Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
A tale of two classrooms
Classroom 1: A private Christian preschool in Arlington, Virginia
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Classroom 2: A public preschool in Bartlett, IL
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Interesting passage from the book "Just Another Mzungu Passing Through" by
When a white man goes to Africa, he often arrives with big plans. He wants to make a difference, to do his bit for the developing world and its people, so that there is at least one thing he can look back on with a degree of pride. When he lies on his deathbed as an old man he can know that despite everything else he has done, he had value then.
He arrives with innocent eyes, knowing for a fact that all men are equal and should be treated the same. That a good deed will generate another in return and that a hand offered in friendship will be reciprocated. He knows what he is read is biased when it is critical of his poverty-stricken brother but truthful when it glorifies their efforts in adversity. He knows he will have an uncanny affinity with the poor because after all hasn’t a he always felt strangely out of place n his safe middle class home in the west?
For a time he manages to ignore the potholed roads and piles of putrid garbage. He smiles at the street boys and stoned beggars and gives them a little change. This is not wrong he tells himself despite the sneaking suspicion that they will spend it on glue and now the warm and wholesome food he intends. His heart is true and so it’s worth a few shillings and hassle.
He will probably get dysentery and salmonella and then spend countless hours on the toilet cursing the damn place, but he will love it more as a result. He will drink is diralite and sip his flat Coca-Cola to replenish the salts and sugars and when he recovers will go back to buying the corn from the barbecue of the corner and he will smile as the vendor turns the cob with his dirty fingers and fans it with a ratty piece of cardboard picked up from the dump behind him. This is the real African experience. An upset stomach is a passing thing and it takes time to get used to the local germs. An African would get ill too as he adjusted to life in the UK.
He will purchase food from the duka on the roadside like an African. He will visit the poorest housing areas on weekend, sharing ugali and sickly sweet tea in someone’s tiny tin home. he will smile when he is called a man of the people by his hosts and he will be delighted when he is told that they truly value him as a Rafiki (friend) and that they hardly notice the color of the skin is wearing for he understands them, and they him.
He might show how and how African he can be by sharing nyomachoma on Friday night, sipping warm Tusker beside the smoky barbecue with the village elders. He will chew miraa with the youngsters as he wanders with them in the bush wearing just a kanga around his waist...
But at some point during the game Africa will grab him by the throat and offer him a choice that will define him for the rest of his life. It will lay bare his posing and posturing and may point him out as a phony and make it all too clear that he’s just another mzungu passing through. A prince playing a pauper for kicks.
Perhaps something dramatic will happen or maybe he will simply wake up one day with a strange feeling and he will decide he’s had enough of the game and will make the call book the flight and use the return strip of this ticket and fly home at the shortest notice, leaving Africa to the Africans and to the next hopeful white man with fresh an innocent eyes, and not his now cynical ones.
And in his soul he will know that he’s let Africa down just as the west has been doing for decades.
He arrives with innocent eyes, knowing for a fact that all men are equal and should be treated the same. That a good deed will generate another in return and that a hand offered in friendship will be reciprocated. He knows what he is read is biased when it is critical of his poverty-stricken brother but truthful when it glorifies their efforts in adversity. He knows he will have an uncanny affinity with the poor because after all hasn’t a he always felt strangely out of place n his safe middle class home in the west?
For a time he manages to ignore the potholed roads and piles of putrid garbage. He smiles at the street boys and stoned beggars and gives them a little change. This is not wrong he tells himself despite the sneaking suspicion that they will spend it on glue and now the warm and wholesome food he intends. His heart is true and so it’s worth a few shillings and hassle.
He will probably get dysentery and salmonella and then spend countless hours on the toilet cursing the damn place, but he will love it more as a result. He will drink is diralite and sip his flat Coca-Cola to replenish the salts and sugars and when he recovers will go back to buying the corn from the barbecue of the corner and he will smile as the vendor turns the cob with his dirty fingers and fans it with a ratty piece of cardboard picked up from the dump behind him. This is the real African experience. An upset stomach is a passing thing and it takes time to get used to the local germs. An African would get ill too as he adjusted to life in the UK.
