Seniors Only Blog: THE PRICE OF SHAME

Reading the Scarlet Letter is something high school English teachers have insisted upon for years.  It's a classic.  Its author is said to have forged a glittering path for great American literature.  It is a culturally significant work to which many sayings, subsequent works of literature, and films have alluded.  This is all true.  As we read a work like this, it is easy to get caught up and tangled in the older more eloquent language and the extremely religious lifestyle and culture of American Puritans.  As we read Hester's story, we shake our heads in disbelief.  Who could imagine a society in which personal private decisions are against the law, and punishable in a very public way?

Adultery, while a breach of the marriage contract, is not a legal matter anymore.  It is not against the law to be punishable by prison time and social ostracization.  But we are very naive if we believe that private decisions and actions/behaviors go unpunished in today's society.  We are even more naive if we believe that sins like promiscuity or adultery do not face heavy social penalties despite the fact that they are not within arm's reach of the law.

If Hester Prynne were alive and real today, she may not have spent three months in a physical jail cell, but in many ways, I am sure it would have felt like that.  There are no more town center platforms complete with hanging scaffolds and stocks, but social media has raised public humiliation to an all-time new high and extended the critical stares and pointing fingers out and beyond the town walls.

So, while we may not be able to imagine living in a society that can legally have a person shunned and socially banned for scandalous decisions, the effect is ultimately the same:  the one charged with the sin and convicted on Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat is still left with a very clear message that he or she is social pariah.

I find it quite appropriate that we are reading  Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter through the season of Lent in preparation for Easter and the advent of spring.  Many of us are observing Lent, a time when we reflect on our significance, the preciousness of life, and the grace of redemption.  The season of spring, itself, likewise, is often seen as a time of renewal and growth. This is what Hester Prynne sought in the sunlit forest.  It is what many people today seek in the warmth of a smile, a kind word, a forgiving heart or a compassionate ear.

In the following TED Talk, Monica Lewinsky, a woman all too familiar with living in the spotlight of technologically advanced shaming, shares a little bit of her personal story of what it is like to be branded with the scarlet A and explains why she has chosen this time in her life to stand up and do something about it.  The biggest message?  The price of shame since Hester's time has escalated, and sometimes it is ultimately too high for the victim to pay.   Watch the video and then comment on two things:  what spoke to you the loudest and what YOU will personally do to change our shame culture today.

We live in interesting times.  We feel more sophisticated, yet our own petty and cruel natures still surface in even more deadly ways. We feel more accepting of different beliefs and lifestyles, yet have the ability to smear a man's or woman's reputation irreparably with the click of the mouse.  We shake our heads at racism, sexism, and discrimination and then turn to our friends and share malicious gossip about someone else, all the time telling ourselves, "I may make mistakes, but I would NEVER do what she did!"  So, that begs the question then:  what do we do to change all that?

When gossip is shared in the hallways, walk away.  Don't take part in it or even give it your listening ear.  If someone is being bullied or whispered about, stand up for him or her rather than remaining silent. And, if someone is being ostracized or shamed online, reach out to the victim and counter it with a word of encouragement and then report it.  Brene Brown, psychologist and expert on shame, tells us that "shame cannot survive empathy."  The price of public shaming can ultimately be death: emotional and, if it gets too hard to bear, even physical.  The weapon we need to fight this deadly poison is compassion...
Make sure your arsenals are full.

Seniors who are on field trip:  please respond below with two things...
1. Your discussion points for chapters 19-20
2. Your response to the TED Talk: what spoke to you, what will you do to change the shame culture that is alive and well today.

Ted Talk Link:  https://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame?language=en

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: IN LEARNING, LANGUAGE, & LOVE

IN LEARNING

Shakespeare's power of imagination was as fertile as that of any man known to history, but he had another power which is quite rare in the high tech, fast-paced world of today:  the power of absorbing or assimilating the fruits of reading.  Spenser, Milton, Burns, Keats, and Tennyson had a like power, but probably none had it to quite the same degree as Shakespeare.  In his case, as in the case of the other poets, this power of assimilation strengthened and rendered more robust the productive power of his imagination.

