School of Similarities

One cannot live too much, laugh too much, learn too much

2010-05-21T10:24:00.003-04:00

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answers." -Author Unknown

Sharing with one another - laughing, crying, learning, living, loving on this amazing planet is what this journey is about... "We are more similar than different."

I invite you to share your stories here on School of Similarities... it is an opportunity to discover our similarities and appreciate our differences.

If you've got the heart

2010-05-04T10:24:00.002-04:00

"It's not easy being a Teacher...
and this Heart takes a beating each day
Sometimes it breaks for a hurting child
and a piece is given away.

But there's strength in the Heart of a Teacher
and a special vision to see
the difference you make in the heart of a child
...can affect eternity!"

~Paula J. Fox

It's been awhile...
Since I last blogged here...

Today is a new day...
the following was inspired
by the song, "It's a Beautiful Morning" - The Rascals

“Just go outside and smile for awhile”
“Each bird keeps singing its own tune”

“It’s okay”
“If you’ve got the time”

Or do we need to choose to make the time
Time for what

Pondering... the beauty of time and choice

Eternity...
the connection between
the heart of a teacher
and
the heart of a child

centering... listening to your heart

Are we not all teachers
as we share our words and deeds...

Kaleidoscope

2010-02-10T12:29:00.002-05:00

Some days I slip backwards
Grappling, as I ascend higher
‘Tis February and these days
Are significant and yesterday
I was reminded

Each day unfolds
as the universe intends
And ‘best laid’ plans
Change abruptly, are amended
As we mortals act, react, act, react

Sometimes flailing
Sometimes converging
In the kaleidoscope
of life and death
Birth and Rebirth

-macame 2010

Innovation

2010-01-28T07:49:00.004-05:00

How are Bill Gates and President Obama similar? Earlier this week I had the opportunity to listen to a Good Morning America interview with Bill Gates and last evening I listened to our President deliver the State of the Union Address and they both used the word innovation. In thinking about change I can think of no better word than innovation to address how to make change happen. .

Yesterday I was preparing for the opportunity that has been offered me to work with a group of Speech and Language Pathologists providing services in an urban school district. My assignment is to address progress monitoring in a Response to Intervention (RtI) environment. Determined to continue my quest to make a difference in the lives of children I began to review my previous presentations on this topic. I found many power point slides filled with my understanding of RtI; thoughtfully planned ideas that I had hoped would capture the essence of RtI and inspire educators to understand and act upon it. I found myself growing more and more stressed as I selected and deleted the best slides for my new presentation. Suddenly Einstein's definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, flashed at me from one of my slides. "Hello, Mary Ann," I shouted to myself, "practice what you preach." In that moment of truth I became cognizant once again of my own resistance to change and fear of the unknown. I shut down my computer and escaped in a long walk.

Now it is Thursday and I can no longer procrastinate. I am determined to do something different and quite frankly I'm terrified. Perhaps because I know some of these Speech Therapists as former colleagues and student teachers. They have expectations of me and I have expectations of myself. What if I can't deliver? "Breathe, Mary Ann, breathe." And then I thought seek first to understand. So I am trusting my belief that "we are more similar than different" and tomorrow we will begin the conversation that will lead to innovative ideas as to how to monitor a student's progress in an RtI environment. Sam Keen once wrote, "To be on a quest is nothing more or less than to become an asker of questions."

Music lights my way and I'm reminded of these lyrics, "Climb every mountain..." What is leading your way?

Children and Change

2010-01-19T13:23:00.008-05:00

"If we don't stand for children, than we don't stand for much." - Marian Wright Edelman

It is hard to forget the images of the children of Haiti and Afghanistan in the news. Inevitably as I think about them I visualize my six children, three natural, three step (all adults now), my grandchild, my step-grandchild, and then the movie of the many children who have touched my life begins running in my mind. I have lost contact with many of my students. Perhaps I should try to find them on Facebook to learn where life has taken them. I know that many of them are adults, parents, perhaps even grandparents. Change happens, a similarity we all share. It is our attitude towards change in our lives that defines us. Come to think about it our attitude seems to be all we really are in control of on this planet.

