Month: August 2021

Teaching without knowledge?

There is a saying, “Those that can’t do it, teach it”. The shorter version that I have always heard is “Those that can’t, teach”. Either way it is said is just plain dumb in my view. How can you truly teach someone something without being able to do it yourself?

Now I’m going to pick on teachers in the public school system a little bit here. I have had four children that I have watched go through the public school, two of which are still attending. I have found multiple times where teachers are teaching subjects that they themselves don’t understand. I will not tell which years or the names of said teachers. I am not here to condemn anyone. I am simply going to address things that I have witnessed through the years. If you are reading this and are one of these teachers guilty of this practice, I hope you will adjust you teaching methods accordingly.

Teacher pointing with stick at blackboard, holding book and looking at students
Teacher’s book is for your reference. The book is not the teacher

First subject I would like to address is math. When a teacher is teaching math and they have to look in the back of the teacher’s manual to be able to give the students the correct answer, you as a teacher need to study before teaching students. I am completely flabbergasted that there are teachers teaching math when they themselves don’t understand how to get the answer. I understand there maybe times that you need to refresh your own memory but, you need to do this before getting in front of your class. You know what you are going to be teaching your students the day before. Spend a little time the night before refreshing your skills. If you do this, your students will gain a greater respect for you and you will be a genius in their eyes.

Next subject I will discuss here will be gardening, agriculture, farming or whatever the school decides to call it. If you are the teacher of this sort of class, you must know how to use the farming type tools before you teach your students. A simple tool like a shovel used incorrectly can cause injury to your students and possibly get you in a world of trouble to boot. Don’t condemn a student that is working on a farm and using a tool correctly in your class because that’s not the way you think. If you don’t know the proper way to use the tool, do some research. Research in this day and age is extremely simple. All that is needed is to go online and look it up. It’s not like it was before the internet, where finding the answer was somewhat more challenging.

Man stepping on shovel

There are other things that I have seen through the years that were taught by teachers, where the teacher didn’t know the answer. There is nothing wrong with not knowing. The smartest people in the world don’t know everything. You must learn yourself as well as teaching others. This is not just for school teachers. I’m picking on school teachers just because it is easier for me to show examples. If you are on the job site in a construction zone and teaching the new guy, these examples also hold true.  If you find yourself in this situation, you better know what you are doing or have the mental fortitude to tell your boss that maybe you could use some more training yourself. This will keep you and your fellow workers safe and efficient.

So above I have basically talked about all the bad and why this must change. Now let me give credit where credit is due. I have met and observed some very good teachers. These teachers are school teachers as well as trainers on job sites. A trainer on a job site that knows what they are doing, not only is able to teach the new employee how to do a job correctly but also is there later for questions if needed. I have a true respect for these people and they truly deserve it.

Teacher writing on blackboard

School teachers are in position to mold a young mind and help their students have a successful life. The teachers that take this to heart and really want their students to succeed, are put on a pedestal by their students. These teachers will always hold a special place in their students lives. These teachers have my utmost respect and it is well deserved.

Every adult can look back and find one or two special teachers that made an impact on their lives. I had a couple of these teachers that I think of quite frequently. They were and are special to me today. They really cared about their students and felt if their students went on to do well in life, they had done their job. I remember some teachers but not for good reasons. These were those that thought of teaching just as a job and were just looking forward to summer break.

If you think back to both of these kind of teachers, I would be curious if you have the same reflection about them. The one thing that really hits me is, I can remember the caring ones. I remember their names, the way they looked and even sometimes the tone of there voice. I can remember special times of things that happened within the school walls. I can remember how much they wanted me to truly understand what they were teaching me and how their eyes would light up when I finally understood. The other teachers that were there just as a job are hard to remember. If I try real hard, I may be able to remember their names but with great difficulty. I can’t remember what they looked like or how they sounded. I don’t remember any special times. It’s almost like I never really knew them at all.

Teacher helping student at student's desk

If you are a teacher or you are training someone at work, please take into consideration which kind of teacher you want to be remembered as. Are you there to help or just there for the job? Do you really want to teach or do you just like the summer vacation every year? I want you to really think about this because, it would be nice to see students remember all their teachers later in life and not just one or two.

Tell me what you think on this subject especially if you are a teacher. I look forward to reading your views. Take care and Remember, we are all in this together.

Freedom of choice

One thing that every human is born with is freedom of choice. Some countries respect this, others do not, but it is your God given gift and birthright. If you live in a country that does not believe in freedom of choice, I have one piece of advice to render to you. You may have to live under an unfair rule of government,  but you are still you and have to choose who you are and will become.

