Hi All,
I am having a tough time writing blogs in neat chunks. That's what my other writing is for. I sort of ramble here, and here, I am in a motel room in Green River, Utah, 6 days into a cross-country trip from Baltimore to Los Angeles.
Thoughts so far--the country is smaller than I expected. The people have been super-friendly. There is a huuuge Hair Ball in Garden City, KS, where they used to grow sugar beets. Somewhere in a Kwik Stop in Indiana, a young woman right now is saying "Welcome to Kwik Stop" in a most friendly way to everyone who comes in. Wichita, KS just blows by you if you're not looking for it. If you come at the right time and are reeeally nice, you can get let into the Negro Baseball League Museum on Monday when it's closed, and get the whole museum to yourself. There is some amazing beef in Kansas, which translates to amazing pho in Dodge City.
The huge giant cross in Effingham IL is built with U.S. union labor, which makes me even happier than hearing how bikers hold services there an some swear to give up drinking or smoking right then and there.
Pepperoni sticks ain't what they used to be; stick with the beef sticks. And if you are nice (again--it's really paying off to be nice) you can use a restroom that is not open to the public, ride to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis when all the tickets are sold out, and eat at a Burger King in Grand Junction, CO when the lobby is supposed to be closed. It seems that every region has its own potato chip, but really not worth the calories; spend time on stuff like green chili in Denver and most excellent BBQ in Kansas City.
And yes, you can find Vietnamese everywhere.
Signing out for now,
Ryka
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Sentinel Programs
In describing the natural world, environmentalists use the term sentinel species to describe a species whose condition indicates the overall health of a particular environment. Amphibians, for example are important indicators of water quality, because what affects amphibians presently, such as pH or levels of pollutants, may affect other animal species in the future.
I think that this term can also apply to our educational model. Just as an ecosystem is more than a causal chain, but an interconnected weavework of life, an education is not linear, but an interconnected weave of different disciplines, attitudes, and learnings.
Note that I say is, not should be. One of the great misconceptions and arrogances, in both the environment and education, is the belief that our models determine the complexity or simplicity of our surroundings. That is, if we choose to ignore, or even to undermine complexity, that the complexity disappears. In environmentalism, our environment becomes something we can use or save. If we don't save the whale, the only effect is a lack of whales. In education, we naively think that we can get our students to focus on the next standardized test. If we cut an art program, then students will simply not have art.
However, time and history has proven that once you kill the dogs, the rats will come. Once the fish are killed, the opportunistic species such as algae and jellyfish take hold. And our students, in absence of an educational system that teaches them sensibly, will be taken and devoured by the opportunistics, as well.
Because of this, I propose the term Sentinel Programs to describe those programs, such as Art, Music, Athletics, whose condition indicates the overall health of a school system. A school system that has been forced to terminate these programs is a system that is in crisis, and should be regarded as such.
Thinking of Sentinel Programs in this way highlights the value of these so-called expendable programs not as isolated species, but as programs that nurture and foster the entire academic environment in nuanced, yet vital ways, and whose very presence serves to preserve the integrity of the system and keep away the weeds.
I think that this term can also apply to our educational model. Just as an ecosystem is more than a causal chain, but an interconnected weavework of life, an education is not linear, but an interconnected weave of different disciplines, attitudes, and learnings.
Note that I say is, not should be. One of the great misconceptions and arrogances, in both the environment and education, is the belief that our models determine the complexity or simplicity of our surroundings. That is, if we choose to ignore, or even to undermine complexity, that the complexity disappears. In environmentalism, our environment becomes something we can use or save. If we don't save the whale, the only effect is a lack of whales. In education, we naively think that we can get our students to focus on the next standardized test. If we cut an art program, then students will simply not have art.
However, time and history has proven that once you kill the dogs, the rats will come. Once the fish are killed, the opportunistic species such as algae and jellyfish take hold. And our students, in absence of an educational system that teaches them sensibly, will be taken and devoured by the opportunistics, as well.
Because of this, I propose the term Sentinel Programs to describe those programs, such as Art, Music, Athletics, whose condition indicates the overall health of a school system. A school system that has been forced to terminate these programs is a system that is in crisis, and should be regarded as such.
Thinking of Sentinel Programs in this way highlights the value of these so-called expendable programs not as isolated species, but as programs that nurture and foster the entire academic environment in nuanced, yet vital ways, and whose very presence serves to preserve the integrity of the system and keep away the weeds.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sorry. It IS a human act.
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot this past weekend. So was a federal judge, John Roll, and well as a nine-year-old girl. Roll and the girl, along with 4 others, are dead. Giffords, the target, is critically injured. Twelve others are also recovering.
People have wanted to politicize this, de-politicize this, to say it indicates what is wrong with the US, to say our thoughts should be with the families... Fair enough. All that is open to debate. However, one take on this whole situation that truly bothers me is when people like Rep. John Boenher call this an "inhuman" act. They are so, so wrong.
This was a particularly human act. This was premeditated murder--not for food, nor for protection, but for an idea, an abstraction, no matter how twisted it was. Only humans do this. Self-awareness, sanity, and ethics come with a price. That price is being humanly culpable for our actions. Our actions, for good or bad, reflect our thoughts, choices, and relationship to society.
When someone commits a horrible act, we do not have the luxury of deciding "this act was no longer human." This is a cheap and shallow response, for it ignores our responsibility as fellow humans to check ourselves, our actions, and our relationships with others. Calling such a crime inhuman gives us the false security that "normal people don't do things like this," when time and time again it's been shown that when they lose their trust and their hope and their moral compass, normal people can be swayed to commit abominable acts.
