Reflections

“The gentlest thing in the world overcomes the hardest thing in the world. That which has no substance enters where there is no space. This shows the value of non-action. Teaching without words, performing without actions: That is the Master’s way.” –Tao Te Ching

I give up trying to be the amazing, inspirational teacher and mentor that comes into the ghetto and makes kids believe in themselves and gives them the tools they need to pull themselves out of their current situation. Because I consider myself a hopeful person, I will not say authoritatively that big change with my kids is impossible. Yet, for the sake of my sanity, I decided to no longer emotionally attach myself to the idea that I am going to make a clear and tangible difference in the lives of my students. I am not giving up hope, I am simply being realistic. One who comes into a Barrio like El Recreo expecting to take control and make things better will be overcome by the forces of poverty and violence and resolutely defeated. Expecting to change things will only lead to disappointment. So I welcome positive achievements in my classroom, but I don’t depend on them or demand them.
Instead of meeting the violence and hate and chaos of my kids with authoritarian style dominance, I am trying to take a kind of stance of nonviolence and nonaggression; my kids are the way they are, Barrio El Recreo is the way it is, and one gringo will not change the way it’s always been. I notice that when I am not aggressive and forceful with my students, they are less combative and violent. When I yell back at them they keep yelling, yet when I meet their yells with tranquility they calm down. Perhaps by not directly confronting the hate and violence which is so powerful and thrives on confrontation, I can slowly overcome it using alternative methods. Jesus talks about turning the other cheek, Martin Luther King talks about driving out hate with love, and Lao Tzu talks about using that which is soft, supple, and life giving to overcome that which is rigid and unmovable. Ideally I will be able to maintain an inner sense of tranquility while at work, and that tranquility and pacifistic approach to my students will slowly overcome the dark and powerful forces that they are accustomed to. The goal might not be to make highly motivated servants of peace out of my students, but at least to show them that the hate and violence that they think are so powerful can actually be overcome by more attractive and life giving forces. The more I adopt this attitude the better teacher I become.
In other news, my house community and I traveled to El Salvador at the end of March to participate in a procession commemorating the death of former Archbishop Oscar A. Romero in 1981. It was an adventure taking about 7 regular busses from Managua to San Salvador (11 hours) in an effort to make the most economically responsible trip possible. We were only in San Salvador for about 30 hours before coming home to work on Monday, but the experience was amazing. We spent some time at the UCA (University of Central America) where 6 Jesuit priests were assassinated in 1989 and where there is now a memorial to them and to Oscar Romero. On Saturday night we joined thousands of Salvadorans in a procession through the streets of San Salvador to the main Cathedral where Romero is buried to honor the sacrifice he made in the name of truth and social justice. Romero is a personal hero of all of ours and an inspiration to speak out against institutional violence and structural poverty, so it was quite special to participate with the people of his country in remembering his message.
The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega (also the former President during the 1980s) made a special guest appearance in Barrio El Recreo a few weeks ago. The government here has been paving a few roads and giving some titles to houses in Barrio El Recreo recently, so Daniel came to the Barrio to give a speech about those things. It was kind of ridiculous…throughout the day there were Civil Defense people walking around Barrio El Recreo with huge guns and bullet proof vests arresting the drunks and homeless people who clearly posed a threat to the President’s security. The main road was blocked off and an elaborate stage and thousands of plastic chairs were set up…it felt more like a rock concert than a political speech. We didn’t stay for Ortega himself, since he always shows up about 4 hours late to scheduled political rallies, mainly to be fashionably late. We were tired, and no Nicaraguans were really that excited (apparently he is an excruciatingly boring speaker). As we were waiting at the bus stop though Ortega’s convoy passed right in front of us...a bunch of flashing lights, cops and Civil Defense, armored Range Rovers, etc. I think the hype was more exciting than anything he ended up saying that night (“God bless you all…, I promise to do…”, etc.).
Well those are most of my thoughts and summaries of exciting things that have happened in the last month. We went to the beach with a bunch of people from El Recreo recently, which was a blast, especially for Recreo residents who rarely get out. Anyway, I appreciate you reading this, and thanks for all the support in its various manifestations.

Peace,
Michael