Reflections on our experience at the Village.

I believe that I did a good job of being a Community-builder, I just didn't anticipate how difficult it would be to do. I lived my plan out by being friendly and starting conversations with the residents, I was just shocked by the amount of effort they put into speaking even though I knew they could not communicate very well before we arrived. As we talked about on the bus on the way back to Orange City, it was incredibly difficult for the man in the reading room to speak one mumbled word. Watching the residents communicate with the workers I learned how much we depend on speaking to communicate and saw first hand how frustrating it is when others cannot listen to you. I was also challenged to use different forms of communication like posture and facial expressions to see what the resident was trying to communicate. One thing that was tough about this morning was watching the residents try to communicate with me. Seeing them struggle to form sentences and listening to their stories about why they cannot talk very well made all of the difficulties in my life seem small. As I talked about in my previous journal response I was hit by how much I take for granted my ability to do simple things like talk and walk. It was also very tough for me to communicate with the residents because I am used to speaking quickly with my friends and had to deliberately slow down when I responded to their questions. Though it was difficult to communicate with the residents, it was delightful to hear their stories and how they ended up at the Village. Each resident was full of happiness even when they were describing the horrible car accidents that changed their lives forever. Despite their situations they were able to find joy and I enjoyed talking to them about my own life as well.

Yesterday, I picked the community-builder knight's armor trait. I was working on using peace, encouraging, and being honest. I didn't do as well as I wanted, but as a group, I believe we still build community. I went with some of the residents well they were drawing and painting. Well, I was there the lady told us that through art the residents have a way to paint their emotions. I learned communication is really a wonderful gift. I tried talking to many of the residents and most of the time I go no response verbally. Even though some didn't respond verbally I still got lots of smiles. This morning was tough because it showed me truly how blessed I am and how I take the simple things like talking for granted. It was also a struggle because you want to do more to help the residents. It was also delightful because even though the residents have everyday struggles they are also so happy and joy-filled. Overall I really enjoyed this experience because it helped me realize my blessings.

I think I successfully lived out being a Temple - Respecter. The people were delightful, so it really wasn't that hard. I learned that communication cannot just be a one-way interaction - even if it seems like you really won't be understood, or the person doesn't verbally respond, there are still responses that you get, even if it isn't verbal. So getting a response by form of some kind of eye or hand movement in the nonverbal room was pretty cool. I always find it tough to see people not be able to do basic tasks, not that I don't love them, it can just be such a harsh reminder to me that the world really is broken, and there isn't anything that we can do to make it truly unbroken. Yes, we can help maybe mend it a bit by loving others, but it can just be such a reminder that some things are out of our control. However, it was really delightful to talk to some of the people, or even just be by their side and see how the majority of them seemed so happy. I thought it was really enlightening how many people just had smiles on their faces, especially Todd, a man that sat at my table near the end of our time, who just had a smile on his face the whole time. 

In our visit to the Village this morning, I was awed by the employees' ability to glean meaning from the residents they assisted. What came across as jabber to me was obviously a request for a puzzle, what seemed to be a spasm was clearly a reach for a cup of coffee. Communication can be built upon significantly by time spent observing the sender, and much patience is required from the receiver. I struggled in knowing how much to say or do: Would I come across as ignorant or rude if I asked a resident a question they couldn't answer? Am I going to provoke a poor reaction if I touch them? However, it was delightful to make re-connections with residents that I knew from church or volunteer work, and it really was encouraging to witness the dedication each employee had to the residents.

The Gift of Communications

The first chapter of our communications textbook refers to communication as a gift. My learning target was for students to live out communications as a gift. So yesterday, the Communications I class experienced, through role playing, what it is like to lose the ability to communicate. One student lost the gift of speech and had to communicate that she wanted to watch a ball game on television. Another could only use her eyes to communicate. to ask that her left leg be moved. The class found it difficult and frustrating to try to figure out what these people needed. They also found it frustrating to try to communicate.