He will purchase food from the duka on the roadside like an African. He will visit the poorest housing areas on weekend, sharing ugali and sickly sweet tea in someone’s tiny tin home. he will smile when he is called a man of the people by his hosts and he will be delighted when he is told that they truly value him as a Rafiki (friend) and that they hardly notice the color of the skin is wearing for he understands them, and they him.
He might show how and how African he can be by sharing nyomachoma on Friday night, sipping warm Tusker beside the smoky barbecue with the village elders. He will chew miraa with the youngsters as he wanders with them in the bush wearing just a kanga around his waist...
But at some point during the game Africa will grab him by the throat and offer him a choice that will define him for the rest of his life. It will lay bare his posing and posturing and may point him out as a phony and make it all too clear that he’s just another mzungu passing through. A prince playing a pauper for kicks.
Perhaps something dramatic will happen or maybe he will simply wake up one day with a strange feeling and he will decide he’s had enough of the game and will make the call book the flight and use the return strip of this ticket and fly home at the shortest notice, leaving Africa to the Africans and to the next hopeful white man with fresh an innocent eyes, and not his now cynical ones.
And in his soul he will know that he’s let Africa down just as the west has been doing for decades.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Portrait of an INFP - Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving
The Idealist/Dreamer
As an INFP, the primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your personal value system. The secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
INFPs, more than other iNtuitive Feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people. Their primary goal is to find out their meaning in life. What is their purpose? How can they best serve humanity in their lives? They are idealists and perfectionists, who drive themselves hard in their quest for achieving the goals they have identified for themselves.
INFPs are highly intuitive about people. They rely heavily on their intuitions to guide them, and use their discoveries to constantly search for value in life. They are on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and every piece of knowledge gained gets sifted through the INFP's value system, and is evaluated to see if it has any potential to help the INFP define or refine their own path in life. The goal at the end of the path is always the same - the INFP is driven to help people and make the world a better place.
Generally thoughtful and considerate, INFPs are good listeners and put people at ease. Although they may be reserved in expressing emotion, they have a very deep well of caring and are genuinely interested in understanding people. This sincerity is sensed by others, making the INFP a valued friend and confidante. An INFP can be quite warm with people he or she knows well.
INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. If they must face it, they will always approach it from the perspective of their feelings. In conflict situations, INFPs place little importance on who is right and who is wrong. They focus on the way that the conflict makes them feel, and indeed don't really care whether or not they're right. They don't want to feel badly. This trait sometimes makes them appear irrational and illogical in conflict situations. On the other hand, INFPs make very good mediators, and are typically good at solving other people's conflicts, because they intuitively understand people's perspectives and feelings, and genuinely want to help them.
INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated. In the face of their value system being threatened, INFPs can become aggressive defenders, fighting passionately for their cause. When an INFP has adopted a project or job which they're interested in, it usually becomes a "cause" for them. Although they are not detail-oriented individuals, they will cover every possible detail with determination and vigor when working for their "cause".
When it comes to the mundane details of life maintenance, INFPs are typically completely unaware of such things. They might go for long periods without noticing a stain on the carpet, but carefully and meticulously brush a speck of dust off of their project booklet.
INFPs do not like to deal with hard facts and logic. Their focus on their feelings and the Human Condition makes it difficult for them to deal with impersonal judgment. They don't understand or believe in the validity of impersonal judgment, which makes them naturally rather ineffective at using it. Most INFPs will avoid impersonal analysis, although some have developed this ability and are able to be quite logical. Under stress, it's not uncommon for INFPs to mis-use hard logic in the heat of anger, throwing out fact after (often inaccurate) fact in an emotional outburst.
