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#10-1: The Essence of Excellence

#1 · January 14, 2007, 12:33 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on January 14, 2007, 12:33 pm
Posted by: hopechestnews <hopechestnews@...>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Hope Chest Home School News
with Virginia Knowles
January 14, 2007
#10-1: The Essence of Excellence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Welcome to the Hope Chest!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free e-mail magazine sent to over 1250 families around the world. The publisher is Virginia Knowles, wife to Thad and mother of 10 children (7 daughters and 3 sons, ages 1 to 19). Check out her web site at www.TheHopeChest.net, read archives at https://welovegod.org/groups/hopechest or www.homeschoolblogger.com/VirginiaKnowles or e-mail her at [email protected].

Dear friends,

I started writing the main article for this month's issue, and I got totally overwhelmed by its complexity. I figured if it was too boggling for me to write, it would be too much for you to read. I decided to split it up and write LITTLE articles on the same general topic (The Essence of Excellence) over a period of several months or a year. I'd be glad to hear what specifics you would like me to consider on this theme. In this first issue of the year, you will also notice a (poetic) emphasis on social justice, which has always been on my heart as a home school mom.

I am FULL of anticipation for 2007. Last June, I felt the Lord whispering in my heart to turn and face my past, and finally deal with the unhealthy, entrapping patterns I had picked up over the years. It was a rather bittersweet but FRUITFUL time of retrospection, reflection, and repentance. I think that intense season is now over, because a week or so ago while I was lying in bed, I felt that God was graciously saying to me, "Enough of that. Now turn and face the future. It's time to move forward in joy and freedom." When I shared this with my husband Thad, he smiled and reminded me of Proverbs 31:25 -- "She laughs at the times to come." So let this be a year of laughter and liberty! The Lord has been so good to me!

Speaking of laughter… Last week, I rushed to fix tacos for dinner so we could get to Julia's basketball game on time. I grabbed what I thought was my bulk container of taco seasoning, and didn't realize until I gave it several liberal shakes into the meat that I had picked up the cinnamon container instead.   My friend Beverly claims that I was trying to cook Greek food instead of Mexican! And my friend Nancy told me of the time she refilled her small cinnamon shaker from her bulk supply, and found out when her son went to make cinnamon toast that she had accidentally filled it with…. Cayenne pepper! Yow! You would think home school moms could read container labels! (In my defense, I will say that I didn't have my glasses on.)

In this issue you will find:

The Essence of Excellence, Part 1

"Results or Roses" by Edgar Guest

"Expostulation" by John Greenleaf Whittier

"Make Me a Captive, Lord" by George Matheson

"I Have a Dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With abundant joy,
Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Essence of Excellence
(Part 1)
by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After observing the home school movement for 20 years, I'm tickled at how large and diverse it has grown! It's such a blessing to see parents take charge of their own children's education. We now have so many options that we don't know what to do with them. And yet for all this, I think that many of our kids are still being shortchanged by our presumptions, distractions, and lack of due diligence.   I guess it's easy to think that since we are home schooling (O, virtuous parents that we are), our kids will automatically turn out to be angels and geniuses. (My own smugness makes me want to wretch.) And since we have so much freedom to choose our own path, it's also easy to choose the path of least resistance. I think we can set a higher standard for ourselves.   The media is quick to point out the families who are slacking off, and could easily sway public opinion in favor of stricter legislation. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance – and diligence!

I would just like to briefly encourage each of you to do what it takes to get the job done right. We all made the decision to home school our kids, and we need to be ready to pay the price in terms of our time and energy. I know that this can be a struggle in our family with 10 kids, and I've certainly seen it in other smaller families, too. I don't always want to start a math lesson knowing that my child will argue with me about it. I don't always want to take the time to grade a paper, even though errors quickly become engrained when not corrected. I don't always notice one child wandering off to pester someone else when I am working with another one. It's easier just to assume that everyone is going to do whatever they are assigned, when in reality it's not what we EXPECT but what we INSPECT that gets done. Also, even if we do expend a lot of time and effort, that's no guarantee that we're doing it right. We may be beating our heads against a brick wall using ineffective, inefficient methods, or even using otherwise good techniques which just aren't right for THIS child THIS year. So we have to pay attention to whether it's working for US, and not just "rest on the laurels" of the success of the home school movement at large.   No, we shouldn't jump from one thing to another too quickly. We have to give things time. But if, after consulting with our children and researching the options, we know things just aren't working, we have to be willing to adjust.

