CATCH UP WITH THE WLKG ROLODX IN JUNE FOR A NEW BEGINNING!

 ~LOOKING AHEAD~

 IT'S ALL ABOUT BEING THANKFUL

'"Thank you' is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding" -. Alice Walker

 WHAT DOES OCTOBER HOLD FOR US: TRICKS OR TREATS? ONLY TIME WILL TELL!

 EDUCATE US

It's been almost a year since the world's educational system was turned upside down by the Corona Virus and COVID-19.

Institutions of learning closed, forcing students, parents, and educators to wonder, like most of us, what was next.

In the past months, it's not only the students but also teachers who are saying educate us. Teachers are looking for new ways to educate not only their students but themselves. 

Teachers tackling remote learning head-on. They're working through COVID protocols that have turned their familiar classrooms into unfamiliar territory. 

The tables have turned and in some ways, the educators have become the students. 

What's next?

 NOT WHAT WE SIGNED UP FOR

It's 2021 and many students sadly are either doing 100% remote learning or half & half.

And while most students have adjusted nicely to this new way of learning, many teachers and educators have not. A common phrase many teachers are saying is, "This is not what I signed up for!"

Exactly what this means, depends on who you speak to. Most mean that they want to interact with their students in-person, not through the magic of Zooming.

Students are losing the opportunity to develop much needed social skills that online learning simply doesn't offer. Face to face, in-person classes give students the important opportunity to not only learn the Three Rs - it allows students to stretch and use something just as important as learning math, science, history, or English - and that is how to interact with others (both in school and more importantly, away from school).

No one is lessening the importance of safety. And thank goodness for online learning and remote classes because doing so has kept students and teachers safe. But at what cost?  

And have we gotten lazy so comfortable with remote learning that we have stopped searching for ways to safely return everyone to regular class attendance?

Time will tell what effect this different way of learning has had on both students and teachers.

Now we simply ask...

In person?

HELLO 2021 

Few words describe the year that was 2020. For most of us, the year started off like most - full of hope, promise, and thoughts of how many New Year's resolutions that we'd probably end up breaking - lol. 

However, it didn't take long for 2020 to turn into a year of questions, puzzlement, fear, sadness, and JUST LET IT BE OVER!!!

As we approach 2021, shell-shocked and fearful, but still filled with hope and a desire for a happy, healthy year, we at The Wlkg Rolodx send wishes of peace, health, happiness, and much success to everyone.

A little review before we head into ...

https://trivia.braincandy.net/?quiz-this-year-in-the-news

 

MARCH, APRIL, AND MAY - THERE ARE NO WORDS

~WE WILL SEE YOU IN JUNE~

FEBRUARY IS...

"Me only have one ambition, y'know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together - black, white, Chinese, everyone - that's all."
- Bob Marley

THE ROAD AHEAD

MOVING FORWARD AND KEEPING IT REAL

“The first flash of color always excites me as much as the first frail, courageous bloom of spring. This is, in a sense, my season--sometimes warm and, when the wind blows an alert, sometimes cold. But there is a clarity about September. On clear days, the sun seems brighter, the sky more blue, the white clouds take on marvelous shapes; the moon is a wonderful apparition, rising gold, cooling to silver; and the stars are so big. The September storms--the hurricane warnings far away, the sudden gales, the downpour of rain that we have so badly needed here for so long--are exhilarating, and there's a promise that what September starts, October will carry on, catching the torch flung into her hand.”

- Faith Baldwin, Evening Star

JUNE, JULY, AUGUST

Where Has Summer Gone?

Weren't we just in May? What happened? How is September a sneeze away? Where did summer go?

Well, all we can say is ... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDKIs0v120s

MARCH ~ APRIL ~ MAY

BACK FALL, IT'S TIME TO SPRING FORWARD

William Blake : Spring

Sound the flute! Now it’s mute. Birds delight Day and night. Nightingale In the dale, Lark in the sky, Merrily, Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year. Little boy Full of joy, Little girl Sweet and small. Cock does crow, So do you. Merry voice, Infant noise, Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year. Little lamb Here I am Come and lick My white neck. Let me pull Your soft wool. Let me kiss Your soft face, Merrily, merrily we welcome in the year.

