#503 – Dick Bernard: Beginning a week with MLK; Ending a week with OWS

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Thursday night I was part of a near overflow crowd as Prof. David Schultz of Hamline University spoke on the topic “Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and the Twilight of American Capitalism“. Those who are old hands at the Thursday night sessions of the program of Citizens for Global Solutions could remember only one other program rivalling this one as a draw. There were about 60 persons in attendance.
The outline of the presentation is accessible here, with permission of the speaker: David Schultz occupy wall street and the twilight of american capitalism-1
I felt it was a very worthwhile evening. Here’s a photo (click to enlarge):

David Schultz (at left) and Citizens for Global Solutions President Joe Schwartzberg, January 19, 2012


Friday morning, enroute to another meeting on cold and snowy I-94 in St Paul, I noted a bunch of folks near a very simple and clear banner on a walkway over the Freeway:
Get Corporate Money
out of Politics
MovetoAmend.org
It was a clear message, no threat to traffic.
Of course this day, January 21, is the second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in the matter of Citizens United versus Federal Elections Commission. MovetoAmend.org has all the details….
Also during this week organizers delivered over 1,000,000 signatures on petitions to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. It was a much higher turnout than anticipated. It spoke volumes – or, shall I say, boxes – all by itself.
And Wikipedia, Google and many other websites joined an on-line demonstration to call attention to SOPA and PIPA, two pieces of legislation that would normally fly under the radar. (See my Jan. 18 blogpost on the topic here.)
This was quite a week, beginning with Fr. Greg Miller reading from Martin Luther King’s “Where do we go from here?” speech to the 10th annual convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in August, 1967, ten months before he was assassinated. Access to the entire speech is here. It is very well worth reading in its entirety. Here’s a sample: “…[C]ommunism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social…and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism….”
Of course, MLK was often accused of being communist, but the epithet just didn’t stick, but it, and its supposed synonyms, are still trotted out as false indictments. That’s why I have the quote here.
Driving home from Prof. Schultz’s talk I kept thinking of a gift received from Twin Cities activist Lydia Howell in December, 2006. It was a used copy of Martin Luther King’s book “Why We Can’t Wait”, about the watershed civil rights year of 1963, published shortly after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
King covered the waterfront in this small book, which is still readily available (see here, and many other sources).
OWS has been immensely successful to this point, and is now in a period of reflection about next steps.
Dr. King remains with us in words, and in spirit.
In Why We Can’t Wait he speaks profoundly of “The Days to Come” in the final chapter. Here’s a teaser quote from President Kennedy to Dr. King in 1963: “Our judgment of Bull Connor should not be too harsh, he commented…. ”
You’ll have to read the book to get the context.
Please do.
My own recommendations to the OWS and similar movements:
1) OWS and others need to change the conversation about both “them”, and “us”. For instance, what do the greedy winners have to lose by winning? A great deal, actually, but you need to think about it – to turn the conventional interpretation upside down and look at the issue from the other side. And the same kind of questions can and should be raised about your own movements….
2) The movements could benefit by a deep discussion of the meaning of the word POWER. Here’s a place to start….
3) Gandhi said “we must be the change we wish to see in the world.” Gandhi was one of King’s heroes. Both are gone. “WE MUST…” Theirs were very big shoes, but WE MUST…. As Margaret Mead said, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed that is the only thing that ever has.” I reference both of them here – two at-home examples of people who made a difference.

Lee Dechert, whose passion is the dangers posed by man-induced climate change, commented about 'occupy the earth' in the question and answer session January 19.

#498 – Dick Bernard: Haiti. Thoughts on the second anniversary of the earthquake

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There are, of course, many perspectives about realities in Haiti. Following are three for the second anniversary of the earthquake, January 12, 2010. Comments are solicited. Access at the end of this post.
The Haiti micro-finance Fonkoze had a very interesting one hour Webinar on the situation ‘on the ground’ in Haiti on January 11, 2012. It can be heard/seen online here.
A significant book, Tectonic Shifts, released this week, gives many perspectives on the aftereffects of the Haiti earthquake. Details including full description of contents here.
My personal thoughts: Today is the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. A year ago we had Bell Ringing for Haiti at the moment of the earthquake. It was very successful. This year there are any number of commemorations of the awful event.
Haiti recovery continues, though slower than desirable. There have been and continue to be many very serious problems.
I choose a ‘good news’ message this year.
In October, 2011, my friend Paul Miller sent the following photo, taken June 1, 2011, somewhere in the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti (click on all photos to enlarge).

