Deserving of a Merit Badge Because . . .

This was written by my friend writetight.

He gave it to me to keep.

Although some of what he says no longer applies

since the state of California has cut back

on teacher training , ESL nights, and math nights,

I still appreciate writetight's writing it.

I was and am honored by the kind things he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My friend Shaara deserves a Grace Under Pressure badge due to all she does in her daily life.


         Even God rested on the seventh day. Had He met my friend, Shaara , back then, heaven only knows how much more He could have accomplished.

         My Writing.com buddy, Shaara, is one of those most noble creatures -- a teacher. That title, however, does not begin to describe her contributions to the world.

         Among other things, Shaara teaches Spanish speaking children in their native tongue while they are also learning to speak, read, write and reason in English. To prepare the Spanish speaking parents of these children to be able to help their children with homework, and to be able to communicate with the children once English becomes their first language, Shaara runs the adult English as a Second Language (ESL)classes at her school, as well as conducting math and reading nights for the parents. She is also the Bilingual Coordinator for her school, meaning she has responsibility for hosting parent meetings and making sure all parents are aware of their rights to bilingual education.

         She further teaches workshops in math for her school district for the benefit of parents and other teachers; is on the District Math Task Force which coordinates math instruction for the curriculum and assessments for the district; works for the University of California at Los Angeles and Santa Barbara giving clinics, workshops, training, designing programs and doing research projects related to mathematics; is Level 3 certified to design computer instructions for classroom teachers, and hosts workshops for same.

         Shaara is a teacher support provider (mentor) for three beginning teachers and supervises, offers consult, observes and assists five beginning teachers in mathematics and is the school's math coach for the faculty, running monthly meetings and Saturday workshops. And on and on in the same vein.

         Somehow she finds the time to write, and presently has five science fiction and three children's books being shopped around by an agent. In her seven months as a member of Writing.com she has created a portfolio of nearly four hundred items, covering nearly every genre.

         She is also an avid reviewer, giving concise, honest, helpful suggestions and critiques to other members.

         Even with the busy life she leads, she is consistently upbeat and almost Pollyanna-ish in her view of the world, the people who populate it and the gifts of teaching and learning that present themselves with every new day.

         For these reasons I feel she is deserving of a Grace Under Pressure Merit Badge, even though she seems to thrive on pressure, responsibility and deadlines.

         God, indeed, rested on the seventh day.

         Shaara might consider Him a slacker.


P.S. This earned a merit badge for me thanks to his excellent writing.