As humans, we are all potential murderers, potential criminals. Acts like this shooting should not foster thinking that "we" need to keep out crazies like "them." Instead, it should sober us and temper our words and actions toward each other. Perhaps we should all be a little bit more compassionate today, a little nicer to ourselves and to each other. All of us can, and do, fall and fail. The lucky ones have someone there to catch them, forgive them, help them heal, and teach them a better way.
People have wanted to politicize this, de-politicize this, to say it indicates what is wrong with the US, to say our thoughts should be with the families... Fair enough. All that is open to debate. However, one take on this whole situation that truly bothers me is when people like Rep. John Boenher call this an "inhuman" act. They are so, so wrong.
This was a particularly human act. This was premeditated murder--not for food, nor for protection, but for an idea, an abstraction, no matter how twisted it was. Only humans do this. Self-awareness, sanity, and ethics come with a price. That price is being humanly culpable for our actions. Our actions, for good or bad, reflect our thoughts, choices, and relationship to society.
When someone commits a horrible act, we do not have the luxury of deciding "this act was no longer human." This is a cheap and shallow response, for it ignores our responsibility as fellow humans to check ourselves, our actions, and our relationships with others. Calling such a crime inhuman gives us the false security that "normal people don't do things like this," when time and time again it's been shown that when they lose their trust and their hope and their moral compass, normal people can be swayed to commit abominable acts.
As humans, we are all potential murderers, potential criminals. Acts like this shooting should not foster thinking that "we" need to keep out crazies like "them." Instead, it should sober us and temper our words and actions toward each other. Perhaps we should all be a little bit more compassionate today, a little nicer to ourselves and to each other. All of us can, and do, fall and fail. The lucky ones have someone there to catch them, forgive them, help them heal, and teach them a better way.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
My new TV Show IDEA!
"Surgery with the Stars" Celebrities team up with doctors in the Operating Room. Their work is evaluated by a Board of Certified Medical Practitioners and YOU the audience! :)
Our first stars:
Snooki
Pau Gasol
Wesley Snipes
Miley Cyrus' ex BFF, Leslie Patterson
Cyndi Lauper
Star Wars Kid, Ghyslain Raza
Hosted by Doctor Oz.
Our first stars:
Snooki
Pau Gasol
Wesley Snipes
Miley Cyrus' ex BFF, Leslie Patterson
Cyndi Lauper
Star Wars Kid, Ghyslain Raza
Hosted by Doctor Oz.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Why X? Why Y?
It's funny how people say that racism is not like gender discrimination because gender is determined by different genetics.
Of course, they forget that the same arguments were used to justify racism.
The genome is like a long and not completely understood book, and like any long and not completely understood book, loudmouthed fundamentalists can cobble half-truths from its contents to support hateful dogma.
Go ahead. Genome away. Tell me what makes a perfect man or a woman. Tell me what makes a perfect human. Really? ;) Riiiiight.
Of course, they forget that the same arguments were used to justify racism.
The genome is like a long and not completely understood book, and like any long and not completely understood book, loudmouthed fundamentalists can cobble half-truths from its contents to support hateful dogma.
Go ahead. Genome away. Tell me what makes a perfect man or a woman. Tell me what makes a perfect human. Really? ;) Riiiiight.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
It's More than Just Self-Defense
(for my most excellent martial-arts-teaching friends and colleagues)
Sometimes I feel that we are limiting our focus by assuming that we are teaching single persons being attacked. The term "self-defense" fosters this preconception. In reality, a student who is isolated operates from a terrible disadvantage. How often have we heard, "If only someone had just stood up for her? If only someone had said something?"
Sometimes I feel that we are limiting our focus by assuming that we are teaching single persons being attacked. The term "self-defense" fosters this preconception. In reality, a student who is isolated operates from a terrible disadvantage. How often have we heard, "If only someone had just stood up for her? If only someone had said something?"
I believe that martial arts training can help students become that someone. Someone brave enough to tell a bully to stop. Brave enough to say, "Yeah, he's gay, and he's my friend, too. Got a problem with that?" Once a bully realizes the numbers are against him, he will usually back down.
I believe that teaching one conscientious and capable student can make life safer and maybe a little easier for five. Self-defense is a last resort, when one is alone.
Martial arts training does more than give students the confidence to defend themselves. It gives them the confidence to defend what is right. After every practice, I tell my students not only to look out for themselves, but to look out for their friends, and to have each other's backs. The bonds we make in the dojo protect us outside the dojo.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thoughts on getting our backs.
Y'know, it's really hard for a woman to tell a bunch of guys they're being sexist before they brush her off as an angry woman. It's really hard for a gay man to yell homophobia without people just writing him off as a noisy gay man. We all make really shitty advocates for ourselves.
What we can do, however, is make excellent advocates for each other. When a straight man says that gay marriage is a right, that means more than a dozen gay men saying this. When a gay white woman says that we should not persecute people just because they happen to be Muslim, it means more than a dozen Muslims saying exactly the same thing. When a Muslim argues that we must be more compassionate and respectful of our homeless, that goes farther than a dozen homeless activists.
We need each other, not simply as silent allies, but as vocal advocates, not just for unity--but for expedience. We do far more in the service of others than we would ever do for ourselves.
What we can do, however, is make excellent advocates for each other. When a straight man says that gay marriage is a right, that means more than a dozen gay men saying this. When a gay white woman says that we should not persecute people just because they happen to be Muslim, it means more than a dozen Muslims saying exactly the same thing. When a Muslim argues that we must be more compassionate and respectful of our homeless, that goes farther than a dozen homeless activists.
We need each other, not simply as silent allies, but as vocal advocates, not just for unity--but for expedience. We do far more in the service of others than we would ever do for ourselves.
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