Greetings from Majuro... First Impressions

           My first impression of Majuro was from the sky.  As we approached I saw a very small Atoll out of the plane window that looked both desolate and beautiful.  Shortly thereafter I saw another Atoll and knew it was Majuro.  It was the right shape and I could see ships and the “downtown” area, but it was much smaller than I had imagined.  This excited both Janae and I as we were looking forward to living in a small community.  We banked left and headed in for a landing at the tiniest landing strip that I had ever seen.  At the end of the runway we took a slight left turn and arrived at the “terminal.”  This was by far the smallest airport that I had ever seen, but it was open air and very quaint.  The Republic of Marshall Islands’ customs office was built and supported by both the American and Australian governments.  It was a quick process to get in and if you simply turn around, baggage claim is right there.  It too is all open air and is a few guys empting luggage into large wooden crates and forklifting them the 150 yards to a small ramp where people hustle over to claim their luggage. 

(Baggage Claim in Majuro)

            We had checked 3 bags total and 2 came rather quickly, but Neyla’s pack n’ play hadn’t yet arrived.  It was looking as if it wasn’t coming, since we were one of the few people still waiting for a bag, but the attendant kept telling me there were more bags coming.  I quickly gave up on this promise as I saw the United 737-800 pulling away from the quaint terminal and back onto the runway to head to another Marshallese island called Kwajalein.  I filled out some paperwork and the kind Marshallese United manager, JC, promised they would deliver it as soon as it arrived or they found it or whatever.  Bear in mind that this whole process took well over an    hour in a tiny space.  We weren’t upset and it was really no big deal, but it was a quick introduction to Marshallese culture.  It’s just slower paced here and we are elated about that.  I’m sure the pack n’ play will show up and when it does, Neyla can have her own bed.  Until it does show, she can sleep in between us like babies have always done for most of human history. 

            On the road that runs the length of Majuro Atoll we got a sense of the people and community.  It is very poor.  And despite this fact there are many people out enjoying the hot and humid weather.  There really is only one road on Majuro and when we asked what the name of it was nobody seemed to know.  I suppose if there is only one road it doesn’t need to be named.  We went over the only bridge on Majuro, which was also the highest point on the island and we passed by the Marshall Islands Resort.  This resort was built by the Marshall Islands government years ago to host some Pacific conference or another with the thought that having it would then spur tourism to the country.  This never happened.  The hotel remains mostly vacant at all times and time has surely taken its toll on the resort.  The views are incredible and the beaches are phenomenal for sure, but it’s becoming a bit dilapidated without any visitors.  There is a state of the art gym built by the Japanese government, a bowling alley and a movie theater, but they have all been closed down in the last 5 years.  There is no money to keep them alive and this has a direct negative affect on the youth.  Because of this there is little for the Marshallese youth to do in their free time.

            As we arrived at Majuro Cooperative School, where I will shortly be teaching 8^th grade, there were wild cats, dogs and chickens all playing in the vicinity.  The school facilities were nice, but in no way compared to the suburban schools of Chicago that I was used to.  There were shanties surrounding the school and as we pulled in all of the people waved happily at us.  We arrived at our new house on campus and were blown away by the views.  Our bedroom windows look out over the Pacific and we can smell the salt in the air and hear the waves crashing less than 15 yards from our house.  It is small and cozy and perfect.  I went out with my Principal and her partner to get some clean drinkable water and bed linens.  The stores were like smaller versions of a Costco and actually had some good deals and more of a selection of goods that I’d have imagined.  We stopped by the electric company and purchased some electricity and headed back to our new home to settle in and unpack. 

            As I write this it is 1:29 in the afternoon in Majuro and I have the two windows in our bedroom wide open.  The ocean breeze is rushing through our home and the crash of the waves is music to my ears.  Neyla is sleeping on our bed next to me and too is enjoying the beautiful orchestra of the Pacific.  It’s only been a few hours, but this is our dream come true.  

Colorado Reflections

       

            Back in mid-September my wife and I and our little daughter Neyla made the journey to Colorado.  We have lived in Copper Mountain, CO now for about 3 months and tonight is our last night here.  Our time in the mountains has been peaceful, relaxing and refreshing and it has been a time that we will never forget. 

            In September we found our love of the mountains.  We came right at the time when the Aspen trees were a bright gold and juxtaposed to the pine trees and the rocky mountains made for a truly majestic landscape.  Each day when Janae was finished working, usually around 3 pm or so, we went for a family hike.  I would put Neyla in the Bjorn and we would hike around Copper or we would go to our favorite hiking spot, Breckenridge.  There were some stunningly breath-taking hikes in Breckenridge and we would make the 15-minute drive as often as we could.  Neyla loves the outdoors, especially hiking.  Either she’ll catch up on some much needed sleep or she stares at nature awingly singing.  I kid you not, it’s really quite adorable.  The winds were calm and the skies were clear for seemingly the entire month of September and we sure took advantage.  During our first few weeks here I was also trying to sharpen my golf game since I had qualified for the Colorado Mid-Amateur.  I would hit balls and putt at the Breckenridge driving range, while Janae and Neyla would play on the ground or walk around the beautiful golf course.  Our first month living in Colorado was splendid and culminated with me finishing tied for 3^rd in my first golf tournament ever in Colorado. 