American flag
For those that seek freedom, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

I am blessed to have been born, raised and live in a so called Free country, but I too must choose who I am and will become. No amount of man made freedom can give you the freedom you were automatically given at birth by God. Even in a Free country, there are still those who try to take your freedom from you. There are still rules to follow that allow you to have these man made rights.

Throughout history, freedoms have been given and taken away by rulers that insert their own feelings into what others deserve. The only way this can be accomplished is by the followers that bow down and accept what is handed to them. The only way to break this is enough like minded people standing up for the freedom of choice we all were given at birth. These United States that so many are trying to get to, was not given to us, they were taken by our ancestors using their freedom of choice.

Soldiers running across the desert
You are born with God given freedom but, you must fight to keep your freedom from evil men.

All countries that don’t allow their citizens to live free can be taken and given freedom if the citizenship would stand together and take what is rightfully theirs. As long as the citizens bow down and allow their freedom to be taken, these people will never know or understand what freedom is. You as a people must take your country back from your oppressors. Don’t wait until another country comes to your aid, because it may never happen. Even if a country does come to help, they may leave at any given moment and you as a people need to be ready to continue the battle.

I know there are some out there that know what I’m talking about. These things have happened and are happening now. I wish we could fix the world but, if more people don’t stand up for what is right, the evil will continue. Stand for the right and let’s all enjoy freedom together. May God be with you and Remember, we are all in this together.

What is a true friend?

I will not be talking about best friends in this article. There are various reasons for this. First off, if you are married, I hope your best friend is your spouse. Other reasons for this is because different people view best friends in different ways. Is this your best friend because you have the same likes or dislikes? Maybe it’s because this person is the one you see most often. Of course age also plays a part in who you consider your best friend. Also many consider a best friend someone whom you have a spiritual connection with. For these reasons and others that can be brought up, I will not put myself into a trap of alot of hate mail over whom your best friend should or shouldn’t be. This post is written solely about true friends.

If you get out of high school with two true friends, you are blessed. Most will graduate high school and later find out, they have one true friend. This friend may have gone to high school with you or maybe not. This has little impact on what a true friend is. Everybody has a different view on what a true friend is. I’m not here trying to change your mind In any way. I am simply presenting what I believe the “true friend” concept to be. We all have friends, but how many of them are true friends?

If you are reading this and are still in high school, you will look around and say you have many true friends. Once you leave high school and continue on your life’s path, you will discover that this is no longer the case. You as well as your friends are changing, growing up and looking for your perfect piece of life on your own. This may be to go into the military, go to college, have a family, stay single or go into the family business. There are way too many things to list. You may look at my list and consider most of these things or none of them. It really doesn’t matter. The main thing is that you are going to follow whatever dream you may have. It is important to also remember that your friends will also be making choices for themselves as well.

This is a huge step into being who you want to be. This is also a time where friendships break down. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get together with old friends but, you will notice a difference that is very hard to explain. The connection is no longer the same as it once was. You may be happy when you see them but, five or more years may fly by without even thinking of them.

Two women, one blonde and one red head with arms around each other looking in the distance
True friends have a special bond

So what is a true friend? True friends have a special bond that is never broken. A true friend is a person that no matter how long it has been, they are still in the back of your mind during these long separations. A true friend is someone you can call when you need help and you know they will do what they can to help you without judgment. A true friend will never talk bad about you to others even when you deserve it. If you have messed up in life, a true friend will be trying to figure out a way to get you back on track again. This friend will not allow others to talk bad about you without defending you at all cost. This kind of friend will tell you the truth when you ask a hard question about your life. This person will back you up to the ends of the earth if necessary.

And there is one more big thing about a true friend. After you have been apart for some time and you see each other again, it will be like nothing ever changed. This is my view of a true friend. You can understand now why I say that if you leave high school with two true friends, you are truly blessed. Thank you for reading and feel free to tell me how you describe a true friend. Take care and Remember, we are all in this together.

Panic is useless

Did you know that panic causes bad situations to become one hundred times worse? Once panic sets in, the problems will continue to get worse. During a natural disaster, this could and will cause more lives to be lost. These lives are the unnecessary ones that could have been saved if only we stayed calm.

Lightning storm

Let’s take a look at a smaller scale of panic. How about the panic that some have of thunderstorms. Some people will have panic attacks during such storms. This can be something that person may feel they have no control over. These panic attacks are very real and can cause very real bodily harm. Panic attacks like these can cause heart attacks if they are bad enough. I’m no doctor and have never claimed to be, but I do want to help these people to understand not only the physical damage, but also the mental damage these can cause.

