong for green-city-living!

What a fun way to finalize the winner after dinner!  No batteries and no electricity needed.

Whether for yourself or as a green gift, here is a link to how you can get your very own PPPPGS(!): Pongo Portable Ping Pong Game Set

Looking back on the Earth Hour stats, maybe it’s more green and less grim than I thought.  Maybe Earth Hour is more about the awareness it creates – the baby step effect of one green act leading to another and the applications we can make to our every day lives.  Just like the candles Tracie placed, leading up the stairs to better living.

I’m going to get a PPPPGS to play after dinner and next time we have friends over.  I’m going to turn out all the lights and strike a match with my opponent and another to light a few candles.  And it won’t be next March.  It will be as soon as it arrives, because everyday is Earth Day!

What did you do for Earth Day?  Is it something you can repeat today, tomorrow or next week?!

Andrew Huang’s Earth Day Anthem

Candles Image: nuchylee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There are heroes like Terry Fox, who are passionate about a cause that has personally impacted them. After his leg was amputated, and he completed 16 months of chemotherapy, Terry Fox, still a kid, decided he wanted to live his life in a way that would help others find courage.  He said he wanted to raise money for cancer research because:

I could not leave (the cancer clinic) knowing these faces and feelings would still exist, even though I would be set free from mine.

Terry Fox used his passions to help others

Then there are heroes like George Clooney.  People who live night-and-day differently from the humans they are helping, by advocating on their behalf. People who can cross a picket line as a planned publicity stunt and draw the world’s attention to the victims of genocide in Darfur. Important to note, however, is the time he spent in Sudan, seeing first hand the humanitarian crises since 2006 – which gives Clooney beyond-Hollywood clout.

But what about Neil Pasricha?  He’s a new kind of hero.

Too many catastrophe’s don’t get help until there is a gaping axe wound. This is why there has been so much stigma around mental illness. Human nature is such that we most easily understand things we can see. We say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

But Neil Pasricha has taken an opposite ‘get-in-early’ approach to making a difference in the world.

Through his award winning blog turned books: www.1000awesomethings.com Neil has found a way to bring together millions and millions of people to create a community that appreciates the little things in life that make every day better.  Stuff like:

• When your pet notices you’re in a bad mood and comes to see you
• Wearing new socks
• The first shower you take after not showering for a really long time

His words remind us about the value of priceless experiences.

I’m an Anne of Green Gables enthusiast and I won’t apologize for it!  One of my many favourite moments is when Diana tells Anne she wishes she was rich and Anne replies:

You know something, Diana? We are rich… Look at that (gestures to the setting sun). You couldn’t enjoy its loveliness more if you had ropes of diamonds.

Neil Pasricha has found something that we all have in common and used it to connect us.  His blog posts are beautiful and funny and true.  But most of all they make us feel part of something.

He helps us remember how awesome life is and that we’re part of it!

The final awesome thing in Pasricha’s first book is:

Remembering how lucky we are to be here right now.

Neil Pasricha’s message, cleverly disguised as 1000 Awesome Things, actually gives us a 1000 awesome reasons to want to understand who we are.

1000 Awesome Things are 1000 shared experiences that draw invisible lines of unity and link us all together.  And unity urges us to use who we are to help others.

A book about you!

Neil Pasricha is an undercover change agent because he doesn’t tell us to make a difference, he shows us why we want to.

He quietly encourages us to become ourselves, so we can stand up and make a difference by doing something we love to do in order to help a living thing we love.

At the back of Who Is NOBODY?’s new book called The SOMEBODY Project I wrote:

What’s getting in the way of your students reaching their potential?

It’s sort of a round about way of saying we need to find out what’s stopping more people from connecting with others to help in personally meaningful ways. We need to peel back another layer and consider the army of people this world has and how we can empower them to be active citizens and make change.

It is so important for us as a society to focus not only on all the organizations and causes that so obviously need our help but to also balance our energy by supporting kids with preventative measures so they can build identity and move forward, rather than spend a lifetime getting caught up in themselves, trying to figure out who they are (and all the dark places this can take them).

These goals aren’t so separate. In fact, they need each other!  Giving young people the experience of using their interests to positively impact organizations and causes they are passionate about helps both groups become better.

