“Sometimes the cookies look so good…And I want them so much. I think to myself that I would rather eat a cookie and risk your discovering the crumbs than to ask you if I can eat a cookie and risk being told ‘No’”.

This is my teen son’s explanation of why he is sneaky sometimes.

Life is full of cookies-literally and metaphorically.

I sneak in a decadent snack of chocolate milk and several oreo cookies at the end of the day, even when I know the “crumbs” will show in the form of pounds on the weight scale.

We know our students and our children may be sly as they try to get out of homework, or try to bend the rules for assignments, sports practices, or late-night texting.

Our job is to help them to understand and evaluate the cookie choices before them. How delicious is the cookie? How natural are the ingredients? Why do I want one so badly? What are the consequences of eating this cookie? Will I be able to stop at just one?

We each have had cookie dilemmas in our lives. As a junior, I was invited to a seniors-only party in high school, a “cookie” I wanted very badly and my parents consented to. Just before the party, I found out alcohol was being served. Was I certain that I would not want this cookie, too?

Today, I think there has never been a time in history when a greater and endless variety of seemingly delicious cookies have been accessible to each of us, especially those of us who are young and novices in a world full of delectable desserts.

We can keep our students and children away from the aroma of fresh baked pastries for as long as possible, we can even make sure we never have desserts at home…and we may risk finding crumbs anyway. Or we can share our favorite cookies with them as they grow up, and help them be discriminating in their own choices of delectable, desirable, and potentially diabolical, cookies.

Live. Learn. Teach. I just spent a weekend with a man who embodies this philosophy and I am humbled and inspired. James Earl Carter’s mother was asked if he was an extraordinary child during the 1940s and she answered that he was a completely ordinary boy. This boy grew up to be a remarkable dreamer, a lifelong learner and a teacher for a classroom filled with the citizens of the world.

Jimmy Carter is an inspiration in my life. He was raised on a farm and became the 39th president of the most powerful nation on Earth (from peanut farm to the nation’s capitol is quite a motivating story). Today, at the age of 86, President Carter (his title is President, not Mr., even after he leaves the office) continues to strive to meet the potential that he knows God gave him.

President Carter quips that he was forced into “involuntary retirement” in 1980 (Reagan beat him in the election). And then his extraordinary service to our country and the world really began. For the last 25+ years, the Carter Center has immunized over 35 million sufferers of guinea worm disease, malaria, trachoma, and river blindness. His health and peace initiatives benefit over 70 nations on Earth. Partnering with local communities, he serves the poorest people in the most neglected areas of the world.

Once a year in April, the Carter Center invites its supporters to join them in a briefing and a trip to Plains, Georgia, the Carters’ hometown. This is one of my favorite weekends of the year! When the Carters left the White House, they could have lived in any exciting city in our beautiful nation, and they decided to come home to Plains and live amidst their town of 635 citizens. President Carter states tongue-in-cheek, “Rosa and I haven’t gone very far in life…we still live about a couple of miles from where each of us were born.”

During the weekend, the Carters brief us on the work they are currently undertaking. President Carter and his dedicated staff deepen our understanding of the process of eradicating some of the most terrible diseases on Earth. Mrs. Rosalyn Carter shares her experiences developing policies to end the stigma surrounding mental health issues. They also host us during some of their favorite meals (with fried chicken, corn bread, macaroni and cheese, and amazing pecan pie), invite us to church where Jimmy Carter is the only president to teach Sunday School regularly while in office and even today, and even block off Main Street so they can lead us in square dancing where they out-dance every guest in attendance. This is hospitality indicative of the true spirit of the south. I leave spiritually fed and inspired to do more to serve and teach others.

Jimmy Carter travels the world; he engages in discussion with queens, sheikhs, and paupers. He has stayed in castles and straw huts. He has played with the rich and famous and he has played with dirt-covered children in African fields. He has influenced world leaders and he has served disease-ridden villagers. He teaches us the true meaning of service through his actions, his demeanor, and his sincerity.

He was a young boy who chose to dream and strive to be more than ordinary.

It’s not about politics. It’s about people. Live. Learn. And share your learning- teach others. I urge you to visit www.CarterCenter.org. The Carters are our American heroes. They are living history of the great story of the United States of America.

I am in California and I am astounded by local practices;

There are those that are passionate about learning, constantly curious about the world, and eager to take risks.  As a community, it is our responsibility to encourage the geeks!  Never role your eyes in judgment of someone who is less capable than you…and never role your eyes in judgment of someone who is truly passionate about a cause and risking nerd-hood to show it!

Today, in my graduate class, I realized there are a couple of us who are teaching geeks…we are Howard Gardner groupies and long to travel to every ASCD conference.  We read everything we can get our hands on about education, student learning, school success- you get the picture.  This is actually true of most of us in the program (who else would spend 12 hours on Friday night and Saturday discussing how to engage students and develop school improvement plans?). There are two or three in the class, however, who seem to snicker at those who are teacher geeks- and their reactions greatly impact the dynamic of the class.

Now, we know students stop taking risks, stop asking questions, and retreat into a shell when they are ridiculed for asking and wondering.  What I observe is that the same is true of adults.  Those in the class who are raving, foaming-at-the-mouth educators feel inhibited and are becoming taciturn during the discussions.  And we all lose when our community’s learning lunatics stop wanting to be loony about learning and teaching.  We all lose when our community’s thinkers are not validated for wanting to think.  We all lose when our community’s passionate find their passions dampened.

I will be more cognizant of those who care deeply about an idea or a concept or a cause.  The doctor who reads everything about medicine in the news, the neighbor who recycles and reuses milk bottles and bottle caps, the woman down the street that runs marathons four times a year.   I will validate their passion.  I will value their commitment to their vocations and their avocations.  I will support their being a geek about it.

Live It, Learn It, Teach It.   My husband says to add Love It!  But that’s not life.  We are skiing.  I am living it, I am learning it, I am not ready to teach it, and I will never really love it.

We have many experiences but to be successful, we must focus our passions.  I do not think we can love everything or do everything with a passion.  That is too exhausting, too consuming.

But we can be passionate about some things.  Even better is to be passionate about a few things.  A passion allows us to focus our energy.  

So, back to skiing.  I am awed by the sublime view from atop Snowmass Mountain.  It is truly God’s country and we are blessed to have this experience.  I am not fast, I am not competitive, I am not passionate.  And that is just fine.  My passion lies elsewhere.  Skiing is fun,  teaching is my passion.  What is yours?