What is The Gratitude Project?

What is The Gratitude Project?

For several months I have been discussing my thoughts with various students for a community action team that we have, subsequently, come to call the The Gratitude Project. It began as a germ of an idea, a persistent notion that our Studio was/could be more than just a place where people learned to punch and kick and grapple, -- there are already so many schools that fulfill that basic need -- more than just another faceless business. I had this inspiring thought that because of what we teach – our focus on educating people on the deeper lessons of the Arts and of humanity and character -- that we are uniquely poised to bring something ... more ... to our community.

Over time and through meetings with students, parents and some very engaged community volunteers like Louise Keller of the Domoestic Violence service Center, the idea began to evolve and finally crystallize.

Now, I’d like to take a few moments of your time to clearly share what The Gratitude Project is ... its purpose and its goals.

Although hosted by/at the Studio, The Gratitude Project is a completely separate entity from our regular physical Martial Arts curriculum. It is – or will be – comprised of students, parents and members of the community at large who are interested in building a legacy of Kindness, compassion, giving, service and helping those in need.

We do it out of a sense of gratitude for being able to serve, and because it the right thing to do. 

Everyone has a cause that matters to them. Maybe it is related to cancer, diabetes, heart health or some other health-related issue ... maybe it is humanitarian efforts, like helping flood or earthquake victims ... maybe your cause has to do with animal rights ... or going green ... or helping to stop bullying in all of its forms.

Whatever your passion, we want to work with you on it, to do something as a Team – a project – that means something to you and we want you to do it with Excellence.

Want to raise food to feed local hungry families?

Help the Humane Society get supplies or toys for sheltered animals?

Help a neighbor with small household repairs?
Mow a lawn?

Shovel snow for the elderly (not now, of course, but, like, in the winter!!)?

Raise funds for a local charitable organization?

It doesn’t matter whether the cause is large or small, local or national in scope. If it is important to you, it is important to the The Gratitude Project. If every one of us did just one project that touched our hearts, imagine how much better our world would be. Now imagine if we put together a group of like-minded, dedicated people – people like YOU and me – who were committed to making that kind of involvement a regular part of their lives, to making Kindness and contribution a habit. Can you envision the difference they could make?

It seems that we always find the time to do the things we want to do, the FUN stuff – video games, sports, hanging with our friends. What if doing good things for others could be just as much fun?

NOW IT CAN!

Our vision is not to have boring, stuffy, dull meetings. Yes, we still teach and learn valuable leadership skills that carry into other areas of our lives (more on that in a bit) but we do it by getting together once or twice a month (maybe more, if a particular project requires) for a Gratitude Project party!! Think of it as a high-energy, fun-filled, positive, motivational atmosphere – with refreshments and exciting activities and exercises to develop teamwork and leadership!

The value of any Team is found in its members and in its mission. The Gratitude Project is designed to be an outlet where members identify a need or a cause; plan and design a project as a group; document each step through the use of video and the written word; and implement their project through direct action.

The Team revolves around Project Based Leadership – that is, we actively develop practical leadership skills that Team members can put into a portfolio or a resume and use in other endeavors like school, sports, or career. Beyond that, though, these are viable, hands-on skills that instill the values of contribution, kindness, giving back. As it grows and develops over time, The Gratitude Project will function to allow more experienced members to serve in a mentoring capacity; this is yet another skill our young people can carry forward in their lives.

As you can see, serving on the Project benefits the members as well as the community.  

This is an opportunity for students, parents and members of the community to get off the couch, turn off the TV or computer, come together and do something that has genuine meaning to them and create a forum to inspire people and make a real difference.

Lastly, what identifies a team as a team? A uniform, of course. That is why, as the Team grows and evolves, as the members knit together, we are eventually looking to provide t-shirts with our Team logo in order to unify us.

We would love for YOU to become a part of our Team.

PLEASE SEE MASTER BARNES IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY

Kid's Martial Arts Class, Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. Seated, Patient, and Building Good Character.

Kid's Martial Arts Class, Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. Seated, Patient, and Building Good Character. 

Here's a photo of two young men in our Little Dragons Class class who have recently tested for their next belt rank. The shot was taken with a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 cell phone. I like this photo as it shows thee two young men sitting patiently and proudly as they listen to the instructors praise for their performance, perseverance, and their ability to set and achieve goals. 