And this is why 1000 Awesome Things supports all the above.

Each of Neil Pasricha’s ‘awesome things’ helps us realize we are part of everything else going on beyond ourselves. Each awesome thing reminds us we are connected by the common and priceless experiences that have proved (by being a #1 international bestseller for 22 months!) to glue us all together. And this sense of belonging encourages us to find a sense of purpose.

While we have these same experiences we fit in by being different and we can use our differences to make a difference.

And for that, we thank our hidden hero, Neil Pasricha.

So, just before I go I wanted to tell you a story.  I was going to submit it to the 1000 Awesome Things Website as there is a page dedicated to sharing anything you notice that is an every day awesome experience. But this awesome thing was a lucky thing, so it’s not really in line with the page’s objective. But it is awesome and so I am going to post it here.

This lucky, awesome thing happened to me last night on St. Patrick’s Day:

Leaving Chapters with a couple copies of The Book of Awesome and then bumping into Neil Pasricha in the candy isle of a store near by! Having him graciously sign both copies, with bubble letters no less, and then tell my friends Nick and Alex they’re awesome in his dedication. Followed by an awesome tip to see a notably awesome movie called Monsieur Lazhar that he had just watched. Thus, confirming his trip down the candy isle was not for contraband. (See 1000 Awesome Things #678)

Awesome!

Please watch the video below to which one person comments: ‘is the shortest 18 minutes of your life’:

I’ve never been a big George Clooney fan, or Brad Pitt for that matter.  They strike me as people who have never been on the wrong side of a closed door, or at least haven’t for a while.  And standing there – door in face – is usually when the best character building takes place.

Plus, funny guy Jimmy Fallon or similar, has more of the ah-ha (ha ha ha) factor for me.  I’d rather hang out with someone who has ‘a way’ about them rather than ‘a look’.  A sense of humour can make being stuck in the rain, waiting for a train or dealing with any sort of pain, a lot more fun than a pretty face ever could.

About 7 years ago I joined Toronto’s Doc Soup, Hot Docs’ monthly screening series because ‘the truth is stranger than fiction’ and you learn so much when you watch the truth.  As well, signing up for stuff ahead of time and having a predictable pattern is the best way for me to walk away from the computer and press pause.

I love Doc Soup because you get to see eight documentaries – one a month from September to April and then a festival pass to watch twelve more films during the Hot Docs’ Film Festival.  I usually leave kicking and screaming “I can’t go tonight, I have too much to do” and come back completely recharged with much more to bring to the table.

Due to Hot Docs great success, the program has been duplicated in Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton. Click Here for more information.

Too many years ago I saw the documentary ‘The Devil Came on Horseback‘ about the Darfur Crisis. Before that, we saw a screening of the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan‘ – a film that follows two boys who survived militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya and then are brought to America to begin a new life.

But here we are … years later… same situation.

Who Is NOBODY? supports kids in experiencing how easy and fun it is to use their interests to impact an organization or cause they are passionate about in order to help another living thing.  Participants choose between helping people, animals or the environment via donations or time, materials or funds and all projects create awareness.

Bono from the band U2 once said:

We want your minds, not your money.

In other words… Creating awareness is the most powerful way to positively impact a problem.

George Clooney has done this.

And he’s gone all the way.

Below is a short overview of the crisis in Sudan that George Clooney wrote, directed and is featured in, based on his recent visit to Darfur, where you are not permitted to film.  Today he stood up for what he believed in and got arrested, along with his dad.

George Clooney is certainly SOMEBODY who uses his interests and abilities to make a difference.

George Clooney is more than ‘a look’.  There is ‘a way’ about him that’s doing much more than easing the rain, slow trains or ‘developed world’ pain.  He is bringing attention from around the globe, to a world we can’t imagine, in a way money, materials and many other people can not.

Click Here to join George Clooney and help Save Darfur.

The biggest hope of Who Is NOBODY? is for kids to have the experience of helping an organization or cause that is personally meaningful to them at an early age so that they can build on that experience as adults and become their own George Clooney for a cause they are passionate about.

Click Here for a comprehensive look at Sudan and George Clooney’s involvement.

Recently, Ellen DeGeneres started her opening monologue by saying “My haters are my motivators.”

