Deborah Martel Rogers' Blog

My Weekly Reflection              "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."                                          – Michael Jordan       As we are heading towards our eighth week of school, our collective efficacy continues to strengthen and bloom, inevitable reaching reaps of success in our students' academic and social performance. 

My Monthly Reflection, by Deborah Martel Rogers, Harris TOSA, BCSD  Excellence is not an accident waiting to happen, but a carefully designed and planned journey. Some might see it as a destination, but it is really a process taking place on a daily basis. I personally prefer excellence in the face of adversity than perfection which is lacking in its humanity.  

(Deborah's professional reflections) My vision: I want to help create a better world, a world in which our students' heads, hearts, and souls flourish in unison, both academically and socio-emotionally; a world in which there is success for every single student;  in which our students know that they are the reason  for our very existence and that we are here to make sure that every one of them is successful because failure is not an option. Start by communicating my vision in a very positive environment, in order to announce that we are going to create an inviting acronym together which represents our mission. Example: SPLASH (Students' Positive Learning And Scholarly Habits) Once we come to a consensus,  display our vision everywhere: weekly agenda, monthly newsletter (e-mailed to parents) and posters.  Constantly talk about it and, most importantly, lead by example with a very clear goal in mind:  Excellence in Academics. Use technology ...

Teaching Kindness and Empathy to Students: The Use of Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) to Increase Student Kind, Respectful and Safe Behavior at School  (extract from the original)    by Deborah Martel Rogers California State University, Bakersfield (Research Design and Analysis, Summer 2017)      Students' lack of social-emotional skills has an impact on their behavior at school. (...)      Social-Emotional skills are overlooked in today's educational system as a major factor impacting students' behavior at school. Ethnic minorities have added stressors such as low familial and social support, acculturation, and low socioeconomic status. It is in these settings that students feel they lack a connection to school and their peers. Rather than further labeling these students as problem-makers, it is a good opportunity to teach them how to become members of the school community. The Positive Behavior Intervention Support ...

* "Optimism is true moral courage."             - Ernest Shackleton, Explore *"We have the power to tear down or build up the children who walk into our lives every day."  *"What if we looked for solutions instead of complaining about what's wrong?" *"All conferences should include some celebrations of their kids and their strengths."            - Todd Nesloney & Adam Welcome,  Kids Deserve It! *"The most effective way to do it is to do it."             -Amelia Earhart, Pioneer, and Aviator *"Sight is what your eyes produce. Vision is what your heart produces. Never let what you see affect your vision."            -Shandren Reddy *"Creating a vision or shared vision within a school is very important. A school without a vision is a school without a future. In other words, in order to ensure that all stakeholders at school are looki...

"Los buenos profesores no tienen por qué ser padres. Pero los profesores y los padres tienen algo en común, y creo que a veces los profesores, las profesores, los padres y las madres nos olvidamos de que queremos lo mismo para nuestros hijos y nuestras hijas, (...) Nunca he conocido un padre o una madre ni un profesor o una profesora que no quisiese que sus hijos e hijas tuvieran éxito." (Traducción: Déborah Martel Rogers -Fuente Original:   A TED Talk for Thought -"Building Relationships between parents and teachers. Megan Olivia Hall at TEDxBurnsvilleED" - "Una Charla TED para el Pensamiento - "Construyendo Relaciones entre padres y profesores) "Las esperanzas y los sueños para mis niños. Pero, también, los sueños y las esperanzas para mis hijos son los sueños y las esperanzas para los tuyos. Son lo que quiero para todos los niños y niñas." (Traducción: Déborah Martel Rogers  "A Parent's Wishes for His Child's Teacher: Ch...

