"A book ought to be an ax to break the frozen sea within us."
— Anton Chekov
I am rereading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder in preparation for my review of the book at our next book club meeting. Once again I am struck by Dr. Paul Farmer's singleminded pursuit of healing for the people in the mountains of Haiti. He has been incredibly persistent. He has also been lucky in his choice of educational institution to find a place that accommodates his style of learning.
I will post more about this as I find other resources that speak to the situation in Haiti.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
It is a long time since I posted to my blog. School keeps me very busy, and I have been traveling as well. The first trip was to an Elderhostel event in Chinle, Arizona. We stayed on the Navajo reservation and visited the Canyon de Chelly, a magnificent place with petroglyphs and ancient dwellings that had gone to ruin and were no longer occupied. The red rock weathered differently according its composition, and resulted in incredibly beautiful formations. The place has a sense of mystery and holiness that is hard to describe.
We also saw Navajo weavers, potters, and silversmiths at work; a storyteller guided us through the tale of The Long Walk. We learned a Navajo word each day, too. It was an immersion in the culture.
Albuquerque, NM, was our next stop. The Albuquerque International Balloon Festival takes place every year. This year 500 balloons participated. We attended the mass ascension on October 2nd, an event that began at 5:30 a.m. and went on for hours. About 200 of them went up that first morning. It was jaw-dropping.
Sightseeing and visiting family occupied the rest of our time. Of particular note was a walking tour of Old Santa Fe led by Joel Stein, a veteran tour guide, published guidebook author, and friend. We also liked the Nuclear Museum. I was impressed by the periodic table of elements done in polished stones of various kinds in the main entry hall.
This was a vacation that needed a period of recuperation afterwards!
We also saw Navajo weavers, potters, and silversmiths at work; a storyteller guided us through the tale of The Long Walk. We learned a Navajo word each day, too. It was an immersion in the culture.
Albuquerque, NM, was our next stop. The Albuquerque International Balloon Festival takes place every year. This year 500 balloons participated. We attended the mass ascension on October 2nd, an event that began at 5:30 a.m. and went on for hours. About 200 of them went up that first morning. It was jaw-dropping.
Sightseeing and visiting family occupied the rest of our time. Of particular note was a walking tour of Old Santa Fe led by Joel Stein, a veteran tour guide, published guidebook author, and friend. We also liked the Nuclear Museum. I was impressed by the periodic table of elements done in polished stones of various kinds in the main entry hall.
This was a vacation that needed a period of recuperation afterwards!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
More school things
Fall brings changes in the weather and changes in my students' lives as well. Last week we had a big drop in attendance. I did not think about this right away, but one of the other teachers told me that her class attendance had dropped to less than half, and she thought the weather was responsible. As I considered this, I looked back over the week. Rain, chill, rain and big winds — yes, the weather could have played a role. I'd had hints of trouble brewing when one student said her grandmother in Puerto Rico was sick and her sister (also a student) was going to PR to take care of her.
Then I received a note in Spanish from another mother, stating that her son had been sick and I should please excuse his absences. He brought the note, but that was the only day he came. I assume he is still sick.
One student has had spotty attendance, but promised to start back next week because her mother is laid off and can now babysit her two-year-old daughter.
One student returned early from a nursing assistant training program. He said they had two chapters of homework every night, and the next day had one hour to finish 75 questions on a test. He felt overwhelmed.
Three-fourths of the class are not native English-speakers. They face myriad challenges. Many have diplomas from their country of origin. It takes lots of reading and writing to raise students' reading to the level required to pass the GED test.
Every teaching day is busy and takes planning, and sometimes I just have to make do with whatever and whoever shows up. But most of all I recognize how much effort it takes to stay on the path to a GED. Thank you, students, for your stories that spur me to get up and get going every day!
Then I received a note in Spanish from another mother, stating that her son had been sick and I should please excuse his absences. He brought the note, but that was the only day he came. I assume he is still sick.
One student has had spotty attendance, but promised to start back next week because her mother is laid off and can now babysit her two-year-old daughter.
One student returned early from a nursing assistant training program. He said they had two chapters of homework every night, and the next day had one hour to finish 75 questions on a test. He felt overwhelmed.
Three-fourths of the class are not native English-speakers. They face myriad challenges. Many have diplomas from their country of origin. It takes lots of reading and writing to raise students' reading to the level required to pass the GED test.
Every teaching day is busy and takes planning, and sometimes I just have to make do with whatever and whoever shows up. But most of all I recognize how much effort it takes to stay on the path to a GED. Thank you, students, for your stories that spur me to get up and get going every day!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Politics!
