Posted by admin on December 30, 2010 under Active Organizations, Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan, Web links | 
At a plain, black well-pump in the small southern town of Tuscumbia, Alabama, one of the world’s great miracles took place. It began one bright, spring day in 1887. Puffy white clouds floated overhead on a background of blue, while birds fluttered through oaks and maples and flowers burst forth from the fertile soil in an array of colors—all unheard and unseen by a pretty girl of seven.
Standing at the totally blind and deaf Helen Keller’s side was a young woman, Anne Sullivan. Miss Sullivan was steadily pumping cool water into one of the girl’s hands while repeatedly tapping out an alphabet code of five letters in the other—first slowly, then rapidly. The scene was repeated again and again as young Helen painstakingly struggled to break her world of silence.
Suddenly the signals crossed Helen’s consciousness with a meaning. She knew that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the cool something flowing over her hand. Darkness began to melt from her mind like so much ice left out on the sunny March day. By nightfall, Helen had learned 30 words.
Since 1954 Helen Keller’s birthplace has been a permanent shrine to the “miracle” that occurred in a blind and deaf seven-year old girl’s life. At that time Ivy Green was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
http://www.helenkellerbirthplace.org/
Posted by admin on under Fun Facts, Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan Fun Facts |
Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to earn a college degree. She graduated from Radcliffe College, with honors, in 1904.
More… http://www.afb.org/braillebug/hkfacts.asp
Posted by admin on under Active Organizations, Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan Resources, Web links |
Here is a fun web page for kids to explore more about Helen Keller – from the American Foundation for the Blind.
http://www.afb.org/braillebug/hkmuseum.asp
Posted by admin on under Albert Einstein Quotes, Web links |
1. Devote Your Life to a Cause
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.”
2. Great People Will Always Encounter Great Opposition
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
3. Make a Decision to See the World as Friendly
“The most important decision we ever make is whether we believe we live in a friendly universe or a hostile universe.”
4. Character Trumps Intellect
“Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.”
5. Never Ever Stop Learning
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
6. Change the Way You Think
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
7. Serve the World
“The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule. The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.”
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
(Extracted from http://www.dumblittleman.com/2010/03/amazing-life-lessons-you-can-learn-from.html – read the original article for insightful comments on each lesson!)
also titled: “Amazing Life Lessons You Can Learn From Albert Einstein: Part Deux”
Posted by admin on under Albert Einstein Quotes, Quotes, Web links |
1. Follow Your Curiosity
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
2. Perseverance is Priceless
“It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
3. Focus on the Present
“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”
4. The Imagination is Powerful
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
5. Make Mistakes
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
6. Live in the Moment
“I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.”
7. Create Value
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
8. Don’t Expect Different Results
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
9. Knowledge Comes From Experience
“Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”
10. Learn the Rules and Then Play Better
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”
(Extracted from: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2010/03/10-amazing-lessons-albert-einstein.html – read the original article for insightful comments on each lesson!)
Posted by admin on under Jonas Salk Quotes, Quotes |
“Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next.”— Jonas Salk
Posted by admin on under Elizabeth Blackwell Resources, Videos, Web links |
Well this certainly is fun. Hope you enjoy this video tribute to Elizabeth Blackwell and her quest to be a doctor!
“Doctor” by Jonathan Sprout
http://www.youtube.com/jonsprout36#p/u/0/tC0Bv2K9Nto
Oh yeah, be sure to watch more of Mr. Sprout’s work on his YouTube channel.
Or , you can find other videos about Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, including this one!
Posted by admin on under Fun Facts, George Washington Fun Facts |
They call it “the soup that won the war.”
That’s because legend has it that on Dec. 29, 1777, with the Continental Army exhausted and hungry from fighting through an exceptionally harsh winter at Valley Forge, Gen. George Washington turned to his army’s chef, Christopher Ludwick, for a meal to boost morale and warm the troops.
Posted by admin on under Books, Milton Hershey Resources, Web links |
This little book recounts the failures and remarkable success of Milton Hershey and is intended to help business people build character and leadership qualities.
Read a complete book review here.
The 7 rules are:
- Thinking Outside the Box
- Perseverance
- Hard Work
- Take Risks
- Take Care of Your Workers
- Give to Live
- Your Life is Your Legacy
Posted by admin on under Books |
The Family Virtues Guide: Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves by Linda Kavelin Popov (Author), Dan Popov (Author), John Kavelin (Author)
When you witness a small child haul off and smack another child unprovoked, the theory of innate morality seems to lose all validity. Moral education has always been the domain of religion, and Linda Kavelin Popov has culled 52 universal virtues from the world’s religions, one for each week of the year. The resulting Family Values Guide is a workbook for the moral education of children that transcends differences of religion or culture. Each week, the book suggests, a family should gather to discuss a different virtue from the book, such as love, generosity, or patience, and the parents then emphasize the virtue for the following days, capitalizing on appropriate moments for education. Contrary to some pop psychology authors, Popov insists that reasonable boundaries be established and maintained for children and that appropriate punishment be meted out when boundaries are crossed. Psychotherapist and president of the Family Values Project, Popov sees the language of values as the key to recognizing their importance in social interaction, and encourages parents to add other values to their own list.