"Good teachers do not have to be parents. But parents and teachers have a lot in common, and I think that sometimes teachers and parents forget that we want the same thing for our kids,  (...) I have never met a parent or a teacher who didn't want their child to succeed." (Source: A TED Talk for Thought -"Building Relationships between parents and teachers. Megan Olivia Hall at TEDxBurnsvilleED") "Hopes and dreams for my kids. But, also, the hopes and dreams for my kids are the hopes and dreams for your kids. They are really what I want for all kids." (Source: "A Parent's Wishes for His Child's Teacher: Chris Kennedy at TEDxWestVancouverED) "(...), if a student is lacking academically, resources will be placed appropriately to ensure that the students in question receive the services they are entitled to by law. However, what type of support is placed within their reach when they are lacking social and emotional approp...

Be bold.  Take risks. Live life freely. Lead by example. Trust your gut. Say what you feel. Mean what you say. Express gratitude. Believe in your power. Exceed your expectations. Dance the night away. Skip down the street. Don't take no for an answer. Be your best self. Don't look back. The best is yet to come. 

May 1st, 2020 Mi Discurso del Ascensor    Quiero ayudar a crear un mundo mejor, un mundo en el que los cerebros, corazones y almas florezcan simultáneamente, tanto a nivel académico como a nivel social; un mundo en el que haya éxito para cada estudiante, independientemente de su estatus socioeconómico, raza, género, origen nacional, etnicidad, religión, u orientación sexual; un mundo en el que nuestros estudiantes sepan que ell@s son la razón de nuestra propia existencia y que estamos aquí para asegurarnos de que cada un@ de ell@s tenga éxito porque el fracaso no es una opción.      (By Deborah Martel Rogers,   27 de Febrero de 2017,  Universidad Estatal del Estado de California en Bakersfield)  My Elevator Speech    I want to help create a better world, one in which our brains, hearts and souls flourish simultaneously, both academically and socially; a world in which each student experiences success, regardless of th...

           I want to help to create a better world, a world in which our students' heads, hearts and souls flourish in unison, both academically and socially; a world in which there is success for every single student, regardless of socio-economic status, race, gender, national origin, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation; a world in which our students know that they are the reason for our very existence and that we are here to make sure that every one of them is successful because failure is not an option.     Deborah Martel Rogers, 2/27/2017, CSU Bakersfield 

My Weekly quote: "We need to invest more money in public education. And there are some other big changes that we need in our system. We need to embrace the digital technology and figure out where we are going to do next. And we need to embrace inquiry and personalized learning for every student. We need to do all those big things. But while we do all those big things, let's make sure that we take care of all those little things as well. For my kids, for your kids, and for all kids."  ( Source: "A Parent's Wishes for His Child's Teacher: Chris Kennedy at TEDxWest VancouverED," published on June 8, 2013)

Atrévete a Soñar Despierta,  por Déborah Martel Rogers Hay personas soñadoras que duermen. Hay otras que desean que sus sueños se conviertan en realidad. Luego tienes a las que no esperan a las que sus sueños se conviertan en realidad, sino que que los despiertan y los materializan. Esta es mi clase favorita. Su atracción hacia la excelencia, lo mismo que su risa, es contagiosa. Necesitamos más de éstas.

  Dreamers , by Deborah Martel Rogers Harris' TOSA Bakersfield City School District  August, 2020   I wrote this  Reflection two years ago,  in 2018, at the end of the school year. Now that we, Educators,  are getting closer to the end of the Summer vacations (at least here, in the United States), this reflection continues to resonate. The more I am invited to focus on what is not working and the more I am asked to explain why I continue to be an optimist, the closer I am to my own truth: My circumstances -challenges as they certainly are- will not define who I choose to be. I invite you to do the same.     There are dreamers who sleep. There are others who wish their dreams become true. Then you have the dreamers who do not wait for their dreams to come true, but who wake them up and make them happen. This is my favorite kind. Their call for excellence, the same as their laughter,  is contagious. We need more of these.

This week's quote:   "We have the power to tear down or build up the children who walk into our lives every day." (From  Kids Deserve It , by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome, 2016)

“Every time you want to act in the same old way, wonder if you want to be a prisoner of the past, or a pioneer of the future.”

