What We Need Is Humility

Recently, Rik Villegas, an Instructor in Northern Marianas College’s Business Department and regular columnist for the Saipan Tribune, solicited input on an article he is writing as a follow-up to his 1999 article, “The One Thing”. As he put it, “I’m writing to ask your input and share with me what you feel “the one thing” is that could be the catalyst to turn things around at the College and positively impact the community.”

In response, I wrote the following:

I believe the most important catalyst we need to turn things around at the College, "The One Thing", is humility.

No one is perfect. We all know that. We all make mistakes. Still, rarely does anyone have the humility to admit those mistakes, learn from them, and use those lessons to do better next time. That’s a recipe for disaster, especially when our mistakes affect others.

As I see it, dysfunctional relationships and habits have plagued NMC for so long that they have compromised our ability to fulfill its mission. However, just as with any dysfunctional relationship, one must get past denial and fess up to the mistakes one has made. Only then will that relationship change and flourish. If we all spend our time pointing out the splinters in each others' eyes, we grow blind to the planks in our own eyes.

I know that I, too, have suffered from this hubris. I have sometimes failed to exercise due diligence in making important decisions that affect others. I have sometimes focused so much on the big picture that I failed to notice those details that betray the beauty of that picture. I have sometimes trusted those I should have doubted, and doubted those I should have trusted. And I have sometimes fell into silent acquiescence when I should have stood in thunderous protest.

These are just some of the mistakes I have made. And I know that I will make many more. But I hope that I will always be humble enough to acknowledge my mistakes, learn from them, and commit to correcting them and improving who I am, what I do, and how I treat others. It is my hope that we will all do the same.

So, for me, "The One Thing" that can turn the College around and, perhaps, turn our entire community around, is humility.

Philosopher Children

This is a great article on how some teachers are using children's books to teach children philosophy. No child left behind? How about no thought left behind? Check it out and share you thoughts in the comments section.

The Examine Life, Age 8

The Plague of Mediocrity

Reading Ayn Rand’s The Foundtainhead again after over a decade. It makes me wonder: When you consider the true greatness that is man’s potential—Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Monet’s “Waterlilies”, William Shakespeare’s “King Lear”—are you left with nothing but your measly existence and a festering contempt for your fellow man and for yourself? I mean, how can the mundane, pedestrian minutiae of our lives compare to the heights of Alexander the Great, Albert Einstein, and Virginia Woolf? I suppose that’s the rub in Hamlet’s discovery of Yorick’s skull: no matter what greatness one can achieve, at the end of the day, at the end of our days, we are nothing but worm food “stopping a bunghole”. But, alas, our work can outlive us. How many of us can claim that? How many of us want to? How many of us are afraid to?

Winter's Tale Director's Notes

The following are my director's notes from the program for Winter's Tale.

I am always amused when people applaud performing artists for their creativity, as if creativity were the sole domain of the stage. That view of the performing arts, and art in general, underlies these hard times, where creativity often takes a back seat to “useful” qualities like technical skill, business sense, and political acumen. For proof of this, one need only see that the news is full of headlines about crime, the economy, or politics, leaving stories about artistic achievement usually buried somewhere deep in the paper or later in the news hours. For more proof, look at the funding, or lack thereof, for art programs in our schools.

In our day and age, art is simply not revered as it should be. The irony is that now, more than ever, we need art. As our lives get harder and our world gets darker, we need art to help us understand ourselves and our world better. Art reflects who we are. Art makes us who we are. What Percy Bysshe Shelley said of poets could very well be said of all artists: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Art may not be able to legislate economic prosperity or political harmony, but it can certainly promote more understanding, more empathy, and more humanity within and between ourselves.

Above all, art can reawaken the creative spirit in all of us, which has been sadly eclipsed by destructive energies. Whether it be politicians playing politics, pundits criticizing everything, or terrorists and lone gunmen taking lives, society, as a whole, has become more destructive. However, just as we were all created by the divine providence of God, or by the miraculous accidents of evolution, we too are all called to create, for only creation will heal the destruction that has beset our world.

