Summer and Such

"I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense."

-Harold Kushner, Rabbi and Author

Harold Kushner is about 80 years old now, and is known all over the world as a rabbi, minister, author, and theologian.  I've read two of his books: When Bad Things Happen to Good People (1980) and The Lord is my Shepherd (2003). If you haven't read either of these books, I strongly encourage you to do so. They will help you to form your belief system, if you haven't already, and they will help you ask the right questions about life. In 2003, my friend, Allison, and I had the opportunity to meet Harold Kushner in Raleigh, NC, only a few minutes from my home. He spoke at a bookstore there, answered a few questions, and signed our books, especially his newest book, The Lord is My Shepherd. Allison and I were the first people in the line to get Kushner's autograph. It was so special to see him in person and to hear his voice. He is a Jew and I am a Christian, but we have a lot in common as we seek to worship and serve the same God. His insights into scripture are very thought-provoking for those of us who place our hope in God. People are hungry to hope and meaning in life, and Kushner's books do not disappoint. The popularity of his books shows that people do care about their souls, they do care about spiritual matters, and they do want to understand their own purpose. When Bad Things Happen to Good People has been translated into many different languages and has been sold all over the world, thus demonstrating that people of all cultures experience struggles and hardships, and many are looking for peace and hope.

I realized today that summer is here! As an ESL teacher, I have one more week of work this school year, and I'm looking forward to being on a more relaxed schedule. Will I miss my students? Yes, I actually will. Will I miss leaving the house at 7:10 in the morning? Definitely not!  I've been working in the same public school for 9 years now, and I've come to genuinely care about these kids. All of the ESL students at my school are Hispanic children, so I've had the opportunity to improve my Spanish over the years as I speak with parents. Most of our children from these homes know English when they enter Kindergarten, but their parents often do not. Our job is to teach the children in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. On June 11, these students will go home for two months. I often wonder what they will do during this free time, and honestly, I worry about what they will be like in August. Will they do any reading this summer? Will they have opportunities to speak English often? Will they have enrichment opportunities such as trips or museum visits? Two of my students told me that they are going to Honduras or Mexico this summer, so I'm glad for them. Having a variety of experiences is helpful to the whole education process, but these "enrichment opportunities" may not demonstrate their usefulness on standardized tests. Still, I think the summer can be a wonderful time of learning when the families make the effort to stretch the minds of their children. At the very least,  I hope that my students are taken to their nearest public libraries every week this summer. I do hope that my students will be able to enhance their learning this summer.

This week I sent an email to William Allard, a photographer who works for National Geographic magazine. I told him that my students would like to send him some letters and he agreed to read them. One of his very emotional photographs was published in our ESL REACH textbook, and my students had some questions that they wanted to ask. The photo was published in Allard's story called "Giving Back" about a Peruvian shepherd boy. Half of the boy's sheep were killed by a careless car driver who didn't even stop and make amends. I wasn't planning to read this story with the children, but one of them, Jesus, asked why the boy in the picture was crying. I then felt like we needed to read the story. The students wrote letters and I retyped three of the best ones and sent them to Mr. Allard. Today I received a reply from him, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with the kids next week.

So, what are you reading? I'm in between books right now. I started a very, very thick book, but I'm not sure that I really want to read it. I hope I've decided on a book soon. I don't want to be in a "bookless funk" for very long. I just haven't found that magical book yet.

Have you been reading my "Next Ten" list every week? I hope you've enjoyed this feature of my blog. I know that I definitely enjoy hearing what others have read, so I hope you feel the same. Here are my next ten books that I've read since 1984:

1. Alaska by James Michenor
2. Caribbean by James Michenor
3. The Novel by James Michenor (I must like Michenor!)
4. Our Search for Identity by Marianne Micks
5. While I Was Gone by Sue Miller
6. Kingdom Principles for Church Growth by Gene Mims
7. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
8. Christmas, Present by Jacquelyn Mitchard
9. The Good, Good Pig by Sy Montgomery
10. Boone by Robert Morgan (I do love my historical books!)

I hope you have something fun to do this summer. Have a great weekend!