Week of April 16, 2018 About Transparency, Collective Efficacy and Change  About Transparency : "Transparency creates trust and inspires others."  "Transparency is the number one bucket filler on the change matrix." "Be transparent about change." About Collective Efficacy : "A celebration of success is the number one mover of collective efficacy." "Nothing builds collective efficacy faster than evidence that something is working." About Change : "We are agents of change. We're change-makers. We change people for a living." "Start each school year asking: 'Where do we want to go? '  Be transparent about change." "Leading change is like a rubber band ... when you feel the tension, you know it's working!"                 - John Erick               (Lead 3.0 Symposium: Leadership, Technology and Innovation, San Francisco, CA, April 2018)

Semana del 9 de Abril del 2018 Las citas de esta semana: " Un líder es quien conoce el camino, entiende el camino, y muestra el camino."                        -John C. Maxwell "Si puedes soñarlo, puedes hacerlo."                      -Walt Disney " Hay ocasiones en las que un líder debe adelantarse a la multitud, partir en una nueva dirección, con la convicción de que está liderando a su gente de la forma correcta."                         - Nelson Mandela "Yo creo que si haces algo y el resultado es muy bueno, a continuación deberías hacer algo maravilloso, no quedarte contemplándolo durante mucho tiempo. Descubre el siguiente paso."                       - Steve Jobs " Si tienes una idea importante que destacar, no te hagas el listo...

Week of April 9th, 2018 This week's quotes: " A leader is one who knows the way, gets the way, and shows the way."     -John C. Maxwell "If you can dream it, you can do it."    -Walt Disney " There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way."    - Nelson Mandela "I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next."   - Steve Jobs " If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack."   - Winston Churchill "And I say to you today, my friends, that you may be able to speak with the tongues of men and angels; you may have the eloquence of articula...

Where There is a Will, There is a Way, by Deborah Martel Rogers,  Harris' TOSA  (Support Staff Member)        En Enero de 1999, el mismo mes y año en que nevó en Bakersfield, California, el último año del siglo pasado, el año en que mi amor y yo nos conocimos, tomé la decisión de dejar de fumar de una vez y para siempre.  Algunas personas me dijeron que no debería celebrar antes de tiempo y que volvería a "recaer" (para ser honestos, yo ya había intentado dejar de fumar unas 12 veces antes ...).    Sin embargo, de alguna manera, comencé a tener más y más fe en mí misma y en el proceso: Hoy no. Ahora no. No, gracias. Paso a paso. Eso fue todo lo que necesité.      Hoy, unos veintiún años y once meses más tarde,  en medio de una pandemia. puedo decir con orgullo que no me tuve que comer mis palabras: Por ahora, he hecho lo que dije que iba a hacer. Gracias, Dios, por darme la fortaleza y la sabiduría para continuar toman...

    In January 1999, the same month when it snowed in Bakersfield, California, the last year of last century, the year when my love and I met, I made the decision to quit smoking for good. I was told that I should not be too happy, that I would "fall" again (I had already "tried to quit" other 12 times before ...).    Somehow,  though, I started to have more and more faith in the process: Not today! Not right now! No, thanks! One step at a time. That is all it took.      Today, nineteen years and about four months later, here I am, proud to stick to my ground: So far, I've done it!! Thank you, God, for giving me the strength and the wisdom to continue to make the right decision to choose a healthier life.

                                  Dear Sun,                      There are dreamers who sleep,                             and others who long.                 Some others accept their existence ....              But, fortunately, there are also those dreamers who live their dreams.                           Bon voyage and good luck!                                 If, at the beginning, you don't get it,                                  ...

                     Querido Sol:               Hay soñadoras que duermen,                  y otras que anhelan.                      Otras que se resignan …                 Pero, afortunadamente,           también existen las que viven sus sueños.            ¡Buen viaje, y mucha suerte!  Si al principio no te quedas con la copla,                      me digo,                 piensa que eres libre,                     y vuela.                        Sin rumbo,      ...

