The Litmus Test in Science

You should all check out Ben Stein's documentary Expelled. If you want balance, feel free to also check out the movie's biggest critic: http://www.expelledexposed.com. Whatever you think of the movie, it is full of credible people (academics, scientists, journalists, policy makers, etc.) and important questions. The movie--along with Michael Crichton's novel, State of Fear--has me pretty convinced that the litmus test for a successful science career--grants, publishing, promotions, etc.--is the willingness to consider global warming and evolution facts regardless of any questions you have about the data. Now, I don't know enough about either issue to consider them all true or all false--as usual it's probably somewhere in between--but I (along with Stein and Crichton and Alister McGrath and many academics who have apparently lost their jobs) think the debate should still be on the table. Unfortunately, many within the field disagree and are set on convincing everyone else that those who aren't convinced are, in Richard Dawkins' words, "ignorant or stupid." 

Giving

Thank you so much to Nicholas Kristof (a noted liberal New York Times columnist) for his honesty about the national giving landscape:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opinion/21kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

I am continually amazed that small government conservatives get pegged as stingy, cold, uncaring, and heartless given the facts that Kristof lays out in his column. It also continues to amaze me that those who oppose small government philosophies refuse to acknowledge the simple reality that it's not that certain conservatives don't care about people having food and healthcare (if they didn't, they wouldn't give to charities that work in those areas) but that they question the very utility of those big government policies, whether they really work well or not. Many--myself included here--are in that category. I do not think entitlement programs are effective because they rarely empower people. I am all for safety nets for temporary times of need, just not funded by tax payer money. I am very thankful, however, for good charity groups who do good work for people who need it.

Merry Christmas to all!

The Beach, Rafe Esquith, Drive-in Church, and Twilight

I am in Daytona with my family. We are staying in this condo kind of place that's a little old and dirty but pretty perfect for the Schumerths (or probably for spring breakers). We have an ocean view, and it's not very crowded yet. Yesterday, was the first day I haven't done anything related to teaching in room 173 since August 18th. It was liberating and glorious. I left all my work in Jacksonville. I'm going to spend my time reading, playing board games, watching movies, and--if I get really motivated--running an errand or two. It's pretty crazy that I'm about halfway done with my first year of teaching. I was offered an assistant baseball coaching job this past week by Andrew Jackson High School--their field is seen right out my classroom window--which I'll probably take even though it's pretty much charity work.

I told my kids that I would spend much of Christmas break reading, and they didn't really believe me ("You're lame, Mr. Schumerth!). But I am taking a look at Rafe Esquith's (author of There are no Shortcuts and Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire) work out in Los Angeles, a fifth grade teacher who's had incredible success with inner city kids not only in reading and math, but also in music, the arts, travel, and so much more (for a quick look, check him out at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.Rafe_Esquith). He has affirmed much of what I've had thoughts about but been afraid to say in terms of the centrality of reading good literature, the importance of time before and after school with students, exposing students to real world situations that connect to their learning, how to approach and view administration, a "lead the horse to the water but don't dunk him in" approach to students, and what it really takes to do this kind of a job well for a long time. I kind of want to fly out to meet him and see him teach. Though I will not really start working directly until next week, he has spurred my thinking as to how my classroom should change for second half of the year.

***

This morning, I went to "drive-in church" with my parents. It was what it sounds like: you pull up and stay in your car and listen to the service on the radio. An offering was taken up by people in a golf cart going from car to car. To be fair, I went eagerly; it was something I hadn't experienced before, and I haven't spent any time with my parents since July. Perhaps the church fills a need for tourists, but I couldn't help but have this eerie feeling through the whole thing, like the suburbanites have finally succeeded in making church without ANY human interaction at all. Thankfully, I am in my "forty days in the desert" (mine will be seven days at the ocean) phase and didn't want any interaction.

***

I saw the movie Twilight a couple weeks ago. Though I haven't read any of the books (maybe next summer), I was enthralled by the idea because of my own hypothesis that I wanted to test out by watching it. As a friend told me about the basic story, I couldn't help but think how well that story could symbolize the stories of those who are in relationships that involve one of the two who are caught up in distorted sexual addictions. In the movie, many of the people knew who the vampires were but didn't really talk about it. The girl (or it could by guy) is drawn in by real love (or at least infatuation), but is tempted to change over to the sexual disease. I think the story has the potential to reveal the tension between sex informing love rather than love informing sex. The growth and influence of the porn industry tells me that the culturally accepted view is that sex informs love. Not to mention, the acceptance of saying things like marriages were ruined because the sex life deteriorated or because she was not pleasing enough to him, exotic/erotic enough, etc. The Christian view, of course, is different. Perhaps sex lives deteriorate because the love, commitment, and trust is not strong enough.