IN LANGUAGE

Shakespeare's readers can find themselves caught in a series of implicit choices where, for example, a particular wording or phrasing may correspond to a specific stylistic effect, which is used by the author to persuade the audience.  All of Shakespeare's plays draw on the resources of rhetoric, which is not considered as a mere method of composition, but also a tool to experiment with language. Linguistically, Shakespeare's manipulation of language serves to construct characters, conflicts, and themes.  As readers of his texts and audience members of his plays, we are challenged to analyze Shakespeare's choices at the levels of word and phrase, and at a more abstract, figurative level, specifically in relation to how those word and phrase choices reveal power or powerlessness.  In this regard, we focus on sound devices, such as alliteration and onomatopoetic phrasing, a range of metaphoric usage--chiefly metaphor, imagery, and symbolism.  Technically, we complete a simple analysis of metrical features, such as iambic meter, rhythm, and rhyme.  Through the study of Shakespeare's works, we can draw clear connections between the meaning elicited from a text and how Shakespeare went about creating that meaning stylistically.

IN LIFE

Shakespeare never goes stale.  And there are good reasons for that.  Through the years, Odyssey scholars have studied the plays of A Midsummer Nights Dream, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet.  As your experience with Shakespeare's texts expand, so does your understanding and appreciation of the author's work and its connections to life.  Shakespeare has been done and redone hundreds of times in settings as varied in time and place as one can imagine.  Shakespeare had a profound understanding of humankind: our struggles, our desires, our hopes, and our fears.  These common sufferings and triumphs connect the characters on his stage with those people we meet in real life.  This is what it means to be universal.  No matter how old we are, where we live, or in what time, all boundaries can fade to nothing in a tale of Shakespeare.  As the characters fall in love, so do we; as they grow enraged at injustice, so do we; as they are overcome with jealousy or humiliation, we blush crimson right along with them.  The brilliance of Shakespeare comes through his mastery of the mechanics of the English language to elaborate on his intrinsic knowledge of the human psyche.

IN LOVE

Each year, the English Speaking Union invites students and their teachers/directors who share a love and enthusiasm for the Great Bard to participate in their National Shakespeare Competition.  It all starts in the classroom.  Schools all over the country conduct in house, school-wide Shakespeare competitions in which scholars present a memorized monologue of no more than twenty lines.  After the school selects a winner, they are sent along with other scholars across their state, to compete at the branch level.  This time, they present their monologue and one of Shakespeare's sonnets.

The lucky scholar selected at the branch level is then flown out for a week-long trip to New York

City, where they dine, are entertained and have the opportunity to mingle with other branch winners and students of the infamous Julliard School.  The grand finale, however, is that each student gets to perform his/her monologue, sonnet and a cold read on the stage at Lincoln Center in the National competition.  The competition is stiff.  Every scholar brings with him or her a uniquely brilliant interpretation of a beloved work.  The judges no doubt agonize over their decision, but only one lucky scholar will be chosen as the grand prize winner.  This scholar will win an all-expenses-paid trip in the summer to study at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. A second-place scholar at the competition will earn an all-expenses-paid trip to study Shakespeare with other classical actors in Staunton, Virginia, including tuition, transportation, food, and accommodations.  The third-place scholar wins a $500 scholarship from The Shakespeare Society of New York City.

Here below, enjoy watching the winning performances of 2015 and 2016.  Then, you will watch an inspirational, educational video by the creators and actors of the Oscar award-winning film, Shakespeare in Love.  I promise you will enjoy it!  It is about 45 minutes in length, so allow for some time to put your feet up, brew some tea or hot chocolate, and enjoy!  It looks at the life and art of William Shakespeare through the lens of his play, Romeo and Juliet.  For your post, please comment on the story, what you learned and anything specific that impressed you, and then see how it all comes together at the end:  summary, poetry and then...the color!  It is DEFINITELY  worth the time...for, as we know, "Never was a story of more woe than that of Juliet and her Romeo..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ApO737h61M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAZ_YjewsBo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAfih_YUgMk

TRUE GRIT

A very long time ago, in a state not so far away (California), I was beginning my teaching career at a very innovative school in Turtle Rock, a community in the city of Irvine.  When I assumed my brand new position, we had a training in a relatively new program that had been launched by parents and educators that was born out of the "Self-Esteem" movement that had first blossomed in the late 1980s. 

As I learned about the program, and how it would be integrated into our teaching and classroom management and philosophy, which proposed lavish praising of kids and handing out trophies just for "trying hard," I felt myself inwardly cringe. At first, I wasn't sure why.

