# data[].attributes.headline
I take ongoing courage and inspiration from Alfie Kohn's fantastic and well researched book, "No Contest: The Case Against Competition." I recommend it to every teen, parent, adult, and educator. We live in such a dangerously competetive society, where millions are hurt on the daily, from youngest to oldest by unnecessary, ugly, and damning competition and false narratives of what is best and limiting ideas of scarcity. 

# data[].attributes.subject
I take ongoing courage and inspiration from Alfie Kohn's fantastic and well researched book, "No Contest: The Case Against Competition." I recommend it to every teen, parent, adult, and educator. We live in such a dangerously competetive society, where millions are hurt on the daily, from youngest to oldest by unnecessary, ugly, and damning competition and false narratives of what is best and limiting ideas of scarcity. 

# data[].attributes.body
I'd like to be someone who inspires my students to "Handle hard better." A colleague just made me aware of this speech and I think that it is very inspiring. I'd like to teach my students to do this with compassion and care. I hope I show them love while holding them to high standards.

# data[].attributes.headline
What inspirational video (such as TedTalk, etc.) or photo or piece of writing inspires your leadership? Leadership wears many faces and takes many different forms. Is there a person or an organization that has been motivating to you? What would you like to share with your SPARC mates? We invite you to share something that you lean on and that gives you courage?

# data[].attributes.subject
What inspirational video (such as TedTalk, etc.) or photo or piece of writing inspires your leadership? Leadership wears many faces and takes many different forms. Is there a person or an organization that has been motivating to you? What would you like to share with your SPARC mates? We invite you to share something that you lean on and that gives you courage?

# data[].attributes.headline
Here are a few ideas to get us started. . . Simon Sinek on leadership and courage

# data[].attributes.subject
Here are a few ideas to get us started. . . Simon Sinek on leadership and courage

# data[].attributes.body
I'm interested in Sinek's description of servant leadership-"I serve your dreams. We all rise. . ."

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
This is one of the pictures that helps remind me of my fire - We are acting out a story. I'm the bear hugging the lumberjack instead of attacking her for chopping at the tree. <3

# data[].attributes.body
There is a Rufus Jones quote I find inspiring: "Most persons are set on fire by someone who is already aflame." When I am feeling useless, ineffective, depleted, I try to remind myself that my worth is not measured in my actions, but in the effects of my actions. I may not individually change the world in a grandiose way, but the passion and love and excitement and joy that I can bring to my students' (and maybe some adults') learning has the potential to affect them in ways that will ripple passion and love and excitement and joy and change into the world. Pretty neat when you think about it. <3

# data[].attributes.body
I continue to be inspired by this book, The Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Smith. He is someone whom I greatly admire and I can often find quotes or small bits that speak to me. Recently I have been thinking about this, "Make your love visible in the world through your work."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"The most valuable aspect of religion," writes Robert Lawrence Smith, "is that it provides us with a framework for living. I have always felt that the beauty and power of Quakerism is that it exhorts us to live more simply, more truthfully, more charitably."

Taking his inspiration from the teaching of the first Quaker, George Fox, and from his own nine generations of Quaker forebears, Smith speaks to all of us who are seeking a way to make our lives simpler, more meaningful, and more useful. Beginning with the Quaker belief that "There is that of God in every person," Smith explores the ways in which we can harness the inner light of God that dwells in each of us to guide the personal choices and challenges we face every day. How to live and speak truthfully. How to listen for, trust, and act on our conscience. How to make our work an expression of the best that is in us.

Using vivid examples from his own life, Smith writes eloquently of Quaker Meeting, his decision to fight in World War II, and later to oppose the Vietnam War. From his work as an educator and headmaster to his role as a husband and father, Smith quietly convinces that the lofty ideals of Quakerism offer all of us practical tools for leading a more meaningful life. His book culminates with a moving letter to his grandchildren which imparts ten lessons for "letting your life speak."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons In Simplicity, Service, And Common Sense

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons In Simplicity, Service, And Common Sense [Smith, Robert Lawrence] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons In Simplicity, Service, And Common Sense

# data[].attributes.headline
Leadership inspiration from Jimmy Carter:

# data[].attributes.subject
Leadership inspiration from Jimmy Carter:

# data[].attributes.body
Hello, friends! I am looking forward to seeing you! This week's eclipse was a reminder of how vast the universe is. I often think of this little poem when times are tough - a reminder that my heart is big enough to hold multiple weather systems, that I can feel joy and sorrow at the same time. Like Walt Whitman's quote, "I contain multitudes." Sometimes that is just the little thread I need to cling to.

