I was born in a small town….no apologies to John Mellencamp

“I was born in a small town….I can breathe in a small town….I’m gonna die in this small town, yeah that’s probably where they’ll bury me”

John sang about his home town of French Lick, Indiana in 1985 (yes, “French Lick”–you can’t make this stuff up). I don’t know anything about Johnny’s experiences, but I didn’t love my home town growing up.  I didn’t HATE it, but for a long time I laboured under the misapprehension that the fun/prosperous/awesome lives were being lived in the Big City.  I guess that’s pretty common with kids, but as I grew older, I started to see the charms of my little town in a different way…and eventually, I started to experience that weird sort of nostalgia that comes from looking at the same view for a long time, but seeing the changes only as they overlap the past.

I had a few occasions recently to enjoy the view of my small town. One was “Christmas Light Up” — a now yearly event that showcases local talent in the outdoor stage, Santa arriving from the roof of City Hall, and a “hay ride” around town.  The evening culminates with Fireworks and carols blasting in the city square .

This year was the first I had released my children to wander about with their friends, and so I found myself walking along alone, absorbing the atmosphere.  As it happens, we were graced with a clear skies and a moderate temperature, and the streets were filled with families. And of course, as often happens when an old year becomes a new one, I wax nostalgic. Mine was hardly an idyllic childhood, and looking back through the lens of an adult, it’s easy to blur the rough edges.  And it’s interesting to me to think of  the past in the context of technology. There is a lot for kids to do in this small town, now.  Entertainment wasn’t delivered–we had to go to it.

There was a drive-in theatre just south of town. Back in the day, as the kids say, cars of the 60′s and 70′s were all that (also, as the kids say….). They were big and had plushy interiors and heaters and no one had heard of or cared about emissions– other than on the back seat, maybe. More than a few of my peers got into the drive-in for free–in trunks and ducked down on the floor. The technology of the drive-in was changing by the 80′s–the massive clip-on-the-window speakers were replaced by smaller antennae clips, that broadcast over FM.  People without radios or at least FM had to use the old speakers in the back. And invariably, every night, someone would drive off with a speaker still attached to their car.

Please unhook your speaker before leaving

While the drive-in only operated for the summer months, the Odeon theatre right down town was open all year. It was modeled after “big city” theatres, with a glass cage and a little cut-out for the cashier to take your money and pass through change. I realize now that the consistent darkness hid the ultimate shabbiness of the place, but for many years it seemed quite elegant to me.

In sharp contrast was the opening of a twin-screen theatre a few blocks away. It was cutting-edge, with its “acoustic” ceiling, staggered show times (Three shows a night! Two different movies!  It was the BIG TIME, baby!!). It seemed dead modern, and soon there were line ups at the new theatre most Friday nights, and the stately Odeon soon closed its doors forever.

Our “multi-plex” didn’t enjoy success for long, for soon Video Tapes– Beta and VHS–and rental machines became readily available. Stop by the shop on your way home from work on Friday and rent a machine and 5 or 6 movies, get to the Liquor store before it closed at 9, call a few friends and suddenly it was like being at the drive in again–squeezed onto the couch with half a dozen friends eating pizza and watching movies until your eyes burned.  The beauty of the rental movie was that you could watch it as many times as you wanted during your rental period. It was around that time that my love of “classic” movies bloomed. Competition in the rental movie business encouraged independent stores to specialize.  My favourite place specialized in classics, foreign films, and generally obscure or hard to find cult classics.  Being able to drink in a Bette Davis performance, waiting for “that” line, and then being able to pause, rewind, replay… it was heaven, and it was years ahead of the Turner Classic Movie channel.

We listened to AM radio until 8 tracks and cassettes took over.  The only thing on FM was weird underground stuff, French CBC and jazz. TV during my childhood evolved from black and white and the 3 channels the antenna would pull in to color tubes to solid state– smaller screens than we have now, but a piece of furniture that took up half the living room.

The other thing that has changed as much as movies and TV is the telephone. The party line we had when I was a kid was nothing like the kind they advertise on late night TV now.  Then again, late night TV was nothing like it is now, either….

