A Balance-Driven Life

I am old enough to remember the first time I watched TV at school.  It was a big deal.  Walter Cronkite was reporting the details of the Martin Luther King assassination.  The impact of his death and the magnitude of this event was initially dwarfed by my excitement.  Television was still relatively new and had never been a part of our learning process. I was just a kid.

That weekend, I had a cold and was bound to the couch.  I watched Martin Luther King's funeral live on a a little 12 inch black and white TV.  This time, the significance of his death became real to me. Masses of people were grieving. I was moved. For the first time, I cried for someone I did not know and would never know.  The television allowed me to participate, to be touched by this man and to discover, firsthand, the beginnings of an amazing legacy. 

The year that King died, there were three TV channels.  Our family watched television together, after dinner.  When my parents were young,  their families would gather each evening around the radio.  

Media was a family event.  What was heard and seen was discussed at dinner tables and among family and friends.

Playboy magazine was behind the counter at the drugstore and covered in brown paper.  Of course, I wanted to peek, but couldn't.  Today, the Internet is a window not only to a wealth of information, but also a portal to any image or sound imaginable.

I am a proponent of change. I am a supporter of a technology-infused curriculum.  TV had a big impact on my life as a learner. Today, computers and devices of all types are providing innovative and creative opportunities for students and teachers.

Still, I am not quite comfortable in this high speed, high tech, device-driven life. I wonder about the ramifications of too much connectedness, too much information, too much of the time. I wonder if I can set the limits that children need to feel safe in such a complex world.

What if?

What if we slept side-by-side with the families of war torn nations?   What if we became a part of their lives?  What if we helped them to rebuild their homes, their towns, their cities ?  What if we asked for nothing in return.

What if we stopped working on our own privileged lives and focused on those in need. What if we all did this? What if we carried no weapons, but instead, risked our lives by leading with trust?

Some of us would surely die. But, we are dying now.  

We are afraid and we are killing.  They are afraid and they are killing. We are angry and we are killing.  They are angry and they are killing.

What if we started with our own country, first?  What if the rest of the world watched us as our problems dissolved?  

Could we start a war of healing?  A war comprised of a wave of human compassion so large that it became a tsunami of comfort, love, and support.

What if we stopped everything we are currently doing?  We joined each other in the center of each of our towns and cities.  We found all of the people who are suffering amongst us and responded with love.  What if we gave of ourselves?

My heart is layered in sadness.  There is no comfort.  I know that I am living better and with greater ease than many of you.  Yet, I am frightened to change.  I am frightened to reach out to those who need.  I need others beside me.  I need you to change with me.  

Faith and Equity

Religion is a personal belief system selected by individuals and groups. A democratic government is a public agency that is engendered to define policies, systems, and rules that guide a diverse populace. It is really that simple.

In the United States, any person should be able to practice any religion, without fear of harassment or discrimination. Since religious beliefs and practices are so diverse, it is the role of government to ensure that all religions are treated fairly. 

The same-sex marriage debate is an issue that is deeply intertwined with Christian tradition. Religious leaders and practitioners should feel free to argue the merits of performing same-sex marriages as a part of their religious services.  Our government should not and does not interfere with religious freedoms that impact individual churches and their membership.

Conversely, the role of a democratic government is to ensure that all groups are treated fairly and equitably.  In a highly pluralistic society, government cannot align with a specific religious ideology. If that were the case, then all other religious ideologies would become subordinate to the primary ideology. Theology cannot rule in a democracy.

The rules and practices that guide a democratic government are developed through conversations with its constituents. Constituents that insist upon making arguments based upon religious tenets should expect to be discounted.  Religion cannot inform a democratic government. 

Religion's role is to provide a place of worship for it's membership.  Government's role is to provide a peaceful and just society where all people, including minority groups, may flourish.

Politics Inside the Classroom

In the classroom, I have always guarded my personal life.  I openly discuss my life with my son. Yet, I clearly keep my wife and our family stories out of the mix.

My students have many emotional challenges.  It has never seemed prudent to make my family a focus in the classroom.  From my perspective, the politics of adults should not interfere with the education of students.  

I still feel this way. 

Gay marriage will become the law of the land.  Of this, I am sure. Still, it is a contentious issue that has divided families, states, and countries.  It is never fun to be on the losing side.  Be sure, the right wing conservatives will be on the losing side of this issue. 

For the moment, I will relish our victories and our minor setbacks with those who can celebrate, comfort and support me.  My students will not be privy to my personal life.  It isn't their business.

I am a teacher.  I am proud to be a teacher....and I love my students.

Words Matter

Words matter. They really do.  Our reality is shaped, at least in part, by the words we use. Sports psychologists are well aware of the impact of words on the performance of an athlete. Anxiety begins with negative self-talk intertwined with negative mental images. These words and images have the potential to cripple the performance of the most gifted athlete.  I know, I was one of those athletes.

Athletes aren't the only people affected by the power of words.  Words have universal influence. They effect all people.  They transcend culture, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender, and disability. Words matter.  Words are powerful.

Each generation modifies the language of prior generations. This past year, I have heard the use of the words kill, dead, death, shoot, die with increasing frequency, and in a variety of contexts. Most often, I hear these words from children and the media.

Yesterday, my son and his friend were playing Minecraft.  His friend kept saying, "Kill him! Kill him!" (I am sure there must have been some "googlies" lurking about). A few minutes later, I heard my son say the same words to his friend.

I asked the boys to have a chat with me.  I told them that it is hard for me to listen to them say "Kill him!"  I explained that killing results in death and that death is permanent.  My son rolled his eyes at me and said, "It is JUST a video game."   "I know, I know,"  I replied.  "But, it would be more accurate to say "Defeat him!  Since, the creeper will not really die, but spawn again."  The boys looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and said, "Ok!"

For the remainder of their screen time, I reminded them, a couple of times, to switch from the word "kill" to the word "defeat".  They seemed to accept this modification to their language with little concern.  As a parent and an educator, I don't have to accept what the media generates and what our children and students repeat.  I  have a voice and a conscience.  Words matter. They really do.

Breaking Ground with Dory the Fish and Richard Fuller

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” 

Richard Buckminster Fuller

Great thinkers challenge us to do great things.  

It is easy to complain about the the status quo.  Certainly, part of the process of change is to become aware that the current state is not the desired state.  Fuller's quote, above, resonated with me.  His words called me to focus my mind and my intent more on building solutions, and focus less on identifying problems.  

Solution-building, after all, is the real work of change.  

Over the next several weeks, I will be exploring how to use my classroom as a model for educational change.  As my plan develops, I will share it here, with you.  

In the meantime, I expect I will continue to follow the words of Dory the fish, from Finding Nemo...

..."Just keep swimming!"

Miley Hits a Nerve

 In the past, newspapers, magazines, and television were the conveyors of information to the public. Agencies created restrictions that ensured that the content, provided by these mediums, was ready for prime time.  Professionals created the information and released it to the general public at a specific time of day.

The speed at which innovative technology has become available in the marketplace has out-paced our ability to regulate the delivery and timing of information.  Today, information is available anytime and anywhere. At the extremes the content can be both edifying and down right bizarre.

As a parent, this is a terrifying shift.  Through the eyes of an innocent child, information provided by the scholar and the kook are of equal value.  Frankly, the kook would likely be perceived as more entertaining and a lot easier to understand.

The recent Miley Cyrus fiasco points directly to this shift.  Television is now "old technology".  It represents the past and more traditional standards for information.  The fact that Miley "twerked"using this medium, sent shock waves through the audience, who were unprepared for a prime time display of soft-porn delivered by a Mouseketeer.