Lessons Learned from the Bunny Teacher: June 2016

Sunday, June 26, 2016

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

Summer vacation time is so short! And vacations are so expensive!

I like the idea of families doing some small one-day and one-tank of gas vacation trips. One day together is a short-but-good bonding opportunity, and learning about local history as a family can be a fun and enjoyable experience. Although America does not have a history that goes back for thousands of years, the unique individuals who contributed to our country are important, and kids (and adults) should know about the history of their home area. I also like the idea that travel sparks the desire to learn more!  Parents can help their children to avoid "summer slide", and a trip that is both fun and educational can initiate good conversation, and maybe even create the desire within the child to learn more about the topic, person, or place visited.

I fondly recall day trips as a child with my parents and brothers. My mother would pack a picnic lunch, and we would stop at a roadside rest for an enjoyable break. Discussions in the car on the drive home about what we had seen often resulted in my delving into our set of home encyclopedias or taking out a book at the local library. Indeed, the love of learning can be "helped along" by parents, and that is a good thing for kids!

I live in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, PA, in southwestern Pennsylvania, and our corner of the state has many historical venues that are perfect for a day trip. I am listing some of my local favorites, but wherever you live, thanks to the Internet, finding day trips for your family is just a mouse click away.

Fallingwater, the Kaufmann house designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is just a few hours drive from Pittsburgh. (http://www.fallingwater.org/38/fallingwater-facts ) Both children and adults will relish this one-of-a-kind house designed to be in harmony with the water and woods that surround it.

The Johnstown Flood Museum is one of my favorite picks for a family day trip. The tragic events of the May 31, 1889 flood which killed thousands of people in under an hour is a riveting story. The museum offers and Cannes film Festival award-winning film, and the artifacts are amazing. (http://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/history.html ) Additionally, the site of the dam and it's surroundings have now become a national park. This trip is a great learning experience for the entire family, ( https://www.nps.gov/jofl/index.htm )

Washington County is just an hour south of Pittsburgh, and that county has lots to see! A covered bridge tour, local museums, and more fun and interesting venues await families who have but a day to spend.(http://www.historyisfun.com/ )

The city of Pittsburgh is packed with many free or inexpensive attractions. From viewing buildings with spectacular architecture to a "Just Ducky" Boat Tour, the Carnegie Museum, Clayton (the Henry Clay Frick home), downtown walking tours, and meandering through the Strip District (not what is sounds like! http://neighborsinthestrip.com/ ), families can enjoy a full day in the city without spending a bundle of cash. ( http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/things-to-do/free-things-to-do/museums-attractions/ )

Hope you have time for a day trip or two with your children.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

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 IS UP AND RUNNING!!!. Signed copies ARE available!   Grady plush toys are ordered!

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

Connect with Dede!

Twitter @dederittman
Periscope @dederittman
Facebook Dede Faltot Rittman or Rittman Rules
LinkedIn Dede Rittman
Google + Dede Rittman
Tumblr The Bunny Teacher
Instagram dede_rittman

Pinterest   Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots, good breaks from bad shots, but you have to play the ball where it lies. Bobby Jones

Happy Father's Day! The final day of the United States Open always falls on Father's Day, and as a little girl, I used to watch the Open on our black and white TV with my dad. Although he has been gone for 14 years, but I still remember the excitement of Sundays at the Open- watching Arnold Palmer (my favorite), Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gene Littler, Ken Venturi and others with Daddy. I have such fond memories looking back on those days, and I now see that watching golf with Daddy taught me about life.

This year, I have been volunteering at the 2016 US Open at the fabled Oakmont Country Club, a golf course I have played many times (with the course always winning our match.) I have enjoyed volunteering for every Open at Oakmont since 1983 - and I was a spectator at the tournaments in 1973 and 1978. For this event, I have been working as a marshal on hole 8, the long par 3 before crossing the footbridge over the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the way to number 9, which returns to the clubhouse. Truly a great assignment!

I love the game of golf, the rules of golf, the honor of golf, and I also love Oakmont. In fact, there is no place on earth that I would rather be than on a golf course: playing, coaching, or volunteering. I have often compared being on a beautiful golf course to walking into a painting of lush and vibrant colors, with the feeling of serenity and quiet introspection. The social aspects cannot be ignored, either, and a person's moral fiber and temperament are exposed in 18 holes of golf more quickly than in any other venue. The famed sportswriter Grantland Rice quipped, "Eighteen holes of match play will teach you more about your foe than 18 years of dealing with him across a desk."

I also love golf because of the many lessons offered by the game. I was a teacher for 37 years and a varsity high school golf coach for 33 years, and even after all those years of coaching and 45 years of playing, I continue to learn lessons from the game, the players, the rules, the honor, and the expectations of golf. Unlike many other professional sports, professional golfers do not make the front page for being "thugs." No thugs allowed in this game! The players are always neatly dressed, shirts tucked in, hats with bills forward, and doffed at appropriate moments. Golfers shake hands with each other, practice good etiquette and manners (on and off the golf course), and follow the rules. Golfers do not disrespect each other in the press, nor do they suffer from anger management issues and lose self-control. In fact, I have been a part of professional golf tournaments for 40 years, and I have never met a professional golfer who was completely inappropriate. Overall, I think most golfers are terrific role models for young people today.

