Education then and now

This is a portion of a piece I found here. The whole entry is a commentary on the current state of the educational system in America. This portion quoted here I found incredibly funny and incredibly sad at the same time.

Judy Warner has sent round this fine satirical piece on the differences between school fifty years ago and school nowadays:

SCHOOL – 1957 vs. 2007
Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1957 – Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 – School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1957 – Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 – Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won’t be still in class, disrupts other students.
1957 – Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 – Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 – Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 – Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy’s sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy’s mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school .
1957 – Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 – Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1957 – Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 – Pedro’s cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro’s English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1957 – Ants die.
2007 – BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny’s Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1957 – In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007 – Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

Of books

I love books. I’m a collector. Collector, mind you, not reader. Well, other than the first few pages – or a few chapters, if I’m really into something. I rarely ever finish them. But I do love crowding my bookshelves with them. There are just so many of them out there, and so much valuable information in them, to boot! What does it matter that said information never transfers from the ink on the page to a neuron in my brain…I have the information. It’s even somewhat readily available. It’s just not there instantly.

And for now I’m only reading thirteen books. Thirteen books that I have started and intend to finish. Some day. When my princess comes. Wait, that happened three years ago….

Anyone need some books?

Home

After a chaotic week, such as the one we have just had, it is so nice to be home. But I must admit that it is weird that home is different from the place where family is. We spent a lot of time with my Dad’s family, and we spent a short amount of time with my Mom’s family – so I saw both. At one point, while driving, I pondered how nice it would be to be within reasonable driving distance of family.

Then we boarded the plane this morning and arrived at our local airport. A couple from church picked us up, even parking in the lot ($7.00 for 45 minutes) and waiting for us inside the terminal. They offered to take us out to eat, which we gladly accepted, not having a clue what we had food-wise in the house. We had a good visit. And then just being in our house with the familiar surroundings – so many things we left in the middle during our rush out to the airport earlier this week.

It’s just so nice to have a home, and to be here at it. To be in the familiar. The comfortable. To return to normal after the extremely abnormal.

It is my prayer that you, too, have a place that is home for you.

Moved

I’m now posting on my own WordPress site:

daryljwhite.us. See you there.

Death on a Monday Night

I didn’t find out until Tuesday, but my aunt died Monday night. I guess I said that in my last post.

It’s weird being a minister at a family funeral. It’s like no one knows what to do with me. I suppose I wouldn’t, either, if the roles were reversed. Cousins that joke with my sister and her boyfriend apologize and “straighten up” when I show up, or they remember what I do for a living. It’s almost humorous to watch.

And then there are the things that I just don’t know what to do with, and I think I don’t know what to do with them because I am a minister, I’ve been to seminary, I’ve studied Greek and Hebrew and pastoral counseling. Like my uncle who said that he saw two – no, he corrected himself, four – angels in my aunt’s hospital room. One was my deceased grandmother and one was possibly my grandfather. And the whole (immediate) family – including my father – tears up as he is telling this story around the breakfast table. My wife (who also went to seminary) and I sit and continue munching on our breakfast, not really sure what to make of it or how to respond. It felt weird to keep eating. I’m sure it would have been worse if we had stopped and tried to fully engage the story.

The pastor of the church my aunt attended is around my age – possibly a little older, possibly a little younger. He was at the wake last night. It was awkward watching him do his thing. He is clearly an MBTI extrovert (I am very much an MBTI introvert). The style of ministry and comforting is very different. Being with family made it all very different, as well. He prayed his prayer, and I spent the time analyzing his theology.

45 minutes into the three hour wake (we’d been there longer, with the family), my wife and I left. My parents told us we could. But this morning I wonder if it was the appropriate thing to do. My cousins were staying. My sister and her boyfriend were staying. But I, a minister by trade, left the family and friends that were streaming through to their grief. We went to Wal-mart, got some TV dinners to heat up in our motel room’s microwave, and watched two episodes of CSI and an episode of Without a Trace before we realized that it was well past time for the wake to be over and my family to be back. We thought they would call. They didn’t.

It’s just all weird. I don’t know my place. I don’t grieve for my aunt; I empathize with my father. I feel like I should be shedding more tears. I should be offering some kind of comfort to my family. I should be more than a fixture sitting on a sofa for less than an hour of the three hour ordeal last night.