Life is cyclical and it works well that way. An interesting example of this is the annual pilgrimages to Target or Staples each August. Kids who three months prior would have pulled their own teeth if it could get them out of even a week of school are now giddy over things like pens and notebook paper. Having forgotten completely the drudgery, students cannot wait to get back to see their friends and find out what's new in the world of schooling.
Even though it seems a little juvenile (imagine that) to get excited about school, there is something refreshing about it as well. School somehow reflects both what is wrong and what is right about the American experiment. It takes so much from our children, especially in terms of freedom and creativity. And yet, it must also give something back as well. Not merely in terms of data and social formation but in terms of the location and identify that it provides. If kids know nothing else, they know school. It is their thing. It is their place in a largely placeless world. Of course, as a pastor, I would prefer that our children's place would be the Church. But while we are working to reclaim such an honor, there are certainly identities worse than school.
Increasingly, we hear discussion of "year round" schooling. The phrase is somewhat misleading because it does not really mean more school. It is rather a reallocation of those other 180 days. The traditional three months of summer vacation do not disappear. They are simply broken up over the course of the entire calendar.
The arguments on either side are generally compelling. Personally, I don't like the idea of doing away with summer vacation but its probably just because it is what I know. And I like the thought of at least a couple of months in which kids don't have to sit still for six hours a day.
If there is anything at stake here beyond mere preference, it might be that renewed look of hope that we see on those faces in Target come August. Somehow, there is a genuine sense of newness spawned by each successive school year. Despite everything that takes place between September and May, all (or at least much) seems forgiven by the time it all starts up again. There is even a sense of anticipation--an incalculable hope that this year things will be different!
We all need this, I think. Room to get over what happened yesterday... Space to re-imagine the world... Time for hope to be reborn. Of course, we know this in the faith. But perhaps the earth itself needs this. Perhaps cycles and seasons are more than simply a way for us to measure time. Sunrise and sunset, plant and harvest, work and rest... Are such things purposely woven into the very fabric of Creation? And might this be for the very purpose of rekindling hope?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Oh The Humanity
On my way to bed last night, I stopped in the living room where my wife was watching coverage of the Olympics. Two commentators were hyping the upcoming 4 X 100 Meter Relay. This is always an exciting event. With four distinct swimmers finishing the race in just over three minutes, it fits well our average attention span. Even people who don't generally enjoy swimming can sit still long enough to watch four men burn 120 calories in an all-out thrashing of the pool. Nevertheless, I went to bed without watching the race. It wasn't that I didn't want to see it. I simply couldn't sift through all the analysis to figure out when exactly the race was going to take place. The last thing I remember was the voice of one of the commentators. "I have calculated this a hundred ways, and it just comes out that this race goes to the French."
I knew what he meant because I used to do this. I never swam competitively but I ran track. On days in which we had meets, I could barely pay attention in class. I was too busy anticipating splits for my friends and I. If we each run a personal best, together we should post a...
Anyway, the commentator's reference to his calculations was a heads up. This was not going to be another Gold for Michael Phelps. This, after all, was what the story had become. It was not that these young men had worked hard enough in their respective art to reach the Olympics, or that they might have a chance to be competitive and maybe even win a medal. The news interest resided in Michael Phelps' outside but conceivable chance of winning his 8th gold medal and thereby setting a new record--not for swimming but medal winning.
I will pass on the easy fare here and simply get to the light in all this.
I woke up to find that despite all preliminary calculations to the contrary, the U.S. ended up beating France by a finger in a race in which five of the eight teams surpassed the previous world record. The race was nothing short of incredible. Every one who swam in it--indeed, everyone who witnessed it--will have a memory to cherish the rest of their lives.
All this, in a little more than three minutes. Of course, we will now have to deal with all the post-race hype. The event will take on mythic proportions and be capitalized until the last penny has been wrung out. But happily that will take a while. Today, it will simply be enjoyed.--a glimpse into what is good about athletic competition and the wonder of the human spirit. People all over the world will talk about those three minutes in a way that truly honors what these young men from these eight different countries had worked for and accomplished over the course of the last several years.
Earlier this summer, I had gone to Florida for a national youth basketball tournament. In addition to seeing a lot of basketball, I enjoyed the conversations that I had with the parents who had gone along. During one conversation, a man was telling me about his experience of seeing Michelangelo's "David." He listed the sculpture as one of the three of four most amazing things he had ever seen in his life. I found this surprising for the man had clearly seen a lot. He went on to explain some of the story behind the work, including the time it took Michelangelo to create it and its remarkable durability. He also explained the rationale behind the creation of the replica of "David" in 1910. He noted the time, technology and attention to detail that went into that work as well. He then told me that while for all practical purposes the works are identical, there is nevertheless something distinctly powerful and majestic about the original. I've yet to see either sculpture. But witnessing the look on this man's face as he was telling me about all this made me want to...
Hats-off to all the men and women who reached the 2008 Olympics. May their effort and the memories they inspire endure our appetites.
I knew what he meant because I used to do this. I never swam competitively but I ran track. On days in which we had meets, I could barely pay attention in class. I was too busy anticipating splits for my friends and I. If we each run a personal best, together we should post a...
Anyway, the commentator's reference to his calculations was a heads up. This was not going to be another Gold for Michael Phelps. This, after all, was what the story had become. It was not that these young men had worked hard enough in their respective art to reach the Olympics, or that they might have a chance to be competitive and maybe even win a medal. The news interest resided in Michael Phelps' outside but conceivable chance of winning his 8th gold medal and thereby setting a new record--not for swimming but medal winning.
I will pass on the easy fare here and simply get to the light in all this.
I woke up to find that despite all preliminary calculations to the contrary, the U.S. ended up beating France by a finger in a race in which five of the eight teams surpassed the previous world record. The race was nothing short of incredible. Every one who swam in it--indeed, everyone who witnessed it--will have a memory to cherish the rest of their lives.
All this, in a little more than three minutes. Of course, we will now have to deal with all the post-race hype. The event will take on mythic proportions and be capitalized until the last penny has been wrung out. But happily that will take a while. Today, it will simply be enjoyed.--a glimpse into what is good about athletic competition and the wonder of the human spirit. People all over the world will talk about those three minutes in a way that truly honors what these young men from these eight different countries had worked for and accomplished over the course of the last several years.
Earlier this summer, I had gone to Florida for a national youth basketball tournament. In addition to seeing a lot of basketball, I enjoyed the conversations that I had with the parents who had gone along. During one conversation, a man was telling me about his experience of seeing Michelangelo's "David." He listed the sculpture as one of the three of four most amazing things he had ever seen in his life. I found this surprising for the man had clearly seen a lot. He went on to explain some of the story behind the work, including the time it took Michelangelo to create it and its remarkable durability. He also explained the rationale behind the creation of the replica of "David" in 1910. He noted the time, technology and attention to detail that went into that work as well. He then told me that while for all practical purposes the works are identical, there is nevertheless something distinctly powerful and majestic about the original. I've yet to see either sculpture. But witnessing the look on this man's face as he was telling me about all this made me want to...
Hats-off to all the men and women who reached the 2008 Olympics. May their effort and the memories they inspire endure our appetites.
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