Children need us to believe in them! Sometimes the kind words we speak are the only kind words they hear all day. Sometimes the hugs we give are the only hugs they get. Sometimes the love we give is the only love they get. Our students need us now more than ever and it's up to us to believe in who they are and what they can become. It's easier to fall into the trap that some children are hopeless, but we can't. We have to be the beacon of hope for them in their journey of life. We could be the difference between the good or bad road of life.
"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."
-Lady Bird Johnson, former U.S. First Lady
If you have a few moments you should watch this video of 10 year old Dalton Sherman who spoke to the faculty and staff of Dallas Texas School District in their welcome back to school event a couple of years ago. He is speaking to Dallas teachers, but he really is speaking to all teachers! Do you believe in your students? Do you believe in yourself? These are some wise words from a young boy who was inspired, motivated, loved, and educated by some great people!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZm0BfXYvFg&feature=related
A huge thank you to all my colleagues as we make our way through our master's classes together. I enjoy reading your blogs, posting in discussion with you, and getting to know you all as educators and people better. Have a happy and safe holiday season! Best wishes for a great 2011!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Assessing Children
As teachers we know the importance of assessing our children. Assessment has to drive our instruction. If we don't know where our students are, how can we know where to take them? However the controversy emerges in how to best get a clear picture what our students know. I happen to be quite positive about how our district assesses students.
Students should be assessed often and throughout the course of the year. Students should also be assessed using various forms of assessment. All children don't learn the same way, it would make sense not to have one test determine if they have learned the material or not. Assessments should include both informal and formal testing to gain a better understanding if it was a "bad" day or a true non understanding of material.
Depending on what you are looking for, we have to take a realistic approach to testing. If you are giving a written test on science and a student struggles with reading, he or she should be read the test. I knew a student who had a great fear of speaking in front of others. Her teacher allowed her to tape record any speeches, book reports, or project presentations at home. This allowed her to be comfortable enough to speak without losing out on on a grade because of anxiety. If students are not native English speakers, working with an ELL teacher is highly desirable. The ELL teacher can have effective strategies on assessing the student without also assessing their understanding of the English language. Sometimes as teachers we have to think outside the box in order to get an accurate picture of our students' progress.
We formally and informally test the progress of our students. I happen to enjoy meeting with my students one on one and hearing them read out loud or perform math tasks for me. This allows me to gain an accurate picture of where any deficiencies lie and help me figure out where to best go from there with them.
I chose to look at the education system of Haiti. Many children in Haiti do not attend school regularly. In fact according to the Cultural Orientation Resource Center (CORC) website only about 35% of the country's children receive any kind of formal education and only 8% beyond a primary education. Education in Haiti is much more strict than in the United States. Children are not allowed to speak unless spoken to first and parents are not part of the education system really at all. Children are typically assessed using test and quizzes. Since the education system is far more strict students must work very hard to earn their grades. The CORC website states that it is harder to obtain a B or equivalent in Haiti than in the United States. Due to this, a great deal of emphasis is placed on quizzes and tests. Most Haitians don't understand the idea that what one learns is more important than grades.
(Source: http://www.cal.org/co/haiti/hedu.html)
Students should be assessed often and throughout the course of the year. Students should also be assessed using various forms of assessment. All children don't learn the same way, it would make sense not to have one test determine if they have learned the material or not. Assessments should include both informal and formal testing to gain a better understanding if it was a "bad" day or a true non understanding of material.
Depending on what you are looking for, we have to take a realistic approach to testing. If you are giving a written test on science and a student struggles with reading, he or she should be read the test. I knew a student who had a great fear of speaking in front of others. Her teacher allowed her to tape record any speeches, book reports, or project presentations at home. This allowed her to be comfortable enough to speak without losing out on on a grade because of anxiety. If students are not native English speakers, working with an ELL teacher is highly desirable. The ELL teacher can have effective strategies on assessing the student without also assessing their understanding of the English language. Sometimes as teachers we have to think outside the box in order to get an accurate picture of our students' progress.
