Tornado: Part Two

Shortly after 5:30 on "that day", my cell phone obtained enough reception to receive a text message from Dawn Brockman, the sponsor of the Student Congress at Norman High School (community immediately to the south of Moore/SW OKC).  She reached out to me due to our connections with Student Council activities in Oklahoma (we've also previously worked together at Moore High School several years ago).  Her message was that her students were already putting in to place an action plan to provide donations to help provide relief for the family of my Southmoore students/families.  Their donation blitz was being RAPIDLY organized for Tuesday, May 21st.

Much of the rapid nature of their activities was due to social networking, especially a twitter account which they had created for a previous charitable outreach program: @tigerpalooza.

In that Moore Public Schools were obviously going to be closed on Tuesday, I made the decision to drive down to Norman High to help Dawn and her students in anyway I could.  You'll notice that I underlined the word "organized" above.  When I walked in to Dawn's classroom at approximately 9:30 Tuesday morning I can't even try to describe how well organized their process was:

• Gently used clothing was being sorted in multiple phases: 1) into what was legitimately appropriate to donate to families in need, you might call it quality control, 2) into gender appropriate items, 3) into type of clothing like pants, t-shirts, nicer shirts, coats, 4) into sizes.  Then the sort items were placed with like items into boxes and labeled (i.e. "women's medium t-shirts")
• Diapers, wet wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, and various hygiene products were taken and sort in a classroom next door.
• Bottles of water and a variety of sports drinks were being staged in a classroom across the hall

Delivery was scheduled for early that afternoon.  Since the current students would not be allowed to drive vehicles or otherwise help deliver to items to relief sites due to legal liabilities, the organizing team had galvanized their alumni base, many of whom live in this University of Oklahoma community, to assist with delivery.  I was blown away by the number of alum volunteers who showed up to help.

In all actuality, this WHOLE organized effort blew me away.  I had gone to help them work, but it was clear any work I would add would just be me getting in their way.  So I stayed back, took pictures, and tried to be an encouragement to them in their efforts to be an encouragement to my students and the community of my school.  Below are some pictures of this efforts:

Tornado: Part One

So many thoughts this week...I guess I should start chronicling them before I forget.

Southmoore High School with the EF5 tornado in the background
(photo is a screen shot taken from storm chaser raw video)

Monday, May 20, 2013 was, for the most part, just like so many other days at school.  Sure we were gearing up for our final week.  Scholarship & Awards ceremonies as well as STUCO's annual Black Light show were the previous week.  State End-of-Instruction (EOI) exams and AP testing were over.  Southmoore had even held its first graduation practice of the season.  This day was the start of the home stretch for finals and the last day.

As so often occurs during mid-April to the end of May, inclement weather forecasts were made; forecasts which included a chance for storms that could produce a tornado.  This is normal, and while we take such forecasts seriously we must still live our day-to-day lives.

• First period AP US History: finishing up our post-exam movie (with written assignment) "Thirteen Days" (Cuban Missile Crisis)
• Second period AP Human Geography: debrief on free response questions from Friday's big AP exam overseen by the College Board
• Third period planning hour: working on textbook inventory & boxing up of more books, plus a mad-dash to grab lunch (Qdoba & "taco Monday")
• Fourth period planning hour: special meeting for training on a new video-based announcement system (TV monitors are the Senior Gift from the Class of 2013)
• Lunch
• Fifth period AP US History: repeat from 1st period
• Sixth period AP Human Geography: repeat from 2 period...OR SO I THOUGHT

Part way through the period, and interrupting our free response question debrief, administration came over the intercom and mentioned that due to an approaching storm and the continued/updated forecasts throughout the day we were to report to our severe weather reporting rooms.  So the students in my 2nd floor outside wall classroom and myself proceeded to move downstairs to the interior classroom to which we are assigned.  We joined 2 other classes (the hosting science class and a re-routed math class).  Not truly knowing the severity of the storm the kids were visiting and laughing among themselves.  Some grabbed their cell phones and then began saying things to use three teachers about "um, maybe this is worse than we think".

The host teacher pulled up a live news feed from one of our local news stations and we began watching the reports.  There was a storm west of us that looked ripe for creating a tornado, but the current track of that storm was suggesting a route much further north than us.  And then we noticed on the radar image a "hook" that was forming.  We three teachers began having students move the science lab tables away from the interior walls to provide enough room for all of the students to sit down along the walls and built in cabinets.  An announcement come on letting us know that reports indicated a small tornado was about to drop from that "hook"...we could see this on the live news feed (storm chasers just love Oklahoma).

But this "hook" on the radar and the tornado we were seeing in the live feed didn't seem to be moving in the same northeasterly path of much of the rest of the storm and predicted tracking.  During much of this time I had my walkie-talkie two-way radio turned on to hear the "chatter" from the administrators with each other (I'm one of the check-in captains for fire-drills and for some reason I grabbed this device as we evacuated from upstairs today).  I heard one of the principals say something about seeing the tornado, it being big, and it heading in our general direction.

