Outstanding In My Field

You are evil

07:57, Saturday, February 16, 2008 .. Link

Don't let the title surprise you....yet. But this was the conclusion that I have been trying to get my middle school students to understand. But first, the story.

We have a rather eccentric teacher at our school. She told a group of middle school kids that they were evil, that they would never change, and that most of their parents should have used birth control. Some of the more sensitive kids took this kind of personally, and she was 'talked to' about it. Now before you get all bristled up, the focus is not about her. It's just the setup. And besides. I only disagree with half of it.

I definitely disagree with wishing they had never been born, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

I partially agree with thinking they will never change. More on that later.

I whole-heartedly agree that they are evil. Now they are not more evil than your average middle school students, and there are definitely encouraging signs that some of them may do the right thing from time to time. But problem really seems to be in their thinking that they are "good", or "not that bad", when in fact, from a standpoint of sheer motive, they are pure evil.

I was discussing this possibility with a student. Here's the point I tried to make (as I pointed to the cruelty prevention poster at his back). First, I was able to get him to agree that, by and large, causing or witnessing the suffering of another for personal enjoyment is evil. Yes, he could concede this point. Now at this stage, perhaps sensing where I was going, he tried to break it into degrees. For instance, ambushing a student to beat the stuffing out of him (which almost never happens at school) was 'more evil' than pushing them into the lockers (which happens every hour). I agreed that the ends may be of different magnitudes, but the motive that caused them was the same, and that it was evil. He was still reluctant to accept this at this point and I suggested that it may be due to him (and pretty much everyone he knows) having shoved and tripped some people for fun in his day. We didn't leave the girls out of this discussion, either. Words are often harder than the floor...and they can shove with the best of them. As our little talk came to a close, he seemed undecided still. I suggested he take a step back and look around and observe motives as well as actions.

Another thought that occurred to me is that I'm not surprised by the disregard for pain that I observe. I am a little surprised at the hypocrisy. By and large, and this could simply be at the prodding of our terror sponsoring media outlets, I would say the majority of these kids are against the war in Iraq. So...it's not OK to stop people who hate you and their neighbors from trying to kill everyone who disagrees with their brutal worldview, but it's OK to stick your foot out to trip someone as they innocently go to sharpen their pencil.

And now for the statement I half agree with. I agree that they will never change...on their own. But that does not mean they cannot be changed. Scripture indicates that it takes an outside agent to make it happen. And that agent is Jesus. Paul says that there is not one good person among us. We can only stand in the right when we stand because of the righteousness of Christ. Now as a public school teacher, I can't even say this on school property. But I can at least plow the soil.

The student I talked to earlier came up to me last week and said, "I think you're right, Mr. Dailey. We're evil." That's right, we are. Now what are we going to do about it?

Life Metaphor

07:05, Sunday, February 3, 2008 .. Link

CaraDD and I teach a middle school Sunday school class most every Sunday morning. Last Sunday we had no classes because of all the glorious snow and the week prior, we had finished up a series on choosing wisely. So this morning rolled around and I hadn't given much thought as to what to share with the little darlings.

I am in the process of (re)reading The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. I'm not in the strict 40 day program, but I am reading no more than a day's worth at a time so it can rattle around in my skull for a while (like a BB in a boxcar). The chapter I read last night (I think it was chapter 5) talked about life metaphors. So that's what I had the kids do this morning.

Start with the words "Life is a..." then finish the sentence. Then add a few more to help explain the metaphor. You can't say "Life is like..." because that's a simile, and while useful, it's not part of the assignment. So I turned the kids loose with that. Some of their life metaphors were quite thoughtful.

Life is a toilet: What do you do when it gets plugged up?
Life is a skating rink: You may fall down, but you can get back up again.
Life is a square: School, sports, boys, and God.
Life is a chess game: It takes strategy. Wing it and you might lose.
Life is a roller coaster: You go up, down, and all around and then you die.
Life is a basketball game: You never know what play is coming up next.
Life is a blank page: You can't think of anything to write, even though you can write what you want.
Life is a mud puddle: Never clean and never clear.
Life is a freeway: You can travel two directions and you can choose which one.