Don't hear/read me wrong here; obviously sex isn't bad in and of itself, and there is no sex in the movie (I don't know about the books). But there is something unnatural about Edward: he is drawn to Bella not just by her beauty, companionship, and sexual appeal, but by her blood. He doesn't want to be that way; viewers can almost see him wish he didn't have to struggle with it, wish that he was "normal," and could just enjoy her without sucking her blood (or getting her naked). Many guys out there (and probably girls, too) are brought into relationships by the mask of love but by the reality of an infatuation and need for and addiction to sex. Now, I have no idea if the author (Stephenie Meyer) of the books--who I heard is a Mormon--intended for such an interpretation, but the movie did nothing to discourage my hypothesis. The cover of the book also has a picture of a set of hands holding an apple--quite possibly a link to Adam, Eve, and original sin. Anyway, Here are some interesting quotes from the movie:

"The hunt is his obsession." ~Edward

"If you're smart, you'll stay away from me." ~Edward

"I'm the world's most dangerous predator. Everything about me invites you in. My voice, my face, even my smell. As if I would need any of that. As if you could outrun me. As if you could fight me off. I'm designed to kill." ~Edward

"I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore." ~Edward

"You're like a drug to me. Like my own personal brand of heroine." ~Edward

"About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him, and I didn't know how dominate that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrecoverably in love with him." ~Bella

Critiquing the "Emergent" Church

A few posts back, I mentioned that I've been listening to podcasts a bit as sort of a release--and in some instances--an alternative to reading because it takes less out of me. If you have a few minutes, check the following one out. The speakers are Ted Kluck and Devon DeYoung, authors of Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be (which I haven't read). In the podcast, they articulate the theological and doctrinal tension that I've been personally exploring for probably the last year or two.

http://www.calvin.edu/innercompass/media/ic903.mp

Don't get me wrong; I've read and appreciate the Brian McLarens and the Jim Wallises and the Rob Bells and the Don Millers. But I cannot help but acknowledge the truth that DeYoung and Kluck lay out when they say that as "counter-cultural" as Postmodern, Emergent ideas might seem, they're actually the kind of thing that would hold up on Leno or Oprah or the front page of the New York Times. 'Be tolerant, care about AIDs Orphans, don't judge.' Now of course, we can all agree that certain social justice issues demand action from Christians and that Christians should be able to converse and even disagree respectfully inside and outside their own circles. 

But our generation of Christians is really good at the "You who is without sin be the first to cast the stone" but really scared to say the "Go and sin no more" part. It has to be both. But it will never win popularity contests, which is why Jesus said He came not to bring peace but to bring the sword and to bring brothers against brothers and so on (Matthew 10:33-35). Jesus was clearly not crucified for being tolerant; he was killed because he made outrageous, countercultural truth claims that threatened the status quo.

I heard in another podcast from Lauren Winner (assistant professor at Duke and author of several books, including Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity) that she hopes that what she said in her latest book is nothing new. I think there's some authentic honesty in that statement. "Nothing new under the sun" is the phrase we often hear. There's just become this resistance to anything orthodox, and there's something really arrogant about thinking that we've come across this new thing that's really the truth, really what's been missing, etc. To me, as much as orthodox people get the arrogant, self-righteous peg, to cast aside a historical orthodoxy seems much more arrogant. To accept historical doctrine, to accept something bigger than self is actually more humble.

I think.

The Consequences of Undoing Consequences

I think some of the (perhaps well-intentioned) things we do as a society to undo poor choices are actually a disservice because they subconsciously allows us to believe that our choices don't have consequences.  Government bailouts try to "undo" the consequences of poor financial management. Contraceptives and abortions try to undo the consequences of sex. Parental and administrative bureaucracy, political correctness, and nonconfrontational tendencies undo poor choices by children in school. Gastric bypasses and liposuction try to undo the consequences of gluttony and lack of exercise. I could continue but you get the point. The problem is that in this kind of a world, we don't really learn from our mistakes because we rarely have to actually take responsibility. There's always a way out. Though suffering and struggle should not be glorified, they can be good things, and we should not shy away from them. It is through suffering and struggle that we learn, that we innovate, that we become better and more effective and perhaps we even heal from our pasts. We come to grips with our humanness, our mortality, and our limitations. And then hopefully we don't make the same mistake again. Unless of course, the consequences were undone for us. Then, why not go ahead and make the same mistake again? 