The three teachers decided that maybe we needed a bit more protection in the event that the tornado did make contact with our school, so we quickly organized a re-moving of the lab tables back into the area of the room along side the interior wall and had all of the students crawl under.  By this time two-families who had come inside of the building near our main office were routed to join our classroom...they joined us under the tables.  Within less than a minute of getting everyone under the tables the power went out.  This interior room was pitch black.  Back-up generators allowed some emergency lights in the hallways and also our intercom system to come back on.  An announcement was made that everyone should take cover.

And then...waiting, waiting, waiting.  I could feel the panic in my students's voices.  I had already sensed some uneasiness in their eyes as we started moving the tables.  While I felt safe that the design of this building would provide protection for us I also knew that "you never know".  Waiting, waiting, waiting...after about 15 minutes, an announcement was made that the administration thought the storm and tornado had passed us, but due to things being dark to please stay in our holding rooms.  Students crawled out from under the tables.  Some started checking their phones, texting friends and parents, "any news", "what happened", but most of these messages didn't make it initially due to 1) the interior nature of the room on the 1st floor and 2) as we would later learn, significant damage to power lines outside.  I stepped into the hall to try and get a better reception on the two-way to see if I could hear anything from admin...but no.  With no power, the signal boosters spaced throughout the building were not working.  A few other teachers, began to emerge from their rooms and a teacher at the end of the hallway could see out the glass doors into the neighborhood adjacent to our school.  A trampoline was upside down on a house's roof; debris was all over the ground.

Being in the hall, various teachers began to receive a few simplistic text messages.  I heard one comment "Briarwood is gone".  My heart sank.  The mother of one of my students still in the darkness of that room I had just stepped out of is a teacher at Briarwood; we've become friends during the two years I've had her daughter in class.  I rapidly fired off a text to her "U ok? I've heard b wood hit??" and then moments later another "Safe?"  That was at 3:54 PM.  School should have been out at 3:02.  I wasn't hearing back from this friend/mother.  I knew she would be addressing needs at Briarwood, but as time passed without a response my stomach started knotting up.  I knew I couldn't say anything to my student since I didn't know anything for sure; I didn't want to worry her if not needed.

About 20 minutes later a simple three letter text arrived "Yes", followed by another "Yes".  I don't know if the lack of connectivity caused a duplicate message or if the first meant to respond to "b wood" being hit and the second about her safety.

We had been in refuge for almost 2 hours and students needed to use the restroom.  So one of the two teachers with me walked 2 young ladies to the end of the hallway near our centrally located "commons area" to let them use the faculty restroom...it was still pitch black in there.  After several rotations, my student finally showed up at the door for a turn and I whispered to her that he mom was ok.  She had heard other kids mentioning that they thought Briarwood had been hit, but that news confirmed that not only was it true but that it could have killed her mom.  I could tell she was so relieved and she hugged me.

Students were not allowed to leave unless a parent showed up to check them out.  Announcements were made calling for kids by name to come to the office.  Eventually one of my students had her name called.  All others were to remain in these darkened rooms.  Eventually the administration realized that with no electricity that these rooms were getting very warm due to no air conditioning.  Instructions were made that students could step out into the hall but to stay in the area of this room.  As students began to step out my phone rang.   My Aunt Margaret in Baton Rouge was calling.  Instantly, I knew this tornado was BAD if out of state family was already trying to reach me; it meant national news was already reporting the disaster.  The connection was so poor that all I could hear was her voice "David, hello, hello, David?".  As I hung up, I gathered the remaining members of my class together in the hallway.  I tried to offer words of comfort.  I texted the mother again: "Sarah is under my watchful eye" and a few moments later a "Thank you" appeared.

After principals began finding ways of communicating with the outside world and contacted district level administrators on how best to proceed a decision was made to escort all of our remaining students to our gymnasium so as to use that area as a better way to connect students with parents who would make it up to check them out.  This process would last hours....HOURS.  It was about 5:30 when this process started...as the numbers dwindled, different teachers would start to leave to head home (especially to check on their homes/families if they lived near the tornado's path.  Since I am single, have no children (I knew my dog would be safe with her water, food, and indoor potty pad), and I live comfortably outside of this area of the city I stayed...and stayed.  Throughout the evening at various points my cell phone would make a connection (our gym is very bad for cell reception) and I'd get 6 or 7 messages at once.  Counts less friends and family members..."David are you ok?", "Are you still at Southmoore", etc.  I felt horrible at only preparing simple one word answers "yes" and then hitting send.  The reception was so poor that I'd often have to try sending each "yes" 4 or 5 times.  I would later apologize to my friends/family if the simple one word replies came off as rude and dismissive...EVERYONE said that they totally understood; I was busy with the kids...I was safe.

