Skip to main content

Ruminating about responsibility, standards, expectations and excuses

I have a widget on my blog that automatically posts a new quote every day.
Today's quote caught my attention for several reasons. Here it is below.
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.Henry Ward Beecher 
First of all, I hold myself responsible to a higher standard. Always. In fact, sometimes I wish I could cut myself some slack because being responsible all the time is exhausting. Of course, I'm not saying that the alternative is to be irresponsible, but sometimes I secretly wish I did things in an ordinary way, rather than all the way. I think that's why I sometimes feel that I'm not good enough. I have high standards for myself and everyone else, and there's no way I would lower my standards, but I wonder if anybody really notices. Of course, that is not the point though sometimes a pat on the back or a bit of recognition could go a long way.

I started to write that I never excuse myself, but that is probably not true. I think sometimes I try to find excuses (I like to think of them as reasons) for why something didn't work, but really they are just excuses to try to get myself off the hook. That is hard to admit, especially in a public forum like a blog, but I think I will only change that if I am honest with myself. So, I think what Henry Ward Beecher is trying to say, though living it is hard, is that we need to always have high standards regardless of what others expect of us. It's really an agreement with myself and no one else. I think it's also about putting forth my best effort, being honest and having integrity.

Something I need to keep in mind is not to push myself to an unattainable place that might set me up for failure. In order not to do this, I have to be honest with myself. I have to know my limits and what I'm capable of. And, I have to try no matter what. I have to be kind to myself. Then, I won't have any reason or pretext to excuse myself for something I did or to shy away from challenges. It's also about having self-confidence and feeling like I'm more than just good enough.

There is a lot to ponder in this two-line quote, more than appeared at first glance. What about you? How do you interpret the quote above?

Cross posted to Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life March Challenge, Day #25.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Partner Reading and Content, Too Routine (PRC2)

I'm a hoarder. There, I've said it. I try to deny that I'm a hoarder but it comes back to haunt me every time I move houses, or pack up my classroom at the end of the school year. I have old articles, lesson plans, handouts, folders brimming with teaching ideas, past issues of profesional journals. I hardly throw anything out though I've learned to be more selective over the years. My one rule of thumb, and I really try to stick to this, is that if I haven't used or referred to something in a year, then it's time to toss it into the recycle bin. One exception to this rule (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) is past issues of journals from professional organizations. However, with the ability to locate articles online through my professional memberships, even this exception is becoming less and less useful, which brings me to the topic of this blog post. I am currently reading a copy of The Reading Teacher from 2010. I've clipped a cou...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Reading Strategies Book - Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension

The strategy lessons highlighted in Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension, in The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo are critical to students’ engagement and comprehension, as well as their ability to write literary essays, or even book reviews, summaries and reflective pieces about books. If students aren’t able to talk about books in a way that is invigorating and joyful, they will be less likely to develop an interest in growing ideas for writing about books. In her introduction to this chapter, Jennifer Serravallo, reminds us that when conversations go well, children are inspired by what they read and are motivated to keep reading. However, when conversations fall flat, then kids get bored and tune out. How do we avoid this situation and teach kids to  have  focused conversations about books?  The answer is easy: teach kids  strategies to help them develop effective conversa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are we listening?

A child sits alone with a ripped worksheet packet on his desk. He appears to be singing or subvocalizing something though no one hears him. Or, perhaps they're ignoring him. The teacher stands at the front of the room teaching on the SmartBoard. The children follow along in their worksheets. Except the child sitting alone. He is in his own world. No one engages him and he engages no one. My heart aches for this child. He is physically and emotionally removed from the class. I ask him why his paper is ripped. (It's not an accidental rip.) He says he did that on a different day. When he had been frustrated about the work. He tells me that he sometimes sits by himself because the work is too hard for him. He later tells me that he sits by himself because the teacher thinks he talks too much during the lesson.  He says he does that because he wants to find out about the "lives of the other children". My first impulse is to rescue him from the wrongheade...
10 comments
Read more