The Odeon was down on the right...

Generation Meh

I was recently invited to present at the Canadian Public Relations conference in Victoria this spring.  This opportunity came about through my affiliation with Royal Roads University, where I am Associate Faculty. But it was actually my day job that is relevant here.  Our panel’s session is about communications in this “brave, new, broken” world.  As I spoke to the organizer about what I could offer, a picture started to form in my head about these kids that I hang out with.  When I was an adolescent/just reaching adulthood, my generation didn’t really have a name– we were the “post Baby Boomers”.  Then, Generation X started to get all of the attention, with their angsty-new age concerns and disgust with their inheritance from the Boomers.  Gen Y followed, as everyone knew they would.  They are a generation bent on making change– the New World Order, and Occupying stuff, and generally just finding reason to be political.  My middle school charges do care about stuff– they participate in Pink Day and insist the Love is Louder, they are aware and curious about things going on around the world, and they surely are Plugged In. To the outside eye, it might seem they are always taking up one cause or another, and the outside eye would be correct.

The observation I make, though, is that the causes cycle with the limited attention span of a so-called Digital Native. This is the generation of no follow-through, no “commit to the bit”, no worry about what happens if they drop the ball, because before it hits the dirt they are on to the next thing.  A number of years ago we worried about the phenomenon of the Hurried Child. This generation, too, seems to be moving at click-speed, but without feeling the pressure of juggling all the expectations placed on them.  “Mediocrity, Soon!” is their battle cry. I don’t think they lack care and concern, they just can’t work up the energy too often to display it.

I imagine sociologists or scientists or statisticians have given them an official moniker, but I couldn’t be bothered to look it up. Meh.

Oh, we’ve got talent…..

We held a fund raiser the other night for the 5 5 5 Project.  The Talent Show has been done before, it’s a popular event. But there was something different about it this year.  There were subtle differences– usually it is done as a dinner + Talent + Silent auction, with proceeds going directly to the band program.  This year, our focus is a little less on individual programs, and more on the big school goal.  This is partially due to job action (long story, related to Union struggles and lack of contract) and partially due to the commitment we have made. But, because the Talent Show has been a popular event in the past, our wonderful Band Teacher undertook the challenge on behalf of the 5 5 5.

There are certain truths about middle schools, teenagers and Talent Nights, and they all apply here, but sometimes there is magic that overrides everything else.  And there was magic….

From the jazz band that opened the show, to the MC, to the back-stage crew, there was magic at every turn.  I listened as the head of the Backstage crew organized his helpers and gave every performer a little pep-talk or friendly word before their performance, calling them by name, sounding like a consummate professional. And he is in grade 8. The Emcee kept the show going, made sure that every performer enjoyed the appropriate amount of applause, and even let me put her on the spot when we needed to stall for time.  A lovely girl in grade 9. Never emcee’d a show before in her life. And I haven’t even got to the “talent” yet.

Our school sits in the shadow of one of the mountains that embrace our valley.  The town itself is a small one, but there is enough fast food places, bars and casinos to bring all the unsavory elements of any urban centre. Our kids come from a broad range of society, but the majority of them would be considered “Inner City” kids in a bigger place. They have single parent homes and not-enough-to-eat homes, and homes where the fist rules and homes where the bottle does.  But their parents love them.  And their parents want them to succeed. Moms and Dads and Grandmas and Grandpas come out to conferences and band concerts and talent shows. And school is a safe place.

There were a couple of dozen acts at the Talent Show.  They ranged from acapella versions of current top 10 hits to old standards; electric guitar solos and piano performances; duets and quartets.  And then there were the show stoppers– like the young fellow who wrote a song dedicated to his friends who supported him through the dark days of Middle School. His friend set it to music, and played the guitar accompaniment while he sang–for the first time in his life in front of a crowd. As I listened, knowing the boy and his story, I was moved by what he shared.  But then I started to listen– really listen–and I realized that this song wasn’t just a cute little ditty.  This was the real stuff.