This was in response to a group called One Million Moms who threatened to boycott JCPenney Stores after Ellen was appointed as its spokesperson. Click Here for the update.

I thought Ellen’s quote was great because first of all it rhymes - so it has stick appeal and is fun to say, but much more importantly, because her thoughts got me thinking…

Is it positive to be motivated by something negative?
Should we take time away from investing in the people who accept us to try and win over those who don’t?
Or does being motivated by our opponents make us change makers because we are taking this opportunity to create awareness by acknowledging a gap in knowledge - a gap that can be passed down from generation to generation?

Don’t we all have people who doubt and judge us because they don’t understand us?

Fast forward to the Rogers Centre on Wednesday, where I was struggling to see David Beckham do a corner kick through the streamers… and beer cans.

45,000 packed a sold out stadium (drawing a larger crowd than 90% of British football clubs who have soccer as their primary sport and more than double the turn out for your average game at BMO Field) - to see the footie match between LA Galaxy and TFC ; a team that sold out its season tickets five years ago on the same morning David Beckham was added to the MLS Roster. There’s no denying his presence was the big pull.  In fact,  Canada.com stated:

…Superstar midfielder David Beckham, an English international (was) essentially doing MLS a favour by playing there and giving it some international pedigree…

Yet still, the most cowardice of acts was committed, a beer can shot anonymously from the bleachers with the intent of hitting Beckham.  And like any playground, in any country, the crowd quickly divided into it’s usual controversy-driven divides.

First came the followers, identifying their presence by launching more beer cans, many of which missed their target only to hit fellow fans below.

Then came the bystanders, trying to be invisible –  watching, waiting and hoping it would all go away but actually enabling it at the same time.  As noted in an earlier post, bullying generally stops in less than 10 seconds when peers intervene on behalf of the victim.

Finally, there were those of us too far away to know exactly what happened such that none of us broke off into any of the above splinter groups.  When we found out we could only feel embarrassed we were somehow part of it, simply by being there as hosts to this international event.

I looked at my neighbour and said ‘Love is much like hate’  trying to be all Shakespearean and melo-dramatic not knowing what else to do.

And that’s when I had my answer and even more love for the sparkly-eyed Ellen DeGeneres.

Everybody at the game specifically bought tickets to be there.  This was not an assignment for a required course.

It seems that they love David Beckham so much that they hate him, perhaps because of what they consider him to have that they don’t?

Scientists prove it really is a thin line between love and hate. The same brain circuitry is involved in both extreme emotions – but hate retains a semblance of rationality… Whereas in romantic love, the lover is often less critical and judgmental regarding the loved person, it is more likely that in the context of hate the hater may want to exercise judgement in calculating moves to harm, injure or otherwise exact revenge… The findings could explain why both hate and romantic love can result in similar acts of extreme behaviour – both heroic and evil. - Professor Semir Zeki of University College London

The event was best summarized by David Beckham himself, when interviewed by Sportsnet:

Tonight was a great atmosphere. The majority were here to enjoy the spectacle. It’s a shame some people spoiled it. It’s disappointing kids (had to) see it … but it was a great atmosphere.

He’s right.  It is too bad kids had to see the bullying reinforced with every beer can that found itself on the pitch.

Beckham earned his stripes.  Former manager Alex Ferguson has reported that Beckham:

…practiced with a discipline to achieve an accuracy that other players wouldn’t care about.

And here is my favourite example of that accuracy, the day credited as when Beckham became a household name:

So, even as a TFC supporter, it was satisfying to see what happened next.

As though Beckham’s haters were his motivators, he sent a beautiful corner kick sailing through the air to teammate Landon Donovan who tapped the ball into the back of the net so that LA equalized in the dying seconds.

Hopefully when kids saw Beckham’s assist it helped to squash any approval around the bullying by beer-can-throwing adults.

Beckham took that hate and bent it.  He turned it into something else.

If we are true to ourselves, rather than trying to be everything to everyone, there will always be people who love us and those who will hate us.  And we need them both to draw out the best in us.  Love and hate are the ying yang that encourage and motivate us to continue to define and become who we are with the chance – if we’re as brave as Ellen and Beckham – to be change makers while we’re at it.

