You Will Be Found

Dear Teachers,

I like the sound of rain on the roof. The steady patter is comforting and timely. (I reseeded a bit of lawn and it needs the rain.) There is also a hint of fall in the cool air this late August morning. The light is changing and so are the seasons. It’s like a signal to Jeanette and all the other teachers I know. She has been working on and off in her classroom for a couple weeks, but now she gets that look in her eye when she thinks about her new kindergarten students. Already she is out looking for monarch caterpillars to bring to school, and this year she decided an old cast iron bathtub filled with pillows and blankets will provide a perfect spot for reading in her classroom. Jeanette knows that one of her major goals – maybe the most important – is to help these little people learn to love what happens at school. To learn the skills necessary to engage in the life of the intellect, but also to learn the social skills necessary to build supportive communities. To find a place that feels safe and caring. I have come to marvel at the unique challenges of her work. Just yesterday she was discussing with a fellow teacher the strategies she had to employ to get one of her students to overcome her fear of the noisy self- flushing toilet at school so she could use the bathroom! I know you are busy preparing, but permit me to make a few observations about the start of this new school year.

I hope you will forgive me if I state what seems to be obvious to you. As I’ve grown older, I’m sometimes surprised by what I didn’t see before. As some of you know, I am a believer in the power of storytelling. As a narrative species we spend much of our time sharing our experiences through stories. In the hands of a good playwright, a story can be used to help us better understand our lives and the world around us. The Theatre can be a place of powerful learning. Recently I had the good fortune – thanks to Jeanette – to attend a performance of a Broadway musical called Dear Evan Hansen. In a nutshell it is the story of a socially awkward teenager and his single mother trying to find some sense of purpose and satisfaction in these complicated times. I have known students like Evan Hansen – thoughtful, generous, shy, awkward – who can’t seem to find a place to fit in. He also loves his mom and doesn’t want her to worry.  I could identify with Heidi, Evan’s mother, trying to encourage her son to see beyond his limits. When she sings, “Does anybody really know how the hell to do this?” I could only smile and shake my head recalling my own confusion about parenting.  And if the reaction of the audience was any guide, many others felt the same way. Here’s the thing.  At the heart of this beautiful piece of theatre is the old, old truth we often talk about but have so much trouble applying – empathy and compassion are the most important emotions in our society. How do we see the world through another’s eyes and how do we help one another? How do we help our children develop these essential skills? Of course we want our children to read, write, and calculate, but we need them to know how much we need each other.  And this is where your job gets complicated and essential, especially in a world that is struggling to understand the impact of the “gadgets” that surround us. So while we continue to debate about subject matter, I will leave it to you to look into our kids eyes and help them find their place in our world. Help them learn to read and write, but never forget the power you have to comfort and inspire. And by all means, see Dear Evan Hansen.

Have a good year.

A poem:

The New Criticism

My stepdaughter
says I’m boring.
“Everything you say
is boring and like
so seventies.” Her mother
says I’m wonderful, though.
“She’s being fresh. Don’t
listen to her,” she says.
But I can’t help listening
because I want to be
fresh and not boring,
and I want to say ‘like’
like my stepdaughter
because everything
is like something, not
exactly but sort of.
And she’s so contemporary
and provocative and like
alive. She knows all the new
neologisms and would
never use neologism
in a poem. Like ever.

………..Paul Hostovsky

The fault, Dear Brutus...

I recently watched the Charlie Rose interview with Senator Ben Sasse from Nebraska. I have always enjoyed Charlie Rose because he is a well-informed, professional journalist. I have been aware of Senator Sasse for a while now because he recognized how totally incompetent Trump was as a leader and the danger he presented for America and the Republican Party. I have not had the chance to read his book yet, save for a few extended excerpts. But after listening to him discuss the book, I suspect I have read others like it. (Bowling Alone comes to mind.)  And although he rightfully criticizes the current leader of his Party, he seems to argue the same old ideas.

Ben Sasse appears to be a very nice man. He grew up in a small town in Nebraska and studied his way into Harvard. His Christian faith influences his life, he has a traditional family and seems to love his children.  He appears to understand that our communities work better when everyone works together. He does not appear to be a liar, a braggart, a misogynist, a con man, or any of the other things some might see as flaws. He recognizes that education is vital for our success. He reminds me of Barack Obama in that way. Articulate, self-effacing, intelligent and decent.  He is genuinely curious about our society and recognizes that thoughtful discussion by well-informed citizens is necessary for that society to work. For many, it is a relief to hear a “far right conservative” – his words - that sounds reasonable and well informed.  Unfortunately, sounding reasonable in defense of lousy policies is still a problem. While Mr. Sasse has criticized Trump for his incompetence and poor character, he has voted to support 95% of Trump’s agenda. So while I’m glad that Mr. Sasse is not a narcissistic fool like Trump, I worry that he supports an agenda that the majority of American voters – by 3 million votes – do not support. Still, he does discuss some important issues related to the current turmoil in America.

