I’ve had a life where I learned sometimes we are blessed by cheerleaders. Drum majors really.
They lift us up and see our potentials and worth. They lead us to the waters of purpose.
I’m using this as I understand it here from Dr. Martin Luther King. 
Folks that for whatever reason believe and support the things we do, and help us become our best selves.  That in turn ripples out across the waters of our lives.

 My mom was my greatest cheerleader. Her passing six years ago has been impossibly difficult for me at a personal level, far more than my cancers, debilitating Syringomeyelia, pain, personal defeats, and a reminder to me of how I should be in this world for my children.
Yes, I’m trying to be a cheerleader in life to the students I’ve met too, which can be so easy to do or unbelievably difficult to see how to best do, and a cheerleader for those I’ve affected along the way, and for my own children's children- a new role I'm assuming. I’m awaiting a huge life milestone to arrive. My daughter is becoming a mom.
It's come at a time of stress and discouragement for me, like a beacon.

Did you know some folks never have this cheerleader or learn how to become this for another?
Some expect it of everyone, and some never process it as a gift.
And some folks live to beat you down. Most of us know this. (It's part of why I'm going to retire.
That news is coming here too eventually, as I face my mortality and human limits, and what I must do for baby. My role in this world is going to return to as an artist, my calling and mom -my greatest gift)

Years ago I wrote my hundred standards for the nation's public school children.
 http://sarahpuglisi.blogspot.com/2010/03/mrs-puglisis-100-national-standards.html?m=1
I sat through a day in tears trying to turn a hundred children I’ve learned from, whose memory lives on for me, into a "standard." The standard is basically holding the most important things in life they represented-now as a standard for all children. I've been told more times than I care to say that I'm missing the point of our standards. I always return to this as a foundation shift the school must undergo. Until that happens we can technically refine demands on our children's skills  as standards, but we do not have the motivation and reason to be effective. Things will fail. Much is failing-calling out to the new century.
At the time of writing I was facing a second cancer surgery for an on-going battle with small intestinal cancer. I felt an urgency to say something that was so compelling in that moment of doing. I wrote them in about four hours.
I could not believe that what children taught me could not turn into a minimum of what we might do with and for children in our schools. In most cases it was what they did not have. But in some cases it was exactly what they DID have. Not all lessons are taught in darkness.
And then I posted it here on my blog.

An interesting thing happened from that. It rippled out into the world.
Like circles from a stone thrown into the waters of our days.
My world grew a little. I learned others cared.
I learned more about Kurt Lewin's teaching who remains the educational thinker besides Carl Rogers and Maslow that I truly studied and apply. I learned more practically about how what we do ripples out.
Your actual actions and your behavior and your words have profound influence in ways you may never know-for good and nought. I see this now.

I gained a few dedicated cheerleaders in the post for my standards and my teaching.
One of those was Anthony Cody. I made real friends like Anne, she truly holds me up. Old friends glimpsed how I'd gone on to be. One of those friends is battling horrific illness right now and I know she doesn't really know how much her care meant. I send my love and prayers daily to her in Texas. Friends like Phil. All from a blog post that held my whole life within it.

One was Richard Lakin. He is my focus today.
Others not only shared the standards, which look very different from things like common core standards, the internet allowed many to cheer-lead for these standards in care.
Susan Ohanian for instance.
In an on going way I learned about Mr. Lakin as we communicated online. He sent me a book he wrote on his time Principal-ing in public school back East.
Principaling is an artform. Many do not even remotely understand this. Richard did. It is always primarily relational and lives far, far away from being a head down followers calling. It calls you to advocacy, care, and having great courage as you face how to be kind as you accept this responsibility to lead. He understood it is not passive. It is something I have never done myself, but respect those that do take it on. His book I'm sure is available. It lives in the here and now in small scale-the scale that presents itself to do our work within. What it really says grows on you. It is both small and wide.
He told me that following my writing inspired him. And he brought attention to his circle of influence. I felt such honor.

And Richard Lakin would regularly share on social media my standards and send me personal encouragement.
(He understands cheerleading.
He understands I’m needing this.)
And Richard Lakin was a cheerleader for Sarah as a teacher.
Thank you Richard. It meant a great deal. I know you are looking down on me and your memory will always be for a blessing.

Richard Lakin over ten years reached out.
As I assume he might have done so with you too. I'm seeing this beautiful circle of influence.

Four years ago he was murdered. Brutally.
He had gone to Israel to relocate. Or go home. His gift in life appears to be- from what I’ve learned- bringing about peace and care. Helping us to find out how we fit into this world and contribute to All our peace, and care. His journey was horrifically ended by a Palestinian who killed him on a bus in an attack of terror. This man who worked so hard to see the Palestinian point of views and to honor their struggle. It absolutely stopped me in my tracks, and I’ve meditated, prayed and had such deep grief over the loss to his family and our lives in the time after-these four years.
We can’t say in words what our cheerleaders in life have meant. Or what their loss means.
What violence and hate bring. Or what the power of love truly is. A force to apply into every situation.


