10 Signs of Spiritual Awakening.

Swimming - health benefits.

Swimming is one of the most popular sports in Australia. Our nation is surrounded by water and swimming is one of our great passions. As well as being fun, swimming is a great way to keep fit, stay healthy and make friends. Swimming is a healthy activity that you can continue for a lifetime. It is a low-impact activity that has many physical and mental health benefits.

Swimming for recreation

Swimming is a great recreational activity for people of all ages. Recreational swimming can provide you with a low-impact workout and it’s also a good way to relax and feel good. Common swimming styles in recreational swimming are breaststroke, backstroke, side stroke and freestyle.

Competitive swimming

Some people who enjoy swimming want to take it to a competitive level. This can provide the health benefits of a vigorous workout as well as the fun and thrill of competition. The main strokes used in competitive swimming are breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. The distances swum in competition swimming can vary from 50 metres in a pool to much further distances in open water.

Health benefits

Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water. Swimming is a good all-round activity because it:

• Keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body
• Builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness
• Helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs
• Tones muscles and builds strength
• Provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.

Other benefits

Swimming has many other benefits including:

• Being a relaxing and peaceful form of exercise
• Alleviating stress
• Improving coordination, balance and posture
• Improving flexibility
• Providing good low-impact therapy for some injuries and conditions
• Providing a pleasant way to cool down on a hot day
• Being available in many places – you can swim in swimming pools, beaches, lakes, dams and rivers. Make sure that the environment you choose to swim in is safe.

Getting started

Getting started in swimming is easy. It is a sport for all age groups, skill and fitness levels. Before you get started you will need to purchase a pair of swimmers and some goggles. Goggles can be purchased for around $15 and upwards.

There are public pools throughout Australia that are open to everyone. Entry to public pools usually costs a few dollars and many aquatic centres offer swimming lessons for people of all ages, as well as training and exercise groups.

Some general tips

Before you dive in:

• Make sure you know how to swim.
• Choose a safe environment.
• Warm up and stretch your muscles and joints before entering the water.
• Have plenty of fluids on hand and drink regularly.
• Don’t overdo it if you’re just starting out.
• See your doctor if you haven’t exercised for a long time.

Things to remember

• As well as being fun, swimming is a great way to keep fit and well and make friends.
• Swimming is a healthy activity that you can continue for a lifetime.
• Swimming is a low-impact activity that has many physical and mental health benefits.
• Make sure you know how to swim and do so in a safe environment.  
• 
  

Veg diet for a healthy life.

Earlier days, it was common belief that non-vegetarian diet is superior to vegetarian diet. People used to think that non-vegetarian diet provides us more power and it is full of energetic ingredients. This theory attracted more and more people and ultimately a large number of people of the world adopted non-vegetarian diet. But now this concept is changing.

According to the new developments in medical sciences, vegetarian diet is closer to and is more useful for human nature. It is more scientific for human body. Because of this, people are now adopting vegetarian diet as part of new life-style. It is a fact that the non-vegetarian diet contains cholesterol and saturated fatty acid. These are the root cause of problems like coronary heart disease, cerebro-vascular accidents (strokes), eye diseases and high blood pressure. In a non-vegetarian diet, only 60 % of its content is useful for human body, rest 40 % contains harmful and toxic products. In addition to it, non-vegetarian diet is generally heavy for stomach and produces acidity, which in turn can cause many diseases of gastrointestinal system.

Another significantly important difference between vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet is that the former contains dietary fibers whereas non-vegetarian diet is lacking in fiber. These dietary fibers are very useful for human body because it has been observed that the people who eat diet rich in these dietary fibers have low incidence of diseases like coronary heart diseases, cancer of intestinal tract, piles, obesity, diabetes, constipation, hitatus hernia, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, dental caries and gallstones. The food stuffs rich in these dietary fibers are cereals and grains, legumes, fruits with seeds, citrus fruits, carrot, cabbage, celery, green leafy vegetables, apples, melons, peaches, pears etc.

