Category: Education

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Compassion is the fuel for a new economy

Chade-Meng Tan’s talk gave renewed hope to an idea I had for a model economic development and empowerment for youth that promotes the greater good. Last summer I  participated in a course at St. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Institute. It was called, “Retrieving a Franciscan Philosophy for Social Engagement.” As part of the course I was required to come up with a timely application of the principles which we were studying. The following is taken from a paper I wrote this summer.

“Life reduced to its simplest equation is about relationships. Implicit in these relationships is contract. Most of the time the contracts are implied and at other times in the are complex legal agreements governing business transactions. We live at a time and in a culture that is desperately looking for  a response to life that is grounded in principles that respect both the buyer and the seller. Principles that invite not only common property but value for what we can call the common good? Some might argue that such ideas are too idealistic and that nowhere is there any evidence that anyone has successfully applied such an approach.”

Chade-Meng Tan’s talk provides evidence that such principles are used very successfully at Google. Glad to have found this talk and thank you to TED for publishing it.

[ted id=1113]

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Teaching the Senior Class

Last night I taught a small group of seniors. They were an attentive lot and they were my first students this fall. The topic was “Beginner Computer Basics.” You may have guessed by now that these seniors were not seventeen and eighteen years olds. A couple were octogenarians. Nonetheless, the oldest student already had a Gmail account which was part of my lesson. We covered the basics and I opened up a Dell Optiplex desktop so that the class could get a good look at the insides of a typical computer. I had some short videos that I put together for them along with a Wikispace that I created especially for our class.

I arrived about fifteen minutes early to ensure that all was set for our class. The oldest student was already there and eager to begin. We began promptly at 6:00 pm and ended ninety minutes later. In the process my students learned some basic terms, got an inside view of a typical desktop computer and learned how to create a Gmail account. We even got started on how to create a document in Google Drive. Thank you to Jessica Frank, Director of Blount Library who asked me to put together some introductory computer classes and to my students. You made my day!

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A school called to model Francis

Recently I met with the principal of a local Catholic high school who is attempting to resurrect the Franciscan tradition upon which her school was originally built. Declining vocations meant that the school had to be staffed with lay people and administered by them too.  There are members of the school’s governing board who would like to see a return to the school’s roots. There are few reminders of its rich Franciscan heritage nor of the Franciscan friars and nuns who once walked its corridors. But aren’t we all called to follow Christ and couldn’t we model this charism for faculty and students. Could this rebirth of the Franciscan Intellectual tradition be a model for others. Could the creation of an authentic community of teachers and learners modeled on the care of creation point and the celebration of the uniqueness of each individual mark the way forward?    The following quotation taken from the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order points the way.

“Together with all people of good will, are called to build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively. Mindful that anyone “who follows Christ, the perfect man, becomes more of a man himself,” let us exercise our responsibilities competently in the Christian spirit of service. Let us individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the testimony of our human lives and our courageous initiatives. Especially in the field of public life, we should make definite choices in harmony with our faith. Let us esteem work both as a gift and as a sharing in the creation, redemption, and service of the human community.”

Aren’t all students and teachers whether in public or private education called to conversion where knowledge becomes more than mere learning and instead begins to animate the life of the students and the faculty?   Franciscans celebrate life and creating a school where life in all its forms is celebrated and respected would provide a unique experience for the students. Imagine a school where care for all creation became a theme around which the school could unite.

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Mr. Martinez — Servant Leader

Friday I volunteered at Boston Valley Elementary School in the First Grade classroom of Dara Watkins. It was my first classroom experience since retiring in August. I read the students “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” which was one of the first books I read and remains one of my favorites. Upon arriving at Boston Valley I parked my car, picked up my shopping bag of beanie babies my wife had donated to the cause and a pumpkin I purchased as a class gift along the route of travel. I walked to the entrance of the school and got “buzzed in,” by the elementary secretary, signed in and was directed toward Dara’s classroom. In the hall I met a tall, well dressed gentleman. I said, “are you the principal?” He responded, “no, I’m the custodian here.” I’m naive, so I took him at his word as he escorted me to Dara’s classroom. I said, “I worked as a custodian and school bus driver for eight years prior to earning my bachelors degree and becoming a teacher.” Immediately we had something in common and I felt welcome here at Boston Valley. Later when talking with Dara I learned that my custodial escort was in fact Mr. Martinez, the school’s principal. I also learned from Dara and my wife that this wonderful man had given her $100 to buy school supplies. Servant leaders always empower those they serve and Mr. Martinez is one of those rare individuals who does exactly that. Dara, her colleagues, and the students of Boston Valley are blessed to have Mr. Martinez. Thanks for making my day and enriching all of our lives with your wonderful example.