My Implication in the Abuse of Women

"She's one of the walking wounded

But the bleeding doesn't show

Behind the wall around her heart 

Where none are allowed to go

It's been this way for so long now

She can't remember when

She could still hope for tomorrow 

So instead she just pretends"

~Don Fransisco, "Walking Wounded"

"You used to speak so easy

Now you're afraid to talk to me

It's like walking with the wounded

Carrying that weight way too far

The concrete pulled you down so hard

Out there with the wounded

We're missing you"

~Third Eye Blind, "Wounded"

"Waiting, watching the clock, it's four o'clock, it's got to stop

Tell him, take no more, she practices her speech

As he opens the door, she rolls over...

Pretends to sleep as he looks her over

She lies and says she's in love with him

Can't find a better man

She dreams in color, she dreams in red

Can't find a better man"

~Pearl Jam, "Better Man"

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful..."

-1st Peter 3:3-5

I am reading Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues and finding it both fascinating and disheartening. For about the past year, I've read and listened to everything I can get my hands or ears on that relates to sexuality, women, the porn industry, singleness, etc and really plan on continuing. Now, I'm well aware of the warning that Sean (Robin Williams' character) gave in Good Will Hunting:

"You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some f***ing book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in..."

Indeed, there are limitations to the connections and conclusions we can make from literature, and it definitely doesn't replace real life experience, but between the two--reading and life experiences--I am building up schema about sex that has been lacking for a long time. And I'm comfortable enough with myself to admit that.

I grew up in a home--like many other homes, I think--where we didn't talk about sex, other than that I supposedly wasn't supposed to "do it" until I was married. So much of what I learned about sex at a younger age--despite my dad and my very awkward attempt at a "birds and the bees" conversation--was learned in locker rooms and spoken in what was a foreign language to me. You can imagine how distorted it all was, but I just listened and tried to "use context clues" to figure it all out. I can't help but recall Lauren Winner's observation, in her book Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity (a great resource by the way), that in much of American society, people don't talk much about sex in public, but many of us are certainly not shy about expressing our sexuality in public (PDA, couples having sex in parks and on beaches, internet porn, etc.), which is just so backward.

My conviction is getting stronger that one of my mentors, Dr. Steve Garber (author of The Fabric of Faithfulness who resides in Falls Church, Virginia) gets it right when he says that sexuality is so central to who we are that it is naive to think that we can really thrive in this world and find quality solutions in politics, education, globalization, the arts, etc. without first properly understanding our sexuality (if you can get your hands on the September issue of Comment Magazine, check out his "Sex is Easier than Love: Why Sexuality is at the Very Heart of Life and Learning" article).

Ensler's book pulls bits and pieces from interviews and stories all over the world, stories of wounds, empowerment, and healing in various women. Basically, they talk about their vaginas a lot, which is something some of them have never done before.

While there is much in the Ensler book and interviews that I would not recommend for everyone and that I certainly do not endorse--I definitely don't share the secular feminist worldview that runs commonly throughout the book--I do believe in the empowerment of women (though I don't think that's necessarily and always mutually exclusive from domesticity). I also believe that women are precious and--like men--made in the very image of their Creator and deserve to be treated as such. Men and women are not the same--in my view--but they are most certainly equal, that is to say their worth, value, and importance are equal. The way religious texts have been used to manipulate this equality and to justify male oppressiveness of women is despicable. And that some have to live in a world of constant fear, depression, self-doubt, vulnerability, and God knows how many other negative emotions, is just as disgusting.

I remember very vividly an experience as a high school student at Culver when someone came in to talk about male violence and abuse of and toward women. While I remember nothing of what was said or who said it, I do remember the follow-up conversations that took place formally in dorms, I remember my baseball coach jokingly referring to it as "sensitivity training," and I remember arguing with my girlfriend at the time about the whole thing. I remember being passionate and a bit angry--stuff like that always seemed aimed at trying to make guys feel guilty--and claiming "It's not my problem. I'm not the one doing it."

While I was correct that I had never physically violated a woman, and that I shouldn't feel guilty, I do feel shame. There are faces now for me, faces of intimate family members, close friends, girls I have dated. Sobering stories about systematic practices in war that violate women. I have learned that many of the gross statistics we hear about how many girls have been abused or harassed physically, sexually, and verbally are at least pretty close and may even be underestimated. How could I not feel shame that males all over the globe steal the innocence and dignity away from God's beautiful creations? Put simply, I was wrong the day I said it wasn't my problem. It is my problem. Another thing Garber taught me was that to know about is to be implicated. What we do with that knowledge varies, but nevertheless, we are implicated whether we want to be or not.

So thank you to the Eve Enslers in the world for participating in and encouraging the healing process, being implicated and walking beside, so many wounded women who deserve freedom, healing, confidence, and joy.

