Richard Ruffalo - Master Motivator, Author, Educator, and Internationally Recognized Athlete

	*Richard Ruffalo* "Quotable Ruffalo "
Teachers, take note. Someday Rich Ruffalo's words of wisdom may end up in a reference book all his own!

We begin as dust and we end as dust. What we do in between is what counts. Challenges are not stumbling blocks but steppingstones. We are not in teaching for the income, but the outcome. Every student is entitled to opportunity, but not to success and material things. Teachers should revere themselves as professionals who are role models and benchmarks of excellence and integrity. The secret of success as we journey through our book of life is never to stop when adversity strikes, but simply to keep turning the pages because a better chapter lies ahead. As individual teachers, we may feel like insignificant grains of sand on beaches of humanity, but together as teachers we can create beaches of hope for tomorrow. The human body is a container. Some bodies are tall, some are short; some are different colors or speak with different accents. Some can't see well, and some have missing parts. But the spirit inside is the same, often untapped, equal and excellent in everyone. We as teachers must give our students the confidence to tap that potential and unlock the champions inside.