In the martial arts, especially with young people, character development goes hand in hand with learning the physical skills of the art. 

Barnes Martial Arts is located at 1366 Murray Street in Forty Fort, PA 18704. You may write us through this blog or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/barnesmartialarts or reach us by phone at (570) 332-4377.

Here's a link to our Tumblr : (http://barnesmartialarts.tumblr.com/). Here's a link to our YOUTUBE Channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/BarnesMartialArtsFortyFort).

Anna Weiss ... October Student of the Month

On Friday, November 5, 2014 we chose Anna Weiss age 6, as Student of the Month for October. She has been a member of the Little Dragons program since just after the school opened in September of 2013.

Anna, who lives in Forty Fort with her parents, Erin and Michael Weiss, attends school at Wyoming Area Catholic. Her favorite subject is math and her favorite teacher is Mrs. Ungureit (Mrs. U.) She lists her other interests as music (especially her favorite song, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas") soccer, drawing and ... eating noodles!

Anna currently holds the rank of Orange Belt, First Stripe, and her favorite Martial arts technique is the ax kick.  

Anna is a wonderful girl and a terrific student. She is focused, very friendly and gives 100% effort in class. She has a great attitude and sense of humor. In terms of technique, she has really come along in just a few short months; she has shown a lot of improvement and dedication. Anna likes a challenge and she is willing to try new things in class. For instance, we do push-ups with the kids throughout the class -- Anna came in one day and demonstrated one-armed push-ups!! She is really determined to be and do the very best that she can."

Mike and Erin Weiss say, "We are very proud of our daughter and the great strides she has made. In her year at the studio she has become more confident, self-disciplined and more aware of others and their feelings all while having fun! We couldn't ask for more!"

Students of the Month are selected based on a variety of criteria, including: class participation, discipline, enthusiasm, listening skills, technique, attitude, behavior and how well they exemplify "Black Belt Excellence and Attitude" in ALL areas of their lives, in and out of the studio.  

Students of the Month receive a special patch for their uniform and a 3-D Certificate, suitable for framing.

It Isn't Just the Kids ... The Bully at the Blackboard

I believe that the majority of teachers are dedicated, considerate, sympathetic individuals. 

As student to teacher ratios increase, faced with a wide variety of student personalities, and often fighting an entrenched bureaucracy that is frequently more concerned about money than people, their job can be thankless.

I have good friends who are/were public school teachers; they are on the whole decent, caring people. After speaking with them about situations they have encountered I completely understand how they can be under a tremendous amount of stress.

However, I have also personally had several experiences with teachers who were ... less than pleasant. One, a gym teacher, stood by and observed as I was beat up by another student; another, an Algebra teacher, openly and repeatedly ridiculed me in front of the class (and, as you have learned in class, two of the requirements for bullying are that an action or behavior be repeated and have bad intentions). Perhaps I will cover those specific incidents in greater depth in another article, but those experiences opened my eyes to the fact that even people in whom we -- and our children -- routinely place our trust can be bullies, and be abusive.

Physical bullying is fairly easy to spot -- black eyes, bumps and bruises. Emotional and psychological abuse -- repeated name calling, insults, character assassination, even sexual harassment -- on the other hand, can be far more subtle. Too many children are already silent about being bullied by their peers; when such treatment comes from an authority figure, the matter may be seen as totally "undiscussable". 

Our kids spend a minimum of 8 hours a day out of our sight when they are at school. We need to know they are safe.

I have provided several links to articles about incidents where teachers abused their authority. The articles also contain tips and suggestions about what can be done if such behavior occurs. 

The bottom line, in my opinion, though ... is that we need to keep open lines of communication with our children. Talk to them.

Barnes Martial Arts mission is to eradicate bullying behavior in ALL of its ugly forms. 


http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/bullying/5063-when-the-teacher-is-the-bully.gs?page=all

http://bullying.about.com/od/Victims/a/10-Ways-To-Respond-To-A-Teacher-Who-Bullies.htm

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/tween-catches-bully-teacher-on-tape-234052398.html

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/teachers-who-bully?page=3