What Targets of Bullies Need to Know

All of us must be sure that when we are working with a student who is the target of a bully that they know everything that is listed in this collage of words.  Not sure what it says?  Join us at Bully Prevention Partners for the complete list and more information on what parents, teachers and students can do to create the culture of peace in the classroom.

 

Backpack Drive by the Junior League of Annapolis at Punks Grill Tonight

Balanced Life Skills is pleased to support the Junior League in this effort to provide backpacks for children in our community.  Join us on Monday as we support the Junior League of Annapolis‘ Book Bag Drive.

** All day long — Bring in a new book bag and get 20% off your meal **Balanced Life Skills supports back pack drive

This is the 18th year that JLA will provide 1000 kids in the Annapolis Area with their school supplies for the year. The book bags will be given to students at Georgetown East Elementary, Germantown Elementary, Tyler Heights Elementary and Eastport Elementary School.

Thanks to Punks Grill for hosting this event.

Sensei Keiko Fukuda is Awarded her 10th Dan

She is 98 years old.  There are only 3 persons in the world to this date awarded their 10th Dan in Judo.  At this moment there is a fourth and a woman.  She is Sensei Keiko Fukuda.  An amazing teacher with dedication to her art and her vision, setting the example for all others that would be a teacher of martial arts.  A great example to young people of the world, to set a goal and to work at it with dedication.

There is a filmmaker in San Francisco that has been working on a documentary about her life .  I have personally supported this work and look forward to the completion of the documentary.  In a post made a while back we showed a film clip about her life.  You may want to revisit that video here.   Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful

Every student of the martial arts, no matter your style, should look at her example.

Gulongzhong Trip – Rebuffed by Myth and History

Lately everyone here has been feeling a bit worn down. It has been a long, hot, difficult summer of training. The end, though in sight, still seems dauntingly distant.

So, as a rare treat, Master canceled Wednesday performance and took a group of us to a scenic spot in nearby Xiangyang, a park called Gulongzhong. Gulongzhong is on the map because it was the home, 1900 years ago, of a man who 14th century literature would place right in the heart of the Chinese imagination, a man named Zhugeliang.

Personally, this was an exciting trip for me because I used to live across the street from Gulongzhong, on the campus of Xiangfan University, where I taught English for a year in 2008-2009. I spent a fair amount of time wandering the beautiful grounds of the park, but I never felt that I really knew much about Zhugeliang and the history of the place. I thought that, as well as a chance to visit my old stomping grounds, this trip might teach me some of the history I was missing.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t really the case. We had an endearingly struggling tour guide who managed to translate a few bits of information for us, but these were merely recitations of fairly common knowledge I had picked up just living nearby. Zhugeliang lived on the mountain for 10 years, from the age of 17 through 27. He studied philosophy and military strategy, invented practical devices such as an improved flour mill, and generally stayed in quiet seclusion. His meditations ended when Liu Bei, the leader of one of the three groups consolidating power after the fall of the Han Dynasty, approached him and requested his help. Twice Liu Bei asked, and twice Zhugeliang declined, but on the third invitation, Zhugeliang accepted and took his place in history as the wisest man to shape the Three Kingdoms Period of Chinese history.

Trying to penetrate past this superficial layer of culture has been daunting for me on many subjects, not just Zhugeliang. When I ask friends, or that tour guide, to explain his significance, there seems to be a disconnect in the conversation. Why is he important, why do you like him? Well, he…(see above). Yes, but can you tell me more? Why was he considered so wise? Such a great man? Here the conversation stalls. It is as if his significance is self-evident to everyone but me. I can sense that he resonates deeply in my Chinese friends, but though I agree he is a cool guy, I can’t summon the same emotional reaction I see in them.

My only theory as to why I have this difficulty is that Zhugeliang, even his whole era, exists in the Chinese imagination as a complex of myth, history, cultural and national identity, and modern pop culture. Much of his story comes not from historical record but from a historical novel written more than 1000 years after his death. But this story has been retold so often, most recently in film and television, that legend and fact have blended to make their subjects into cultural giants. As an outsider, someone who has only paddled in the shallows of the deep sea of Chinese culture (And, admittedly, has not read even a translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Zhugeliang’s story might never resonate with me. I imagine it might be like trying to explain George Washington or Abraham Lincoln to a Chinese person. You can tell the story, but the way these men and their stories thread their way through our cultural and national identity, tied into our very system of values, is difficult for a cultural outsider to ever grasp.

Office Depot, Target and You Can Help Students Get The School Year Started With Confidence

Office Depot and Target are two companies among many that give donations of backpacks and school supplies to children as they start the new school year.

Through the award-winning National Backpack Program, which is now in its 11th year, the Office Depot Foundation will help deserving children prepare for school by donating 350,000 sackpacks across the United States and internationally. The newly designed sackpacks, which were specially created for the Foundation, reflect and respond to changes in the ways that children are taking their materials to school.

In many communities, Target stores will team up with local charities to provide new clothes and school supplies to children as they get ready for the school year.

Why is this so important?  It is amazing the difference it can make on the outlook of a child if they are able to have the proper school supplies and a few new things – for the start of their new school year.  It can get them off on the right foot and make them feel a bit more confident.

We have that opportunity also in our community, by either putting together a backpack with school supplies for a specific child or providing just $50 to AACPS with the note (backpack project).  Imagine the look in the eyes of a young child as they have brand new supplies like everyone else as they go off to school.   You may choose to put a brief note of encouragement in the bag too. (you will not find this on aacps website.  It is run by individuals in the administration of the school system, and I am fortunate enough to have a contact that will accept our donations too!)

Last year one simple note of encouragement “You are going to have a great year”, was saved by the student for the entire year in his desk.  He was motivated by that note all year long.  If you are interested in helping, just let me know and I will be happy to tell you how you can do so.  Time is of the essence.