Interesting Times!: 28/12/2008

Friday, 2 January 2009

I was personally delighted to hear that Paul Edwards had been awarded a Knighthood in the New Year Honours along with Ralph Tabberer, Director General for Schools at the DCSF and my friend Professor Tim Brighouse...

Paul Edwards has achieved great things here in Leeds and has been a brilliant ambassador for the City. Under Paul's leadership, Garforth Community College has become one of the most successful secondary schools in the country and the 'Schools Partnership Trust' has developed as an innovative and creative local approach to service delivery and the outreach of professional support and services to schools in Leeds. Paul is a 'National Leader of Learning' who has also worked locally, regionally and nationally to support the successful development of the Government's Academies Programme.

Paul Edwards is a highly talented leader, an innovative and creative thinker and a real asset to Garforth and Leeds. I know that the whole educational community here in Leeds will join me in congratulating him on achieving this well deserved honour.
Chris

Thursday, 1 January 2009

It was great to hear the news about Paul Edwards Knighthood but unless I am mistaken most of us will miss out on life's really big and important prizes...

I have said this before but I know that I am never going to be Prime Minister, win the FA Cup, win a Pulitzer Prize, win an Oscar or a Nobel Prize and I am unlikely to win X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing, win the lottery or get a Knighthood. Yet at the beginning of another New Year there is so much to be positive about... there are so many reasons to be cheerful because I know that I am eligible for life's small prizes; small things that are worth so much... a thank you after I've done something really well... a touch or a word when I am feeling down or things haven't worked out so well. ..a kiss from a loved one... a cuddle from a friend... a starry night... a full moon... an empty parking space. .. a beautiful smile... a crackling fire... a great meal... a glorious sunset... hot home made soup... freshly baked warm bread... cold beer... dark chocolate... great coffee.

Whatever it is that you are trying to achieve this year success won't be dependent on genius, talent or innate ability. OK, it ill have a lot to do with luck, being in the right place at the right time and who is on your side supporting you, but more importantly it will be about persistence, determination and sheer hard work. These things will help you achieve your goals and help us continue to deliver brilliant outcomes for children and young people here in Leeds in 2009.

Together we can make 2009 a year to remember. A year when everyone succeeds and we continue to build brilliant and make magic. This year could mark the beginning of a year of success and discovery for us all and I hope that this new year all your dreams turn into reality and all your efforts and hard work turn into great achievements.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Chris

Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

"Patience and perseverence have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson