It's always good to bring another college course to a close. Add the credits earned to the tally and take just a few more steps closer to the end goal of graduating with your degree of choice. And so it is with this course, One World:Many People, which by the way is so perfectly titled.
Now that the course has reached it's conclusion it is also the appropriate time to list the text books back online to sell to the next student. Ahhh...there lies the problem for me. It is difficult to part with books, even of the text book sort, and especially the texts associated with this class.
What if I want to revisit some of the interesting information from the past several weeks? There may be something that catches my eye within the news, in the newspaper, or online that I may want more foundational information about to be sure I understand it. What if I want to grab a quick reference to locate a part of the world that has made headlines? Hhhhmmm.....sell or don't sell?
The chapter on migration was especially interesting and personally relateable for me. I really hadn't thought about specific reasons behind such migrating factors and patterns such as the economic and cultural push and pull factors. But it made so much sense! And a few weeks later when we explored the similarities and differences of a few religious cultures I was able to connect the journey and challenges of some of these cultures in relation to whether migration may have played a role in the strength and viability of the culture's customs.
I also learned a great deal in a short amount of time from the Readings Projects that were completed. Such a wide variety of topics were covered, and through the discussion board I was challenged as I offered my thoughts and as I was introduced to other ways of looking at a topic by my fellow classmates. You might say my horizons were widen.
So will I sell? I don't know.....not right away for sure. I believe it will be good to have the books handy for at least the next several weeks. I'm a processor.....so I'll be processing this class over and over in my head for at least the next few weeks. My mind will wonder, while I'm at work, on to one of our topics of study and I'll want to flip a few pages when I get home to substantiate or gain a reference point. Yes...I think this one is a "not sell"....at least for awhile.
Thanks for the journey,
~~Teresa~~
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Mapping the Family Vacation
So it's finally here. The annual family road trip. Bags packed....check! Kids buckled in the car....check! Rand McNally's Road Atlas in the hands of the front seat passenger.....you know, the big one with each state, complete with detailed interstate and highway routes, all pertinent pages dog-eared and the complete vacation route highlighted with each planned stop along the way circled.....check! Whoaaaa....wait...what decade is this?
Yes, that's how we found our way around the country when mom and dad piled us in the family wagon for next summer adventure. I don't think there was a family in our county that didn't have at least one copy of the newest Rand McNally Road Atlas in their car.
Knowing how to read and navigate these maps was such a way of life when I was growing up in the 1960's and 1970's that we studied mapping in school. In fact, I recall the Iowa Basic Skills Tests as devoting an entire section to testing our map reading skills! We had to be able to locate areas on the map, compute distances between to given points using the scale from the corner of the page, and identify the difference between highways, county roads and undeveloped roads.
Today is another story. There are several options available to help us get from here to there. Web based services such as MapQuest or Rand McNally now allow you to input your starting point and destination point, as well as any stops you'd like to make along the way, and within a few moments a fully detailed driving route complete with mileage and estimated driving times is available to print out and take with you.
Another, and most popular mode of destination location is the GPS. What a miracle! Not only does it find where you want to go and map out how to get there, it SPEAKS to you and is not shy to tell you when you blew it and need to TURN AROUND....or "make a U-turn as soon as possible"! It's just like having my mother in the passenger seat with the atlas in her lap!
I loved my family road trips.....even with sisters squished so close in the back seat that we repeatedly informed our parents "she's touching me" over and over and over! I loved it when mom would pass the atlas back and we worked to try to determine exactly where on which highway we were, or calculated how much longer we'd be in the car until our next stop by using the distance scale from the corner of the page. But I now know my parents loved it even more when our heads were buried in the atlas!
Stop by again sometime!
~~Teresa~~
Yes, that's how we found our way around the country when mom and dad piled us in the family wagon for next summer adventure. I don't think there was a family in our county that didn't have at least one copy of the newest Rand McNally Road Atlas in their car.
Knowing how to read and navigate these maps was such a way of life when I was growing up in the 1960's and 1970's that we studied mapping in school. In fact, I recall the Iowa Basic Skills Tests as devoting an entire section to testing our map reading skills! We had to be able to locate areas on the map, compute distances between to given points using the scale from the corner of the page, and identify the difference between highways, county roads and undeveloped roads.
Today is another story. There are several options available to help us get from here to there. Web based services such as MapQuest or Rand McNally now allow you to input your starting point and destination point, as well as any stops you'd like to make along the way, and within a few moments a fully detailed driving route complete with mileage and estimated driving times is available to print out and take with you.
Another, and most popular mode of destination location is the GPS. What a miracle! Not only does it find where you want to go and map out how to get there, it SPEAKS to you and is not shy to tell you when you blew it and need to TURN AROUND....or "make a U-turn as soon as possible"! It's just like having my mother in the passenger seat with the atlas in her lap!
I loved my family road trips.....even with sisters squished so close in the back seat that we repeatedly informed our parents "she's touching me" over and over and over! I loved it when mom would pass the atlas back and we worked to try to determine exactly where on which highway we were, or calculated how much longer we'd be in the car until our next stop by using the distance scale from the corner of the page. But I now know my parents loved it even more when our heads were buried in the atlas!
Stop by again sometime!
~~Teresa~~
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Faith Journeys.....
The Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca has remained in my brain for several days. I am moved by the power of such a gathering centered around a single purpose, and the impact it can have on individual lives.
I have seen similar transformations, although on a lesser scale than the Hajj, impactful nonetheless. I worked for 12 years in youth ministry with middle and high school youth. One of the most powerful aspects of our ministry were their Confirmation retreats. We did things a little differently in that we spread their Confirmation out over 6 years, 5th - 10th grades. We actually called this their Confirmation Journey.
As an element of their Confirmation Journey, each year there was an overnight retreat for each grade level. Yes, I planned and implemented 6 overnight retreats every year just for Confirmation. (That doesn't include the other trips and retreats with specific themes!) But the most important thing to realize is that the kids ATTENDED an overnight retreat at least once a year for 6 years. At least once a year, they gave up a weekend of friends, sports, work, dates, computers, cell phones, etc. to get away from the things that pull at them and influence them in their daily lives, and focus on their own personal journey with Christ.
You may be wondering what's the big deal. Kids spending the night away at a retreat once a year. But each year, each retreat produced something significant within the group or maybe even just within an individual or two. But this something significant was not anything you can plan. It's the product of the right kid, in the right place, with the right people around them, discovering something about themselves and their personal faith journey. This is a weekend where are no jocks, nerds, populars and un-populars. They are just christian kids who share the same faith. Now, this wasn't a miracle program. They are teenagers and they didn't just walk through the door and shed all the things that make them different. But they came having been prepared to know they were in similar company of faith, and that this is a safe place to live out your faith and also question your faith, together.
One year an 8th grade boy went home and told his mom he thought maybe he was supposed to be a pastor. A young lady from group went on to graduate from a Lutheran college where she studied theology, met her husband, and now they are both in seminary.
But those aren't the only stories.....the most exciting stories are the young person who taught his family to pray together; or the whole class who continued to get together once a month to volunteer. These are people who took a short pilgrimage, gave up things that were important to them to participate, and allowed themselves to grow in their faith and explore what that means in their daily life.
These are things that you sometimes can't see in a Sunday morning classroom setting. It takes the retreat....the pilgrimage if you will. Obviously the Muslim people know the significance of such a pilgrimage.
Amen!
~~Teresa~~
I have seen similar transformations, although on a lesser scale than the Hajj, impactful nonetheless. I worked for 12 years in youth ministry with middle and high school youth. One of the most powerful aspects of our ministry were their Confirmation retreats. We did things a little differently in that we spread their Confirmation out over 6 years, 5th - 10th grades. We actually called this their Confirmation Journey.
As an element of their Confirmation Journey, each year there was an overnight retreat for each grade level. Yes, I planned and implemented 6 overnight retreats every year just for Confirmation. (That doesn't include the other trips and retreats with specific themes!) But the most important thing to realize is that the kids ATTENDED an overnight retreat at least once a year for 6 years. At least once a year, they gave up a weekend of friends, sports, work, dates, computers, cell phones, etc. to get away from the things that pull at them and influence them in their daily lives, and focus on their own personal journey with Christ.
You may be wondering what's the big deal. Kids spending the night away at a retreat once a year. But each year, each retreat produced something significant within the group or maybe even just within an individual or two. But this something significant was not anything you can plan. It's the product of the right kid, in the right place, with the right people around them, discovering something about themselves and their personal faith journey. This is a weekend where are no jocks, nerds, populars and un-populars. They are just christian kids who share the same faith. Now, this wasn't a miracle program. They are teenagers and they didn't just walk through the door and shed all the things that make them different. But they came having been prepared to know they were in similar company of faith, and that this is a safe place to live out your faith and also question your faith, together.
One year an 8th grade boy went home and told his mom he thought maybe he was supposed to be a pastor. A young lady from group went on to graduate from a Lutheran college where she studied theology, met her husband, and now they are both in seminary.
But those aren't the only stories.....the most exciting stories are the young person who taught his family to pray together; or the whole class who continued to get together once a month to volunteer. These are people who took a short pilgrimage, gave up things that were important to them to participate, and allowed themselves to grow in their faith and explore what that means in their daily life.
These are things that you sometimes can't see in a Sunday morning classroom setting. It takes the retreat....the pilgrimage if you will. Obviously the Muslim people know the significance of such a pilgrimage.
Amen!
~~Teresa~~
4348 Miles to Worship
I've had this story on my mind for a couple of weeks and just hadn't taken the time to write it out.....so hear it is.
About 15 years ago I joined my husband in London for the last week of a month long business trip. I was so excited as I my travel experiences have been limited, especially out of the country. There was so much I wanted to experience in such a short amount of time. Since my husband had been in Europe for 3 weeks already, he felt pretty acclimated and ready to show me around.
I arrived on a weekend and one of the first things we chose to do was experience a worship service in England. We knew there were large and famous churches we could easily attend, but we found that there was a small church within walking distance of our hotel with a Sunday evening service. PERFECT! We were so excited. What an experience this would be. Our first opportunity to worship God with people 4348 miles from home!
As we strolled from our hotel in the cool evening air, just the walk was an experience as we were following directions given to us by the hotel staff. The church was beautiful as we approached it. It's old and historic look from a block away was totally London! Did I mention how excited I was?
As we entered the church we were greeted by Londoners with that wonderful English accent that makes every word sound musical. We found a seat in a pew that allowed us to take in all visual aspects of the room. We didn't want to miss anything when it came to this worship experience. We anticipated the music, the liturgy, the sermon by a London pastor! What would his message be about? How would he address his congregation? Would it be based on scripture and bible readings? Would it be contemporary and address an issue of today's world? And to hear the words in that beautiful English accent and dialect. We were so ready!
And then it begins. A couple of beautiful traditional hymns......and then the Pastor began to speak. Wait....where's the English accent? What did he just say? Thank you? And that he's honored and excited to be visiting from where? Yep.....we traveled 4348 miles from Omaha, Nebraska to a beautiful church in London, England to hear a very nice pastor from TOPEKA, KANSAS! True story! It was a very nice service and great message....and the pastor was SO excited to greet us after the service when he realized his "neighbors" had come to see him!
Check in again soon!
~~Teresa~~
About 15 years ago I joined my husband in London for the last week of a month long business trip. I was so excited as I my travel experiences have been limited, especially out of the country. There was so much I wanted to experience in such a short amount of time. Since my husband had been in Europe for 3 weeks already, he felt pretty acclimated and ready to show me around.
