The people that know me best know that I am a nerd. I played violin in high school, I love math, and - more than anything - I ingest 'fun facts' like a fat kid ingests cupcakes.
History is probably the area which I love collecting interesting morsels of information the most. This is one of many reasons that the speaking of my church pastor appeals to me greatly - he loves tying in stories from history into his sermons. Today's sermon focused on conflict resolution, and the pastor introduced the message through the story of the Hatfields and McCoys. For those history nerds like myself, here is a link that gives a great comprehensive history of the story between the Hatfields of West Virginia, and the McCoys of Kentucky:
http://genealogy.about.com/library/weekly/aa043000a.htm
Passion, intrigue, and violence - it carries all the ingredients necessary for a good tabloid story. Also, it carries a story of how conflict resolution is such an important part of healing and building unity - shown by this event that came after the September 11th attack on our nation:
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/13/earlyshow/saturday/main558660.shtml
One of the elements of education that gets missed by those that aren't educators is the role of teachers in preparing students for life. In school, students learn skills and traits that will serve them for the rest of their lives. Persistence, effort, and the ability to work with others is something we as teachers actively seek to develop.
Hopefully - in between the math, science, social studies, and language arts - we are teaching the kids at our school things that will serve them well regardless of what career they end up with. Today's sermon added a few more skills to the list - effective communication, seeing another person's side, and conflict resolution.
Lesson #1: There are 3 sides to every conflict. My side, your side, and the truth. It's never too late for any of us to forgive, accept responsibility and heal. Just ask the Hatfields and the McCoys.
No comments:
Post a Comment