"Simple Truths of Service" Movie

Click here to see it. Thanks to Carolyn for sharing!

See Joe. Now.

A week that lasted a lifetime

Hi everyone,
Yes, it was my high school where 22 football players boycotted football practice. Then Friday were told that they were no longer on the team.
I experienced many things this week, tobacco, alcohol, illegal substance, skateboard riding in the hall, locker thefts, and conferencing with students for missing too many classes (missing 17 out of 20--what is that?)
The highlight of my week was on Wednesday when I arrived home to find out that my daughter had been in an accident with my car. She was home and ok, but the car had to be towed, its fate yet to be determined. I have only had the car since 6/30/07.
May next week be better for us all.
Annette

Car gets hit

I had a story I wanted to share from the battlefield. We had a girl come in to the office after lunch on Thursday to report her car had been hit in the parking lot during lunch. We called in the officer and went to the video to see if we could find a collision. The girl's car was parked to the right of a driveway/passageway in the middle of the lot. We saw a car come screaming in there, and attempt a left turn through the driveway to make a U-turn and head out of the lot, and they were going too fast and couldn't turn quick enough and rammed the girl's car near the fender. The passenger got out of the car to check the damage of the vehicle and got back in the car and they left. And, guess what? We zoomed in and identified the passenger who checked the damage, and it was the girl whose car had been hit! Awesome!

- Shanz

Beginning Our Internship: News 8/20/07-8/30/07

I thought you'd all get a kick out of reading what we've done over the last week or so. I compiled your e-mails and put them here:

Aug 20

I thought about you as I left my house at 6:30 Friday and again this morning. I wished that I was among friends instead of facing the fear that I was going to be an assistant principal, and that they would find out that I was an imposter. By the way Brian, our office was so full of junk that it took them two days to unload it--and there is more in the cupboards.
I was handed a bunch of keys that I think weigh 2 pounds, a walkie-talkie, and a nametag. Registration started at 7:30 for those not sending theirs in. I was the greeter and line facilitator--not a bad job for someone who was lost 3 times on Friday!
It was a great day.

Annette

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 20
How was everyone's first day? Mine was swell. I really didn't do that much, but it already felt overwhelming. Anyone else feel as underqualified and inadequate as me? Oh well, good luck and take care. See ya in two weeks. – Brian

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 20
Hey all,
My first day was spent putting Faculty Handbooks together. My principal kept apologizing, butI told her I didn't mind. It is so strange to be in this position rather than putting up bulletin boards and getting ready to teach. I already have great stories to tell about my principal's first year (last year). She had the most incredible year-very difficult and not her fault at all.
I miss you all. Hope your two weeks fly by (or go slowly-as you wish). See you all on the 5th!

-Carolyn

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 20

Okay guys I am having serious treat with-drawls! I arrived this morning at 7:15am and got home 7:30pm, surprise, surprise it was back to school night. It was long but all went well.

Good luck, Brent

P.S. Jennifer can you arrange for us to send teats to each of our schools by 10:00am each day?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 20

Hello all!

It was so nice to come home and read about how many of your first days went! I worked all day Friday, as well as today. When I say "work", I mean I tried very hard to look like I knew what I was doing. I don't think I succeeded very well!

I worked the football game on Friday night. Cottonwood played Brighton. I, of course, was assigned to the field behind the Cottonwood team. It was fun to be down on the field and Cottonwood's players, cheerleaders, and drill team couldn't have been nicer. My daughter goes to Brighton so I felt like a bit of a turncoat, though.

Today for our opening faculty meeting, they had a speaker come in for a couple of hours and gave an uplifting message, sort of like Cliff would, except it was without any "Groovy, Baby," references.

Afterward, the faculty loaded onto two school buses and we took a tour of the school boundaries so that the faculty could see firsthand how diverse the population is that attends Cottonwood.

After our bus tour (1 hour!), we all went to Golden Corral for lunch, compliments of the school! All in all, a great day, even though I still don't have a clue what I'm doing!

Let's continue to keep each other informed! I miss everyone and am excited to hear firsthand how everyone is doing.

Love,
Terri

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 21
Hey everyone,
It was good to hear from some of you. Today was the first day of class at our school. Between standing hall duty before school, after school, both lunches and during class breaks, it didn't leave much time left. It felt a little strange not having to get my lessons together and teach. But all in all, it's going pretty well as I try to get to know everyone. The best part was that I didn't have to snarf down lunch in 20 minutes, the administrators obviously take a little more time.
Well, good luck to all.
- Roger

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 21
Dear lil lambkin,
When you have started your internship, please drop me a quick e-mail message telling me how all is going. I would like to know about your start and your first few days.
See you soon.
Joe

………

Dear Joe,

My start was great. I met somebody famous: http://byulpp22.blogspot.com/2007/08/first-day-of-interning-i-met-someone.html

Would you mind reminding our mentors that we don't officially start until September 5? I would love a little break with my family, but don't want to appear the lazy slacker.

