Category / Reading

by Michael

A Question I Want You To Answer

I realize asking a question to people who read my blog can be presumptuous.  I realize that I could be setting myself up for massive laughs.  That I might have to monitor the comments a bit quicker.  That I might look at that squiggly line on my wordpress dashboard and see no movement all day.  But I’ll take the risk to pose a question. 

When I started blogging, a trusted friend (I won’t tell you it was David Swanson) told me to write “what you’re interested in, what you’d like to think about, what you’re passionate about.”  I took that good advice.  For now, David Swanson gets credit for it.  Soon, he may not.  So, I’ve been writing my interests, and I’ll consistently prepare posts that fall within the basic categories of faith, writing, and relationships. 

I’m not dry or blocked.  Things come up that I want to write about.  Still, I’m one of those communicators who appreciates dialogue.  I come from a tradition where the audience talks back.  Where the people listening participate in what’s being said.

So I have a question for you.  Since you’ve read a post or two.  Hopefully. 

What would you like me to post about?  If you were to think about topics under this three-part umbrella, what would you like me to think about?  Are there specific ways you think I can strengthen my blog, which for me connects with doing one good thing I enjoy (i.e., writing), particularly as it relates to these areas–faith, writing, and relationships? 

This is a question I want you to answer.  So leave me a comment.  Now.  Or think about it, come back and leave one.  And I’ll thank you now for your gracious replies.  And I’ll say this, too: if you see something that you think I should read or have, leave a comment about it or post the link.

by Michael

More on Marriage: Interview with Johnathan & Toni Alvarado, authors of Let’s Stay Together

In my last post, I reflected upon my role as pastor in relation to marriage and divorce.  In some ways, I’m continuing that reflection with what I offer you in this post.

I read Let’s Stay Together this year.  It’s by two of my mentors, Bishop Johnathan Alvarado and his wife and colleague, Dr. Toni Alvarado.  I asked them a few questions about their book, which I commend to you if you’re interested in marriage, interested in getting married, or serious about strengthening yourself in relation to a long-term committed relationship.  As I’ve told them, I am thankful for their willingness to teach others about marriage, to mentor me and my wife in our marriage, as well as their hard work in living what they say.  I’m realistic but I hold them to a high bar, which they, by grace, reach gracefully.

1)      What motivated you to write Let’s Stay Together?

We have been concerned with the rising divorce rate within the body of Christ.  We noticed that divorces were not remanded to the ranks of the laity exclusively but even amongst the clergy and leaders within the body of Christ divorce seems to be recurring and even acceptable.  Let’s Stay Together is an attempt to stop the hemorrhage and provide strategies and solutions for longevity and success in marriage. Further, we carry a burden to prepare singles who are desirous of marriage for healthy and productive relationships.

 2)      Your commitment to marriage shines in this book.  At the same time, you counsel couples and you see the hardships people face when trying to live out their marital vows in our society.  How do you maintain your conviction that “divorce was not an option” when that option is so accessible?

We maintain that conviction because we believe that the biblical mandate for marriage carries with it the ability to fulfill its requisites.  Second, we understand that strong marriages are the building blocks for a society.  Not only do we purport that it is a Christian mandate but also it is a necessary institution for the continuance of any civil society.  Finally, the divorced persons with whom we have spoken and/or counseled have consistently confirmed our suspicions that divorce is not all that it’s cracked up to be!  There are those who after having read our book have testified that if they had only known to apply some of the skills that we enumerate, they would have never divorced in the first place. 

 3)      In what ways can a couple mature their beliefs about the long-term covenant of marriage before getting married?

We are strong advocates for pre-marital counseling.  In our contemporary culture, people do more to get a “drivers license” than they do to get a “marriage license.”  In our premarital counseling, not only do couples learn skills that give them the opportunity to have a good marriage but they also get first hand exposure to what a healthy marriage could look like.  The combination of information and impartation gives premarital couples a foundation for marital success.

 4)      You are leaders.  Are their any specific ways leaders are vulnerable to marital failure?

Yes.  Public leaders are particularly vulnerable to marital failure precisely because of the public nature of the lives that they lead.  The pressure of genuinely trying to be a healthy example to others adds a dimension to the marital relationship that must be managed with skill and prudence.  Most couples do not divorce because of a lack of love, but rather they divorce because they lack the skills necessary to stay married, especially while living in the public eye.  We address this in the chapter of the book entitled: “Mega business, career, and ministry requires a mega-marriage.”

5)      One reason I wanted to interview you was to ask you this question.  How have divorces by significant leaders (e.g., Al and Tipper Gore) and celebrity figures in our country informed and challenged how readers hear your relationship strategies?  Does the ease with which many people approach marital dissolution, or not being married for that matter, change how you engage with couples who desire healthy marriages?