For our family, "doing whatever it takes" meant joining an academic home school co-op which meets all day once a week and provides assignments for the rest of the week.   I can put the hours into preparing and teaching lessons for English classes (kindergarten and middle school) that I could never justify doing for just one or two of my own children if I were having to plan and teach lessons for all of the other subjects and grade levels, too. I am passionate about teaching English, and my kids love learning from the other teachers who are more skilled in science, history, and math. It's a win-win situation for us this year. But that's what is right for US, not necessarily you. You have to figure that out for yourself.

It won't hurt any of us to take an afternoon or two and carefully think through your long term and short term goals for each child. What will it take to get there? Are you making decent progress? What needs to change? Here are some areas to think about:

Are your goals reasonable and measurable?

At this rate, will your child be prepared to handle life in the big outside world?

Are your plans specific and doable?

Do you follow through on these plans?

Do you have a proper balance between structure and flexibility?

Are your curriculum and methods effective?

Are you properly motivated?

Is your child properly motivated? (Attitude is just about everything!)

Is the emotional atmosphere of your home healthy?

Is your home orderly enough for learning to take place without too much distraction?

Are your children participating in household chores, which is good training for them and frees up time for you to oversee education?

Are you accountable to anyone?

Are you willing to humbly learn more about the educational process, even from people who are different than you?

I'm not saying this to make you nervous or to induce guilt. Please don't hear that from me! (If you do, please let me know!) Home education does NOT have to be complicated. In fact, when we get distracted by trying to do too many different things, we will not excel in the essential basics. So, in the primary grade years, you can easily stick to basic reading and thinking skills, a simple math workbook supplemented with hands-on materials, a little handwriting practice, and lots of great books (literature, history, geography, science) that you read aloud and discuss with them. That's it! In the later years, education will naturally become more advanced and there will be more "stuff" to learn.   But if we focus on being FAITHFUL at the little skills and habits in the early years, the big skills and habits will come much more easily when we get to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Results or Roses"
by Edgar Guest from The Book of Virtues

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man who wants a garden fair,
Or small or very big,
With flowers growing here and there,
Must bend his back and dig.

The things are mighty few on earth
That wishes can attain
Whate'er we want of any worth
We've got to work to gain.

It matters not what goal you seek
Its secret here reposes:
You've got to dig from week to week

To get Results or Roses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Expostulation" 17th verse
by John Greenleaf Whittier
19th century Quaker abolitionist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rise now for Freedom! not in strife
Like that your sterner fathers saw,
The awful waste of human life,
The glory and the guilt of war:
But break the chain, the yoke remove,
And smite to earth Oppression's rod,
With those mild arms of Truth and Love,
Made mighty through the living God!

I memorized this verse of "Expostulation" many years ago. I also included the whole poem in last week's homework handouts for the co-op English class that I teach, since we are covering the Civil War era and reading Irene Hunt's novel Across Five Aprils. Perhaps that is why it was so fresh in my memory when I felt the Lord was telling me to turn toward the future.   The poem originally exhorted Americans to end slavery before a civil war broke out (they didn't and it did). Still, I somehow made the connection in my own life to rise in freedom from the bonds of my past, lay aside the inner conflict, cultivate a gentle spirit that embraces truth and love, and rely fully on the power of our Living God.   I guess that is what good poetry does to us – spans across the years with universal principles that reach deep into the heart. I hope it will do that for you, too.

Oh, as long as I'm putting in this poem, I just have to echo it with the first verse of the old hymn, "Make Me a Captive"! (I've sung it since I was a teenager, and it's etched in my memory. Oddly enough, I use it as a lullaby for Melody!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Make Me a Captive
(first verse only)
By George Matheson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life's alarms, when by myself I stand;
Imprison me within Thine arms, and strong shall be my hand.

(You can listen to the tune and see the rest of the verses at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/a/makecapt.htm)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I Have a Dream"
by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally, also on the topic of non-violent social justice… In honor of the January 15 birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., be sure to check out this on-line downloadable video of his landmark "I Have a Dream" speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. This awesome speech never fails to give me goose bumps. I'm playing it for my English class tomorrow! Be sure to notice the allusions to Scripture and to the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee." http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1732754907698549493

Here is the text, so you can read along as you watch:

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.   Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languish in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land So we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our Nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.   There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.   The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.   And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.   We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for white only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, though even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up... live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will they be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today. have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside.