Many disease causing organisms can travel in the body of human being by consumption of non-vegetarian diet and can produce serious diseases, whereas a vegetarian diet is free of these. For example, Bovine Spongi cause Encephalopathy and mad cow disease is also a product of consumption of non-vegetarian diet. Similarly the bacteria known as salmonella typhimurium can travel in the body of human being by consumption of eggs, which can cause diseases, like pneumonia, bronchitis. These bacteria belong to the group of typhoid disease producing organisms.

According to a study, it has been observed that the body of non-vegetarian animals contain 10 times more amount of hydrochloric acid than that of vegetarian ones, but human body should not have the same amount of hydrochloric acid. This establishes the fact human body is basically meant for a vegetarian diet.
Influenced by all these facts, Mr. Robins, a well-known writer of America, has mentioned in his book "Diet for New America" that if Americans want to live long they should avoid non-vegetarian diet and eggs. Not only Americans but also Britishers and Germans are also adopting vegetarian as dietary style of their lives. Therefore in a nut shell, we can say if we want a healthy and disease free life, we must adopt vegetarian diet as our diet pattern.

Source(s): verbatim from: http://www.ourkarnataka.com/madhwakalyan…

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Mathematics in 18th Century.

 

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For your Health.

30 Ways To Live A Life Of Excellence.

I’ve always been passionate about living a life of excellence.  Setting goals, overcoming challenges, getting results, celebrating the victories - these make living so rich and worthwhile.
When I was in college I was on the Dean’s List - an honorary roll awarded only to top students - in every academic year I was there.  When I graduated I was selected from over 1,000 applicants to enter a Fortune 100 company - one of the top 100 companies in the world recognized by Fortune.  Then when I quit to pursue my passion a year and a half ago, I started The Personal Excellence Blog to share my best advice to achieve excellence in life.
In the last year and a half I also founded my training school where I coach and train others to achieve excellence.  Life has never been more rewarding.  That being said, I have determined that excellence itself is a way of life, not a destination.  While I’ve made some accomplishments, I’m nowhere near where I envision myself to be in the future.  There’s always room for personal growth.  Our potential is limitless, and it’s up to us to tap into it.
Here are my top 30 ways to live a life of excellence:

