First Steps-Teaching on the Prairie

The purpose of this blog will be to record the musings of a public school teacher that marks over 30 years in public education. In 1981 my career as an educator began as a band director & bus driver in Early, Iowa. I packed everything I owned into a small Ford Fiesta and set out from Memphis to my first job in Early, Iowa making a whopping 11,000 per year. Just as pastors in rural America may live in a parsonage; I lived in a teacherage across from Early High School. Frankly, I did not have a bed, TV or a stick of furniture. I went to the Early Savings Bank and borrowed $300 to set up “housekeeping."

The band at Early High School was small and the choir was a little larger. It was a time of going to church every Sunday at Faith Lutheran church (which was the only Protestant church in town) and going pheasant and rabbit hunting on various students’ farms during the winter months. In that rural farming community teachers were treated with respect and from time to time there was playful jealousy from some of the farm kids as to whose farm I would hunt on that Saturday. On several occasions, I can recall blowing snow that would cause school to let out early and I would get on what seemed to be every stitch of clothes I had and harass the local pheasant population. In retrospect, going out to pheasant hunt in the middle of a blizzard is probably not the smartest thing to do.

As a native of the Memphis Tennessee area, the seasons were about a month ahead. For example, September in Iowa was like October, November was like December, this rule of thumb held true through the fall months. I went back to school after the Christmas break, and winter was like nothing I had ever seen before. I specifically recall one evening with thunder, lightning, and snow with a 50 mile an hour wind and -28 degrees. These types of weather conditions bring me to one of the more memorable events during my first year of teaching. As a school bus driver and band director, I was performing both duties by driving my students my students safely , teaching a little more and most of all. That Saturday excursion allowed us to create a community based on trust, which is really the foundation of teaching. prairie

Humble Musing for the case for Christ

I would like to make the case for my intellectual hero Socrates.  I firmly believe that Socrates lived and helped to shape western philosophy.  My faith in him is unshakable.   Few atheists have a problem a believing the writings of Socrates (469-399 B.C.).  He was a great classical Greek philosopher who is credited with laying the fundamentals of modern Western philosophy.  Further, the Socratic style of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints is used by the greatest and attempted by the worst university professors.  Whatever information we derive from Socrates is based on the universally validated writings of at least three scholars from antiquity - Plato, Aristotle, and Aristophanes.  Amazingly, Socrates never wrote a single word.  That is right, there is no proof that the great Socrates ever lived. Yet this “fictitious” individual was one of the founders of western intellectual thought.  Yet there are no visceral debates regarding the existence of Socrates.  I wonder why??  Personally, I feel certain that there was a great teacher/philosopher names Socrates.  Further, I have enough faith to believe that his teachings are the underpinning of western thought. 

 

Likewise, I believe that there was a great Jewish Rabbi named Jesus (33 AD).  At minimum, there is as much historical data asserting the life of Jesus as Socrates.  The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus asserts that Pilate, at the instigation of the chief men among us, had condemned him to the cross, they who before had conceived affection for him did not cease to adhere to him. For on the third day he appeared to them alive again. Antiquities, Book 18, Chapter 3, Section 1 – Further the Roman historian Tacitus, asserts that Nero blamed the burning of Rome on a Jewish sect called Christians. (Tacitus, Annals, 15, 44)  Any neophyte student of antiquity is aware of the historic fact that Rome burned in 64 AD and Nero blamed it on the Christians, which started the first persecution of the Church.  (About 32 years after the death of Jesus.)  Strangely, there are neo-atheist like Hitchings and Dawkins who have no problem believing in Socrates, yet relegate Jesus to myth or legend.   By following the assertions of the neo-atheists to their natural conclusion, the burning of Rome in 64 AD was based on the myth of the Jesus legend. Amazing!!

 

The neo-atheists like Hitchings and Dawkins would like to dismiss Jesus as a myth or fairytale; consequently they feel no need to explain how he literally changed the course of Western civilization.  They tend to assert that his followers are simply mindless dolts with no intellectual curiosity, little more than superstitious fools. Jesus asserted, “that the last shall be first and the first shall be last”.   Further, he admonished his followers to “pray for those that curse you” and to “turn the other cheek”.   Admittedly, these are counterintuitive and challenge basic human instincts and the "survival of the fittest"  evolutionary construct as first proposed by  Darwin (1809-1882).  Still other play the middle ground and sheepishly profess, “I believe Jesus was a great moral teacher” but that is all.  Who but a lunatic would say turn the other cheek after you’ve been struck in the face?  No, that argument doesn’t hold either.   After my own intellectual search of all the facts, I have joined the ranks of the emanate Oxford Professor Clive Staples Lewis (1898 -1963).   It was CS Lewis who stated in Mere Christianity  (1952) “You must make your choice. Either this man (Jesus) was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.”  I have chosen the latter.

 Just the humble musings of one who dares to consider that Man is far more than the result of billions and billions of years of random evolutionary chance.

