J. Lloyd Morgan's Blog, page 2
May 15, 2015
Teaching Top 10
I did it. I completed my first year of teaching college English. Though some may find this hard to believe, I honestly feel I learned as much, if not more, than my students.
To be clear, not everything I learned related directly to English. Some of it was about teaching, and even life in general.
What did I learn? Here is my personal top 10.
Number 10: It takes longer to prep for a class than to teach it.
It should only take me about 75 minutes to prepare for a class that runs 75 minutes, right? Nope! I use PowerPoints, short videos, images, and examples when I teach. Each of these takes time to create. The challenge is to make sure I’m teaching the concepts in a way in which the students can actually learn. How long does a lesson take to prepare? Depending on the topic, several hours.
Number 9: The students who sit in the back aren’t the worst students—most of the time.
I remember being told that the best students are those who sit on the front row. That isn’t always the case. Personally, I like to sit in the back because I’m tall and have good vision. And I’m something of an introvert. Some of my best students sat on the back row. But to be fair, almost all of my worst student sat in the back.
Number 8: Teaching can be heartbreaking.
I couldn’t help but get to know many of my students on a personal level from reading their work. One of the big assignments in ENG 111 is to write a personal narrative. Time and again, I was surprised, shocked, and dismayed at many of the events my students had endured. From abusive parents / spouses / boyfriends or girlfriends, to coming to America and having to learn English as a second language, to serious medical conditions (and the list goes on), I grew a new appreciation for overcoming challenges.
Number 7: English, as a language, is pretty confusing.
They’re, Their, and There? When to use whom instead of who? How to explain to a person where English is not their first language when it is appropriate to use “had had� in a sentence. (Example: I had had better days.) What is the difference between affect and effect? Frankly, some of these are downright perplexing! Oh, and by the way, here is a tip for using whom instead of who: replace the word with “he� and “him.� If “him� sounds better, use “whom.� (See how both end with the letter “m�?)
Number 6: College teachers spend more time working outside of class than in—by a lot!
The vast majority of the time in a college class, I’m teaching. It isn’t me just talking the whole time, sometimes we do other learning activities. But grading papers, creating lectures and assignments? These are all done outside of the classroom.
Number 5: Some students simply do not care.
One of the biggest surprises was encountering students who just didn’t care about the class or learning the material. These are those who would sleep through class, or read books while I am lecturing, and (more often than not) turn in poor work, if they turned it in at all. I only had a few students like this over the last year—but it was common enough to indicate it wasn’t as rare as I would have imagined.
Number 4: Doing the basics makes a huge difference.
At the start of each semester, I give my students the four keys to doing well in a college class. These are: 1. Do ALL of the assignments. 2. Do all of the assignments ON TIME. 3. Do all of the assignments on time AND TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. 4. Do any EXTRA CREDIT the teacher offers. Most of the students who dropped or failed my classes couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do the first basic rule.
Number 3: Most people procrastinate.
For my classes, almost all of the assignments are submitted online through a program called Blackboard. The deadline for the assignments is 11:59 PM on the assigned day. When a student submits an assignment through the computer, it displays when the assignment was turned in. More than half of my students turned in papers within the final hours before it is due—even when they have had days, and sometimes weeks, to work on it.
Number 2: Good writing takes time.
I already knew this, somewhat, yet it was reinforced this last year. Writing is a process. The papers written for my class went through several stages: prewriting (getting ideas), research, creating an outline, writing a rough draft, doing peer reviews, re-writing the paper based on the feedback, submitting the next draft to a tutoring service (either online or on campus), re-writing the paper again, and then submitting it for the final grade. Those students who did this process earned a good grade. Those who waited until the last minute? Not so much.
Number 1: Teaching is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.
I’m not saying that my other jobs in retail, TV, and banking didn’t have their perks, but they don’t come close to teaching. Sure, the money isn’t as good. Yet, it is an amazing experience to watch a student grow and apply what they have learned. My primary goal is to help them learn how to learn. That is a skill they will use throughout their lives. When a student tells me, “Mr. Morgan, I’ve never liked English before. But now, I’m getting it. I can see why it is important and how I can use it in my major”—that is a feeling that is 100 times better than being told I was the top sales manager or that our snow coverage set a ratings record.
To be clear, not everything I learned related directly to English. Some of it was about teaching, and even life in general.
What did I learn? Here is my personal top 10.
Number 10: It takes longer to prep for a class than to teach it.
It should only take me about 75 minutes to prepare for a class that runs 75 minutes, right? Nope! I use PowerPoints, short videos, images, and examples when I teach. Each of these takes time to create. The challenge is to make sure I’m teaching the concepts in a way in which the students can actually learn. How long does a lesson take to prepare? Depending on the topic, several hours.
Number 9: The students who sit in the back aren’t the worst students—most of the time.
I remember being told that the best students are those who sit on the front row. That isn’t always the case. Personally, I like to sit in the back because I’m tall and have good vision. And I’m something of an introvert. Some of my best students sat on the back row. But to be fair, almost all of my worst student sat in the back.
Number 8: Teaching can be heartbreaking.
I couldn’t help but get to know many of my students on a personal level from reading their work. One of the big assignments in ENG 111 is to write a personal narrative. Time and again, I was surprised, shocked, and dismayed at many of the events my students had endured. From abusive parents / spouses / boyfriends or girlfriends, to coming to America and having to learn English as a second language, to serious medical conditions (and the list goes on), I grew a new appreciation for overcoming challenges.
Number 7: English, as a language, is pretty confusing.
They’re, Their, and There? When to use whom instead of who? How to explain to a person where English is not their first language when it is appropriate to use “had had� in a sentence. (Example: I had had better days.) What is the difference between affect and effect? Frankly, some of these are downright perplexing! Oh, and by the way, here is a tip for using whom instead of who: replace the word with “he� and “him.� If “him� sounds better, use “whom.� (See how both end with the letter “m�?)
Number 6: College teachers spend more time working outside of class than in—by a lot!
The vast majority of the time in a college class, I’m teaching. It isn’t me just talking the whole time, sometimes we do other learning activities. But grading papers, creating lectures and assignments? These are all done outside of the classroom.
Number 5: Some students simply do not care.
One of the biggest surprises was encountering students who just didn’t care about the class or learning the material. These are those who would sleep through class, or read books while I am lecturing, and (more often than not) turn in poor work, if they turned it in at all. I only had a few students like this over the last year—but it was common enough to indicate it wasn’t as rare as I would have imagined.
Number 4: Doing the basics makes a huge difference.
At the start of each semester, I give my students the four keys to doing well in a college class. These are: 1. Do ALL of the assignments. 2. Do all of the assignments ON TIME. 3. Do all of the assignments on time AND TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. 4. Do any EXTRA CREDIT the teacher offers. Most of the students who dropped or failed my classes couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do the first basic rule.