Mis citas favoritas esta semana son las siguientes: ⇨ "Una actitud positiva puede no resolver todos tus problemas, pero hará enfadar a la cantidad de gente suficiente como para que el esfuerzo merezca la pena." ⇨ "Piensa como una campeona. Una campeona no tiene miedo al cambio. El fracaso es otro escalón hacia el éxito." ⇨ "Hay soñadoras que sueñan, soñadoras que anhelan haber soñado, y soñadoras que viven sus sueños. Sé una soñadora activa. Llena tu realidad con la magia de tus sueños." ⇨ "En cada día hay 1440 minutos. Eso significa que tenemos 1440 oportunidades diarias para tener un impacto positivo." ⇨ "No hay viajes maravillosos. Hay viajeros maravillosos." ⇨ "No corras. Ve despacio. A donde tienes que ir es a ti mismo." ⇨ "El miedo es un mentiroso." ⇨ "Atrévete a compartir."

My favorite quotes for this week are the following ones: ⇨ "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." ⇨ "Think like a champion. A champion is not afraid to change. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness." ⇨ "There are dreamers who dream, dreamers who wish they had dreamt, and dreamers who live their dreams. Be an active dreamer. Fill your reality with the magic of your dreams." ⇨ "In every day, there are 1,4440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact." ⇨ "There are no wonderful travels. There are wonderful travelers." ⇨ "Do not run. Go slowly. Where you have to go is to yourself." ⇨ "Fear is a liar." ⇨ "Dare to share."

Dear Reader,      I am not sure about how to address you, to begin with. I understand your concern about greeting me as "Dear Writer," anyways, since something similar (I guess) is happening to me. I am not really used to writing to someone I haven't met before (and who is going to judge my letter) about something as personal as my autobiography, so this is probably going to be the memorable beginning of a new and exciting adventure.      I began to write, according to my mother, at a very young age, when I decided to "rewrite" my parents' Larousse Encyclopedia, and add "mama" and "papa" to the first seven pages of the seventh volume. I had not thought about that before, but I guess this is why I consider seven to be my lucky number. Well, my maternal grandmother had another version of the story:      She let me know that at a much younger age I enjoyed (judging by the look on my face) taking off my diapers, and (she called it writing)...

8.26.2011      "Why do I have to use a candle?" I asked in that ridiculous baby voice I used whenever I was pretending to be politer than I really was.      "Because we are in the middle of nowhere, and there's no electricity here," my older brother, David, whispered.      It had been my parents' "bright" idea to travel across the country in our trailer, all the way from Bakersfield, California, to San Antonio, Texas. Most of the time, at night, they were deeply asleep until sunrise. I, on the contrary, could not help but have a cup of coffee, and sit outside on the ground, gazing the stars, and wondering why the heck we had to waste all our summer traveling with each other and without any computer, cell, or GPS. If there was anybody who hated technology, it was my parents.       "Mary? What are you doing out there, all by yourself?" David asked, patting my shoulder. I swear to God that if someday I die of a heart attac...

Hoving Hero by Deborah Rogers Humor and love together, Houses and doves for ever, Long live, Hove! Live love, Love life, Be free, For you, and for me...  Let's hove and roll, My hero ...! This poem, "Hoving Hero," was accepted for publication in "Immortal Verses."  7.18.2006 (Source: The International Library of Poetry: poetry.com) "After carefully reading and discussing your poem, our Selection Committee has certified your poem as a semi-finalist in our International Open Poetry Contest." 

1.16.2007 Sleeping Soul Wake me up, sleeping soul unnaming self, though brave and warm ... Despite your call,      roaring and right,           your cast is gone:           Believe in thee! Fall upwards, smiling face... Select my voice, my soft great truth:                                     sensational silence soothes my sea                   smooth sublime (Electronically sent to Poetry.com)

Dedicated to my grandmother, Josefa López Artiles, AKA "Abuelita Fefa"       The canary yellow kitchen walls were sparkling clean. The whole room smelled of chocolate chip cookies. My grandmother had already arrived like she did every Friday after school. She changed her neatly ironed black hand-made dress into her read and orange polka-dotted skirt, white short-sleeved blouse, and forest green apron. Her white and wavy hair was combed all the way to the back, right behind her ears. She walked into the kitchen, began to sing, and opened up the kitchen big wooden windows.       I had already taken off my gray and navy blue school uniform, and my black shoes. Then I'd loosen up my tight ponytail until my long straight brown hair fell right below my shoulders, covering my ears. As soon as I put on my short red dress, I strolled to the kitchen. Grandma looked at me and pointed to the aprons. I chose the orange one. It reminded me of her pumpkin pie.   ...

