During my first year teaching in 1987 it felt like my knuckles were always white as I held on each day, barely able to wrap my brain around what was happening. As my skills improved, and I gained confidence as a teacher, I began to understand that I needed to relax, let the day come to me, and that I needed to enjoy myself so that the students could enjoy themselves. There were still many days where I let the day wrap itself around my spirit and choke out any joy that might have come my way. I watched and read as specialists in the field of education taught us new teaching techniques based on brain research, and “how students learn.” These techniques would change every couple years, much like science seems to develop new understandings, and what we were sure that we absolutely knew to be correct is now is exactly opposite of what we once thought. As a teacher with many years in the field, and a few degrees under my belt, I come to the classroom with a different take on student learning. The first question that I ask myself as I enter the classroom is, “how can I honor these students today?” The second question that I ask is, “Can I continue to honor them if they are misbehaving? What will that look like? “Will they feel valued today after they leave my classroom?” Valuing the students, and honoring them has become a top priority for me. The media seems to me like a two-headed dragon. With one head it spews out Hollywood/Madison Avenue’s shallow answers to life’s complex questions. With it’s other head it hooks us in to believing that one more toy will bring satisfaction and escape. Nothing about Hollywood is honoring to the child. With many parents needing to take on additional work to make ends meet, Hollywood spends more time with people’s children than the parent’s are able to. Disney has waged war against the family, and many parent’s have had such a small connection with what their own children are watching they don’t even know that children’s programming has been hijacked by people who would use it’s pulpit to control and manipulate.