I mean, isn't cultivating a "positive" self-esteem a good thing?  You would think so, but that still, small voice inside of me--you know the one-- that sort of sixth sense or inspired discernment that just "knows" things to be true or not, whether or not you have concrete proof?  That's the one.  That voice whispered to me: "bad idea."  While I couldn't articulate exactly why at the time, I just knew this was not the right approach to cultivate the dedication and enthusiastic engagement of young learners.

As time passed, I learned that low and behold, that voice was right.  It turned out that subsequent studies showed that kids did NOT try harder as a result of the program.  In fact, it was the opposite: coddled kids became softer, slower, and less likely to persevere.  Why?  Because there was one very important characteristic that past generations knew about and encouraged that was NOT fostered and learned in the process:  GRIT.

Carolyn Adams Miller, an author and speaker on the topic from Bethesda, Maryland, said, "This is not a gritty generation.  They become overwhelmed and stressed easily because they have been protected from failure."(1)  Like Miller, Psychologists now assert that grit, not a positive self-concept, is the best predictor of future success and overall happiness.

So...what, exactly, is grit?  According to the dictionary, it is, in this sense, "courage and resolve; strength of character." (2)  It is a passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long term goals.  It is what determines the survival of the West Point cadet or who makes the cut for the Olympic team; in other words, it sifts out those who can ultimately make it to the finish line of hard goals in life from those who cannot.  Miller says that talent can only get you so far.  It is really your grit that determines whether or not you make it.

In fact, research has shown that grit is completely unrelated to talent. (3) At times, it is even

inversely related!  Those who are not blessed with talent discover they must work twice as hard, and with grit, they develop the skills of discipline and perseverance.   Grit is contagious.  It is inspiring.  It CAN be taught and fostered.  In a Washington Post article, Miller proposed some steps to cultivate Grit, and they largely relate to our thinking and how we view and approach challenges:

1.  When you face a tough problem, don't tell yourself "this is too hard."  Instead, ask, "Why not me?"

2.  When things get hard and you want to quit, mentally change the channel.   Focus on a spiritual phrase, mantra, or image that encourages you on.

3.  Build a team around you.  Encourage each other.  Be sounding boards.  Connect positively as you pursue your long term goals through the achievement of smaller goals.

4.  Instead of offering empty praise and pity in failure, parents should coax their kids through failure.  Point out the lessons and praise the efforts to keep on going through pain and failure.

5.   While it is tough for parents to let their kids experience failure, it is actually the most important KEY in developing Grit!

Back in the 1980s, many communities opted to "soften" neighborhood parks so that kids could fall into a pillow of wood chips.  This seemed, in many ways, very prudent, but as it turns out, it has made kids "softer" as a result.  Creeping grade inflation, allowing kids to take and retake tests that they "bombed," has also shown to erode the development of grit.  Alternately, participation in true, competitive sports and auditioning for roles (and experiencing the disappointment of not always getting the role you want) in theater arts has shown to cultivate grit.

This all really seems to put a spotlight this week on the IB profile attribute of risk-taking.  We have learned through hard experience here that playing it safe, and protecting ourselves from failure doesn't seem to net anything but more anxiety and cowardice.  But taking risks, watching and learning from those who never seem to quit, that will actually encourage curiosity and feeling truly alive.

Nancy Wake, an Australian woman who went to fight with the French Resistance against the Nazis during World War Two, once stated that while she was incredibly grateful the war ended as it did and freedom was restored, she never felt more alive and like she was living in her true purpose than during those long, fearful months she spent with troops of thousands of men hiding out in the forests.  At a time of great danger, Nancy chose not to listen to the cautionary pleas and warnings of those around her.  She learned to fight like the men she ended up ultimately leading.  It turns out that her being a woman was not a "weakness" after all; in fact, it made her less likely to be seen as a threat by the enemy!  Several of her fellow fighters were quoted as saying that having one woman named Nancy Wake was like having "five additional men" in their ranks!

Kids with Grit are finishers.  They are the tortoises in the race that keep on

moving towards their own established finish lines.  You may trip and fall in life.  You may experience heartbreaking defeat and failure.  But the kids who ultimately succeed are the ones who take risks and feel alive.  They are the ones who get back up after a blowing disappointment with a sparkle in their eye, and that sparkle? That's GRIT!