About 8:30, a caravan of police showed up to evacuate our remaining students to a shelter that had been set up.  A school bus sitting outside was to be used along with the vacant police car seats.  About 60 kids could be transported at once.  By this point, our 2000+ student population had now dwindled to just over 100...the process had taken so long because the roads were so blocked that parents couldn't get to the school to pick up their students (not for a lack of trying).  With about 45 kids remaining, and enough other teachers/principals to watch over I did make my exit.

By now we had received enough information for me to know that going north from our school to head to the interstate to get across town to my house wasn't going to work.  I'd have to go south (how far was still uncertain), go way east or west (because reports were that both I-44 to my west and I-35 to my east were totally shut down), before turning north to get to I-40 and reconnect with my normal route from there.  It took me 90 minutes to drive 3 miles south of Southmoore.  Voice mails rang in during that time (14 missed calls with worried voices..."Are you ok?"...including another Louisiana Aunt (Katherine).  I returned Aunt Katherine's call and we chatted very briefly before I lost the signal.  But at least that portion of the family knew I was safe.  That 90 minute drive connected me with I-35 and surprisingly it was open so I risked it and got on.  While the traffic flow did slow down through the mile section where the tornado crossed the interstate, it only took me a total of 30 minutes to get home from the point were I got on I-35.  For caparison, my daily route home-to-Southmoore (or reverse) is about 25 minutes).

It was late; I hugged my dog and texted my mother "Home".  Responded to as many Facebook & twitter comments about my safety and then I went to bed.  I'm not sure how fast I drifted to sleep, but I know it was fast.  I'm still not sure how I've been able to sleep so soundly each night in light of this whole ordeal.

I'll be sharing more "parts" to this week's story later.  It's now late on Friday night (truly Saturday morning) and I need to get to sleep...graduation is tomorrow!!!

Some remote roads can bring us such joy and peace, and who knows what this one may ultimately bring in the way of life lessons and the setting of goals for the future.  But one thing I do know is that I am so thankful a disaster like the one which impacted the community of my students/school is a rare remote road.

The Fine Line

Life is full of "fine lines" which help to give us an guiding compass and distinguish between the good and the bad, the safe and the dangerous, the appropriate and the inappropriate, the moral and the immoral, the just and the unjust, etc.  This fine line is [or should be] much easier for adults to grasp than for children simply due to our life experiences.  I do admit that because of a variety of cultural, political, religious, philosophical, etc. perspectives we might not all agree on "where" a particular "line" is, but I do believe that we all would agree that a "line" does exist   We know that if you get to close too the "line" (whatever it may be) you risk crossing over into that territory where you truly don't want to be.  As such, shouldn't caring adults, whether they be parents or other close family members, teacher, clergy, etc., want to help children keep from getting too close to that "line"?  I am troubled today because I witnessed a parent who went to great lengths to facilitate and defend his/her child in crossing a "line" and then verbally belittling the other caring adults who were holding firm to the nature of this "line".

If we as a society collectively start ignoring the "fine lines" it will lead to chaos and, ultimately, the destruction of our society.  I'm welcome our respectful discussions on determining "where" the "line" should be, but actively seeking to destroy the "line" and the protection that such a "line" helps provide is NOT a remote road down which I would enjoy traveling.

South Korea is a "GO-GO"!

Just over 13 months ago I wrote about some disappointing news regarding a teacher trip to South Korea (see "South Korea is a 'no-go'" from March 2012).  Well, that disappointment is no more!

Yesterday I received word that my application for the 2013 trip with the Korea Society has been approved AND there are no conflicts the rest of my summer schedule!  I'm so excited to be able to return to South Korea; this trip will allow me to stay longer and travel throughout more of the country than did my previous experience.

To make the news even more wonderful, last night I learned that two friendships I made on previous teacher-focused trips will be rekindled on this trip.  Robin Manning, who I met on my November 2009 trip to South Korea, and Arlis Groves, who I met as part of the year-long TGC program & July 2012 trip to Indonesia, have each also been accepted into this program with the Korea Society!!

Due to some pre-trip reading and research requirements, I'm sure I'll be posting about my efforts at roaming the roads of lands remote before my flight even lifts off in late June.  I hope you'll follow this journey with me.

When I think of "Agriculture"...

Today, my AP Human Geography began our unit on Agriculture and Rural Use of Land.  To help "inspire" them to begin thinking about that which is connected to agriculture, I showed a couple of music videos from the employees of Peterson Farm and Livestock in Assaria, Kansas.  These videos parody songs from pop culture and yet give a very pro-agriculture message.

"I'm Farming and I Grow It" (parody of "I'm Sexy and I Know It")

"Farming Style" (parody of "Gangnam Style")

We followed this up with each student responding, via polleverywhere.com, to the prompt "When I think of "agriculture", I think of ...".  Students were asked to respond with a minimum number of terms or phrases.  Here is a word cloud (generated at wordle.net) of their responses.

I know that most of my students' responses link to stereotypes based on where they live (country and region in country).  As we study this unit, a remote road for most of my suburban kids, I hope that they are able to understand how agriculture encompasses so much more than the farms of "middle America".  This could be fun!

