December 2020
Volume XVII Issue XII
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Levity with Brevity
Part I
Whenever I come across a witty quote or something that makes me smile and even laugh out loud, I jot it down. For example, Teacher Memes are always a big hit with me. When I have gathered an assortment of witticisms and quotes that I feel might cause a moment of relaxation (and distraction) from the difficult tasks educators are facing, I delight in sharing my discoveries with you.
It turns out that my belief in the power of laughter is supported by research from the Mayo Clinic. The clinic’s Healthy Lifestyle website recently posted a segment titled “Stress Relief from Laughter? It’s No Joke.” The article begins, “When it comes to relieving stress, more giggles and guffaws are just what the doctor ordered.”
Important insights to be gained from the article include:
- A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body.
- Laughter can enhance your in-take of oxygen, stimulate your heart, lungs, and muscles, and increase endorphins that are released in your brain.
- A good laugh fires up and then cools down your stress responses; it also soothes tension. Long-term effects of laughter include improving your immune system, relieving pain, increasing personal satisfaction, and improving your mood.
The article concludes by saying, “Go ahead and give it a try. Turn the corners of your mouth up into a smile and then give a laugh, even if it feels a little forced. Once you’ve had your chuckle, take stock of how you’re feeling. Are your muscles a little less tense? Do you feel more relaxed or buoyant? That’s the natural wonder of laughing at work.”
“I wanna be 14 again and ruin my life differently. I have new ideas.”
“If you see me talking to myself, I’m having a staff meeting.”
“So, it turns out that being an adult is mostly Googling how to do stuff.”
“I don’t always go the extra mile, but when I do it’s because I missed my exit.”
“Getting older is just one body part after another saying ‘Ha-Ha, you think that’s bad’? “Watch this.’”
“I don’t need any support, I can do this alone” -said no teacher ever.”
“Check on our teacher friends. They probably had 6 pretzel sticks, an Atkins shake, and a Pepsi for breakfast and lunch.”
“Virtually anything is possible” – Sign on a school message board
“Age is just a number, yeah…. and jail is just a room.”
“Most people don’t think I’m as old as I am until they hear me stand up.”
“’I really want to screw up today’ – said no student ever.”
“Shout out to old people for graduating high school without Google.”
“Did you put white highlights in your hair?”
Teacher ordering at McDonald’s”
Teacher: A vodka, please
McD: Sir, This is McDonald’s
Teacher: Ok, a McVodka, please and super size it.
“I see my students for who they are, but also who they can be.”
– Teacher Erin Ellicott
“You are perfectly cast in your life. I can’t imagine anyone but you as the role. Go play.”
– Lin Manuel Miranda
“Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.”
– Oscar Wilde
“Ultimately, what I like most is being able to be a positive influence on young people. It starts and ends there.”
– Taylor Gaddy, instructional assistant
“We know that children’s academic ability is strongly influenced by how they perceive themselves.”
“If you rearrange the letters in ‘Depression,’ you’ll get ‘I pressed on.” Your current situation is not your final destination.”
“Don’t ever hear in your own head, ‘Who am I to say something?” You are a human being. You are a person. You can 100 percent change the world…It’s the little things that really count. Be brave.”
– Emma Watson
“The buttons on my jeans have started social distancing from each other.”
“They said a mask and gloves were enough to go to the grocery store. They lied. Everybody else had clothes on.”
‘I never thought the comment, ‘I wouldn’t touch her/him with a 6 foot pole’ would become a national policy, but here we are.”
“If liar’s pants really did catch on fire, the news would be a lot more fun.”
“Being quarantined with a talkative child is like having an insane parrot superglued to your shoulder.”
“All of the kids who’ve been trained in Common Core math are about to learn the technique called ‘Carry the one’ from their new homeschool teacher.”
“During early November a three-year-old asked her mother if we were going to watch something else on the TV other than the “map show.”
“Do not let them take your temperature going into a store! It’s a scam! They’re erasing your memory. I went for bread and eggs and came home with ice cream and Snickers.”
“I hate it when I’m singing a song and the artist gets the words wrong.”
“I can’t believe people’s survival instincts take them to grab toilet paper.”
“One does not simply tell kindergarten students to log in.”
– Erintegration
“Sometimes you just look in the mirror and tell yourself: ‘You’re one badass educational ninja.”
– Bored Teachers
“Please make tacos and tequila the cure for Coronavirus.”
– Will Farrell
“Chocolate comes from cocoa which comes out of a tree. That makes it a plant. Therefore, chocolate counts as salad. The End.”
‘Being an adult is rushing to use a coupon because it is about to expire. Yet, I don’t need to spend money and buy a bird house with a garage door, but I can save 15%.”
– Mike Wells
“Remember last year when the worst thing was the “Game of Thrones” finale.”
– Andrew Schiavone
“What a week this year has been.”
“’I love having three degrees in education and having PowerPoint slides read to me one-by-one during professional development sessions.’ – said no teacher ever!”
– Bored Teachers
I hope that you enjoyed the 40 witty quips and inspirational quotes that I included in this month’s issue of Just for the ASKing! titled “Levity with Brevity.” Since “laughter is the best medicine” you owed it to yourself to pause and read them.
Please consider this collection of quips and quotes as my holiday gift to you.
Happy Holidays,
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Distance Learning Collection
The Just ASK Team has written new articles and updated some older ones as 2.0 versions to support our many colleagues who are tasked during the 2020-2021 school year with creating positive and productive learning experiences from a distance and/or in hybrid environments that are ever evolving. We will continue to add to this collection and hope that you find it useful in your challenging work. Please feel free to share with colleagues near and far, and do be sure to check back often to access newly posted articles.
Distance Learning Collection
Table of Contents
NEW! We Must Accelerate Rather Than Remediate In All Settings –
Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person (Marcia Baldanza)
Ten Tips for Enhancing Distance Learning (Paula Rutherford)
Lessons We’ve Learned (Marcia Baldanza)
Parents as Partners 2.0 (Bruce Oliver)
Maximizing Distance Learning (Marcia Baldanza)
The Writer’s Notebook – A High Leverage Practice for Uncertain Times (Heather Clayton)
Messages from the Children (Bruce Oliver)
Empathy in the Time of Coronavirus (Marcia Baldanza)
Tips for Promoting Student Engagement During Online Sessions
(Heather Clayton)
What Do We Do Now? (The Just ASK Team)
Tips for Recording and Using Instructional Videos (Heather Clayton)
Stop… in the Name of Learning 2.0 – 18 Practices to Rethink
(Bruce Oliver)
Tools for Leading High Functioning Teams (Marcia Baldanza)
Mentoring From Near and Afar (Paula Rutherford)
To access an article, click on the title.
© 2020 Just ASK Publications & Professional Development
Permission is granted for reprinting and distribution of this newsletter for non-commercial use only. Please include the following citation on all copies:
Oliver, Bruce. “Levity with Brevity.” Just for the ASKing! December 2020. Reproduced with permission of Just ASK Publications & Professional Development.