We formally and informally test the progress of our students. I happen to enjoy meeting with my students one on one and hearing them read out loud or perform math tasks for me. This allows me to gain an accurate picture of where any deficiencies lie and help me figure out where to best go from there with them.
I chose to look at the education system of Haiti. Many children in Haiti do not attend school regularly. In fact according to the Cultural Orientation Resource Center (CORC) website only about 35% of the country's children receive any kind of formal education and only 8% beyond a primary education. Education in Haiti is much more strict than in the United States. Children are not allowed to speak unless spoken to first and parents are not part of the education system really at all. Children are typically assessed using test and quizzes. Since the education system is far more strict students must work very hard to earn their grades. The CORC website states that it is harder to obtain a B or equivalent in Haiti than in the United States. Due to this, a great deal of emphasis is placed on quizzes and tests. Most Haitians don't understand the idea that what one learns is more important than grades.
(Source: http://www.cal.org/co/haiti/hedu.html)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Week 4 Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development
Growing up in a war zone
My ex- mother in law is French. I asked her to tell me what it was like growing up during the Occupation. She sat back in her chair, drawing a crocheted afghan up and tucking fit snugly across her body and under her legs. “Oh, I don’t like to be cold,” she shivered. “I was so cold all the time during the war. There wasn’t a warm building in all of Paris during the Occupation, even for the German soldiers. I’ve never forgotten how hard that was.”
At eighty three years of age, her French accent is as distinct as it was when she arrived in America as a war bride so many years ago - and her memory of those bleak years is still strong and colored with vivid detail.
Jacqueline's early life was greatly affected by the rapid advance of the German army in WWII through France. As the German war machine spilled westward beyond Paris, young Jacqueline was sent to stay on a relative’s farm outside of Paris. It wasn’t too long, however, before the German soldiers began to show up at such farms. Jacqueline remembers her first view of the feared Boches. "One day some German soldiers came to the farm and commandeered a team of my uncle’s Percheron horses for the German army. That was my first sight of a German soldier in uniform. One of the soldiers gave my cousin and I some candy - which we promptly threw on the manure pile. After all, we had been told that, in World War I, the Germans poisoned little children this way!”
There was no heat in the bedroom that Jacqueline and her brother shared. They quickly discovered a way to get warm at night. "We each had a bed, and there was a barrel of Calvados (apple brandy) at the foot of Jean Claude's bed. We would sneak sugar cubes from the kitchen at night and let some of the Calvados drip from the tap onto the cubes. This is called ‘petit canard’ (little duck) by the Normans. We would suck on the sugar cubes and it didn't take long for the Calvados to warm us as we crawled into bed. “
As the German soldiers began roaming the countryside, demanding food and liquor from the Norman farmers, it became apparent that life on the farm was no safer than living in the city. Jacqueline and her brother were reunited with their family in Paris.
One thing that stands out in Jacqueline's recollections of Paris is how so much of her life was influenced by the German occupation and then the liberation. It is difficult for anyone not experiencing the daily presence and always ominous threat of the hated Germans to understand what it was like. There was no “freedom of speech" or any of the other freedoms that we take for granted and no civil liberties except as permitted by the German occupiers. Everything was geared to what the Germans demanded.
Jacqueline remembers one aspect of the occupation very distinctly - "la Gale du Pain". “The only bread available at that time was a dark brown, very coarse bran-filled loaf, with many bits of straw baked in, some pieces almost one inch long! Because of chronic food shortages and the tight rationing, this coarse bread was a large part of a typical Parisian diet,” she recalls. “Because of this excessive roughage, many, many Parisians, and I mean by the thousands, developed this itchy skin condition which they called "the bread rash" (la gale du pain).”