Number 3: Most people procrastinate.
For my classes, almost all of the assignments are submitted online through a program called Blackboard. The deadline for the assignments is 11:59 PM on the assigned day. When a student submits an assignment through the computer, it displays when the assignment was turned in. More than half of my students turned in papers within the final hours before it is due—even when they have had days, and sometimes weeks, to work on it.
Number 2: Good writing takes time.
I already knew this, somewhat, yet it was reinforced this last year. Writing is a process. The papers written for my class went through several stages: prewriting (getting ideas), research, creating an outline, writing a rough draft, doing peer reviews, re-writing the paper based on the feedback, submitting the next draft to a tutoring service (either online or on campus), re-writing the paper again, and then submitting it for the final grade. Those students who did this process earned a good grade. Those who waited until the last minute? Not so much.
Number 1: Teaching is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.
I’m not saying that my other jobs in retail, TV, and banking didn’t have their perks, but they don’t come close to teaching. Sure, the money isn’t as good. Yet, it is an amazing experience to watch a student grow and apply what they have learned. My primary goal is to help them learn how to learn. That is a skill they will use throughout their lives. When a student tells me, “Mr. Morgan, I’ve never liked English before. But now, I’m getting it. I can see why it is important and how I can use it in my major”—that is a feeling that is 100 times better than being told I was the top sales manager or that our snow coverage set a ratings record.
April 27, 2015
Your vote is needed!
HELP! (Did that get your attention?) My book “Bring Down the Rain� is up for a RONE award. It’s done well enough that the book has moved to the next phase: public voting! It is in the **Young Adult: General** category.
Please, oh please, go to this link and cast a vote for “Bring Down the Rain.�
Voting ends May 3rd, so please vote soon.
Thanks!
Please, oh please, go to this link and cast a vote for “Bring Down the Rain.�
Voting ends May 3rd, so please vote soon.
Thanks!
April 2, 2015
Discrimination—not a word to be used lightly
I find it disturbing, and frankly sad, when people use powerful words incorrectly. As a writer and an English teacher, I appreciate the power of words. Perhaps that is why it bothers me when people misuse them to try to promote their cause.
A controversial topic in the news right now is about how states are passing religion freedom acts.
One aspect of these laws, to keep it simple, is to protect business owners who refuse to provide services if those services are in conflict with their religious beliefs. As an example, if a gay couple wants a wedding cake maker to create a cake for them, the cake maker can refuse their business without fear of legal repercussions under these laws.
From what I’ve seen, the media is having a field day with this. Aside from calling these laws as “anti-gay�, another word keeps coming up: “discrimination.� But it isn’t.
“WHAT?!?!?!� some of you may say.
Just hear me out.
Discrimination is “the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people.� Notice the key word: unfairly . Most people who use the word incorrectly forget (or would like to ignore) that part of the definition. But the most important part of the definition is that the treatment is based on who you are as a person .
The law in the USA says it is illegal to discriminate against the following groups: Age, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Marital status, National origin, Race, Religion, and Sexual orientation.
“But, wait!� you might say. “It says right there people cannot discriminate, or treat someone unfairly, based on their sexual orientation.� (It also says “religion� in case you glossed over that.)
Here is the major point a lot of people are missing: there is a difference between refusing services to someone based on their sexual orientation and refusing the service because the action is in conflict with a belief.
In other words, it is discrimination to refuse service because of who someone is, but it is NOT discrimination to refuse services based on what they are doing .
Am I splitting hairs? No, I’m not.
If, as a member of the LDS faith, I were to go to an atheist tailor and request he make a baptismal outfit, the tailor could not refuse my business because I am a Mormon. That’s discrimination; you can’t refuse service based on who the person is.
However, if the tailor refused to create the outfit because he did not want to support an action which he disagreed with—that is NOT discrimination.
Another example: my first job was at McDonald’s. I was 16. One day, a woman came in and started screaming that the French Fries she got in the drive through were cold. I watched as the manager was called every name in the book. He then told the customer, “I’m sorry you had a bad experience. Let me refund your money.� After giving her back her money, she started yelling that she wanted her order done right this time. What did the manager do? He asked her to leave.
What happened next taught me a big lesson.
The lady then yelled, “You are only treating me this way because I’m a woman.�
Calmly, the manager replied, “No. I’m refusing to offer our services based on your actions.�
And he was right. Businesses should have the right to refuse services to anyone unless the reason is based on the proper definition of discrimination.
In the case of the baker and the wedding cake for a gay couple, the owner cannot refuse service based on the fact that the customer is gay. However, if the gay person is getting married (which is legal in a number of states), that is an action. If the owner does not want to support that action, for any reason, including religious, that is not discrimination.
As a writer, I am contacted now and again to write for others. I will do so, as long as what I’m writing is not in conflict with my beliefs. For example, if a person who is eighty-eight years old wants to get back at his ex-wife by paying me to write a book about how she is a horrible person, I would refuse. He could claim I was discriminating against him due to his age. He would be wrong. My refusal has nothing to do with him as a person. It has everything to do with an action.
So, am I calling for the specific right for those who have religious beliefs to be able to refuse services based on the actions of people, including gay people? No. No, I am not.
I am stating that anyone should have the right to refuse service based on the specific actions of another person.
A controversial topic in the news right now is about how states are passing religion freedom acts.
One aspect of these laws, to keep it simple, is to protect business owners who refuse to provide services if those services are in conflict with their religious beliefs. As an example, if a gay couple wants a wedding cake maker to create a cake for them, the cake maker can refuse their business without fear of legal repercussions under these laws.
From what I’ve seen, the media is having a field day with this. Aside from calling these laws as “anti-gay�, another word keeps coming up: “discrimination.� But it isn’t.
“WHAT?!?!?!� some of you may say.
Just hear me out.
Discrimination is “the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people.� Notice the key word: unfairly . Most people who use the word incorrectly forget (or would like to ignore) that part of the definition. But the most important part of the definition is that the treatment is based on who you are as a person .
The law in the USA says it is illegal to discriminate against the following groups: Age, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Marital status, National origin, Race, Religion, and Sexual orientation.
“But, wait!� you might say. “It says right there people cannot discriminate, or treat someone unfairly, based on their sexual orientation.� (It also says “religion� in case you glossed over that.)
Here is the major point a lot of people are missing: there is a difference between refusing services to someone based on their sexual orientation and refusing the service because the action is in conflict with a belief.
In other words, it is discrimination to refuse service because of who someone is, but it is NOT discrimination to refuse services based on what they are doing .
Am I splitting hairs? No, I’m not.
