Lessons Learned from the Bunny Teacher: 2016

Friday, December 30, 2016

"You will never change your life until you change something you do daily." John Maxwell

With the approach of the new year comes the dreaded task of making resolutions. I know they sound like a great idea, but I think the scope of some resolutions simply set us up for failure. I suggest that rather than create a mountain of unattainable resolutions, we choose to make one or two small resolutions, which can be done daily, to make the biggest impact on our lives.

People say things like, "My resolution is to lose 50 pounds." The entire concept of losing 50 pounds is just too big to assume, thus forcing failure. Instead, say, "My resolution is to do 10 minutes of exercise 3-5 days a week, and to increase it as I am able." This activity is doable, and the small 10 minute steps will lead to weight loss.

I feel sorry for people who smoke and want to quit, as smoking is so expensive, so bad for a person's health, and it seems to be so addictive. (I have never smoked.) Instead of a resolution to quit smoking, perhaps a more realistic decision would be to cut down the number of cigarettes smoked per week, or to smoke only in a specific place.

Unlearning daily behaviors is difficult, for both children and adults. I ask you to think carefully about your resolutions, and choose a resolution that is small enough to manage everyday, yet impactful enough that the resolutions will have a positive effect on your physical and mental health and wellness. Small steps can lead to big successes.

Happy New Year, Friends!

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 from The Authors' Zone. For more information about The Authors' Zone, please visit http://www.theauthorszone.com/submissions/

Visit Dede's webpage for complete details on her award-winning book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER. Many colleges have made the book required reading. Signed copies are available www.dederittman.com Dede is also a national speaker on The Three C's for Classroom success: Confidence, communication, and Creativity; Avoiding Teacher burnout; and many other inspirational topics.

I LOVE writing. And I love writing children's books- my newest passion. Although it will be a ton of work, I am looking forward to selling my books. Since I was a secondary teacher, I know that I have much to learn about elementary students, and I will have to follow my own advice and be my genuine self. However, I also know that I am passionate about helping kids who have to wear glasses, and that GRADY GETS GLASSES sends a positive message. I am willing to work hard and do all the things that also made me a successful teacher for 37 years. I remain inspired!

Elementary teachers in Western Pennsylvania and beyond - I am willing to come into your classroom in person or as a virtual field trip through a group called Field Trip Zoom. Check them out! http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/

Teacher friends- let me know if you want me to read GRADY GETS GLASSES at your school. I am willing to come in to discuss the creative writing process, why writing is important, and personal fulfillment through writing, along with reading my book. I would appreciate the exposure, and I would make signed copies available for purchase in your classrooms following the reading. Please email me at dederittman@gmail.com The website www.gradygetsglasses.com now has plush Grady bunnies for sale!

Please like Dede's new page Grady Gets Glasses for updates about her children's book. https://www.facebook.com/gradygetsglasses?ref=hl

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Friday, December 23, 2016

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others.Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" - Bob Hope

And as it happens every year, December 25th appears on the calendar, which I think is a good thing . . . because we all need some Christmas in our hearts to remind us of our spirituality; of our connectedness to the human race; and that despite all the pain in the world, love triumphs over all.

Just the idea of giving gifts to others - using thoughtful decision-making, looking for exactly the right present, and keeping the secrets of the gifts within my heart makes me happy. I also enjoy reflecting on some of the favorite gifts i have given through the years - ones that were such surprises, that I still remember the expressions on the receivers' faces! None of those gifts from Christmases past were anything too expensive, and some were even handmade. It was the thoughtfulness and the love that made them special.

Besides gifting, Christmas reminds us of the importance of family and tradition. Many ethnic groups have their own delicious specialities, which make an appearance just once a year at Christmas. Add in shiny decorations, a live Christmas tree in the house, and small excited children awaiting Santa's arrival, and Christmas magic abounds.

I wish you much love this Christmas season - not only the receiving of love, but the giving and sharing of love. Enjoy your family and extended family, and if you know someone who is going to be alone, invite them into your home to share your Christmas magic. I know the pain of losing a spouse and being alone, and no one should be alone on Christmas when there is so much joy to share.

I agree with Bob Hope's quote: "My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others." He should know, since he spent 50 Christmas seasons entertaining our troops! https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/uso.html

Love is what Christmas is all about. I wish you lots of love.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 from The Authors' Zone. For more information about The Authors' Zone, please visit http://www.theauthorszone.com/submissions/

Saturday, December 17, 2016

"Long friendships are like jewels, polished over time to become beautiful and enduring." Celia Brayfield

The holiday season often provides opportunities to reconnect with friends, extended family, and colleagues, whom we do not always have the chance see throughout the rest of the year. I have been fortunate to attend two luncheon events in the past two weeks with my retired colleagues and friends from North Allegheny School District, where I taught for 35 years, and at both of those events, I spoke to my friends about how lucky we have been to have our wonderful friendships throughout the years.

