Photograph by Sasin Tipchai
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Impossible is an Illusion by Dr. Paul Semendinger Is an alluring didactic autonomous life driven amazing collection of stories.
There are a lot of stories in Paul’s Semendingers book, and if I read his psyche right, they are a lot more in this book if the length of the book was not an issue for the publishing company (Ravenswood Publishing).
I am sure that the good doctor will publish more stories in the future and I be the first in line to read them.
It is rare to find such kindness in a person of authority as Paul Semendinger is. Being kind to the level of being naïve really touched my heart, because I am the same. I still believe that the world is primarily good and that we need to retain that childhood innocence we had.
A child would never have thought that you can’t run in a golf court. That’s what the good doctor did, he ran in a golf court without thinking that you can’t do that. I would probably do the same.
I do try to think like that, that every person on this planet wants to be good and wants to help other people.
I am delighted that people like the author are encompassed in such kind of goodness and even more thrilled that as an educator pass this knowledge and attitude to the kids of tomorrow.
I am writing this review with no structured purpose in mind, I write down of the emotions, feelings and life lessons I received reading this excellent book.
The stories are beautifully structured atomically since the author is an expert in command of the English language. I do agree with him that many words are not used as their actual meaning anymore.
The example of the word expert was such a useful argument. Telling kids that expert means someone that know a few things about something does not help them at all in the long run.
I do agree with the writer that we need to be more careful of how we use words and especially around kids where their brains are like sponges that absorb everything.
Unfortunately is not just kids that think are experts. A significant majority of the adult population on this planet thinks they are an expert which in reality they are not.
At least the kids thinking they are experts, not their fault, it’s the adults that teach them, educators, parents, wider social circle.
The stories are independent. You can read the first one and then read the last one, and you will walk away with excellent tips about a plethora of issues about life.
Even that there is no continuity and dependency between the stories, you can feel the high presence of Paul’s Semendingers. You can feel the optimism and the determination of an educator that it will do what ever is necessary for the kids he teaches and the teachers that work for him to be happy, productive and appropriately motivated.
Paul Semendinger reminds me a lot of my father. My dad is a retired high school teacher. When the author mentioned that his work sometimes kept his long hours away from his family and sometimes into the early hours of the day images of my father doing the same came in my mind.
A good teacher never stops learning, never fall on his laurels, always thriving to learn more and to be able to improve his teaching techniques and find ways to motivate all of his pupils.
Paul Semendinger is that educator, making sure that every time he goes to school he is properly prepared and after he gets off work, his conscience is clean.
If you like baseball, then the baseball paraphilia and information on this book are amazing and worth reading about them. Also the bond between a father and a son that gets stronger and more meaningful with the aid of the game of baseball is amazing.
We don’t have baseball in Cyprus, but I can see the dynamics of the game and how anyone can be pleasantly addicted to it.
Collecting baseball cards by the author reminded me of a long lost memory of mine. I too was collecting cards but not of baseball, but cards are depicting soccer players. The philosophy is the same.
I agree with the author that when we were kids, we actually played with hose cards, thousands now many of the kids instead of playing they never even unrubbed them from their package because in a 20 to 30 years they are worth more money.
Kids should get their hands “dirty” they should play with their toys and cards not put away for possible economic profit int eh future.
The joy and happiness a child feels and experiences while playing with his toys can never be replaced by any amount of money in the future.
Our childhood games are for me priceless.
The writer’s preference of Disney and Rocky is something that I found very amusing with a positive spin, and I must confess that I am also a fan of them too.
Classical music and saxophone playing and listening to music while running is also covered in this beautiful story telling saga.
Not getting classical music is one of my problems too. So I did also what the author suggests. Just stop trying to understand the music and just listen. Also going back into playing his saxophone after a lot of years of absence reminded me of a classical guitar that I have in my attic sitting there collecting dust. I think I will start making “love” to that guitar again soon. Music does list you to the heavens.
I do not listen to music while I run. I am one of those people that have enough thoughts to carry me for 10 marathons and never go out.
I loved the author’s description of running the New York’s marathons and also participating as a Marshall.
I intend to run the New York Marathon one day and the information that this book gave me are priceless.
Paul Semendinger by story telling incidents of his family life showed me what you need to do to be a real father and husband.
Needless to say, I love this book because it made me think a lot about my past, my presence, and my future.
It forced me to remember situations and experiences that I forgot. It made me sad, happy, puzzled and confused but I loved all the emotions this book generate in my psyche.
Closing this review, I want to point out that this book is for everyone that wants to fill his heart and mind with optimism and a sense of hope for the future.
Also if you are a teacher or an educator, then this book is for you.
The author managed with his stories to achieve w essential thing. Through his stories, he always manages to extract a didactic conclusion of how teachers should teach, behave, act and think to become better at their work and better as human beings.
I can now understand why the author says that the school he is a head master is the best school of all.
Highly Recommended!
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