Where does talent come from? Hard work, genetics, luck….. but heart must play the biggest part. Or maybe, it wasn’t a Talent Show with Heart….. maybe it was a Heart Show.

It was one of those days, having put in more than 12 hours, that I loved my job. Not in spite of the extra hours, but because of them.

Little moments, Big changes

My focus for the foreseeable future, is going to be the 5 5 5 Project (click here if you want to see the newscast). One of the things my… (what shall I call Taylor Conroy?  My guru?  My sherpa? My inspiration?) friend said to my students when he visited them and started handing out $100 bills (see the newscast if you don’t believe me!) was that “Together, we are going to change lives”.  Well, I believed it, no question.  Children in far off lands were going to get to go to school because of the money we were raising.  So yeah….. but it never occurred to me that the Changing of Lives was going to start right at my elbow.

The day after Taylor’s visit, Michael was supposed to be working on his InfoTech projects when I hear the printer going.  “Micheal, what are you printing?”  “Oh, just this thing for the school project”  “Um, can I see?”.  Of their own volition, he and 2 other kids had created this sweet message explaining what the 5 5 5 project was about, and how they would collect donations, but recommended people check with the Principal first. They even listed his full name. And spelled Principal correctly.  I asked Michael what his plan was for these flyers, and the answer was that they thought they would print out 70 or so and hand them out to all the houses on their way home. I told him I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but more cool in that they had thought it out, worked on the message and were prepared to do the footwork too. This led to Moment #2.

Three days after our launch, a young man shows up at my door, asking if he could make a donation to the build-a-school project. I started to thank him and introduce myself, when he stopped me and said “I know who you are….you taught me in grade 5″.  Sure enough, when I stopped and looked at him for a sec, I recognized him right away. “Marcus!!”  I shrieked, “How did you hear about this project!? And also, when did you grow into a whole adult??”.  It turns out one of the kids on the team handing out flyers is coached  by him, and hit him up for a donation.  Marcus, who just graduated high school last year,  coaches kids 3 times a week, and probably doesn’t have a super-high-paying job, puts $60 in my hand. Just like that.

Moment number 3 is the one that affected me the most. Young Aneesha pops into my room between classes two days after the launch.  “Mrs. Read, you know that school building project thing?”  “Yes, Aneesha?”  “Well, one of the schools is going to be in India, right?  I was wondering if it could be an all-girls school, because in lots of places in India, girls aren’t allowed to go to school, and nobody really wants baby girls, and lots of times they put the girl babies in a box and there is this place you can take them and just pass the box through a wall, and it’s like an orphanage, but it’s just for girl babies no one wants.”  I told Aneesha that I thought it was a fantastic idea, and that not only would I make that happen, Taylor has already been involved in a similar project building an all-girls school just like she described. Her eyes stretched wide and her smile wider and she just glowed to realize that only was her idea a valid one, other people shared it, and were ready to act on it.

Changing lives?  Oh you bet….

The 5 5 5 Project…

Last spring I attended a TEDx event, where a couple of presentations inspired me to want to do something big.  People who are Teachers are funny–even if they don’t actually work in a school, the natural Teachers are a funny breed.  Teachers not only want to Teach, they want to take caretake. So when I watched the video of young William Kamkwamba I wanted to know that he and his family were ok, that his village had recovered from the years of drought and was prospering.  When I sat and listened to Taylor Conroy  later that day, I realized that that need to take of people was a realizable goal.

And so the thought that became an idea that grew to a plan and ended up being an Epic Goal was realized.

I went to my next staff meeting and shared my idea with the bunch of teachers that I work with everyday. As I hoped, they jumped on board with my idea to build a school in Africa, in celebration of our school’s 50th anniversary.

And then it got real.

Principal talks to me a few days later, and asks how I feel about a Bigger Better More campaign, where instead of One school only, we build one school to represent each decade that we have been teaching kids. Each in a different country.  And so The 5 5 5 project was born– 5 schools in 5 countries, representing 5 decades.

This is more than Go Big or Go Home……this is Go Global or Stay Home.

Please watch the video of our launch to find out how it all went down.

And stay tuned…..

5 000 into 50 000 for 5 5 5