"Pho - nomenal" on my blog Explorer? YES! Glutton? NO!

I've started another blog focused on food and cultural based culinary arts.  Here's a recent entry:

"Pho - nomenal" on my blog Explorer? YES! Glutton? NO!: A cultural delight has developed in the heart of one of Oklahoma City's historic neighborhoods.  Beginning in the 1970s and continuing int...

Indonesia Continues ...

In 2009, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Seoul, South Korea for a symposium between American and Korean teachers.  I've stayed in touch with many of the American teachers I met and about a year ago I encouraged each of them to apply for the 2012-2013 cylce of Teacher for Global Classrooms.  Two of them were accepted!! And of those, one has been assigned to go to Indonesia.

What has made this extra special for me is that Julie (my Seoul Sista' heading to Indonesia) invited me to participate within a Facebook group specifically designed for her TGC cohort.  The other members know that I'm not going with them, but have been very eager to ask questions ... some that I can answer and others that I just don't know, LOL.

I feel so honored to be "going through this process again" but from a different perspective.  So, while doing something familiar (prepping for an adventure to Indonesia) I'm also roaming another remote road (prepping to help OTHERS enjoy the Indonesia adventure rather than myself).  I'm just as excited about following their travel blogs as I was for the other country cohorts within my own larger team.

TGC Indonesia 2012-2013 ... I'm with you all in heart and spirit! (and if you want to smuggle me in a suitcase, I'm game for that too, HAHA).

New Year: Resolutions or Mission Statements?

A few nights ago I was at a dinner party (for my 36 birthday) when a discussion of New Year's Resolutions came up.  Our hostess commented that she had her husband had opted to create a New Year's Mission Statement rather than resolutions.

I am highly intrigued by this idea!  A mission statement is a statement of purpose, an over arching goal, and/or a guide for decision making.  Rather than making a few trite "pledges" what about giving our lives an over arching mission or purpose and then making conscious choices of behavior to fulfill that mission.

This sort of reminds me of the "What Would Jesus Do?" movement in the 1990s which was, interestingly, based on a book (In His Steps) written @100 years before.  I think much of the 1990s movement ended up being more about people wanting to look cool by wearing a little WWJD bracelet rather than legitimately seeking to create and live by an actual mission statement.

The school were I teach also has a mission statement:

Southmoore High School, in partnership with parents and community, is dedicated to developing a tradition of excellence by providing support, time, and resources necessary to grow an exception academic and extracurricular curricular program that empowers all students to realize their unique potential and emerge as lifelong learners who are responsible members of society.

 

While I think this is a great statement of purpose, I wonder if it's length makes it too unrealistic for every staff member in our building to consciously think of this "mission" when making decisions pertaining to lesson plans, discipline policies, reading lists, technology usage, athletic team lineups, community outreach programs, etc., etc., etc.  Since the opening of our school in 2008 and the creation of this mission statement have developed a motto which seems to provide an easier to remember overarching purpose: "CATS: Creating Avenues to Success".

Prior to the party, I had not yet developed a "resolution" and now I find myself desiring a "mission statement" for the year.  I'm just not sure what it should be.  Should it be something broad enough to try and encompass all aspects of my life or should I have one more smaller scale that focuses on social relationships or professional/career activities?  Do you have any suggestions?  What would be your mission statement for 2013 if you were to create one?

I'll try to settle on a mission statement within a few days and then I'll return to post it.  No matter which direction my mission goes, no matter how broad or how specific, I'm sure it will continue to enable to me explore the unknown and/or unfamiliar as I further endeavor to roam the roads of lands remote.

To my students...

By now I'm sure that most of you have heard about the events which occurred yesterday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.  I'm sure that like most of us, your minds are racing with all kinds of questions on a variety of social, political, religious, and possibly even economic topics which are related to the events of yesterday.  Having such questions, having emotional reactions, are natural and you should not be discouraged from having them.

My purpose in writing to you today is to let each and everyone of you know that I love you.  I value each of you as a special gift that God gave to this world and that has been entrusted into my educational care for a brief period of your life.  I may not always be happy with your performance in class, your less than stellar behavior, or the fact that you sometimes don't realize your own potential for life.  However, I will always love you.  Even if I get aggravated at times, I will always love you and I pray daily for you to obtain the best that life has to offer.

While you are under my care and watchful eye, this love for you compels me to unquestionablly seek your protection from harm.  I will do my best to make sure that while you are in school, especially within my classroom, that you are safe.  And if need be, I would even put myself in harm's way to help save you ... each of you.

So even while you think of yesterday's events, while you see the images, while you express your emotions, know that you will be as safe as I can possibly make you while you are in my care.

Also ... do your homework this weekend <wink>.  After all, APHuG has the multiple choice portion of their Unit Three Test (Cultural Geography) and APUSH has the essay portion of their Unit Six Test (Civil War and Reconstruction).