If, as a member of the LDS faith, I were to go to an atheist tailor and request he make a baptismal outfit, the tailor could not refuse my business because I am a Mormon. That’s discrimination; you can’t refuse service based on who the person is.
However, if the tailor refused to create the outfit because he did not want to support an action which he disagreed with—that is NOT discrimination.
Another example: my first job was at McDonald’s. I was 16. One day, a woman came in and started screaming that the French Fries she got in the drive through were cold. I watched as the manager was called every name in the book. He then told the customer, “I’m sorry you had a bad experience. Let me refund your money.� After giving her back her money, she started yelling that she wanted her order done right this time. What did the manager do? He asked her to leave.
What happened next taught me a big lesson.
The lady then yelled, “You are only treating me this way because I’m a woman.�
Calmly, the manager replied, “No. I’m refusing to offer our services based on your actions.�
And he was right. Businesses should have the right to refuse services to anyone unless the reason is based on the proper definition of discrimination.
In the case of the baker and the wedding cake for a gay couple, the owner cannot refuse service based on the fact that the customer is gay. However, if the gay person is getting married (which is legal in a number of states), that is an action. If the owner does not want to support that action, for any reason, including religious, that is not discrimination.
As a writer, I am contacted now and again to write for others. I will do so, as long as what I’m writing is not in conflict with my beliefs. For example, if a person who is eighty-eight years old wants to get back at his ex-wife by paying me to write a book about how she is a horrible person, I would refuse. He could claim I was discriminating against him due to his age. He would be wrong. My refusal has nothing to do with him as a person. It has everything to do with an action.
So, am I calling for the specific right for those who have religious beliefs to be able to refuse services based on the actions of people, including gay people? No. No, I am not.
I am stating that anyone should have the right to refuse service based on the specific actions of another person.
February 21, 2015
Kickstarter!
I’ll admit it. I’ve been slacking off on the writing side of my life. Granted, I took on a job last autumn as a college English teacher and much of my time and creative energy has been spent on creating lesson plans and grading papers. (The first few years of teaching are the hardest, so I’ve been told because you have to create everything from scratch.)
I felt I needed something to kick me in the pants to get writing and promoting again. After all, stories are never done, only due. After looking at several options, I thought, “Why not try a Kickstarter?� I, personally, have backed a couple of projects—I’ve seen how successful they can be.
If you’ve not heard of a Kickstarter before, here are the basics: You create a campaign where you try to reach a certain dollar amount in donations during a certain period of time. (Usually 30 days.) As the creator of the campaign, you can offer rewards for certain donation amounts. For example, anyone who donates $25 to my Kickstarter will receive an autographed copy of one of my previous books.
My Kickstarter begins on Feb 21, 2015 and will run for 30 days. The goal is $3,000. A list of rewards for donating are found on the website.
For a full list of rewards, please visit this link:
Thank you all for your time and support!
I felt I needed something to kick me in the pants to get writing and promoting again. After all, stories are never done, only due. After looking at several options, I thought, “Why not try a Kickstarter?� I, personally, have backed a couple of projects—I’ve seen how successful they can be.
If you’ve not heard of a Kickstarter before, here are the basics: You create a campaign where you try to reach a certain dollar amount in donations during a certain period of time. (Usually 30 days.) As the creator of the campaign, you can offer rewards for certain donation amounts. For example, anyone who donates $25 to my Kickstarter will receive an autographed copy of one of my previous books.
My Kickstarter begins on Feb 21, 2015 and will run for 30 days. The goal is $3,000. A list of rewards for donating are found on the website.
For a full list of rewards, please visit this link:
Thank you all for your time and support!
February 13, 2015
A day in the life of a substitute teacher (no problem)
While I’m not teaching English at JCC, I will be a substitute teacher time and again, mainly at high schools. It’s actually a pretty nice deal. For the most part, I sub for English teachers. It’s a win-win. The teacher gets a day off, and usually I have time during class to grade papers, or prep for my next college class, or even work on my next book—and I get paid to do so. Granted, the students come first when I’m subbing, but in all honesty, I do have time to work on other projects as I’m watching over them.
Most days are pretty straight forward. I have my assignment the night before. I arrive at the school a half-an-hour before school starts (usually 6:55 AM for high schools), I visit the main office to find out what room I’m teaching in, and then I try to find it; the whole time I’m trying to look like I know where I’m going.
What makes this a challenge is that most of the high schools I sub at have the same design—almost. The main buildings are exactly alike, but some are reversed. And just about every school uses a different numbering system for their classrooms. What might be room 2721 in one school could be 2317 in a different school.
Once I arrive at the classroom, the real fun begins. Teachers are supposed to have clear lesson plans set up for the day, telling me what I should have the students do at any given time. Most of the teachers do an excellent job providing this information, but once in a while I’ll show up and there will be a sticky note on the teacher’s desk with the words, “Sub: show movie to class.� Then I need to figure out which movie and how to play it. That’s when I usually pop into the classroom next door and ask another teacher for help.
95% (or so) of the time, things run smoothly. Then there are days like the one I experienced recently.
When I arrived at the school that morning, I got my assignment from the front office and went up to the third floor where I would be teaching. There are four periods during the day, and the teacher I was subbing for had first period planning. Still, I went to the room to make sure I knew what I was doing for the rest of the day.
The teacher had a nice binder with specific instructions. The only hitch was that there was a single paper of the worksheet. On it was a sticky note which read “make copies.� Because I had arrived early, I headed over to the teacher’s workshop area. The door was locked and no one was inside. No problem. I had time. I could do it during the planning period.
Upon returning to the classroom, there was another teacher there. She looked surprised to see me. I explained who I was, and she became even more perplexed.
“We’re doing PSAT testing today in this room for the first three hours,� she told me. “Go down to room 3228 to find out where you should be for the rest of the day.� No problem. I took the binder the teacher left for me and off I went to 3228.
The room was filled with teachers, each grabbing their testing materials and going off to rooms they didn’t normally teach in. When it was my turn, I explained who I was subbing for. The lady in charge frowned at me. “Subs can’t give the test. Let me check.� She flipped through her notes, and then after finding the information she was looking for, said, “The teacher you are subbing for was not assigned to give out a test. Go to the sub office to see where they need you.� No problem.
I descend the stairs, back to the first floor. When I arrived at the sub office, the sweet lady in charge of subs was a bit freaked out. Two of the other subs hadn’t shown up yet, in addition, she wasn’t sure where to send me because it turns out my second period class would be taking the PSAT, so I didn’t have classes for first or second period. No problem. I brought my laptop with me and I could work on things in the media center. At that moment, the teacher I was filling in for showed up—just briefly. She told me that she forgot to make copies of the worksheet. I have the worksheet with me, so she scooted off and made copies while I waited for the sub coordinator to figure out what to do with me.