Jacqueline described the treatment. "We would be taken to l'Hospital Bicétre. There, we would be separated, males and females, and then told to strip. First we would be thoroughly washed, and then the nurses would brush us with rough bristled brushes which would open all of the sores. Then they would use large paint brushes to apply an ointment all over our bodies. Thousands of people went through these 'mass production' treatment lines every day. After we got dressed again, we would go home, riding on the subway. In the subway we could tell who else had just been to the hospital. Everyone smelled of this strong la gale ointment odor!"
Rationing, food shortages, coffee made from chicory and maybe even sawdust, filth and disease -- there was no one to complain to about all this. But somehow, like all the other French, Jacqueline and her family survived. “When I hear young people these days complain about not having enough money or toys,” she smiles “I often wish they could go back in the past for just one week to live during the Occupation, and then they would realize how lucky they are.”
My ex- mother in law is French. I asked her to tell me what it was like growing up during the Occupation. She sat back in her chair, drawing a crocheted afghan up and tucking fit snugly across her body and under her legs. “Oh, I don’t like to be cold,” she shivered. “I was so cold all the time during the war. There wasn’t a warm building in all of Paris during the Occupation, even for the German soldiers. I’ve never forgotten how hard that was.”
At eighty three years of age, her French accent is as distinct as it was when she arrived in America as a war bride so many years ago - and her memory of those bleak years is still strong and colored with vivid detail.
Jacqueline's early life was greatly affected by the rapid advance of the German army in WWII through France. As the German war machine spilled westward beyond Paris, young Jacqueline was sent to stay on a relative’s farm outside of Paris. It wasn’t too long, however, before the German soldiers began to show up at such farms. Jacqueline remembers her first view of the feared Boches. "One day some German soldiers came to the farm and commandeered a team of my uncle’s Percheron horses for the German army. That was my first sight of a German soldier in uniform. One of the soldiers gave my cousin and I some candy - which we promptly threw on the manure pile. After all, we had been told that, in World War I, the Germans poisoned little children this way!”
There was no heat in the bedroom that Jacqueline and her brother shared. They quickly discovered a way to get warm at night. "We each had a bed, and there was a barrel of Calvados (apple brandy) at the foot of Jean Claude's bed. We would sneak sugar cubes from the kitchen at night and let some of the Calvados drip from the tap onto the cubes. This is called ‘petit canard’ (little duck) by the Normans. We would suck on the sugar cubes and it didn't take long for the Calvados to warm us as we crawled into bed. “
As the German soldiers began roaming the countryside, demanding food and liquor from the Norman farmers, it became apparent that life on the farm was no safer than living in the city. Jacqueline and her brother were reunited with their family in Paris.
One thing that stands out in Jacqueline's recollections of Paris is how so much of her life was influenced by the German occupation and then the liberation. It is difficult for anyone not experiencing the daily presence and always ominous threat of the hated Germans to understand what it was like. There was no “freedom of speech" or any of the other freedoms that we take for granted and no civil liberties except as permitted by the German occupiers. Everything was geared to what the Germans demanded.
Jacqueline remembers one aspect of the occupation very distinctly - "la Gale du Pain". “The only bread available at that time was a dark brown, very coarse bran-filled loaf, with many bits of straw baked in, some pieces almost one inch long! Because of chronic food shortages and the tight rationing, this coarse bread was a large part of a typical Parisian diet,” she recalls. “Because of this excessive roughage, many, many Parisians, and I mean by the thousands, developed this itchy skin condition which they called "the bread rash" (la gale du pain).”
Jacqueline described the treatment. "We would be taken to l'Hospital Bicétre. There, we would be separated, males and females, and then told to strip. First we would be thoroughly washed, and then the nurses would brush us with rough bristled brushes which would open all of the sores. Then they would use large paint brushes to apply an ointment all over our bodies. Thousands of people went through these 'mass production' treatment lines every day. After we got dressed again, we would go home, riding on the subway. In the subway we could tell who else had just been to the hospital. Everyone smelled of this strong la gale ointment odor!"