See you Monday!!

Moving Forward

I've been silent on this platform for a while, too long of a while.  I'm not totally sure why, but that was not my plan nor do I plan to keep it such.  I intend to keep blogging away!!

I'm not 100% sure the direction which this blog should now go.  The initial reason for setting up this specific blog was to chronicle my journey to Indonesia as part of the Teacher for Global Classrooms program.  As of the August 1 at 1:15 AM the Indonesia trip was over and as of the Global Education Symposium II in early October the TGC program has also come to an official end.

Despite the coming and passing of my TGC and Indonesia experiences, the "spirit" of this blog should live on.  I never intended this platform to just be about those experiences and then let this blog come to an end (like many of my TGC colleagues have allowed theirs to do).  I want this blog to continued to be about exploring life through a variety of perspectives whether through physical travel or just the simple observations about life that come to my mind.

There may be changes coming.  I know some changes will probably be to remove the listings of TGC country blogs.  While those writings had their place, most authors stopped their reflections with the conclusion of their trips.  I'll keep links active for those blogs which have continued.

I hope that those who have roamed these remote roads will continue to do so.  I'm sure I'll have much more to share!

Respectfully Giving Thanks

Those of you on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, or other social networking platform have either been participating in or have friends posting updates during the "Thirty Days of Thanksgiving" by writing or posting a picture each day of November representing something for which they are thankful.  One posting from a friend today really got me thinking.  Here is the post:

Day 25 - I am thankful for refrigerators, microwave ovens and leftovers.  Seriously, without fridges we couldn't store food.  Without microwaves we couldn't quickly reheat food.  I haven't cooked since [T]hanksgiving thanks to leftovers.

This friend doesn't know how wise he/she is.  Here in the U.S., or elsewhere in the developed world (even the move developed neighborhoods/homes in the developing and underdeveloped world), we often fail to realize or forget 1) how drastically our collectively lives have changed due to technological innovations and 2) that much of the world doesn't have access to such innovations.

How likely would our family Thanksgiving celebrations be to produce such an over abundance of food if we had no where to efficiently store/preserve that which was eaten during the meal?  Would we only prepare just enough to make sure all were able to eat but making sure not to have too much knowing that the remnants would spoil?  Even if we had the storage/preservation abilities, would we make so much knowing that the preserved leftovers would have to be reheated in a similar method as originally cooked?

I'm reminded of a precious woman who worked hard to prepare a meal for me while I was in Kenya in 2002.  One of the students at Kima International School of theology invited myself and another students to venture the 10 or so miles to his mother's home (used the local public transport of a "matatu" get there).  I didn't get to witness the cooking process, but I know that much of the meal was prepared in a boiling pot (or collection of pots) over a wood fire.  No stove, no microwave, no electric oven, no...well, none of those technological innovations for which my friend (noted above) is thankful.  We ate and ate and ate and I know there was food left over and this made me feel bad.  This family shouldn't have prepared so much just for me, but I also know that I was considered an honored guest in their home and they wanted to make sure I was cared for.  I know that my student had several siblings and that after our departure I'm sure the remnants of the meal were saved from them; I'm hopeful that there was no waste from the abundance in that there was no cold storage place to preserve the items for a later time.

Like my friend, I am highly thankful for those things that I have and use as part of my daily life.  And yet, I am filled with an awesome sense of respect to those throughout the world who do not have access to the blessings of these innovations.  The struggles endured by countless many are worthy of our respect and our compassionate attention.

To My Indonesian Friends...

In light of the recent events involving protests within Muslim majority countries, including my recent host of Indonesia, I wanted to present some of my thoughts.

If you reply, I ask that you do so in the comments section on this blog entry rather than through Facebook, twitter, or other platform on which you have found this entry linked. I'd like all comments to remain in one place.

In July 2012 I had the amazing opportunity to visit Jakarta and Bandung and to meet some wonderful friends, especially friends with the teachers, administrators, and students I meet at Krida Nusantara High School; I am still in contact with many of them through Facebook and twitter.  Ever since I learned that I would be heading to Indonesia as part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program I relished every opportunity to learn about the history, culture, political structure, economics, and society of this diverse land.  And the experiences I had in person will always hold a special place in my heart.

And yet, despite all of these wonderful things, over the past couple of days my heart has been sad due to some of the news that I've heard.  Due to protest rallies which have already turned violent the U.S. consulate in Bandung and the U.S. embassy in Jakarta have each closed (only temporarily I hope).  Additionally, U.S. owned businesses, such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and KFC, have also been targets of the protests.

I do understand that there is much offense taken over a video which was made in the United States and has been placed on the Internet.  I understand that this video mocks your faith, its teachings, and especially your prophet.  When something mocks my faith I too find great offense.  I am in no way suggesting that you should not be outraged at this video.  I also understand the vast overwhelming majority of Muslims in Indonesia and other parts of the world are not participating in the current violent expressions of outrage.