North Allegheny is a large district north of Pittsburgh, nationally acclaimed for its excellence in Education. High expectations are the norm for the district, the parents, the staff, and the students, a culture which I embraced upon my arrival to North Allegheny. For years, the District has been number one in academics, sports, music, strings, science, ROTC, and more. The importance of being the best was totally embraced by the staff, and as colleagues, we worked together and held each other accountable to be the best teachers we could be. But that is not the whole story.

The teachers in my school were more than school friends. We ate lunch together, had coffee together, planned lessons together, had meetings, erc. in a single teachers' room for years. (This changed after several renovations and the creation of department centers, which I believe hurt the climate of the building. I will save that for another post.) That room was the center of our collective universe; a place where everyone was welcomed and embraced. I am thinking of how we cried together in that room at the loss of a colleague to suicide and others to cancer; how we decorated that room for baby showers and 40th birthday parties; how we planned "5th period luncheons" and everyone pitched in to make it all happen in a mere 30 minutes! Teacher friends had baby clothes exchanges in the teachers' room, and that room is even the place where I found out that my divorce from my first husband was final - from the three friends who drank coffee and read their morning newspapers 40 minutes before the students arrived. I was thinking about all of these 35 years of memories when I was sitting at the tables for the luncheons..

We were so more than colleagues; we were true friends. We helped each other through illnesses and divorces, new babies and burials. We concocted amazing lessons and school activities, and we taught kids that there is no substitute for Excellence. We helped the needy with enthusiastic canned food drives that netted over 16,000 cans, and we made Christmas happen every year for hundreds of families who would have had no Christmas without our building. We taught our students that by working as a team, great things can happen. I was so lucky to belong to such a staff, and even luckier to have those friendships continue through the years.

Even today, the friends from school continue to hold each other up. The friends helped me though the most difficult time of my life when my husband Scott was diagnosed with cancer, dying slowly for 30 months. We help each other with issues of aging parents and Alzheimer's; spouses who are in failing health; children with issues and grandchildren on the spectrum. We have a "well of friendship" that has never gone dry, and is, in fact, replenished each time one of us is in need. None of us has forgotten those bonds forged over our 35+ years teaching and working together, sharing both our triumphs and tragedies.

I hope that teachers reading this post are having the same wonderful experiences in your school buildings as we had in ours. Life is so much better and enjoyable with true friends, which make even the hardships of life more endurable. 40 years later, our friendships are still going strong.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 from The Authors' Zone. For more information about The Authors' Zone, please visit http://www.theauthorszone.com/submissions/

Sunday, December 11, 2016

"A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown." Tom Hanks

America mourns the passing of a true hero this week. Former astronaut and four-time Senator from Ohio, John Glenn took his final breath at the age of 95 on December 8, 2016, the day after the 75th anniversary of the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Not only was John Glenn the first man to orbit the earth in February of 1962, he was also the oldest man to venture into space in 1998, when he was 77 years old. Every American can learn from his adventurous spirit, and this great quote: "You should run your life not by the calendar but how you feel, and what your interests are, and ambitions."

I was just 10 years old when John Glenn went into space. I can remember worrying about him, because he was going someplace where man had never been. A big fan of King Kong and Sci-fi movies on rainy Saturday afternoons, I was worried that he would be captured by Martians or other aliens. My older brother George and I whispered to each other about this possibility, and after much discussion, we decided that he was was very brave, but that he must also be very scared. We even had a discourse on the topic of John Glenn going into space with our parents at the dinner table - on more than one occasion - and I can remember my mom and dad clucking about the world moving too fast and about space being the final frontier. At age 10, I was not sure of exactly what the term "moving too fast" really meant, but if they were still alive in today's world, my parents would be run over by the pace of progress and life!

I remember that as much as George and I liked the celluloid cowboy heroes of black and white films in those days of our childhood, that John Glenn was an entirely new kind of hero. He was a real person, not a movie actor, and he was going into SPACE, not knowing what he would encounter, or even whether he would return safely. Suddenly, the silver screen film star heroes became only tintypes compared to this real man, with real courage, going into the real outer space! Our family watched the grainy black and white television coverage of John Glenn's orbit in 1962, glued to the set as we worried about his safety. What a joyous occasion when he returned to earth, seemingly unscathed.

