The weekly Hodgepodge

It's May!  It's graduation month for most colleges & universities!  Joyce, our Hodgepodge leader, has a a daughter graduating this month.  Congratulations!  Her daughter plans to teach elementary school.   So, hence, the first question:

1. List 3 qualities you most want to see evidenced in a teacher?   First, patience!  Other important qualities are compassion/caring, and morality.  After parents, I think teachers are important role models for children.   Good teachers - the ones children remember lovingly - are the ones that show true interest in the student, and encourage them.  Children will learn at different rates. Some will be A students but most will be B & C students academically. BUT, if they get a sense of love and importance from their teachers (and their parents of course!) then they will be more likely to be successful in life.

2. You can tell a lot about a person by __________.   My answer:  How they treat a stranger.  

3. What song makes you think Spring?   I can think of a bunch of Summer songs... and beach songs.  Some of my favorite country singers have some great Summer ones.  Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band have fun good-time, enjoy the beach with your toes in the sand songs.  But, Spring...huh.  Tougher.  How about the Cat Steven's song "Morning has Broken"?   An old, old song just came into my head...."when the red, red robin goes bop, bop, bopping along!"

4. May 1st is Mother Goose Day! Share your favorite nursery rhyme.  I had to go "google" Mother Goose poems.  After looking at the list, I think I like "Pat a Cake" best.  Why?  Because every time you say it to a young toddler, with the hand motions,  they LOVE it and giggle!  There's nothing better than watching a little one smile and to hear them laugh!

5. What makes someone unforgettable?  A short, simple question....but, it's deep!  I think someone is unforgettable when they have done something that has helped someone else, or has changed someone or something for the better.   A person does not have to be super intelligent or unique to be unforgettable.  They don't have to look a certain way.    An unforgettable person is someone who has brought joy to a person or a situation. They have made each moment on earth a gift.

6. Should music and/or art be part of a well rounded education?   Easy answer:  YES YES YES!   I so believe in "the arts" as part of a basic curriculum.  It should be right there with math, science, and English.  I could tell you how music & art USE the brain in so many ways... that it takes math, and there is history learned in its study, and poetry, and on and on.  It also uses the creative part of the brain.   It's a VITAL part of a child's growth!

7. What social situations make you flustered or nervous?  I can have a hard time in "cocktail party" settings where people are standing in small groups.  Why?  I sometimes have trouble focusing in on one conversation.  It's hard for me to zero in on one voice, and to dismiss the other background chatter.   I also don't like standing with a drink in one hand, and a plate in the other...it's hard to juggle.   And, question: how do you know when it's time to leave that small group and move to a different one to chat for awhile?  And, how do you do it without being abrupt or insulting?  

8. My random thought:  Today is May 1st.  I remember as a kid in elementary school being on the playground and making a May-pole as a May 1st celebration.  Do you?  The teacher attached lots of crepe paper at the top of a pole and we took turns winding it around.  Does this ever happen anymore?  Is this a part of childhood anymore?    Just wondering...