Libraries

I find myself attracted to large collections of books.

When I heard Fr. McNally’s library was going to be donated, I offered to help. Sorting, photographing, listing, and selling his personal collection of art books has been one of my summer projects.

The moment I saw the library at the school I’ll be working at, I knew I had to do something about it. Remember the Dewey Decimal System? Me neither. But I’m piecing the collection back together, book by book. Fiction. Reference. Biography. Pop Culture.

Maybe, one day, a student will break into the now welcoming library and feel invited to borrow a book. Perhaps the proper arrangement will help them find the book they need.

Also, maybe not. Most of the books I’ve handled this summer will never be read again. Most likely, I’m wasting my time. Books are ancient history anyways, right?

But there’s always a chance, and I’d spend countless hours creating the right set, setting, and place for that chance to happen.

Ping Pong

I’ve become obsessed. I just moved into a new community for the teaching program. There’s a table in the community room, so I folded it up and have been practicing. Every day. For about 2 hours a day. Just like Forrest Gump.

I play and listen to keynotes. I’ve listened to most Seth Godin talks on YouTube, and just today I listened to Charle’s Mann’s 1491 presentation. I haven’t found a better way to absorb information. It’s right up there with showering and driving. The ping pong table is my new classroom.

Where’s your classroom? Is it a place you can move, somewhere you can be stimulated so your brain and body both remember what you’re consuming? Or are you stuck at your desk, physically and metaphorically? What have you been learning?

The table is my new therapy, my new work station, my new brainstorming space, my new content absorption place in the universe. Where’s yours?

Classroom Rules

There’s going to be four rules in my classroom this year. They are:

  1. Do your best
  2. Tell the Truth
  3. Move Up! and Listen
  4. Don’t compare yourself to other people

These rules are straightforward, except for number 3. Move Up! and Listen means being generous enough to allow others to speak, and then give them the praise they deserve. Moving Up means not always being the one to talk but recognizing others have something to say, too. It doesn’t mean never speaking up, but only when it’s appropriate.

Could these rules be better? Absolutely. Should there be more rules? Probably. But as I see it today, these four guidelines are enough to make a classroom good.

It’s about creating spaces where people feel encouraged to learn. I’ve been doing this my whole life. Now I get to do it from behind a different desk.

Levels of Consciousness

If you look at the world it seems like human beings have won. They seem to be far more effective at surviving and thriving than any other complex life form. Humanity has spread across the globe and figured out how to live. They have conquered Earth; they are the champions of creation.

Humans are a unique kind of animal. That’s a given. But generally they also consider themselves on top (or at least close to the top, if spiritual beings are factored in) of the consciousness hierarchy in the living world. If you look at the premise of Reincarnation, souls climb up this hierarchy if they live good lives. From rocks to plants to animals to the most intelligent animal, humans.

But humans also have a lot of problems. They’re greedy, lustful, and vengeful. They deplete and destroy resources until only pollution is left. Not to mention the mental anguish of being a person: stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, heartbreak, and so on. Humans have existed for a while. They’e all but conquered the world. But most of them are deeply unhappy. They search for happiness in all the wrong places and are never satisfied.

A lot of other beings on Earth seems to be more satisfied than people. Trees are content growing and then being repurposed for tables and chairs. Herbs are content blossoming and being eaten. Indeed, the classic human definition for an “enlightened” person (stoic, unfazed, peaceful) sounds a lot like how plants live. They aren’t trying to change the world around them. They grow and do their best to provide shade.

Maybe humans have the hierarchy of consciousness backwards.

Keep Walking

There’s a plastic bag taped to
a streetlight in my town protecting
a piece of computer paper
with a message of hope on it.

I read it once and learned
that caterpillars grow alone
and maybe I do, too.
But I knew that already.

I kept walking but the
caterpillar’s eyes made me
uncomfortable. They followed me
to see if I would listen this time.

A mosquito bit my arm
and I killed it.
It’s hard being hideous in
a world full of miracles.

Every time I pass the taped bag
there’s another piece of paper
with another message of hope.
Tomorrow I’ll walk a different way.