My concern is 1) the form of the expression of the outrage and 2) the targets of the outrage.  While, yes, it was an American who produced the video in question, this video is not something that was created by or endorsed by our government.  Further, the American based businesses that are targets of protest were also not involved with the video project.  In fact, the news here in the United States even suggests that the actors who portrayed characters in the video were not aware that the video even had a connection to Islam when they were filming; a lawsuit filed today claims is that the actors thought they were acting in a desert themed video and that it was after the filming was complete when the producer edited their words to present the message that is found to be so offensive.  I have attempted to watch the online trailer to this video (because I want to be educated about this issue) and the editing was so poor that I had to stop watching.

I know that from many of the protests around the world, one of the demands have been that the U.S. government require Google and YouTube and other online video hosts to remove the video.  Please understand that in our country our history has such a strong link to the concept of a near 100% respect for the freedom of speech and freedom of the press (Internet would fall under both), that our government has such strong legal restrictions in trying to censor information and images...even those which some people or LOTS of people might find to be offensive.  This history goes back even into the historic legacy of the development of civil liberties within British history.  I remember having conversations within Miss Betty's political science class about imagery which might offend people (Mr. Daniel, my fellow U.S. teacher at Krida, showed Internet pictures of each President Obama and President Bush being depicted as Hitler...each image would offend many Americans) and that while such images might be censored in Indonesia the government cannot legally censor such images  in the United States.

I do have some questions I would like to ask of my Indonesian friends, even though you are not involved with the violent protests.

1. Why are businesses and government buildings which are in no way connected to the production of the video targets of the outrage?
2. Why do some people feel that it should be acceptable to use violence as part of a protest?
3. What are some other methods to express frustration and discontent with this situation or other situations which offend you which might be more constructive or appropriate to communicate the legitimate claims of offense?

My ultimate goal in this blog entry is to increase our mutual exercises in learning to understand people throughout the world who come from backgrounds dissimilar to our own.  To help read more about my quest to promote understanding on this topic I invite you to read my message these same events titled "To My American Friends..."

To My American Friends...

In light of the recent events involving protests within Muslim majority countries, including my recent host of Indonesia, I wanted to present some of my thoughts.

If you reply, I ask that you do so in the comments section on this blog entry rather than through Facebook, twitter, or other platform on which you have found this entry linked.  I'd like all comments to remain in one place.

Allow this phrase of St. Francis' famed prayer to be a guide: "Grant that I might not so much seek to be ... understood as to understand."

We as Americans, especially those who claim to be Christians, should be slow to rush into judgement of the events that have been occurring.  We often make judgements based upon our own cultural, historic, political, and religious biases without first seeking to understand.

 

Many Americans are so quick to rush to judgment and ranting about the "uncivilized" members of the "alleged peaceful" Islamic faith rioting in the streets of their homelands, threatening American (and other Western nations') embassies, consulates, and businesses.  Yet these Americans are so quick to forget such expressions of discontent, often conducted by Christians, within our country's history: Bacon's Rebellion, Paxton Boys Riot, Shays' Rebellion, Whiskey Rebellion, a Civil War, Homestead Riot, etc. "But those were in our past" some might scoff...and the riots at the 1968 Democratic convention, the 1992 riots in the wake of the "Rodney King" trial in Los Angeles, allegations of violent outbreaks at each Tea Party and "Occupy" rallies of the last couple of years.  Have we Christians forgotten the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:3?

Please don't misunderstand me.  I'm not providing a justification for the current streak of violence or saying that it is acceptable.  I am just asking for some perspective and for an attempt at understanding.

Additionally, while we as Christians in the United States may express our indignation in other ways, we too are apt to become highly offended when we experience an affront to our faith.  Waves of online protest and church sermons flooded out in response to Dan Brown's best selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, especially after it was turned in a movie starring Tom Hanks.  My own Senior Pastor felt the need to have a special sermon series on "blasphemous" topics raised within the book.  There is also wide spread outrage regarding issues pertaining to homosexuality and the church, especially regarding marriage and ordination of clergy; and this isn't even an issue upon which the entirety of Christianity can agree in that some denominations are ordaining homosexual clergy members and performing "gay" marriages.

Finally, don't lump all Muslims into the category of "terrorist" because of the actions of a few (in comparison to the total Islamic population, those performing such radical acts of violence are, indeed, a few).  Just as there are so many variations within the larger Christian umbrella, there are also wide-spread variations within Islam.  I had wonderful experiences and made some special friends with the Muslim teachers, administrators, and students who I meet in Indonesia this past July.  I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

Having presented my thoughts, I invite you to respond in a respectful manner (even if you disagree).  Also, please visit my similar post titled "To My Indonesian Friends...".
 

Leadership Summit

On Thursday and Friday, August 9th and 10th, I had the opportunity to attend The Global Leadership Summit.  This live simulcast event was based at Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago and broadcast worldwide; I attended the hosted event at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City (my home church).  This summit brings together some of the topic leaders in business, politics, social activism, etc., so as to equip leaders to be better.