Thanks for all you do,
Tim

………

Timmy

Two things: No surprise that you made a fool of yourself with that Jeramiah dude and it is too late to appear less than a lazy slacker. Hope the rest of the year goes better.

Joe Matthews
306 MCKB
McKay School of Education
Educational Leadership and Foundations
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602

Telephone 801-422-6388

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 22

Hey Homies, I miss you all like the deserts miss the rain.

Does anyone have a list of our school assignments for the year? I'm thinking I should contact my first school, but I can't remember which one it is. I don't want to call my second or third assigned school, mistakenly assuming they're my first and talking to them as if they were. That would probably make me look pretty stupid. So if you have that info., and could forward it to me, I'd appreciate it.

All my love,

Aaron

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 27

LPP!

Though I was not home, Carolyn dropped off the gift from LPP for my family. THANK YOU! It means so much to me that you would all be so thoughtful. You guys are the best.

Life is fun at Hunter. Today is the first day with kids, and it’s been hallway monitoring and getting kids to class and all that fun stuff.

Anyway, we've had two safe-school violations today, lots of dress code violations, and other fun watch-dog-type-stuff.

Remember to drop everyone a line when you have a chance; the connection means the world to me (and I believe everyone else).

Christian Rauch

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 29

Hi Everybody,

We need some stories, or some "firsts" of things that are happening at your schools!

I think I may have a first - Second day of school, I end up with a young man in handcuffs in my office. Poor kid was written up for illegal substance abuse, and criminal mischief and had his permit to attend our school revoked.

Any other "firsts" out there and is mine a first?

Hope all is going well, I love my internship and the people I'm working with. Enjoy the holiday, the real work is about to begin.

Barb

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 30

Dear cohort friends,
While peeking longingly in teachers' classrooms on the first day, I did have the grand experience of feeling the power of a walkie talkie and getting kids to class. But once again, in this small task, I felt the opportunity to touch kids' lives. I saw a sad looking little Hispanic girl sitting on a bench in the hallway about five minutes after class had started. I just went over and sat beside her and asked where she thought she should be. She started to tear up and said, "I am just so tired. I had a baby six days ago and gave him up for adoption." Taken back, I expressed my concern for her and my gratitude for her being at school. I then asked her if I could just walk with her to class if we took it slow. She obliged and as I patted her shoulder and sent her in, I realized that opportunities to touch lives often come when we least expect them.

I missed one day for my husband's surgery - next day –got a phone all from a desperate daughter in New York who lost her wallet. No money and no ID and alone! Later that night police officer came to her dorm and said he wanted to meet the luckiest girl in New York City - someone had turned in her wallet with all contents intact!

With this frantic life, I am still trying to be a good intern. Pleasant Grove is in the midst of construction chaos and handling it all with such administrative class. The construction crew hit a gas line and we had an all school evacuation on Tuesday. With the whole student body outside, black clouds loomed in and started a downpour.

I then got to go meet with Tommy and other interns and assistant principals at a district meeting. Having been through a downpour, I was not looking my best! I was put over the task of orchestrating the emotional move of six teachers to new classrooms because of the district's need for two of our portables which caused a domino effect. Because I could relate to the trauma of having to move the classroom so painstakingly prepared on the second day of school, this was a good job for me. I thought it would be nice to bring them boxes, so I went on an early morning Wal-Mart run and loaded up my husband's pick-up. I am not comfortable driving that beast anyway, so when I saw the flashing lights behind me on the freeway . . . What a nice police officer. He said instead of fining me $500 for littering boxes, he was going to help me tie them down. I am now creating lists of kids who need to retake the UBSCT with accommodations and organizing the hiring of a new office secretary - fun.

Hope all is well in the internship world with all of you. The staff at PG is great!

Good luck, Brenda

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 30

Rachel and I were both at an Alpine District AYP meeting today and heard the words "confidence interval." I was so proud that I knew what they were talking about! Okay - Rachel knew and I barely knew - but still.

Brenda

----------------------------------------------------------------

Aug 30

Hi Everyone,

I've also had an eventful week! I'm loving the high school experience. There's never a dull moment here. I've also been in on a drug bust, pregnant teen crisis, bullying, and lots of sluffing.
But what I'm really good at is picking up garbage in the halls after lunch. I've got that assignment down perfectly!