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A new beginning

This poem has hung above my desk at work and lay germinating in my conscious and subconscious mind. It’s funny how the spirit moves within us. Thanks to its author, John O’Donohue, a man I will never meet but whose words brought new birth and direction for my life. The title is “Blessing for a New Beginning,” and so it is.

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

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Love your neighbor as yourself

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31

These are word easily read but not easily practiced for me. They are words whose point I missed for much of my life and to this day I have difficulty loving and caring for myself. I frequently put myself down. It is a false humility, a pride in reverse that invites me to think less of myself. Today I was having a field day judging myself harshly because something went wrong. We were reimaging computers, dozens of them, when suddenly I realized that we needed an older version of Internet Explorer installed. Immediately my gut began to churn, I stopped living in the present moment and instead began to recriminate myself and pity myself. Neither of these is healthy activities. When I engage in this mindless behavior I also violate the principle of ahimsa. For many years I have admired Mahatma Gandhi and the principle of ahimsa, but it was not until I began to practice yoga that I realized that “non-harming” applies to self too! Tonight following dinner and in the gathering twilight I began with a forward bend, downward dog, mountain and a couple lunges. I began to return to my breath and to love and care for myself as yoga teaches us. Once again I saw the union between this ancient practice and my prayer life. I lift my eyes and my arms toward heaven and touch the cosmos and feel the warm healing energy flow in my body and spirit. It is in these moments that I sense a connection with the cosmic Christ, the alpha and omega of the universe. God is love and he expects us to love each other and ourselves too. As C. S. Lewis says, “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” There is a divine paradox in that axiom.

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My grace is sufficient

Today was one of those year ending days in school when it all got a bit overwhelming with tests, test results, people who needed help. I was down and shared that with my colleague and friend David who always has a good word or joke to share. His enthusiasm and kindness are legendary. Today while we were sharing, he told me that the important things in teaching and learning are not the test scores, but the impact that we educators have on our students. He related how he had seen students vying to be the first to enter my classroom each day. Later in the morning I received a scripture quote from him which helped to buoy my spirits.

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25

That’s one more way that he encouraged and strengthened me. It was a God send on a very taxing day. Our principal was equally kind to me and encouraged me as only principals can do. During the day as I walked the halls another of my favorite quotes kept me afloat.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

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Thank you to Dave and Tom and all who reminded me that we are brothers and sisters and that community is more important than anything else in the world.

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Franciscan Institute

In a couple of weeks I’ll be attending classes at St. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Institute. In preparation for that I received an instructive email from the liturgist yesterday. Each day begins with morning prayer and ends with evening prayer and in between is the Eucharist. I loved this quote taken from the mail.

Institute liturgies set a rhythm for our life on campus and give us time to come together, as the Body of Christ, from all of our different classes. We hope that your academic life comes to a culmination in the liturgy and that you leave the Institute with both new wisdom and a renewed spirit.

I look forward to my time at the institute with longing and hope for a renewed spirit. Peace!

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A more fraternal and evangelical world

After completing my last post and walking along the Allegany river I thought of the words of our Secular Franciscan rule.

Secular Franciscans, together with all people of good will, are called to build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively.

Then I came across a great blog from Our Lady’s Fraternity of Secular Franciscans that expands on the rule nicely.

Article # 14 of our Rule of Life in structs us that we Secular Franciscans are to go about our God-given task of “building a more fraternal and evangelical world” not just for ourselves, & not just for the community of other Christians. Rather, we are to work “together with all people of goodwill” in a common endeavor to “build a more fraternal and evangelical world”. Some of us must say to ourselves, “surely this attitude of radical, open-armed inclusiveness has got to be some kind of mistake!” What about those people who don’t look & think & act the way we do? What do those people who don’t have the same set of values & beliefs that we do, who don’t pray the way we do? Do we have to include them, too, in this equation? The answer is YES! Our rules does not give us the option of choosing to work with just a few people of goodwill or just some people of goodwill or even just most people of good will. The challenge for us as well as the hope & the promise is to be willing to find common or at least complementary initiatives with all people of goodwill.

Click here for a link to that blog.

I see the calling I am discerning as compatible with my vocation as a Secular Franciscan.