            October came so quickly and those beautiful Aspen trees quickly lost their golden leaves.  I hung up the golf clubs for the year and we were preparing to ski come November.  But October at Copper Mountain is a strange time.  Nobody lives here and no shops or restaurants are open.  We felt like we were the only people here, and we may very well have been.  The beauty of this was that we had the whole place to ourselves; it felt more like Rusin Mountain than Copper Mountain.  We hiked anytime we could and since the weather was so fantastic that meant we hiked virtually everyday.  We discovered new hikes and blazed the Colorado Trail as often as we could since it runs right through Copper.  It was a beautiful month where the three of us spent almost every minute of everyday together and it was perfect.  October ended with Neyla’s first Halloween and her being carried around her cousins’ Broomfield neighborhood in her kitty cat costume. 

            November came and as it did my parents showed up in Colorado for a visit.  Janae and I were under no illusions; they were clearly here to see Neyla.  ;-)  Their visit coincided with opening weekend of ski season at Copper and although it was warm and sunny they had found someway to make enough snow to open several runs.  My parents loved hanging out with Neyla, so Janae and I got to spend some quality time on the slopes and at the pub together.  Their visit ended with a day in Boulder and a brilliant weather day it was.  We got to walk around and shop on Pearl St. and had a nice lunch with Janae’s family joining us as well.  The day after my parents left was Election Day and I am happy to say I finally had the privilege to vote in a swing state!  Shortly after Election Day, I found a job opening on Craigslist for an 8^th grade-teaching job in the Marshall Islands.  It was November 9 and Janae and I got our hopes up for relocating once again but this time to the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  To make a long story short, I got the job and we are moving right after Christmas.  (For more info, see my “If you want to make God laugh” post).  Thanksgiving was down in Broomfield at Janae’s parents house and by that time I had gotten the offer for my new job in Majuro and planning had begun to move half way around the world.  November was a life-changing month to say the least. 

            By the time December snuck up on us we were deep into the planning stages for moving to Majuro, Marshall Islands.  We had sent several packages, booked our flights and bought plenty of sunscreen.  I had been spending any free time I could preparing to teach in January (or blogging) and was getting more excited by the moment. The second weekend of December will always be a memorable one.  It was when two of our great friends came to visit, Susie and Landon.  It was a special weekend, but it was extraordinarily cold!  For all the great weather we’d seen in our brief stint in Colorado, this weekend made up for it.  The one silver lining was the beauty of the snow, but when you ventured outside it was freezing and windy adding up to below zero wind chills almost the entire weekend.  Despite the blast of frigid cold, it was a fantastic weekend.  Susie and Landon are great people and anyone would be blessed to have them as friends.  This weekend was also the 40^th anniversary of Copper Mountain, so on Saturday afternoon there was a Neil Diamond cover band and 72 cent beers.  Many good conversations were had in the hot tub, but none quite as good as the final afternoon where Landon and I debated the meaning of Freedom.  I think he’s still frustrated with me over that conversation, and despite some semantic disagreements between us, we both became smarter people and better friends. 

            That brings us to today, December 15, 2012, our last night living at Copper Mountain.  It is again just the 3 of us and we have been reflecting on our time here.  We will miss Copper, Colorado and all of our friends and family in Chicago, but we are so excited to begin our new life in Majuro.  In just two short weeks from now we will be settling in to a new country, culture and life and we couldn’t be more excited.  We have loved our time in Colorado and who knows, maybe we’ll live here again after Majuro, but for now, so long Colorado.  

A New Education (Part 2)

           It is widely assumed today that the American Education system is broken and falling behind the rest of the world.  This is a false assumption, because there is no American Education system.  We are one of the few developed countries in the world that doesn’t have a National Education System.  In actuality the United States is a conglomeration of local education systems all independently following state and national laws, so that they can claim some funds from those respective institutions.  It’s a strange system that is unique to America and perplexing to other countries.  On one hand, it makes sense that a country so vast and diverse would have local school boards govern education, but on the other hand you have local school boards in Kansas mandating teaching of creationism in science classes and Texas school boards ignoring history professors and skewing history books to meet a political agenda that expert historians say doesn’t accurately reflect history.  The major problems within education today are a lack of qualified teachers, inequitable fund distribution throughout the country and a lack of respect for authentic education.  Norway has a unique model for education and can be a model moving forward for our local districts to look at for success in educating our youth. 

