22Jun 2012 by CJ

Graduates never let your ego prevent you from accepting a helping hand

Information & Education, Youth
For all the graduates. Well, another school year is almost over - to the cheers and delight of children and teenagers all across the country. It’s been 19 years since I proudly graduated from high school with family and friends looking on.  Now instead of referring to myself as a “teenager” or “college graduate,” I find myself using terms like “husband” and “homeowner.” Boy, life certainly has a way of escaping you, doesn’t it? Over the last 19 years, I’ve gained invaluable lessons and have come to understand this: in our youth we’re determined to prove to everyone that we’re independent and wiser than our years might suggest. But as I sit here today at the age of 37, I can tell current graduates that there is no greater value…
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08May 2012 by CJ

Bad experiences remind us there are no mistakes just lessons

Information & Education, Life & Living
Victoria Holt once said, "Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience." Sadly, sometimes they are bad experiences. I've been having that problem lately. After six years at a very secure job, I decided to take a chance, a risk, and try something new and more befitting of my skillset. Believe me, it was not an easy choice. Should I do what was safe or take a chance in the hopes that I was entering a new phase of my life filled with opportunities? Sadly, after several months, I realized I was deceived by this new opportunity and found myself unsure of what the future would hold for me. I started to grow angry with myself for making such a poor decision - for leaving the…
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01May 2012 by CJ

Standardized testing shouldn’t be the only measure of knowledge

Information & Education, Youth
There’s been a lot of debate surrounding how to measure a student’s success in the classroom – standardized testing being the only answer anyone can seem to come up with. I’d like to quote the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences, which issued a report from its Board on Testing and Assessment. “…a test score is not an exact measure of a student’s knowledge or skills…no single test score can be considered a definitive measure of a student’s knowledge.” And yet America continues to view standardized testing as the only determination on how effective a teacher has been in the classroom or how intelligent and advanced a student might be. I consider myself fairly intelligent, yet I can tell you without fail that I’m a terrible…
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30Apr 2012 by CJ

Do-it-yourself projects are fine but know when to cut your losses

Information & Education, Life & Living
When I was younger, my grandfather and my father provided me with invaluable knowledge about home ownership – most notably the endless array of do-it-yourself projects. I consider myself fairly handy and willing to try just about any do-it-yourself projects, within reason, before picking up the phone to call the professionals. I’ll admit there’s a certain feeling of gratification in knowing you’ve successfully completed a project and thus saved yourself a little cash is the process. But there are just some things I should not attempt and that’s plumbing work. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson by now, especially given the fact that last year it took me two days to replace the faucet on my bathroom sink. But pride often prevents us from stepping back and looking at…
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08Mar 2012 by CJ

Lessons are being taught to us all the time it’s up to us to learn from them

Information & Education, Life & Living
Lessons are taught in more places than just nursery rhymes. Diane Warren is a songwriting powerhouse, penning memorable favorites for performers such as Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Elton John and even Meat Loaf. One that’s been resonating with me lately is sung by Underwood entitled, Lessons Learned (it was also recently covered by Broadway darling Kristin Chenoweth). Here’s a sampling: There's some things that I regret, some words I wish had gone unsaid,Some starts, that had some bitter endings,Been some bad times I've been through, damage I cannot undo,Some things, I wish I could do all over again,But it don't really matter, life gets that much harder,It makes you that much stronger,Oh, some pages turned, some bridges burned,But there were, lessons learned. [Chorus:]And every tear that had to fall from…
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