Jubilee

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the City of Love:

I got something for you. After Monday night's thrilling end to Villanova's improbable run, I was inspired to write this letter. The Wildcat's second “shining moment” is the final brushstroke of the magical story I am about to tell you. I hope you take the time to read this through it’s entirety. The really good stuff is at the end. But first, a quick Bible lesson.

***

The Jews believe in a seven-year cycle. The seventh year is called the Shmita, or sabbath year. During this seventh year, Jews are required to “rest” the land which is rooted in the Genesis creation story and good agricultural practices. At some point along the way, they realized it was best to let the land recover every seven years so the soil could regain the essential nutrients needed to produce good crops. It was a rough year for some, but their reliance on G-d came with the hope that abundance awaited them the year(s) to come as a reward for their faithfulness.

In 1416 BC, the Israelites entered the Land of Canaan for the first time. In the Book of Leviticus, G-d commands Moses to talk about the importance of the seventh Shmita (every 49 years). It was known as the year of Jubilee. Debts were forgiven, slaves and prisoners were freed, and the “mercies of G-d” would manifest. Various numerical correlations are also interesting. For example, King David was thirty when he became King and reigned over Israel for forty years (70). Jesus, often considered the “Son of David,” arrived during the 30th Jubilee, and we are forty Jubilees removed from his ascension (70). More on this later.

***

I never cared to root for Philly teams growing up. My dad was from Miami, so he enjoyed watching “good sports” more than following local teams religiously. I loved watching Allen Iverson cross guys over, but they never put a team around him. I loved Curt Schilling until they let him leave town. I respected Brian Dawkins, but the head coach and quarterback didn’t do anything for me. I suppose Lindros was cool, but eight years doesn’t seem long enough, until it is. It’s been almost 8 years since the Phillies won the World Series and it feels much longer.

Celebrating that championship provided me something that I had never experienced before as a fan. My joy was shared with others. That World Series championship was the pinnacle of sports fandom in Philadelphia in recent memory. Unfortunately, the years that followed have not been kind to Philadelphia. A coaching regime in football crumbled to pieces, twice. An achilles tear ended greatness. I bought a Bynum jersey that I never wore, and the hockey team seems destined for mediocrity. Needless to say, it’s been a rough seven years.

This year was supposed to be different. I was all in. I wanted to believe in the “genius” of Chip Kelly. I silently rooted for the Eagles’ success, only to be met with a familiar disappointment known intimately by all Philly sports fan. Listening to 97.5 the Fanatic had become somewhat depressing over the last several months. The Eagles were in shambles, while the Sixers are still “rebuilding.” The Phillies might end up with a triple digit loss column, while the Flyers go quietly into the night. I remember radio hosts asking listeners for a way out of “the curse.” We even wondered if Pope Francis was going to give us a special “blessing” during his visit last year.

That all changed back in February. Truthfully, his was the first year I observed Lent. My wife was raised in the Methodist tradition and grew up giving up something every year. I found it interesting that many notable biblical events took place in measurements of forty. The Israelites wandered the desert for forty years along with each reign of King Saul, David and Solomon. Jesus also wandered the desert for forty days before beginning his ministry, and hung out with his disciples for forty more after he rose from the dead. All things considered, I decided to join my wife, and so, I gave up on 97.5 the Fanatic. I figured it would be an easy thing to give up since our teams are not great. I could clear my head of all the negativity associated with sub-par teams. I wanted to have a more positive outlook, so I said so long.

My journey through Lent was a strange one. I had to reapply for a position at my job. My wife also lost her Grandmother the day before her birthday. We had to go to Tennessee to say our goodbyes and spend time with family. When we arrived, the Big East tournament was almost over. The Villanova Wildcats played the Seton Hall Pirates for the Big East crown. They lost, but we already know that.

After that game, I didn’t have much faith in Villanova. I’ve seen them play down to inferior teams too often, and even though they have some “good” players, they’re not McDonald’s All-Americans. Getting bounced quickly the past three years didn’t help their cause much either until the improbable happened.

I didn’t pay much attention to Villanova besides noticing they made it through the first weekend, but then I watched them stomp Iowa and Miami before running up against Kansas. I didn’t expect them to win, but they did, and nobody saw what was coming against Oklahoma. It all got me think, is seven years long enough? Is this possible? Now here’s where things get interesting.