In thinking about attitude and how it defines us as humans I'm picturing news images of people singing while living in disaster. Music affects your attitude. Do you have a story to share about music and how it affects your life? I would be honored if you would share it with me.

Thank you for giving of your time to read and respond to my blog. Time is life's most precious commodity. Time... "Does anybody really know what time it is?' - Chicago. I'm going to spend some of my time exploring Facebook to see if I can find any of my former students. It would be great to communicate with them. Each one of them changed my life in some way. I wonder what similarities I may find.

ACTION

2010-01-08T14:49:00.006-05:00

ACTION ...

Affecting Change Takes Inspiration Openness Necessity

In trying to meet one of my 2010 resolutions* I'm back here blogging. (Practice, what you preach, Mary Ann.) In recent days I've enjoyed conversations with friends and family where we shared our resolutions and our plans to meet our resolves. In thinking about myself and change I have come to understand that I can only affect change in myself. For that to happen I must first be inspired to change. I must open my heart, mind, and soul to discover where this inspiration comes from. This openness can lead me to places inside myself where I do not want to go.

Sometimes I do not really want to look in the mirror. (Lately, I've been wondering who is that old lady in the mirror looking back at me?) Thinking about what inspires or motivates people to change I realize there are only two true motivators in the world: love and fear. Yes, it's true love and/or fear will ultimately drive one to act. Which brings one to the notion of necessity.

As I listen to the news and wonder about the future of this great planet I think of the dire necessity for change. I keep thinking if we only could connect on our similarities, we would converse, and perhaps create a new way to peace. So what is inspiring me to write this blog? I love people. I love kids. I love nature. I love music and the list goes on and on. I just want to reach out and share life. Which brings me back to music, a universal language, and I'm wondering if there was a song you heard today that inspired you? Thanks to a friend I just became aware of this musician, Jimmy Cliff, and his rendition of "you can get it if you really want... try and try... " I am also wondering how you are making out with your 2010 resolutions...

if you're not a blogger please email me at

maryanneaton@schoolofsimilarities.com

Thank you for your time...

*Blue Moons Are Magical

Blue Moons are Magical

2010-01-04T15:23:00.006-05:00

What a magical New Years Eve! A full blue moon cast its enchantment as it illuminated our passage from 2009 to 2010. It will be 19 years before there will be another blue moon on New Years Eve, at least that is what I thought I heard on one of the local radio stations as I was awaiting a very special evening. Just what is a blue moon? Here's what I learned: "A Blue Moon is a very rare event. According to popular usage, a blue moon refers to the second full moon that occurs in any calendar month. On average, there will be 41 months that have two full moons in every century. By that calculation 'once in a blue moon' means once every two-and-a-half years."

So here we are four days into the second decade of the Millennium and I'm reflecting on what I learned in the first ten years and anticipating new beginnings. Resolutions abound each new year and I certainly have my own list. The challenge, of course, is acting on each resolve. Change by personal choice requires dedication, action, and perseverance. Change is work. I'm grateful that today I'm acting on my resolve to blog here more often as I daydream about a more peaceful world and how I might in some small way propel humankind in that direction. Connecting through similarities opens our hearts to understanding. Today I am looking for the die hard romantics that croon, "Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone..." Are you a music lover? What song lyrics have influenced or inspired your life? Was this 2010 New Years Eve blue moon magical for you? Did it create a dream in your heart?

If you have taken the time to read this, "Thank you." If you have a thought or comment you would like to share with me please email me at
maryanneaton@schoolofsimilarities.com if you are not a blogger. Once again 'thank you' for your time.

