isn't that exciting?

i am realizing lately one reason why

i absolutely love my major: because education

is completely focused on

motivation.

change.

improvement.

success.

{ i've become quite obsessed with

the concept of change lately. }

"the purpose of education is not knowledge,

but results producing actions." --steve anderson

why do we learn if we don't plan to act on what we acquire?

yesterday i talked with jane at spencer's house.

jane is my role model. in more ways than one. i have

yet to meet a more positive, friendly, accepting, inspiring

person. when i talk with her i leave practically glowing

with excitement, inspiration, and motivation to be a better

person, simply because i know her. we talked about this

semester: how our goals from LEAP were unfolding, and

individual successes. starts, for me: mastering a daily schedule

that i've fallen completely in love with. for her: doing

things that previously scared her. and on and on.

i mentioned i've been pleased with my success in the things i've

been working on and this, of course, led to a discussion about

how inspiring change is.

{ "i feel like there are so many things i want to change,

to improve on, to grow, to learn, to know!" i said to her.

"isn't it exciting?!" she replied. }

it was the perfect jane thomas response.

but it really got me thinking. it's true. the fact

that we have so much to learn and know and do and

improve upon and change is, to me, on of the most motivating,

exciting things out there! call me nerdy, but that's why

i read books like "launching a leadership revolution",

"the servant", "blink", and "the tipping point" in my spare time.

because i'm completely inspired by the excitement of change

and learning, coming to those results that produce actions.

i just finished an extensive research paper on an amazing

education pioneer, ann l. brown. her work redefined education

in the oakland area. she finds it inspiring that children are

completely motivated by the need to understand and succeed.

we all have the innate need and desire to make sense

of the world around us. and that desire feeds into our

need to understand and succeed. it is visible in children.

why do we lose it? where does it go? why do we complain

about educational opportunities or projects or tests, when

the whole purpose of education is to inspire change?

"if you want your education to be

tailored to you, ask questions."

education exists to motivate, change, and improve people,

all while helping them find their way to succeed. personal success.

a good friend of mine, amanda burri, once said,

"i merely wish to inspire, be inspired,

and aspire to be something aspired."

though simple, i find this statement completely inspiring in and

of itself, and have therefore adopted it not only as my teaching motto, but

as a motto for my life, next to

"you teach who you are before you teach what you know."

[ the educational world is full of great quotations...hah ]

tonight as i sit and read my final article for my

historical, social, and cultural foundations of education

class, i came across the following, which further

embodies why i find education so motivating and change

so empowering. social activism and change are real, all we

need is the hope, determination, motivation, and understanding

to persist and pursue that which we as humans need most.

"hope is not the same as joy when things are going well,

or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously

headed for early success, but rather an ability to work

for something to succeed. hope is definitely not the same

thing as optimism. it's not the conviction that something

will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes

sense, regardless of how it turns out." --vacval havel

if the purpose of education is not knowledge, but

results producing actions, then maybe, just maybe,

hope is our starting point. do we have the hope we

need? the hope to make sense of our world. the hope

to motivate us to change. the hope to empower us

in our quest to succeed. the hope to ignite that

excitement surrounding the ongoing journey

to inspire and be inspired by the way we teach,

through who we are, not what we know.

thank you.

endless.

"the opportunities

to change lives

and even destinies

are endless."

turkeys and stuff

h a p p y

t h a n k s g i v i n g !

tallie's feathers represent

lots and lots of things

liz, tate, whit, and i

are thankful for!

that's great.

home for thanksgiving '09 this week!

this is why i love my major. classes cancelled

while everyone else has to be there. it's great.

strangely though, i feel like i'm home for christmas

break already. maybe because the snow. or the music.

or the lights. i can't decide yet. but i like it.

i feel like this means 2 christmas breaks

would be a really great idea. this is the year.