Everyone on the airwaves seemed high on Villanova while driving home from work Monday afternoon. I still wasn’t, but somehow, it finally made sense. I just needed to see it happen. This year was supposed to be Philly’s Shmita since winning the World Series in 2008. We were due for a “lean” sports year in our city. G-d had other plans, placing belief in our hearts. When Kris Jenkins pulled up from behind arc, I knew it was going in. I can’t tell you why or how. I just knew. It all made sense. I was overcome by a deep sense of relief, joy and gratitude. This is what makes sports so amazing. There was just something special about this day and that moment. I was yelling, fist pumping and crying all without trying to wake up my wife who didn’t stay up to witness the improbable.

I woke up Monday looking for a sign, any sign really. I had my interview for that job I was telling you about. I’ve been very conflicted about knowing if I was staying or going. I was getting interviewed by a kid that I had been teaching this school year. He wanted to know why I cared about him so much. I told him I saw a lot of myself in him. He said that sounded weird to him so he asked, “are you Jesus or something?” My simple reply, “I am” (John 8:58). Last September (2015), we entered our 70th Jubilee since the Jews entered their homeland. I didn’t understand why Marcus Paige had to hit that “miracle” shot to tie the game until I realized the true miracle was yet to come. With 74 points already on the board, Jenkins hits that three for a final score of 77. Perhaps this is why Jesus tells his disciples to forgive their brothers, “77 times” (Matt. 18:22). Maybe the Jubilee really is here. I think it is. Phil Martelli called it, and I just saw it happen. Grace and Peace be with you.

David

Dear Ray

9/8/2014
Dear Ray,

I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and I love watching you lose. Ironically, I am at a loss after the tragic unfolding of events in your life the past several months. I am not happy that the Steelers don't have to stuff you anymore, nor am I happy that you will no longer rack up fantasy points against me. I am not elated; I am disturbed. I have consciously decided to put my fandom on hold in order to examine deeper implications. I feel it is appropriate to disclose that I was so disturbed after learning of your crime that I requested your face come down in the school cafeteria where I teach. It felt like a fundamental violation of my student's trust to have someone notable smiling at them with a milk mustache, telling them to do healthy things after being caught doing an abusive thing. Your situation makes me sick. And please allow me to be clear, I said your situation, not you, makes me sick.

I also remember feeling ill back in 2000 when another former Raven left the courthouse with little assumed guilt. Do you remember him? I think his name was also Ray. I think you called him Dad. Maybe it was just an endearing term. You most certainly looked up to him. I remember hearing you guys share something in common: you both grew up without fathers. He lost his to choice. You lost yours to senselessness.

Please understand that I do not bring this information to light without purpose. You see, I think your situation is bigger than we all really know. In the simplest of terms, I believe your situation brings to light an age-old evil: The progressively blatant and destructive assault on family. It's bigger than me, you and your situation.

I believe domestic violence does need to be brought to the table. I believe it is a cancer that has plagued families since the beginning of our days. I lost a friend to domestic violence during a strange and tragic turn of events. Since then, I've always wanted to do more for the cause. Now maybe I will.

***

It must be hard to be a man in the projects. You are supposed to be leaders, but you have been made powerless. The system demands civility yet lacks opportunity. I feel your men are angry, afraid, uneducated and/or overwhelmed by circumstance. I can imagine you experienced the latter after being informed you were the man of the house before boyhood ran it's course in your life.

I want to apologize for your experiences. I don't think you should regret experiences that define you, but I am sorry you got a raw deal. I also want to apologize for all the tragic choices that were made around you, choices that left you fatherless. I'm sorry you had to learn about inequality the hard way. I'm sorry my words can not redeem any of it.

I'm sure athletics provided you an opportunity in a time and place where genuine opportunity was privileged access. I'm sure you had to fight and claw your way through grade school, taking care of your family and making a name for yourself at New Rochelle High. If you were ever going to change your circumstance you had to get noticed. Getting noticed gets you out of the projects. I hear running for over 400 yards in a game gets you noticed.

While some men come into the league by way of privilege, you did not. YOU had to make your own way. YOU had to support your family. YOU had to run the ball. It became YOU against the world. In your mind, there was no other way and I'm inclined to agree.  What real alternatives did you have? You did what you had to do not only to survive circumstance but transcend it. You had to believe you were always the best, always right, must win. And herein lies the issue: Ability and Ego largely governs the success and failure of NFL player's.

I believe your ego betrayed you.