I found all of these to be quite deep for middle school kids, except the blank page might have been somewhat of a cop out. Either way, I was quite impressed. So impressed that I decided to add my own to the list: Life is a tin of sardines. We're all of us looking for the key. Actually I stole that from a Beyond The Fringe skit called "Take A Pew"

Anyway, in Warren's book, he presents three biblical life metaphors. We only discussed the first one, namely: Life here on earth is a test. The bible uses words like trial, temptation, refine, and such over 200 times. God is interested in how we react to difficult situations. It's easy to love God watching a beautiful sunset. It's a different story altogether when a senseless tragedy shakes you to the core.

The good news is that life is a test that God wants you to pass. He says that He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to bear. No matter what it feels like, when the time for decision and action comes, God is there with His strength, should you call for it. Most people fail the test because they fail to ask God for the way out. He doesn't make it available to you until you need it and then only when you ask. So what if you don't know if you need it or not? Maybe that's why it's suggested we pray without ceasing.

So what is your life metaphor?

Now where is that key?

~D

Two-hour delay

07:01, Tuesday, January 29, 2008 .. Link

We're on a weather-induced two-hour delay. Well at least that's what I am used to hearing it called. When I check the emergency conditions site for my school district, it simply says "2 hrs late" just like that. Now what does that mean? Does that mean the conditions report is going to be 2 hrs late? Does it mean that there will be school, but everyone will be marked tardy anyway? Thankfully, the Language Arts teacher is upstream on the phone tree. She telephoned and was able to sort out this confused mess. Actually she talked to CaraDD who didn't seem to be confused at all.

Speaking on confusion, I heard that the 3rd week of January is usually the most depressing time of the year. The excitement of Christmas time festivities has passed, the bills for Christmas time festivities are coming due, and the sun is still hiding most of the time. Is this true? Would it be equally true for folks in the southern hemisphere? Do they experience depression in the last two weeks of July? With the Christmas materialism factor removed, what would change? What do they worry about now that the ozone holes have patched themselves? Sounds like a research project to me. If they don't suffer the same depression, maybe the UN should mandate another extremely useful non-binding resolution to create a materialistic holiday for the southern hemisphere on the 3rd week of July. I think this dangerous depression imbalance could be the real reason behind demonstrably cyclic climate changes. We could be looking at another magnetic pole reversal, and nobody wants that. Somebody do something! I'd help, but I'm feeling a bit depressed right now...

Introduction

10:59, Monday, January 28, 2008 .. Link

What a horribly boring title. But since I haven't the foggiest what to start writing about, it will have to do. First of all, CaraDD and I belong to each other and Ellesmira, gardendude, emmyloo, and rosethang belong to the both of us. You can check CaraDD's blog for the pertinent geographical information.

I am a teacher. The people of Oakland pay me to perpetuate the values of the community and hopefully put some mathematics in their skulls. I wasn't always a teacher, and am in the final stages of becoming permanently certified. While I'm off educating the local youth, CaraDD is homeschooling our four.

I also play music. I play guitar (and occasionally percussion) with the worship team at the Drain Church of Christ and I play for the Wednesday night CrossTrainers (1-5th grade).

As far as homesteading goes, I am interested in depending on a centralized food industry as little as possible. The primary reason being that local food is healthier. It's healthier for the body because local food is grown for nutritional value, not shelf life. It's healthier for the local economies because of all the intermediary money sinks that are eliminated. And it's healthier for the environment because less synthetic chemicals are required to keep local varieties alive and less fuel is burned transporting it. I'm sure there will be more on that later.

And now, the weather. Snow. A lot of snow for western Oregon. And apparently, given the tiny red octagon in my browser's title bar, more snow is on the way. School was cancelled today and it isn't looking good for tomorrow, either. The end of the 2nd quarter is this Thursday. I have almost all my grading caught up, so maybe a snow day or two isn't such a bad idea.

Outstanding In My Field

You are evil

Life Metaphor

Two-hour delay

Introduction

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