This blog is a backup of
I have been so busy lately I have not been able to sit down at the computer and update this blog it as I wish.
A Spanish version of this blog is also in construction (for my ELL students), and I hope be ready for next school year.
Please visit my site to keep track of new posts, updates, etc. and help me make it better.
“I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot.” 
The only way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing.
L. Snicket
By Paulo Coelho
A man spent hours watching a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. It managed to make a small hole, but its body was too large to get through it. After a long struggle, it appeared to be exhausted and remained absolutely still.
The man decided to help the butterfly and, with a pair of scissors, he cut open the cocoon, thus releasing the butterfly. However, the butterfly’s body was very small and wrinkled and its wings were all crumpled.
The man continued to watch, hoping that, at any moment, the butterfly would open its wings and fly away. Nothing happened; in fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its brief life dragging around its shrunken body and shrivelled wings, incapable of flight.
What the man – out of kindness and his eagerness to help – had failed to understand was that the tight cocoon and the efforts that the butterfly had to make in order to squeeze out of that tiny hole were Nature’s way of training the butterfly and of strengthening its wings.
Sometimes, a little extra effort is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle to be faced. Anyone who refuses to make that effort, or gets the wrong sort of help, is left unprepared to fight the next battle and never manages to fly off to their destiny.
(Adapted from a story sent in by Sonaira D’Avila)
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.
“What you do every day matters more than what you do every once in a while.”
“Without a firm grasp of math basics, even the brightest students can fall behind.”
The Bottom Line
Face it.
Nobody owes you living.
What you achieve or faiI to achieve in your lifetime
is directly related to what you do
or fail to do.
No one chooses his parents or childhood
but you choose your own direction.
Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome
but that too is relative to each individual.
Nothing is carved in stone.
You can change anything in your life
if you want to badly enough.
Excuses are for losers.
Those who take responsibility for their actions
are the real winners in life.
Winners meet life’s challenges head on
knowing there are no guarantees
and give it all they’ve got.
It’s never too late or too early to begin.
Time play’s no favorites
and will pass whether you act or not.
Take control of your life.
Dare to dream and take risks.
If you aren’t willing to work for your goals,
don’t expect others to.
Believe in Yourself!
Author Unknown