They were then assigned a pre-flect to prepare us for our block schedule class the following day. We were going to travel to Sheldon to visit The Village. My deep hope for the students was that they realized the gift of communication and also saw the blessings of technology that enables folks to communicate today. So in their pre-flect, they had to come up with a game plan for our visit. I asked them to pick a Knight's Armor that they could live out and also notice how impacting  and perhaps life changing it is to  know the story of the residents. 

The visit was great. One section of students worked with souls who were non-verbal. Another group went to an art room. The room I stayed in was a reading/ conversation room. The men in there were very willing to share their stories. And we were shown the many ways workers at the Village used to assist in communication. After that we went to the break room with the residents. On our way back to school, we reflected a bit on the bus. The students enjoyed talking to the residents. One student noted that for one man to say three words it took him about two minutes. He said, "It looked like it hurt him to say a word." One girl noticed that the art work helped the residents communicate. She said, "The art work was awesome." 

On Friday, we will write a reflection, talk about our visit more, write thank-you's to the residents and workers, and discuss the blessing of communication. The learning target was to see the gift. We did that and even more.  

Flexing Summer Ideas

As summer is upon us, (everybody exhale:) I am looking at working on my English curriculum. While doing that, I'm also looking at bringing TfT elements to my co-curriculars (I've also found some dandy ideas for other teachers). One thing I'm working on is a Flex activity for the audiences of our spring production, which will be the The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Since this is based on a book, I'm looking at inviting others to bring a favorite children's book or books to the production. We always give a matinee and I was thinking that giving the area grade school children a chance to be involved would be a good thing. I don't have it all figured out yet, but the idea is to gather books to give to the Castle Hospital in Sioux Falls. Edward himself goes on quite the journey in his story and folks who are in a children's hospital are on quite a journey too. I'd like to have my cast make some sort of note for each book. And then of course, we'd deliver them. Stay tuned!

Finding FLEX in Family

For over 30 years, I have worked with Freshmen on writing Family Projects. Stemming from a love of gathering my own family story, I've put that in my curriculum. But up to this year, I have never added a FLEX activity to it. This year we are trying a FLEX. It has been a painful journey!

One part of the written Family Project is an essay of thanks. Who is one person in your family that you are thankful for?  Why? That's the premise of the paper. This essay will be mailed to the person that is the topic of the Freshmen paper. I thought it would make a lovely gift, and it certainly is a real need for real people.

Draft #1: Shallow and poor writing. It disappointed me that they took this so lightly. It was just basically fulfilling the assignment without much thought or depth. So we went back to drawing table. I showed the picture of an ice berg and applied that to their writing. We talked specifics. I outlawed the phrase "there for me". Then I asked this question--If this person were gone tomorrow, what would you have liked to have said?

My deep hope is that they dig deep. I want them to be brave enough to write what this person means to them with detail and specifics. And of course I want it to be good writing, which is isn't right now. So stay tuned. Draft #2 is up to bat tomorrow.

Building Lives Begins

Here is a taste of the beginning of our Building Lives document.

https://plus.google.com/collection/kmWLVF

Building Lives

The College Composition students will begin their journey of finding stories of folks in our community who have inspired others, sacrificed for others, or showed real servanthood. So many reporters on television or online seek out stories that inspire us. Lester Holt with Nightly News often ends with a story called "Inspiring America". A favorite of mine is "On the Road" with Steve Hartman. Mike Rowe has his own show, "Returning the Favor". All of those stories celebrate the goodness in folks. So that's what the College Composition folks are going to be doing in their own backyard. We will be adding those stories to a google plus document. If all goes well, we will certainly be building community in the deepest sense of the word.

Here's a link to the page called, Building Lives.
https://plus.google.com/collection/kmWLVF

Stay tuned as we add to this page story after story of gracious folks in our community.

