"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground."– Theodore Roosevelt
President Roosevelt's statement makes sense to me. One definitely wants to be grounded, and at the same time look to the future while setting accomplishable goals. We do not want to lose our balance and in the process stumble . So it is important to keep centered.
Last night Linda asked me if I would go out today with Nails as she did not think she would have neither the time nor the energy. I thought about it and decided that I would honor her request and take her horse on the trail. I figured I would ride him and then run while ponying him with the reins. I did not know beforehand what he would be like. Would he be a handful? Would he run up behind me or would he allow me to have space while running? I decided that I would run with him, along wide sections of the trail. My experiment began.
I started out by riding him up a steep hill. He was not thrilled about going up that incline. Then we proceeded, and I quickly find out that he did well running alongside me. Shortly after, we ran on a single track trail, and he ran behind me without an incident. When I would stop running, he would stop too. So our experience of being on the trail together, both riding and running worked out well. In essence, it was an easy day for me and an easy day for Nails.
Linda will no doubt be happy that I took him out and exercised him. She would like me to begin riding again as she enjoys that experience. Her horse is delightful, responsive and well schooled.
I am excited that It Has Nothing To Do with Age can be purchased from Barnes & Noble. At the moment, I do not have Internet service, so I am not sure if it is now available on Amazon. I have a book delivery coming, and am hopeful that my books arrive either today or tomorrow. I am scheduled to do a presentation for the Rotary club at the Buckeye restaurant. I told Norm, the coordinator, that I wanted to have books in hand for the presentation.
On another note, I made this observation. In the Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2011, there is an article about SAT scores. The 2011 high school graduating class scores fell in reading and writing. Apparently, these scores were the lowest ever recorded. The results were from 1.6 million students .These scores suggested that only about 43% of the students posted a score high enough to succeed in college. According to the College Board, students have to score1550 out of a possible 2400. A score of 1550 is associated with a 65% chance of getting a least a B- average in the first year of college. I am not going to talk about the validity and reliability of the SAT and the prediction for college success. What I am to talk about is that that the scores have dropped.
Does this mean that students United States are learning at a slower or lower rate, studying less, or having more distractions in their lives? My guess is that proficiency with electronics, texting, and games has increased. I am sure they know how to operate that” I pod “and their singing and dancing is great so they can become TV idols. Perhaps the values are changing and proceeding in a self-defeating direction. Take President Roosevelt’s advice and keep your feet on the ground .Studying, learning, and doing well in school is hard work.
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