Natalie Miller and Lavarice Gaudin, Haiti, June 1, 2011


The photo was of Paul and Sharon Miller’s daughter, Natalie, with Lavarice Gaudin of WhatIf? Foundation, looking at locally grown Haitian agricultural produce to be used for the food program at Ste. Clare church in Port-au-Prince. (You can read the WhatIf? and Ste. Clare story here.)
This photo is a shining sign of hope for Haiti.
In November, Lavarice came to Northfield MN as a guest of the Haiti Justice Alliance, and on November 9 we heard him speak at the University of Minnesota.

Lavarice Gaudin, November 9, 2011, at University of Minnesota


I’ve been around the Haiti Justice community long enough to know the drill: there is injustice; you can go to Haiti and see injustice; someone comes from Haiti to speak about injustice. And the injustice continues.
But I’ve been seeing increasing evidence that the action conversation between Haiti and the massive number of NGOs involved in Haiti is slowly but perceptibly changing, and WhatIf?/Lavarice Gaudin/Haiti Justice Alliance together are one piece of what I hope is increasing evidence of change from a charity to a justice model of outside involvement in Haiti.
Lavarice – who we first met in Miami in March, 2006, on a visit with Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste – is native Haitian, college graduate. I had the privilege of meeting Fr. Jean-Juste at Mass in his Ste. Clare parish in early December, 2003, subsequently following his life through trial and tragedy…imprisonment and ultimately death at a too-young age. On that March, 2006, visit, I was put in touch with Fr. Jean-Juste through Lavarice Gaudin, who in turn I had learned of through passionate Haiti advocate and Haitian Marguerite Laurent (“Ezilidanto” in one of the google references to Jean-Juste, above).
I mention all of this because there are endless networks between the U.S., other countries, and Haiti. Unfortunately, the dominant ones, as our own government, have too often been negative and oppressive and dis-empowering to the Haitians.
But there are very positive networks as well. They don’t all agree on tactics and strategies, but the important thing is that they are working tirelessly for justice, part of which requires self-determination for the Haitian people, who have been denied that self-determination.
I was attracted to that photo of Natalie and Lavarice because of the many things it symbolized.
Here was a young, idealistic, American college student, an intern for WhatIf? Foundation. Here also was a Haitian with lots of talent and lots of ideals who moved easily in the U.S. and in Haiti, and who had come back to Haiti to work for a more secure future for the people of his country.
And here, symbolized by the growing corn in the field, was a Haitian farmer, who if I recall Lavarice’s words correctly, was paid for use of his land, and also paid for the produce of the land, which was in turn used to feed the people of Ste. Clare.
Certainly, this is just one example, of many, but it is an example.
A couple of days ago I had occasion to use that warm Haitian proverb, common in many cultures: “Men anpil, chay pa lou” (“Many hands [make] the load lighter.”)
This proverb presumes people working together, not at cross purposes. Many hands fighting each other does not make “the load lighter”.
The road to change is long and very, very difficult, but I hope that year three after the earthquake will bring more and more progress and true recovery to the wonderful people of Haiti.

Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste and parishioners at Ste. Clare Parish Port-au-Prince Haiti December 7, 2003


Enter the word “haiti” in the search box of this blog and you will find many references to Haiti.
My personal web site re Haiti is here. It includes a comparative map, and historic timeline. Yes, it needs updating….

#497 – Dick Bernard: The Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, March 1-3, 2012

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I’d encourage your participation in the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College, March 1-3, 2012. Details are here, and more suggestions are in the last paragraph of this post. Here is some background.

BACKGROUND:
In 2007, I was invited to join the planning committee of the annual Nobel Peace Prize Festival, and join the Board of a group, World Citizen, dedicated to Peace Education in the broadest sense of that word. More information on both are accessible here and here. (World Citizen has a long history in the Twin Cities dating back to 1982. World Citizen founder, Lynn Elling, co-founded the Nobel Peace Prize Festival)
The allied (with the Festival) Nobel Peace Prize Forum also has a very long history, 23 years, beginning in 1989, and since the beginning has been a cooperative venture between the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Institute, Oslo, and the five Norwegian Lutheran Colleges of Luther (Decorah IA), St. Olaf (Northfield), Augsburg (Minneapolis), Concordia (Moorhead) and Augustana (Sioux Falls).
The Forum/Festival are unique in the world.
(A similar conference for the four Swedish Nobel winners (Economics, etc.) is held at Gustavus Adolphus each year. Details here.
There is some understandable confusion about the Oslo and Stockholm Nobels, best explained by the respective websites, here and here. It is not a matter of competition between Norway and Sweden; rather it was intended by Alfred Nobel himself.)
Following the 2011 Forum, the five colleges and Nobel Institute agreed to move the Nobel Peace Prize Forum (primarily for college level and above) to Augsburg College for 2011 and 2012. In addition, the previous Festival (primarily for K-12 school age students) will be integrated into the Forum and have a specific day.
All details about the Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College in Minneapolis are available here and will be updated regularly.

HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTED WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS YEARS FORUM AT AUGSBURG:
As one who has experienced both Forum and Festival at Augsburg, I would highly recommend this years activity, and urge your support, which you can provide in several ways:
1. By participating yourself (you can register on-line)
2. By letting others know about the event.
3. By contributing financially either as an individual or through your company or other institution.
4. A fourth way, if you wish, could be through pooling of donations through an ad hoc group I have set up (with knowledge of Augsburg). Details are accessible here: Nobel Festival 2012001
Whatever you do, I encourage your support of this fine program.

At Augsburg Nobel Peace Prize Festival March, 2008

#493 – Dick Bernard: A compliment for the Post Office as the year ends.

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This afternoon I stopped at the Woodbury Post Office to mail several packets of material.
I’m a familiar face there, and I mentioned to the clerk that I was going to do a blog post about the post office this evening.
“Oh oh”, she said, expecting the worst. This time of year people in the delivery business don’t expect kudos. “Bad” sells better than “good” on the media and the internet….
She had no reason to worry.
I want relate a story about the cousin of the little guy pictured below (click to enlarge):

Gingerbread Man


I purchased some Gingerbread men at the November 27 Minnesota Orchestra performance of Hansel and Gretel. The program, of Engelbert Humperdincks classic, was superb. (Check YouTube for many samples of Hansel and Gretel.)
The evening was in celebration of the Centennial of the Orchestra’s Young People’s Concerts, as explained in the evenings program: MN Orchestra YPSCA001. The Gingerbread men (persons?) – the dessert for the evening – were a fund raiser of/for the Young People’s Symphony Concert Association (YPSCA).
Of course we sampled the men, but there were some left over. For sure, one was saved for our friend, Annelee, who grew up in Germany. We’d see her at Christmas time and hand deliver hers.
Another I decided to send to a friend in a distant state who I knew had, years ago, been a docent for the Orchestra.
The question was, how to get the little man to a home perhaps a thousand miles away….
I decided to try the U.S. mail.
My packaging was de minimis.
I had some empty photograph boxes from the local Proex, and put Gingerbread Man in one of them, and ‘cushioned’ it with similar boxes top and bottom. I wrapped the resulting ‘box’ with plain brown paper, addressed it, and took it to the local post office. Christmas mailing season was upon us, and I stood in line. When it was my turn, I gave the clerk the box, paid the postage and left. I simply sent it ‘priority mail’. No insurance, no special handling.
I was so sure it wouldn’t arrive ‘safely’ that I took the above photo and sent it to my friend, just in case it arrived in pieces. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
A couple of days ago came a note from far away: “The cookie was whole – no cracks or crumbles.”
Success. Thanks to the people of the United States Post Office.
Sure, in an enterprise as immense and as complicated as the Postal Service, or any other delivery service for that matter, there are occasional problems.
But as it has been for its entire history, our Post Office is one of the very best services we can hope to have.
Happy New Year! And thanks to all of you who serve the rest of us, when sometimes we aren’t at our best.
Related post, here.
UPDATE December 31, 2011: In the post office line about 12:30. There was quite a lot of business at the time (it ebbs and flows, not always predictably). One worker was on duty, two stations open, they were probably at lunch. A guy went up to the counter, saying he’d been in line “an hour”. I decided to check traffic flow, which seemed normal. At the time, I was 12th in line. A second worker appeared. Perhaps twice as many in line would fill the post office – the longest lines I normally see. It took 20 minutes for me to get to the counter for service – that was less than two minutes per customer ahead of me. Of course it seemed like longer, if that was one’s mindset. Most of the problems ahead of me were we customers, ill-prepared or whatever. I don’t see how the post office could make any modifications that would eliminate complaints, fair or otherwise. People do need to have lunch. Cutbacks are taking place, and more to come (someone behind me said “it’s going to get worse”). Interesting how our little ‘society’ in the line sees the postal world; and what we can learn about ourselves. I wonder how the postal workers see us….
UPDATE January 1, 2012: From Joyce, Dec. 31: The USPS has come in for a lot of criticism this year from the right wing – too many on the right are looking to privatize this vital national service. Considering the volume of mail the USPS has to process every day, the postal workers do a wonderful job!
Also from Joyce, Jan. 1: Your addendum reminds me of how subjective the passage of time can be, depending on the circumstances and one’s mood. Specifically, I had a new family practice resident at a delivery [of a baby] with me, and I had to resuscitate the baby with a bag and mask. Afterward, the resident and I debriefed together because he was obviously shaken; he marveled that I had been “bagging” the baby for at least 20 minutes, and I had to tell him that I was timing it, and the whole episode lasted no more than 20 seconds. He found that really hard to believe, but I had to point out that the second apgar score, which is done at 5 minutes, was 9 out of 10.

