[un]Common Sense

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sunday Sermon [The Three Questions]

Hola Everybody,
Story time! :)

* * *

The Three Question

The following is adapted from a collection of short stories written by Leo (War and Peace) Tolstoy.

Back in the day, there lived an emperor who searched for a philosophy of life. He realized he needed wisdom to guide him and how he ruled. None of the religions and philosophies of the time satisfied him, so he searched for a philosophy that was rooted in the experience of life.

After much thought, he came to the realization that he required answers to only three basic questions. With the answers to those three questions, he concluded, he would have all the guidance he needed. The three questions were as follows:

When is the most important time?

Who is the most important person?

What is the most important thing to do?

His quest led to a long search which takes up most of the original story, but eventually he finds the three answers when he encounters a hermit. What do you think the answers are? Look at the questions again, and pause before you read on…

We all know the answer to the first question, but it’s so obvious that oftentimes we forget it all the time. The most important time is now, of course. It’s the only time we have. Even in love, the only time we have is now. Love in the past is a memory and love in the future is a mere fantasy. We can only love in the now. If you want to tell a loved one how much you really love them, you should do it now. Not tomorrow. Not in five minutes. Now. Five minutes may be too late. If you need to make amends, don’t start thinking about all the reasons why you shouldn’t, or dwell on self-righteousness, or concoct reasons why you shouldn’t. Just do it now. The opportunity may not come again and you’ll be whining about how you didn’t seize the moment when you had the chance.

The answer to the second question is a little harder and profound. Very few people get this one right. When I first read the answer, it blew me away. The answer rips through the question in a way I never understood or imagined. The answer is that the most important person is the one you’re with.

My work involves listening to people deeply. It entails me being present in a way that’s sometimes exhausting because I’m listening on levels hardly ever utilized. In order for me to be able to listen in this manner, I have to have complete unconditional regard for the person. Listening, believe it or not, is a powerful healing mechanism. Have you ever been with someone who gave you their total attention? Do you remember how that feels?

Communication and love can only be shared with the person you are with, no matter who they are. The person you are with is the most important person in the world. People can feel that kind of attention. They respond.

The most common complaint among married couples is that they feel their partner doesn’t really listen to them. In a way, what that means is that they feel that their partner doesn’t make them feel valued anymore. If people actually were present with their loved ones, divorce lawyers would become a dying breed.

Most of the time in your life, you are by yourself. Then, the most important person, the one you are with, is you!

The answer to the emperor’s last question, “What is the most important thing to do?” is care. To care means bringing together being careful and caring. What does it mean to care?

Well, for me to care means compassion. If compassion can be represented by a dove (as it often is), then the wings of the dove are wisdom. Without wisdom compassion cannot ever soar. I always find it funny that in the Buddhist tradition, they differentiate between compassion and stupid compassion. To illustrate, I’ll share another story I heard at a retreat once. A woman had spent three months a loving-kindness retreat. Metta, a form of loving-kindness mediation intended to opening the heart, is very intense and liberating. Well shortly after leaving the retreat, this woman was attacked by a man in a dark alleyway. Luckily, her screams were heard by passerby who came to her rescue.

The incident really shook her and she wondered about all that loving-kindness practice. She went to her teacher and related the incident to her, hoping to get some guidance. Her teacher asked her, “weren’t you carrying an umbrella?” (the incident occurred during the monsoon season). The woman responded that yes she was carrying an umbrella. Her teacher smiled and told her, “Then you should’ve taken your umbrella, and with all the compassion in your heart, hit your assailant over the head repeatedly.”

That’s wise compassion and maybe that’s what’s meant by saying that the most import thing to do, right now, this very moment, is to care.

When is the most important moment? Now

Who is the most important person? The person you are with.

What is the most important thing to do? To care.

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization…

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Chicago Teacher’s Strike: Myths and Facts

Hola Everybody,

I've been absent from the mess lately, mostly because of my new gig which entails a lot of writing. But while I've been gone, the right has gone even more bat-shit crazy (if one could believe it).

Well, I can't in good conscience continue to be quiet! LOL

I glommed the following from several sources, mostly from The Dissenter at FDL:

MYTH	FACT
1. This is about teachers wanting to get paid more — not Chicago students’ wellbeing.	In 2011, a provision was added to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act that makes it illegal for teachers to strike on all matters except compensation involving pay and benefits.[i] The teachers had to make salary an issue in order to strike over classroom conditions in Chicago public schools.
2. Teachers are striking for higher salaries but already get paid enough or too much.	As noted above, it is illegal for teachers to strike on all matters except pay and benefits. The teachers are in fact striking over classroom conditions, but have to raise salary issues so as to not violate Illinois labor laws. A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) finds *“teaching jobs in the United States are not as well paid as they are abroad*, at least when you consider the other opportunities available to teachers in each country. Teachers in the city of Chicago make just over $70,000/year on average. Median household income statistics in Chicago was about $46,800/year. What people are really saying when they suggest teachers already get paid too much is that they should be earning a salary closer to the average worker in Chicago.[ii]
3. This is not the right time for teachers to strike.	Whether it is the right time or not is a subjective discussion but what is clear is *there are multiple systemic problems with Chicago public schools that certainly warrant the teachers taking a stand.* Class sizes in Chicago are largest in the state of Illinois. On average, only a quarter of Chicago public schools offer arts and music education. There are only 370 social workers for 15,000 homeless children One-hundred and sixty schools do not have libraries. Schools lack air conditioning. Chicago continues to close schools or “turnaround” schools by firing by teacher and staff to improve student learning without any evidence that this meaningfully benefits students.[iii]
4. Teachers just do not want to admit they are the reason why students aren’t performing well.	Simply focusing on teachers as the reason for low performance ignores the lack of resources in schools that make it difficult for learning. Public schools lack air conditioning, roofs that do not leak, textbooks, libraries, social workers, etc. They also have overcrowded classrooms, which make it harder for teachers to educate students.[iv]
5. Teachers oppose tying student test scores to teacher evaluations because they don’t want to be held accountable for poor performance.	Teachers in Chicago are opposed because there is no evidence to support the idea that tying test scores to teacher evaluations will lead to gains in student achievement and worry this will mean more teaching to the test. Sixteen professors and researchers concurred in a letter to Emanuel sent in March, which emphasized, “Student test scores have not been found to be a strong predictor of the quality of teaching as measured by other instruments or approaches.”[v]
6. Striking hurts the students.	Teachers are striking so the city of Chicago will allocate more resources for students. In the short term, students may not be in class learning but there is no evidence to support this will have a long term impact on any students. Moreover, some students are joining their parents and teachers in demonstrations in the streets and are learning a valuable civics lesson they would not be learning in many of the Chicago schools.
7. Standardized test scores are an accurate reflection of student learning	The evaluation system school district authorities want to put in place in Chicago (and elsewhere) is premised on the assumption that progress on standardized tests reflects quality instruction, while poor test scores reflect unsatisfactory work by teachers. This assumption contradicts the research that has found the methods used to evaluate teachers are typically flawed. But more importantly, students are confronting challenges that transcend rote learning, and that limits their performance, rendering standardized tests a bogus measure of their achievement.[vi]