Let freedom ring, and when this happens,and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

~~~

Amen to that! "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Blessings,
Virginia Knowles
-- To subscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected] To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected] Visit my web site at www://thehopechest.net   

Posted by: hopechestnews <hopechestnews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Hope Chest Home School News
with Virginia Knowles
January 14, 2007
#10-1: The Essence of Excellence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Welcome to the Hope Chest!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free e-mail magazine sent to over 1250 families around the world. The publisher is Virginia Knowles, wife to Thad and mother of 10 children (7 daughters and 3 sons, ages 1 to 19). Check out her web site at http://www.TheHopeChest.net, read archives at https://welovegod.org/groups/hopechest or http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VirginiaKnowles or e-mail her at [email protected].

Dear friends,

I started writing the main article for this month's issue, and I got totally overwhelmed by its complexity. I figured if it was too boggling for me to write, it would be too much for you to read. I decided to split it up and write LITTLE articles on the same general topic (The Essence of Excellence) over a period of several months or a year. I'd be glad to hear what specifics you would like me to consider on this theme. In this first issue of the year, you will also notice a (poetic) emphasis on social justice, which has always been on my heart as a home school mom.

I am FULL of anticipation for 2007. Last June, I felt the Lord whispering in my heart to turn and face my past, and finally deal with the unhealthy, entrapping patterns I had picked up over the years. It was a rather bittersweet but FRUITFUL time of retrospection, reflection, and repentance. I think that intense season is now over, because a week or so ago while I was lying in bed, I felt that God was graciously saying to me, "Enough of that. Now turn and face the future. It's time to move forward in joy and freedom." When I shared this with my husband Thad, he smiled and reminded me of Proverbs 31:25 -- "She laughs at the times to come." So let this be a year of laughter and liberty! The Lord has been so good to me!

Speaking of laughter… Last week, I rushed to fix tacos for dinner so we could get to Julia's basketball game on time. I grabbed what I thought was my bulk container of taco seasoning, and didn't realize until I gave it several liberal shakes into the meat that I had picked up the cinnamon container instead. My friend Beverly claims that I was trying to cook Greek food instead of Mexican! And my friend Nancy told me of the time she refilled her small cinnamon shaker from her bulk supply, and found out when her son went to make cinnamon toast that she had accidentally filled it with…. Cayenne pepper! Yow! You would think home school moms could read container labels! (In my defense, I will say that I didn't have my glasses on.)

In this issue you will find:

The Essence of Excellence, Part 1
"Results or Roses" by Edgar Guest
"Expostulation" by John Greenleaf Whittier
"Make Me a Captive, Lord" by George Matheson
"I Have a Dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With abundant joy,
Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Essence of Excellence
(Part 1)
by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After observing the home school movement for 20 years, I'm tickled at how large and diverse it has grown! It's such a blessing to see parents take charge of their own children's education. We now have so many options that we don't know what to do with them. And yet for all this, I think that many of our kids are still being shortchanged by our presumptions, distractions, and lack of due diligence. I guess it's easy to think that since we are home schooling (O, virtuous parents that we are), our kids will automatically turn out to be angels and geniuses. (My own smugness makes me want to wretch.) And since we have so much freedom to choose our own path, it's also easy to choose the path of least resistance. I think we can set a higher standard for ourselves. The media is quick to point out the families who are slacking off, and could easily sway public opinion in favor of stricter legislation. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance – and diligence!

I would just like to briefly encourage each of you to do what it takes to get the job done right. We all made the decision to home school our kids, and we need to be ready to pay the price in terms of our time and energy. I know that this can be a struggle in our family with 10 kids, and I've certainly seen it in other smaller families, too. I don't always want to start a math lesson knowing that my child will argue with me about it. I don't always want to take the time to grade a paper, even though errors quickly become engrained when not corrected. I don't always notice one child wandering off to pester someone else when I am working with another one. It's easier just to assume that everyone is going to do whatever they are assigned, when in reality it's not what we EXPECT but what we INSPECT that gets done. Also, even if we do expend a lot of time and effort, that's no guarantee that we're doing it right. We may be beating our heads against a brick wall using ineffective, inefficient methods, or even using otherwise good techniques which just aren't right for THIS child THIS year. So we have to pay attention to whether it's working for US, and not just "rest on the laurels" of the success of the home school movement at large. No, we shouldn't jump from one thing to another too quickly. We have to give things time. But if, after consulting with our children and researching the options, we know things just aren't working, we have to be willing to adjust.