I have a feeling it was this same functional ego that influenced you to take overly aggressive and unwarranted action against your wife, Janay. You just had to be the best, the right one, the winner that night. And now, that same necessary ego that provided you with fame and fortune  has, in an instant, taken it all away.

You had to fight to survive, and now you picked the wrong fight.

Now you are the example. The poster child for domestic violence. I believe this will lend itself to a greater tragedy. I believe this will become a limited conversation about you and men around the country who abuse women. There will be more awareness raised. New policies and procedures will be implemented at the league office. They will try to inform your former colleagues how to "respect a woman" and "control your anger." The attention and intention will be overwhelming. Unfortunately, I doubt any of it will change.

Instead of focusing our attention on the topic of domestic violence, I believe we need to refocus our attention on systemic problems that plague our underprivileged communities. We are throwing young men in jail for selling drugs while neglecting to realize this is their only viable shot at economic prosperity. We are telling young men to treat women right while failing to criticize a subversive culture that undermines the dignity, respect and honor of women. We are telling young men to be "men" while neglecting to realize that most of these men never had a man in their life to teach them how to act. We are telling young men to make an honest living while neglecting to realize that we are sending them into the workplace without the education and opportunity they need. We want our men to take pride in their communities while failing to combat a spirit of poverty that thirsts for violence, drugs, crime and prostitution.

I am hesitant to suggest what you should do next, although I have some thoughts. I hope you continue to become the husband and father Janay and your children need. When you tell your children, I hope you are a better man than you are today. I hope your influence will reach into the disadvantaged communities where the poor and fatherless need men to take a stand. I hope you demand justice and equality for these communities. I hope you demand an education that suits their needs and jobs that pay respectable wages. I hope you see the desperate need to mentor young men in these communities. I hope this becomes your legacy. We desperately need men to be men in our communities. We must embrace the fight, the struggle of manhood.

A moment has ruined your life, but I urge you to be thankful that you still have a lifetime to make it right. I'm sure Joe Pa would have gladly forfeited those 111 wins, perhaps all 409, for this same opportunity.

If you are having trouble figuring this all out I urge you to find a man to help you through this. I think the other Ray is doing ok now. Maybe you should give him a call if you haven't already. He is a man that made it back. He learned. He changed. I hope you and your family experience this same redemptive narrative.

This moment could tear your family apart. I pray you do whatever is in power to fight for your family. I think it would make your father proud.

God Bless,
David Thompson

Meme

What?
Our group chose to explore the ridiculous hilarity of Chuck Norris and his larger-than-life persona. We spent of hours of research, scouring the internet to find facts and video that supported the Meme. What we unearthed was a gold mine full of media and information that helped us compile a successful Meme video. We integrated online applications to help download videos, Garageband for voice narration and iMovie to help piece the final project together. It was certainly a very tedious project but it was another good way to incorporate various mac-based applications and many different forms of multimedia.

So What?
To me, I think what could really be taken away from this project is the value of collecting and incorporating outside sources into individual presentations. I think many of us cringe when we hear that we have to use secondary sources in a paper but I believe we do ourselves a disservice by not “doing our homework” and mastering the content that we are intended to learn. This project proves that we would have had little, quality substance in our piece if we did not include other sources.

Now What?
In the classroom I think we could really show students the value of employing quality secondary sources in their paper or projects. A project like this could be a fun, alternative way to show them the importance of including outside sources in their work. I would hope this discipline could encourage students to see the value of using secondary sources in other assignments that may be written or oral.

About Me

Well...if I had time to tell you I would. While this is intended as a joke, the truth is I am a fairly busy individual. I am a full-time student here at WCU in my Junior year. I am also employed full-time at a local hotel. I currently serve in the U.S. Army Reserve as a print and broadcast journalist. Oh yeah...I also have a “full-time” girlfriend who is my best friend and someone I love very much. She is terrific. So, if I were to have free time on my hands I would prefer to spend it outside, staying active, getting pumped up with Tony Horton, reading a book, playing music, taking photos and spending time with family and friends. Beyond the surface I must admit I see myself as somewhat of a “late bloomer” in life as I dedicated many of my formative years to irresponsibility and a spirit of apathy. I never really had a mentor, someone to look up to, growing up so I am looking to provide young people that which I never knew. I want to dedicate my life to teaching and perhaps the field of counseling as well. I have become tired of letting my life pass me by. I want to matter. I want to make a difference, perhaps “too” much at times as my present circumstance would suggest. (haha)

iMovie Trailer

What?
My partner and I chose to do a funny, yet informative trailer about the evolution of reading literature as it pertains to technology. We chose to re-tell the story of a “forbidden” love between a book and a Kindle similar to the story of Romeo and Juliet. We demonstrated how reading has evolved over time crossing many different mediums along the way. Rather than propagating a negative sentiment for e-readers (like the Kindle or Nook) we attempted to show how students can fall more in love with reading if provided with the technological advantages of digital literature. It could save paper, time and could be a more interactive experience for learners.