Since two of the other subs hadn’t shown, the sub coordinator asked if I would cover one of those classes instead. No problem. She was about to send me to cover In School Suspension when that sub arrived—five minutes before class started. I dodged a bit of a bullet there. That meant I’d be asked to cover for the other missing teacher: a girls� gym class. Slight problem, since I was wearing a shirt and tie, but I’d manage.
I arrived at the main gym, only to find it locked. On the door was a note telling the students to get dressed and then meet by the small gym. No problem. I pretend I know where the small gym was located, and then found it soon enough. There was another gym teacher standing in the hallway. She was nice enough, and it turned out she was the other gym teacher. Because of testing, they were combining all the gym classes into one big class. She expressed some concern because that was a lot of students in a small area—and it was raining outside, so we had to stay inside. I asked her, “What do you need me to do?� She answered, “Help make sure no one gets into a fight or gets hurt.� No problem.
However, just after the students came out of the dressing room and were headed to the gym, the sub who was missing arrived. I was off the hook. No longer with a class to teach, I headed back to the sub office. She didn’t have anything for me to do at that moment, so I offered to go to the media center and hang out—that way they know where to find me if they needed me. The sub secretary agreed.
It was a great plan, until I arrived at the media center. It was off limits because they were using it to test for the PSAT. The nice lady at the desk suggested I go to the teacher’s workroom instead. No problem.
Before going back up to the third floor, I remembered that the workroom was locked. Instead, I went back to the sub secretary and asked if I could get a key. She graciously supplied me with one.
Back up to the third floor I trekked. At this time, classes had started and so the hallways were quiet. With key in hand, I went to unlock the workroom, only to find that the door was slightly ajar. I entered, picked a seat, and set up my laptop to begin working. In the corner was a vending machine which sold soda. One of the options was Sunkist—a drink I like and hadn’t had in a long time. I dug out a dollar bill from my wallet, put it in the machine. I pressed the button for Sunkist, and a Pepsi came out instead. Uh. No problem. Yeah. No problem.
Five minute later, another nice lady entered the room. “Are you the sub that doesn’t have anything to do at this time?� she asked. I almost told her I had plenty to do, but instead I answered, “That’s me. What can I help you with?�
“We need your help in the other wing. Head over there and find a teacher standing in the hallway. She’ll fill you in.� I replied, “Sure. No problem.�
I packed up my stuff, and headed to find this mysterious teacher. I found her easily enough. “Oh good,� she said. “We’re doing PSAT testing and need someone to be on that side of the hallway to make sure students aren’t leaving the room to cheat.� No problem.
She got me a chair and I placed it next to a power outlet so I could plug in my laptop. It then occurred to me to ask how long we’d be there. The answer? “About three hours.� Three hours? Yeah, ok. No problem.
It wasn’t three hours. After an hour-and-a-half, another lady approached. “We need you to go downstairs to the cafeteria. There’s going to be a sprinkle of students who need to be watched over.�
Unsure how many students made up a “sprinkle,� I packed up my stuff again and headed back downstairs. In the cafeteria there were two sets of students. One was an English IV honors class which had a rather dynamic teacher. The second set were a bunch of students who looked like they would rather be anywhere else in the world aside from school. Without any specific instructions, I told the second set of students, “Ok. You may work on other homework. You may listen to music if you have headphones. You may talk quietly with other students. What you may notdo is be a disruption or do anything illegal, immoral, or unethical.� This statement was met with blank stares.
Ninety minutes later, the class was dismissed and I booked it upstairs to the third floor, again, to teach a class that started in five minutes. The students shuffled like zombies—they were the ones who had just taken the PSAT. Class started ten minutes later than it should have because all the testing hadn’t been completed.
For third period, the students were assigned to complete a study guide on Oedipus. The challenge was that this class had “B� lunch—meaning that the class was divided into two sections: half before and half after lunch. In addition, third and fourth periods were already shortened because the test was longer than normal first and second periods. I gave the students the handout and explained what we were doing. Most of them just sat there and stared at the paper, realizing that they were going to lunch in just a few minutes. Lunch arrived about fifteen minutes later, and suddenly the zombies came back to life. The room cleared out quickly as they headed downstairs to the cafeteria.
For half-an-hour I had a moment to relax and eat the peanut butter and jelly sandwich my wife made me that morning.
The students returned, refreshed. I got them refocused on the task of completing the worksheet. I told the students I would not be collecting the worksheet at the end of the day. When one student asked why, I answered, “Bring the worksheets to class tomorrow. If I collect them, some of you will insist to your teacher that you gave me your paper and that I lost them. We’re not playing that game.�
The last period of the day rolled around. The lesson plan was easy: the students were supposed to read a story out of their books and answer questions. The challenge? The story was a section from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. These freshman students struggled with reading English in general, so Shakespeare was like a foreign language. I spent the rest of the class helping them with the questions and explaining what they were reading. Several of them expressed their gratitude for my help. My response? “No problem.�
At last, the dismissal bell rang. The school day was over. I went to the front office to return the key I borrowed. The sub coordinator asked me, “How was your day?� I smiled at her and answered, “Fantastic.�
She looks relieved. “Oh, good. Testing days can be so tricky.� I wish her a nice day. As I turned to leave, she asked me, “Oh, Mr. Morgan. Are you available next Wednesday?�
I paused for just a moment before responding, “Sure. No problem.�
Most days are pretty straight forward. I have my assignment the night before. I arrive at the school a half-an-hour before school starts (usually 6:55 AM for high schools), I visit the main office to find out what room I’m teaching in, and then I try to find it; the whole time I’m trying to look like I know where I’m going.
What makes this a challenge is that most of the high schools I sub at have the same design—almost. The main buildings are exactly alike, but some are reversed. And just about every school uses a different numbering system for their classrooms. What might be room 2721 in one school could be 2317 in a different school.
Once I arrive at the classroom, the real fun begins. Teachers are supposed to have clear lesson plans set up for the day, telling me what I should have the students do at any given time. Most of the teachers do an excellent job providing this information, but once in a while I’ll show up and there will be a sticky note on the teacher’s desk with the words, “Sub: show movie to class.� Then I need to figure out which movie and how to play it. That’s when I usually pop into the classroom next door and ask another teacher for help.
95% (or so) of the time, things run smoothly. Then there are days like the one I experienced recently.
When I arrived at the school that morning, I got my assignment from the front office and went up to the third floor where I would be teaching. There are four periods during the day, and the teacher I was subbing for had first period planning. Still, I went to the room to make sure I knew what I was doing for the rest of the day.