#492 – Dick Bernard: Christmas all year long….

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I was at 7:30 a.m. Mass Christmas Day at Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis. Usually, I’m found at 9:30 a.m. They had a need for a few ushers, the time was open, so I volunteered.
Celebrant this day was Father Tim Backous. He is a regular visitor from St. John’s University in Collegeville MN, and always has a cogent and powerful message. Today was no different.
He opened his homily with reference to one of those inspirational “forwards” that tend to appear at this season of the year.
This one, as I recall it, was about a Colorado physician, enroute home for Christmas, who encountered car problems and limped into a service station for help. Inside the station was a woman, crying. The woman said she was enroute to California with her three kids to start a new life. The kids were in the car. She said she had run out of money. The physician, a woman, filled her gas tank, bought food such as it was available at the station, and gave her whatever extra money she had. And the woman was on her way.
The service people checked the physicians car to find out what was wrong, and they could find nothing amiss. She went on her way, and never again had any problems with the car.
A Christmas miracle.
Fr. Tim noted that this and similar stories are common this time of year, and indeed they are all wonderful.
“But at the risk of being labeled a Grinch”, I recall him saying, there is a larger message.
He continued, Christmas is only one day of the year, and it is useful to keep that in mind every day of every year.
It is one of those uncomfortable messages we need to hear.
Every day should be Christmas day…if not in scale, but Christmas spread out in bits and pieces through the entire year.
Merry Christmas, and 365 compassionate days in the coming year.

Manger Scene, Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis December 25, 2011


Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis MN, December 25, 2011

#491 – Dick Bernard: Heritage. An Old House on the Winter Solstice

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UPDATE: December 21, 2012: December 9 it was snowing on Heritage House, and it appeared unofficial winter had arrived. I include a photo December 9, and another taken today at noon at Heritage House as well. They are near the end of this post. The album which follows includes 48 photos. Click on any photo to enlarge it.
UPDATE: November 7, 2012: This date I went over to Heritage House to do my November photos. As the below shows, I’ve been doing these photos each month for over a year. Today was a fall day at Heritage House, overcast, cool but not cold. A feeling of coming winter, but only subtle hints of things to come. Todays trip I noticed some new information pieces about the history of the site and some explanation of its features. These are posted at the end of this page.
Here’s the original post from Dec. 22, 2011
click on all photos to enlarge them

Dec 21, 2011, 4:30 p.m.


Last August I looked for an outdoor place to do some reading.
There were a number of options in my town. Ultimately, Marsh Creek Park at the corner of Lake Avenue and Radio Drive in Woodbury spoke most convincingly. I drove near it most every day, and the little pioneer house that was its centerpiece always beckoned, but I had never actually been in there.
So, in mid-August I drove in the parking area, got out my folding chair, found a spot and started to read a book, an hour or so at a time.
Several books and two months later I packed up for the winter. But I’ll be back.
The first day I was there, I took several photos, one of which follows (click to enlarge):

