This was sent to me as a gift by George McLaughlin. George was one of the teachers at Central Falls High School in Central Falls, Rhode Island, who was summarily fired along with the rest of the staff, without due process or evaluation.
“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have…and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
— from Mother Teresa”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on thegentlemancaller100's Blog and commented:
Thank You Diane Ravitch
Excellent advice!
I offer an alternative to the Mother Theresa quotation, written by Mother Jones, the fighter for workers rights:
Your organization is not a praying institution. It’s a fighting institution. It’s an educational institution right along industrial lines. Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living!
And, yes, we are in a fight, and we must fight like for all our kids. They deserve nothing less.
Thank you John. An amalgam of the two seems fitting.
hi ellen, you guys out in LA, rather than an east coaster guy such as i, have to find your own cohering sentiments. i stand with you in solidarity. if i lived in or around LA, I would derive great satisfaction to be in the thick of the fight
I agree with Ellen (below). Both statements are true. I’m with Mother Teresa, but a fight is necessary! Better to fight for children with love than out of hatred for the status quo.
That is beautiful.
Thank you for posting that Diane .
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This has always been a favorite! Thanks for the reminder.
Just a personal thought; the Spin Doctors have teachers’ numbers.
Our character and needs are what they are. I wonder how many of us will stay in a pot of water as it gets hotter like a frog until it’s cooked? Even with a tough road, advocate for children anyway.
Love this poem but it is incorrectly attributed to Mother Teresa. Dr. Kent M. Keith is the actual author. This doesn’t make it any less wonderful and I feel thet Mother Teresa never claimed to have written it. Here’s a link to ore info. http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com
Thanks, Anna. Appreciate the attribution. Lovely poem.
Thanks, Anna. I was about to say that. 🙂 I have this hanging by my desk at both schools.
I do…. Amen! So true for me.
When I get tired or dismayed or overly annoyed, I remember these words. I, too, thought these were Mother Teresa’s words, so thank you Anna for the citation clarification. Many times, though, It gets very frustrating. It is good to have Diane sending us the information all in one place to allow us to understand the big picture and all the country-wide specifics. Knowledge is power. We are just building our arsenal of thoughts under the leadership of so many whom Diane brings together. Thank you, Diane.
If you read up on Mother Teresa’s novices, you’ll find out report after report that she was not the nicest person or the easiest person. But she tried to always be fair and was convinced her mission was the right one.
It was.
She taught me that being respected in changing a game is often more important than being liked.
One more I’d like to add:
If you have a mission and want to fulfill it, you will always alienate some people in the process as you are trying to enfranchise them, win them over, empower them, and enthrall them. Fulfill your mission anyway . . . . .
“She taught me that being respected in changing a game is often more important than being liked.” you said that. it took me a long time to learn that, and I do tend to piss off people by demanding that observable reality and the evidence be the lens through which we make judgements.
I really needed this today.
Thank you.
awesome!
I often think of teachers—including a few of those with whom I worked—when I read this:
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” [Mother Teresa]
And another sort of mother can remind us to organize, not agonize:
“Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.” [Mother Jones]
😎
Words to live by ………..
when children are at the core and heart of our decisions! Thanks for the reminder!!!