{ also, not having a car makes for lots of interesting

experiences in transportation to and from logan,

with all sorts of people imaginable. it's great.

this weekend: got to ride down with

melissa k's parents, of all people...

though nervous, it was definitely pleasant,

and i found their company quite agreeable.

i don't think i've ever been happier to be home. }

went to nursery yesterday.

then to see parker and laci speak.

family dinner was excellent,

and carols around the piano.

after a rousing game of curses

and an early bedtime, i can tell

it's going to be a great week.

ps i really, really like my family.

sharon creech says:

"so much depends upon

a red-headed mailman

walking up the drive

holding a blue postcard."

"so much depends upon

a black kitten

in a straw basket

under the Christmas tree."

white van

this morning the bus was late. at 7:13 a large white van pulled up. the driver said, "this is route 4 today." we all skeptically looked at each other. my mom taught me never to get in a scary white van with strangers. but somehow i got in anyway.weirdest bus ride to school ever.

{ this should be a private post }

tonight both my recent alex's

went facebook official

with their relationships.

cool.

or not.

dear miss ence,

dear miss ence,

wen i get home i will cry. i will miss you. i hope you will come back. goodbye!

-chase

dear miss ence,

you wer asam. thank for reading. thanks for teacheng. love luke

der mis ence

i hope you haf a good time. i will miss you wen you are gon. you hav fun. i love you, you have helpt me if i had a hed acke or sick. i had so so much fun with you. i want to cry. i will rely rely rely miss you. i rele want to cry. i love you. love, madison

miss ence

i wander wich skool you go to? wer ever you go well miss you i hope you have fun. i hope in your school you will go to a trip. and you mitte fined a ipopodanes (hippopotamus) maby you can come visit us befor you go and we gave you a hug. we had fun with you, pleasae stay here. were guna miss miss ence. pleasae pleasae stay. we love you to read to us. remember me, skyler, madison, and colten. and miss voth. the end. lots of love jose.

dear mrs. ence,

you have been a great teacher. you have been a good friend to everyone. you show lots of kindness in your heart to everyone. your favorite color is blue. your 33 years old. your favorite animal is a hippo. i will miss you very much. your burthday is may 5th. i hope you will have an exciting live. we will miss you vert much. love, jordan

dear miss ence,

we did lots together including the south anerican report (which was fun). i enjoyed being with you and i hope you did to. i learned a lot from you, and i hope you learned a lot. ps, Jethro.

dear miss ence, i hope you are going to havan. i love you. thanck you for making me feel good about me. love tabitha.

jeans today, dress tomorrow.

the 100 days

it's official.

we're hitting

the

double digits

tomorrow.

let the

100 days

countdown

begin.

now.

life is fragile

i am so grateful for the knowledge i have of the gospel.

little daniel nielson was born this week, and died this week.

it's been hard to come to grips with. but i believe it's part of a plan.

some spirits don't need to be tested. they just need a body.

and so many tender mercies, miracles, experiences, comforts,

and blessings have attended to the parents and family this week,

and i know the knowledge of those can comfort us as well.

god holds us in the palms of his hands, and intends to take

us step by step through every trial or hardship we face. we are

never alone. not even in our darkest times. in fact, i believe we can

feel him best when we are in our darkest times.

i find great comfort in that.

"children are an heritage of the lord" and sometimes they just

don't need to experience earth life. though i may not understand

this completely, i do take courage in the fact that he will be in the

celestial kingdom someday. just like aunt debbie, who was 3 days,

and cousin jacob, stillborn, both with holes in their hearts.

life is so fragile and unexpected. but god has a plan for each of us.

and that plan is so carefully and individually crafted with love deeper

than we can even imagine. pres uchtdorf said in the last conference:

"think of the most all-consuming love you can

imagine, then multiply that by an infinite amount.

that's the measure of god's love for you."

i love that. and i love that i know that. and i love him for loving me.

i can't help but smile when i think about the lord scooping

daniel back into his arms on friday. may he live with god in peace.

but... what will i do?

s: "but… what will i do when i wake up tomorrow and realize you're really gone?"

m: "i'll wake up with the same realization. we're in this together."

s: "but… what if you forget what i look like?"

m: "i'll take the best picture of us with me."

s: "but… what will i do when i just want a hug?"

m: "i'll give you my sweatshirt to hug whenever you want."

s: "but… what will i do when i want talk to you everyday?"

m: "i'll write you letters and you will write back."

s: "but… what will i do if all the sudden i think of something i want to text you and tell you right away, or even just say i'm thinking of you?"

m: "i'll send you a postcard when i think of you and tell you everything i would've said in that text. and you will do the same."


