A couple of Jesuits…spiritual journeys…

The Pope, Francis I, was ordained via the Society of Jesus (aka: Jesuits, or S.J.) and is the first Jesuit elected to succeed Peter as the head of the western/Roman Catholic Church. That has me thinking about the influence other Jesuits have had on me, and our world. As I recall, they were founded in response to the reformation and have long stressed educational pursuits. In fact, when I think about it some of the finest universities in the USA are Jesuit institutions of higher learning. So, let me briefly tell you about two members of the S.J. that have had positive impacts on me over the decades: Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. I have never, ever, been mistaken as a Francophile, but these two extraordinary individuals certainly make me think that the spirit that was Jean Valjean was real.

Father Pierre Jean De Smet was born in what is now Belgium, and spent the majority of his life doing mission work amongst Native American Indian nations & tribes in the northern plains and Rocky Mountains. Fr. De Smet is most famous for being a friend of Tatanka Yotanka (Sitting Bull), and for having been at the Treaty of Fort Laramie talks in 1868 (which Sitting Bull never signed). I was fortunate during my National Park Service career to have worked as a Park Ranger-Historian at Little Bighorn and Fort Laramie, two locations that Sitting Bull famously visited. In a popular photo of  Sitting Bull he wears a large crucifix. From whom do you suppose that Hunkpapa holy man received such a sacred symbol? During a senior year History honors seminar I was criticized for not being critical enough of the man, and like a “monk writing in a cell, trying to get De Smet canonized…” Fair enough, but during research of primary documents I found that he’d been made aware of the presence of gold in the northern Rockies decades before gold-rush to same (Bozeman Trail/Red Cloud War), and remained silent (except in his journal) as he knew what an adverse impact it would have on his friends, the nations residing there. Pretty extraordinary: a non-interference “prime directive” long before Star Trek.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Jean_De_Smet

I wonder how much my career, and worldview, was framed and impacted by this man? Was me desire to protect and repatriate cultural patrimony a result? Probably.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22119146#

Because of my studies in ancient Chinese history, when I began graduate work I took an interest in archaeology and the works of Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. In addition to being a priest, he was a scientist (geologist & paleontologist) had been involved early in his scientific career with Piltdown Man (later found to be a hoax, not his), a decorated veteran of World War I (stretcher-bearer), and deep cosmic thinker & writer. Because of his emerging and evolving views, he came into conflict with the S.J. position on “Original Sin” and was banished to China. There he became part of an all-star science team that was responsible for the re-discovery of Peking Man (early hominids, post Java Man) +/- ½ million years ago. Also participating in numerous paleontological expeditions, he continued constantly lecturing and writing throughout his life, while he tried (without success) to get S.J. permission to return to his native France. His ideas, with evolution being part of the divine milieu, were too controversial during his lifetime (but, part of Vatican II perspectives). He spent his adult life enlarging and enriching our universe and helping us to better understand…

“I believe that the universe is an evolution

I believe that evolution proceeds toward spirit.

I believe that the spirit is fully realized in a form of personality.

I believe that the supremely personal is the universal Christ.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Teilhard_de_Chardin

THANK YOU gentlemen…

"The Sky is Falling"... and our part...

A great amount of deliberation, mostly on the computers of journalists & bloggers, and ink has been dedicated to the sequestration and associated budget cuts that is now taking place in the homeland (USA). Back-n-forth finger-pointing is  even as trivial as who started it: “it was your idea…” As memory serves, it was a suggestion of The President, which both sides of our political equation bought into, and that neither would allow us to go there. Wanna bet? In line with our continued impasse it is easier to play the blame game than to try and tackle life’s basic issues: they are tough.

I recently read a social-media post that asked about historical context for the situation that we face here. I believe our national experience is too new: I wrote that we’re “cloistered at the mall” because we don’t have the world-view necessary to deal with the “Big Picture.” Like the Academy of Motion Pictures awarding Best Picture for “Argo-F*#$-yourself” (over “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” or “Zero Dark Thirty”), our narcissism and self-love is in-depth and memories short. When one of the “Argo” awardees thanked the Academy for honoring creative non-violent solutions, I thought: “Yeah, we wouldn’t want to hail those that went into ‘Harm’s Way’ for causes that they believe-in, oh I don’t know: like our own Civil War, or the one on-going in Syria, and the struggles so many places.” Hollywood, like our domestic political process, takes more-n-more strides away from being relevant: not a good long-term marketing strategy.

Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park
hosts next IRF Congress

The sun neither rises, nor sets, on our national parks & protected areas (though literally it does both) as lynchpins of our national economy, but they are a healthy component:

http://headwaterseconomics.org/land/protected-public-lands-increase-per-capita-income/

I’ve seen political leaders play the “close the fire station” game: whenever facing austerity and budget cuts they quickly close down the highest profile program, like fire, police or parks. I caution those that use this strategy, as with all the money we owe China we just might end up with their judicial system too (but, appears with their over-building and housing bubble [sound familiar] they need to take steps towards economic "correction.")  Can’t happen that we drown in our own debt here? Please keep reading…

No doubt that our national debt has grown astronomically the past 4+ years, for a myriad of reasons, and as noted: “we can’t tax or spend our way out of this.” Anyone saying we can is proposing the practice of demagogical magic. We need leaders, and an electorate, that are not only willing, but excited to meet the “undiscovered country” (future) with broader horizons and perspectives. This past week our new Secretary of State (John Kerry) stated that in the USA we have the right to be stupid, and invented a new country in one of his talks. I’m just not sure how long we can afford to be ignorant: the future is calling, and through study I’ve seen what the dust-bin of history contains from over-expenditure (China’s dynastic cycles and the Roman Empire come immediately to mind). Can anyone name a nation whose political boundaries have remained unchanged the past 500-years (over twice as long as USA has been a country? There have been some islands and empires, but they’ve changed some too.

As a professional National Park Ranger I heard some of my colleagues state that parks are “protected for all-time” and that “conservation is a liberal platform issue.” Wrong on both counts, like so many of my fellow citizens he forget how short our history is: “Conservation is Conservative.” It says so right in the word-base, and parks & protected areas need to be nourished and cared for by each-n-every succeeding generation or they won’t last: I’m sure the pharaohs, and the game-wardens that ranged-on-them thought their hunting preserves were for all-time too. As I write, there is a young lady (Lisa) traveling from Santa Fe to Grand Teton in what might be some small stride for the next generation as she’ll be attending the Student Conservation Association’s National Park Academy: go girl!

As for me, I’ll continue to work for our, and encourage our colleagues worldwide and in the short-term root for baseball “Biesbol, ben beery, berry gud tu me.” Go teams at the World Baseball Classic: http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/index.jsp

It might be as simple as A-B-C…

This post is sponsored by the letter “B,” because as many of us were preparing to watch the National Football League’s (NFL) Championship game (called “The Super Bowl” by most) yesterday, I found myself thinking about the educational opportunities afforded the participants: players, coaches, organization personnel, etc. I consider myself very fortunate to have had various educational experiences.  Photo (left) is from last month: student-athletes from BHS during 60's getting together.

Bruce & Karin Newlin

My maternal side of the family-tree has generations of teachers and educational leadership associated with it. Plus, due to our kennel locations I went to public school in Arleta/Los Angeles, Santa Monica (Malibu didn’t have any secondary schools then), and Burbank (twice). I also had “Uncle Bruce” (Newlin) that taught at the private John Thomas Dye School (Bel Air); he took a group of his young pupils to UCLA on Saturday mornings for athletics & games. I got to join in when schedules aligned. Bruce is an emeritus professor of education management at UCLA, and his spouse Karin (Krueger, USC) has an impressive curriculum vitae in that area as well. Before I became a National Park Ranger I taught in northern California. I’ve long valued the educational process.