We live in an age where the media no longer reflects the common life of the people but rather it frames and crafts the lives that we live.  The media moguls are both predictive and determinative as to how we will live.  Because of this, public figures have more influence on public life than they realize.  When public figures and “leaders” within our society dismiss their marriages without so much as a tear it tacitly gives others the permission or even the encouragement to do the same.  It does change the way in which we have to counsel and instruct intended couples and married couples.  We have to teach them to be counter-cultural if they are going to be successful in their marriages.  

 6)      This is a book about marriage, but a lot of people aren’t married.  And might not get married.  Is there something in this book for them, and if so, what might they find?

While this book is specifically couched in the context of marriage, it is principally a book of relationship strategies.  In the book, we teach strategies that can be beneficial to any relationship.  In any relationship two people have to be able to communicate effectively so we teach principles of good communication.  In every relationship some conflict will arise therefore we teach principles of negotiation for positive resolution.  We believe that this book has something for everyone, not just married couples.  As a matter of fact, our singles are purchasing and enjoying reading the book at least as much as our married and intended couples!

 7)      What are one or two things you want readers to takeaway from Let’s Stay Together?

Here they are: 

  • We want our readers to take away the passion that we have for being married.  We endeavor, through our candid examples and transparent anecdotes to be as forthcoming and genuine as possible while simultaneously painting a realistic picture of the work involved in having a good marriage.  We believe that marriage is viable, beneficial, and worth the effort it takes to enjoy life together. 

 

  • For our readers who may be unmarried, we desire to inspire, encourage, and to demonstrate to them that in spite of all of the negativity that is so aggrandized, marriage still works.  The skills that we teach will enhance their lives and every relationship that they may have. 

 

  • Finally, we want every reader to take away the knowledge and tools to build a strong, vibrant, and successful marriage.  It is our hope that everyone who reads this work will discover the blessings of life together, just as we have. 

8)     How can readers of this blog learn about your book and the other dozen things you do?

The book can be purcashed on our website.  Of course they can find us on our blog and at the following links:
www.totalgrace.org
www.mskfoundation.org
www.beulah.org

by Michael

The Sticky Gold Star For Critical Thinking Goes To

I’ve been considering something Scottie May said to us in our Christian Education class at Wheaton.  She’s repeated this to me when I’ve posed education-related questions since graduation.  Professor May–and I’m surely paraphrasing while keeping with the best spirit of her teaching–says that curriculum is a guide, a map.  It’s not meant to remove the hard work that comes with reviewing, adapting, adjusting, and presenting content to a learner.  You can read more about Dr. May’s approach by reading her book Children Matter if you like; it’s a great resource.

I think some of the critical issues which come up for me as I think about what Marcus and Sonia have said, along with what I’ve read about the TSBE are the following:

1) How powerful, even if vital, the role of elected officials is when it comes to discussing, determining, and disseminating educational standards for students.  I don’t know that a state board of education’s role is understood by most citizens, whatever the state, and it’s often not until something incredible happens or looms that people take notice.  I suppose this is similar to how most people engage or disengage from the political process in general.

2) A community’s role in education continues to be one of the best ways to confront and support education for children.  I heard too many times growing up that “It takes a whole village to raise a child.”  It’s true wisdom.  Raising a child, involves educating a child, and the responsibility for learning, cognitive development, and social maturation cannot be loaned or sold or passed off to teachers alone, particularly when those teachers are expected to teach what they disagree with, what they don’t believe in, or what’s foreign to their experience–not that all curriculum fits into these.  But the community can do things.  Develop a reading list with teachers, historians, and writers you respect.  Talk to teachers and administrators about how they enrich the curriculum, if they do.  Show up to school and read for a day.  Donate books and art and articles to a school which fill out new or old images of history and culture for students.  The community supports, challenges and aides in the learning process.  And everybody, including children and grownups learn from that involvement.

3) Ideology always influences what people are taught.  It’s foolish to think otherwise, no matter what a group’s commitments, principles, and philosophies.  In my mind, everybody has a religion, a way of acknowledging God–even when that acknowledgment is to deny God’s being–and everybody also lives in response to that acknowledgement.  Your spiritual or religious views leak into the decisions you live by.  My frame of reference, the presuppositions, and notions which are unique to me enable me to say what I say, think the way I do or don’t, and to choose to emphasize certain aspects of history, sociology, psychology, and theology.  Whatever the pattern of voting or thinking, readers and learners should be aware of who’s writing, that writer’s social and political and, if possible, spiritual location, and what the objectives are of that writing.