❤CELEBRATING THE REAL MEANING OF VALENTINE'S DAY❤

A few years ago, I remember someone saying that she wasn't going to celebrate Valentine's Day because she didn't have a date. I remember thinking, how sad that was, especially given the possible origin and true meaning of Valentine's Day. I wanted to tell her that you can celebrate Thanksgiving even if you don't have a turkey, so why not still celebrate Valentine's Day even if you don't have a date.

While there are several versions of how Valentine's Day came to be, two that linger are people were that were martyred and courtly/romantic love. Whatever the true origin, today's version include candy, flowers, cards, calls, expressions of love and all of the guilt and stress to accompany each greeting.

Somehow we've lost the true meaning of Valentine's Day. Candy and flowers are nice, but wouldn't it be great if we shared a word of kindness to someone we're not romantically involved with? Even better, wouldn't it be wonderful if we shared the kindness on more than just one day, February 14th?

This Valentine's Day, try something different. Share a smile or kind word on February 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, you get the picture.

Happy Valentine's Day - pay it forward.

CHARACTER=REPUTATION=REPUTATION=CHARACTER

Do They Match? - Should They Match?

I recently spent a weekend watching a few of my favorite vintage television shows. On the list was Dr. Kildare, Kojak, One Step Beyond, Julia, Barney Miller, The Rockford Files and The Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone mini-marathon featured 10 episodes, including one of my favorites, THE MASKS. It's the one where the rich, old man is dying and he has his greedy, selfish relatives wear hideous masks before he dies. Once he dies, they take off the masks and find that their faces have formed into the same horrible expressions that the masks had.

I started to wonder what it would be like to really have a world where our faces showed what our characters were like. We all hear and read about someone's reputation - "he's reliable," "she's confident.," "they're terrific parents," and so forth. Most of us hear these things and automatically think that the reputation matches the character, but is that true? Is one's reputation the same as one's character? I came across a quote by Napoleon Hill that says just the opposite: "Your reputation is what people think you are; your character is what you are." He gives this advice...

You want your reputation and your character to match but concentrate on your character. You may be able to fool others about the kind of person you really are for a time, but it seldom lasts for long. The surest way to make sure your character and your reputation are the same is to live your life in such a way that nothing you do would embarrass you if it were printed on the front page of the newspaper. Good character means not ever taking ethical shortcuts, even though everyone else may be doing so. You build good character by doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.*

You have to ask, in this current social and political climate, do people really care about character or are they more concerned with the appearance of character?

I would like to think that developing a good, decent character is important. That there is still a place for integrity and doing the right thing. That one's character and reputation can match and be the same. It's possible, isn't it?

*http://www.naphill.org/tftd/thought_for_the_day_tuesday_july_18_2017/

LET'S RING OUT THE OLD AND RING IN THE NEW

GOODBYE 2017<>H3LLO 2018

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." - Oprah Winfrey

We at The Wlkg Rolodx send well wishes of hope, health, and success to all for the coming year.

WE WILL BE BACK SOON

WHAT'S WRONG WITH KIDS TODAY?

A recent tweet from Poserli.me (http://poserli.me/scwxr-16-disturbing-facts-about-the-kids-today?SkyId=8131) had us at THE WLKG ROLODX scratching our heads and asking the same question.

From texting while driving (sadly not limited to just kids is it) to taking selfies in the most inappropriate places, it's safe to say that kids today have either lost their minds or have no minds at all!

Now don't get us wrong - there are some really smart, productive sassy kids out there who do have common sense and who use it - we're proud of them. These are not the kids that we're referring to in this entry. We're talking about the ones who...

1) Sit next to each other and text instead of talking

2) Put in and everything on all of their social media sites - and they have plenty

3) Can't spell because they always use abbreviations when texting

4) Take selfies with tilted heads and puckered mouths (mostly girls)

5) Have no sense of the past at all - and we're talking 5 years ago - and don't want to

6) Would not know how to function if their cells, laptops or i-anything went out

We know that kids are not the only ones committing these faux pas, many adults are, too. Just look at how actress Patti LuPone had to take a theatergoer's cell phone during one of her recent performances. Rudeness rules. Insensitivity is in. Stupidity sends a shout out.

We all know the problems, the question is what's the solution? Better parental training? Specialized classes in schools? What? 

Some of our lifestyle coaches at THE WLKG ROLODX have suggested that we start with awareness - by showing the kids why their behavior isn't suitable. The next step is showing them alternatives to the negative behavior.

Hopefully we find a solution fast!