Friday, May 30, 2008

Recognizing Treasures...

Yahoo’s Offbeat News from AFP reports that John Webber, a seventy-year old Brit, decided to get an appraisal on an ornate brass cup that he’d had since childhood. His grandfather, a scrap metal dealer, gave it to him as a cast-off, and Webber even used it as a target for his air gun in the 1940s.

The “brass” cup turned out to be a Persian artifact, hammered from one sheet of pure gold centuries before the birth of Christ. This treasure goes to auction in England on June 5—and is expected to bring close to a million dollars!


WOW!


Pack-rat that I am, I don’t believe any of the “treasures” I’ve tucked away from my grandmother’s attic have great monetary value. However, sometimes the treasures that we overlook are not material things. Granny’s gifts of love and encouragement were priceless treasures that I didn’t appreciate until many years later.

Through the years, other adults believed in me and told me so. After I joined the work-force, more mature adults mentored me and opened doors of opportunity for me. All of these persons were encouragers, treasures of great value, although I often didn’t realize it at the time.

Perhaps you now recognize a treasure from your past: a family member, a co-worker, a friend, or even a stranger who shared a kind word. If possible, contact them and let them know they touched your life in a positive way. We'd be honored if you would leave a tribute to them in our comment section as well!

In our book, Building Better Schools by Engaging Support Staff, Sam reminds readers that their words and interactions with students are powerful. You may feel that the encouragement you give students is unimportant, but the words you speak today may be the foundation for a positive and productive adulthood.

Be an encourager for those young people you deal with. Maybe one of your nuggets of encouragement will become a treasure of great value.

Vie Herlocker

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posted by Vie Herlocker | 8:05 PM

1 Comments:

Blogger QuietlyMakingNoise said...

When I was 16, I was allowed to travel across the country by plane and spend Spring Break with an aunt who lived in Cloudmont, Colorado. My first day in town, my aunt drove me all around. The second day, she asked me to drive her to the store to pick up some dry cleaning. At the shop next to the cleaners, she bought me a t-shirt I still have today, with a cartoon picture on the front, and the message "IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAY I DRIVE, GET OFF THE SIDEWALK! On the third day, she handed me the keys to her brand new conversion van, and suggested that her children (ages 2 and 4) would love to go and get some ice cream while she took a nap. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to drive her cool van, and even more thrilled to get to take the kids.

It wasn't until many years later that I really understood the trust she placed in me that day. In retrospect, she did it a lot over a period of many years, I just never really noticed! She quietly issued challenges to me, with the expectation I'd rise to the occasion - but she never let me jump in over my head. She's an incredibly important part of who I have become, and from an early age, helped me understand that what really counts is who you are when nobody is looking. She is treasure indeed.

June 9, 2008 11:28 PM  

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