Let's continue to exchange stories until we can all talk in person!

Love,
Terri

First day of interning: I met someone famous

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Today was the first day of my first internship at Brighton High School. Yes, probably just like you, my principal gave me a ton of new assignments. Yada yada yada; bla bla bla.

BUT! Did you get to meet a celebrity on your first day? I did.

His name is Stan Ellsworth, and he played Jeremiah Johnson in the movie Church Ball. I got to help him register his daughter. And he looks (and acts) exactly how is in the movie. Dude, it was awesome!!!

I went up to him and, without even introducing myself, said, “I just want you to know that I loved that movie you were in!” I pretty much made a fool of myself, but who cares. He was very nice about it all.

(Tim)

Recent pics

Treat Schedule, September to February

Leadership Scriptures

These are the scriptures that our cohort submitted for their leadership qualities:

D&C 112:10:
Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.

This one has meaning to me because I think one of the most important leadership qualities a leader needs to possess is humility. Also the promise of the lord of leading the humble by the hand and giving answers to prayer has been important to me in my life.

(submitted by Nick)

=======================================

DC 121: 39, 41-46:
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

(submitted by Courtney)

=======================================

"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom."

- Spencer W. Kimball, "Small Acts of Service" in the December 1974 Ensign

(submitted by Jodi)

=======================================

All of Alma chapter 17 (This is where Ammon goes to the land of Ishmael and becomes the servant of King Lamoni. Ammon eventually saves the king’s flocks and slays his enemies at the waters of Sebus.)

Before Ammon preached the gospel to the Lamanites, he first chose to serve them. Once they knew that he cared for them, and that he was a man of integrity and loyalty, they were willing to hear and follow his words. His actions paved the way. This is true servant leadership.

(submitted by Tim)

Daniels Summit

The group poses as Matt forlornly ponders his existence...

Wizard staff in hand, Brian nonchalantly leads the way.

"Where the #@*& are we?"

???

Bows and Axes (Memo to myself)

I remember as a missionary listening to tapes of Truman Madsen (Rachel's grandpa) as he discoursed on the life of Joseph Smith. One of the nuggets that remained with me to this day was the prophet explaining how one must maintain balance in life from the pressures that sometimes seem to overwhelm. He said, essentially, that your bow needs to be unstrung from time to time, otherwise it loses its elasticity. In our case, the bow is our schoolwork. We need to take breaks at times.

Another cool analogy I found on the Internet:

Once there were twin brothers. They were tall, strapping lads who had both become lumberjacks at the same time. One year they took part in a logging competition together. Each was strong and beat everyone they came up against, until they reached the final where they met each other.

They seem evenly matched. The crowd urges them on as they both started cutting timber at a strong rate of knots. After an hour one of the brothers stops for a few minutes. Let's call him the "idle chopper". He soon resumes work but every hour he keeps stopping.

Eventually the competition finishes and it's immediately obvious that the idle chopper cut down significantly more wood than his brother. His brother shakes his hand to congratulate him and asks, "How on earth did you cut twice as much wood as me despite stopping so frequently?"

The idle chopper smiles and says "I wasn't really resting. I was sharpening my axe so my cuts went deeper faster than yours with your blunt axe."

The "idle chopper" was really the "smart chopper" because he'd taken to heart what President Abraham Lincoln had said. Abraham Lincoln said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."

Clearly the LPP is very stressful; remember to take time to renew yourself so that you mind is refreshed and your focus acute. You'll learn better and get more accomplished.

- Tim

The Mojo-nator

Mr. Lennon

The Birthday List

Bert 11-Jan Brian 26-Jan Matt 7-Apr Annette 24-Apr Jennifer 25-Apr Terri 13-May Brent 10-Jul Aaron 22-Jul Christian 28-Jul Jodi 6-Aug Christine 25-Aug Rachel 30-Aug Barbara 25-Sep Tom 27-Sep Roger 1-Oct Michelle 6-Nov Carolyn 12-Nov Shanz 12-Nov Andy 1-Dec Tim 8-Dec Brenda 27-Dec

Courtney at his best

Don't ask me how I got a hold of this highly confidential photo of Courtney. :)

Enjoy,
Tim

Plato, Socrates and Monty Python

After reading the first three books of Plato’s Republic, I am left completely confused and bewildered at Socrates’ reasoning. He uses logical questioning to the point of nausea. No wonder he was executed—he drove everyone crazy! He starts out in Book I questioning wealth and in a few short paragraphs he makes sense of it. Those who make money as apposed to those who inherit it are likely to love their money as parents would love their children. The greatest blessing of money is piece of mind in knowing that all debts have been paid when one dies. But then Socrates begins questioning justice and throughout the next nine pages he twists and turns the answers and questions back to where he started in the first place. At the end of Book I Socrates stated that:

[T]he result of the whole discussion has been that I know nothing at all. For I know not what justice is, and therefore I am not likely to know whether it is or is not a virtue, nor can I say whether the just man is happy or unhappy. (Plato, pp. 11)

So Socrates, after all the logical questioning did not arrive at an answer that was meaningful.
That type of logic is very reminiscent of the witch burning sketch in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The villagers brought a woman, dressed as a witch, to the town square. It was discovered that they had dressed her that way and put on a fake nose, but they insisted she was still a witch because she had a wart. The dialogue follows:

Sir Bedevere: There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.

Peasant 1: Are there? Oh well, tell us.

Sir Bedevere: Tell me. What do you do with witches?

Peasant 1: Burn them.

Sir Bedevere: And what do you burn, apart from witches?

Peasant 1: More witches.

Peasant 2: Wood.

Sir Bedevere: Good. Now, why do witches burn?

Peasant 3: ...because they're made of... wood?

Sir Bedevere: Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of wood?

Peasant 1: Build a bridge out of her.

Sir Bedevere: But can you not also build bridges out of stone?

Peasant 1: Oh yeah.

Sir Bedevere: Does wood sink in water?

Peasant 1: No, no, it floats! It floats! Throw her into the pond!

Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water?

Peasant 1: Bread.

Peasant 2: Apples.

Peasant 3: Very small rocks.

Peasant 1: Cider.

Peasant 2: Gravy.

Peasant 3: Cherries.

Peasant 1: Mud.

Peasant 2: Churches.

Peasant 3: Lead! Lead!

King Arthur: A Duck.

Sir Bedevere: ...Exactly. So, logically...

Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood.

Sir Bedevere: And therefore...

Peasant 2: ...A witch.

So it really didn’t matter if the woman was a witch or not, the villagers wanted to see her burn. Nor did it matter that Socrates questioned justice for nine pages in Plato’s Republic, because, in the end, none of the characters new any more about justice than what they had started with in the first place! I only see Socrates skating around the issues with more questions, and at the same time being condescending to those with whom he speaks. As I read Plato more thoroughly, I hope to gain a better understanding of Socrates and his philosophy.


- Bert Steele

Meet Julie Hite

Click here to read about her.

Enjoy,
Tim

Meet Buddy Richards

Say hello to Buddy Richards.

Enjoy,
Tim

Meet Cliff Mayes

Here's Cliff's profile.

Enjoy,
Tim

Meet Sterling Hilton

Here's our stats professor's profile. He's the one on the right.

Enjoy,
Tim

Jesus, The Perfect Leader

Here's the article Courtney wanted us to read for the leadership 600 class.

Take care,
Tim

Writing Checklist

Writing Checklist

1. Follow the writing process
2. Name, date, assignment upper right
3. Use APA style
4. Introduction needs to have a thesis underlined, generally at the end of the paragraph
5. Each main point begins with a topic sentence
6. In the conclusion: restate the thesis
7. Times font
8. 12 point size
9. 1” margins
10. Run spell check
11. Run grammar check
12. No contractions
13. Replace passive (forms of be) with active verbs
14. Use specific verbs
15. Limit adverbs and adjectives
16. If it’s a letter: center it from top to bottom
17. Get proofreaders
18. Reference all sources (use Endnote)

Hot Tips for Administrators

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dmm35pt_0hj2wsc&invite=db3c7dp

Freedom Forum resources

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=13087

Research Helps

The word of the day is "impinge." (Thank you, Brian Fauver.)

Research helps:

1) To access Lexis Nexis, go to Route Y and log in. Click on "Search BYU" and type in Lexis Nexis. Click on the first hit (HBLL Accounting Page). About half way down the screen, click on "Lexis Nexis Academic" and you're in.

2) Google Scholar did NOT help me much. How about you?

3) I found www.edweek.org useful.

4) If you're doing anything Brown v. Board of ed, click this.

5) If your topic deals anything with the First Amendment, click this (Freedom Forum).

6) This is the official site of the U.S. Supreme Court. It has a place where you can search for past cases.

7) ASCD Smart briefs, Questia, and Wilson Law are all useless unless you have an account, which we don't.