John Glenn was a true hero, not anything like the rock-star singers and rappers and stars that kids idolize today. He stepped up to the plate, traveling to the unknown, in order to benefit his country and all of the world. Besides my father, John Glenn was one of my childhood heroes, and just like my dad, Astronaut /Senator Glenn will always be a hero in my eyes.

Godspeed, John Glenn. And thank you for teaching this 10 year old girl and her 12 year old brother the true meaning of the word HERO.

For more information on John Glenn's passing, please follow this link.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/08/health/john-glenn-dead/

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 from The Authors' Zone. For more information about The Authors' Zone, please visit http://www.theauthorszone.com/submissions/

Sunday, December 4, 2016

"A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." Maya Angelou

I had an encounter this week which reminded me once again about the importance of kindness and caring about others - even strangers. This one hit me particularly hard; so hard, that I have the need to write about it, because of all of the feelings that rushed through my senses and brain from this encounter. Here is how it happened.

I was in the self-checkout line of the grocery store, in a bit of a hurry, scanning my 10 items. I heard the cashier in the next aisle ask her customer, "How are you today?" The woman answered in tears, saying that her husband, who had never been sick in all of their married years, had started to vomit, which prompted an emergency room visit, and that he was diagnosed with leukemia, in the hospital, receiving treatment which was not working, and the that prognosis was not good. She was weeping. My heart stopped, and I felt as though I had been sucker-punched.

She was me 7 years ago when my never-ever-sick husband started to vomit and could not stop, went to the emergency room, and was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and given 12 months to live. I stopped scanning my items, turned to her and said, "I will wait for you to check out. I have been where you are. We need to talk. Something similar happened to my husband, and I understand." Suddenly, I was no longer in a hurry. I knew what I had to do, since so many strangers had helped me when Scott was sick.

Several minutes and many dollars later, we pushed our carts side by side and began to speak in earnest. Her first question was about my husband's destiny, which was sadly ended by the cancer, despite 48 chemo and 25 radiation treatments. She wept as she talked about their upcoming plans to retire; about her fear of being alone; about her feeling of helplessness and despair; about the fear of going on alone. Within moments of meeting, we realized the importance of this chance encounter. She needed personal guidance and encouragement to go on; she needed to articulate to someone who really understood her feelings, rather than talking aimlessly about "what ifs" in the abstract to a friend or family member who could not understand the depth and pain of her emotions. She needed to know that life can and does go on, and she needed to express her fear and pain to a friend who was completely in sync and harmony with her feelings. That person was me.

We cried and talked for over 40 minutes. I listened, she talked; I talked, she listened. Our give and take was about wives and nurturers, husbands and providers. We talked about protecting the ones we love, doing the best we can do, and trying to look for something small to appreciate, even in the face of some terrible news. We cried about the shock of dealing with sudden illness, hospitalization, bills to be paid, and trying to balance it all- emotionally and financially. We were two strangers who became friends very quickly.

When our conversation was ending, she told me, "I never come into this store. I am not sure why I did today, but now I know that I was meant to meet you. You have shown me that life can go on, and I can do this." We hugged, exchanged cards, and promised to email.

When Scott was diagnosed with cancer, I cried everywhere, except in front of him. Countless time, complete strangers comforted me, spent time with me, listened to my story, and offered words of advice and encouragement which I really needed at the time. I am grateful to them all, and I am happy to pay it forward to a person who needs my caring and advice.

Maya Angelou is right. "A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face."

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 from The Authors' Zone. For more information about The Authors' Zone, please visit http://www.theauthorszone.com/submissions/

Sunday, November 27, 2016

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, . . . " William Arthur Ward

How I wish the spirit of Thanksgiving Day would permeate our lives every day of the year! Facebook posts are uplifting, people are not afraid to show their love and concern for others, the general manners of the populace are improved, and the spirit of caring and happiness are in the air - even in the grocery store!

Why can't we have gratitude every day- and not just Thanksgiving Day? I think we can! We all simply need to adjust our attitudes a bit. Let's take a look at that, and a few scenes I have imagined for us to consider.

Scene: You have a flat tire. You are going to be late for work.
Normal reaction: ^%$*&@#$%%
Grateful reaction: Thank goodness that I did not get hurt or that my flat tire did not pull and force the car over the cliff. And I have cell service, so I can call AAA and also let work know that I will be late. This could have been so much worse in the rain or the snow.

