Off Road Disciplines

yes guys, I finally got to reading it.....

Although I hate to say it, but I'm not done yet. I really planned on reading more over the summer, but I didn't get as much read as I would like.

So far, I'm about 30% of the way through it, and I am enjoying the read.

The big thing that I am taking from this right now is the POV information. I agree that it really does matter where we are coming from when we start talking about Christianity (and anything else). Everyone does come with an agenda, don't they?

A more reflective review will be coming later. Just wanted to let you know I'm in it right now.

A Place in the Choir

I bought this over the summer, but just started reading it recently. It's a collection of short "essays" (not sure what else to call it) about the power of music to influence and change people's lives. Lots of items to think about. Last night I read a great part that I would like to briefly quote:

".... In a world filled with consumerism in which all are bombarded with messages of 'every man for himself', 'he who dies with the most toys wins' and so on, how do we convince people that a worthy life is best made up of helping others as we help ourselves?

Well, as we all know, the most effective teaching is often accomplished through demonstration. Do as I do.

I witness one person making a difference every time I watch a dedicated teacher doing their job ... you nudge them (students) toward the recognition of their own worth as individuals who can change their world, you help them discover a life of genuine value in the same way that you found value in your chosen profession as a nudger, a pusher, a world changer, a teacher. Confucius said:

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in
order, to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in
order, to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal
life, we must first set our hearts right.

He ends with:

Do not allow yourselves to be overwhelmed by the tasks that lie ahead. ... to make a difference we all just need to keep plugging away, not letting what we can't do interfere with what we most certainly can do.... We shall not be overwhelmed. We can make a difference every single day, What a grand lesson to teach our students in the classroom, on the playground, on the streets, or in the choir."

'Nuf Said.

Now Reading...My Tribe the Crees

Maus didn't take long to whip through - now I'm on my second time...

I've also been reading a book about the Cree people in Canada - actually a bunch of them. I got a few from one of the schools I taught in last year - the library was removing them from the stacks as they were written for high school instead of elementary. One of them is My Tribe the Crees by Joseph Francis Dion. It looks deceptively short, the copy I have. The typeset is so small and each page has piles of information on it.

I started reading up on Metis and "Indian" (first nation, native - which one do I use?) history after my aunt discovered a possible connection to the Cree Nation through my Grandfather. It's made me much more aware of the issues that are still to be dealt with.

Gotta go - it's late.

More later.

Maus

I hope that Art Spiegelman doesn't get mad at me about putting the cover to his book MAUS on this blog. I first read this book in 1999 in a high school in London, England. Funny that I should find a book written in the US while in the UK, but....

I found it again Friday while walking around Chapters.... (never a good idea for me to be loose in a bookstore with money, but...) had to buy it. Read it in one day.

I highly recomend it to anyone.

Currently Reading

Currently in the middle of this book by Nasrin Alavi - It's a collection of blog entries from Iranians of the under 35 year olds - my generation and younger. It's wild to read how disillusioned they are with the revolution and what their attitudes are about the dress codes, as well as love, and life in general. The book also talks about the history of Iran. For example, did you know that Iran had the first democratic government in the Arab world in the 1950's? Too bad the CIA and the US government at the time took it down and put the Shah in power instead. The more I read this, the more I watch the current president of Iran, as he continues to say that Iran will develop nuclear energy, and think that he can't be speaking for the people who are quoted in this book.