First let’s examine exactly what panic is. Panic is the fear of something that is believed by the person or persons  to be beyond the person or persons control. The dictionary states panic as “To feel overwhelming fear.” Now I must ask, has panic ever helped in any situation? Of course not, so we must train ourselves not to have these overwhelming fears. Easier said then done I’m told, however the military has been training panic out our people from all walks of life for as long as there has been a military. How do they do this, you may ask? With training and more training. The mind can be trained to think beyond panic. This is by no means any kind of brain washing. This is simply looking at a situation with a different point of view.

I’m not suggesting that you join the military to solve your panic situations. This is not necessary. You can do this on your own if you just put a little thought into it. Let’s take our fear of thunderstorms as an example. If you have a fear of these and they bring you to a panic, ask yourself this, “Is my panic changing the way the thunderstorm reacts?” The answer to this is of course a big fat no! Okay, so is your panic over these storms causing you trouble? Well of course it is. You are allowing something you have no control over to harm you unnecessarily. You are hurting yourself physically and with allowing your brain to control you instead of you controlling your brain, you are actually hurting yourself mentally. You may not like these storms, you may even hate them and you are allowing them to beat you up and cause you harm for no reason at all. The thunder is going to boom, the lightning is going to crack and the rain is going to come. What are you going to do to stop it? Absolutely nothing! It’s going to happen if you like it or not. So why let the fear take over when it’s not going to help? If you want to help yourself, get indoors, close the windows and enjoy the light show and drums. There is something happening that is awesome to experience and you didn’t even have to pay admission. Not a band in the world is going to give you that kind of show for free.

I must add this before I decide not to, we all are caught off guard by panic sometimes in our lives. When we are caught, it depends how fast we can get ourselves back under control that counts. As a trained fire fighter, the one thing that I should never do is panic during a fire, but it happened to me once over something very small in size. When my wife and I had first moved in together, I had an episode that still bothers me and yet makes my wife laugh to this day. I was watching television, lounging on the couch while my wife was cooking dinner. Out of the blue, my wife very calmly said, “Scaggs, I have a fire.” She had a small grease fire on the stove. Instead of calmly getting up and putting out the fire, I jumped up, almost leaving my skin still on the couch and yelled, “where, what!” Then she looked at me with a small grin. This seemed to calm me down and I had the fire out in the matter of seconds by putting a pan lid on the pan. There was absolutely no rhythm or reason for my panic, but it did happened. I have seen alot of bad fires, but I panicked on a very small situation. Until I calmed down, I was making the situation worse. Once calm, all was well. So you see, sometimes even training can elude us. Don’t beat yourself up too badly over things like this. Just file these instances for future reference and don’t make the same mistake again.

Tornado

Let’s move on to natural disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes. Is panic going to help during these things? No, not even close. If you panic, your setting yourself up to be one of the many that will be searched for when it’s over. The person who can put aside the panic and look for a way out, has the greatest chance of survival. Of course your going to be scared. You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t, but don’t use that when things are happening. When it all comes down, this is the time to use your brain for survival not for running in circles. When it’s over, that’s the time to get the shakes and let the tears flow. Don’t start out failing! Think survival not panic and you have a chance to see tomorrow. If you panic, chances are slim that you will survive.

So what is panic? Panic is not only fear but also failure. You have already quit on yourself before you have even given yourself a chance. As far as these panic attacks that come to some of you out of nowhere for no reason, there is a reason. You need to figure out why you are having these so you can move on to getting rid of them. Until you have overcome them, breath through them and ask yourself, “Is there a reason I’m doing this now?” It will help. Take care my friends and Remember, we are all in this together.

Don’t want to know? Don’t ask!

If you don’t want the answer, don’t ask! I have lived by this sentence for many years and it has served me well. I have always tried to be honest, but others feelings tend to lead to small lies (white lies as some call them). If I’m to be a truthful person, how can I tell even the smallest of lies and keep credibility? Even if I am trying not to offend someone, a lie is still a lie. It doesn’t matter how small the lie, if I’m telling it, that makes me a lier.

So how am I supposed to tell my boss at work the truth about a situation when he wants a certain answer but this isn’t the truth? I decided to incorporate into my language a short sentence that has helped me keep a solid reputation as a truthful person. “If you don’t want the answer, don’t ask.” This allows the other person to choose whether they really want the truth or not be told. Everyone that knows me, knows I give my honest opinion. I hold nothing back. I have used this many times with my work supervisors, friends, family and even with enemies. But, never ever with my wife!