1. Discover your purpose. – Our physical life started when we were born.  Our real life starts when we discover our purpose.  What is your purpose?  What is your mission statement for your life?  Mine is, “To touch others’ lives, help them achieve their highest potential and live their best lives.”  This one statement gives me clarity and focus on what to do, from my daily plans to my long-term goals.
2. Follow your passion. – To do what you love is truly the only way to live.  Don’t just pursue as a hobby; turn it into your career.  I didn’t use to be a personal development blogger or a coach.  I was a marketing major and I was working in brand management as a career.  However, it wasn’t my passion.  So a year and a half ago, I quit my regular job to pursue my real passion.  Despite having no experience in the personal development industry, I slowly carved my niche in this area and established myself and my expertise.  Today I’m pursuing my passion as a career, and loving it.
3. Set your goals. – If you can have whatever you want, what would you like?  What are your biggest goals and dreams?  Set them.  The life I’m living today is a result of goals I set in the past.  If you don’t set any goals, it’s safe to say that you’ll be running in place for the foreseeable future.  Is that what you want?
4. Create a life handbook. – A life handbook is a concept I created where you have a book to write your life purpose, goals, dreams, plans, values, mottos, and other things that are important to you as you pursue your best life.  I started my life handbook in 2007 and it has been my #1 tool to living my life to the fullest.  Learn more about my life handbook and how to create yours.
5. Have the right mindset. – The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.  If you think life sucks, life will indeed suck.  On the other hand, if you are set to live your best life, the paths will open up in front of you.  Maybe it’s all the ‘good triumphing over evil’ RPGs I’ve played since young, but I firmly believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way.  No one can stop you if you have the right mindset.
6. Create your bucket list. – A bucket list is a list of things to do before you die.  All of us are going to die one day.  What are all the things you want to do/see/say/experience before you die?  It can be seeing the world, living your dreams, going skydiving, falling in love, among countless others.  I created my bucket list last year with over 100 things, and every day I accomplish what’s on it and add new things I want to do.  Here’s a list of 101 Things To Do Before You Die for ideas on what to put in your bucket list.
7. Get mentors. – You have dreams and big visions, and there are people who have likely been there and done that.  Get them to mentor you.  It’ll definitely cut down the learning curve and ease your journey.  With a mentor, you can unlock your potential and achieve so much more.
8. Stop worrying so much. – The majority of our fears exist only in our head.  Get rid of them and spend the energy on something productive.
9. Get closer with your parents. – Many of us only have functional relationships with our family.  Some of us might even have estranged family relationships.  I know I used to have that, then I realized it was foolish.  Our parents went through a lot of hardship by bringing us up, and no one’s ever going to share a connection to us the way they do.  Today I’m much closer to my parents than I was in the past, and I’m grateful for that.
10. Let go of negative friendships. – If you have friends who discourage you and pull you down, it’s time to get rid of them.  Getting rid might be too harsh for some, so distancing is a good alternative.  I had several negative friends in the past, then I just reduced contact.  Instead of wasting time and energy resisting them, I was then able to focus my energy on people and things that make me happy.
11. Surround yourself with positive people. –   Your attitudes, beliefs, accomplishments and success are a function of the people you spend time around.  Think about the people who inspire you and spend more time with them.  You’ll be amazed at the effects they’ll have on you.
12. Release your limits. – They say the sky is the limit.  I disagree.  We are our own limits.  It’s then about releasing our limits so we can live our best lives.  What are you limiting yourself from doing?  Stop holding yourself back.  Go out and get what you want.
13. Believe in yourself. – The majority of the times I’ve been able to achieve something is because I started out believing I could do it, rather than acquiring that belief after I achieved it.  If I didn’t think I could do it, I probably would never have succeeded.  My past experiences have taught me that all you need to have in order to succeed is to have a sense of self-belief - a sense that you can control your own future.  That’s all.
14. Wake up early. – I used to wake up late every day, like 9-10am.  I never thought much about waking up early until a couple of years ago.  After I switched to waking early at 5am, my days have been incredible.  I feel more productive, I get more done, I’m more eager to work to keep the momentum going.  It’s something you have to try yourself to know the difference.
15. Eat a healthy diet. – A healthy diet just-starts a life of excellence.  What’s in your daily diet?  Junk?  Fast food?  Fried food?  Or healthy, nutritious food?  Fruits?  Vegetables?  I’ve been a vegan since 2008 and have been loving it.  While I tried it out as just a 30-day trial, I immediately saw the benefits of being a vegan and stayed the course ever since. 
16. Exercise regularly. – Aside from a regular gym routine, try other sports to spice it up your workouts.  Frisbee, badminton and swimming are some of my favorite sports.  These make exercising a lot more fun.
17. Plan your days. – Do you plan your days?  Did you wake up today knowing what you are supposed to do today?  If not, maybe it’s time you do.  Planning doesn’t have to be long and tedious, it can just be a 30 second process.  Every night, think about a few small things that you want to accomplish tomorrow and write them down.  When you wake up the next morning, review this list before you do anything else.
18. Nurture those whom you love. –  The fluttering of your heart.  The internal smile you get when you think of those who you care for most.  It’s impossible to live a life of excellence without sharing quality time with those whom you love.
19. Try something new. – Routines stagnate us.  New experiences help us grow and they make life interesting.  Make an effort to try something new every week.  I get very invigorated whenever I’m doing something new.  It can be a whole new activity or just a small experience, such as talking to a stranger.
20. Stop watching TV. – Why stop watching TV?  The bulk of content on TV is consciousness lowering.  TV has been proven by research to be linked with lower life satisfaction.  TV ads motivate you spend more money frivolously.  TV wastes lots and lots of time.  I could go on forever.  I quit regular TV watching almost 5 years ago and never looked back.  I recently wrote an article on my blog called 10 Reasons To Stop Watching TV and found out a good number of my readers dropped TV in their lives as well.  
21. Stop obsessing over the news. – A lot of news today resonates with fear, guilt, shame and hate.  Depending on your news source, many are largely sensationalized and biased as well.  You don’t need to watch the news every day for an hour to know that there are car accidents, murders and wars out there.  Focus your energy on how you can address those problems instead.
22. Don’t be trapped by dogma. – Don’t feel compelled to follow others all the time.  Pave your own path.  Follow your heart.  Don’t fall into the trap of operating on everyone’s whim.  Listening is okay, but doing what everyone wants is simply unhealthy.  Execute the good feedback and follow your vision.
23. Be compassionate. – Show love and kindness to all the people around you.  Respect everyone.  They may not react in a kind way immediately, but they will notice and appreciate your kindness. 
24. Smile more. – It takes more muscles to frown than to smile.  So let’s smile more often. 
25. Criticize less, appreciate more. – Do you like overly critical people?  I’m sure you don’t.  They are a dread to be around.  So let’s be less critical.  Don’t stare so hard at what’s missing.  Learn to see and appreciate what’s there instead.
26. Keep a journal to self-reflect. – I had a paper journal for several years, but after I started The Personal Excellence Blog I use the blog as my journal.  By having a place to freely let out our thoughts and ponder over them, we get a lot more clarity about ourselves. 
27. Forgive those who hurt you. – To forgive is to let go of a prisoner and to realize that the prisoner all along was you.  Don’t hold on to past hatred.  Let it go.  You’ll find new, wonderful things entering your life once you do.
28. Enrich your mind great books. – Books contain concentrated volumes of wisdom.  It’s not surprising then that most knowledgeable people are also very well-read.  
29. Coach someone. – There’s no better way to learn than to teach others.  Is there someone who can benefit from your help?  Offer to coach them for free.  It’ll be an enlightening experience for both of you.
30. Meet new people. – Most humans have a habit of stagnating in a small circle of friends.  But it doesn’t help us grow.  Get out there and meet new people.  You’ll be surprised at the lessons they will teach you and the new opportunities they will inject into your life.

