http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2008/12/23/unicef-photos-of-the-year-give-cause-to-pause-this-holiday-season/ Weblog of Wesley Fryer Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:55:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2008/12/23/unicef-photos-of-the-year-give-cause-to-pause-this-holiday-season/comment-page-1/#comment-63101 Martha Thornburgh Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:30:41 +0000 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/?p=3271#comment-63101 Thanks for these reminders. I've been blessed with opportunities to spend several Christmases in places like the slums of PortauPrince and Nairobi and a clinic in Mogadishu, Somalia. I've had the opportunity to live in several of the world's poorest nations. I really want that always to be a part of who I am. I don't ever want that to seem far and distant. These are our neighbors, our brothers and our sisters. I am always shocked at how quickly those memories become pictures in a scrap book or a magazine and less of a reality. I guess that it is human nature for us to adapt to where we are. Making these worlds reality for my students is not about bumming them out. And I can not expect them to "get it" by just hearing my stories or seeing my pictures. I even have a hard time "getting it" and I have lived it. We need personal touches. We need to get to know our neighbors not just as someone with great need, but as someone with stories to tell and lessons to teach. What great opportunities we now have for doing this in our classrooms. Thanks for these reminders. I’ve been blessed with opportunities to spend several Christmases in places like the slums of PortauPrince and Nairobi and a clinic in Mogadishu, Somalia. I’ve had the opportunity to live in several of the world’s poorest nations. I really want that always to be a part of who I am. I don’t ever want that to seem far and distant. These are our neighbors, our brothers and our sisters. I am always shocked at how quickly those memories become pictures in a scrap book or a magazine and less of a reality. I guess that it is human nature for us to adapt to where we are. Making these worlds reality for my students is not about bumming them out. And I can not expect them to “get it” by just hearing my stories or seeing my pictures. I even have a hard time “getting it” and I have lived it. We need personal touches. We need to get to know our neighbors not just as someone with great need, but as someone with stories to tell and lessons to teach. What great opportunities we now have for doing this in our classrooms.

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