My Credit Card Horror Story and Other Reflections

"If I had a nickel that I didn't owe anybody, I'd be rich."

~My Grandpa Ford

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness."

~1 Timothy 6:9-11

About four years ago, I signed up for a credit card in exchange for a Packers' blanket at Lambeau Field. It was one of the worst deals I've ever made. Thousands of dollars later, Bank of America has more than made back the cost of every Packers' blanket they gave away the whole season. The friend with whom I signed up also has his card to this day.

I say that to say that I have paid off my credit card (thanks be to God!). For the first time--literally--since that first payment, my balance is zero. Now granted, I still don't have any nickels that I don't owe anybody (thanks school loans, TFA transitional loan, car payment, etc.). But I'm working on it.

I had a texting conversation today with my sister about simplicity. Though I think we would probably draw our lines in different places, we both agree it's a good thing. Many people we respect try to live simply, and--most of all--Jesus seemed to live very simply as seen in the Scriptures. There are a few things I think a coherent philosophic or religious worldview must deal with intellectually. Sex is one, politics another, history and humanity, evil, etc. But so, too, must a holistic worldview have some strong teachings about money and daily economy. The topic is broached often in the Bible. In chapter 9 of Luke's Gospel, Jesus made some incredible statements:

"Take nothing for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against you...Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head" (3-5, 58).

In Matthew 19:

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then, come, follow Me...I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God...With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible" (verses 21, 23, 24, 26).

And in Matthew 22:

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" (21).

Those words are either completely irrelevant or they are a healthy alternative to a nation and culture with an economy driven by consumption. Not too many of us travel with nothing or show up at people's homes expecting to sleep there. I'll be the first to say that I think these passages spoke very directly to the vocations of those Jesus was speaking to in these passages, but Jesus' resistance to common cultural structures is undeniable. And one cannot afford to miss the ultimate irony in the statement to give to God what is God's, given that God is Creator, which--in my book--makes EVERYTHING His.

Most Americans are addicted to the next big thing, the next technological advance. As Rich Mullins wrote in his song "If I Stand," "The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance/ That I owe only to the Giver of all good things." While I will hold off on my rant about GPS's and other new toys, consumption can surely be an enslaving idol. But so, too--as my and many others' stories show--can financial poverty or debt. It's a tough balance to live in. Our current macro economic struggles remind us all too well of the results of living in and enabling a system dependent on individual and collective debt.

As for me, I believe I'm still somewhat enslaved to debt (books, sporting events, and flights have been and continue to be weaknesses), but am currently on a better track, living somewhat simply and working to pay off those debts. I'm thankful for a livable wage that allows me to do that, and I pray for the spiritual discipline to keep doing so. May it be so, too, for you.

A Good Day

Today was the best day I've had so far as a teacher. 

What I mean by that isn't that it wasn't a long or hard day (as far as work, it started at 7 a.m. and ended at about 9:30 p.m.) or that there weren't problems (I referred three students, probably a bit below average) or the students were really getting it (sorry TFA, I have no data as a result of today) or that I had a killer lesson or anything (in fact, we definitely didn't get all the way through what I did have). What I do mean is that I actually felt--at several different points--that I was enjoying myself. Had a smile on my face. Felt like I was teaching to students who wanted to learn. And of course, it didn't hurt that I got seven hours of sleep last night. 

The North Shore fifth grade has installed yet another behavior management system: so far so good. And more and more, I just sense my own students' trust that I'm going to show up every day in the midst of what is unfortunately a pretty unstable relational life. So bit by bit, we get better, though my high expectations and lack of patience often make those improvements hard to see. 

But today was good. At one point, I stopped and told my students, "You know, I've smiled as I taught on several occasions during the last two days," to which several students burst into applause. I even feel a little bit of the goofy side of me coming out as I teach (yes, I do have that side even if it's slight), which tells me that all of my energy did not go toward managing behavior. In addition to the better behavior, these students really do desire to learn and enjoy when they do, though the social pressure to be tough or whatever is just stronger than that of being smart and a high achiever. 

Also encouraging today was working with a borderline student (sometimes he is the politest student in my class; other times he's the most disrespectful) from about 3:15-4:15, most of which was simply teaching him to play chess, though I crammed in a little word study tutoring at the end. I usually "tutor" during that time on Tuesday and Thursday but my new idea is to pull some students from Team Up in a one-on-one setting on Wednesdays when I can fit it in for some differentiation and investment. One of the things that's so quickly evident is how different all of these students are one-on-one or even in a small group (basically when peer pressure is taken out of the picture.)

So anyway, for those out there reading my stuff and looking for something redeemable, it's definitely there. I probably just don't celebrate it enough.