An interesting point about golf: one does not have to play to learn from the game. Lessons about patience, rub of the green, lucky (and unlucky) breaks, and perseverance can be learned just from watching golf on television. Risk-reward is not always the best option; having and keeping a focus and a plan is advisable; a strong sense of self-confidence is imperative; and having a caddy to offer sage advice - and heeding that advice - is optimum. All important life lessons.

I hope you have a chance to watch some PGA golf soon, and/or to have the blessing of playing the game on a lush course and socializing with friends. I hope you have your mind open to enjoy and learn all of the life lessons offered by the greatest game ever invented. According to Hardy Greaves in the film THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE, golf is the greatest game: "Ask anybody. It's fun. It's hard and you stand out there on that green, green grass, and it's just you and the ball and there ain't nobody to beat up on but yourself
. . . It's the only game I know that you can call a penalty on yourself, if you're honest, which most people are. There just ain't no other game like it."

May the best player win, and when he does win, it will be with grace and humility.

Quick note about the picture below- I had the chance to meet Jason Day, the world's number one golfer, on tuesday during the practice round. I gave him a copy of GRADY GETS GLASSES for his children, and he did a photo with me! Gracious manners from Jason Day!

Some additional lessons from golf:

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

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 IS UP AND RUNNING!!!. Signed copies ARE available! Grady plush toys are ordered!

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

Connect with Dede!

Twitter @dederittman
Periscope @dederittman
Facebook Dede Faltot Rittman or Rittman Rules
LinkedIn Dede Rittman
Google + Dede Rittman
Tumblr The Bunny Teacher
Instagram dede_rittman
Pinterest Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Never stop learning because life never stops teaching. - Unknown

The last weeks of the school year are here at last! Students and teachers can't wait for some personal time for sleeping in, going on vacation, and relaxing!

But what about learning? Should learning take a holiday, too?

My answer is a resounding "NO." Children who "take the summer off" from learning fall behind very quickly. What can be done to continue the learning process during summer vacation? Parents can arrange some trips to the library and set a good example by reading and discussing what they have read, even if it is an article from the newspaper. Some "educational" day trips can be planned. Teachers can hand out suggested book lists (or post the list on a website) for "fun" books for summer reading and learning to prevent the dreaded "summer slide." Students can set aside a little time a few days a week to practice what they enjoy - playing an instrument, reading the newspaper, solving a puzzle, writing in a journal - to keep their skills sharp and the learning ongoing.

I was in the classroom for 37 years, and witnessed firsthand the blank stares from the students when I reviewed work from the previous year. "We never learned THAT!" I heard over and over, when indeed, they had "learned that", they simply forgot. Reading skills are the first to go, followed quickly by math, so I encourage all parents and teachers to help students to avoid the "summer slide" by helping children to choose activities to keep them learning!

Happy summer vacation! Don't forget to keep learning!! Check out some of the statistics below regarding summer slide!

Sunday, June 5, 2016

If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it. - Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali died this week at the age of 74, a great athlete and an icon of our society. Even when he was just beginning his career as a boxer, Ali showed the world that he had his eyes on the prize and that he was overflowing with confidence. With all of his titles and KO's and an Olympic gold medal, perhaps setting a great example for self-confidence and teaching others to be self-confident will be one of his most enduring lessons.

Ali had his bike stolen at the age of 12, and he told the police officer that he would beat up the person who stole the bike. The officer told him that he would have to learn how to fight before that could happen. Officer Joe Martin was also a trainer for boxers at the local gym, and a mentorship was established. Ali's hard work, talent, and perseverance, fired by his self-confidence, quickly propelled him up the ladder of success in the boxing world. (Source: http://www.biography.com/people/muhammad-ali-9181165#early-life )

Although I am not a boxing fan, I have always been interested in Cassius Clay (who then became Muhammad Ali) since I first saw him in the early 1960's in the family living room on our grainy black and white television set. When he changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, I read all about it in the paper, and even presented it to my social studies class as my assigned current event, although I knew very little about Islam. Many criticized him and some even thought him boastful, but I liked the vision he had for himself, and I admired him because he was so sure of himself. I did not perceive his self-assurance to be brash; I thought that since he knew how hard he was working to gain what he wanted, that he was entitled to speak out about his dreams and about being "the greatest." Muhammad Ali was an unlikely role model who taught me that if I believed in myself, worked hard, and gave it my all, I could be successful at anything I chose. I have carried that lesson in my heart all these years, and I have shared that lesson with my former students thousands of times during my 37 year teaching career. Ali didn't just talk about his dreams, he lived his dreams,in a "bigger than life" fashion - for all of the world to see. Everyone noticed him! Do you know why? Look around you, and take stock of how many people are really living their dreams. The answer is not very many; because most people are content with just talk, and they never take the action to fulfill their dreams. Not Ali.

As Ali grew older and was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, he seemed to become somewhat introspective, and his past interviews and glorious quotations and observations of life offer the world so many lessons to learn - from his self-advancing thought process, his strong work ethic, and his total self-confidence. I wish I would have liked to be able to tell him so. Who would have ever thought that a young girl who never liked boxing could be so influenced by a boxer? Sometimes life offers lessons in mysterious ways.

If you are a teacher reading this, please share Muhammad Ali's "success-through-hard-work-and-lots-of-self-confidence" story with your students. Although his life has ended, his teachings never will. R.I.P., Great Friend I Never Met. Thank you for your inspiration!