Reflections on the Greatest Generation

Today the College Composition classes went to the Prairie Ridge to share their reflections from knowing the stories of Louie Zamperini and a Sioux County Veteran. I will let the student's do the talking with what they took away from knowing the story.

"I believe that getting to know the story of Louie and researching my veteran helps me to better see God's hand in other people's stories as well. These stories truly illustrate the redemption of God's people even after enduring things that feel so far from him. Knowing the story allows me to see God's Kingdom in a grander way. We all play a piece in God's story for his glory. The foot print that we leave on this earth will leave a positive, or a negative impact, its our choice if we are remembered as a kingdom seeker or not."

"Learning from the stories of each of these war heroes I am comforted and assured of my place in God's plan. Though I may feel small and insignificant at times I know that at this very moment God is crafting my story in a unique and diverse way to glorify His name above all."

"Researching my veteran gave me a greater appreciation for the people who have put so much effort into making our country what it is today. My veteran, Don Brommer, was the same age as me when he was sent to a foreign land with a gun to fight to the death for freedom and for what was right. I can't imagine going to war right now with the thought of dying. I have so much respect for all the men and women who have put their lives on the line for freedom no matter where it was. It just shows the love of God from these people who are willing to put their lives on the line for people they don't even know."

"Researching my veteran has taught me that we are to be grateful for every day God blesses us with. We need to recognize the beauty of our "normal" daily happenings, because we don't know when those will be ripped away from us. I now know that my life is extremely blessed and I savor the people, the opportunities and the memories more now than I did before."

"This teaches me that faith is valuable. I can't do anything with my own strength, but I need to rely on God. Relying on Him will be so much better than trying to do anything myself. God shows us that He has a plan for us in all circumstances. Ralph's faith was strengthened so he could go through other trials in his life and be a witness to the world of His faith. In my story, I need to learn to rely on God more for everything instead of trying to use my own strength to get through problems."

"It is out of this communal memory sharing perspective that learning both Louie's story and the story of Arie Moerman (my veteran) became important. When society says forget about that, let's live for today it is stories like Louie's that remind us that that isn't the responsible option. Stories like Louie's remind us of God's power to turn the worst of sin and transform it into something glorifying. As I find myself in God's story, it is important to remember other's stories as they connect us and open our eyes to the way God works. In my research of Arie Moerman I was continually reminded of the way God, as he did in Ruth and does to us today, gives dignity to small stories. The way God picks up all the scattered pages of our lives and through Christ binds them into a larger, greater, and new story. Our individual histories and pasts will not be forgotten but will be celebrated. In my reading of Unbroken and my research of Arie Moerman I am reminded of our responsibility and blessing to remember."

Try Try Again

When the Freshmen class finished the movie, The Boys Next Door, I invited folks into the classroom who have family members that have special needs. Jon and Kauline Groskreutz spoke about their adoption of their three special needs children, Juliana Tien spoke about having a brother with special needs and Lori Poppema spoke about her son with special needs. A common thread through all their stories was that they wanted their loved one to simply be viewed as a regular person, and that they never really were invited to do things like normal teenagers. So we decided to have an evening at Unity for them. How to do that was the tricky part. About a dozen students from Unity were excited to help along with five other staff members. We sent invitations to the public school folks, put the invite on Facebook, and personally invited others. Our initial date was for December, but due to horribly cold temperatures, we instead went with January 19. We lost some Unity students to other curricular activities, and we lost a few other folks who were going to attend due to the flu. Even though we had only five special needs folks, it was a great night. The Unity students had a great time with the guests. The staff members had a fun time doing something with each other beyond school things. And I think there were blessings all around. After our guests left, the Unity students wanted to try this again at a later date. We are plotting how to get the invitations out better.

Having Unity students take charge of this would be a goal. They have great hearts. There is great need to see folks as simply folks. We did accomplish that goal last night. Servant workers, community builders and beauty creators were busy last night. It was a joy to watch.