Tag Archives: Don’t Quit

Don’t Quit

I wrote in my journal today that it seemed only a couple of weeks ago that I could not seem to find much material. I sent out some emails and the bounty is amazing. One professor of curriculum studies sent me almost 1000 pages of PDF materials and names. At the same time, I came across another professor of curriculum studies who looked at curriculum through a post-modernist and chaos theory lens.

I was never close to quitting but it underscores the sense of impermanence in life. Things are never static. They move along into the next moment.

Edgar A. Guest’s poem seemed right in light of the turnaround. It means lots of reading but the writing is slowly emerging that goes along with it.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will

When the road you are trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile but have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must—but don’t you quit!

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow,

You might succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out

the silver tint of the clouds of doubt

And you can never tell how close you are,

It might be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit

It’s when things get worse that you mustn’t quit!

Don’t Quit

Edgar A. Guest wrote this poem that seems apt now. I watch the students struggle each day with the end of the year coming. For a number they will transition into new schools and those that stay behind much change is around the corner. They seem apprehensive. I remind them daily that they will be able to stay in touch. Technology makes this world so different. We can pick up a phone or send a message via email, Facebook, or text. It would be easy to quit on the relationships they have built up over the year because they might not see each other daily.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit – rest if you must,
but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow – you may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;
often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor’s cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,
how close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out – the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and when you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit – it’s when things seem worst,
you must not quit.