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HOW FRIENDSHIP / LOVE BREAKS?

When Each Other Misunderstand or Fights....

Both Friends / Lovers Will Think The Other Is Busy




And Will Not Contact Thinking It May Be Disturbing 

As Time Passes Both Will Think Let The OTher Contact


After That each Will Think Why I Should Contact First ?





Here Your Friend / Love Will Be Converted To Hate



Finally Without Contact The Memory Becomes Weak


They Forget Each Other.

So Keep In Touch With All And Pass This TO All Your Friend / Lover...

I Don`t Want To be One Of This Kind.


So Here I Am sending Mail To Every One




To Say  




 
Dear

....
Am Fine Here

How are you...?

"GET WELL SOON "



Ha Ha Ha Ha










Have a Nice time

Vellore - Golden Temple.

Sripuram

The golden temple of 'Sripuram' (Tamil: ஸ்ரீபுரம்) is a spiritual park situated at the foot of a small range of green hills in a place known as "Malaikodi" in the city of Vellore in Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is at the southern end of the city of Vellore, at Tirumalaikodi.

The salient feature of Sripuram is the Lakshmi Narayani temple or Mahalakshmi temple whose 'Vimanam’ and ‘Ardha Mandapam’ have been coated with gold both in the interior and exterior.

The temple is located on 100 acres of land and has been constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peedam, headed by spiritual leader Sri Sakthi Amma also known as Narayani Amma. The temple with gold covering, has intricate carvings and sculptures in gold. The lighting is arranged in such a way that the temple glitters even during night. The construction of the temple was completed on August 24, 2007. More than 1500 kg of gold was used to build this temple. The LED lighting on the ridge of the roof of the star path is lit up at night so that anyone can witness a star on the earth.

Salient Features

All the gold work was done by artisans specializing in temple art using gold. Every single detail was manually created, including converting the gold chunks into gold foils and then mounting on the gold foils on copper. Gold foil from 9 layers to 15 layers has been mounted on the etched copper plates. Every single detail in the temple art has significance from the vedas. Sripuram design represents a star-shaped path(Sri chakra), positioned in the middle of the lushgreen landscape, with a length of over 1.8 km. One has to walk along the star path to reach the temple in the middle, which is laid by messages from Sri Sakthi Amma and from different faiths and spiritual leaders.

How to reach

For International devotees: It is closer to Chennai/Bangalore International Airports. Please take a airports to reach the temple. Road transportation: Plenty of buses are available from Chennai/Bangalore/Tirupati and other major towns. Vellore-katpadi JN is nearest railway station, 12 km from sripuram. After reaching vellore new bus stand, more town buses are available to sripuram. And town buses from Old Bus Terminus (FORT) Route No.8 ply to sripuram golden temple.

Click here to know - More about Sripuram - Golden Temple.

A Good Teacher.

   ''Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan "

Born: September 5, 1888
Died: April 17, 1975
Achievements: First Vice President and second President of India. Placed Indian philosophy on world map.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was first Vice President of India and second President of India. He was also a philosopher and introduced the thinking of western idealist philosophers into Indian thought. He was a famous teacher and his birthday is celebrated as Teacher’s Day in India.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888 at Tirutani, Madras in a poor Brahmin family. As his father was poor Radhakrishnan supported most of his education through scholarships. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had his early education at Gowdie School, Tiruvallur and then went to the Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati for his high school. He joined the Voorhee’s College in Vellore and later switched to the Madras Christian College. He chose Philosophy as his major subject and did his B.A. and M.A. in it.

After completing his M.A., Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, accepted an Assistant Lectureship at the Madras Presidency College in 1909. In college, he mastered the classics of Hindu philosophy, namely the Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita, Brahmasutra, and commentaries of Sankara, Ramunuja and Madhava. He also acquainted himself with Buddhist and Jain philosophy and philosophies of Western thinkers such as Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Bradley, and Bergson.

In 1918, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was selected as Professor of Philosophy by the University of Mysore. In 1921, Radhakrishnan was nominated as Professor of Philosophy at the Calcutta University, 1921. In 1923, Dr. Radhakrishnan’s book “Indian Philosophy” was published. The book was hailed as a “philosophical classic and a literary masterpiece.”

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was called to Oxford University, to deliver lectures on Hindu philosophy. He used his lectures as a platform to further India’s cause for freedom. He also argued that Western philosophers, despite all claims to objectivity, were biased by theological influences from their wider culture. He showed that Indian philosophy, once translated into standard academic jargon, is worthy of being called philosophy by Western standards. He thus placed Indian Philosophy on world map.

In 1931, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was elected Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University. In 1939, Radhakrishnan became the Vice Chancellor of the Benaras Hindu University. In 1946, he was appointed as Ambassador to UNESCO. After Independence Dr. Radhakrishnan was requested to Chair the University Education Commission in 1948. The Radhakrishnan Committee’s suggestions helped mould the education system for India’s needs.

 

In 1949, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was appointed ambassador to the Soviet Union. He helped laid the foundation for a strong relationship with Soviet Union. Radhakrishnan was elected first Vice-President of India in 1952. He was honored with the Bharat Ratna in 1954. After serving two terms as Vice-President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was elected President of India in 1962. During his tenure as President India fought wars with China and Pakistan. As President he helped see India through those trying years safely. He retired as President in 1967 and settled in Madras.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan died on April 17, 1975.

 

I feel proud to be a "TEACHER". 

  

NOW I AM WORKING AS A COMPUTER TEACHER IN RAVINDRA BHARATHI SCHOOL - BHAVANI NAGAR - TIRUPATI - CHITOOR (DT) - ANDHRA PRADESH - INDIA.
 

I've seen teachers who worked for hours on their lessons, who were scholars in the field fail miserably, and I've seen teachers who, if you gave them five minutes before they walked in to glance over their material, they could run a class for an hour on any topic under the sun.

In the end, what makes a great teacher? I wish I had a magic eight-ball that allowed me to figure this one out, but it's something I've really given a lot of thought to... and I think what follows are at least some interesting ways to think about the profession.

I've been on the hiring committee at Beacon for several years, and I've seen us make some amazing hires, and I've seen us make some less than amazing hires. I know what are the things I look for, but finding the right mix, the right person can be so difficult.

So what makes a great teacher?

1) Passion for teaching. This can manifest itself so many ways. I'm the "jump around the room" kind of teacher, and sure, that comes from a lot of passion, but some of the best teachers I've known have had a passion that students had to be quiet to catch onto. For me, when I was a young teacher, watching people like Maura Gouck and Marijolin DeJager teach with their quiet passion and brilliance was so important to my development as a teacher.