 

Payer Of Jabez

1 Chronicles 4:10 (New International Version) Reflections of a simple High School Principal that wants to do the right thing for 2000 kids every day.

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

1. Jabez cried out to the God of Israel-Lord God, are you there? Better yet, am I at a place to spiritually to hear you? Am I like the kid that does not want to listen when I have so much “wisdom” to provide? Am I like the kid that does not want to be confused with the facts because he knows all the answers?
2. Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! - Lord God, I have all the school I could ever hope to manage. Like Solomon the territory that I most desire is wisdom to handle any situation that comes my way: wisdom to strengthen the depressed teacher, angry student, infuriated parent or demanding boss. Lord enlarge my capacity to understand people better for Your sake. Enlarge my ability to motivate others to serve children more effectively.
3. Let your hand be with me- Lord God place Your hand on my ears that they may hear more and my mouth that I may talk less but say more. Lord, place Your hand on me to allow me first to understand then to be understood.
4. Keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.- Protect me so that I can better protect those that are undervalued, underestimated and marginalized.


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When Rock Turns Into Sand

   I really enjoyed Jerry Taylor last Sunday; he really got me thinking.  When it was all over, I was sure that his sermon was targeting me directly.  

The sermon passage in Mathew 6:19 states, “ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, etc..”  Over the past weeks and months, the Lord has been working with me on this spiritual truism.  Further, he sent Bro. Jerry to bring the word of wisdom to spiritually body slam me last Sunday.

  Let me explain.  For over 27 years, I have been saving money for my retirement.  Truthfully, how many 23 year olds do you know who start planning for the “golden years” at such an early age?  I was certain that “delayed gratification” would pay off.  Somehow, I convinced myself that there was even a spiritual component in the path that I had taken.  Perhaps, even a cogent argument of the parable of the talents as recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 & Luke 19:12-28 could be used to support being worthy stewards of what the Lord has provided us with.

When I was a youngster, my Dad made it perfectly clear to me that I was expected to be “off the family payroll” as soon as possible. Further, it was up to me to “lay by in store” for the future to take care of myself and my immediate family.  I started my humble saving plans with $25 per month.  The financial representative dutifully explained the concepts of “Dollar cost averaging and Compounding Interest.”  I was assured that time was on my side, and that all would be fine.  Every year, I would continue increasing the amount saved and was resolute and steadfast in following “the plan.” To make a long story short, now that I am getting close to having 30 years in the school district and preparing to retire, I started looking at the figures more closely.  I suppose I started studying the figures last year. I was so proud of what I had done, and yes, I was even sanctimonious. After all, I was not like all of those “sinners” who had not planned for the future. Mmm , does the word pharisaical sound right….I think so.

 

In retrospect, I see my faith was in my annuity.  Well, the Lord saw fit to teach me a lesson that my faith was in the wrong thing.  Continuing, I believe that the Lord is teaching our country a lesson about materialism! (He has certainly taught it to me.)  Sadly, I thought that my “long term dollar cost averaging” saving strategy over 25 years was practicing what the Lord teaches in Matt 7:25: “The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation was on the rock.” I guess that is what thought; it seemed wise, disciplined and somehow “spiritual.”  Again, I say my faith was the wrong thing.  Since Sept. 08, I have lost over half of my “nest egg;” my faith was placed in things that the Lord can take away as quickly as he gave it.  The scary part about this whole situation is I thought that I was building my house on the “rock” and it turned out to be the “sand.”

I wonder how many of us believe that our spiritual houses are built on rock when, in fact, these houses are on sand.

Just my thoughts…..Jeff

When Kids Talk..LISTEN

I have been reflecting on the number of times that my wife, kids and  students have wanted my attention.  Further, I have been doing some self-evaluation on how much time that I have been selfish and just "Blew them off".  It is scary and yes...embarrassing! 

To say that my wife has wanted my attention and I have failed to give it on more than one occasion would be an understatement.  As I have grown older; I have found this situation more with my children than my wife.  My wife will give me subdual and not so subdual body language that tells me, I need to listen. Frankly, she is extremely patient and God was extremely good to me in sending her. The situation that I really need to watch for is when my teenage daughters approach me while I am watching the History Channel and say something like Dad, “How do you know when God is talking to you?” or “Dad how long did you and Mom date before you knew that you were in love”?  When you see or hear an opening like this, you had bidder take it!  (Jeff’s opinion: When you approach these subjects, teens may look at it as “Daddy is preaching to me again” and will more than likely tune you out.)

 

I have found that teenage cues are far subtler and may be given only once and if you are lucky, twice.  Generally, teens will talk to parents; however, it will be on their terms and you better be intuitive enough to pick up on their cues.  Your kids are going to get advise from someone…the question is…from who?

………..Theses are the ruminations of a middle age, husband, father and high school principal that wants desperately to live a life worthy of my calling. (See Ephesians 4:1)

 

Talent is God-given, be humble; fame is man given, be thankful; conceit is self given, be careful.-John wooden