1870 house at Marsh Creek Park, Woodubry MN August, 2011


The site is maintained by the Woodbury Heritage Society* and during my times there I watched people from the Society doing this and that, as well as touring (such as one can ‘tour’) the one room house (there is an upstairs, but that is closed to visitors).
The succinct history of the home, provided by the Heritage Society says that it “was built about 1870 as an attachment to the log cabin home of original property owner Frederick Raths. Raths emigrated from Germany in 1853 and purchased the Woodbury property in 1866. This addition was used by the Raths family as a kitchen and living quarters. Over the years, it has also been used as living quarters for farm hands, and as a washing room and utility room.” An earlier log structure had been attached to the house, but many years ago was removed.
As settlers to this area go, Raths was among the earlier arrivals. Minnesota became a state in 1858; the railroad didn’t even reach St. Paul until about 1867. In 1870, St. Paul’s populations was about 20,000, about a third of Woodbury’s current population. St. Paul was Minnesota’s largest city: Minneapolis/St. Anthony together did not equal the population of St. Paul in 1870.
Tours of the house are given in the summer months, but the Raths and other had to live in the dwellings of the time year round. I keep that in mind as I pass near the pioneer house every day. We romanticize what had to have been an extraordinarily difficult existence for those who came before.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
* – Woodbury (MN) Heritage Society, 8301 Valley Creek Rd, Woodbury MN 55125, 651-714-3564

The garden in the yard of the house Sep. 22, 2011.


December 21, 2011, 4:30 p.m.


NOTE: Earlier this fall I did a multi-part post on the general topic of ‘heritage’. It begins on October 5, here.
My two messages for Christmas 2011, here.
UPDATE January 7, 2012

above and below: Sunrise at Heritage House 7:50 a.m. January 7, 2012



UPDATE March 23, 2012: a single snowy day in February, and the day after “Spring has sprung”

Feb. 29, 2012: the only day with snow in February in Woodbury MN


Spring begins to spring at Heritage House,Woodbury MN, March 23, 2012


At the front entrance to the house, in memory of the pioneers.


Heritage House March 23, 2012


Spring Flower seen at Heritage House front yard March 24, 2012


April 2, 2012


Past and Present April 2, 2012


A tree at Heritage House April 10, 2012, “compares notes” with a tree in Albuquerque NM April 10, 2011: here.

Dick Bernard April 10, 2012


6:25 a.m. April 17, 2012


May 1, 2012: Robins and Dandelions, Spring in Minnesota


May 1, 2012 at Heritage House


May 1, 2012 at Heritage House


May 1, 2012


Time to replace 1870s siding...May 22, 2012


Father's Day June 17, 2012


The re-siding project continues, July 6, 2012


July 6, 2012


July 6, 2012, 95 degrees


A sunny July 6, and the sundial was absolutely precise!


From the tree in the yard of Heritage House August 4, 2012


At Heritage House August 4, 2012


Renovation on the House continues August 8, 2012


Look closely for the tiny flowers resting in the tree August 8, 2012


September 17, 2012, nearing Fall.


An old pump. September 17, 2012


Settling in for the coming first snowfall. October 10, 2012


October 10, 2012. Look carefully at the shovel, and the whimsy of some artistic type!


A year in photos at Heritage House completed. Sunrise, 7:07 a.m. on October 12, 2012, at the corner of Lake and Radio in Woodbury MN. Heritage House would be just to the right of the photo, just out of sight to the southeast. You can see the picket fence.


Letter to Editor of Woodbury Bulletin October 31, 2012: here

Nov. 7, 2012 - remnants of the summer garden


Nov. 12, 2012. A morning dusting of snow (which quite rapidly disappeared as the morning progressed.)


Dec. 3, 2012, damp and 55 degrees (average for Dec. 3 31 degrees; record temp 63)


Dec. 3, 2012


Fall falls as the first serious winter show arrives, December 9, 2012


Noon, December 21, 2012


POSTNOTE: Sometime between October 10 and November 7, 2012, the below signs were added at Heritage House, to give a visitor a better understanding of what he/she was seeing. Nice touch.

November 7, 2012


Nov. 7, 2012


Nov. 7, 2012


Nov. 7, 2012 (see next photo)


The Grove, Nov. 7, 2012


Nov. 7, 2012


Nov. 7, 2012

#484 -Dick Bernard: A Nostalgia Trip: "Reunioning" with Apollo 11 and the Muppets in Woodbury

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There was a bit of synchronicity at work for me a few days ago.
It began with conversation with Brett, one of the staff at City Centre Caribou Coffee in Woodbury. Apollo 11 had come up as a trivia question, and I noted my memories of that astonishing July 20 in 1969: of stopping along U.S. #2 west of Bagley MN, glued to the car radio, during the time when Apollo 11 touched down on the moon; and many hours later, back in suburban Minneapolis, watching the astronauts on the moons surface on television.
Brett, it turned out, was 8 years old and growing up in Bemidji that day in 1969. I knew I had some really rough photos I had taken of Apollo on the moon that night. They wouldn’t rate star quality – snapshot camera, slow film and low light weren’t a good combination – but I said I’d see if I could find them and make a copy for him.
It took a bit of looking, but I found the slides. Here’s one of them (click on it to enlarge). As I say, the quality is very poor. There are more photos at the end of this post, and of course a selection of much better photography easily accessible on-line at YouTube and other places.

