September 25, 2012

1. This week I turn 52; hence, two factoids that I think may only interest me: 50 and 54. The ages of bear Bryant Bryant and John Wooden, respectively, when each won his first NCAA national championship— Bryant in football, and Wooden in basketball.

2. Just when I thought I was finished writing about Neil Armstrong, I encountered another fascinating insight, this time from WORLD magazine. Armstrong was never known to be a dedicated Christian. Thomas L. Friedman, no conservative Christian himself, wrote about Armstrong taking a tour of Jerusalem's Old City. He was taken to some of the locations where Jesus walked. Friedman quotes Armstrong as saying, “I have to tell you… I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”

            That is an interesting quote from one who claimed to be a deist.

3. TIME had interesting article last week regarding the convergence of technology and austerity, which is producing a large number of renters. More people than ever are renting everything from clothes to caskets (the caskets are rented few viewings only, not for burial… in case you were wondering.)

            Statisticians have even entered into the dialogue, “Better to buy an $800 stroller if you use it more than 400 times,” according to one. On the other hand, I suppose, they have figured out that if a stroller is to be used 378 times, it is cheaper to rent.

4. Have you heard of Lecrae? He is a rapper whose new album, GRAVITY, stands at the top of the iTunes charts this month. What makes this interesting is he is a Christian, and many of his lyrics are very explicit–talking about God, Jesus, and the Christian life. May his tribe increase.

5. I think Texas citizens must radically rethink the way we educate children in our public school system. When Judy and I were training for foster care, we heard a resource speaker, who was the founder of the most successful daycare centers in Abilene. She said something to us that day that I have never forgotten, “We will not lose all of the children (in a day care center) for the sake of one child (who would not be won).”

            That was a novel way of saying: were her workers to continue to accommodate one incorrigible child, it would disrupt their relationships with all the other children to such an extent that proper childcare would be unattainable.

            This is precisely the problem with education in Texas; schools do so much to accommodate children who refuse to be accommodated, other children who are serious about learning cannot learn. The result is frustration on a massive scale and test scores, which continue to descend.

            I have taught in a private Christian university and in a private Christian high school, and was very blessed to have administrative support to the extent that, if a student was disruptive in class, I could easily dismiss him (or her) from my class for the day so as not to negate the learning of the other students.

            My father was a public school teacher for 20 years, and my mother taught in public schools for over 20 years, and both faced fewer disciplinary problems than exist today; moreover, they were able to discipline students in a timely manner.

            On the other hand, my wife, Judy, has taught the last few years in a public junior high school in Tyler. In Tyler public schools, should a student become unruly in class, teachers have to follow a version of the following procedure:

1. Verbally warn the student.

2. If the behavior continues, call a parent and document the time, the student’s bad behavior, and the parent’s response in a behavioral log (a notebook located on the teacher’s desk). In the call to the parent, the teacher informs the parent that if the behavior continues, the student will be sent to detention.

3. If the behavior continues, the teacher sends the student to detention.

4. The teacher then emails the appropriate principal and the teacher in charge of the detention hall.

            All of this is taking place… while the teacher is attempting to teach class! Furthermore, try following procedure when more than one student is misbehaving.

            I have been thinking a lot about public education. I will express more of what I think in the future. Today, suffice it to say, we as a community must empower teachers and administrators with more freedom to address disciplinary problems in a timely manner.

            This is best for the students who desire to learn.

            Equally important, this is best for the students who do not desire to learn.

*Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this blog's title.

August 29, 2012

1. I plan on writing more about my feelings on the death of Neil Armstrong in my weekly Monday blog–MARK’S REMARKS. For now I will simply say that I am pleased so many people in our nation, and in the world, have taken time to write marvelous things about a remarkable, yet modest, man. I think I feel sad that Neil Armstrong will not live to see the 50th anniversary celebration of Man walking on the moon.

2. I read Peter King’s blog every week. This is his account of how his latest conversation ended with one of the men I have admired from childhood—the great Green Bay Packer quarterback of the 1960s—Bart Starr. After a long phone interview, Starr told King, "Thanks for listening to me. You and your family have a very nice day."

            King went on to reflect, “I wonder now, and I've wondered after my six or eight encounters with Starr over the years: Has a classier man played in the NFL?”

3. Whatever happened to political conventions? From my childhood to recent memory, watching the Democratic and Republican National Conventions was essential television…every four years. Last week, I was caught by surprise to discover that the Republican Convention would begin on Sunday. It was off my radar. I think that with the vice presidential candidates being named before the conventions begin (not to mention the identity of the presidential candidates being a foregone conclusion), the conventions have turned in long infomercials.

4. RIP Phyllis Diller. She was one of the funniest comedians ever, and she did a great job of making fun of her own looks. She also offered great comedy when it came to the family. She had a lot of great lines; one of my favorites: “I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them.”

5. Recently, a friend of mine named John Carpenter loaned me his copy of the book UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand. I had heard quite a bit about it, considering the fact that the book has been on the nonfiction bestseller lists for 90 weeks now. I'm sure they’re many reasons for this, one of them being that—as the title implies–Louie Zamperini was a man whose spirit could not be broken.

            Zamperini was one of America’s greatest runner in the 1930s. He had run in the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

            World War II erupted and Louie volunteered. He was assigned to a U.S. bomber squadron. His plane was shot down and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, and Louie spent weeks with two of his crewmates floating on two rafts. Fighting off starvation, dehydration, and sharks, one of the crewmates ultimately died. But Louie his other companion survived and landed on a Japanese occupied Island.

            They were transported to a prisoner-of-war camp. Believe it or not, floating on a raft in the Pacific was preferable to the brutality of the prison camps. Indescribable acts were committed against the prisoners. I personally cannot comprehend how Louie was able to survive his ordeal. However, he somehow did.

            Returning from the war with the Allied army victorious, Louie struggled as he tried to reconnect with society. Although he married a wonderful woman, he could not overcome his feelings of guilt for having survived and shame for having endured (the acts of degradation against him.)

            His life changed forever when his wife visited Billy Graham Crusade. Convicted by Christ, she irritated him by constantly asking Louie to come to the Crusade with her. Ultimately he attended, albeit with great hostility.

            During the invitation, Louie was ready to depart the meeting in a rage, when he remembered a promise he made to the Lord years before: he would serve God forever if He would rescue him from that raft floating so helplessly on the Pacific Ocean. Title notwithstanding, I suppose you might say this was one event where Louie was broken–by God.

            Because of Louie’s pain and suffering, this book is not an easy read, but it is a gripping one. If you are one of the few in America who has not read this book, I would encourage you to do so.

  

*Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this blog's title.