            Over the past decade countless organizations have researched what is the silver bullet in education, especially the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Time and time again the research is clear, the better the teacher is the better the education is. 

Good teacher = good education. 

In America today we have too many teachers teaching subjects that they are not qualified to teach.  In the better schools this rarely if ever happens, but in so many poorer districts this occurs most frequently in Math classrooms.  According to a massive and comprehensive study by Michigan State University, researchers found that the best results for students on international math exams was by those students whose teachers were the best trained in their subject.  States have tried to require all teachers to be “highly qualified,” but so much more needs to be done aside from legislation.  All this does is make the majority of qualified teachers to waste time and money jumping through burecratic hoops that don’t actually increase the education students receive. 

            Instead, what needs to be done to bring in more qualified teachers is to increase teacher pay and status in society.  In Norway, the best and brightest graduates from college become teachers and there is no higher respected profession in Norway than a teacher.  Both changes are difficult to make.  Concessions need to be made from teachers unions, tenure needs to be revised, teacher evaluation needs to be rethought and an all out effort to convince the brightest and best to join the teaching profession should be a priority. 

            What does a quality teacher look like?  In my just under a decade of teaching I see 4 qualities in the best teachers that I have seen. 

1.     Experts in the subject they teach.

2.     Experience using varied pedagogical teaching methods.

3.     Non-complacent.  Working hard each year to create new lessons and better old lessons.

4.     A deep care and concern for their students and their futures. 

The first and the second can be taught and ascertained through education.  The final two are part of who a person is.  The final two are what make the best teachers.  As a teacher you have to create a solid rapport and relationship with your students.  They have to trust you and you have to respect them.  Each day with your students you must learn who they are, what their passions are and what ways they will learn most effectively.  Too often today teaching is seen as a data driven science, when it is much more of an art than many think.  That is not to say that data and scores should be ignored, but the teacher should use that as just one of many tools to know and find out how much and what students are learning.  Great teachers with these 4 characteristics must be found and spread throughout our country if we are to get our system up to world standards. 

 

However, this proves difficult with roughly 15,000 districts across the United States it is difficult for them to agree on anything, especially teacher pay.  The bankrupt states can’t possibly handle this legislation and financing of schools, but we need to decide if education is a national priority or not.  Sacrificing one Bomber for $40 billion could go a long way in finding excellent teachers.  Some problems are clearly local, but if we want to talk about our education system in America we might need to actually have an education system.  I don’t mean a large national do-nothing bureaucracy, but an institution that sets minimal national standards, trains qualified teachers and distributes funds to schools.  If we are not willing to do this, then we need to stop complaining about “American education,” because it doesn’t exist.  If we keep our broken local system by which rich and middle class children receive quality educations and poor children suffer because they live in a poor community. 

            Too often people think that education serves only a practical purpose, so that an individual can find a job someday.  That is a minority part of education.  Education teaches people how do think, while indoctrination teaches people what to think.  If we want to give young people a quality education it has to go way beyond what the Standardized tests require.  We need to help students find their passions, talents and voice if we are to arm them for the 21^st Century.  Sir Ken Robinson, an education professor from England, has a famous TED talk that everyone should watch.  We have to foster children’s creativity and teach the whole person, not just this narrow view that is popular today that we should focus on math and science.  Again, don’t misunderstand me, math and science are critical and should be taught to every student, but so should art, dance and music.  By limiting our education to a narrow set of core classes, we are cutting out students whose strength may be in other arenas.  In some ways, we may need to start over on a blank sheet of paper with the education system and we could start by consolidating all school districts under a National System with new national priorities.  In part 3, we will look at what we can learn from Norway and how the difficult process of implementation would work.   

            

Teaching Again... (Part 1)

         In just a few short weeks from now my wife, daughter and I will be moving to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I will be teaching again.  When I decided to take a year off and stay at home with my new daughter I was excited and didn’t think a year away would be a big deal.  In fact, I have missed it dearly.  I can’t wait to get to Majuro and meet my colleagues and prepare the second semester for my new students.  I’m very excited to meet my new students and begin our journey for the rest of the year.

           

            I feel so fortunate to teach.  Being able to have had the colleagues that I have had and the former students that I have had is a genuine blessing.  Being able to participate in the education of a generation is humbling.  It is clear that a good education makes a positive impact in the future of countries, communities and an individual’s life.  A good education lowers crime and poverty, increases tolerance and citizenship and ultimately creates better people.  Education isn’t just about finding a job someday down the road.  That is part of it to be sure, but if we give into the idea that education is only for practical purposes then we have lost what the purpose of education truly is.

“Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty.”  -  Thomas Jefferson

            One of our greatest Founding Fathers is pointing to the fact here that our freedoms and in fact the sustainability of our country depends on creating an educated citizenry.  We may think that is over exaggerated and a bit silly, but history shows us that when a citizenry becomes manipulated and dictated to and loses the qualities of a good education anything resembling democracy ceases to function. 

“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.”  -  Martin Luther King Jr.

            Education is about more than reading, writing and arithmetic.  It has to be about creating better people and better citizens.  It has to be about encouraging our students to be the best versions of themselves that they can be and to find truly where their gifts and passions lie.  If education is merely about facts and data then we have given into the silly notion that everything can be quantified.  Math and science are extremely important disciplines to learn, but we can’t treat our students like they are merely a data point on a chart.  We have to care for our students and, as one of my mentors taught me, “…every moment in the classroom can be a life changing moment for one of your students.”

           

Fundamentalism, nuance, interpretation and pride... This should be fun!

           After the death of Jesus and for centuries to come, Christianity would be an outlawed religion in the Roman Empire.  If you were a caught practitioner death would often be the punishment.  There were massive propaganda campaigns against Christians and the spread of Christianity by the Roman Empire and one of the most successful among these was the charge that Christians were cannibals.  You may be thinking, how could they have lodged such a campaign?  It is pure lunacy to label Christians cannibals.  That’s true, it is a ridiculous argument, but the way that the Roman Empire did this was by taking a passage from the Bible literally.  In Matthew 26:26 it is written:

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

According to the Roman indictment it was clear, Jesus ordered his followers to eat his body and in a later passage to drink his blood.  This is cannibalism.  We, of course, would look at this and have a more nuanced approach to this and realize that Jesus was speaking in metaphor.  His words were a way of explaining the sacrifice that Christians believe his death symbolizes, not a command to eat flesh and drink wine.  He wanted his followers to eat bread and drink wine so that they would not forget the sacrifice that he was going to make for humanity. 

            My point in saying this is that we have to be very careful how we read all sacred scriptures and how we interpret them.   It is all too easy to take the Bible, Koran or Gita completely out of context and frame people or a religion in a certain way.  It has happened all too many times that Christians are said to believe in 3 gods, or that Jihad is a “holy war” or that Hindus are polytheistic.  All these “claims” are not true.  Christians use the trinity as a way of understanding their one God with three distinct roles.  Jihad means struggle and is used in the Koran to represent primarily an individual’s struggle, not a mass movement or war of any kind.  And no, Hindu’s are not polytheistic; technically it is a monistic religion, this belief being that all is one. 

So often however many people read scripture and find different meanings or messages, and each one believes they are right no matter how contradictory other interpretations might be.  The Bible is written in about 10 different forms of literature and is almost impossible to be read “literally.”  Many people would shutter at what I am saying now, but it is true.  Belief and interpretation surrounding all sorts of sacred scriptures have evolved so much since their writing that it is difficult to discern if there actually is one particular way of interpreting certain passages.  This way of reading scripture and unequivocally believing your view is the only right view is called fundamentalism.  In religious terms it is the unwillingness to consider alternative views on the meaning of scripture or religious teaching. 

            In our world today you will see fundamentalists in Islam perverting the meaning of the Koran for their political purposes, all while there has never been much agreement at all on how to read it or what meaning can be discerned from particular passages.  The same goes for Christian fundamentalists who believe that the world is 6000 (or something like that) years old.  They have a total disregard for science and interpret one part of Genesis literally while “interpreting” and rationalizing other parts such as “do not kill your enemies, but pray for them.”  The three major monotheistic religions of our times all say that human beings were created in God’s image, but the problem is that we create God in an image that suits us through the narrow prism of our political beliefs or interpretation of ancient sacred texts.  What fundamentalists foolishly are unwilling to do is say, “I don’t know” or even think about another perspective than their own, proudly thinking that they have the answers. 

            Fundamentalism erodes our scientific accomplishments and simplifies extraordinarily complicated matters.  For fundamentalism to be dangerous and harmful to our society it doesn’t have to be violent.  Often times in America today fundamentalism shows its face through arrogance and ignorance of things we know to be. 

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins and for people to presume to know as much as they claim to about an infinite all knowing God is a prime example of this deadly sin.  We need to be willing to ask questions and then be even more willing to accept the answers without them destroying our world and our understanding of it.  Without this our world has no hope.  By no means am I saying that we ought to throw out our faith and religion and replace them with puritanical science, but I am saying we need to achieve a balance.  We need to be able to keep our religious beliefs all while realizing that no scripture is an historical or scientific text.  There is supposed to be meaning to these writings, deep meaning that will explain the unexplainable and for us to presume that we have it all figured out is pride.  When fundamentalism of all kinds rears its ugly head it turns the world from a place of beauty and intrigue to a place of death and destruction.  We need to be able to keep an open mind all whilst not losing our soul

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