Here is a link to a Ted Talk by Angela Lee Duckworth.  Listen carefully to all she has to say:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8

Then, click here to take the Grit test, and see how you score:  https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/

Finally, comment below on how you scored, what you have learned, and how you are going to apply it to your life.  

Don't be afraid to get GRITTY!!

(Footnotes:  1.  Holland, Judy.  Washington Post, "The Key Ingredient to Your Kids' Success."  March 9, 2015.  2. Merriam Webster Dictionary  3.  Holland, Judy.  Washington Post, "The Key Ingredient to Your Kids' Success."  March 9, 2015.) 

I SIMPLY REMEMBER MY FAVORITE THINGS!

Once again, Christmas is in the air, hopefully bringing us warm memories of time well spent with those we love.  Better than the presents we give and receive is the presence we offer with our friends and family--time spent truly savoring each others' company, setting aside all the daily stresses and responsibilities, if only for a little while.  Taking time to stop and look at all of the beauty around us, to engage in deep conversation, to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature here in the desert; these are all good ways to refocus, set new goals for the upcoming year, and empower ourselves to pursue our dreams.  Another way is to stop and consider all the things we love, those things that make us smile --things for which we are so grateful...and then, put pen to paper.

Christmas is the best time to do this, for sure, but it is important, as our dear friend Charles Dickens suggests, to keep Christmas alive and well in our hearts, all the year through.  As we prepare to say goodbye to 2019, a year of some incredible highs and lows, to be sure; I am, once again, renewing the "My Favorite Things" post: an annual activity to make a list of the things that each of us holds most dear--those things we love and cherish in this life.

So, to review for those who have done this before, and to introduce to those who are new to the blog this year, here are the rules for the annual Favorite Things post:  Make a list of your 25 most favorite THINGS.  The key word is THINGS.  No people allowed on your list!  That removes the pressure you may feel to name every family member and friend.  People and things should never be categorized together.  People come first.  This list is much more light-hearted.

This was REALLY tougher than I thought to narrow it down to 25 for me (initially, I was afraid I would draw a blank!) but here is what came to mind first for me.  Try to just take pen to paper and write what comes to your mind first.  These will probably be the most honest.  :)

Let's begin this beautiful Christmas Season, and ring in the New Year with a list of all the things we love...those things for which we are most grateful, shall we?


MRS. CARAWAY'S FAVORITE THINGS...(in no particular order)

1.  Cathedral bells
2.  The sounds of my sons playing piano
3.  London's Christmas Market
4.  Ice-skating
5.  Watching my daughter dance
6.  Normandy - and being in the presence of REAL heroes

  

7.  Paris at twilight...ESPECIALLY in front of Notre Dame. I mean, check out the light!!  WOW!!

8.  Kauai...walking on the beach with my dearest friends = heaven!
9.  WW2 History--in movies, books, photographs.  I cannot get enough.
10. Handwritten letters from people you love
11. Word-smithery: writing with such passion, you lose all sense of time and space. 
12.  Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.  NO ONE loves Christmas Eve like I do...
13.  Things that sparkle (candlelight, glitter, jewels, etc)
14.  Standing on the stage at night after a last rehearsal - anticipation everywhere.
15.  The color RED
16.  Really good French wine...and French food...and everything French.

17.  The sound of thunder and rain and the silence of snowfall

18.  The sound of my children laughing out loud together
19.  A well-told story--verbal, on the page, in film and on the stage:  in all of its forms.
20.  Outrageously unique and beautiful vintage shoes
21.  Unexpected discoveries around hidden corners in my travels through Europe
22.  My faith and the mystery of GRACE.
23. PERFUME
24.  Riding on Airplanes to new and exciting places
25.  Love and lasting friendships

Now, it's your turn... 

Make YOUR list....it cannot include people.  It must be a list of things (which may include sounds and feelings).  

May this mark an attitude of gratitude in your heart, that you may keep the joy and love of Christmas all year through!  

UNSUNG HEROES: A Tribute for our Veterans

In Flander's Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard among the guns below.

We are the dead, short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
in Flander's Fields...(Major John McCrae, May, 1915)

This past Monday, November 11, 2019, America paused to observe Veteran's Day, or as it is known across Europe, Remembrance Day.  It is one day: twenty four hours, 1,440 minutes,  or 86,400 seconds; that we are to stop and remember those who sacrificed all for our freedom.