My student Becky was late this morning. I was surprised. She is never late. But she arrived at 10:30 with an amazing story to tell.
Becky is an activist. She speaks up and speaks out. She volunteers for the phone bank for political campaigns and rings doorbells and hands out political flyers. Today she was accompanying Joe Sestak on his campaign visit to downtown Reading.
Becky related to the class how she had walked next to Mr. Sestak. She showed us how tall he is. As she walked beside him, she told him, "I'm your security in the 'hood." We all laughed.
She brought Joe Sestak campaign flyers to us, and we all got one. The class gave her a round of applause for civic involvement, and for showing up at class too.
It was a wonderful moment!
Becky is an activist. She speaks up and speaks out. She volunteers for the phone bank for political campaigns and rings doorbells and hands out political flyers. Today she was accompanying Joe Sestak on his campaign visit to downtown Reading.
Becky related to the class how she had walked next to Mr. Sestak. She showed us how tall he is. As she walked beside him, she told him, "I'm your security in the 'hood." We all laughed.
She brought Joe Sestak campaign flyers to us, and we all got one. The class gave her a round of applause for civic involvement, and for showing up at class too.
It was a wonderful moment!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
For God Alone My Soul in Silence Waits
When I was a young mother, my children would come to me full of stories of injustices in school or on the playground, arguments they’d had with friends, complaints of unfair treatment by a teacher, and the other myriad challenges children face when growing up. As they talked, I would interject remarks that I deemed helpful, well-intentioned solutions. One day one of the children said, “Mom, I don’t want you to solve it. I just want you to listen!”
What a wake-up moment for me! I had been too ready to put in my two-cents’ worth instead of letting them finish speaking. I should have been saying, “What do you plan to do about this?”
I still struggle with this. The other day my daughter said, “Face it, Mom, you’re a fixer.” I like to think of myself as a recovering fixer. Every once in a while I relapse, but mostly I try to be present to people as an attentive listener.
This works equally well in my prayer life. Many times I am tempted to assault the ears of the Almighty with a litany of pains, woes, complaints, griefs, miseries — the list could go on. But for me, answers do come.
What do I do? I sit in silence, focusing on my breath. I might have an image, saying, or list of concerns nearby, but I do not obsess about those. I sit in silence and I breathe, and remain attentive, and in that silence I find peace, healing, restoration, and sometimes answers.
The art of listening is a gift to others and to oneself.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
New School Year
Today was the first day of school. Not ordinary school, where students have been attending for three weeks or so and the new clothes have lost a bit of their shine. Today was the first day of classes for ABE and GED students at Reading Area Community College. Adult Basic Education classes are the steppingstone to a General Educational Development diploma, and these are my students. Today I had 13 in attendance, and one student who had car trouble will be there tomorrow.
They come from Haiti, El Salvador, and other places local and far away. Some of them have never read a complete book. We will change that this fall.
Their reasons for taking the class vary, but have a common theme. They want to better themselves. They are committed to working hard and attending three mornings a week.
I tell them that this is not like other schools they have attended. In our class, if you get stuck and the teacher is busy with another student, you ask a neighbor for help. If someone looks at your paper and says, "How did you do that?" you should tell them. We help each other. We know that we each learn in our own way, on our own time clock, and we don't get discouraged if we have trouble. We keep on working. The only way you won't make it in my class is if you quit coming, I tell them.
I say that learning is like the question, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" One bit of information at a time, we build the ladder of learning.
The first day is like a pep rally interspersed with information, mainly Student Rights and Responsibilities. The real work begins tomorrow. We are ready!
They come from Haiti, El Salvador, and other places local and far away. Some of them have never read a complete book. We will change that this fall.
Their reasons for taking the class vary, but have a common theme. They want to better themselves. They are committed to working hard and attending three mornings a week.
I tell them that this is not like other schools they have attended. In our class, if you get stuck and the teacher is busy with another student, you ask a neighbor for help. If someone looks at your paper and says, "How did you do that?" you should tell them. We help each other. We know that we each learn in our own way, on our own time clock, and we don't get discouraged if we have trouble. We keep on working. The only way you won't make it in my class is if you quit coming, I tell them.
I say that learning is like the question, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" One bit of information at a time, we build the ladder of learning.
The first day is like a pep rally interspersed with information, mainly Student Rights and Responsibilities. The real work begins tomorrow. We are ready!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Fun at the Beach
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| Tom |
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| The family |
Tom's family has done this group vacation every year for a long time. It's a great way to maintain family bonds.
Photos by Buena Peacock Henry
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