Apollo 11 July 20, 1969


It happened, almost the same day Brett and I had our conversation, that daughter Heather made a request to see the new movie, the Muppets. Frankly, I hadn’t heard of the movie, but I said “sure”, so last Wednesday, I picked her up at Proact in Eagan, and went to the Muppet movie at the Woodbury 10. Just enter zip code to find theaters and show times in your area.
Of course, I remembered the Muppets from parenting days. Coincidentally, they first appeared on Sesame Street in 1969, the same year as the moon landing, and were Sesame Street staples until 1976, when they spun off as a separate Muppet show.
We went to the Muppet movie and it was great fun. The receptionist at Proact said the movie was corny, and for sure it was, but if you want to refresh from the tasks of last minute Christmas shopping, and get back in the Christmas spirit give yourself a gift and drop in on the Muppets movie. You’ll leave feeling good.
It is delightful.
Here are some other Apollo 11 era snapshots I found (click to enlarge).

Viewing the return capsule and a full-size replica of the LEM at Manned Space Craft Center Houston TX Nov. 1969


In line to see Apollo 11 reentry vehicle at Minnesota State Capitol June 1970


Apollo 11 reentry capsule on display at Minnesota State Capitol June, 1970

#472 – Dick Bernard: Penn State/Joe Paterno/Relationships between Vulnerable Children and Authority Figures