2) Love of kids. You laugh, but it's true! I've seen people come in and talk about teaching and talk about how much they love their subject and know about their subject, but they never mention the kids. Worse, we had an interview once where the teacher clearly knew his stuff, but he basically admitted that his classroom management style was fear and intimidation. Not who I want teaching kids I care about.

3) Love of their subject. Again... pretty important. I spent four years dropping by Mike Thayer's classroom because to watch him explain physics or calculus was, for me, to understand how you could have a passion for something that was always a mystery for me. Great teachers not only love their subject, but they love to share that joy with students.

4) Understand of the role of a school in a child's life. High school is more than the sum of the classes the kids take. It's a time to grow, explore, try on identities, find joys that might just last a lifetime. Sometimes the best teaching we do happens on basketball courts, in the halls after a class, at a local coffee shop or in a drama studio. The best teachers know that they are teachers for much more than the time they are in the physical classroom.

5) A willingness to change. This one gets overlooked sometimes, I think. I've written about this before, but it bears repeating. We talk about how schools should be transformative for kids, but I think they can be just as transformative for teachers. If you expect kids to be changed by their interaction with you, it's got to be a two-way street.

6) A work-ethic that doesn't quit. It's a hard, draining job that will demand all that you can give sometimes. You've got to be able to have some balance in your life, but there are very few teachers who can be effective by cramming everything they need to do into the hours allocated by the average teacher's contract. (And for the record, the overwhelming majority of the teachers I've met put in hours well above and beyond the contract.)

7) A willingness to reflect. You've got to be able to ask why things went the way they did... both on the good and the bad days. And you have to be able to admit when the reasons it went bad were because of what you did, not what the students did. (Equally important is the understanding that often things go right because of what the kids brought to the table, not because your lesson plan should be bronzed.) Teaching requires a willingness to cast a critical eye on your practice, your pedagogy and your self. And it can be brutal. Organization.

 8)My personal Achilles heel, and one of the things I'm always working to improve. My Palm Pilot helped, really. But I hate paperwork and official looking documents, and it kills me. I am amazed at the people like Dale Lally who seem to get his papers handed back before the kids hand them in or seems to be able to put his hands on every unit he's ever taught within a moment's notice. Kids know what to expect, they know he's going to be organized and have a structure to his class... and he's still creative and spontaneous and interesting. I can only imagine how much better of a teacher I'd be if the structure of everything I did was just a little more organized.

9) Understanding that being a "great teacher" is a constant struggle to always improve. I'm starting my eighth year as a teacher in a little over two weeks. I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished, and I think I've had some moments of great teaching in my career so far, but I also still see all the holes in my teaching -- sadly, often times mirroring holes in my self -- and I still want to get better... because I think I've got a long way to go to be a great teacher every day. And even if I get better at everything I see as weaknesses now, I can only imagine what new challenges will face me on that day.

10) Enough ego to survive the hard days. The tough days will leave you curled up under a desk, convinced that you can't teach or the world is too hard for these kids or the work is too much or whatever the problem was that day... you have to have enough sense of self to survive those days.

11) Enough humility to remember it's not about you. It's about the kids. If your ego rules your classroom, if the class turns into "me v. them" or if you can't understand that a sixteen year old might be able to tell you something you don't know, then don't teach. Or at least, don't teach high school.

12) A willingness to work collaboratively. Sure, there are some great teachers who close the door to their classroom and do what they want, but I think you send a strange message to the kids that way sometimes. Teachers are part of a school community, and even where that community can be flawed (and lots of schools are), a great teacher should be willing to work to make the community a better place.

I wish I could say that I was good at all these things. I wish I could say that I even knew every place I needed to improve. I don't... although, after eight years of journalling about teaching (including the year student teaching), I certainly have a lot of writing to point me to my own sense of self as a teacher. And after seven years at Beacon, I've had a chance to see some of the best teachers in New York City practice their craft. I guess I'm questioning if I even have the right to write this entry... but for me, the act of writing it is as much to question my own sense of what makes a good teacher as it is to claim that I have any idea of what does.