1 teacher. 1 world. Eco-friendly. EdTech-friendly. Classroom-friendly.Teacher-friendly. Kid-friendly. Parent-friendly. Planet-friendly. Sustainability. Innovation. What can we do to increase the likelihood that this one li'l world will be here eons from now? Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or just someone who firmly believes that every tiny bit helps, let's all be part of the solution rather than adding to the problem, knowing that innovation along the way is the way to make that happen!
Looking at the calendar, we are less than a week away from Christmas. Glancing at my December GTG posts I've written, I'm struck by their similarity, especially given what is on my mind today. 3 posts on an experiment on homelessness in addition to the horrific events of Newtown, CT last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary. The dichotomy of sadness & difficulty in contrast to the Christmas season hasn't gone by unnoticed.
Our country right now, in the aftermath of Newtown, is raw with unbelievable pain for the loss of those 20 dear sweet children and their heroic teaching staff. On so many levels it is still so difficult to wrap a mind around.
Yet a movement is floating in the wind. A contagious flow of positive energy as a means of healing the hurt. Inspired by Ann Curry across the twittersphere, a movement--one gaining momentum--has begun. She explains her initial tweet in detail over at NBCNews.com.
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Following along on the hashtags #20acts and #26acts (which also includes the 6 teachers who died at Sandy Hook Elementary as well), you can definitely see that there are a lot of folks who are "in." What an ideal way to counter the pain and help heal our nation and the anger over this. I feel it's a wonderful way to renew both our faith in humankind, as well as the spirit and meaning of Christmas.
As I was reading of friends' and others' acts this morning, I had an overwhelming need to watch "Charlie Brown's Christmas," hearing the music of that traditional TV tale, and seeing that li'l scraggly tree all lit up with love at the end. Love is what heals. So too does taking that extra minute to reach out to someone who you wouldn't ordinarily. Perhaps it happens in the surprise gift or two you send to a far away friend that will be quite unexpected. It falls in the donation my family and I made on behalf of the teachers of our school to the Cloud Forest School in Costa Rica to help them get extra supplies. It's the warmth of heart you get knowing you have donated gifts to Toys For Tots or a local Angel Tree.
I especially felt it today at Payless Shoes when I was buying a replacement pair of work shoes for me (as my old ones have been battered by the mulch on our school playground during recess duty). After paying for my shoes, I bought an additional $5 gift card. Right there at the cashier stand, I wrote: "To You, From Me. This is in honor of the events in CT this past weekend in hopes that we can heal the hate as a nation. Please pay it forward any way you can to help heal our country from this sad loss."
I glanced around the store as I was ready to depart, and there in the li'l shoe aisle was a dad with his 4 year old blondie, trying on sparkly shoes. I handed this gift card to him with a simple "This is for you," and a swelling warmth in my chest. It reminded me of my own blondie daughter at that age and her delight in her own "ruby reds" (which is ironic now given her distaste now for anything that doesn't fall in the category of "Tomboy"). It nearly broke my heart thinking of all those lost sparkles in Connecticut. But it made me feel good, that my little random act of kindness put a smile on that daddy-n-daughter duo's face. It made me feel like I was helping perpetuate that positive energy--that feeling, that healing.
Given Ann Curry's inspiration, I now challenge you to go forth and do good. How many Random Acts of Kindness are you in for?
The mission of Green Team Gazette is to advocate and educate for environmental stewardship, to promote positive examples of "green" living (both in & out of the classroom), to inspire readers to pursue more sustainable choices, and to encourage teachers to embrace technology in their classrooms as a way of capturing student creativity, collaboration, & innovation. It is through engaging teaching practices and forward thinking that our future leaders will flourish.
It's not always easy being green, but I'm pretty passionate in my pursuit! A lot of times, innovation & edtech will get you there! Just don't forget to go outside!!
All posts and commentary are my own and not necessarily those of any organization I am affiliated.
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