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There is no need to recite the volumes already, or to be, written about the story at Penn State. (I write, when they are on the field against Nebraska, at this moment, behind 10-0. Entering the game they were the 12th ranking football team in the nation, their opponent the 19th ranking team).
Of course, all that is totally irrelevant. As one commentator said a few minutes ago, it is as if the quarterback, Paterno, fumbled the ball on the goal line at the edge of the greatest victory in history….
I have another perspective that may add a bit to the necessary conversation.
Being human, with a fair amount of seniority amongst my cohorts in today’s population, I know a little bit about human nature.
Being Catholic, I know how stupidity plays out among power people who think that they can contain and control incidents of sexual abuse within the confines of their church authority (that began to unravel in the 1990s, a long time ago, and continues to this day.) It didn’t and doesn’t work. But some in authority still don’t quite get it.
But I have another insight, born of representing public school teachers in a teachers union from 1972-2000 and seeing the statutory transition from, initially, restrictions on corporal punishment (spanking), to mandatory reporting of even a suspicion of abuse of a child by an adult. The transition was complete long before my staff career ended. What astonishes me in the current situation is that this bunch at Penn State could have been so utterly clueless.
There have been, are, and will continue to be incidents of abuse in public education and elsewhere. We are humans, after all.
But in my particular venue, public education, the incidence was very, very tiny, but when uncovered very, very visible. (In the United States today there are perhaps nearly 50,000,000 children in schools; and perhaps 6,000,000 school employees including substitute teachers, aides, bus drivers, cooks, and on and on and on. With such an immense cohort, in school for an average of 171 days a year in Minnesota, there is no end of possibilities for problems, but amazingly few problems occur.)
In Minnesota, the relevant statute has existed since 1975, and can be viewed in its entirety here. It has been amended frequent times, and doubtless Penn State will cause it to be revisited once again.
I remember the general evolution of this law.
It began pretty simply, probably in 1975, essentially prohibiting spanking of, in anatomy terms, the gluteus maximus (to we lay people, the “rear end”). I don’t recall the genesis of the Law, but probably it was from some excess by someone, somewhere. It was a difficult adjustment for the enforcer in a school, often the shop teacher, more often the principal. The paddle had to go. To this day, there are some who advocate the paddle….
As years went on, the Law evolved.
I wish I could remember the year, but I think it was sometime in the 1980s, when the mandatory reporting provision was first enacted. This came to be called the ‘no touch’ rule in my public education jurisdiction.
The reaction was in the direction of zero tolerance of adult-child touch, in any of its manifestations.
I remember the most dramatic aberration (response): kindergarten teachers, virtually all female, became fearful of doing such innocuous things as helping a kid tie his or her shoelaces.
As time went on, the system and the individuals found more equilibrium, but the point remains, as it relates to Penn State, that the business of adult-vulnerable child relationships has been an active part of legal policy discussion since at least 1975 – 36 years.
There is an entire additional discussion, in this case, of the role of football as a symbol of power and authority in our society. Joe Paterno was an institution because he “brought home the bacon” for Penn State in prestige and money.
But, as I say, that is an entire other discussion.
UPDATES (Notice also comment included with this post):
Comment from Bonnie, Minneapolis: Well said, Dick. Hard to understand their cluelessness. Thanks for continuing your good work.
Comment from Bob, suburban St. Paul, Nov. 12:The only moral response by Penn State would have been to forfeit the remainder of their season to emphasize the significance of this horrendous criminal behavior. The students and fans who want to deify their coach and gloss over this criminality need a strong message from the university that this behavior is to be abhorred and treated as a criminal matter.
I believe mandatory reporting started in about 1970 in Minnesota for a host of professionals such as medical personnel, social workers, all mental health professionals, and education staff. Defining abuse to include corporal punishment by teachers must have come later or in 1975. Prior to the mandatory reporting law it was very hard for doctors and others to report abuse for fear of being sued by the parent for violating confidentiality. In 1969 or so I attended a conference at the U of Denver where a Dr Kemp had identified the “battered child syndrome”. I was with a contingent from Ramsey County including the local juvenile court judge, the head of psychiatry at the old St. Paul Ramsey, a county attorney, a police officer and others. When we came back we developed the Ramsey County Child Abuse Team to facilitate coordinated action by the various entities that intervene in abuse cases. Mandatory reporting has been on the books in Pennsylvania for many years. The Penn State staff had to know about their legal obligation to report. It is the same old story of those in power believing that their sacred institution (Church or Football Program) has priority over civil law.
My dates or years are a bit fuzzy but I believe roughly correct without doing in-depth research.
Note from Dick: whatever the actual dates, awareness about abuse, and the laws on reporting, have a very long history.
From Jeff, south suburbs, Nov. 13: The parties involved need to be punished severely… that means the offender
Sandusky, and if any coaches or university officials condoned or did not
report the crime then they also should be prosecuted if they broke the law
in PA.
Obviously Penn State will pay a very heavy price in lawsuits and settlements
in regard to this matter. These civil actions will help Penn State and
other institutions understand that protecting innocent children is paramount
and institutional protection of football or a university’s name is nothing
compared to this. Just think of how Penn State would have been held up as a
correct role model had they handled the situation the way it should have …
morally and legally.
As to the matter of football games. I personally differ on this. if the NCAA
or the State of PA wants to punish the football program at Penn State in the
future that is fine. The games that are set up are contracts that are
certainly not inviolate, and Penn State could forfeit them of course. I
think it would have been difficult last week. My feeling is however that
the players in the program today, and the students at the University today
should not be punished for things they had no involvement in. if the
program is punished in the future in some way , and both criminal and civil
sanctions and punishments are metered out as they are justly deserved I
think that is enough for now.
I do have sensitivity to the fact that sports or a sports program should not
supersede the criminality and heinous nature of the offenses ; but I also
think that punishing students and student athletes today for things that
happened 10 years ago and for which they had no control would be wrong in my
eyes.
Another followup comment from Bob in suburban St. Paul: Dick, I just attempted some research on the origins of our law in MN without much success. I did learn that in 1962 the medical profession began bringing the subject to our attention. In 1974 the federal government passed legislation providing funding to for state programs to address the issue. I do know we were in Denver in 1969 learning about how to develop a multi-disciplinary team at the local level. Just when MN outlawed child abuse remains question for me. Until states passed laws to make child abuse illegal it was dealt with under laws prohibiting cruelty to animals. What is stunning about the subject is the fact that it took us so long to define child abuse as criminal. Until then children were considered chattel. A doctor called me one time when I managed Child Welfare Intake for Ramsey County. He was trying to tell me through the use of obscure language that this young teen-age girl was a victim of incest. He could not be explicit or give me facts to go on because the law did not mandate reporting and he was going out on a limb legally. When I asked him for facts or how he knew these things, he said I just had to trust his medical acumen. It was obvious that this doctor was very nervous about telling me anything but wanted to tip us off. After the law was passed he was required to report and was protected legally. Thankfully we have advanced somewhat, but obviously not at Penn State. Bob
And yet another, from Bob, on Nov. 13: Dick, Try as I may the earliest mandetory reporting law I can find for Minnesota dates to 1974. This seems at odds with my memory of Judge Archie Gingold and others pushing for such a law as early as I969, and our child protection interventions prior to 1974. Perhaps we used other other child protection laws and the mandatory reporting law came along later in 1974, which also provided legal protection for the reporter and really changed everything. My memory is obviously flawed. Bob