The teacher had a nice binder with specific instructions. The only hitch was that there was a single paper of the worksheet. On it was a sticky note which read “make copies.� Because I had arrived early, I headed over to the teacher’s workshop area. The door was locked and no one was inside. No problem. I had time. I could do it during the planning period.
Upon returning to the classroom, there was another teacher there. She looked surprised to see me. I explained who I was, and she became even more perplexed.
“We’re doing PSAT testing today in this room for the first three hours,� she told me. “Go down to room 3228 to find out where you should be for the rest of the day.� No problem. I took the binder the teacher left for me and off I went to 3228.
The room was filled with teachers, each grabbing their testing materials and going off to rooms they didn’t normally teach in. When it was my turn, I explained who I was subbing for. The lady in charge frowned at me. “Subs can’t give the test. Let me check.� She flipped through her notes, and then after finding the information she was looking for, said, “The teacher you are subbing for was not assigned to give out a test. Go to the sub office to see where they need you.� No problem.
I descend the stairs, back to the first floor. When I arrived at the sub office, the sweet lady in charge of subs was a bit freaked out. Two of the other subs hadn’t shown up yet, in addition, she wasn’t sure where to send me because it turns out my second period class would be taking the PSAT, so I didn’t have classes for first or second period. No problem. I brought my laptop with me and I could work on things in the media center. At that moment, the teacher I was filling in for showed up—just briefly. She told me that she forgot to make copies of the worksheet. I have the worksheet with me, so she scooted off and made copies while I waited for the sub coordinator to figure out what to do with me.
Since two of the other subs hadn’t shown, the sub coordinator asked if I would cover one of those classes instead. No problem. She was about to send me to cover In School Suspension when that sub arrived—five minutes before class started. I dodged a bit of a bullet there. That meant I’d be asked to cover for the other missing teacher: a girls� gym class. Slight problem, since I was wearing a shirt and tie, but I’d manage.
I arrived at the main gym, only to find it locked. On the door was a note telling the students to get dressed and then meet by the small gym. No problem. I pretend I know where the small gym was located, and then found it soon enough. There was another gym teacher standing in the hallway. She was nice enough, and it turned out she was the other gym teacher. Because of testing, they were combining all the gym classes into one big class. She expressed some concern because that was a lot of students in a small area—and it was raining outside, so we had to stay inside. I asked her, “What do you need me to do?� She answered, “Help make sure no one gets into a fight or gets hurt.� No problem.
However, just after the students came out of the dressing room and were headed to the gym, the sub who was missing arrived. I was off the hook. No longer with a class to teach, I headed back to the sub office. She didn’t have anything for me to do at that moment, so I offered to go to the media center and hang out—that way they know where to find me if they needed me. The sub secretary agreed.
It was a great plan, until I arrived at the media center. It was off limits because they were using it to test for the PSAT. The nice lady at the desk suggested I go to the teacher’s workroom instead. No problem.
Before going back up to the third floor, I remembered that the workroom was locked. Instead, I went back to the sub secretary and asked if I could get a key. She graciously supplied me with one.
Back up to the third floor I trekked. At this time, classes had started and so the hallways were quiet. With key in hand, I went to unlock the workroom, only to find that the door was slightly ajar. I entered, picked a seat, and set up my laptop to begin working. In the corner was a vending machine which sold soda. One of the options was Sunkist—a drink I like and hadn’t had in a long time. I dug out a dollar bill from my wallet, put it in the machine. I pressed the button for Sunkist, and a Pepsi came out instead. Uh. No problem. Yeah. No problem.
Five minute later, another nice lady entered the room. “Are you the sub that doesn’t have anything to do at this time?� she asked. I almost told her I had plenty to do, but instead I answered, “That’s me. What can I help you with?�
“We need your help in the other wing. Head over there and find a teacher standing in the hallway. She’ll fill you in.� I replied, “Sure. No problem.�
I packed up my stuff, and headed to find this mysterious teacher. I found her easily enough. “Oh good,� she said. “We’re doing PSAT testing and need someone to be on that side of the hallway to make sure students aren’t leaving the room to cheat.� No problem.
She got me a chair and I placed it next to a power outlet so I could plug in my laptop. It then occurred to me to ask how long we’d be there. The answer? “About three hours.� Three hours? Yeah, ok. No problem.
It wasn’t three hours. After an hour-and-a-half, another lady approached. “We need you to go downstairs to the cafeteria. There’s going to be a sprinkle of students who need to be watched over.�
Unsure how many students made up a “sprinkle,� I packed up my stuff again and headed back downstairs. In the cafeteria there were two sets of students. One was an English IV honors class which had a rather dynamic teacher. The second set were a bunch of students who looked like they would rather be anywhere else in the world aside from school. Without any specific instructions, I told the second set of students, “Ok. You may work on other homework. You may listen to music if you have headphones. You may talk quietly with other students. What you may notdo is be a disruption or do anything illegal, immoral, or unethical.� This statement was met with blank stares.
Ninety minutes later, the class was dismissed and I booked it upstairs to the third floor, again, to teach a class that started in five minutes. The students shuffled like zombies—they were the ones who had just taken the PSAT. Class started ten minutes later than it should have because all the testing hadn’t been completed.
For third period, the students were assigned to complete a study guide on Oedipus. The challenge was that this class had “B� lunch—meaning that the class was divided into two sections: half before and half after lunch. In addition, third and fourth periods were already shortened because the test was longer than normal first and second periods. I gave the students the handout and explained what we were doing. Most of them just sat there and stared at the paper, realizing that they were going to lunch in just a few minutes. Lunch arrived about fifteen minutes later, and suddenly the zombies came back to life. The room cleared out quickly as they headed downstairs to the cafeteria.
For half-an-hour I had a moment to relax and eat the peanut butter and jelly sandwich my wife made me that morning.
The students returned, refreshed. I got them refocused on the task of completing the worksheet. I told the students I would not be collecting the worksheet at the end of the day. When one student asked why, I answered, “Bring the worksheets to class tomorrow. If I collect them, some of you will insist to your teacher that you gave me your paper and that I lost them. We’re not playing that game.�
The last period of the day rolled around. The lesson plan was easy: the students were supposed to read a story out of their books and answer questions. The challenge? The story was a section from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. These freshman students struggled with reading English in general, so Shakespeare was like a foreign language. I spent the rest of the class helping them with the questions and explaining what they were reading. Several of them expressed their gratitude for my help. My response? “No problem.�
At last, the dismissal bell rang. The school day was over. I went to the front office to return the key I borrowed. The sub coordinator asked me, “How was your day?� I smiled at her and answered, “Fantastic.�
She looks relieved. “Oh, good. Testing days can be so tricky.� I wish her a nice day. As I turned to leave, she asked me, “Oh, Mr. Morgan. Are you available next Wednesday?�
I paused for just a moment before responding, “Sure. No problem.�
January 30, 2015
Playing in the mud
A little boy wanted to go outside to play. It had been raining for two days, keeping him cooped up inside. When the sun finally came out, he asked his mommy if he could go play. She responded, “You can, but stay out of the mud. Your aunt is coming over for dinner tonight.�
Delighted that he was finally free to get out of the house, the little boy rushed outside. Not long after, he came across his friends. They were making mud pies—and it looked like a lot of fun. But then he remembered what his mommy had said. He didn’t want to get muddy. After thinking for a moment, he came up with a solution.