home again, shome again

2009-11-17T11:09:00.003-05:00

home
temporary respite

while inhabiting this planet

coming home, going home
building home, bringing home
sharing home, running away from home

the best part

of going away from home
is coming home

my home

your home, our home
old home, new home

home again, shome again

-Mary Ann Eaton

Coming Home, Going Home

2009-08-29T12:16:00.006-04:00

It is a beautiful late August day here on northern Lake George. Once again I marvel at and am humbled by the inspiring surroundings I wake up to each day. I am so grateful to live in this home that my late husband, Brad, and I worked at long and hard to build. Feeling blessed with a fresh cup of coffee in hand I turn on my computer eager to interact with my friends and family and there it is - an email with the subject line, 'Coming Home'. My daughter, Lisa, is coming home from an inspiring journey to India, Nepal, Borneo, Indonesia, and Thailand. Tears of joy blur my vision as I read her message. I acknowledge the shedding of joyful tears as a commonality amongst all mothers when they learn that a child is coming home. I remember working hard to block tears of sadness as we hugged goodbye on a subway train in NYC on March 3 of this year. I remember feeling so proud of her as she stepped quickly onto the platform before the subway doors closed. Through smudged windows I watched her disappear into the crowd as I wondered if I would ever see her again, if she would ever come home. I still wonder, as she has many miles to go before she sets foot on American soil.

My television is tuned to the funeral coverage honoring the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Death is construed by many as going home. Through the eyes of a widow I am able to identify with the grieving Vicky Kennedy is experiencing. I wonder if she knows about this line from the poem Comes the Dawn - "and with every good bye we learn." It is a thought that has helped me live through so many good byes in my life. I am curious about Vicky's thoughts as she embraces this change in her life - as she says goodbye to her Teddy - as he goes home - to the home each of us will journey to some day. I am intrigued by learning more about the similarities between widows and widowers as I embrace each new day as a widow. So many things we learn simply by living day to day in the school of life.

Teddy Kennedy truly championed the American spirit. Having lived through the era of John, Bobby, and Teddy Kennedy I remember the home and school of my youth. I think about how I was inspired by my family and my teachers to be proud to be an American. I am proud to be an American. America is a land of opportunity and I believe that with education, will power, persistence, and resilience we Americans can truly embrace change. We can do so much to make this world, our home on this planet, a better place. As I turn off my television I vow to continue to work at improving our education system. What connections and conversations do we Americans need to have that will create change and improve our schools?

Thinking about school brings me to thinking about the responsibilities of parents and educators. What an incredible challenge it is to take on either of these roles! The relationship between home and school is so vital to improving our society. School is a home away from home. At this time of year in America we transition from summer break to a new school year. It is a time when parents say goodbye as they leave their children at a new home in a college dorm. It is a time when parents say goodbye as their children step through the doorway into a new classroom or climb onto a bus that takes them to school. It is a time when educators welcome students to their classroom community. The beginning of each school year is a time filled with hope and renewal for parents, children, and educators. What a glorious time of year!

Are you a parent saying good bye and sending your child off to a new home? Are you feeling the joy and sadness of this occasion? As a parent I find solace in this passage 'on children' from Kahlil Gibran's book, The Prophet, - "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you ... for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow... For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday... You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth." With thoughts invoked by these words I wonder about similarities amongst parents around the globe?

Are you an educator wondering if you will be able to reach each of your students as you embark upon a new school year? As an educator intent on improving education I find these words from the passage 'on teaching' in Kahlil Gibran's book, The Prophet, to be thought provoking - "No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge... If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind." With these words I ponder what similarities do educators around the globe share and how might conversing about these commonalities lead us to a better understanding of teaching and learning?

Is it possible to address unrest and turmoil on this planet by first recognizing similarities amongst all people so that we can understand and respect our differences? Coming home or going home? I look forward to learning from my daughter what commonalities she found amongst the people she met on her journey. What similarities did she find in the diverse cultures she visited? What connections were made, what conversations transpired, what alliances were created?

If you have read this far, I thank you for your time and attention. If you choose to comment on this blog we will discover similarities. It will open communication between us and others with the intent of creating new alliances that will enable a deeper understanding of humankind.

To visit my website please click Here.

Language of the World

2009-08-19T17:05:00.003-04:00

"There may be language barriers and different customs, but the LANGUAGE OF THE WORLD is the SMILE... and with that you can communicate with anyone."
-- Tara Eaton Sept. 1995, from a letter to mom

To view our website, please click HERE.

Let's Start Communicating

2009-08-18T09:03:00.008-04:00

New posts will be coming soon! Please visit my web site to learn more about School of Similarities by clicking HERE.

Thank you for your attention.