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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 3, 2002 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall long be surprised to find out how little remains that we cannot do. - Samuel Butler ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: The 20 Qualities of an Educated Person John Taylor Gatto, former New York City and New York State Teacher of the Year has compiled the following list that he calls "The 20 Qualities of an Educated Person." In compiling this list, Gatto reviewed the answers to questionnaires given to a number of Corporate Personnel Managers and College Admission Officers. According to these two groups, an educated person will demonstrate: 1. A broadly knowledgeable mind 2. Self confidence 3. A life purpose 4. A touch of class 5. Good leadership skills 6. The ability to work with a team 7. Patience 8. Good public speaking skills 9. Good writing skills 10. Resourcefulness 11. A desire for responsibility 12. Honesty 13. A public spirit 14. The ability to work well alone 15. An eye for details 16. The ability to focus at will 17. Perseverance 18. The ability to handle pressure 19. Curiosity 20. An attractive personal style ( Do you notice how these have little to do with academic knowledge and skills, but a LOT to do with CHARACTER?) Submitted by Sherri Rimmer ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: KIDS IN THE FIFTIES Were you a kid in the Fifties or so ? Everybody makes fun of our childhood! Comedians joke. Grandkids snicker. Twenty-something's shudder and say "Eeeew!" But was our childhood really all that bad? Judge for yourself: In 1953 The US population was less than 150 million... Yet you knew more people then, and knew them better... And that was good. The average annual salary was under $3,000... Yet our parents could put some of it away for a rainy day and still live a decent life... And that was good. A loaf of bread cost about 15 cents... But it was safe for a five-year-old to skate to the store and buy one... And that was good. Prime-Time meant I Love Lucy, Ozzie and Harriet, Gunsmoke and Lassie... So nobody ever heard of ratings or filters... And that was good. We didn't have air-conditioning... So the windows stayed up and half a dozen mothers ran outside when you fell off your bike... And that was good. Your teacher was either Miss Matthews or Mrs. Logan or Mr. Adkins... But not Ms Becky or Mr.Dan... And that was good. The only hazardous material you knew about... Was a patch of sandburrs around the light pole at the corner... And that was good. You loved to climb into a fresh bed... Because sheets were dried on the clothesline... And that was good. People generally lived in the same hometown with their relatives... So "child care" meant grandparents or aunts and uncles... And that was good. Parents were respected and their rules were law.... Children did not talk back.... and that was good. TV was in black-and-white... But all outdoors was in glorious color....And that was certainly good. Your Dad knew how to adjust everybody's carburetor... And the Dad next door knew how to adjust all the TV knobs... And that was very good. Your grandma grew snap beans in the back yard... And chickens behind the garage... And that was definitely good. And just when you were about to do something really bad... Chances were you'd run into your Dad's high school coach... Or the nosy old lady from up the street... Or your little sister's piano teacher... Or somebody from Church... ALL of whom knew your parents' phone number... And YOUR first name... And even THAT was good! Submitted by Norma Lasser ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Drop and Give Me 20 A woman in Doylestown, PA, who didn't want to buy any magazines but couldn't get a magazine salesman to leave, finally agreed to give him $1 for every 10 push-ups he could do on her doorstep. He did 200 and she gave him $20. From: Bloomington-Normal Daily Pantograph, http://www.pantagraph.com/ Source: The Oregonian, Copyright (c) June 26, 2002, http://www.oregonian.com/ Submitted by Barbara Henry ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Chicago, Illinois (AP): Crime really didn't pay for these guys. Chicago police say they caught three men stealing an ATM at a restaurant on the city's southwest side. But there was one problem: the automatic teller machine hadn't been in service for two years. A waitress at the restaurant says it broke down and the company that had installed it was out of business. Police noticed the men had the ATM stuffed in a car and arrested one of them after a chase. The other two got away, but investigators say they know who they're looking for. Source: WhiteBoard News, http://www.joeha.com/whiteboard/ |