The boy sat at the edge of the muddy area and watched. Every once in a while, his friends would ask for help, or tell him it would be okay if he only used his hands—after all, his hands were easy enough to clean before dinner.
Throughout the afternoon, the boy stayed on the edge, never fully going in. At the same time, he reached in with his hands, scooped up the mud, and pushed it around to make it form mud pies. No matter how hard he tried, the mud pies did not turn out quite the way he wanted, and his hands got muddier than he thought they would become.
With the sun starting to set, the little boy heard his mother call him for dinner. He stood, said goodbye to his friends, and rushed home. Instead of going inside, he went to the garden hose to wash off his hands.
The mud from his hands got on the faucet as he turned it on. Still, the clean, clear water came out the end of the hose. Knowing he was already late for dinner, the boy cleaned off his hands the best he could, and then went inside.
When his mother saw him, she gasped. The boy wasn’t sure why until he looked down and noticed that despite his best efforts, small spots of mud had splattered on his clothes.
“You played in the mud, didn’t you?� she asked.
“But I didn’t. Not really. I just sat on the edge and reached in with my hands. And I cleaned them off? See?� He showed her his hands. While they were mostly clean, there was dirt under his fingernails.
The mother then knelt down and looked the little boy in the eye. In a soft tone, she said, “Sweetheart, the best way to stay clean is to keep away from the mud the best you can.�
I’ve been thinking about this parable a lot recently. There is so much in the world which is negative. Every time I pull up the latest news stories, there is account after account of all the bad that is happening in the world.
When I worked in the TV news industry, over the course of the years, I realized that focusing on the negative all the time was impacting me personally. I was becoming a negative person—focusing a lot on all the little things that I thought were wrong, and in the process, losing sight on the important good things in life.
I found that when I got home from work, I would focus on all the little, negative things: the kids left a mess in the basement, dinner was late, there were clothes that needed to be folded on the bed—and so on and so on. Never mind that my wife was actually a superstar and home all day with our four young daughters. I was losing sight of all the wonderful things in my life because I was focusing my attention on the wrong things.
Even though I’ve left the TV world behind, and I’ve worked hard to focus on the positive things in life, I can still get bogged down time and again with some negative aspect which affects my whole mood.
I’ve learned that while my family isn’t perfect, there is a lot to love about them. They make me happy. Sure, there are things that come up which can cause stress, or even make me question certain things, but I found that if I focus too much on these elements, I’m missing out on the bigger, more wonderful blessings I have.
And it makes sense. After all, how long would my marriage last if all I did was look for faults in my wife? (Granted, she’s remarkable and it would really take some effort to find faults. She is human, though, and humans are not perfect.) Even if I could force my wife to change things I thought were “wrong,� unless I changed from focusing on the negative, I would constantly be unhappy.
Yes, sometimes bad things happen; I’ll get some mud on me. But I’ve learned that that happens less often if I stay away from the mud pit.
Delighted that he was finally free to get out of the house, the little boy rushed outside. Not long after, he came across his friends. They were making mud pies—and it looked like a lot of fun. But then he remembered what his mommy had said. He didn’t want to get muddy. After thinking for a moment, he came up with a solution.
The boy sat at the edge of the muddy area and watched. Every once in a while, his friends would ask for help, or tell him it would be okay if he only used his hands—after all, his hands were easy enough to clean before dinner.
Throughout the afternoon, the boy stayed on the edge, never fully going in. At the same time, he reached in with his hands, scooped up the mud, and pushed it around to make it form mud pies. No matter how hard he tried, the mud pies did not turn out quite the way he wanted, and his hands got muddier than he thought they would become.
With the sun starting to set, the little boy heard his mother call him for dinner. He stood, said goodbye to his friends, and rushed home. Instead of going inside, he went to the garden hose to wash off his hands.
The mud from his hands got on the faucet as he turned it on. Still, the clean, clear water came out the end of the hose. Knowing he was already late for dinner, the boy cleaned off his hands the best he could, and then went inside.
When his mother saw him, she gasped. The boy wasn’t sure why until he looked down and noticed that despite his best efforts, small spots of mud had splattered on his clothes.
“You played in the mud, didn’t you?� she asked.
“But I didn’t. Not really. I just sat on the edge and reached in with my hands. And I cleaned them off? See?� He showed her his hands. While they were mostly clean, there was dirt under his fingernails.
The mother then knelt down and looked the little boy in the eye. In a soft tone, she said, “Sweetheart, the best way to stay clean is to keep away from the mud the best you can.�
I’ve been thinking about this parable a lot recently. There is so much in the world which is negative. Every time I pull up the latest news stories, there is account after account of all the bad that is happening in the world.
When I worked in the TV news industry, over the course of the years, I realized that focusing on the negative all the time was impacting me personally. I was becoming a negative person—focusing a lot on all the little things that I thought were wrong, and in the process, losing sight on the important good things in life.
I found that when I got home from work, I would focus on all the little, negative things: the kids left a mess in the basement, dinner was late, there were clothes that needed to be folded on the bed—and so on and so on. Never mind that my wife was actually a superstar and home all day with our four young daughters. I was losing sight of all the wonderful things in my life because I was focusing my attention on the wrong things.
Even though I’ve left the TV world behind, and I’ve worked hard to focus on the positive things in life, I can still get bogged down time and again with some negative aspect which affects my whole mood.
I’ve learned that while my family isn’t perfect, there is a lot to love about them. They make me happy. Sure, there are things that come up which can cause stress, or even make me question certain things, but I found that if I focus too much on these elements, I’m missing out on the bigger, more wonderful blessings I have.
And it makes sense. After all, how long would my marriage last if all I did was look for faults in my wife? (Granted, she’s remarkable and it would really take some effort to find faults. She is human, though, and humans are not perfect.) Even if I could force my wife to change things I thought were “wrong,� unless I changed from focusing on the negative, I would constantly be unhappy.
Yes, sometimes bad things happen; I’ll get some mud on me. But I’ve learned that that happens less often if I stay away from the mud pit.
December 31, 2014
Words have power
“I love you� are powerful words. So are “once upon a time� and “the end.� If you were to change just one word in those phrases, the meaning can shift dramatically. “I hate you� means something quite different than “I love you.�
The meaning of a singular word can be very powerful. Take for example when I worked in banking. Our leaders would call us each day and we, as managers, would have to “commit� to a certain number of items sold that day—like checking accounts, savings accounts, loans, and so on. Seriously.
I really struggled with this approach because I have always tried to be the type of person who does what he says he will do. The word “commitment� can be defined as “a promise to do or give something.� To me, I can commit to do things which I can control—like washing my hands after using the bathroom. But how could I honestly promise to open a checking account for someone I had yet to meet? I couldn’t. What I could do is promise to talk to everyone about checking account options and invite them to open an account. But could I force them to do it? No. Pressure them? Yes.
At the end of the day, we would have to report on how we did. If I said we didn’t open the amount of checking accounts I “committed� to in the morning, my boss would then phrase it as, “But you committed to opening more! Why didn’t you?�
See where this is headed? It became an ethical issue—all because of a singular word.
Lately, I’ve been struggling with another word. This one? “Assignment.�
As a college English teacher, I have a goal each semester: To give meaningful assignments which help the students learn and discover. I am not a fan of “busy work.� Because I’m the teacher, I have the authority to give assignments which the students need to fulfill to earn credit for the class.
Some students complain about the work load. My response? “You signed up for this class, and these assignments are part of the class.�
However, just because I have a position of authority does not give me the right to assign whatever I want. I can’t assign students to wash my car, or bring me lunch each day. In the end, each student has the right to choose which assignments to do. The tough part for a student is standing up and saying, “I’m not doing that assignment because I didn’t agree to do that. Just because you are the teacher, and have authority, doesn’t mean you have the right to make any assignments you want.�
To be fair to teachers, many of them have good intentions, but overreach with their authority. I understand that. We’re all human. We make mistakes. Sometimes we can really want to do something good, and still make mistakes.
For example, my students are required to write four major papers over the course of the semester. The hardest of the papers (in my opinion) is the argumentative paper because it requires at least three credible sources and needs to be at least three pages long.
I could, instead, give them the assignment to write a 30 page paper with at least 50 credible sources. After all, more is better, right? But that wouldn’t be effective to freshmen taking their first college English class.
My issue with the word “assignment� comes from one of its definitions: “a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority.�
In other aspects of my life, I’ve been receiving more “assignments� from those in a position of authority. While I have no doubt that their intentions are good, the challenge comes from the fact that the nature of the context in which these assignments are given can be somewhat at odds with free will.
Let me use a metaphor: I agree to work for a company where I am allowed to work from home. I agree to perform certain tasks within a certain time, yet I have the freedom of completing these tasks when and where I choose.
Now, let’s say someone in authority somewhere up the chain of command decides something specific needs to be done at a certain time and at a certain place. Because they have authority, they give me an “assignment� to do it as they want it done.
Perhaps the work is something I would be doing anyway, and most likely willingly, because I agreed to work for that company—with the understanding the job let me choose. If that choice is taken away, then part of the fundamental aspect of the job has changed.
Maybe it is human nature, or maybe it is just me, but being forced to do something, even if that something is good, isn’t nearly as rewarding as deciding as an individual to perform an action on their own because it is the right thing to do.
I’m sure in a few years I’ll find another word with which I’ll take an issue. Perhaps it is an occupational hazard of being a writer and an English teacher.
The meaning of a singular word can be very powerful. Take for example when I worked in banking. Our leaders would call us each day and we, as managers, would have to “commit� to a certain number of items sold that day—like checking accounts, savings accounts, loans, and so on. Seriously.
I really struggled with this approach because I have always tried to be the type of person who does what he says he will do. The word “commitment� can be defined as “a promise to do or give something.� To me, I can commit to do things which I can control—like washing my hands after using the bathroom. But how could I honestly promise to open a checking account for someone I had yet to meet? I couldn’t. What I could do is promise to talk to everyone about checking account options and invite them to open an account. But could I force them to do it? No. Pressure them? Yes.
At the end of the day, we would have to report on how we did. If I said we didn’t open the amount of checking accounts I “committed� to in the morning, my boss would then phrase it as, “But you committed to opening more! Why didn’t you?�
See where this is headed? It became an ethical issue—all because of a singular word.
Lately, I’ve been struggling with another word. This one? “Assignment.�
As a college English teacher, I have a goal each semester: To give meaningful assignments which help the students learn and discover. I am not a fan of “busy work.� Because I’m the teacher, I have the authority to give assignments which the students need to fulfill to earn credit for the class.
Some students complain about the work load. My response? “You signed up for this class, and these assignments are part of the class.�
However, just because I have a position of authority does not give me the right to assign whatever I want. I can’t assign students to wash my car, or bring me lunch each day. In the end, each student has the right to choose which assignments to do. The tough part for a student is standing up and saying, “I’m not doing that assignment because I didn’t agree to do that. Just because you are the teacher, and have authority, doesn’t mean you have the right to make any assignments you want.�
To be fair to teachers, many of them have good intentions, but overreach with their authority. I understand that. We’re all human. We make mistakes. Sometimes we can really want to do something good, and still make mistakes.
For example, my students are required to write four major papers over the course of the semester. The hardest of the papers (in my opinion) is the argumentative paper because it requires at least three credible sources and needs to be at least three pages long.
I could, instead, give them the assignment to write a 30 page paper with at least 50 credible sources. After all, more is better, right? But that wouldn’t be effective to freshmen taking their first college English class.
My issue with the word “assignment� comes from one of its definitions: “a specified task or amount of work assigned or undertaken as if assigned by authority.�
In other aspects of my life, I’ve been receiving more “assignments� from those in a position of authority. While I have no doubt that their intentions are good, the challenge comes from the fact that the nature of the context in which these assignments are given can be somewhat at odds with free will.
Let me use a metaphor: I agree to work for a company where I am allowed to work from home. I agree to perform certain tasks within a certain time, yet I have the freedom of completing these tasks when and where I choose.
Now, let’s say someone in authority somewhere up the chain of command decides something specific needs to be done at a certain time and at a certain place. Because they have authority, they give me an “assignment� to do it as they want it done.
Perhaps the work is something I would be doing anyway, and most likely willingly, because I agreed to work for that company—with the understanding the job let me choose. If that choice is taken away, then part of the fundamental aspect of the job has changed.
Maybe it is human nature, or maybe it is just me, but being forced to do something, even if that something is good, isn’t nearly as rewarding as deciding as an individual to perform an action on their own because it is the right thing to do.
I’m sure in a few years I’ll find another word with which I’ll take an issue. Perhaps it is an occupational hazard of being a writer and an English teacher.