Rationing, food shortages, coffee made from chicory and maybe even sawdust, filth and disease -- there was no one to complain to about all this. But somehow, like all the other French, Jacqueline and her family survived. “When I hear young people these days complain about not having enough money or toys,” she smiles “I often wish they could go back in the past for just one week to live during the Occupation, and then they would realize how lucky they are.”
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Child Development and Public Health
Immunization is meaningful to me because vaccines are among the safest medical products available and can prevent the suffering and costs associated with infectious diseases. It’s not only important to stay healthy to protect yourself, but also to protect your children, your grandchildren, coworkers, and the older people in your life, too. Without, immunization, I would have to miss work leaving those unable to care for themselves and depend on me in everyday life. Vaccinations from birth through adulthood provide a lifetime of protection against many diseases and infections. During the 20th century, many infectious diseases-that killed thousands of people each year-were either eliminated or controlled by immunizations in the United States.
Unlike some countries, immunization is not mandatory, in Canada; it cannot be made mandatory because of the Canadian Constitution. Only three provinces have legislation or regulations under their health-protection acts to require proof of immunization for school entrance. Requiring proof of immunization for school entrance serves two main purposes. First, parents who have forgotten to have their children properly immunized will be reminded and can rectify the situation. Second, parents who do not wish to have their children immunized must actively refuse and sign documents attesting to that fact. In some provinces and territories, the public health-care system administers immunization programs; infants and children receive their vaccinations at public-health clinics. In other provinces and territories, vaccinations are primarily given by private physicians who order vaccines from local public-health units.
This information has a great impact on my future work because an unvaccinated person is a threat to people. Diseases do not stop at the borders. People can bring vaccine preventable diseases into our country and spread them to people who are not vaccinated. Our society depends on everyone working together to ensure that all of us can be safe. One of the ways we can play our part is to make sure that your family gets the right shots at the right time. Shots may hurt a…little, but the disease they can prevent can hurt a lot more.
Unlike some countries, immunization is not mandatory, in Canada; it cannot be made mandatory because of the Canadian Constitution. Only three provinces have legislation or regulations under their health-protection acts to require proof of immunization for school entrance. Requiring proof of immunization for school entrance serves two main purposes. First, parents who have forgotten to have their children properly immunized will be reminded and can rectify the situation. Second, parents who do not wish to have their children immunized must actively refuse and sign documents attesting to that fact. In some provinces and territories, the public health-care system administers immunization programs; infants and children receive their vaccinations at public-health clinics. In other provinces and territories, vaccinations are primarily given by private physicians who order vaccines from local public-health units.
This information has a great impact on my future work because an unvaccinated person is a threat to people. Diseases do not stop at the borders. People can bring vaccine preventable diseases into our country and spread them to people who are not vaccinated. Our society depends on everyone working together to ensure that all of us can be safe. One of the ways we can play our part is to make sure that your family gets the right shots at the right time. Shots may hurt a…little, but the disease they can prevent can hurt a lot more.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
My Personal Birth Experience
A personal birthing experience for me was the birth of my son. This was my first child. I remember lying in the hospital bed having contractions. Everything was going fine. In the final stage of labor, I begin to bleed heavy. I was in a lot of pain. I was nervous and afraid. Doctors and nurses came with different types of machines and equipment. The doctors were able to see and monitor my baby. My baby was stuck in a transverse position. The baby’s side was trying to come instead of the baby’s head for delivery. My baby was stuck! Thank God I was in a clinical setting. The doctor said the baby had to be delivered by cesarean section. My blood pressure was very high and my body was going into shock. I was taken to the Operating Room for emergency surgery. I was scared and concerned about the baby’s health. After the baby was born and I came out of recovery, I had no interest in my baby. I was in a lot of pain. I did not want to see or hold my child. I only wanted something for the pain and was tired and sleepy. Later that day, I noticed a change in my appetite. These were signs and symptoms of postpartum depression. I feel that first time births should be done in a clinical setting because, I never had any complications doing my pregnancy or delivery until the baby was ready to be born.