As a leader in multiple venues, I have felt the need to attend this annual summit for several years and this year I finally went.  I found multiple concepts to help make me a better classroom teacher, colleague with my faculty, department chair with my teaching team, advisor to my student council student officers, advisor to my local and district administration, etc.  Here are some of my key take-aways from each of the speakers.

Bill Hybels: Founder and Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church

• leaders must clarify the organization's vision and values, inspire and motivate others, and go the extra mile
• leaders must humble themselves and learn from others; everyone wins when a leader gets better
• using "Parable of the Sower" from Luke 8 in The Bible: there may only be a 25% success rate for your efforts (seed sown) and this means you just need to "plant more seed" in order to "grow a forest"
• most important asset of a leader isn't "time", but rather energy and ability to energize others
• a leader's role is not to "preside" or "pontificate" but to build a case that "here" is not good enough and that "there" is better and then to help motivate a team to move from the here to the there

Condoleezza Rice: Former U.S. Secretary of State

• "freedom" doesn't equal "democracy"; a mature democracy requires more than just institutionalization of "rights" or defining of "freedoms"--must include a respect for minorities so that the strong don't exploit the weak
• every life is worthy: in a democracy there are no permanent stations in life, we are not confined to the life into which we were born, we have an obligation to provide a situation where everyone has an opportunity for greatness
• although many things a government can give it can't give compassion--this must come from people who believe that every life is worthy
• best way to show compassion is to provide an individual with the opportunity to transform his/her future...with an education; education isn't about where you come from but where you're going
• a great leader is an irrepressible optimist; keep perspective on what your circumstances truly are
• today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same

Jim Collins: Nationally acclaimed Thinker and Author (Good to Great)

• Why do some leaders prevail and others fail in the midst of similar difficult circumstances? used example of 2 competing expeditions to South Pole in 1911
• the "X Factor" of great leadership is humility combined with will
• we need "fanatic discipline" (manage well in the good times so as to help in the bad times), "empirical creativity" (test and validate new ideas before jumping head first into their use), and "productive paranoia" (the only mistakes you can learn from are the ones you can survive)
• greatness is not a matter of circumstance but a matter of choice and discipline (what do you do with the those events which you couldn't predict, didn't cause, and yet had a significant consequence??)
• an organization is not truly great unless it can be great without you: true test of your leadership is that the organization successfully survives without you

Marc Kielburger: Co-Founder of "Free the Children" and Co-CEO of "Me to We"

• in middle-school co-founded (with brother Craig) international social activism organization; inspired by story of Pakistani boy forced into slavery in a rug factory...escaped and spoke out about former owners...tracked down and murdered by former owners; organization builds schools, drills water wells and provides micro-loans
• #1 reason why sub-Saharan African girls don't attend schools is because they have to help carry water jugs for family and village
• using your gift/talent to draw attention to a significant issue which tugs your heart can help build a better world ( gift + issue = better world)
• today = 1 billion people aged 12 to 16 with 9 out of 10 of them living in the developing world
• only our action can solidify our understanding: "We can do no great things, but we can do small things with great love"--Mother Teresa

Sheryl WuDunn: Pulitzer Prize winning Author, co-author of Half the Sky

• primary moral challenge of 21st Century is gender inequality (19th Century = slavery; 20th Century = totalitarianism)
• when resources are scare females tend to go without (girls under 5 years have 50% greater mortality rates than boys)
• education and jobs for girls will help improve the overall world economic situation (case study of Pakistan v. Bangladesh)
• perspective: estimated that 70,000 to 80,000 Africans were brought to Western Hemisphere as part of slave trade in 1770s-80s and yet THIS YEAR about 800,000 women and children will be transported across a national border as part of the international sex trade
• contributing to something larger than yourself helps bring happiness and happy people tend to live longer

Craig Groeschel: Founder and Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv

• Message to older generation: 1) don't resent, fear, or judge the next generation--believe in them because they need you, 2) God values maturity--if you're not dead you're not done leading, 3) don't delegate tasks to create followers but delegate authority so you can create leaders, 4) embrace the season of life you are in--authenticity trumps "cool" with the younger generation
• Message to new generation: 1) don't ignore those with experience because you need them, 2) "entitled" is the most common "e" word among younger people--you've received too many trophies for just participating rather than excelling, 3) tend to over estimate what you can do in the short run and yet grossly under estimate what you can do in a lifetime, 4) showing public honor to older leaders produces private influence with them--dishonor tears down and devalues--respect is something that might be earned but honor should be automatically given, 5) if you ever want to be "over" then you first need to be "under" with integrity, 6) tend to prefer a calling to a job and prefer making a difference to making a pay check
• For generations to work together if must be planned and intentional, if cannot be by accident

Patrick Lencioni: Founder and President of The Table Group

• organization health is the key way to maximize your potential for success
• must be smart (strategies, marketing, finances, technology) but this is only 1/2 of the success equation but typically gets 98% of the focus in an organization
• must be healthy (minimal politics and confusion, high morale and productivity, low turnover)
• Six imperative questions to ask yourself:
• Why do we exist? core purpose (might have nothing to do with what they do/sell...i.e. Mary Kay Cosmetics is to economically empower women, not to sell make-up)
• How do we behave? values statement, actual values and not the ones you aspire to, the values you are willing to get punished for not pursue, to violate the value is to sell your soul (i.e. Southwest Airlines has a company value to maintain a sense of humor, they'd rather lose a customer than to violate this principle)
• What do we actually do?
• How will we succeed? what are the strategies to get "there"?
• What is the most important thing to do right now?
• Who is responsible for doing what?

