*On our way to KHS to walk this morning, Nikki and I saw the moon looking big and beautiful in the western sky. This is a rehearsal for the special blood, blue and super moon tomorrow morning.
*Some representatives from North Idaho College were at KHS this morning working with seniors who plan to attend there, getting their applications finalized, starting them on their NIC Foundation Scholarship, and answering questions about financial aid. We got a lot accomplished, and I am so thankful for the help NIC is bringing to our seniors this year.
*The creativity of the students in the afterschool PASS program at Pinehurst Elementary continue to amaze me. Today, the students transformed into their “superhero” character, and they acted like they were at a superhero party to discuss how they could solve the problem of buildings being vandalized in Pinehurst. They had wonderful ideas and used each others “super powers” to work together to keep this problem from happening.
*I made some modifications, and ended up knitting a couple of very nice coasters that actually turned out!! I am finally starting to get the hang of this, and not making as many mistakes!!
*Bill had mentioned some podcasts he had listened to so I decided while I was knitting I would listen to Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast. I listened to podcasts about how doing the right thing once gives you a pass on continuing to do the right thing, a study done during the Vietnam War, a story about using the underhand free throw shot in basketball, and a three-part Revisionist History miniseries taking a critical look at the idea of capitalization—the measure of how well America is making use of its human potential. These three episodes talked about how hard it is to find the talented students in low income families and get them to college, how colleges with better food tend to not provide as much financial aid to low income students, and why wealthy people donate to already wealthy colleges and universities that don’t really need the funds. As someone who works preparing students for their college experience, and found these three podcasts very fascinating.
*The podcast episode I started listening to was one Bill and I had a conversation about last Saturday on our trip to Moscow. It is called Generous Orthodoxy. “Generous Orthodoxy” is the story of Chester Wenger, a 98-year-old Mennonite minister who chose to confront his own church over a question of deepest principle. It asks: What do you do when the institution that has defined your life comes between you and your family? Wenger offers all of us a master class in the art of dissent. This podcasts tells Wenger’s story of how he responded when he found out his son was gay, and was going to get married. Wenger’s response brought tears to my eyes. You can find all these podcasts here. Tomorrow I plan to finish season one, and listen to subjects about “How does genius emerge?”, “What happens when hysteria overtakes common sense”, and “The Satire Paradox”, asking whether laughter and social protest are friend or foe.
*Zoe has also listened and talked to us about some of these particular podcasts. In fact, I think the one about basketball free throws she played in the car once. I have enjoyed listening to many of Gladwell’s audio books over the years, and love the way he thinks and approaches different subjects. Because his sharing makes me think about things in a different way. I will continue listening to more of his material.
*At KHS today, staff and students were asked to wear purple in memory of Sarah McFeeley, a KHS student who passed away last year. I will always remember Sarah, and what an impact she made on our school. Here is one of my favorite photos of Paul, Sarah and I.
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