It is clear that Mr. Sasse worries that America is losing its sense of community. He recognizes that society works better when people are bound together by a belief in basic values.  The challenge for America – and everyone else for that matter - has always been how we decide what those values are and how we behave as a result. Of course, none of this is new. The issues that the Senator raises have been discussed for decades, centuries in some cases. Who hasn’t heard complaints about young people going to hell in a hand basket? That does not mean the discussion isn’t important. It just means we need to put this in perspective. As a kid who grew up on a small farm in rural Wisconsin, who went on to college to become a high school English teacher, and who raised his family in a small, rural community, I think I can identify with the concerns Mr. Sasse discusses.

As I said, I have not read the Senator’s entire book, but from his interview with Charlie Rose he suggests that we are not raising children who are resilient enough. Kids today give up too easily and parents protect them from the consequences of their behavior. Again, none of this is new. I grew up in the ‘60s when Republicans breyed about the “long haired hippie freaks” ruining the country. “Those Commie loving parents who didn’t know how to discipline their children.”  Mr. Sasse is not wrong to suggest kids need to learn responsibility and determination, he just oversimplifies it. It’s nice to know his upbringing in rural Nebraska was beneficial because he had “chores” to do on the farm, but without understanding all the other social benefits he accrued from the community he lived in, you can’t draw many conclusions. Nor can you simply blame parents for not doing the right things. After 40 years of parent-teacher conferences, I can assure you the vast majority want their children to be successful and responsible. They genuinely want to provide the best opportunities and experiences for their children. What they don’t often realize is how the dismantling of our social support systems has made life for average citizens much more difficult. And please understand, I am not suggesting that Mr. Sasse doesn’t know all this. I am suggesting that his ignoring it is telling. Mr. Sasse knows there is a careful balance that parents need to provide if they want their children to prosper. He had the enormous good fortune to live in a family and a community with the resources to give him that chance. Many, many families are not as fortunate, especially today. Without the support and guidance of the social and cultural networks that surround us, many families find themselves struggling. Unfortunately, it is the very policies and programs Senator Sasse supports that have helped dismantle our social safety net. The unfettered “free market” system Mr. Sasse supports has led us to the worst economic inequality since the Great Depression and nearly created a second depression. Families are much stronger if they have the resources to meet their needs. I’m afraid Mr. Sasse is making things harder for average parents and children.

It was also interesting to hear Mr. Sasse talk about the break down in the “belief set” that supports our society. He says we have developed “collective amnesia” concerning our group understanding of rights and responsibilities. Who can argue with that? Look at what happened in Charlottesville!  We have argued for generations about what “real” Americans value and I’m glad Mr. Sasse recognizes that Trump does not have the values of most Americans. Again, however, the devil is in the details. The founders of the American Dream recognized the need to develop a social fabric that would knit various people together. An institution where all Americans would come together to learn about the world and each other. An institution that welcomed ALL citizens regardless of religious beliefs and, later, ethnicity. This great American institution is the public school. How ironic that Mr. Sasse would lament the loss of our collective memory and experience while supporting policies that disrupt public education. More ironic is the reality that Mr. Sasse clearly got a good education at his local public high school, yet seems to suggest public schools are failing. Again, it’s not that simple and Mr. Sasse knows it. He can take real pride in his personal achievements, but he also knows he is enormously fortunate. The vast majority of average American kids are getting an excellent education in their public schools despite the constant banter about their “failure”. We just need visionary representatives who know the value of our schools and provide the resources they need. Here in Wisconsin we have moved backward, cutting more than $1 billion – that’s billion with a B – from our state schools. Every teacher I know works hard to find new and meaningful ways to reach kids. They search for ways to help our children better understand our American society. It is very difficult to listen to a guy who used the public system to get ahead, then home schooled his children, and now wants to limit the role of public schools. (For the record, if I hear another Republican tell me he is giving schools more “tools” and more “options” by cutting budgets, I will scream.) On the philosophical side, it seems Mr. Sasse is channeling Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind and E.D. Hirsch’s Cultural Literacy when he suggests our schools are not doing the right things. I’m sorry, but this is the same conservative argument that has been around forever. Grumpy white men who didn’t have fun in the ‘60s want you to read other grumpy white men from the past. Don’t get me wrong. As a former English teacher I am thrilled that Mr. Sasse and Melissa, his wife, urge kids to be voracious readers. And while I appreciate the reading list Mr. Sasse provides, I know my list would be different. I also know the value of reading is only enhanced by the thoughtful and insightful discussion provided by a diverse classroom and a skilled teacher. If Mr. Sasse really wants to promote the common beliefs that bring our communities closer, he would do all he can to support our public schools.

I am happy that Ben Sasse is concerned about the state of our society. I am thrilled that he recognizes the danger Trump presents to our democracy. I rejoice that he urges young people to read and be informed. Now, he must recognize that those things are not enough. He needs to use his position as a public servant to craft public policies that promote the values he espouses. It does little good to criticize the bumbling Trump when he insults minorities to then support policies which suppress voters and deny rights. It does little good to wax poetic about the American Dream and then tell LGBTQ people that they are “damaged” and don’t deserve equal rights. I believe Senator Sasse has made some thoughtful observations about our society. I hope he will continue to call out those who fail to live up to our shared American values, especially in his own party. Finally, I hope he will come to see how his role as a public servant requires him to include all American citizens. In that way we can all look to a brighter future.