For most of us, Veteran's Day is a happy relief from school and work--a day to sleep in, binge watch your favorite programs, go out and play a game of tackle football with your friends, or just enjoy a BBQ in the yard and the beautiful Arizona weather we are so blessed with this time of year.  It is a day we celebrate, in our own way, our freedom to do the things we like to do or take a well-needed rest from our responsibilities.  I have always had a very deep appreciation for our Veterans as I come from a family of people who served their country with great pride.  However, I don't believe I ever truly felt the weight of what that day means until 2013 when I stood in the Globe Theater in London on Remembrance Day with my Will Power Cast.

Every November 11th in London, during the 11th hour of the day, everyone stops:  pedestrians, cars in traffic, people going about their business in the office or at school.  All of them stop and offer two full minutes of silence, and then the church bells chime, all throughout the city, to remember the dead.  Our tour guide at the theater that day told us this would occur, and so, in the middle of our tour, we did as Londoners do:  we stopped.  We stood silently, many of us wearing our poppy flower remembrance pins.  We waited in that silence, bowing our heads until the chimes of Westminster reminded us wistfully of the wondrous gift of our lives and our freedom.


Every time we visit London with Will Power, we visit Westminster Abbey which is located near Big Ben and Parliament. During the entire month of November, surrounding Westminster Abbey, there are small crosses decorated with red poppies with names on them.  They fill in the grass all around the large cathedral, each bearing the name of one who was lost.

In 2014, an artist was specially commissioned to create glass poppies to fill the grassy moat around the Tower of London-- one poppy for every British subject who served and gave his or her life in all of the battles since WW1.   With my Romeo and Juliet cast that year, I had the incredible honor of seeing that sight.  I have included pictures here because this is one of those times when words truly cannot capture the magnitude of such a sight.

For this blog, I wanted to take the time and honor some of the heroes--some of the lost.  I have chosen four.  They are not all Americans.  They fought in different battles and in different ways.  They are not well known or widely celebrated, but they are, most certainly, heroes who offered great sacrifice--one of them, the ultimate sacrifice.  They are but four of thousands of these such unsung heroes, and they deserve our reflection.  I hope that after you learn about them and read a little bit about their contribution to our world and our freedom, you will give them a few minutes of your time and remembrance this month of November, which has now been officially set aside as Military Remembrance Month...

JOHN ROBERT FOX: The ultimate sacrifice

The 92nd Infantry Division (segregated African American soldiers) also known as the Buffalo Soldiers, was a division that fought in WW2.  First Lieutenant John R. Fox was a member of the 366th Infantry Regiment when he sacrificed his life to defeat an enemy attack and save the lives of others.  In December of 1944, Fox was a part of a small party that volunteered to stay behind in the Italian village of Sommocolonia.  American forces had been forced to withdraw after that village had been overrun by the Germans.  From his position on the second floor of a house, Fox directed defensive fire.  German soldiers were attacking, and they greatly outnumbered the small handful of Americans.  Fox radioed the artillery to bring its fire closer to his position.  As the attack continued, he ordered fire directly onto his own position.  The soldier who received the message was stunned, as there was little if any chance that Fox, himself would survive the offensive strike.  When he questioned the order, Fox simply replied, "Fire it.  That's an order."  His sacrifice gained time for the US forces to organize a counterattack and retake the village.

After the war, the Italian citizens of Sommocolonia erected a monument to honor the men killed during the artillery barrage:  eight Italian soldiers and the American, Lt. Fox.  Fox was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on January 13, 1997.

NANCY GRACE AUGUSTA WAKE:  Code Name, "The White Mouse"
Nancy Wake was a British Special Operations Executive agent from Australia during the later part of WW2.  She became a leading figure in the maquis groups of the ferocious French Resistance or "Army of the Shadows" that fought against Nazi occupation; she was one of the Allies' most decorated servicewomen.  After the fall of France in 1940, she became a courier for the French Resistance and later joined the escape network of Capt. Ian Garrow, helping Allied pilots who were shot down over enemy territory secretly escape through the Pyrenees Mountains from France into Spain, where they could be flown out to rejoin their troops.  Just three years later, Wake was on the Gestapo's most wanted list, with a five million franc bounty on her head.  On the 29th day of April in 1944, she parachuted into occupied France near Auvergne, becoming a liaison between London and the local maquis group headed by Capt.  Henri Tardivat in the Forest of Tronçais.  From April 1944 until the liberation of France, her 7,000 maquisards fought 22,000 German soldiers, causing 1,400 casualties while suffering only 100 among themselves.