I arrived on a weekend and one of the first things we chose to do was experience a worship service in England. We knew there were large and famous churches we could easily attend, but we found that there was a small church within walking distance of our hotel with a Sunday evening service. PERFECT! We were so excited. What an experience this would be. Our first opportunity to worship God with people 4348 miles from home!
As we strolled from our hotel in the cool evening air, just the walk was an experience as we were following directions given to us by the hotel staff. The church was beautiful as we approached it. It's old and historic look from a block away was totally London! Did I mention how excited I was?
As we entered the church we were greeted by Londoners with that wonderful English accent that makes every word sound musical. We found a seat in a pew that allowed us to take in all visual aspects of the room. We didn't want to miss anything when it came to this worship experience. We anticipated the music, the liturgy, the sermon by a London pastor! What would his message be about? How would he address his congregation? Would it be based on scripture and bible readings? Would it be contemporary and address an issue of today's world? And to hear the words in that beautiful English accent and dialect. We were so ready!
And then it begins. A couple of beautiful traditional hymns......and then the Pastor began to speak. Wait....where's the English accent? What did he just say? Thank you? And that he's honored and excited to be visiting from where? Yep.....we traveled 4348 miles from Omaha, Nebraska to a beautiful church in London, England to hear a very nice pastor from TOPEKA, KANSAS! True story! It was a very nice service and great message....and the pastor was SO excited to greet us after the service when he realized his "neighbors" had come to see him!
Check in again soon!
~~Teresa~~
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A Personal Story of Migration: No, You Can't Make this Stuff Up!
My great-great-grandfather migrated from Ireland as a young man. He had little money, absolutely no status in Ireland as he was a farm hand, and came over with only a few belongings as well as the pregnant daughter of the wealthy farmer he worked for. I guess you could say the angry father of the pregnant woman, as well as the embarrassment from her social community, was their push factor. I recall how much fun we had begging our grandmother to tell us this story of her grandparents international immigration over and over again!
No, you can't make this stuff up, but as much as we enjoyed the story, and how brave and romantic it sounded, our grandmother was always determined to be sure we understood the hard times her grandparents endured by making this choice. They left behind family that they would never see again, stepped off the ship weary and un-bathed on to new ground without any home or job to go to . From there they began to build a new life with responsibilities for not only themselves but for the child they delivered just a few months later, my great-grandfather.
Apparently it took some time for them to be accepted in their new home. Although he was a great worker, my great-great-grandfather's skills were that of a lower class laborer. The work he found was hard, long, and of little wage. Great-great-grandmother was not accustom to the lower class living and had to work also. She took in laundry for others to help. So not only was there a real change in their living conditions, but also their lifestyle and in her social standing.
They continued to work hard, raise their family, and contribute to a new chain of United States citizens who have, over the generations, migrated to the Midwest and remained. Over the generations, what began as a story of shame and flight has become a story of bravery and adventure. It is fun to tell and re-tell, but I think we must be careful that we don't water it down over the years as it is shared. My family's Irish blood becomes genetically thinner throughout the generations, but we can keep the stories of our origins thick with accurate storytelling to new generations.
Thanks for stopping by...
~~Teresa~~
My great-great-grandfather migrated from Ireland as a young man. He had little money, absolutely no status in Ireland as he was a farm hand, and came over with only a few belongings as well as the pregnant daughter of the wealthy farmer he worked for. I guess you could say the angry father of the pregnant woman, as well as the embarrassment from her social community, was their push factor. I recall how much fun we had begging our grandmother to tell us this story of her grandparents international immigration over and over again!
No, you can't make this stuff up, but as much as we enjoyed the story, and how brave and romantic it sounded, our grandmother was always determined to be sure we understood the hard times her grandparents endured by making this choice. They left behind family that they would never see again, stepped off the ship weary and un-bathed on to new ground without any home or job to go to . From there they began to build a new life with responsibilities for not only themselves but for the child they delivered just a few months later, my great-grandfather.