INFPs have very high standards and are perfectionists. Consequently, they are usually hard on themselves, and don't give themselves enough credit. INFPs may have problems working on a project in a group, because their standards are likely to be higher than other members' of the group. In group situations, they may have a "control" problem. The INFP needs to work on balancing their high ideals with the requirements of every day living. Without resolving this conflict, they will never be happy with themselves, and they may become confused and paralyzed about what to do with their lives.
INFPs are usually talented writers. They may be awkward and uncomfortable with expressing themselves verbally, but have a wonderful ability to define and express what they're feeling on paper. INFPs also appear frequently in social service professions, such as counseling or teaching. They are at their best in situations where they're working towards the public good, and in which they don't need to use hard logic.
INFPs who function in their well-developed sides can accomplish great and wonderful things, which they will rarely give themselves credit for. Some of the great, humanistic catalysts in the world have been INFPs.
As an INFP, the primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your personal value system. The secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
INFPs, more than other iNtuitive Feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people. Their primary goal is to find out their meaning in life. What is their purpose? How can they best serve humanity in their lives? They are idealists and perfectionists, who drive themselves hard in their quest for achieving the goals they have identified for themselves.
INFPs are highly intuitive about people. They rely heavily on their intuitions to guide them, and use their discoveries to constantly search for value in life. They are on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and every piece of knowledge gained gets sifted through the INFP's value system, and is evaluated to see if it has any potential to help the INFP define or refine their own path in life. The goal at the end of the path is always the same - the INFP is driven to help people and make the world a better place.
Generally thoughtful and considerate, INFPs are good listeners and put people at ease. Although they may be reserved in expressing emotion, they have a very deep well of caring and are genuinely interested in understanding people. This sincerity is sensed by others, making the INFP a valued friend and confidante. An INFP can be quite warm with people he or she knows well.
INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. If they must face it, they will always approach it from the perspective of their feelings. In conflict situations, INFPs place little importance on who is right and who is wrong. They focus on the way that the conflict makes them feel, and indeed don't really care whether or not they're right. They don't want to feel badly. This trait sometimes makes them appear irrational and illogical in conflict situations. On the other hand, INFPs make very good mediators, and are typically good at solving other people's conflicts, because they intuitively understand people's perspectives and feelings, and genuinely want to help them.
INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated. In the face of their value system being threatened, INFPs can become aggressive defenders, fighting passionately for their cause. When an INFP has adopted a project or job which they're interested in, it usually becomes a "cause" for them. Although they are not detail-oriented individuals, they will cover every possible detail with determination and vigor when working for their "cause".
When it comes to the mundane details of life maintenance, INFPs are typically completely unaware of such things. They might go for long periods without noticing a stain on the carpet, but carefully and meticulously brush a speck of dust off of their project booklet.
INFPs do not like to deal with hard facts and logic. Their focus on their feelings and the Human Condition makes it difficult for them to deal with impersonal judgment. They don't understand or believe in the validity of impersonal judgment, which makes them naturally rather ineffective at using it. Most INFPs will avoid impersonal analysis, although some have developed this ability and are able to be quite logical. Under stress, it's not uncommon for INFPs to mis-use hard logic in the heat of anger, throwing out fact after (often inaccurate) fact in an emotional outburst.
INFPs have very high standards and are perfectionists. Consequently, they are usually hard on themselves, and don't give themselves enough credit. INFPs may have problems working on a project in a group, because their standards are likely to be higher than other members' of the group. In group situations, they may have a "control" problem. The INFP needs to work on balancing their high ideals with the requirements of every day living. Without resolving this conflict, they will never be happy with themselves, and they may become confused and paralyzed about what to do with their lives.
INFPs are usually talented writers. They may be awkward and uncomfortable with expressing themselves verbally, but have a wonderful ability to define and express what they're feeling on paper. INFPs also appear frequently in social service professions, such as counseling or teaching. They are at their best in situations where they're working towards the public good, and in which they don't need to use hard logic.
INFPs who function in their well-developed sides can accomplish great and wonderful things, which they will rarely give themselves credit for. Some of the great, humanistic catalysts in the world have been INFPs.
Friday, August 13, 2010
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