Tonight, we celebrate the beautiful creation of actors, singers, dancers, musicians, art designers, crew members, directors, and one of the greatest writers, dramatists, and artists of all time, William Shakespeare. Likewise, further north, we celebrate the creative artistry of ballet as Anna Glushko, her ballet family, and some of the world’s most renowned ballet impresarios stage masterpieces of dance. And throughout this holiday season, we celebrate art brought to our community by the Friends of the Arts, the Thespians of the Western Pacific Islands, the Paseo de Marianas Promoters, and numerous other groups and organizations. As we celebrate these creations, I hope that we also celebrate, cultivate, and ignite the creative possibilities within each of us, for we are all artists, and the world needs our creativity.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize and thank those who have contributed in so many ways to this production. First and foremost, I thank God, who, in creating us “in His likeness”, bestowed upon on us not just the gift of creation, but also the gift of creativity.

I also thank my wife and my kids, who put up with and celebrate my obsession with the theatre. I couldn’t do this without you.

Thanks to IT&E, Kathryn Barry, and Edilberto “Ed” Javier for your generous sponsorship of the show.

Thanks are also owed to Will DeWitt and the Saipan Southern High School Manta Band for sharing their creative genius with us. It is an honor to share the stage with you. Much thanks to Maximo Ronquillo, Jr., Minda Castro, Scott Guerrero, and Andreau “Andy” Galvez for sharing their creative genius with us as well. We are truly blessed by your participation in this production.

We are also blessed by the participation of Mount Carmel School alumni and Theatre Club veterans who have returned to grace the stage yet again with their art. Jon and Jake Igitol return with stunning music and Ignacio “Iggy” Benavente returns with beautiful choreography. Thank you for coming home.

Lastly, I thank the cast and crew of this production. I love all 80 of you guys as my second family. You are beautiful artists who have created something wonderful and beautiful. And while your creation may be fleeting, I assure you, your creativity is not.

To you, the audience, I thank you for coming tonight. Now, I challenge each of you to let this show take you away to that distant memory of yourself, that part of you that yearns to create, that lost self that has been, is, and always will be an artist.

Giving Thanks

My creative, reflective writing is a bit rusty after not having written for so long. Between my campaign early this year and all the technical writing I’ve had to do at my new job, I haven’t exactly had the time or opportunity to be either creative or reflective. So today, on Thanksgiving Day, I thought I’d start with something simple: sharing the many things for which I am thankful. (On that note, it bothers me that proper grammar requires that I write, “the many things for which I am thankful” instead of what sounds better and makes more sense to me, “the many things I am thankful for.” Oh well. Screw Strunk & White.)

First and foremost, I am deeply thankful for my best friend and the love of my life, my wife, Velma. I don’t know how she puts up with me, but she makes my life worth living. Not only is she beautiful and funny and smart (I know, they sound like meaningless clichés, but I mean every single word.), but she enjoys being silly and quirky with me, and values many of things that I value: a preference for family video nights over going out partying (wow, we’ve grown old), sleeping in, Sunday morning breakfasts, travelling, going to the movies, listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Lois Armstrong duets, fixing up our home, praying, loving, living. Things are far from perfect, but I appreciate how we’ve grown together and continue to grow together. She gives me room to grow, and I do my best to grow into the man that she deserves.

I am also thankful for what my wife and I have created, two wonderful kids (Yes, another cliché, but they are two of the most wonderful kids you could ask for, and if anyone disagrees with me, I’ll sock you a big one!) who bring so much joy, life, and laughter to our family. My daughter may be going through the annoying roller coast ups and downs of being a teenager, and I may constantly harass her about her grades, but she is a good person who still enjoys simple things like a good breakfast, shares much of my passion for drama, and gets along well with everyone, young and old, freaks, geeks, jocks and plastics. I am very proud of her. My son is a gamer (like me!) who loves to play, laugh, sing (he sings while taking a bath) and read (he loves to read, you hear!). He oscillates between being very silly to being very serious. However, even when he is super serious, he is super cute, and will always be mangi, even when he becomes an annoying teen ager like his sister.

I cannot believe that God has graced and trusted me with my wife and kids, and with one more in the oven. I am humbled by that. And I hope to always be the best man I can be for them.

