Saturday, September 18, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The President Wants To Encourage Students To Do Well... What An Outrage!!
I posted this article last year when this issue came up. Here we go again. My daughter had to get signed permission to view a speech from the President of the United States at school.________________________
I try. I really want to keep an open mind when it comes to conservative politics and issues. I know that the best way usually sits between the two poles that extremists on both sides propagate.
For those of you just tuning in, next Tuesday at 11am central time, the President of the United States will be giving an address to the students of America "challenging students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning."
I have been teaching for 18 years. If ANY president (Bush, Clinton, Reagan, etc.) were doing (or had done) this, I would take the opportunity to have my students watch. This is America and the President is going to speak to our students.
No brainer right?
Not if you listened to talk radio today! Here are some highlights:
- "He's recruiting his civilian army. His 'Hitler' youth brigade,"
- "Totalitarian regimes around the world have sought to spread their propaganda and entrench their power by brainwashing the children."
- "I don't care what the heck he's going to talk about, unless he holds a teaching degree for every state, and he plans on actually TEACHING a lesson, this SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED!!!"
- "What's he going to do, tell the kids to report their parents to the Thought Police if they don't support Obamacare?"
- "It essentially tries to force kids to say the president and the presidency is inspiring, and that's very problematic,"
- “I think it's inappropriate because it smacks of political indoctrination of the worst kind,”
Many conservatives are making it REALLY hard for us would-be independents to give the republicans the time of day. Every time I think the rhetoric can't get any weirder, it goes a notch higher!
There are actually conservative groups encouraging parents to keep their kids home that day, lest they hear the President's speech!
I think Frank Schaeffer had it right... this last election broke their brains.
In all seriousness, the Republicans need to jettison the loons (especially the talk show hosts stirring them up) while there is still some respectability in the party.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Goodbye Dear Friends
 |
| Duke is on the Left, Duchess on the Right |
Duke was our scardey-kitty. He was always skittish around people and would really only warm up to us in the late evening. We joked that he had a split personality, he would run in terror from us during the day; but would come back for a massage later that evening.
Duchess was almost dog-like. Wherever I was, that is where you would find her. Most often she would sleep at the foot of our bed, then come sit at my feet while I brushed my teeth and shaved in the morning. She was rarely off by herself... she would always be where the family was.
We often called her "Nurse" Duchess. If any of us were sick, she would lay down with us for the duration of our illness.
My children grew up with Duke and Duchess along side them. I am grateful for the attributes of tenderness, care, and compassion that our cats helped develop within Kathryn and Jacob.
We were together as a family to say goodbye to her today. She was a precious and wonderful cat.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I am your Father, who loves you.
_____
I have found this quote to be very true. I have also found its inverse to be real ... rejecting cruel dogmas helps develop compassion.
I can give a scriptural argument for the rejection of an eternal Hell - a place where all hope is lost, redemption has died, wrongs can never be made right, and unforgiveness reigns - but my rejection is much more experiential. When Jesus prayed to God, he was praying to a Father. Being a Father has given me a sense of what God feels toward us. At some point in my faith, I decided to reject the "cruel dogmas"; the dogmas that, if true, could never be advanced by a good father.
I think a very good picture of a Father's love - a love that goes the distance, risks, and never quits - can be found in the movie "Blood Diamond". It is a story set within war torn Sierra Leon, where cruel rebel armies conscript children into their ranks.
In the story, Solomon is kidnapped and made to work digging for diamonds. His son is taken to be a soldier. The son is brainwashed and commits many evil deeds while with the rebels. Solomon escapes and spends the movie trying to get to his son. When they first meet, his son denies him; so deep is his brainwashing.
At a later point, Solomon rescues his son, but his son threatens him with a gun. Solomon appeals to the boy to remember who he is. He goes on to say:
"I am your Father, who loves you. You will come home with me and be my son... again."
This is not the message of most modern religion. In our religions, "God" will burn you down if you dare to point your "rejection" at him. This is not the view of a good Father.
To borrow a thought from Bart Campolo:
"I may be wrong in this matter, but I am not in doubt. If indeed faith is being sure of what we hope for, then truly I am a man of faith, for I absolutely know what I hope to be true: that God is completely good, entirely loving, and perfectly forgiving, that God is doing everything possible to overcome evil (which is evidently a long and difficult task), and that God will utterly triumph in the end, despite any and all indications to the contrary."
This is how I view God.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Train Up a Child
Of course a big bucket of them provide open-ended creativity, but he also likes the "model" type; where there are step by step directions showing him how to create a specific space ship or race car.
When he first started doing the model kits, I was doing 95 percent of the construction. The detailed directions had to be followed by me, and I would let him work on squeezing a few blocks together. Later, he worked on finding the pieces and handing me the ones I called for. This year we had reversed those roles - I worked on supplying him with the pieces he asked for.
Today I saw one of his birthday Lego kits completely constructed. He hadn't asked for my assistance.
"Jake," I said. "When did you put that one together?"
He shrugged, "A few minutes ago."
Not only done by himself... but done quickly.
I had the slightest twinge of sadness that he had done it without me, but I refused to hold that emotion; I let it pass. The job of every good father is to help his son grow in independence. My son needs me a little less than he did a year ago.
Which is exactly as it should be. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