If I had not been in the hospital, I probably could have died and my baby also. In Netherlands delivery at home attended by a registered midwife or nurse has been the norm for quite a while. Deliveries are considered a natural part of life. The United States is medicalized. Netherlands has one of the lowest infant mortality rates of the world. Netherlands has a large network of certified midwifes, who guide almost all pregnancies. Only when serious problems occur during pregnancy or delivery an obstetrician is involved. The family doctor is almost never involved in pregnancies / deliveries. Like the United States, women do have checkups every month. Your blood pressure is measured, your weight, and they feel your belly: first the size of the uterus, later the position of the baby. The only difference with a delivery at home is that you use a labor room in a hospital. In the United States, a delivery room is also available.
If I had not been in the hospital, I probably could have died and my baby also. In Netherlands delivery at home attended by a registered midwife or nurse has been the norm for quite a while. Deliveries are considered a natural part of life. The United States is medicalized. Netherlands has one of the lowest infant mortality rates of the world. Netherlands has a large network of certified midwifes, who guide almost all pregnancies. Only when serious problems occur during pregnancy or delivery an obstetrician is involved. The family doctor is almost never involved in pregnancies / deliveries. Like the United States, women do have checkups every month. Your blood pressure is measured, your weight, and they feel your belly: first the size of the uterus, later the position of the baby. The only difference with a delivery at home is that you use a labor room in a hospital. In the United States, a delivery room is also available.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Blog Assignment: Examining Codes of Ethics
Three ideals in the NAEYC Codes of Ethics that are meaningful to me are:
1. To support policies and laws that promotes the well-being of children and families. To oppose those that impairs their well-being; to cooperate with other individuals and groups in these efforts.
This ideal is important because I am a secretary at MVSU and policies, laws, and cooperation with faculty, staff, and students is important with budgets, orders, and other duties required of me.
2. To establish and maintain relationships of trust and cooperation with co-workers.
This is very important because trust with lead to cooperation, success, and progress on my job.
3. To assist the program in providing the highest quality of service.
I know that my job requires good customer services, as well as, ready for any task put before me, because I am the first person you see when entering my office and I want people to always know that I am there to assist them with whatever their needs are.
Three ideals in the DEC Codes of Ethics that are meaningful to me are :
1. We shall honor and respect the diverse backgrounds of our colleagues including such diverse characteristics as sexual orientation, race, national origin, religious beliefs, or other affiliations.
This is important to me because I provide the same customer services and help to everyone at the university regardless of any affiliations.
2. We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value and human potential of each child.
This is very important in my professional life because I know that I must talk and treat others as I wish to have them do to me.
3. We shall continually be aware of issues challenging the field of early childhood special education and advocate for changes in laws, regulations, and policies leading to improved outcomes and services for young children with disabilities and their families.
I always keep up with the laws, and changes, so that I can send out memos to the
staff of the changes made.
1. To support policies and laws that promotes the well-being of children and families. To oppose those that impairs their well-being; to cooperate with other individuals and groups in these efforts.
This ideal is important because I am a secretary at MVSU and policies, laws, and cooperation with faculty, staff, and students is important with budgets, orders, and other duties required of me.
2. To establish and maintain relationships of trust and cooperation with co-workers.
This is very important because trust with lead to cooperation, success, and progress on my job.
3. To assist the program in providing the highest quality of service.
I know that my job requires good customer services, as well as, ready for any task put before me, because I am the first person you see when entering my office and I want people to always know that I am there to assist them with whatever their needs are.
Three ideals in the DEC Codes of Ethics that are meaningful to me are :
1. We shall honor and respect the diverse backgrounds of our colleagues including such diverse characteristics as sexual orientation, race, national origin, religious beliefs, or other affiliations.
This is important to me because I provide the same customer services and help to everyone at the university regardless of any affiliations.
2. We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value and human potential of each child.
This is very important in my professional life because I know that I must talk and treat others as I wish to have them do to me.