Of course, I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it weren’t for my mother, who I am also thankful for. I am not always a good son and am sometimes rude to her (although she may tell you that I am often rude to her). I wish I could be a better son, and am trying. She deserves that. She is always there for me and my family, and she did a really good job of raising me and my brother and sister. She put up with a lot of crap, and did so for our good. She herself can be very silly and quirky, which I appreciate. And, like my wife, she too appreciates simple things: having her kids and grandkids over to her house for dinner, picking up the kids after school, watching a Lifetime movie. She took good care of me, and she takes good care of my kids. It’s my turn to take care of her.

Likewise, I am also thankful for my father, who passed away almost 12 years ago. Only a year before he passed away, I learned that he adopted me. And while he wasn’t always there (and even when he was there he was sometimes a violent jerk), he always treated me like his own son, and was very proud of me. I owe so much to him, and am thankful that I had the chance to reconnect with him before he passed away. I carry his name with pride and honor, as a lion warrior should.

In addition to reconnecting with my dad, in recent years, I have also had the chance to reconnect with my brother and sister. We were close growing up, but we grew apart in high school, especially when I went off to college. When I graduated and returned, we were like strangers living in the same house. That has slowly changed over time. Like my mom, they too take care of my kids, and I take care of their kids. We are now parents who want our kids to get along, just as we did when we were their age. My brother and sister help complete a family that lives to this day, perhaps a little more broken, a little more worn, and a little more jaded, but together nonetheless.

Aside from family, there are many other people I am thankful for.

I am thankful for Dave Kupferman. He is my soul mate. ‘Nuff said.

I am thankful for my best friend, Joe Taijeron, with whom I often disagree, but who balances out all my shortcomings and is trustworthy enough to point them out with a good measure of care and humor. I am a better person because of him. Plus, he enjoys Black Card status with my wife, which means that I can go out with him whenever we’d like.

Ed Buckingham is another good friend I am thankful for. Like Joe, he is honest in pointing out and balancing my shortcomings. Although Ed lacks Joe’s sense of care and humor, Ed has a good heart. My life is better because of him, and the world is a better place because of what he does.

Rose Cuison-Villazor continues to be a great friend who inspires me with her accomplishments. I don’t know how she juggles being a professor, a writer, a mother, and a friend. I hope one day to be as phenomenal as she is.

Jill Rickabaugh has always pushed me to be me by being her. She may chronicle life in still photographs, but her art moves with more life than many people who live dead lives.

Shelby Brown is brilliant and ridonkulous and facing many of the same life challenges that I face. His experiences resonate with my own. I hope one day we both find what we’re looking for.

Ed Propst is a good family man whose soul is afire against injustice and who puts his money where his mouth is. I hope one day to have as much courage and conviction as he does. If we all did, this world would be a better place.

Tina Sablan also more courage and conviction than I do, and probably than all of us combined. Although I disagree with some (or most) of her tactics, I do not question her motives. As with Ed, if we all had her courage and conviction, this world would be a better place.

Zaldy Dandan is an astute, honest, and practical observer of our times. While I may never forgive him for converting from the left to the right (even though I’m well on way in the same direction), I appreciate the blend of candor and empathy he brings to our civic discourse. If only more pundits and politicians would do the same.

Former CNMI Governor Juan Nekai Babauta had enough faith in me (and, I admit, my political pull) to want me to run with him for Governor and Lieutenant Governor. For all his imperfections, he is a good man who cares deeply for our islands. I am still humbled that he would see me fit to run with him to serve our islands.

Over the past 13 years, I have had the privilege of teaching, coaching, advising, and mentoring hundreds of students. I am thankful for them and for the opportunity to help them, at least in some way, in their life journeys. I hope I have served them well.

I am especially thankful for Mount Carmel School's Theatre Club, which has given me the opportunity to help create beautiful shows and share my passion for the performing arts with cast, crew, and audience members alike.

Beyond people, I am also thankful for great art. Many people are thankful for health and life, but to me, what good is a body if the soul is sick? Art breathes life into the soul. Paintings, movies, literature, and music help bring meaning to my life by illuminating different perspectives on the meaning of life. So, in no particular order, and by no means exhaustive, here are works of art and artists I am thankful for.

Movies: Rouge, Bleu, Blanc, The Bicycle Thief, Star Wars, Fight Club, Seven, The Fifth Element, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Cars, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Waking Life, Grosse Pointe Blank, Say Anything, Singles, Jerry Maguire, Meet the Robinsons, Big Fish, Scent of a Woman, and Love Actually.