. . . i got a postcard yesterday. . . :D

firsts.

for some reason today i was thinking all about freshman year. leaving salt lake and all i held dear to come to chilly logan for school. sometimes i don't know what got into me when deciding to move out and start a new life on my own. but i don't regret it, i've learned SO much up here and it's the greatest school in the world. perfect for me. freshman year brought so many firsts:

our first day of freedom.


first moving day.


first aggie sporting event.

first blind date.

first student ward fhe.


first posse.


first college dance.


and now, here we are, two and a half years and 20 pounds later:


freshman year feels like an eternity ago.
i only have 3 semesters left. i can't believe it.
time sure flies when you're having fun :)

{ ap-ple, sauce }

... my first attempt at
homemade applesauce
today was a smashing success...

physics sandbox

i don't know why i find this so amusing, but i do.

i am destined for second grade.

today, second grade was an adventure:

- meghan stuck an earring IN her ear. we had to tweeze it out.

5 min later she said her ear hurt. forgetting you can't use sarcasm

with kids, i said, "i wonder why?" she said, "well, miss ence, it's

because i just had an earring in there...duh..."

- jacob told me he was going to eat my children... in german...

- jethro finished his south america project. i have never seen

anyone so excited to present a power point as that boy. love.

- shaylee said i'm her "favorite person possibly in the whole utah".

- travis said people look at him funny because he's a

"clown class, or something," and because he can do accents.

- someone asked me for "hannatizer" to clean their hands.

- nayeli and i counted money forEVER. i said "3 quarters is how much?

75 cents" more than i planned today. that's just not something you wake

up and decide you're going to do.

- a little boy told me his mom put him in the trunk last night when the

cops came over because she was drunk. scary... :-/

- sloppy joes for lunch. is it frightening that i enjoy school lunch?

- jordan told me how nancy drew solved her newest mystery. i've been

getting updates all along, but she finally cracked the code!

- shaylee and jordan attacked me in the hall. i love kid hugs.

- tabitha and i spent a lovely (long) time reading about kim and vic,

competing for the longest jumper title. tabitha reminds me of hannah.

- we started "george's marvelous medicine", at request of karina. love it.

- when i told them i only had three days left in their class jayden cried.

- only 2 absent kids today, as opposed to the usual 7-9.

- in art they made "corunpocias", because it's almost thanksgiving.

i really, really like second grade.

furthermore, in college land:

- it snowed. so i wore my tennis shoes to college reading.

they make we walk faster, i'm convinced.

- learned that the walk home in the snow is loooong,

even with fast-walking tennis shoes on.

- almost stepped on lindsey's dinner coming out of reading.

- realized i need to work on my teacher handwriting.

- saw dr. hunsaker booking it to the car in a suit and briefcase.

i giggled a lot. maybe the way he was running? i don't know.

- the bus was extra awkward today. all this bad weather and

still no one has anything to talk about...

- it's 5:15 and almost pitch black outside. not ok.

- top ramen for dinner for the first time in about a year.

- saw three freshmen boys huddled under a TINY umbrella

walking to the fieldhouse. then saw them again on their way back.

i couldn't help but chuckle, they looked hilarious and made my day.

i honestly love college.

happy #21, miss 10!

today, november 11, 2009, is the lovely

annie carney's birthday! #21!

annie is of one my best friends.

love you, girlie!

tuna tuna

today before work i was sitting on a couch.

in the fine arts building. it started smelling real

strongly of tuna. i looked around. then it went away.

so i kept reading. but then it came back, stronger this

time. i looked around again. after some searching i

found a bag of opened tuna sitting behind the couch

in front of me. clearly half eaten, with a spoon? i don't

know who eats tuna alone... but i almost threw up.

it was gross. but seriously, hidden behind a couch?

who does that?

stick to it?

the status quo is

totally

uninspiring.