3. We shall continually be aware of issues challenging the field of early childhood special education and advocate for changes in laws, regulations, and policies leading to improved outcomes and services for young children with disabilities and their families.
I always keep up with the laws, and changes, so that I can send out memos to the
staff of the changes made.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Courses Resources
Course Resources Section:
Going cycling is a wonderful activity for families, even those with young children. Children and their parents benefit from the sunshine, fresh air and activity of cycling, and young children who see their parents cycling are more likely to learn to cycle themselves when they are old enough to balance and pedal on their own.
Safety is the number one concern when it comes to transporting children, and cycling is no exception. Bicycle safety includes helmets for every member of the family, keeping equipment well-maintained, being aware of traffic levels on a particular route and choosing the right bike seat, trailer or bike for the age and abilities of each child.
There are a range of bike seats, trailers and trailing bikes available for families with young children. The most popular include rear or front mounted child seats, child bicycle trailers and a trailer attachment that connects a child’s bike to an adult bike.
Cycling Resources for Families With Young Children http://www.suite101.com/content/cycling-resources-for-families-with-young-children-a261505#ixzz11W4YrAvd
www.teach.org
http://naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.preknow.org/
Going cycling is a wonderful activity for families, even those with young children. Children and their parents benefit from the sunshine, fresh air and activity of cycling, and young children who see their parents cycling are more likely to learn to cycle themselves when they are old enough to balance and pedal on their own.
Safety is the number one concern when it comes to transporting children, and cycling is no exception. Bicycle safety includes helmets for every member of the family, keeping equipment well-maintained, being aware of traffic levels on a particular route and choosing the right bike seat, trailer or bike for the age and abilities of each child.
There are a range of bike seats, trailers and trailing bikes available for families with young children. The most popular include rear or front mounted child seats, child bicycle trailers and a trailer attachment that connects a child’s bike to an adult bike.
Cycling Resources for Families With Young Children http://www.suite101.com/content/cycling-resources-for-families-with-young-children-a261505#ixzz11W4YrAvd
www.teach.org
http://naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.preknow.org/
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Blog Assignment: Words of Inspiration and Motivation
Louise had a built in passion for teaching to make a difference in the world.
(Louise Derman Sparks)
A passion of Louise is to make sure that children are taught in an environment that they can nurture, grow and develop to the fullest of their ability.
(Louise Derman Sparks)
Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.
(Lyndon B. Johnson)
I don't believe I'll ever get credit for anything I do in foreign affairs, no matter how successful it is, because I didn't go to Harvard.
(Lyndon B. Johnson)
A promising approach to this type of practice research is to build communities of practice based on collective expertise and designed to srutinized and improve education.
(Virginia Buysse)
Access to many different playmates promotes young children to develop an interest in their peers and affords them many opportunities to develop play skills that are more advanced, more complex, and more coordinated with those of their peers.
(Virginia Buysse)
NOTE:
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
(Nelson Mandela)
Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
(Albert Einstein)
(Louise Derman Sparks)
A passion of Louise is to make sure that children are taught in an environment that they can nurture, grow and develop to the fullest of their ability.
(Louise Derman Sparks)
Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.
(Lyndon B. Johnson)
I don't believe I'll ever get credit for anything I do in foreign affairs, no matter how successful it is, because I didn't go to Harvard.
(Lyndon B. Johnson)
A promising approach to this type of practice research is to build communities of practice based on collective expertise and designed to srutinized and improve education.
(Virginia Buysse)
Access to many different playmates promotes young children to develop an interest in their peers and affords them many opportunities to develop play skills that are more advanced, more complex, and more coordinated with those of their peers.