Story-tellers: William Shakespeare, Pixar, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Cameron Crowe, James Cameron, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Luc Besson, Quentin Tarantino, Al Pacino, J. K Rowling, Sam Raimi, Tim Burton, Steven Soderbergh, and Bill Watterson.

Books: Frankenstein, Brave New World, This Side of Paradise, Heart of Darkness, Jane Eyre, Hamlet, Invisible Man, Nick Hornby novels, Tom Perrotta novels, The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Musicians: The Killers, My Chemical Romance, Chemical Brothers, Beethoven, Preisner, U2, Metallica, Peter Gabriel, Chopin, Beastie Boys, Blink 182, Angels and Airwaves, Coldplay, Sugar, Bob Marley, Sarah Brightman, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Sarah Brightman, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ben Webster, Stephane Grappelli, Thievery Corporation, Portishead, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Digable Planets, New Order, Amy Winehouse, Run DMC, UB40, Bob Mould, Airborne Toxic Event, The Flobots, and Jay-z.

TV shows: Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, House, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Attack Of The Show, Star Wars: Clone Wars, The Daily Show, and 24.

I could probably go further, and there are people, places, and things I’ve undoubtedly missed, but I’m already close to 2,000 words, which is more than most people would read anyway. I’m sure I’ll continue this list next year. If I’m lucky, I’ll run over 3,000 words the next time.

Happy Thanksgiving! Give thanks, and thank those who give.

Winter's Tale: A Holiday Classic by Shakespeare; a Holiday Treat for Everyone

On Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, Mount Carmel School’s Theatre Club will bring William Shakespeare’s classic holiday play, “Winter’s Tale”, to musical life at Fiesta Spa and Resort’s Hibiscus Hall.

“Winter’s Tale” takes place in the fairytale kingdoms of Sicilia and Bohemia, whose two respective kings, Leontes and Polixenes, are childhood friends who take turns visiting each other each Christmas. Tragedy ensues when King Leontes suspects King Polixenes and Queen Hermione are having an affair and accuses Hermione of carrying the child of Polixenes. Will Leontes and Polixenes be reconciled? What will happen to their kingdoms? What will happen to Hermione and her unborn child? These questions form the conflict for the remainder of the play, reaching a thrilling climax in the play’s final musical performance.

“Winter’s Tale”, the Theatre Club’s 25th production since its inception in 1996, is being directed by Theatre Club founder and advisor, Galvin Deleon Guerrero, known by the club as Mr. G. According to Mr. G, “Winter’s Tale” is his personal favorite play by Shakespeare. “In my opinion, it’s Shakespeare’s best story, and it effectively blends the best elements of both comedy and tragedy. While his comedies are too light and his tragedies are too heavy, this play strikes just the right balance.”

In addition to modernizing parts of the original Elizabethan script, the Theatre Club embedded holiday music throughout the play, most of which will be played by the award-winning Saipan Southern High School Manta Band. Despite a busy schedule as it prepare for its historical performance at Carnegie Hall in the Spring of 2009, the Manta Band found time to learn the show’s music, which ranges from classic Christmas songs such as “Silent Night” to more difficult pieces such as Thomas Newman’s theme music for the 1994 film “Little Women”.

Additional music will be performed by keyboardist Andreau “Andy” Galvez and the band, The Wise Men, which is composed of several Mount Carmel School alumni.

Complementing the music will be choreography by Theatre Club veteran and Mount Carmel School alumnus, Ignacio “Iggy” Benavente (Class of 2003), who recently graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.

Choreographing the show has been a homecoming of sorts for Iggy. As he put it, “It was great to come and give back to the school of my roots. It was especially fun to put my theatrical experience to good use.” Iggy added, “With the work that everyone has put into the show, it’s going to be wonderful!”

“Winter’s Tale” will be performed on Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, at 7:00 p. m. each night in Fiesta Spa and Resort’s Hibiscus Hall. Admission for Friday’s dinner show is $35.00 per person; admission for Saturday’s regular show is $5.00 per person.

Due to limited seating, advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended. Tickets are available from cast and crew members or at the Mount Carmel School Business Office. For more information, call 234-6184 or visit http://mcstheatreclub.blogspot.com.

