Rising Above the Clouds

Yesterday I received an email from a friend, Janet Christensen, who is serving with me in a group that is focused on improving the academic achievement of Hispanic learners. Her words, "It is wonderful to be part of a group that seeks to rise above the clouds and help others get out of the clouds as well" made me realize that this is what we need to do. It is only by rising above the clouds that we can see the bigger picture and gain a broader perspective.

Rising above the clouds will also help us not get caught up in all the chaos taking place around us. On an After Words broadcast where Akbar Ahmed interviewed Mark Siegel, longtime friend and former speechwriter who helped Benazir Bhutto write Reconciliation, spoke of the glow Bhutto seemed to have about her in spite of the chaos as well as threats to her life. In other words, because of her focus on a higher purpose she was able to transcend what was happening around her.

Herndon L. Davis who is an author, lecturer, and TV Host gives us some insights into Bhutto's life that can be an example for us as we advocate for Hispanic learners. Davis said of her, "Bhutto could have easily remained safely in self-imposed exile. She could have kept a low profile and remained an observer....But instead Benazir Bhutto chose to become the change that she wanted to see for her country....She allowed her life to be used as a tool for a greater purpose, a greater cause and for a greater calling...Further Bhutto knew that her life was symbolic as a living example of patience, idealism, faith, and determination. (italics mine).

We, too, must not give up the fight for our Hispanic learners even though we are attacked on every side and in spite of the fact that we may not see the fruits of our labor. It never was about us anyway as Mother Theresa's words remind us.

The Purpose of Education

Before a leader can become a spiritual leader for multicultural education, he or she must be clear about the purpose of education. It would, therefore, behoove us to ponder the insights spiritual leaders have given us on the purpose of education.

David O. McKay, an exemplary educator, is one such spiritual leader whose insights I'll share in today's blog.

"Students enter school primarily to gain economic or social advantage. But this aim is not always achieved, nor is it, nor should it be, the highest purpose of education. However, we must not underestimate the value of obtaining an education for a livelihood. Education for economic advancement is a good investment for the individual as well as for the State. The United States as a Nation is still young, but its brief history is replete with striking examples of the value of its free public school system even as a financial investment. . . .No, I do not in the least disparage this aim, nor criticize our public school system for planning to make possible its realization. But education for a livelihood is not the highest purpose of education.... let us face clearly and forcefully the fact that the paramount ideal permeating all education is the grades, the high school, through college and the university, should be more spiritual than economic." - McKay, D. O. (1951, June). "True education: the paramount purpose of a free people." Address delivered at the commencement exercises, University of Utah.

"Character is the aim of true education."

"True education seeks…to make men and women not only good mathematicians, proficient linguists, profound scientists, or brilliant literary lights, but also honest men, combined with virtue, temperance, and brotherly love—men and women who prize truth, justice, wisdom, benevolence, and self-control as the choicest acquisitions of a successful life"

As educators ponder these insights of David O. McKay, a wise and noble man, and write them upon their hearts, they will discover ways to approach multicultural education that will benefit ALL learners.