23 de Marzo del 2007 (Centros de Expresión) De una forma pacífica y respetuosa declino no luchar por tu amor y te declaro mi primera guerra vencida: Increíble, irresistible, interminable vida Desde la cima de mi humilde ser Estoy inclinada a no alcanzar demasiado alto, aunque tu sentido del éxito y tus ganas se llevan muy bien con mi destino.

5/23/2007 (Centres of Expression) In a peaceful, respectful way I decline not to fight your love And declare you my first won war: Unbelievable, irresistible, endless life From the top of my humble self I'm inclined not to reach too high, though your sense of success and drive gets along with my destiny.

12 de Octubre del 2010 Era un día lluvioso de invierno en la zona comercial de la ciudad de Bakersfield. Una joven y su novio estaban a punto de coger el tren de alta velocidad a quién sabe dónde, pues todavía no se habían decidido. El seguía jugando con su ipod, mientras ella se seguía preguntado si aceptar o no su invitación.      -"Venga,  Francisco. ¿Quieres decir que no les vas a dar a tus padres una segunda oportunidad?" dijo Arminda .      -"Ya estoy harto de esta situación. No paran de decirme lo que tengo que hacer, y ni siquiera quieren escuchar mi punto de vista."      Mientras tanto, la lluvia seguía cayendo de fondo, como una intrusa que se atrevía a interrumpir su conversación. O, al menos, ésa era la impresión que Francisco tenía mientras intentaba organizar sus confusos pensamientos, por lo menos el tiempo suficiente para que Arminda no se diera cuenta de que en realidad prefería estar solo en aquel momento. ...

10.12.2010 I was a rainy winter day in Downtown Bakersfield. A young woman and her boyfriend were about to take their high speed train to somewhere, but they did not seem to decide yet. He kept playing with his ipod, while she was wondering whether to accept his invitation or not.      -"Come on, Francisco. Are you telling me that you will not give your parents a second chance?" Arminda said.      -"I'm fed up with this situation. They only tell me what to do, and don't even listen to my point of view."      Meanwhile, the rain was pouring in the background, like an unwelcome intruder that dared to interrupt their conversation. Or, at least, that's the impression that Francisco had while trying to organize his confusing thoughts, just enough for Arminda not to feel that he really wanted to be by himself instead.      -"I think that you should go home, Francisco. We have the rest of our lives to be together. I don't fe...

De Gran Canaria a California por Deborah Martel Rogers La vida es lo que nosotras queremos hacer de ella (y por “nosotras” me refiero a todas las personas, sin ninguna distinción). Desde el mismo momento en que decidimos venir a este lado de la vida, hemos tomado nuestra primera decisión (o, al menos, la primera decisión tangible y palpable). ¿Cuál será mi misión en este mundo? Seré capaz de cumplirla, o me veré acobardada ante el precio que tenga que pagar para llevarla a cabo? Mientras estos pensamientos circulaban por su ya congestionada mente, Dara continuaba preparando el desayuno de sus hijos: Ana, de tres años, y Francisco, de cinco. Quizás por eso, o porque Dios la había bendecido con una hermosa nariz hebrea al estilo Barbra Streisand, ella se empeñaba en seguir utilizando la clave anafrank cuando se conectaba con su correo electrónico. Algunas coincidencias habían sin duda alguna: Ana Frank habrá desaparecido físicamente, pero su espíritu pervivirá por los siglos...