#470 – Dick Bernard: Public Schools, and the kids in them, matter

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Sometimes seemingly random events have a real element of synchronicity to them: they seem to have no relationship, but in every meaningful way, they are directly related. I recently experienced two such synchronous events.
Wednesday, November 2, I was invited to a house party in south Minneapolis. The event was to recognize the first ten years in the history of a truly remarkable independent and non-partisan organization: Parents United for Public Schools (“PUPS”). The groups website (click here) says it all far better than I ever could.
I was invited to the gathering because in the first few months during which PUPS was evolving from idea into reality I participated in the early organizational meetings of the group. We were something of a ‘rag-tag’ bunch then – simply parents, grandparents and taxpayers who really cared about public schools. Back then, in 2002, there was no organization, no dues, no staff, and thus no guarantee of a future. After a few meetings, a bunch of us sat around in a circle at a library in the west suburbs and had our say. At my turn, I simply urged the group to stay in existence so that it would still exist at the beginning of a second year.
The organizers slogged on (such efforts are never easy), and here they are, still independent ten years later, a recognized and highly credible voice for Minnesota’s children.
At the gathering, Minnesota Education Commissioner Dr. Brenda Casselius stopped by to share a few words about her passion for kids and public education. (click on photo to enlarge it)

Craig Roen, PUPS Board President, and MN Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Brenda Casselius, Nov. 2, 2011


For those who lament that its impossible to change a resistant status quo, PUPS is an excellent validation of the timeless quotation of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” No one in PUPS is under the illusion that they’ve ‘won’; but their winning is in their continuing to advocate for children and for public schools. They’re in this for the long haul. They won’t quit.
The following Wednesday, I was invited to speak to a group of senior citizens in the south suburbs of the Twin Cities. My topic was public education. This group, like myself, had long before seen their children leave K-12 public education. In not too many years, the over 65 cohort will equal the number of students in Minnesota public schools. I call people like us “outside the walls” of public education.
I took on the task of attempting to briefly capsulize 150 years of Minnesota Public Education, as well as the current ‘lay of the land’ in public education. It is up to the group of 15 folks to judge whether or not I succeeded, but as I was preparing what I was going to present I had in mind the meeting the previous week.
Succinctly, at issue in Minnesota Public Education are about 840,000 public school students (one of every six Minnesotans), using about $9,500,000,000, about one-fourth of the total state budget. This seems like an immense number (and it is) but as I pointed out to the group of senior citizens (all of whom know someone who is actually in public school), this amounts to about $66 per day per student – hardly a kings ransom.
But because the enterprise is so immense and complex and far-flung, and because the consumers, the kids, cannot vote and have little say, public education is a fertile field for near warfare between assorted factions who wish to control both inputs and outcomes. Dialogue and seeking consensus can be difficult.
At the end of my talk (which was “peppered” with lots of constructive dialogue) I identified two crucial areas for the future of Minnesota public education:
1) Minnesotans have to commit to work together to help solve the very real problems in what is called the ‘achievement gap’ in the core cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and elsewhere where poverty is a problem. There is no room for propaganda or punishment on this need. We must work together.
2) Schools have an absolutely critical need to engage with the huge percentage of us who are “outside the walls” of public education (over 60% of households have no one under age 18 living in them; 75-85% of today’s taxpayers have no children of their own in school). We cannot be left as outsiders.
Yesterday was, today is, and tomorrow is at stake.
Thanks PUPS, and to all who care, thanks as well.

#468 – Dick Bernard: Election, Tuesday, November 8, 2011

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This is an off-year election, but nonetheless with very important local issues.
It brings to mind the 2009 local election in my town, which I wrote about in this space a year ago. You can read it here.
If you don’t care to read the piece linked above, succinctly: there were ten candidates for four school board seats: “When the votes were tallied, the numbers revealed that only 6% – one of every 16 – eligible voters had even bothered to go to the polls. The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes polled 3% of those same eligible voters. That person sits in office today because one of every 33 local citizens took the time to vote.”
A somewhat similar scenario faces us tomorrow. I will report (by update on this post) after November 8. I don’t expect miracles.
Whether one votes, or not; or casts an informed vote, or not, they are in reality “voting”.
A vote is too precious a thing to waste.
If there’s an election in your town, Tuesday, find out what the issues/candidates are and do your best to not only vote, but vote well-informed.