William Ury: Co-Founder and Senior Fellow of Harvard University's Program on Negotiation

• negotiating is a constant process throughout a daily routines and is, thus, central to our decision making
• conflict is not innately bad; it's how we constructively deal with conflict that is key
• one of the greatest powers in negotiating is the power NOT to react
• Focus on interests and not on positions; two examples:
• If two people both want the last orange the best solution might NOT be to simply cut the orange in half. What if one wanted the orange for the peel/zest so as to bake a cake and the other wanted to eat the fruit inside? Cutting in half might result in the baker throwing away half the fruit and the eater throwing away half the peel.
• In the 1970s Egypt and Israel each wanted the Sinai Peninsula.  Simply drawing a line down the middle was not acceptable to either side.  Egypt linked the SP to its long standing history and sovereignty; Israel linked the SP to security from a belligerent neighbor.  Solution from Camp David Accords, based on each country's interest and not their position of "we want it all" lead to returning the SP to Egypt for historical sovereignty issues but demilitarizing it for Israel's security concerns.

Pranitha Timothy: Director of Aftercare in the Chennai, India office of International Justice Mission

• Office seeks to locate, rescue, and provide long-term aftercare for those impacted by forced "contract" bonded slavery
• a benign brain tumor left her mute for 12 years, now has a voice
• even the "feeble" can become "powerful" leaders
• no matter what your sphere of influence, you are called to serve in some capacity
• special note: my youngest sister, Becki, spent a year working in Chennai with IJM and worked with Pranitha; my mother and I were able to meet Pranitha when we visited Chennai in June 2009

Mario Vega: Senior Pastor at Mision Cristiana Elim in San Salvador, El Salvador

• our actions during our defining moments can reveal our internal character
• personality, talent, charisma, skills are not enough for effective leadership; integrity and character are far more important

John Ortberg: Senior Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and Author

• presentation on "A Leader of Unimaginable Influence"; introduction to his new book titled Who is this Man? regarding the global legacy and impact of Jesus upon human life and culture

Geoffrey Canada: President and CEO of Harlem Children's Zone

• uses the word "contamination" to describe Harlem before his work began: a zone of hopelessness and despair which was losing millions of kids
• must "recontaminate" the neighborhood with positive messages and environments; change the culture
• too often the goal of U.S. education has been the question "What is the shortest period of time and the smallest among of money for us to engage a student?"
• we often need to provide resources beyond just "education" to help engage children, such as food and medical care...this is important far beyond the legitimate way it can help education, it's just the "decent thing to do"
• we must commit to trying again when we fail; learn from the failure and fix what needs to be fixed so as to try again
• in education we sometimes forget who we are working for; it's not for the staff it's for the kids!--don't fear to demand a certain level of excellence from your staff and then hold them accountable; making staffing changes when needed
• we as the U.S. know how to accomplish what we truly set our minds to do (we just put a robot on Mars)--we just haven't truly committed our collective minds to the goal of educational reform in this country; we don't have time to wait--the time for change is NOW

If you actually took the time to read through all of this then I applaud you!!! The summit was two long days, but totally worth my time.  As you can see, I did get LOADS out of it and I hope you have as well from my notes.

What thoughts, comments, or questions do you have? FEEL FREE to leave them here for others to contemplate as well.

Diversity of Mosques

One of the aspects of my visit to Indonesia which most impressed me was the variety of mosques which could be seen in all directions within the cities I visited.  Most of the schools I visited also had an on campus mosque.  While I was not able to personally visit more than a couple of locations, their diversity and (in most cases) their beauty captured my attention. I hope the video below helps to offer some of the visual beauty of Indonesia's mosques.

Additionally, I've also mentioned my reaction to hearing multiple calls to prayer being heard simultaneously (see "Good-Bye J-Kart & Hello Bandung" and "Debrief Session"). In Christianity, the closest tradition for summoning worshippers is the ringing of church bells; a craft which is not at all common anymore.  However, I do find the human voice to be a much greater and more complex instrument than the majestic bells.  The music I used to accompany the video is "Call to Prayers" from the musical The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins (previously referenced in the posting titled "The Armed Man").

Regardless of your personal religious persuasions, I do hope that you can enjoy the wonders of the Mosques of Indonesia.