There are always the questions you may be asked, that requires a variation of what the truth is. Not a lie, but not the first thing that comes to your mind. Here is an example of a trap that all men are stuck dealing with a girlfriend or wife. “Honey, do these pants make me look fat?” In this instance, one cannot use the sentence I have described above unless you have a death wish! Also you cannot necessarily say what comes to mind at first. Here is an example, “Well, if you want to look like a hippopotamus on swan lake, it’s great!” This too is a death sentence! So the best way to answer this question would be to think of something she has worn before that you really liked and go with that. This answer would be something like “Honestly, I really liked that stripe pair of pants you had on the other day.”

Hippopotamus in water
Well. Dear you look….

Now guys, let’s face it, unless you want to lie to your bride, it doesn’t matter what you say, it is going to be wrong. On the other hand, she will appreciate that you didn’t just lie to her. You found a way to get out of lying and still make her feel as beautiful as you know she is.

Ladies, your men see you as lovely and beautiful as they have always seen you. If you ask your man to answer a question like the one above, then you are asking him to look through another’s eyes. Once you do this, you have set your man up for a fall, because no matter how beautiful you look, you aren’t worried about how men see you, you are worried about how other women see you. Let’s be truthful, if women think you look good, then you know men do too.

So using the sentence I have suggested does work with bosses, fellow workers, family and friends as well with enemies. However, this helpful sentence is never to be used with your significant other, unless you really are ready for a knock down, drag out fight and possibly death of a relationship.

I have tried to make this as enjoyable as I can while still getting my message across. It is true what I have said about using this made up sentence. It has worked for me over and over again. Once someone decides that they do want your opinion, (truth as you see it) they may get angry but, they have no reason to be angry with you because they were warned.

Notebook with thoughts written on the cover
What are your thoughts?

I would love to hear your thoughts about what this post is about. Let me know if you have tried this sentence and if it has worked for you. Also, let me know if using my ideas while answering your spouses impossible questions has helped. Ladies, am I wrong about what I said when looking good for other women is important? I look forward to your responses. Take care out there and Remember, we are all in this together.

Lead the followers

Why do we want to be followers instead of leaders? Let’s face it, it is much easier to follow than to lead. This taking the easy follow way ultimately turns into more work later in life. It is a trap that is hard to get out of. It is easier to study hard in school the first time and get the good grades. This will lead into better opportunities in the job market than to try to make up schooling at a later date in life. The ones that don’t study hard, find themselves having to fight the rest of their lives to get the good job they could’ve had all along if they were to just start with this goal in mind In the first place. This is learning to lead your own life and learning to lead or follow others, depending which avenue you decide to take.

Leaders are not born into leadership, leaders are created by the leader themselves. These people have found the way to lead others is to be in the right frame of mind. Those that follow are in the position of one of two things. They either have very low self esteem or they are extremely lazy when it comes to using the gift of the mind we are all given. Yes it is true that some have a higher IQ then others but this is not what makes a leader. A higher IQ just means it is easier to understand a problem put before them, usually it is known as book smarts.

Leaders don’t have to be book smart to lead others. Actually most leaders do not possess book smarts because book smarts consists of following someone else’s position that has been written down. A good leader pushes others to follow by example. This can be done in various ways, but it usually comes down to the leader coming up with their own ideas that others want to follow.

Abraham Lincoln memorial

Leadership can also be dangerous. If the person that is leading others is not a good hearted person, this can lead not only the leader but also the followers of this person into destruction. Their is such a thing as good leaders as well as bad. We can look into history and find both sides of this coin. However in both cases, the one who has followers, has learned how to lead, whether it be for a good or bad cause. Let’s see some examples; Abraham Lincoln was what is known as a good leader, while Adolf Hitler would be known as a bad or destructive leader. Both of these men knew the secret to get people to follow them, but with completely different results. So when I say a bad leader, I am talking about a destructive leader. Adolf Hitler was good at leading people but for all the wrong reasons, so this makes him a bad leader.

If you want to be a good leader, you must be careful not to lead for your own selfish reasons. A good leader will always want the best for his or her followers. If you use your new found leadership skills for selfish reasons, you will ultimately fail and drag all your followers down with you.

Be a good leader and teach others to become good leaders as well. By teaching others to lead by your example, you will become an even greater leader than you ever dreamed you could be.

What things can you come up with that makes a good leader? On the flip side, what do you think makes a bad leader? I would like to hear your thoughts on this. As you come up with your responses to these questions and respond to others who share their ideas. Please be kind to others in your replies and Remember, we are all in this together.