“Winter’s Tale” is made possible, in part, with support from IT&E.

An Apology and a Call for Dialogue

My recent statements on disciplinary practices in our public schools have stirred up some disappointment, frustration, and anger in the community. Before going any further, I should first express my unequivocal apology to all administrators, teachers, staff, and students in our public schools. I was working with some flawed data and issued some statements that were uncalled for. As a result, I undermined, disrespected, and hurt the very people that I am constitutionally mandated to help and serve as a member of the CNMI Board of Education. I apologize for any harm I may have caused.

With that, I also feel it is important to clarify a few matters.

First, while the data is flawed, I went to great lengths to verify it. As soon as I came on board in January 2008 and was tasked to chair the BOE School Reform Committee, many parents and students raised concerns that suspensions were being abused at some schools. Rather than react to hearsay and isolated incidents, I decided that the Reform Committee should hold meetings at schools and villages to learn more about this issue, among other issues, at a grassroots level. We also requested data from the Commissioner of Education on suspension rates over the past five years, starting in school year 2003-2004. To verify the data, the Reform Committee then compiled this information, sent it out to the PSS leadership and the rest of the BOE, and presented it at a meeting at Saipan Southern High School on March 4, 2009. The Commissioner further discussed both the data and the issue of discipline with the PSS leadership and at the monthly PSS principals’ meetings in March and April. In the meantime, the Reform Committee continued to gather more input at community-based meetings where parents continued to express concerns over the alleged abuses of suspensions.

However, despite going through all of this for over a year, the data still came out imperfect. I wish it had not, and while I’m not sure what else I could have done, I wish I could have done more. It is clear that we must continue studying this issue to understand it better.

Second, contrary to the claims that I am going “soft on students”, my goal was and is to promote dialogue about this important issue, not to necessarily come down hard on one side or the other. In fact, in my April 22 report to the BOE, I raised these questions:

Does an increase in the number of suspensions indicate better enforcement of PSS disciplinary policy, or a switch to a more punitive approach towards student discipline?
How does the increase in suspensions affect student attendance and graduation rates?
Why is there so much variance between schools? Does this reflect a lack of consistency between schools, or does it uphold each school’s authority to handle its own discipline problems in its own way?
Is there a need for a policy change to enforce more consistency between schools, or should each school be empowered to implement its own approach to discipline?
How much are schools doing to balance the need for a disciplined environment against the needs of students that are suspended?
Is adequate counseling and support provided to students that are suspended?
Is there a need for innovative approaches to student discipline beyond just punitive measures?

Furthermore, in my report, I recommended the following to the Commissioner:

ü Review each school’s internal disciplinary procedures to ensure that they are in compliance with BOE/PSS policy and meeting the needs of students.
ü Study and investigate further to identify the causes for increased suspension rates.
ü Provide training to teachers, staff, and administrators on behavior modification as an alternative to punitive disciplinary actions.
ü Ensure that students are accorded adequate counseling services to address addictive/compulsive behaviors such as betel nut chewing and smoking, which account for a large number of disciplinary infractions.

Again, I was not going soft on students, nor was I going hard on them. I was doing my best to make sure their needs were being met.

Third and last, I do believe that we must strike a balance between ensuring a disciplined school environment that is conducive to learning AND ensuring that even students that are disciplined are getting the help they need. That is why, with the exception of violent offenses, BEFORE a student is suspended, BOE Regulations 2602 and 2606 mandate that schools exhaust “standard day-to-day corrective disciplinary measures” including, but “not limited to, in-house detention, parent conferences, counseling sessions, campus clean up, community service, required apologies, behavioral intervention plans, and any reasonable creative disciplinary measures.”

Perhaps some members of our community would disagree with this BOE policy. I, for one, think it’s a good policy because it encourages us to exhaust every possible way to help students learn and grow from their mistakes.

Again, I apologize for causing any undue harm to our school administrators, teachers, and staff. They are working very hard under very hard circumstances, and should be applauded for all that they do for our students. I hope that we can move past this and engage in a meaningful dialogue about the role of discipline in our schools. In fact, I welcome anyone in our community to submit their thoughts and perspectives on this issue via email at galvin@itecnmi.com. I firmly believe that by engaging in this sort of dialogue, we can all work together to help each and every student succeed.