4) Curriculum comes in three shapes–explicit, implicit, and null.  Explicit curriculum is what you see and read and hear.  Assignments are given on some topics and not others.  Implicit curriculum shapes and influences the explicit, is present and no less important but is unseen.  Null curriculum is what is taught, communicated, and learned by absence; these are the questions, areas of learning and knowledge that aren’t highlighted or explained but which are pronounced because of that lack of inclusion.  I think this springboard in Texas helps us all think about these three types of teachings, what’s included, what’s not, and what’s learned in the process of and despite presence or absence.  This is especially meaningful to me as I consider how assignments are framed to highlight or diminish the light on certain figures in United States of American history as it relates to people with skin like mine.

5) Being critical involves listening, analyzing, reflecting, and most times confronting.  While the nuances and the actual voted-upon changes in Texas are not as scandalous as they were first thought to be earlier this year, the process leading to them open a window into how curriculum is framed and fixed.  There are expert educators and non-educators, and their decisions are sure to influence how publishers spend money printing books across the nation.  Interested people need to hear and think about the impact a state or a city or a neighborhood can have when it comes to what’s sold and consumed in their schools and libraries.  Just because a book is printed doesn’t mean it cannot be read, reviewed, critiqued, and left unpurchased when found lacking in truth and veracity when compared to history and life of black, brown, and white people.

In addition to what’s been offered in the comments–and I have a sneaky suspicion about the tags and automatic replies–the following links may be helpful as you consider Texas State Board of Education, their process, and relevance for where you live and learn.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7038787.html

http://www.theroot.com/views/miseducation-texas-school-kids?page=0,0

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/06/rewriting_social_studies_bash.html

What say you?

by Michael

Guest Post: History Remains His-Story in Texas

Marcus Campbell works as an administrator at Evanston Township High School and also pastors a church in Chicago.  I asked him to weigh in on the same issues Sonia Wang did the other day.  Me and Marcus “go way back”.  We used to sing together in the Soul Children of Chicago when we were small, and I know he’d enjoy any reactions and questions which come up for you from this post. 

History, Remains His-Story in Texas

The purpose of curriculum is to highlight the goals and assessments that provide a roadmap for instruction. Curriculum is a critical piece in schools in that it is the primary element of what gets delivered in the classroom. Curriculum prepares students for the world in which schools have trained them to be equipped. Curriculum is also what shapes the scope of a school’s values, culture and goals. Providing an analysis of curriculum also reveals what knowledge-base a learning community embraces and it also has the potential to reflect the passion of its creators. Curriculum does not consist of multiple lists of inanimate objectives, goals, plans, lessons and assessments, but it is rather a living document that comes alive each day of the school year in every classroom across the country. When curricula are planned and implemented well, the learning outcomes for both students and teachers are tremendous.

The ideal or model framework for curriculum is that it should be structured by skill with content-reinforcing skills. The content should be framed with the following in mind: district or school demographics, valued cultural knowledge and other items that can frame multiple disciplinary content areas that will prepare students for working in a particular field or profession. Most importantly, curriculum should be framed with the student in mind. Student-focused curriculum is built firmly with stages of adolescent development in mind, student interest and the need to know content to function in a democratic society. Far too many times, curriculum is out of date, referred to as the textbook or the state standards posted in the teachers classroom. These provide the necessary components for what includes curriculum, but these are a far cry from what curriculum actually is. It is up to district and school leaders to make sure that there is a common understanding of curriculum among the various constituencies in the district, but every teacher must also be clear and able to articulate what curriculum is and demonstrate it in action in the classroom.

With that being said, as a Senior Pastor, Director of Academic Programs for a school district and a doctoral student in Education, I believe that the recent curriculum approved by the Texas State Board of Education will in large part serve as a disadvantage to the students in the Texas education system. The changes subtract from the rich pluralist history that belongs to our nation and it devalues the varying of opinions that make this nation as great as it is. Valuing and analyzing multiple perspectives across all content areas are important for developing a critical consciousness as young men and women seek to find themselves and understand the world around them.  Affirming a conservative curriculum will only lengthen the divide between the two political factions at work, when the goal of education is the act of preparing students to live in a world of difference. Continue reading →

by Michael

Guest Post: Public Education?

I asked Sonia Wang to respond to a few questions about decisions the state board of Texas made regarding curriculum there.  Ms. Wang just completed her fourth year teaching at an elementary school in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago.  She’s a part of my church, has a large heart, and is skilled at sarcastic jabs right when they’re most entertaining.  Post a comment if you have specific questions or reactions to her post…

Public Education?

The decisions that are made in education always leave me with a brief moment of wonder. When you think about this whole situation, it comes down to this: college educated men and women who interact with adults for the most part making decisions about what information should be shared to children who come from all backgrounds—race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic, etc. You can’t help but identify a slight feeling of disfigurement in this scene.