December 26, 2014
One author, different audiences
I’ve come to something of a dilemma when it comes to my writing. I’m keenly aware of my intended audience with each work I compose. In doing so, I’ve come to realize that my audience is different for each book. The problem this creates is that not everyone who reads one of my books may enjoy all of them.
Let me explain.
I am of the firm belief that if a writer is bored when they are writing, the work will be boring to read. At different points in my life, what interests me (as a writer) changes. For better or worse, I don’t believe I could churn out book after book that would fit in my Bariwon series. That’s one reason I wrote The Mirror of the Soulbetween books two and three of that series. At the time, I was more interested in that story than any others.
And then I went down a completely different path and wrote two books in first person. These books (Wall of Faith and Bring Down the Rain) were more simplistic in approach, both in the language used as well as the method in storytelling.
Whereas my other books used third person, and the stories unfolded through various points of view, my last two were more linear in nature—things happened in a specific order as told by one character.
This is perhaps over generalizing, but reading a book with multiple characters and told from more than one point of view requires more from the reader. They actually have to pay attention.
In a recent review of one of my books, the reader wrote, “I could not wrap my mind around what was happening.� Keep in mind that a different review of the same book stated, “This is a great allegorical tale of depth and a critical understanding of the human condition that transcends time and space.�
I could become discouraged and elect to keep my writing more simplistic so that I don’t confuse people who aren’t willing to invest the time or energy in understanding what is going on. This is what I’m struggling with at the moment. One of the books I’m working on uses more complex language and concepts. While I’m writing, a little voice inside my head keeps telling me, “The people who liked Wall of Faith and Bring Down the Rain won’t get this.�
And then I remind myself, “I’m not writing it for them. I’m writing it for the people who enjoy thiskind of story.�
Let me explain.
I am of the firm belief that if a writer is bored when they are writing, the work will be boring to read. At different points in my life, what interests me (as a writer) changes. For better or worse, I don’t believe I could churn out book after book that would fit in my Bariwon series. That’s one reason I wrote The Mirror of the Soulbetween books two and three of that series. At the time, I was more interested in that story than any others.
And then I went down a completely different path and wrote two books in first person. These books (Wall of Faith and Bring Down the Rain) were more simplistic in approach, both in the language used as well as the method in storytelling.
Whereas my other books used third person, and the stories unfolded through various points of view, my last two were more linear in nature—things happened in a specific order as told by one character.
This is perhaps over generalizing, but reading a book with multiple characters and told from more than one point of view requires more from the reader. They actually have to pay attention.
In a recent review of one of my books, the reader wrote, “I could not wrap my mind around what was happening.� Keep in mind that a different review of the same book stated, “This is a great allegorical tale of depth and a critical understanding of the human condition that transcends time and space.�
I could become discouraged and elect to keep my writing more simplistic so that I don’t confuse people who aren’t willing to invest the time or energy in understanding what is going on. This is what I’m struggling with at the moment. One of the books I’m working on uses more complex language and concepts. While I’m writing, a little voice inside my head keeps telling me, “The people who liked Wall of Faith and Bring Down the Rain won’t get this.�
And then I remind myself, “I’m not writing it for them. I’m writing it for the people who enjoy thiskind of story.�
December 6, 2014
Content of their character
One of my heroes is Martin Luther King, Jr. Here is a person who saw an injustice, and acted. It wasn’t easy for him or his family, and in the end he lost his life for what he believed in. I think one of the best ways to sum up what he fought for is reflected in this quote from his famous, “I have a dream� speech:
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.�
Though much has changed since he spoke those words, we, in America, are not living in that nation—and it isn’t only one group’s fault.
During recent events, I’ve been dismayed time and time again when news reports open with “a person with a certain colored skin did this to a person with different colored skin.� To me, that’s in direct conflict to what Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted. By including race as part of the act, I believe this actually propagates racism.
To be clear, I think there is a difference between being proud of one’s culture and showing honor to one’s ancestors, and racism.
Here’s a definition of racism that helps prove this point (notice the part I put in italics): “Racism: the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.�
I’ve had the chance to meet and work with people from all sorts of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, including those who are similar to my own. Without question, many of the people I’ve met were awesome. They were good people who acted nicely towards others. And then, there were those who were jerks. Interestingly enough, I’ve never found the jerks to be isolated to a certain race or belief system.
Yet there are those who identify themselves as members of a certain race who feel like they are being treated unjustly, and often for good reason.
However, what would Martin Luther King, Jr. say to those who react to perceived injustice with violence and hatred? What does it say about a person’s character when they burn down businesses because they feel their race has been slighted? What does it say about a person who doesn’t promote an individual because of the color of their skin?
What does it say about you?
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.�
Though much has changed since he spoke those words, we, in America, are not living in that nation—and it isn’t only one group’s fault.
During recent events, I’ve been dismayed time and time again when news reports open with “a person with a certain colored skin did this to a person with different colored skin.� To me, that’s in direct conflict to what Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted. By including race as part of the act, I believe this actually propagates racism.
To be clear, I think there is a difference between being proud of one’s culture and showing honor to one’s ancestors, and racism.
Here’s a definition of racism that helps prove this point (notice the part I put in italics): “Racism: the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.�
I’ve had the chance to meet and work with people from all sorts of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, including those who are similar to my own. Without question, many of the people I’ve met were awesome. They were good people who acted nicely towards others. And then, there were those who were jerks. Interestingly enough, I’ve never found the jerks to be isolated to a certain race or belief system.
Yet there are those who identify themselves as members of a certain race who feel like they are being treated unjustly, and often for good reason.
However, what would Martin Luther King, Jr. say to those who react to perceived injustice with violence and hatred? What does it say about a person’s character when they burn down businesses because they feel their race has been slighted? What does it say about a person who doesn’t promote an individual because of the color of their skin?
What does it say about you?
November 26, 2014
Angels from their Realms of Story
I’m delighted to announce that my short story “Winter Wonderland� has been included in an anthology of Christmas stories, just in time for the season!
This is the third in a series of anthologies where there are 25 stories—one for each day in December leading up to Christmas.
What makes this really cool is that each story is based on a Christmas Carol. I’ve been fortune enough to participate in each of the three releases.
This year, I chose the song “Winter Wonderland� and had a lot of fun with it.
What makes this anthology really special is that the proceeds go to charity!
The book is available in both print and ebook formats. .
And Merry Christmas!
This is the third in a series of anthologies where there are 25 stories—one for each day in December leading up to Christmas.
What makes this really cool is that each story is based on a Christmas Carol. I’ve been fortune enough to participate in each of the three releases.
This year, I chose the song “Winter Wonderland� and had a lot of fun with it.
What makes this anthology really special is that the proceeds go to charity!
The book is available in both print and ebook formats. .
And Merry Christmas!
