Growing up Richmond--

Richmond Days 2014--

Today we begin packing up to move into a new home in a new town—after 25 years.  Our town Richmond is like any small town yet unique to those of us who live here.  Like every small town there are quarrels and grudges, gossip and rumors, love and laughter, and the memory keepers (preserving facts of interest and some that should have been forgotten).  It is unique because it belongs to us, though truth be told as our children have become adults and we are no longer connected to the community through church or school, I am watching it belong to a new generation.

            When I think of our small town and what makes it unique I think of the following:

·         Our daughter Charlotte and her friend Julie waiting for the soccer bus swinging plastic Hannaford bags with their cleats in them...to be more exact Charlotte had a pair of used cleats.  There was no shame in wearing someone else's cleats in Richmond and it was actually kind of cool to wear The McKenny's old cleats!  The unspoken rule for most of our children's peers concerning sports was: "You wear used at first buy your own after that, junior year we'll split the cost and if you are still playing senior year--we will buy the best." 

·         I think of this crazy event called Richmond Days—this is when the town comes out to entertain each other and raise money for a good cause.  We brought my brother and his family to one event and my brother looked around at how many people were there and said “So I am thinking no one is in their home tonight?”  Seriously ---who does this—a whole town getting together to sing for each other and make each other laugh? Our children may not have been spoiled with material items but they were indulged as we watched them sing and play!

·         I think of watching our boys playing sports with a wonderful group of friends.  I think of carpooling to Greenville and Rangeley –I always opted out of staying overnight at the school on the island.  I remember a community member standing up at our youngest son’s last basketball game and thanking the team, saying “You were just so much fun to watch.”  He was right.

Two of our children learned to walk and talk in our old house and as all three of them grew so did I.  I grew as a wife, mother, friend, teacher, and eventually pastor.  I was blessed to raise our kids with the best of friends!  I gained family that was not created by “blood” but by love. 

Our home was a place to gather and share joy and it was a place that received abundant blessings as this community took care of us when I was ill.  I was taught by the best, many through our church, to give silently and humbly.

Like most small towns everyone knows everyone’s business (or at least they think they do) but most of the time when the chips are down, as I have learned, the people that show up at the door will surprise you.

 “Wherever you come near the human race there’s layers and layers of nonsense.” 
― Thornton Wilder, Our Town

-Living in a small town gives us plenty of chance to be a part of the nonsense, I mean just the other day a woman came into the coffee shop and said she needed someone to take care of a mouse that was caught in a trap.  She waved her arms explaining she could not touch it. Without a second thought I told her I could do it and we walked in the rain to her home and I removed the mouse.  The next day at that same shop I received applause.  ---Pure and utter small town nonsense!

-I have loved being a part of the ridiculous, hysterical, maddening and loving nonsense of this town.   We will only be just around the bend but I know enough from watching others go that the good old fit of this place, like a worn pair of jeans will change. 

I am looking forward to moving to our new town---and it will take time to become ours but I will carry this town in my heart.

“here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)”   e.e. cummings

Will We Meet the Standard?

Had to leave the dandelion to represent the 5 year old approaching a year of new standards. 

Knowing something or somebody isn't the same as knowing about them. More than just information is involved. When you are a knower, you don't simply add to your mental store and go your way otherwise unchanged. To know is to participate in, to become imbued with, for better or worse to be affected by. ---Frederick Buechner        

            Recently I preached Genesis 21:8-21 concerning Hagar the slave woman.  Hagar was Sarah's (Abraham's wife) slave. When Sarah could not have her own child Hagar bore one for her.  When Sarah receives the miracle of a late in life pregnancy and gives birth to her son Isaac--Hagar is sent into the desert.

          What struck me about this scripture was the reality of the "haves and have nots".  Hagar represents every person who ever felt less than, every person oppressed by those who have more and Hagar is every person who may have to access their dreams and success in another way.

          "What makes the desert beautiful", said the Little Prince, is that somewhere it hides a well..." .... The Little Prince added: "But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart".

         The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Hagar is sent to the desert where she is ready to die along with her son.  It is in her desperate moment that God shows her the well of water---their way will be a different way but it will be theirs to claim.

     What does this have to do with ABC and 123---everything.  As our state along with others begins using the Common Core Standards (using 1234 vs. ABCDF to grade progress—does not meet, partially meets, meets and exceeds) I feel it is our responsibility to  recognize the "have nots". 

     

    The "have nots" are the children who live below the poverty level, they are the children born to minorities, they are the children brought here from another country, they are children who have seen death, crime, arrests of parents and they are children who are hungry.  Children living in poverty are at greater risk of homelessness, they often do not have dental care, older children stay home occasionally to watch younger siblings and their well may look very different than the well used by other children.

     It is wonderful to imagine that each child will be given the opportunity to reach their highest potential.  It is our responsibility to make sure our educators are able to teach in a way that promotes success for all students.  But if 3 is the same standard for all students how does the child in special education succeed to those standards?  How does the child who speaks a different language succeed to those standards? 

     Recently I listened to a woman named Donna Beegle---she was raised in West Phoenix in a very poor family, she describes her life as going to work in the fields for the morning to pay for lunch and then going back to pay for dinner.  She received her GED at the age of 26 and has her doctorate.  She is committed to helping the poor receive the education that is there for all people, understanding that cookie cutter education may mean success for some but certainly not all. 

In our own Regional District Unit (RSU2), which is made of four communities, there is a significant difference in the number of children living below the poverty level. The unit ranges from Hallowell at 7.3% to Richmond at 29.9%.  The state average of children living below the poverty level  is 16.7%.  If we look at our neighbors (within 50 miles of Richmond) Lewiston has a child  poverty rate of 37.7% and Cape Elizabeth has a rate of 2%.

     I don't think it is any surprise that Cape Elizabeth received a higher state grade for education than Lewiston.

    This is not an issue just for parents, students and educators--this is a community issue.  It is up to the communities to ask:

-If a 16 year old student is told that they will age out of the school system before they meet the standards will they stay in school?  Would you stay in school?

-Children will be better prepared for college (a good thing!) but will they be prepared for the hands on jobs so many of us depend on?

-Will we be able to celebrate those that made it to the well and then to college without demeaning those who drank from a different well---not everyone wants to go to college.

-Will college expenses change so that our better prepared students can afford to go to school?

-Finally knowledge is more than knowing information---as we increase the standards for our children and youth, will we increase our knowledge by knowing who they really are so that true change can be made?

 *The updated standards, adopted after a public process in 2011 and fully implemented in the 2013-14 school year, emphasize more complex content and concepts and the development of needed real-world skills like problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking and communication--imperative for Maine students to succeed and our state to thrive. The strengthened standards set a high bar for all Maine students, no matter their school. How Maine educators go about helping students meet and exceed those standards--including curriculum, required reading or school operations--remains entirely a local decision.

maine.gov---Maine Department of Education
Data for poverty percentages came from:  http://www.city-data.com/