            Once while watching a NFL playoff game I quipped about my desire to see a return to student athletes, as in bygone eras. Pat Haden was quarterbacking the L.A. Rams, and he’d been a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford (Rams got clobbered by the Cowboys as I recall). Al Krueger, Karin’s dad, was watching too. He’d been a USC Rose Bowl co-MVP in ’39, and went onto play in the NFL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Krueger  Even before I met him, I’d heard of him: what Southland (SoCal) sports fan hadn‘t? I’d also played baseball for the Burbank Bullets, and was a teammate of Scott Nave, whose father (Doyle) had thrown that famous touchdown pass to Al (Photo). So, I was all-ears: let’s just say, he gave me “the rest of the story” about the heritage of collegiate athletics, student-athletes and priorities. (Al’s theme was later corroborated by Mike Greenfield [BHS ‘65/LBSU]: he played a different sport, at another school, in a latter era.) Sure, there are schools that put academics #1 for their scholar-athletes, but very few are like Georgetown or Stanford. Most end up taking additional time to complete their studies, and of course very few end up playing on a “Field of Dreams” as a pro. Maybe more on that next time; what I really wanted to talk about today is the overall educational system in the USA.

SFHS sisters

            We’re preparing to vote on school bonds (not sure why they are NOT part of general elections that would be cost effective and get a better voter turn out), and I just about always support them with a “YES.” Many equate facilities and dollars spent with educational success, but that isn’t always the case: per capita expenditures don’t uniformly jive with achieving what is traditionally used as benchmarks: test scores, graduation rates, higher education, etc. I know the District of Columbia often gets used as a negative example for spending-to-results ratios, but that is probably unfair- they might just be following the local model provided by Congress: spend a lot, achieve little. OK, that was a “cheap shot” generalization, but they make it so easy. Some interesting data can be found on-line, and I know that stats are often manipulated into whatever you want them to say; I’ll let you read and make your own conclusions:  

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/NEA_Rankings_And_Estimates_FINAL_20120209.pdf

I see that my home state (NM) ranks well, below the national average of $55+K for teacher salaries (and many other facets of the educational picture), and #2 per capita in non-instructional personnel.

Outside Xian

In supporting education I feel it is not only a reflection of what we are, but also what we will be (priorities). Again, I feel fortunate to have had my educational opportunities and what they’ve afforded. I’ll bet many of us can, and would, say the same. I also will forever wish I’d applied myself at an earlier stage (and wish I’d diagnosed Gilbert Syndrome sooner for some corrective actions that might have helped in the classroom and with athletic endeavors).

Fiji

For the complex issues of how-to-fix or meet our challenges, I’ve recently heard that the hurdles range from: management not listening to the teachers or their unions; that there is not enough fiscal support (like every public institution in history; I read this morning that State Monuments are under funded: “well duh”), to school districts now “being run by attorneys”. I’ve long been a proponent of the need for parental (and grandparent) support to be successful, and know that when education is valued the next generation of students “get it” and achieve at a higher lever. Yes, “no place like home” to learn the value of an education.

Allison Morris read one of my previous posts and brought the progress of Finland to my attention. Interesting; some of the reasons that I’ve been told by professionals that this model won’t work here are listed in those hurdles above; but I’ve also heard that “we’re too big” (like Frodo’s journey), “too different” (ah, paradigm change), too multi-cultural (acculturation is un-PC). Of course, the USA is not Finland, but we’re not Norway either (yet, we share some educational similarities with the latter). As I think about some of the school groups and classrooms I’ve visited in China, Fiji & Jordan I realize we need to have and maintain hope for the future…

OK, boys-n-girls, tonight’s homework includes these readings

(Oops, Finland doesn’t have homework)

http://www.onlineclasses.org/2013/01/21/no-homework-in-finland/

(THANK YOU to ALLISON MORRIS for providing the above, and Ken Whiton for the following)

Why Finland?    

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/january/finnish-schools-reform-012012.html

Their outline:

http://bertmaes.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/why-is-education-in-finland-that-good-10-reform-principles-behind-the-success/

                  A recent article (New Republic)

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/82329/education-reform-Finland-US#

            And, another point of view

http://forums.carm.org/vbb/showthread.php?67419-Education-USA-vs-Finland

...and here is to everyone trying to make a better future: glad it works for Finland...