Apparently it took some time for them to be accepted in their new home. Although he was a great worker, my great-great-grandfather's skills were that of a lower class laborer. The work he found was hard, long, and of little wage. Great-great-grandmother was not accustom to the lower class living and had to work also. She took in laundry for others to help. So not only was there a real change in their living conditions, but also their lifestyle and in her social standing.
They continued to work hard, raise their family, and contribute to a new chain of United States citizens who have, over the generations, migrated to the Midwest and remained. Over the generations, what began as a story of shame and flight has become a story of bravery and adventure. It is fun to tell and re-tell, but I think we must be careful that we don't water it down over the years as it is shared. My family's Irish blood becomes genetically thinner throughout the generations, but we can keep the stories of our origins thick with accurate storytelling to new generations.
Thanks for stopping by...
~~Teresa~~
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Hello all! This is my first blogging experience. It is actually something I've wanted to do, but just hadn't attempted. So, I welcome it and look at it as a "bonus" learning experience.
I am enjoying this course thus far. One World: Many People intrigued me as a course topic and I don't think I'm going to be disappointed. I don't think it will be particularly easy, but then what would be the challenge in that? I've been out of school for....well...let's just say "awhile" now. So re-establishing study habits and skills is a challenge, as well as balancing it with work and home. But the rewards will be worth the work and late nights!
A geography class...at my age? I probably need it more than anyone I know. First of all, I'm geographically challenged. I haven't traveled much and stay pretty close to home. I'm aware of what's going on in the world, but I find it's easy to not get too intellectually involved. I'm not saying that's how I like it, or how I really want to be, but over the years of focusing on family and children I suppose I've allowed myself to isolate and let others concern themselves with global matters.
After scanning the coursework and reading materials I find myself getting excited as to what I may discover and learn. I am particularly interested in the chapter on Political Geography. So many things have taken place in the world over the last 30 years and how the geographic location of people define the freedoms they have or don't have is sometimes scary. Why is it necessary for our world to be so different in our governments? Is it right that 2 babies, born on the same day on opposite sides of the world would not be allowed the same rights and freedoms?
The chapter on Religion will also be fascinating. People's beliefs are something many would die for. Won't it be interesting to learn more about those beliefs? Why they have such a hold on people? How they differ and how they may be the same as our own?
As you can see I have a lot of questions. I look forward to discovering a few the answers together!
Thanks for checking in!
~~Teresa~~
I am enjoying this course thus far. One World: Many People intrigued me as a course topic and I don't think I'm going to be disappointed. I don't think it will be particularly easy, but then what would be the challenge in that? I've been out of school for....well...let's just say "awhile" now. So re-establishing study habits and skills is a challenge, as well as balancing it with work and home. But the rewards will be worth the work and late nights!
A geography class...at my age? I probably need it more than anyone I know. First of all, I'm geographically challenged. I haven't traveled much and stay pretty close to home. I'm aware of what's going on in the world, but I find it's easy to not get too intellectually involved. I'm not saying that's how I like it, or how I really want to be, but over the years of focusing on family and children I suppose I've allowed myself to isolate and let others concern themselves with global matters.
After scanning the coursework and reading materials I find myself getting excited as to what I may discover and learn. I am particularly interested in the chapter on Political Geography. So many things have taken place in the world over the last 30 years and how the geographic location of people define the freedoms they have or don't have is sometimes scary. Why is it necessary for our world to be so different in our governments? Is it right that 2 babies, born on the same day on opposite sides of the world would not be allowed the same rights and freedoms?
The chapter on Religion will also be fascinating. People's beliefs are something many would die for. Won't it be interesting to learn more about those beliefs? Why they have such a hold on people? How they differ and how they may be the same as our own?
As you can see I have a lot of questions. I look forward to discovering a few the answers together!
Thanks for checking in!
~~Teresa~~
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