Apparently his daughter has taken on helping see through one of his dreams.
A cheerleading project I just watched a video about. I want to honor this project. He wanted to share the story of two people he valued, saw, and felt their story mattered. 
His daughter has completed this video and posted it and I’m sharing here today.
Look below.

My blog has no real audience now. I sought to just go away. There is no way to know if I can help you learn about the story Richard wanted you to hear. Would you stop your life to help another?
I was discouraged from continuing my work writing many years back mostly by my teaching district . Silenced. That aspect did not please them. And I found over time that my basic goodness and decency having lost its cheerleaders, was just difficult to navigate in an unkind, uncaring world. It's hard.
My advocates and cheerleaders now operate in another realm.
I began trying my best to be this peace and love for those that I could. I started to put down the me to see the us, and hopefully I have been cheerleading as a good presence in children’s lives and education for a reason. Life should help us achieve peace and see us all matter.

I want to help my grandchild while I can. They are due in mid March. I want to say who I am is someone that sees the best you in you. That believes in you.

I’d like to take today to share this video Mr. Lakin was making that his daughter finished. It’s a beautiful soft, slow beautiful story of seeing two lives that were bound by their love and care. It is about how we can go about supporting one another. It is about Mr. Lakin as a cheerleader. Drum major. It is about the family that lives and misses him. It is about who we are and how the circles of our influence ripple through time and Space.
It is about two friends that helped each other and what that looked like. 
Hopefully you will share and broaden its reach.

 https://youtu.be/qfYEoqrn8gg

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MAR

15

Mrs. Puglisi's 100 National Standards 

I just read a nice editorial about HOW RELIEVED a newspaper is if we have National Standards.

In the New York Times, you can read it here.

I’ve had a life where I learned sometimes we are blessed by cheerleaders. Drum majors really.

They lift us up and see our potentials and worth. They lead us to the waters of purpose.

I’m using this as I understand it here from Dr. Martin Luther King.

When I was hired at Cheat Lake by Mr. Walls in 1983 in my interview I was asked if I had a boyfriend or ANY intention of getting pregnant. Directly. It was perfectly clear that IF I answered yes -I wasn’t getting the job. He told me he had over 300 people in line for the job.

Today we had a training from the county (Ventura) about trauma and the effect on children.

It was called TIPS.

Now I've been addressing and talking about this my ENTIRE career, in depth here, so it's kind of odd to have it "introduced" to us.

For quite some time I've been silent.

I would like to talk about #MeToo

Not all my stories because some I still cannot fathom speaking. It may be that's representative of being female. Too much to let out.

But I'd like to try to talk about a thread I'm feeling.

september 11th, by Sylvia Puglisi,

A depressing sort of poem. But there could hardly be a happy one today, I suppose.

I cleaned my closet today. It's large and a walk in and I'm lucky to have it. Sadly it has been stuffed full for a long time, mostly things I can't fit in, or are gastlywhen I'm in them.  It represents my spending during times I was ill, really. And horrific taste.

Ceci n'est pas une pipe-a thought that sees and can be visibly described

See my Mrs. Puglisi's 100 National Standards

Join our Facebook page 

Two lovely pictures were made for me (and my mom) by my daughter Syl for Mother's Day.

I got up this morning at 5 AM which I do everyday. This morning felt like trying to swim through a thick layered suffocating fog, probably because I was in a pretty deep dream and struggled to stay awake.  I tried to remember the dream but it was gone by the time I reached the bathroom.

Those are my daughters-MARCHING in Los Angeles on one of the most important days Women have known collectively, January 2017

When you wake at seven and look at your Facebook to see coverage of the numbers at the Women's Marches worldwide it's hard to see an article dissing feminism (and all that wa

One of my morning boxes is a box of nutcrackers. I'm not sure what my students make of this. Not a single one knew about the ballet. Well now they have heard and listened.Introducing ballet is interesting with young kids. 

They certainly smiled.

Today I drove home in the middle lane of Victoria-a huge road that goes to my house. 

I had a large car hauling transporter truck on one side, and a car on the left coming to a red light.

I was going 40 decelerating.

I'm going to reach out with Ram Dass. Essentially this is what I can tell you about myself tonight after our nation just elected this President. 

Christ, a role model for me, was not elected, no power, no possessions, no money....at least not earth versions of power.

This tune was in my mind for days.

I don't even know how I caught it-was it on the Voice?

I spent a week working until 6 or 7 PM teaching. It's still not enough.

For Transitional Kinders.

Wonder why the hook "you gotta talk to the one that made you" is so compelling.

For September 11

I would just like to place here again a poem my daughter wrote at the time of a 9-11 rememberance.

Poetry After 9-11: An Anthology of New York Poets

I'm tempted to try and hook you into a very good book of poetry today.

Alas Bill Gates, numbers DO matter.

I'm teaching my third year of Transitional Kindergarten, and my 30 something year in teaching. Some of my years don't count in retirement because I subbed (for two), some were in West Virginia over California, and some I was so ill I missed time.

Today we had a District training for three schools.

While I'm still coming back from my break, and thinking in internal worlds (as much as external realities) I am trying to process what I saw today. I promised improved blogging presence so I will do this processing as a written piece.

IF I get approved two Donor'sChoose Projects I just wrote will be available for HELP.

You can help by spreading the link or by giving.

Just now on MSNBC a woman commentator stated that she wished her mother were alive. She went on to say her week has been filled with that thought.

No one could better sum up this week of watching the DNC 2016 for me.

I wish my mother had lived three more years to see all of this.

I will always remember my third grade teacher in Morgantown, WV- Mrs. Gladys Peyton. 

She largely taught her career in the Annex for black children on White Avenue.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Making art, being with my kids.

What is your greatest fear? I suppose it is the death of a loved one.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I'm not much for betrayal.

What is your greatest extravagance? I suppose purses. Or classroom supplies.

Sharing three recipes I love for the 4th though I just made Freda's coleslaw and am finishing cooking a Strawberry/Peach Crisp. I'm waiting on my favorite chicken because Jack's grilling.

FREDA'S COLESLAW

Freda Vandervort would make this for my birthday.

Today is my birthday.

I went into tireless effort on behalf of public education in 1981. 

I took every brain cell I had along with me.

This is dedicated to Paul Chavez.

He posts this picture of two genetically affected South Africans to characterize others as "in-bred" when he doesn't like their voting. He's a teacher.

Yesterday I transversed many miles metaphorically in my realities. So then, if you will a day's journey.

That's not well put, none of this will be, but I went to bed not having caught up to myself- and I woke up thinking about this.

When I was in training, in university, my Art Education teacher Bill Thomas once said something to the effect that if we can connect the home, and world in that home of the student, to our projects in an art room-if we can glimpse who the student is-then our lesson design was doing something profoun

War is loss.

I'm two months after the death of my Veteran mother.

Someone sent me an odd cryptic message today about the stages of "Sarah's" grief. I re-read my blog a few days after she died-one they attached.

I've been cooking on the weekend when my kids visit.

We grilled yesterday but no one ate the grilled salmon.

Today I made a salmon salad that turned out really good so I want to share the recipe.

I used what I had.

This day, Earth Day, has been a part of my teaching all my career and I try for "an event."It certainly was one today in Transitional kindergarten. 

We had cupcakes I made last night for one thing:

I hope they look like our planet. Well a little bit.

We've been making a fairly obvious Transitional Kindergarten project.

I'm experimenting with blogging via my phone. I'd like to share Dr Seuss drawings of the cat in the hat drawn by my class. 

This process is torture. But as I insert one pic at a time I will say this, my class drew these cats with interesting flavor. I would give them an A for that.

3

This post is really for my brother Ken. Not that everyone isn't welcome.

I am mostly blogging to Ken now.

They say you are going to have snow Ken, which might be welcome except record snow seemed to be the context-here's hoping it's not like in '77. Or your last few years.

It seems like since I started my blog in the early 2000's I've enjoyed sharing thoughts on MLK Day.

December 17th, 2015

Sarah Puglisi shared 26 photos with you from the Flickr app! Check them out:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahpuglisi/shares/QqJ9p3

Does the turtledove mate for life?

It's the time of the year where I wonder about such things.

I'm teaching my TK a lot of songs to brighten the darkest month.

Yesterday was my 30th or 29th Anniversary. It has been a bone of contention for at least 25 years which anniversary we are celebrating.

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I'm a public school elementary teacher from W.V. beginning my career in poverty schools in the 1980's. (I have GIST cancer-small intestinal and syringomyelia which isn't what I want to define me but does help define how I view the meaning of my life.) I am a mom of 3 great children-now grown. I teach 3rd grade in an Underperforming school, teaching mostly immigrant 2nd Lang. children. I majored in art, as well as teaching. Art informs all I do. Teaching is a driving part of my life energy. But I am turning to art soon. I'm married to an artist I coaxed into teaching- now a Superintendent of one of the bigger Districts in the area. Similar population. We both have dedicated inordinate amounts of our life to the field of teaching in areas of poverty hoping to give students opportunities to make better lives. I'm trying to write as I can to the issues of PUBLIC education , trying to gain the sophistication to address the issues in written forms so they can be understood from my teaching contexts.I like to blog from daily experiences. My work is my own, not reflective of any school district.
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