...because life is better with a little bit of inspiration...
"there came a moment in the middle of the song when he suddenly felt every heartbeat in the room & after that he never forgot he was part of something much bigger" --StoryPeople by Brian Andreas
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success!"--Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people and, of course, I wanted to know whether I was doing that. And do you know how you find out? You look at their eyes. If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it...If the eyes are not shining you get to ask a question, and this is the question: who am I being that my players' eyes are not shining. We can do that with our children too; who am I being that my children's eyes are not shining?"
--Benjamin Zander
"Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade...It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else's head -- even if in the end you conclude that someone else's head is not a place you'd really like to be." -- Malcom Gladwell, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures -- [Change writing to teaching and the statement still rings true.]
"In order to be really good as a librarian, everything counts towards your work, every play you go see, every concert you hear, every trip you take, everything you read, everything you know. I don't know of another occupation like that. The more you know, the better you're going to be." --Allen Smith
"What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks about education." -- Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education
"...what builds a relationship, what solves problems, what moves things forward is asking the right questions." --Alexander Moszkowski, Conversations with Einstein
“You know, you can steal your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror, but the simple act of kindness from a complete stranger will unstitch you.” --Chris Abani quoting his mother
"We could demand of ourselves, and each other, the courage and patience to grow." --Elizabeth Weil
"If you work really hard and are kind, amazing things will happen." --Conan O'Brien
"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge--
That myth is more potent than history.
I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts--
That hope always triumphs over experience--
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death."
--Robert Fulghum
"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." --Maya Angelou
"Don't you hear it? she asked & I shook my head no & then she started to dance & suddenly there was music everywhere & it went on for a very long time & when I finally found words all I could say was thank you." --StoryPeople by Brian Andreas