VAST SKY

The sky here is

so vast it can

hold opposites

of weather at

one time --

blue sky, a

storm,

a sunrise,

all at once.

If feelings are

the weather

of the soul,

perhaps

we're all

Montana skies,

quite vast enough to hold it all.

- Judy Brown -

(The Sea Accepts All Rivers and Other Poems)

# data[].attributes.body
This book was given to me in my 20's by a friend before I went traveling for a year after graduating from college. I give it to every high school and college graduate I know as a gift. It has continued to inspire me at different stages of my life, usually when I am making an important transition in my life that takes courage and faith. When I lived aboard, it was the first time that I had ever traveled that far away from my family. It was the first time I had ever lived on my own, found a job, paid my rent, found a place to live, etc. This book was with me reminding me that "When you want something, the world conspires to make it happen." It helped me to stay strong and believe in myself, even when things felt hard or impossible. I made my way and had life-changing and inspiring experiences living on my own in foreign countries. And I not only survived but thrived. I showed myself that I could do it even when I was desperate to find a job or a place to live.

We talk a good deal about resilience and grit in education. And we are usually talking about our students. But as teachers, we need to cultivate this as well. The past few years for educators have been some of the most challenging and trying. Many of us left and never returned. Many of us got or are burned out. Some of us are still trying to heal. This book reminds me that I am capable. It also reminds me that there is still hope, magic, and possibility in the world, even though it can feel so very hard sometimes. I try to bring this into my teaching and coaching of children and adults. With the hope that it inspires them to see their greatness and possibilities.

-Keisha

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Note : Item has rough Cut edges(Edges are cut improperly intentionally by the manufacturer)

A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho.

Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different-and far more satisfying-than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Alchemist, 25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Alchemist, 25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream [Coelho, Paulo] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Alchemist, 25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream

# data[].attributes.headline
The book "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Jonathon Haidt has been widely shared amongst administrators and teachers at our school to help us better understand where are students are coming from- 

# data[].attributes.subject
The book "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Jonathon Haidt has been widely shared amongst administrators and teachers at our school to help us better understand where are students are coming from- 

# data[].attributes.body
The story of the "tank man" never ceases to inspire my students.

# data[].attributes.body
A reminder to lead from a combination of heart and mind, balancing the two can be a challenge sometimes.

# data[].attributes.body
"If you're going to show up and been seen, there is only one guarantee and that is - you will get your ass kicked." Sorry for the perhaps not so Quakerly language here. I love Brené, and she says it so well. This video helps me remember that it takes so much courage to put yourself out there and work on something you believe in, especially when people are so eager to judge. "At worst, if he fails, he fails daring greatly." If you're not trying, what are you doing?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Brene Brown   The Man In The Arena Speech (edited)

# data[].attributes.body
I wanted to share a poem written by one of my advisees, Anna Costello, who is graduating this year. She recited it at a recent poetry slam event at school - it was one of the highlights of my year!

(Jen McFadden)

Fwd Meeting for Worship: Field House, 10:15

The silence is round:

The curve of the ceiling

as it arcs to the ground

The wind of string about

a child’s finger

The shadow of a belly

Spilling out of a waistband

The silence is kind, but indifferent:

You will want it to forgive you

To hold your hand like a lover

You will want to fill it

Or be filled with it, to have it sit

warm and solid on your tongue

Or to have it breathed, someone else’s air

soothing and pretty into your lungs

But the silence doesn’t belong to you that way;

You can only rest your hand

on the curve of its back

And feel it rise with a series

Of collective breaths

# data[].attributes.body
Billy Collins is one of my favorite poets because he has this way of expressing his thoughts/ideas simply, which allows room for the reader/listener/student to make connections about what he is saying in their own personal way.

He is quoted saying:

"Leadership to me suggests that there’s a place to lead the person to, whereas poetry is actually the home of ambiguity, ambivalence and uncertainty."

This video in particular is a story about running into a former student, and what he learned about teaching.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Billy Collins's subway poem | On Leadership

# data[].attributes.body
“The leader’s main job is to make themselves obsolete.”

— Laozi

# data[].attributes.body
This talk really reminds me why we do what we do. The connections with families and students, getting "back to basics" and building community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations -- and that most of us don’t converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. “Go out, talk to people, listen to people,” she says. “And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.”

# data[].attributes.body
I chose a children’s book that reminds me to shine my light and to be open to seeing the light in others. This is a video of the author/illustrator Ani Castillo reading it. -Katie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ani Castillo reads Ping! (con subtítulos en español)