Nancy's husband George was tortured to death in 1943 by the Nazi Gestapo for refusing to disclose her whereabouts.  Nancy Wake was awarded the George Medal, the US Medal of Freedom, the Médaille de la Résistance, and, three times, the Croix de Guerre.

VASILI ARKHIPOV:  The Man who Saved the World

Vice Admiral Vasili Arkhipov was a Soviet Navy officer credited with casting the only vote that prevented a Soviet nuclear strike and all out nuclear was during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Such an attack would have caused a major global thermonuclear response which could have been our WW3, destroying much of the world.  As flotilla commander and second in command of the diesel powered submarine B-59, only Arkhipov refused to authorize the captain's use of nuclear torpedoes against the United States Navy, a decision requiring the agreement of all three senior officers aboard.

Apparently, on October 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of eleven US Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph located the B-59 near Cuba.  The Americans started dropping signaling depth charges, which are explosives intended to force the sub up to the surface for identification.  There had been no contact from Moscow for a number of days, and those on board the Russian sub had no idea whether or not war had broken out.  The captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, decided that a war had probably already started, and wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo.  As such a decision required the three top in command to unanimously agree, Arkhipov was the one voice that saved the US Navy and probably, the world that day.

LARRY FROST:  Vietnam War Veteran and My Friend
You have all come to know Larry Frost as the author of Conversations in the Asparagus Patch.  He is a dear friend of my family and the husband of Sherri Frost, a woman I am proud to call my best friend--literally since birth.  Sherri is the type of friend who stands with you through it all in life: the storms and the celebrations.  They are an incredible couple of great faith and grace who are truly an inspiration.

Larry is a man who has been a great leader in business and his community and a mentor to many over the years.  He has shared with us, personally, some of the most remarkable stories I have ever heard from his own war experiences as a Vietnam Veteran.  If you are not someone who believes in miracles, you most certainly would change your mind if you heard Larry's stories from Vietnam.  Larry doesn't consider himself a hero, but his wife and his friends most certainly do.  He is a man who deeply loves his country and would willingly lay down his life for another in a time of great crisis or peril.  While very humble when it comes to his own accomplishments, Larry does, however, consider those amazing young men with whom he served as heroes, and probably none more than his best friend, Shelby.

My family had the honor of finding Shelby's name on the traveling Vietnam Memorial

Wall a few years back, and I hope to have the chance to find it again someday on the real one in Washington DC.  I want to share a poem, with Larry's permission, that he wrote for his friend Shelby with all of you.  I have included a link to that poem at the bottom for you to read.  I think you will learn that Larry has forged an eternal bond with his young friend from so many years ago, and that his very deep and strong faith has seen him through some horrifying tragedies he experienced when serving his country in the United States Army.

War is ugly.  It is a monster that steals away the best and brightest and leaves the rest haunted by misery and images too horrible to speak--too ghastly to forget.  It represents the very worst human beings can be; that ugly, selfish, hatred that seeks only to avenge, kill, take, and destroy.

But on Veteran's Day, we are not honoring the wars, themselves; we are honoring the heroes that dared to face the plague of battle so that we would not have to.  They represent the other side of human beings--the extraordinary and unbreakable spirit that longs for life, beauty, freedom, love and opportunities for happily ever afters.  I am going to quote my friend Larry Frost here to sum it up:  "Where do we get such men and women?  Only a loving God could ensure that in each generation there will be people with this level and courage and strength."  Larry also shared with me that Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, in his book On Combat once said, "If we were to go but a single generation without such men and women, we should surely be both damned and doomed."

I look forward to a future time when I will fly across the Atlantic to London on Veteran's Day; to journey back and see the poppies surrounding

Westminster Abbey; to once again look out across that sea of crosses and red flowers in complete and utter awe at the brave souls that dared to stand up against the evil that threatened the freedom of their time and generation.  I am not sure when I will be blessed with that opportunity again, but I know that I will, at that moment, reflect upon the extraordinary: those who were willing to lay down their lives so that I might stand there on a day of rest and relaxation and freely express my gratitude to them.  Wherever you are on all of your November 11ths to come, I hope you will take the time out to remember and do the same.