Aussie, Ozzie, Aussie…

As many of you know I have a love for the sport of tennis, and I have been immensely enjoying watching the coverage of the Australian Open on ESPN2 and The Tennis Channel (TTC).  As a U.S. Tennis Association & Intercollegiate Tennis Association umpire I always look forward to this time of year, as it means the beginning of the college tennis season http://www.itatennis.com as well as my favorite of the slam events.

I agree with Serena Williams, in that the Australian Open is my favorite too, and that is without even having ever been to Melbourne, let alone on court or in the locker room. My love of it is partially due to Australia’s love of the game (having been there during the US Open once); the fact that Roland Garros is Paris, Wimbledon (my 2^nd favorite) is London, & the US Open is New York City (complete with Brian Williams, John McEnroe and fingernails screetching down a chalkboard), while The Australian is a much exotic creature: I love it “Down Unda.” (20 Jan 2013 addition: after winning her match Makarova was asked why she plays so well there and she replied: "the fresh food..." - apparently so many venues don't have that. I realize part of my love for this event stems from the fact that its winter here and "days of summer" there... makes one optimistic for the return of the sun up north too).

Hampton

Last evening I was watching the TTC coverage of Victoria Azarenka (BLR) and Jamie Hampton (USA). Unfortunately, Martina Navratilova was providing color commentary. She was a great player… who jis probably my least favorite announcer: she just won’t shut-up when the mic is on. I give thanks for the “mute button” and often zero out the volume altogether. Yesterday, before reducing decibels I heard her pontificate about Hampton’s tennis growth, indicating that she’d played college tennis and was in catch-up mode. Jamie played tennis at Auburn High School (Alabama), not Auburn University, graduated in 2008 and turned pro the following year (not much time for a collegiate career). With John Mc, & Tracey Austin (sometimes they’ll get-on about something and just won’t let-it-go), they are the weak links of tennis coverage her at home in The States. 

Patrick McEnroe

Fortunately we have some good ones: Mary Carillo, Cliff Drysdale, Justin Gimelstob & Patrick McEnroe come immediately to mind.. and we have some truly remarkable & great players to watch:  

Enjoy the Games, mates!

http://www.australianopen.com/index.html

next up, Indian Wells: http://www.bnpparibasopen.com

Tsonga

I need your help… a matter of life or prison…

Yes, I’m seeking your help… no, we weren’t mugged while visiting Paris and can’t pay our hotel bill without your financial assistance because our flight leaves in 4-hours or the good-ol’: “Permit me to inform you of my desire to go into business relationship with you after going through your profile and I prayed over it and selected your name among other names due to the nature of my proposal, which requires a reputable and trustworthy person. Someone who will be kind and sincere to me. My father was the wealthy Cocoa King of Ivory Coast and…”

I’m asking for your help in determining a question I’ve been curious about. Some background: when finishing out one of our assignments at Petra we met our DOI-ITAP and USAID contacts at the Starbucks near the US embassy in Amman. When I placed my order the baristas jaw dropped and he quickly called a colleague over that had better English language skills. She explained that her co-worker wanted to know if I was an actor. I told them that I wasn’t, but my son was (thinking that certain undercover & covert operations I’d been involved with while recovering stolen patrimony took some theatrical skills). I was told that I looked like an actor in “Prison Break.” I told them I hadn’t seen that production and that was that…  

Phil (L), Bill & Bruce

... went upstairs with my colleagues (Bill & Bruce) and we waited for the meeting (and waited some more for good measure to be in-tune with “Arab Spring” time.

Stacy Keach

When I got back home, I thought about this exchange and streamed the 1^st season on Netflix, at the conclusion of which I wondered: do I look like Stacy Keach, the warden? 

Justin reminded me that there are several other seasons to the series. So, I'm asking for anyone out there familiar with this show and that can help with some hints to do so. I’ve included a photo of us at Petra (above) so you have something to compare: I’m not aware of George Clooney, Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise doing a role with that production (as I thought they could've doubled for us) but, I’m still waiting…

Hope all are well as we start 2013 (and approach 4610 “Year of the Snake”).