So What?
I think at the heart of this project is trying to provide a space for learners (including future teachers) to interact with various forms of technology and not be afraid of the domineering nature we think it can often times possess. In today’s world it may be beneficial for individuals to become technologically literate as well.

Now What?
Could you imagine a world without books? Perhaps not. But I think of how much time, space, hassle and money that could be saved if students were given texts and other classroom materials in a digital form. Forgetting a book or losing a paper would no longer be an excuse. The only excuse one would have would be their unwillingness to learn. I think this unwilling spirit could be further curved by ensuring the learning experience is interactive and meaningful.

Podcast Reflection

This West Chester Life "Budget Cuts 2012" Podcast LISTEN

What?
My group decided to do a podcast about the proposed budget cuts to education in PA for 2012. I listen to quite a bit of NPR productions so I was pretty familiar with many of the layers/elements that would go into producing one independently. I really got into this project because it pertained to an issue that I was very interested in and I enjoy constructing journalistic pieces. We had to do a little bit of digging but we quickly found some great subject matter experts and had the luck of being able to attend a rally on campus to get some quality soundbites. Compiling all of this "raw" data was quite tedious as I was looking for good soundbites from my interviews while trying to identify any common threads that would help me piece together a logical, well-constructed narrative.

So What?
I think projects like this really require students to understand and employ the conventions of narrative. How stories are told are just as, if not more important, as the stories themselves. Podcasts offer an approach to narrative storytelling that conveys depth and thoughtfulness as it requires it's creator to consider multiple dimensions beyond telling the "simple" story. If you truly understand the story you are telling every single element/layer you incorporate into a Podcast should serve a very specific purpose.

Now What?
Thinking of future students, I think this could be a very valuable resource to take into a future classroom. When I think of writing a narrative I feel people often become victims of reciting facts about a particular event rather than trying to recreate the essence of the experience for their audience. Obviously, this approach often lends itself to products that seem less than inspiring. If we can teach students to employ attributes of a thoughtful narrative I think it would go a long way. I think the Podcast assignment really asks you to step back and think about the story you are trying to tell. I think this could be a very fun and interactive assignment for students to do especially if they can do it on a topic of their choice. My only concern is for students who may not be as "tech savvy" may have a difficult time piecing together a quality product and in turn may distract from what might have otherwise been a good story to tell.

Digital Storytelling

I just finished watching a digital story called "The Gift of Nonviolence" by Dr. Leroy Moore of the University of Colorado. He shared a story about his childhood that changed his view of violence forever. He was physically abused by his father and finally decided to stand up to the violence. Dr. Moore discovered a technique that caused his father to stop beating him without employing violence in return.

My overall impressions of the video were good. I really enjoyed hearing the soft spoken, gruffy words of Dr. Moore in his old age and the music he chose to use seemed to set the mood pretty well. The only thing I didn't really care for was the pictures and text he used. The pictures were not very high quality and the text seemed plain and boring. I feel if he would have given more forethought in these two areas he could have had a much more powerful digital story.

I could certainly see the relevance of using digital storytelling in the classroom because I believe it allows students to employ or discover their own creativity in storytelling. I think in a day where curriculum often seems rigid, boring and impersonal, we have to find vehicles for students to express themselves during the learning experience. I could see something like this working really well for assignments when students must give some sort of interpretive analysis of an assigned reading. They could respond in a creative and personal way how a particular piece of literature challenged or changed them.

I do feel something like this may be a little harder to assess though. While I think most students could benefit from something like this it may not be something that all students would be comfortable doing. And if you have students that are "technologically illiterate" it would be hard to knock them for not producing a high quality presentation. But I do think a project like this could be a valid assessment in trying to gauge a student's understanding of content material. Do they understand what they just read? Do they feel the mood and tempo of the piece? Do their visuals provide a good representation? Are they making parallel observations? I think having students answer these kinds of questions can foster meaningful learning as well as allow them to draw greater parallels between classroom learning and their individual lives.