Past lives and present lies: Why the study of history is so important…

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It is not uncommon for students to ask: “Why are we studying about things that already happen; about people who are dead?” My answer was always: “Because we cannot fully and clearly understand the present, or minimize our mistakes in the future, unless we study the events and people of the past… The past-present-future are incapable of being separated!” And then I would go on to explain how without historical knowledge we cannot comprehend the present state of affairs in the Middle East, Africa. Asia, Europe, South or Central America, the Caribbean, or bringing it closer to home, the presence and state of Black America in the present US.

Now I love STEM, but one can never undervalue the critical need to study and know history. And for some of us who are old enough; our memories are our own personal history books. For we can hear the same dismissive arguments used against the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, word for word, that were used by those who condemned the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) protest of an earlier era: “disrupting business”, “interrupting the holiday celebration”, “inconveniencing ordinary people”. And yet for a lot of people in this nation, their daily lives are disrupted, permanently interrupted, inconvenienced beyond repair by physical, educational or economic violence against their humanity and personhood. When your life is painfully abnormal, why then should life just go on as “normal”?

CNN’s Sunny Hostin beautifully and historically links the CRM and the BLM here:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/23/us/black-lives-matter-protests/index.html

Giant Missteps…

2015 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

Perhaps I should channel Yogi Berra here; because it seems to me that 90% of getting over the hurdle is… getting over the hurdle! My takeaways from the Giants-Panthers game. Where under very stressful and challenging conditions; both teams sought out to display their most comfortable and naturally inclined personalities. And I call them: The 10 Giant ways to make sure you lose a game; this list can be easily transferred to school team-leadership work.

#1: Lose your sense of mission and purpose; or not having a sense of mission and purpose, and you have already lost the game!

#2: Act like you don’t have any sense; like you have no idea of: “Why we are here!”

#3: And even after you realize that your loss of sense is harming you and the team, don’t (“why should I”) stop!

#4: How many creative and unique ways can we muster, not to win the game; but to lose the game!

#5: No matter how wonderful your individual talents; a “team game” means: it’s a team game!

#6: An important part of “losing” is to believe that you will lose; and an important part of winning is believing that you will win!

#7: There is something to this “Jedi Mind Trick” thing; control the mind, and control the actions and behavior of your opponent!

#8: The team is only as good as the most untimely and unfortunate and unforced error by one single team member!

#9: Leadership is having to deliver a tough and unpopular word; even to the wrong behaving but enormously popular; as well as to the tremendously talented, but recklessly undisciplined members of the team!

#10: In times of great stress, challenge, setbacks and/or disappointment a person, team, or a school will revert to its most natural and true personality!