What song is your biggest motivator?  Please leave a link in the comments below.

And now a song about the importance of being yourself by Everclear:
Everything to Everyone

On Saturday Who Is NOBODY? was at the OAJE Conference – Ontario Association of Junior Educators.  The focus was ‘Creating Caring Classrooms’.

This topic always gets me fired up because an atmosphere of respect is fundamental for learning.  Respect is the number one indicator for success.  Yet too often education is looked at in reverse order, with the curriculum considered before a caring classroom. Which is kind of like having an ipod loaded up with 100′s of hits but no headphones.

On the way home I heard a new song that flicked my optimism switch and brought me back to a quote from Bono of the Band U2.  I first read it as I finished Teacher’s College ~ when I wasn’t a kid anymore but was making decisions that would start to carve out the kind of adult I’d be.

Bono said something along the lines of ‘when people get to a certain age they stop buying music and start buying furniture’.

I wasn’t able to find Bono’s exact wording but came across another quote that captures why I cross check myself with the above a lot ~ I never want to forget the power of listening to music:

Pop music often tells you everything is OK, while rock music tells you that it’s not OK, but you can change it – Bono, On the Move

The song I heard was ‘Lazy Eye’ by Silversun Pickups.

My interpretation of the lyrics is that if you want something, you have to go for it and make it happen.  You can’t just be in your situation looking at another, wanting rather than doing.

For more information about OAJE visit: http://www.oaje.org/

… who use their interests to inspire others to reach their goals.

I get most of my mail, news and entertainment on line through email, virtual news outlets, like the BBC and blogs but there’s something about picking up a magazine and looking through it that, for me, can never quite be replaced electronically.   So when the Ontario College of Teacher’s Spring Issue of Professionally Speaking arrived this week I did the fast-fan-flip through to see what was inside.

Scott hugs his brother after winning Gold!

Without instruction, my finger put the brakes on, when I saw Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir ~ Canada’s Figure Skating Olympic Gold Medalists.  I always get recharged reading anything about anyone who is at the top of their game but I also fell in love with this pair, on and off the ice, during the past winter Olympics.

Whatever rumours whirlwind around them, there is no denying they have the most amazing foundation for any friendship; a deep respect for each other.  Along with their record-breaking win, steady sense of humour (Scott told Tessa they didn’t win gold as their scores were announced!) and  passionate personalities (was there a dry eye in the house after Scott leap into the air to be caught by his older brothers for a hug after hearing his gold medal results?):

Tessa realizes Scott was joking!

So I was excited to read about athletes on podiums rather than celebrities on pedestals.

The article begins by highlighting Tessa’s Remarkable Teachers, who unearth the secret to Virtue’s success.  Her Grade 9 teacher, Harry Kemperman, OCT, describes her as driven, motivated and incredibly organized and her Grade 11 English Teacher Daniella Czudner, OCT, stated that Tessa is:

… the most mature, focused and determined person I’ve ever met.

But I think the biggest testament to all involved is that Tessa remains friends with her teachers to this day, with regular correspondence.

Some facts shared by Scott Moir and his teachers, Paul Marshman and Gary Groulx, OCT, include:

• The academic achievement he is most proud of is his Grade 8 Math Award
• He came to love music because his teacher found a window into that world by bringing some context to his class by including the history of rock and roll – in particular, The Kinks
• Moir gave Groulx a book of motivational sayings that he continues to use

Every week I put one of them on the whiteboard (to inspire my students)…

It’s so great to hear that a Canadian kid born in ’87 can appreciate an English Band from the ’60′s – all because of a teacher who shared his passion and made an introduction.

I first heard The Kinks while I was in London, England for Teacher’s College and a friend gave me a copy of the song Waterloo Sunset.  We always made a point of standing where the song took place, any Friday we could: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDoDaCYrEY

After winning gold in 2010 Scott returned to his school to share his experience with student’s whose shoes he was in, only a few years earlier.  Having Moir return to his roots helped to make their goals real.

The article describes the ideal relationship between teacher and student – how each can inspire the other.

For more information on ‘Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s Remarkable Teachers’ visit:

http://professionallyspeaking.oct.ca/march_2012/departments/remarkable.aspx