For our family, "doing whatever it takes" meant joining an academic home school co-op which meets all day once a week and provides assignments for the rest of the week. I can put the hours into preparing and teaching lessons for English classes (kindergarten and middle school) that I could never justify doing for just one or two of my own children if I were having to plan and teach lessons for all of the other subjects and grade levels, too. I am passionate about teaching English, and my kids love learning from the other teachers who are more skilled in science, history, and math. It's a win-win situation for us this year. But that's what is right for US, not necessarily you. You have to figure that out for yourself.

It won't hurt any of us to take an afternoon or two and carefully think through your long term and short term goals for each child. What will it take to get there? Are you making decent progress? What needs to change? Here are some areas to think about:

Are your goals reasonable and measurable?
At this rate, will your child be prepared to handle life in the big outside world?
Are your plans specific and doable?
Do you follow through on these plans?
Do you have a proper balance between structure and flexibility?
Are your curriculum and methods effective?
Are you properly motivated?
Is your child properly motivated? (Attitude is just about everything!)
Is the emotional atmosphere of your home healthy?
Is your home orderly enough for learning to take place without too much distraction?
Are your children participating in household chores, which is good training for them and frees up time for you to oversee education?
Are you accountable to anyone?
Are you willing to humbly learn more about the educational process, even from people who are different than you?

I'm not saying this to make you nervous or to induce guilt. Please don't hear that from me! (If you do, please let me know!) Home education does NOT have to be complicated. In fact, when we get distracted by trying to do too many different things, we will not excel in the essential basics. So, in the primary grade years, you can easily stick to basic reading and thinking skills, a simple math workbook supplemented with hands-on materials, a little handwriting practice, and lots of great books (literature, history, geography, science) that you read aloud and discuss with them. That's it! In the later years, education will naturally become more advanced and there will be more "stuff" to learn. But if we focus on being FAITHFUL at the little skills and habits in the early years, the big skills and habits will come much more easily when we get to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Results or Roses"
by Edgar Guest from The Book of Virtues

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man who wants a garden fair,
Or small or very big,
With flowers growing here and there,
Must bend his back and dig.

The things are mighty few on earth
That wishes can attain
Whate'er we want of any worth
We've got to work to gain.

It matters not what goal you seek
Its secret here reposes:
You've got to dig from week to week

To get Results or Roses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Expostulation" 17th verse
by John Greenleaf Whittier
19th century Quaker abolitionist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rise now for Freedom! not in strife
Like that your sterner fathers saw,
The awful waste of human life,
The glory and the guilt of war:
But break the chain, the yoke remove,
And smite to earth Oppression's rod,
With those mild arms of Truth and Love,
Made mighty through the living God!

I memorized this verse of "Expostulation" many years ago. I also included the whole poem in last week's homework handouts for the co-op English class that I teach, since we are covering the Civil War era and reading Irene Hunt's novel Across Five Aprils. Perhaps that is why it was so fresh in my memory when I felt the Lord was telling me to turn toward the future. The poem originally exhorted Americans to end slavery before a civil war broke out (they didn't and it did). Still, I somehow made the connection in my own life to rise in freedom from the bonds of my past, lay aside the inner conflict, cultivate a gentle spirit that embraces truth and love, and rely fully on the power of our Living God. I guess that is what good poetry does to us – spans across the years with universal principles that reach deep into the heart. I hope it will do that for you, too.

Oh, as long as I'm putting in this poem, I just have to echo it with the first verse of the old hymn, "Make Me a Captive"! (I've sung it since I was a teenager, and it's etched in my memory. Oddly enough, I use it as a lullaby for Melody!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Make Me a Captive
(first verse only)
By George Matheson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life's alarms, when by myself I stand;
Imprison me within Thine arms, and strong shall be my hand.

(You can listen to the tune and see the rest of the verses at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/a/makecapt.htm)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I Have a Dream"
by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally, also on the topic of non-violent social justice… In honor of the January 15 birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., be sure to check out this on-line downloadable video of his landmark "I Have a Dream" speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. This awesome speech never fails to give me goose bumps. I'm playing it for my English class tomorrow! Be sure to notice the allusions to Scripture and to the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee." http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1732754907698549493

Here is the text, so you can read along as you watch:

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languish in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land So we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our Nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for white only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, though even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up... live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will they be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today. have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside.

Let freedom ring, and when this happens,and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

~~~

Amen to that! "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Blessings,
Virginia Knowles

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