(Virginia Buysse)
NOTE:
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
(Nelson Mandela)
Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
(Albert Einstein)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Personal Childhood Web
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| Sharon O'Banner Ollie (my aunt) | This person is a warm, quite individual who can light up a room with her smile. She is also wise in the ways of motherhood and life in general. She is a caring individual who thinks of others before herself. That person is my aunt. My aunt had the strongest influence on my life as a child, because she was the primary care-giver for the family. She always had a way of making you feel special whether by baking your favorite cake for Christmas or allowing you to choose one item for yourself while grocery shopping. Things were never easy and we had many struggles, but my aunt always kept a positive attitude even though she may not have known where our next meal was coming from. Her positive attitude and strong determination that we would succeed in life still influence what I do today. When I need uplifting or when I feel like giving up, just a talk with my aunt will bring my spirits up and give me what I need to make any situation better. |
 | ||||||||
| Grace O'Banner (my mother) |
This person has a heart of gold. This person’s personality exceeds her character. She spreads sunshine everywhere she goes and onto everyone she encounters. She cares deeply about everyone and she puts herself in a situation to analyze and conquer up a solution for her sisters and brothers struggling with an issue. She has an unselfish nature and caters to the needy whether it is providing services or devoting time with them. She is very well respected within her community. She’s always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. She works diligently on whatever task that is put before her. She inspires teenagers to always be mindful of their actions and sayings. She shows no favoritism, only fairness; and discipline is not a problem. She’s a firm believer in what’s right and wrong; not only was she there during their adolescent years, but she also served as a mentor to them. She serves as an adult model to pattern my life after, without her in my life, there’s no telling where I would be and what path I would have taken in my life. Because of angels like her that has been places here on Earth, people like me and others have a chance of becoming all that we aspire to be and beyond. I take me hat off in honor of her, my mother, Grace O’Banner.
 | |||
| Jim Henry Glover (my grandfather) |
A person that has inspired me in my life aside from my mother is my grandfather. I admire him because he took on an additional responsibility when my grandmother passed. Not only that, he has always been the core provider of our family. If it were not for him, I do not think I would have experienced some of the luxuries of life I have experienced. Since I was a child he has always made sacrifices for his family. This inspires me because I want to provide the same stability and protection to my family. He has taught my siblings and I to be independent and sufficient in our lives. I still feel the values and morals he instilled from early childhood in my life today. I want to be the same reliable figure in my child life as my grandfather was to me.
 | |||||||
| Harrison Glover (my uncle) |
The person that inspired me the most is my Uncle Harrison Glover. He is the most self-motivated person I know. He has influenced me to be the best in life. There wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t give to me. He really made me feel special because he mentioned to me about my son senior year in High School. He was really concerned about my child’s education and he mentioned to me not to worry about my son senior year, because he was going to take care of all his finance. Unfortunately he passed away on July 19, 2010. Mr. Glover was a retired Supervisor from United Parcel Services for 35 years and he was a caring and loving person to me. The way that I will continue to impact my present life is that I will keep that memory going. I will take care of my son’s entire finance and continue to uphold my uncle’s will.
 | |||||||||
| James C. O'Banner (my father) The only person that comes to my mind is my father. My father is the person that has influenced my life the greatest. Being the second daughter made me the child who got the most attention. Though we didn’t have much growing up, my father did the best he could to make sure I wanted for nothing. By my siblings being much older than I am, my father really made me feel special. Being a school teacher, my father impacted my life by showing me that you can be whatever you want to be, no matter what obstacles stand in your way. |
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Greetings:
Welcome to my blog,
My name is Deborah O'Banner. I hope you all find my blog very interesting. It has been a pleasure setting up this blog. I hope you all enjoy viewing my blog as much as I enjoyed setting it up.
My name is Deborah O'Banner. I hope you all find my blog very interesting. It has been a pleasure setting up this blog. I hope you all enjoy viewing my blog as much as I enjoyed setting it up.
Quote:
"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future"
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
"A story about a child that touched your heart"
It is a true statement when it is said that you never know what a person is going through. I recently met a young lady with the prettiest smile that I had ever seen. But what I did not know was that she has cancer. It really touched me to see someone who is experiencing so much pain and discomfort, seem to be so happy. After speaking with her, I realized how blessed I am, and that really touched my heart.
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