Skip to main content

The first post...



Like many approaching middle-agers and digital immigrants, I'm new to the blogging world. I read blogs; I comment on blogs; I like blogs--I even know that "blog" is shorthand for web log, so there ya go.

While I hope to post about a range of topics, and hopefully focus in on issues of teaching and social justice, this first blog post is dedicated to my dog, Buster.

Buster is a rescue dog--and his issues run deep.

I used to be annoyed at those bumper stickers people had regarding their rescue pets, the ones that read: Who rescued who? Mostly, I was annoyed because I went back and forth between whether the object of the verb should be "who" or "whom." But then when I came to the surface and got over my pretension, I thought of Buster.

Buster doesn't care about the who/whom debate (most of my students don't either).  And when it comes to the notion that a pet can rescue his/her/their owner as much as an owner can rescue his/her/their pet, I find that kind of tender and sweet. And Buster is a dog who needs tender and sweet (so do I).

Buster has every issue you can imagine: compromised vocal chords (most likely from a botched de-barking episode); food allergies; former abuse; fear aggression; bad breath; phobia of air, barometric pressure changes, and houseflies. It's hard to be Buster.

And this is why I love him. Despite every type of setback imaginable, Buster is unabashedly Buster. He teaches me a lot about authenticity, even when it's not so easy.  And while I'm not apt to lunge at someone for petting me, and while I may not hide in the fireplace when a housefly is buzzing about, I know that Buster's authentic response to the world is something I strive for, too.

In the midst of global turmoil and homegrown racism, we need more Busters in the world: those who are ready to lunge at the problems we face and strike them head on. And perhaps our fears will become a source of empowerment that propels us to keep fighting the good fights.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 18, 2015 at 8:57 PM

    Nicely put!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 29, 2015 at 7:55 AM

    Good ol' Buster. Yes, he's authentic as they come, and that authenticity is why, as you write, we love rescue dogs. But with the analogy to humans, when is attempting to bite a friendly hand "authentic," and when is it reactionary and misplaced aggression? When is "lung[ing] at the problems we face and strike[ing] them head on" working for positive change, and when is it fanning the flames of those very problems, depending on whose side of the fence one is on? We ought to know, unlike poor Buster, when a housefly is a housefly and not an incoming drone missile. I'm playing a bit of devil's advocate here (thinking about the Confederate flag and Syrian refugee controversies), and it's your post that got me thinking. So thanks for that, and keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lori CohenNovember 29, 2015 at 2:15 PM

      Yes, in the case of this post, lunging at the problems we face ideally means working for positive change, not allowing the status quo to dictate how our society functions, and ideally, dismantling structures of racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia...And indeed, let's hope we can distinguish a housefly from a more destructive force. We'll leave the houseflies to little Buster!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pedagogy in the Springtime: An Ode to Seasonal Teaching

Springtime in schools is exciting. And exhausting. As we prepare for end-of-year celebrations, performances, and rituals for closure, we must summon the same level of stamina we had when the school year began. Sometimes the light at the end of the school-year tunnel allows us to press forward until the finish. Sometimes the growth of our students inspires us to manage those final weeks of youth bouncing off the walls. Yet we also need to acknowledge, with care and honesty, that we are tired.  When I was in my first years of teaching, I always dreaded the slog between spring break and Memorial Day. Typically, we had about six to eight full weeks with no breaks. And as the sun came out and the weather got warmer, students increasingly struggled to be in the classroom. I was afraid I'd get eaten alive because I wasn't sure I had the energy to maintain my class routines with the same meticulousness as the fall or when a new semester began. And sometimes these fears became self-fu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Beginner's Mind Revisited: The Importance of Ritual

Last fall, I wrote about the  Beginner's Mind  in relation to new teachers and their expectations. And it's no accident that one year later, as the school year renews, as teachers and students return to engage in another year of learning, as we embark upon the predictable and unpredictable moments in the cycle of the school, that the Beginner's Mind becomes part of the yearly ritual I return to. The concept of the Beginner's Mind comes from the Zen Buddhist tradition and is known in Japanese as " Shoshin  ( 初心 )":   an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when entering any task, familiar or unfamiliar. For educators, this can be an especially important mindset as we begin with new courses, grade levels, and groups of students, even ones we have known and taught before. The Beginner’s Mind allows us the opportunity to meet people again as they change, to allow for us to change as well. The Beginner’s Mind makes innovation possible, g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trans-itions

The news media is on fire these days regarding legislation in Mississippi and North Carolina--legislation that makes provisions for discrimination based on one's sexual orientation or gender identity. The governors of both states have signed off on this legislation ( HB1523  in Mississippi;  HB 2  in North Carolina), and the nation has responded, both within and outside these states—from   boycotts   to   college campus protests . Prior to North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signing HB 2 into law, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts sent him the following text directly:  Please do not sign this awful bill...Poorly conceived and written.   There is no provision for any enforcement for race, religion, etc. It will be legal for restaurants to hang a sign saying 'no gays allowed' out front. Is this the N.C. we want? McCrory ignored this text. His decision to convene the North Carolina legislature and sign HB 2 into law this March came a...
Post a Comment
Read more