Please watch these two videos (links below) explaining the origin of Veteran's Day and honoring American Veterans.   Then, please enjoy the amazing videos that were created on Memorial Day on Omaha Beach in France and the recent 75th Anniversary of D-Day Celebration that occurred just this past June, 2019.  Finally, click on the link to read Larry's tribute to his dear friend Shelby and the baby girl his friend would never meet.

In your blog response, comment on your own reflection.  I conclude this very special blog with this, one of my favorite poems.  It was brilliantly used by President Ronald Reagan as he stood where I have stood twice before with my family and scholars, on the shores of Normandy in France, honoring the men who stormed those very beaches to liberate France, and Europe in 1944:

Oh!  I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth 
Of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of--wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence.  Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew--
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. 
~ John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Video One:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvkrwxsLXAw

Video Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQUxu9uyyBs

Video Three, D-Day Soldier's Memory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdzWRdZgan0

Video Four, D-Day 75th Anniversary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvfJFU7lvE

Larry's Poem for Shelby:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WANxIQgDVeliEcjTKKRFpcAVXNAaT8VQ/view?usp=sharing

SING ME A STORY: Comparative Studies of Music and Literature (JUNIORS ONLY)

"Music can propel narrative swifly forward, or slow it down.  It often lifts mere dialogue into the realm of poetry.  It is the communicating link between the screen and the audience; the heart and the page.  It reaches out and envelopes all into one single experience." -Film Composer, Bernard Herrmann (famous for his many musical contributions in films, including Psycho, Citizen Kane, and Taxi Driver)

The best stories are those that, through a beautiful blending of words and phrases, can engage all of our senses as readers. The more senses that are stimulated, the more connected we feel.  We not only relate to a story and its characters, but we are moved by them, as well.

The best songs?  Well, they do the same thing!  Music can convey a story or a moment in a way that makes us feel connected to it on a deep, visceral level.  This is why the right song in the right moment can lift us up, or reduce us to a tearful, heartbroken mess.

Music and literature have long been intertwined.  Songs have inspired authors and authors have inspired musicians, sometimes directly and sometimes thematically.  We are, after all, both moved and driven by stories--they inspire us in a way that transcends our cultures and experiences.  It seems that stories define our very nature; they connect us via a sort of "collective unconsciousness" (Joseph Campbell).  So, it only makes sense that we can find connections between the stories we sing and the stories we read on the page. 

Last week, we listened to Marc Cohn's "True Companion" and compared it to a chunk of text from the conclusion of Brontë's Jane Eyre.  It related very well to that chapter 38, but I think there are probably many other excerpts in the novel text relating to both Rochester and Jane that could connect.  Notably, both Cohn and Brontë challenged the genre conventions and status quo of their craft and their time when it comes to the perceptions of women in their respective societies and cultures: Brontë, through her characterization of Jane and Rochester and Cohn, through his refusal to objectify the unnamed woman and love interest in his song.  They are both, in this way, refreshing and original.  Their words are also beautifully intense, ardent, and inspired by the Romanticist movement and philosophy.

As we begin considering pairings of literary and non-literary texts for our IO, it is important not only to consider and compare the merits and messages of texts in light of each other but also through the lens of greater global issues; we go beyond the "what does it say" and "what does it mean," and venture into the "Why does this matter?"  We must also consider not only a single song in light of a novel, but also the style and voice of Cohn in comparison to Brontë's through an examination of his other work, as well. 

Here, I have links to songs by Cohn to help you get a sense of not only of his works but his voice; you can begin to see that not only are the messages of Brontë's Jane Eyre connected to the messages of "True Companion" as a single song here, but also the philosophy and perspectives and, yes, even the voices of the 21st century songwriter and the 19th century novelist are sympatico when considering a larger body of his work. 