Good luck,
Tim

Updated Treat Schedule

Mon, June 25 Brent
Tues, June 26 Brian
Wed, June 27 Matt
Thur, June 28 Annette
Mon, July 2 Rachel
Tues, July 3 Jennifer
Thur, July 5 Christian
Mon, July 9 Carolyn
Tues, July 10 Michelle
Wed, July 11 Christine
Thur, July 12 Barbara
Mon, July 16 Jodi
Tues, July 17 Shanz
Wed, July 18 Aaron
Thur, July 19 Andy
Mon, July 23 Tim
Wed, July 25- Thur, July 26 XXX
Mon, July 30 Tom
Tues, July 31 Roger
Wed, Aug 1 Bert
Thur, Aug 2 Terri
Mon, Aug 6 Brenda
Sign below if you can bring twice…..
Tues, Aug 7 Jennifer
Wed, Aug 8 Barbara
Thur, Aug 9 Rachel
Mon, Aug 13 Michelle
Tues, Aug 14 Annette
Wed, Aug 15 Carolyn
Thur, Aug 16 Brenda

Meet our Law Professor...

Scott Ferrin! (click on his name, eh)

Say wha?

Just what exactly is the difference between an argument paper and a persuasive paper?

- Tim (and no, that is not my face)

How do you create a header?

You know the header we're supposed to have on each page of our essays (but the first)? How do you create it?

- Tim

American Public School Law textbook

I found out that the 6th edition means it was published in 2004 or after, so don't buy one before that year. Expensive book!

- Tim

Treat Schedule - Spring 2007

Tuesday, May 8 Jennifer and Annette
Thursday, May 10 Carolyn and Roger
Tuesday, May 15 Matt and Rachel
Thursday, May 17 Aaron and Barbara
Tuesday, May 22 Tom
Thursday, May 24 Bert Steele
Tuesday, May 29 Christian and Andy
Thursday, May 31 Jennifer
Tuesday, June 5 Brenda
Thursday, June 7 Brian
Tuesday, June 12 Jodi and Terri
Thursday, June 14 Christine and Shanz
Tuesday, June 19 Tim and Brent

Some useful writing web sites

Greetings, fellow Zoobies.

I have found the following sites very useful in writing:

Dictionary.com

Thesaurus.com

Etymonline.com - This is a site that explains the origin of words, what language(s) they came from, when, how they evolved, etc. Very cool!

Happy writing!

- Tim

I love the idea of a blog! Does anyone know what kind of proof of insurance is needed? An insurance card copy sent via fax? To whom?

Questions about getting ready for school

There is so much to do before for school!

I found out that we don't need to prove that we have health insurance for spring semester, because we are registered for less than 4.5 credit hours.

However, I spoke with a lady from the health insurance office (#422-7737), and she told me that we do need to provide proof of health insurance for summer ASAP (through Route Y); otherwise you have to go in personally to get that cleared up.

For those of you without a sabbatical, what are you doing for insurance in the fall? I see our options as follows:
1) BYU health insurance
2) CHIP
3) PCN
4) Medicaid
Does anybody have any suggestions for health insurance?

We're also looking to get a loan through Jordan Credit Union. What else is out there? Does anyone else know of a bank with a good interest rate?

Call me (801-563-9876) or post a blog here!

Thanks,
Tim

From Carolyn B.

What a great idea, Tim. We need a way to communicate easily and this is just the ticket. I'm excited to get going. I have purchased all my books, got a fair price, but in talking to Jennifer Fisher, she is the expert. She got a great deal on all her books. I got all three "optional" books so if anyone wants to borrow them, feel free. Thanks again Tim!

Blog #1

Welcome to the official (?) BYU LPP blog for cohort #22! 22 people in the 22nd cohort --- there must be some destiny involved. Anyway, as we are about to start this intense journey together, I thought it would be a great idea for all of us to have the opportunity to have a common cyber-meeting space, namely, this blog! I would like all of us to consider this blog OURS, and feel free to post as often as we'd like. Here we can post news, suggestions, frustrations, tips, ideas, updates, homework help, reminders, carpooling info, announcements, or whatever else deals with our program.

I would like to suggest a few guidelines/rules for this blog:
(1) You must include your name whenever you create a posting.
(2) No fair editing what someone else has posted.
(3) Keep it clean, fun, and friendly. :)

Have you bought your textbooks yet? I found the following sites to be very useful: Half, AbeBooks, Amazon, and BigWords. I bought all my books online this time, and I felt that I got pretty good prices. Have any of you bought your textbooks at the BYU Bookstore, and if so, are their price competitive?

To those of you who live north of Utah Valley: Would any of you be interested in carpooling? Let's do it and save some money.

I am so excited to get to know all of you better. I had a wonderful time at our orientation dinner, and look forward to working with all of you! I also look forward to reading your posts. Start posting!

- Tim Brooks