Putting that aside, however, I approach the situation in Texas with a broader, and what I believe, as an educator, to be the more important question: 

What is the purpose of education?  What is the end goal for our children as they receive a public education?

From my experience as an Asian-American woman growing up in public education and now teaching African-American students in public education, I firmly believe education has a crucial role in students’ lives. Education is a means to pack as much knowledge into our students and provide them with skills to then make informed decisions.

In the New York Times article, Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change, Dr. McLeroy, the leader of the conservative faction on the board, states that the state is “adding balance …history has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left.” I find this mindset problematic. Decisions made by the government should not be contingent on some motive to make right something that was off. History should not be skewed in either direction. The role of education is to provide knowledge to students. Thus students should be receiving the facts of events and situations. Within those historical contexts, they might be informed about biases and opposing sides. However to mandate a textbook that has a certain bias explicitly woven into the curriculum is then to tolerate learning that is untrue and ignorant of another perspective.

Rather than pushing to legitimize one’s agenda, a state board would do history justice by promoting a policy that develops a child’s complete understanding of history and the social issues surrounding it. What do you say to a child whose ancestors were captives from the African soil and stripped to be deemed less than nothing when their textbook, or even their teacher, paints the picture that their ancestors were stupid, dirty barbarians? At the same time, what do you say to a child whose ancestors were forced to take foreigners into their homes and beat them into submission because of a society when their textbook, or even their teacher, paints the picture that they were ruthless and heartless slave masters? You can not teach slavery with a drop of justice by painting broad pictures. Further, what are we telling our children by painting only one picture?  Honestly, teaching history is a difficult task as a teacher because of this dilemma: What do we teach?!

Continue reading →

by Michael

Two Teachers on Curriculum Decisions Made in Texas

The state board of education in Texas made some pretty audacious decisions earlier this year.  It’s no secret that their decisions were motivated by their responsibilities to the students in their state.  Perhaps their political leanings impacted those decisions, too.  In fact, that’s just as obvious when you read through some of the litter leading to their choices. 

I’ve followed some piercing reflection over the last months about these decisions, thinking about them as a learner primarily and as a theological educator secondarily.  I’m not even ready to consider this from the perspective of a father.  However, I asked two friends to respond to a series of questions about education, curriculum, and how children learn. 

So, I’ll feature two substantial posts from two friends–one from Sonia Wang and another from Marcus Campbell.  They are both educators.  They have things to say.

If you’d like to read the articles I sent them to start them on their critical, analytical paths for their posts, take a look here and here.  You can search other materials but I didn’t want you to have too many options.  These articles come from a perspective, as all articles do, but I think they’ll give you a fair amount of background for what Sonia and Marcus (or Ms. Wang and Mr. Campbell) have to say.  Take the weekend to read the short articles.

by Michael

What are you reading?

I’m reading through four books:

Let’s Stay Together by Johnathan and Toni Alvarado is a solid and practical volume that collects biblically-informed counsel for couples (particularly when one or both spouses are leaders).  Having served as church starters, they offer gifts in this book from their pastoral perspectives, and you hear clearly the good wisdom they share with the members of Total Grace in Georiga and with other leaders throughout the world.  Bishop Alvarado has mentored me for more than half my life, and I am thankful that he and Pastor Toni have given the world this important book.

Godric by Frederick Buechner is a story that stretches me.  I can’t tell you what’s about yet since I’m in the early pages and since it’s a very different type of fiction for me.  I love Buechner’s non-fiction, which is why I’m branching out a bit, feeling a little clueless as I learn about a (to me) unknown character in history, and hoping to finish this short novel in the next days.

The Art of Writing Fiction by John Gardner is one of those books I’ve seen for years on writers’ blogs as recommended reading.  I’m grateful to have gotten into it, though I’m finding that much of what he covers I’ve read in some of Sol Stein’s material.  It reads like a creative writing course, at least what I imagine one would be like since I’m not formally educated in writing.  I most appreciate his stuff about the fictional dream.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis hid on my shelf for a few years.  His various books are on three bookcases at home, and I’ve read him in pieces over the years.  He’s a great writer, and this book is one of his central writings in my view.  He’s delightful to read as he captures my faith in fresh, intelligent ways.  One of my theology profs used to say how Lewis was not a theologian.  I disagree.  I think he’s a good, capable thinker about God, which makes him a theologian in my world–even if he’s not a professional theologian if you will.

Next in line is…

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

Sex and the iWorld by Dale Kuehne

This Bitter Earth by Bernice McFadden

The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg

The Private War of Mrs. Packard by Barbara Sapinsley

What about you?  What are you reading?  What will you be reading?