Scene: Someone with 40 items is in front of you in the express self-checkout line. You are in a hurry. The shopper does not seem to know how the system works, and her English is not very good.
Normal reaction: ^%$*&@#$%%
Grateful (and helpful) reaction: Gesture that you will help this person. Smile - and mean it. Show her how to scan- in fact, pantomime for her to bag while YOU scan! Help her to get through the transaction, and you will get through the line faster, and you will have done something nice for someone who really needed your help. You are a pleasant American. Smile and wave when she leaves. Be grateful for your expertise at body language and a toothy grin- it just saved you 15 minutes.

Scene: You are on the phone with a company regarding a bill. You have been on hold for 10 minutes, and you finally got a person in customer service.
Normal reaction: ^%$*&@#$%%
Grateful reaction: Be kind. This person is a victim of anger and yelling all day long. Show some empathy. "Thank you for taking my call. I really hope you can help me. I appreciate that your job is so challenging, and I would really like it if we could both be patient and good listeners so that work together to solve this issue." (Trust me- being kind works every time.) Say this - and mean it - "I am so grateful that the queue connected me to you!" Be grateful that you have empathy for others, which helps them to have empathy for you.

I am sure you see what I mean! In any given situation, you have a choice- to complain and be angry, or to make the best of what is put before you. I suggest a little attitude adjustment, which will in the end, make YOU a happier person

Sunday, November 20, 2016

"Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?" Paul McCartney

I am 64 years old today, November 20. The Beatles song "When I'm 64" came out in 1967 when I was 15, and just like Paul McCartney, I never thought I would actually BE 64! The number was just too big to comprehend at the time!

The magic milestone age of 64 brings an entire list of reflections and revelations I would like to share with you.

1. I am really glad I chose teaching as a profession. I am discovering as an entrepreneur that the business world is brutal, and I appreciate the fact that I spent 37 years in the cocoon of Education.

2. "You're not getting older- you're getting better" is actually true. I think many of us become "Rhodes Scholars" of life after our decades of experiences, improving our knowledge, our intellects, and our "Who cares? I'm 64" attitude.

3. I appreciate the exponential growth of technology in my lifetime! Just thinking about technology in music - we went from 78's to LP's to 8 tracks to cassettes to CD's! And I have a Sonos system in my house that fills the rooms with beautiful music- and the speakers are tiny- not like the giant speakers from not too long ago. And what about computers? The gigantic boards and hardware that made computers fill large rooms of air conditioned space are now so compact that all of those important electronic pieces fit into a phone. Just think -the IPhone has more technology in a handheld device than it took to launch the first rocket to the moon! And we even have self-driving cars! The Jetsons TV show ideas from my childhood have at least partially come true in today's world!

4. The advancement of medicine in my 64 years of life is astounding. When I was a child, the word CANCER meant a death sentence. Although not completely curable, huge strides have been made to control many forms of cancer and to give the patient a good quality of life. Maybe in the next 64 years, cancer will be completed curable. Surgeries like appendectomies and others are done through a laparoscopy- cutting healing time to a minimum. Laser vision correction can save and improve sight, and lasers, in general, are a typical tool of the surgery center!

5. Diseases like polio and smallpox have been completely eradicated from the United States. Polio was a major threat when I was a child, and some of my friends contracted polio. Medicine has grown in leaps and bounds!

6. Communication has changed completely, with cell phones and texting and Instagram and Periscope and Facebook Live. I am not sure that all of this is for the better, but gone are the days of the home telephone and the snail mail letter as the sole means of communication.

I am so appreciative of my age, as I reflect on my many friends (and my late husband) who died too young and who would have liked to have seen 64. I am grateful for lifelong friends who continue to enrich my life every single day. I am thankful for the mistakes I made in the past, which helped to guide me to my future. I value the many life lessons I have learned, so that when I am asked for advice, I have guidance to offer. I realize that the difficulty and problems of my lifetime have made me into a stronger person. I appreciate life, time, good weather, food, driving in a convertible with the wind in my hair, cashmere sweaters, good books, wine, laughter, family, and a good night's sleep. I try to find the good in everyone I meet.

When I was a little girl, 64 was VERY OLD! I'm glad that has changed, because I only feel about 29! So here's to a milestone birthday that the Beatles and I never thought we would reach, because 64 was going to be so far away from 15.

Here is a nice little history of the song, and you can click on the tab to listen to it!
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/best-beatles-love-songs-when-im-sixty-four/

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 from The Authors' Zone. For more information about The Authors' Zone, please visit http://www.theauthorszone.com/submissions/