The IB has presented for us five "fields of inquiry" from which you each as scholars can identify a more focused and detailed global issue.  These fields or categories are:
1.  Culture, Identity, and Community
2.  Beliefs, Values, and Education
3.  Politics, Power, and Justice
4.  Art, Creativity, and Imagination
5.  Science, Technology, and Environment

As you listen to the music of Marc Cohn, consider first which 30-40 line text from Jane Eyre you would compare "True Companion" to, and then how "True Companion" and your selected Jane Eyre excerpt might connect via one of these lenses.  In other words, what larger global issues within one of these five classifications might these pieces of text might be shedding light on?  You might just have the beginnings of your Individual Oral!

Now, in your blog commentary, specifically share your analysis/evaluation of Marc Cohn's voice, style, and themes within these five songs.  Then, tell me your favorite, and why.  Here are your links: 

"Walking in Memphis" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgRafRp-P-o 

"Silver Thunderbird" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-JZFxpuEnw

"Man of the World"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjaNMv97tCI

"One Safe Place" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FcVG5uOCKk

"True Companion" (our comparative focus) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSefJjHYDmk

WORDS ARE LIFE...

"Don't get upset by what he said.  They're only words." 

 Does this statement, or any close variation of it sound familiar to you?  How many of you embrace it as your own philosophy?  How many of you would like to give the speaker a nice, firm sock in the arm?  Well, I am going to start this post here by making a bold statement.  Here it goes: Whether you acknowledge it to be true or not, your words have power.  Lots of it.  You may not feel very powerful when you utter them, but they are, as the great English proverb tells us, "Mightier than the sword."

Now, allow me to explain and expand.  For some, the words of others don't sting as much as they will for others, but whether you are tough as nails or a marshmallow when it comes to matters of the heart, those to whom you communicate may not fall into your same category.

For this reason, being a thoughtful, empathetic, yet clear communicator is a precious skill--especially for those of you who plan to be in any form of upper management.  The best leaders in any industry got there because they knew how to communicate.  They were aware of the great power of their words, and they used that power with skill and wisdom.

If not everyone receives the same words in the same spirit, then how do we become astute at the great art of communication?  Well, the answer is in the question:  it is an art, so we practice.  We test the waters.  Observe more than just verbal communication/language.  We communicate who we are to others in many different ways and within many unique nuances.  Reading people --really taking the time and presence of mind to actively listen to not just what they say but how they say it--can really tell you a lot.

In year one and year two of the IB Language and Literature, Diploma Program, we have already done a lot of communicating with one another in various groups and partnerships, as well as all together on our blog.  As Markus Zusak wrote in his masterpiece, The Book Thief, "words are life," figuratively and quite literally.  We see this to be true for our protagonist Jane in Jane Eyre as people's words to her and about her (positive, and negative) have greatly shaped her still stabilizing identity.  We very CLEARLY see how people's words have carved away pieces of Mariam's identity in A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Combinations of letters create words, the arrangement of words create sentences, these sentences convey meaning.  What the recipient does with that meaning--how they deconstruct it--builds and tears down elements of their very character.  That's power!

This year, you will continue to have many opportunities to observe and learn from each other's communication styles, and practice wielding your language "sword."  The spoken and written word both have their moment on the world's stage, and whether their influence is felt on a small or large scale, it is a moment that carries power for the listener: a moment in the ears can lead to a lifetime on the heart.  In his novel The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfus writes: "Words can light fires in the minds of men; words can wring tears from the hardest hearts."  See?  I'm not the only literary person to make those bold statements.

In the link below, you will have the opportunity to read Cat Thompson's article, The Power of Language.  Read through it, maybe even commit some of it to memory as a resource to use when you communicate.  See what happens!

You are powerful.  Whether written or spoken, your words carry the power to build someone up and bring life, or tear them down and bring death.

Just like that mighty sword the English were talking about.

Directions for your response post:
1.  Read the short article:  https://experiencelife.com/article/the-power-of-language/  Then, reflect on what you learned, and what most resonates with you on the topic.  
2.  Go through the quotes below about words and their power.  Pick a favorite, type it up in your post, and write about why it was your favorite.  I would LOVE to hear your thoughts...in your own words.

Quotes about language/words: 
The idea that language has great power is nothing new!  Even though our modern society is much more sensitized and defensive in nature (we seem to have lost the art to debate and replaced it with the great art of mudslinging in the public arena), in ancient times and during the Renaissance, the power of our language was acknowledged.  Here are a few famous quotes, including those collected from Proverbs in the Bible and the great bard, Shakespeare, himself...