What if I wrote books?

It’s day 3 into book writing and I’m loving the process. I’m writing about 2 pages per day. I know eventually I’ll edit it down, but getting a streak going feels really nice. Like my months of planning are amounting to something real.

Then I thought: what if I was an author? I’ve spent the last 6 years trying to decide what I want to do with my life. What if I just wrote books? If I really do love writing this much, why not continue writing for the rest of my life?

But this is a book that’s never been written. I don’t know if I could come up with an idea as real as this.

For now, I’ll just keep writing.

Being Religious

“I’m very religious about exercising,” or, “I’m religious about writing every day,” or even, “I’m religious about ironing.”

Said in this manner, “religious” has come to more or less mean regular, structured, and committed. Of course, religious has taken on this meaning because of religious traditions with strict regimens of prayer. Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism are definite promulgators.

But the root word of religion is the same as the root of relationship. Religio- (or something like that–sorry, didn’t do enough Googling) means “to bind together.” Religion is about binding yourself with the divine, while relationships is about binding yourself to others.

Words matter. If we started treating religions like relationships with God instead of strict infrastructures of oppression, maybe our our relationship with these institutions would shift. If religions remembered this, too, that would be a big help.

Students who care

Seth Godin often says, “our goal is to create work that matters for people who care.” I think this is the way frame business. It’s based on Kevin Kelly’s ultimate article about enrollment, 1,000 True Fans.

The premise is simple: don’t spend time converting the masses to believe in what you’re selling. Instead, find your niche. Go narrow and deep and provide them with the value they came to you for. They will be your base and will come back time and again. You never have to sell them.

Work that Matters for People who Care.

The problem is, you have to find people who care, first. As an educator, the “people” are my students. Caring is not their default setting.

As a teacher, I have to teach Things that Matter to Students who Care.

In the latest episode of Akimbo, Seth answered a question from a middle school science teacher. He ended with an adaptation of Lincoln’s famous quotation: “if I had 20 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 18 sharpening the axe.”

Seth says if he had a year to teach a science curriculum, he would spend a lot of time making the students care. Then teaching the content wouldn’t be difficult at all.

This will be my north star. I must find ways to make students care.

Kenan & Kel with Adam & Aaron

My brother (Adam), sister (Rachel), and I are big Kenan & Kel fans. For those who don’t know, it’s a Nickelodeon sitcom from the late ’90s. Adam bought the DVD box set of the complete series about ten years ago. We would watch marathons of the show while traveling and on vacation. It’s still one of our favorite shows.

Adam and I are both experienced (or amateur) podcasters, so during quarantine we started a review podcast called Kenan & Kel with Adam & Aaron. We’re reviewing every single episode. In depth. With behind the scenes facts. And statistics. Because we can.

You can find us at https://anchor.fm/kenankelpodcast and @kenankelpodcast on all social platforms.

Here’s the most recent episode.

Not your style? That’s cool. We’re doing it for us and for the other Kenan & Kel fans out there.

Only having one project at a time is too boring.

Self Love on the Golf Course

I’ve been caddying for the past six summers. Most caddies start because they’ve played golf, know golf, or love golf. I started because it paid well. Over the years I’ve become a decent caddy, but not great. Far from great. Recently I’ve been learning where self love fits into golf.

I still have my slip ups on the course. I lose golf balls and misread greens each time I loop. My natural tendency is to beat myself up when I mess up. My player placed his trust in me and I let him down. Failure as a caddy, already a low-ranking position, sometimes feels like the last straw.

But this year I’ve been learning to forgive myself. To love myself. Instead of banging my head for misreading a green, I repeat my mantra over and over: “I love myself. I love myself. I love myself” (thanks Kamal 🙂 In no time, the mistake I made doesn’t matter all that much. What counts is that I love myself regardless of my shortcomings as a caddy. Or a friend. Or a son. Or a man.

Stonewall will always have a special place in my heart–a place occupied by love and hate, gratitude and frustration. It’s taken me six years to realize that who I am isn’t contingent on my caddying skills. Who I am depends on how much I love myself.

And I’m really trying to love myself.