Melissa Hill
Blogger

Soyomayor: Grit and Perseverance Exemplified

"I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. Today is one of those experiences." -Sonia Sotomayor, Judge on the Supreme Court of the U.S.A.


Good morning and welcome to the last full week of June, 2015. Where has the time gone, and what is happening to my summer??  I've been on the road for the past nine days, traveling from Durham, NC to Lancaster, Ohio and on to Sandusky, Ohio (another 3 hours north), and then a day later departing for Georgetown, Kentucky to celebrate my mom's birthday. I calculated that we spent about 40 hours in the car during the nine days, but it was good to be able to see our extended family and our son, Benjamin, who lives in Sandusky near Lake Erie. We are so proud of Benjamin and the adult that he is becoming. After he graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, TN, he went to work at a church in Sandusky, The Chapel, and he serves as a Technical Arts Developer. His small band is also performing at some community events, and he sometimes works the sound or video-recording at weddings. So, while it was good to get away and to see family, I'm ready to get into a "summer routine" befitting an ESL teacher who doesn't teach students during the summer. It's time to tackle some of those household projects that I've been putting off and to relax a little bit.

While I was on the road I was able to finish reading the autobiography of Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World. I often choose to read a memoir because I am reminded that all of us, no matter how well-known, talented, or wealthy,  share many of the same basic needs: food, shelter, and safety, and to live a life that will somehow make a difference in the world. Stories like this one remind us that we are all a part of humanity on an equal footing, even though some of us do have extraordinary opportunities in life. Sotomayor was such a person. Born into a low-income family in Puerto Rico, her father was an alcoholic and died when she was a child. Her mother was a hard-working woman who did the best she could raising her two children with the help of Abuelita who lived nearby. Sotomayor had a very special relationship with her Abuelita, and to this day she remembers the wisdom and encouragement that she received from this amazing woman. I think Sotomayor would say that Abuelita helped to mold her into the Supreme Court judge that she is today. Although Sotomayor spent a great deal of her childhood living in a Bronx housing project and her father was absent, these events seemed to make her a strong, independent person who wasn't easily shaken. When she developed juvenile diabetes she again learned these lessons as she had to administer daily injections to herself and track everything that she ate. These medical issues added to her resilience as she went to college and beyond, and as she worked in the New York County District Attorney's office, entered private law practice, and became a Supreme Court judge as nominated by President Obama. 

Sotomayor was the valedictorian of her high school class, and she received high honors at Princeton and Yale Law School. She is an advocate for affirmative action and is thankful for the opportunities that it gave her.  She made the most of every opportunity that she had, and it sometimes took its toll on her private life. Having gotten married right after college, her married ended five years later, largely due to the fact that she was rarely at home. She and her husband drifted apart. As I was reading this memoir, I was reminded that I have also read a memoir of another Supreme Court judge, Sandra Day O'Connor. I read her book, Lazy B: Growing up on a cattle ranch in the American Southwest, a few years ago. Although the upbringing and heritage of these women was different, they both demonstrate the qualities of grit and determination, and they always had very high standards for themselves. I think you might enjoy reading O'Connor's book as well.

So, what am I going to read next? I'd like to read another of David McCullough's books such as The Wright Brothers or The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm on a waiting list to get each of these from the public library. I always enjoy McCullough's books. He seems to be a very good storyteller, and since I am so interested in history, he is my "go to" historical writer. If you've read either of these books by McCullough, I'd be interested in knowing what you thought of them.

I'd like to digress just a little bit and mention three books that I've enjoyed in the past year. Three of the best novels that I've read during this time are The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. While I do tend to read a lot of memoirs and historical books, I do enjoy great historical novels too. I recommend these three novels if this is a genre that you enjoy.

Here are the next ten books that I've read since 1984:

1. Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
2. The Truest Pleasure by Robert Morgan
3. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortesson and David Oliver Relin
4. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley
5. Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss  (makes you think before you eat!)
6. Biblical Ethics and Social Change by Stephen Charles Mott
7. Fooling With Words by Bill Moyers
8. Dewey: The Small-town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
9. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
10. The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Comments? Let me know your thoughts, and have a wonderful Monday.

-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger