Wolverines, Chargers, and Lions

 

It is Sunday evening, November 17^th.  I am watching the Los Angeles Chargers vs the Cincinnati Bengals.  The Chargers are pummeling the Bengals 27-6 at the 10-minute mark of the 3^rd Quarter.  During halftime, the talking heads were talking about how first year coach Jim Harbaugh has already built a contender with the Harbaugh formula:  a strong defense and an offense built on a solid running game.  This is the first time I have really watched the Chargers this season and I am duly impressed.

Talk about being impressed, how about the Detroit Lions.  I watched them destroy the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars 52-6.  The led 28-6 at the half and had almost 300 yards of offense at that point.  The Lions head coach, Dan Campbell, believes in a dominant defense and a balanced offense.  They are on a tear and everyone using the words “Super Bowl” when talking about this Lions team.  They ended up with 655 yards of offense.

At the 2:53 mark of the 3^rd Quarter, the Bengals have scored two unanswered touchdowns and have closed the gap vs the Chargers to 27-20.  It is a new ballgame at So-Fi Stadium.

After beating the Rams in game 1 and then losing to the Buccaneers in game 2, the Lions have been on a 9-0 tear and seem to get stronger each game.  Per Google, “Detroit is now the third team in the Super Bowl era with three wins of 35-plus points in their first 10 games of a season.”

On March 17, 2021, the Lions traded QB Matthew Stafford to the LA Rams for Jared Goff.  When Stafford lead the Rams to victory in Super Bowl LVI and Lions were 3-13, it seemed to the world that Rams got the better of that trade.  Kudos to Dan Campbell and staff for creating an offense that played into Goss’s strength.  He fits well and is thriving in the team-oriented scheme of the Lions.

With 8:19 left in the game, the Chargers and Bengals are tied at 27-27.

Speaking of Jim Harbaugh, let’s talk some about the Wolverines, the University of Michigan football team, he took to the National Championship last year and then left to become the Chargers head coach.  Last season was magical in the run to the National Championship.  I will forever be a Harbaugh fan and admirer for building that amazing team.  I wish he had stayed at Michigan, but don’t blame him for moving back to the NFL.  He had to follow his dreams and make sound economic moves for himself. 

I am a wee bit miffed that he left the cupboard bare and pipeline empty for his beloved Wolverines.   Michigan lost 16 starters from the championship team.  They lost 10 on offense including the entire starting offense line, quarterback JJ McCarthy, and running back Blake Corum.  The only returning starter is tight end Colstan Loveland.  On defense, they lost 6 starters.  As I mentioned, the pipeline was also empty.  Teams like Alabama and Ohio State have traditionally had a pipeline of good players coming in so they really never had a rebuilding year but rather they would reload every year.  With the coaching change happening after the National Championship game on January 8, the new head coach, Sherrone Moore, was late coming to the portal. 

As a result of losing 16 starters, it is no surprise that Michigan is 5-5 thus far this season and 3-4 in the Big Ten.  They have lost to Texas, Washington, Illinois, Oregon, and Indiana.  Two games remain on the schedule:  Northwestern and then Ohio State.  Last year’s National Champions need to win one of these last two games to be bowl eligible.  The easier opponent is the 4 and 6 Northwestern Wildcats.  While it seems unlikely, the season would be salvaged if we could beat the second ranked Buckeyes in Columbus.

Harbaugh’s Chargers were up 24-6 at half time.  They got a field goal at the 10:29 mark of the 3^rd Quarter to go up 27-6.  The Bengals then scored 21 unanswered points to tie the game.  The Chargers came back to life and shut down the Bengal offense and scored a winning touchdown with 18 seconds left in the game to win 34-27.

Go Blue! Go Lions!  Go Chargers!

A Veteran's Day Memory

 

Norman Rockwell Nostalgia

Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day.  I have written about Veteran's Day on November 11, 2018:  The End of the Great War: 100 Years.

I am going to write about it again today, but from a childhood memory of a Veteran’s Day over 50 years ago.  This memory was jogged when my wife asked me today if I had Veteran’s Day off.  I replied, “I haven’t had Veteran’s Day off since I was in the Detroit Public Schools.  In fact, even then we went to school in the morning and had only the afternoon.  It always seemed like a lesser holiday because we only had a half-day off.”

I do not remember what I did on most of those Veteran’s Day half-day holidays.  One however stands out in my mind.  And I thought of it when I went outside today to barbecue some lamb chops for dinner.  It was 60 degrees, shirt sleeve or light jacket weather.  I was thinking it was November 10^th and we haven’t had a really cold day yet.  We haven’t had a first frost yet.  This was Indian Summer weather, but it couldn’t be an Indian Summer day, officialy, until we had a first killing frost.

It brought to mind a Veteran’s Day when I was either in 7^th or 8^th grade.  I want to say it was 7^th grade, my last year at Burns Elementary School.  When school let out at noon, it was a glorious Indian Summer day.  The temperature must have been in the 60s if not the 70s.  The sky was beautiful Autumn blue.  A group of us decided to meet up at Cooley High School and play some touch football. 

It was an innocent time.  We were young, energetic, and optimistic.  It was before the Detroit Riots in 1967 and the other civil unrest that defined the late 1960s.  We played on Cooley’s football field and felt much older than our 14-year-old selves.  We had a great time as can only be had in a pick-up game.

It was fun until about 3 pm when the wind picked up bringing with it a cold front.  Dark gray clouds rolled in on the wind.  There was a rapid drop in temperature.  It was like 70 degrees on minute, and it was a very cold 45 degrees in a matter of minutes.  The colder it got, the stronger the wind blew.  We were all dressed for the warmer weather.  No one had a coat or even a sweatshirt.  Our game ended on account that we were all freezing our butts off.  We jumped on our bikes and hightailed it for home.

Winter instantly took over that afternoon and didn’t loosen its grip until March. 

Being 2024 and having the full power of the internet at my disposal.  I searched the weather websites to see how high the temperature was that day and how quickly it cooled off.  The weather graph for that day showed nothing like what was etched in my memory.  Maybe I had the year wrong, so I ended up looking at every Veteran’s Day in the 1960s and still… nothing like I remembered.  Over time have I exaggerated the memories of that day to make for a better story?  Perhaps.  But truly, I remember that beautiful day until Winter thrust itself on us and stayed until March.

It also made me think of how the weather had changed in the past sixty years.  

It made me think of how the ‘climate’ has changed in so many ways in our country.

AYF Olympics, a uniquely American Armenian experience

 

Note:  This is my annual wrap-up article for the Armenian Youth Federation Olympics Special Insert for the Armenian Weekly. 

Last year, I wrote the wrap-up for the Washington, D.C. AYF Olympics a few days after Artsakh fell. While the memory continues to haunt us, this wrap-up is a warm reflection on just how wonderful the 90th annual AYF Olympics were in Detroit. Kudos to the Steering Committee and subcommittees that worked for months to make it such a memorable weekend!  

All Olympics are special, but this one was a bit more special for me. I grew up in Detroit, and the Detroit “Kopernik Tandourjian” Chapter was the only AYF chapter I ever belonged to. While my family moved from Detroit in 1990, I am still a Detroitsi and may favor that in this piece.

The headquarters hotel for this year, the Renaissance Marriott, was in Downtown Detroit for the first time since the 1975 Detroit Olympics 49 years ago. In the interim, the city of Detroit already on its heels in 1975 was increasingly plagued by poor finances, crime, poverty and urban decay until it hit rock bottom in 2012 when the city declared bankruptcy. Since then, there has been a resurgence and rejuvenation of the city. It was wonderful to be in a vibrant and safe Downtown Detroit and to experience all the new restaurants that were teeming with people. It was a great move to be downtown again.

As we drove into the city, the first Armenian we saw was the statue of Gomidas Vartabed one block from the hotel. The first flesh and blood Armenians we saw were Ara and Margo Dinkjian and family who pulled into the hotel right behind us.

The last time the Olympics were held in Detroit was in 2014, which coincidentally was the year that Tom Vartabedian turned over the writing of the AYF Olympics Special Issue of the Armenian Weekly to Bob Tutunjian and me. A few years later, Harry Derderdian joined our intrepid crew. It has been a labor of love for all of us ever since.

Speaking of the writing crew, this year we recruited Aline Killian, an AYF Junior in Chicago, who has already penned some impressive articles for the Weekly. She has contributed to this special issue with a piece on Juniors at the Senior Olympics. Little did we know that Aline’s gunkamayr is none other than Weekly editor Pauline Getzoyan. Glad to have you on board Aline!

Among the photographers, our rock, Tamar Kanarian, was with us taking action photos at the swimming, softball and track events. Sona Gevorkian was not able to join us this year, but we will need her next year in Boston, as Tamar is on the Boston Steering Committee. We have been happy to have Arev Kaligian, our rock in training, for the last four years. Steering Committee co-chair Araxie Tossounian also recruited DKT members Alexandrea Bedirian and Mara Najarian. Welcome to the fold ladies.

The venues were all awesome, from golf, tennis and swimming on Friday and softball on Saturday to track and field on Sunday. Everything was 30-40 minutes max from the hotel and close to the freeways. The Steering Committee dialed in some excellent weather. The Governing Body, a group of three AYF alumni that provides continuity of best practices and leadership, upped its game this year. Both swimming and track and field started on time and took less time in total to the delight of athletes, coaches and fans. 

Lifetime Achievement Award recipients John Berberian and Hachig Kazarian
(Photo: Arev Kaligian)

At the dances and sporting events, it was awesome to see Detroit AYF Olympic luminaries from the past. Sue Merian Arzoian, the first Olympic Queen, attended her first Olympics in over 30 years. Queen Rosemary Panosian came from Fresno along with her son Olympic King Steve Panosian from New Jersey. It was a great treat to see two families of swimming siblings, the Karapetians and the Tians, at the Olympics. I was fortunate enough to get a photo of each of them.

The Central Executive also presented two lifetime achievement awards during the Olympic Ball on Sunday night. John Berberian and Hachig Kazarian were honored for their musical contributions to the Olympics since the 1960s. They have entertained at least three generations of AYFers providing what can only be called the soundtrack of the Olympics. Congratulations to these virtuosos in the oud and clarinet.

Retiring Governing Body member Daron Topouzian with AYF Central Executive members
(Photo: Mark Gavoor)

Detroit’s Daron Topouzian finished his six-year term as a member of the Governing Body this year. Stephen Hagopian will replace Topouzian, joining Mark Manuelian and Ara Sarajian. The Central Executive acknowledged Topouzian’s service during the award ceremony. Topouzian shared, “During the Olympics weekend, numerous people asked me if I was relieved to be finishing my role with Governing Body. My response was always, no, I am sad that my GB role is ending. I have enjoyed the relationships with many AYFers, my peers in Governing Body, and the many community members and steering committees that I have worked with. I will miss it!” Thank you Daron!

There was one award I would have liked to have seen given out on Sunday. It was Nareg Mkrtschjan’s last Olympics as an AYFer. Of course, I anticipate him being at the Olympics every year and doing what he does — helping out. I would like to acknowledge his leadership and passion on the Central Executive. He has been a driving force, living Mal Varadian’s charge, “Make it better than it was.” Thank you Nareg for all you have done and will no doubt continue to do.

Araxie Tossounian is the only member of the Steering Committee I dealt with on a regular basis. She was a delight to work with and never seemed stressed by anything — a sign of good planning by the entire committee, especially given how smoothly everything ran throughout the weekend.

How about the merch? A gray hat featured the bold white AYF. The t-shirts were very cool, especially the one every other child was wearing on Sunday: “I am just here for the kiddie race.” The gray sweatshirt with the old AYF Olympics logo was awesome. Everything sold out by Sunday. Great job to the fashion designers.  

The Detroit Ad Book continued the tradition of being as good or better than the year before. Each one is a collector’s item. There were many beautiful ads and photos, but three stood out in my mind. First was the ad from newly-engaged Steve Mesrobian and Lara Nercessian. The second was from the Kehetian girls, a photo of Janet competing in the shot put with the caption, “Yes, I really did compete!” Lastly, and perhaps my favorite, was an ad from Jane Knar of Fresno and Mary Afetian of Detroit. They met at the Providence Olympics in 1969 and celebrated 55 years of friendship in Detroit. They sought me out to take a photo of them, which I gladly did.

Detroit had a wonderful innovation this year — if you bought a Hye Pass, you just had to show your wrist band and could walk right into any event. It saved a lot of time and the need to staff so many people at the entrance of each of the evening dances. In 2014, Ara Topouzian came up with the idea of having a band at the softball picnic, which has also become a standard. It was good to see Ara play at this year’s picnic with Gerald Gerjekian, George Nigosian and Hrant Gulian. They were joined by special guests Mal Barsamian and Steve Vosbikian. 

Being involved in the Olympics, whether through the Governing Body or by writing daily articles, makes the Olympics a much richer and more rewarding weekend. You actually get to know this wonderful generation of AYFers. They all want to win and compete hard, but friendship and the fraternal spirit is paramount to them. I think of Tom Vartabedian often and thank him for coaxing, maybe even conscripting, me into this role.

Tamar Kanarian and Anoush Arakelian showing off 2025 Boston AYF Olympics gear
(Photo: Mark Gavoor)

It was great to see the siblings and old family friends, Anahid Derbabian, Raffi Derbabian and Lorig Noroyan. It was also good to see Pete Jelalian and Garo Derkaloustian talking in the stands. Tamar Kanarian and Anoush Arakelian were very active at track and field promoting next year’s 91st annual Olympics in Boston. They donned t-shirts with the Boston Olympics logo and passed out paddle fans adorned with the same logo. 

For us Armenians, AYFers and alumni, the Olympics are a large part of our Armenian experience. Certainly, we are keenly involved with and concerned about the Republic of Armenia. It is the future of our people and the center of our culture in a way that only a nation can be. Yet the Olympic games, the AYF Olympics, are ours. The experience and spirit we share for a long weekend is uniquely American Armenian. It does all of our hearts good to see it flourish.  

Tebi Boston!

Election Night 2024

 

It is the 10 pm on the evening of Election Day and the polls are closed in the continental 48 states.  Trump has 211 electoral votes and Harris has 145.  At this moment, it looks like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Georgia are going for Trump.  It that happens, Trump will be the next President of the United States.   CNN just reported that the folks gathered at the Trump headquarters are feeling jubilant as contrasted by a more somber tone at the Harris headquarters.

It is not fait accompli as votes are still coming in.  States and news networks seem to be more conservative in drawing conclusions.  The vote checking in the States seem more rigorous with beefed up security to be able to deliver the most reliable results they can.

Obviously if Trump wins, I imagine there will be no accusation of election fraud by either side.

It was just announced that Oregon and it’s 11 Electoral Votes have gone to Harris.  So, it is now Trump 211 and Harris at 153.

It seems “near impossible” that Harris will be able to win in Pennsylvania with 77% of the votes tallied and Trump having a 177, 232 votes ahead.  In Wisconsin, 67% of the votes are in and Trump is leading by 63,450 votes.  87% of the votes are tallied in North Carolina and Trumps margin in 138,331.  91% of the votes have been counted in Georgia and Trump has a 132, 243 vote lead.

I can see why the mood is somber at the Harris Headquarters.  The talking heads on CNN are saying Harris did not have enough time for people to get to know her.

Trump just took an 86,240 vote lead in Michigan though only 37% of the vote is in.

CNN just called North Carolina for Trump and his Electoral Vote lead is 227-153 and they just showed a jubilant crowd at the Trump Headquarters.  It is very likely Trump will win both the popular vote and Electoral College votes.  It also appears the Republicans will take control of the Senate.

I am certain that Trump will win this election.  In the last twelve years, we have had Obama, Trump, Biden, and Trump again in the Oval Office.  I have not enjoyed the polar swings in policy with each of these elections.  I can see Ukraine being cut loose and Russia having its way there.  I can see us dropping out of the Paris Accords regarding Global Warming again.  I can see massive changes in immigration policy

I just saw an advertisement of Jon Stewart and Daily Show which starts in two minutes.  They are calling this edition of the Daily Show, “Indecision 2024:  There’s Nothing We can do About it Now.” 

Trump now has 230 Electoral Votes to Harris’s 182.

It is time for bed.  I am turning in believing Trump will win.  If I awake to something else… well there will be a lot more to write about.

The Eve of the Election: Is it Over Yet?

I am writing this on Monday evening, November 4^th, the evening before the Presidential election which officially is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5^th.

Unless you have been living under a rock, shipwrecked on a deserted island, or been in a coma, you know all the drama of this election process which arguably began on January 6, 2021. 

From the beginning it was clear that the 2024 election would be a rematch of the 2020 election.  The election first pitted former President Trump against President Biden.  In their first debate on June 27th, it was clear to everyone, except President Biden, that President Biden was no longer mentally capable of doing the job.  If he stayed in the race, Trump would have been easily elected.  His advisors and party leaders got him to accept this fact and back out of the race.  Almost immediately, his VP, Kamala Harris, declared her candidacy for President on July 21^st and became the official Democratic candidate on August 5^th.

As unprecedented as this was.  The most unprecedented part of the elections is that there were two assassination attempts on former President Trump.  There were actual shots in the first instance, July 13^th, in which a bullet grazed and bloodied Trump’s ear.

On the more precedented side that has been the norm of the 2016, 2020, and now the 2024 elections.  There has been a lot of mudslinging and both candidates.  They seemed say anything about their opponent and offer any outlandish thing to garner votes.

By all predictions, the electoral college vote is too close to call, and deadlocked in the “swing states” (Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada).   Each of these states are polling 49% for each candidate.  The difference in each case is less than the polling margin of error.  We just have to wait until tomorrow evening to see who our next President. 

Did I say tomorrow?

It is highly unlikely we will know the results tomorrow night.  After the counts, recounts, accusations of fraud, and the subsequent court cases after the 2020 elections that ruled there was none, the networks and the election officials are going to be very conservative.  They will only announce results when, they are sure.  I have seen reports were states and municipalities are prepared for lawsuits, protests, and even civil unrest which I believe are more likely to happen if Trump loses. 

I hope we see a more civil election and transfer of power than we did in 2020.

Many people are tired of the polarization and the ridiculously long election process.  It is exhausting and they just want to see it be over.   People are weary to the point where they want the election to be over almost more than they care who wins.

I would sure love to see a candidate someday that I want to vote for rather than selecting the better of two lesser choices.  Is this too much to ask for?  It seems that in a country of 350 million people there might be one or two.

When I sat down to write this, I had the intention of writing a harder hitting post.  In reading it over, I am far off from that mark.  I believe it is a sign of my own weariness with the elections in this country have become.

The Old Neighborhood

 

Our Strathmoor House

There is an old saying, that begins with “You can’t go back…”  Both C. S. Lewis and Ernest Hemingway used this beginning to deliver the same message.  Lewis said, ““You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” Hemingway’s version is “You can't go back, but you can move forward.”  Both are telling us that we cannot change the past, but we have the freedom to start from where we are now and live moving forward in a manner that can change the ending presumably in some positive way.  The Lewis and Hemingway quotes are the subject for another blog.  This one is simply about the “You can’t go back.”

You can’t go back to the places you used to live and expect it to be the same especially if you haven’t been back in ten or twenty years.  You can’t go back to a place you worked and expect to see everyone you worked with.  You can’t go back to an old school and… well, you get the idea.  People change jobs.  Old neighbors move away.  Businesses close locations or refurb their offices beyond recognition.  Houses are painted different colors sometimes remodeled.  Some are even torn down and rebuilt.  Old haunts, restaurants and stores relocate, redecorate, or go out of business and replaced with another business.

This is all normal stuff.  But it is different in my old neighborhood where I grew up in Detroit.  The changes there are dramatic.  I don’t even know what to call it.  The socio-economic changes in the city are well documented and resulted in the city declaring bankruptcy in 2013.  From that time, the city has experienced a revitalization.  I was there for the recent Armenian Youth Federation Olympics and actually stayed downtown at the RenCen.  The city was alive with people, with new restaurants attracting people from the city and suburbs alike.  This was so different in such a positive way from the Detroit I left in 1990.  Back then I only went downtown when I absolutely had to like for school at Wayne State University.  It was a pleasure to see the city that I grew up in come back to life.

Cadillac Jr. High being demolshed

 

That transformation has yet to reach the neighborhood I grew up:  Zone 27 as we called it then and 48227 in Zip Code parlance.  I loved that neighborhood growing up there.  Burns Elementary School, Cadillac Junior High, and Cooley High School were all walking distance from our house first on Freeland and then two blocks over on Strathmoor.  This summer Cadillac was torn down.  Cooley has been closed since 2010 and has been vandalized.  I hope they can repurpose this architectural gem rather than tear it down as well.  I have posted on my beloved library, the Monnier Branch of the Detroit Public and I believe it has also been torn down.  The Great Lakes movie theater opened in 1927 and had like 1,800 seats.  As we lived a frugal lower middle-class lifestyle, we were not frequent patrons of the Great Lakes but it was the theater we went to.  I was sorry when it ceased to be a movie theater in the late 1960s and sadder, today, to learn it was abandoned in the 1980s and torn down in 1999.

The shopping district in our neighborhood was at the corner of Grand River and Greenfield.  There were two major department stores across Grand River from each other.  One was Montgomery Ward, a now defunct national chain, and Federal’s, a now defunct local chain.  There were other stores around the same intersection such as Saunders, Cunninghams Pharmacy, Crowley's, Winkleman's, SS Kresge's, Woolworth's, and Harry Suffrin’s menswear.  There were a few other shops on Fenkell we would also frequent.  There was a Tastee-Freeze at the corner of Strathmoor and Fenkell.  A block to the west was the Red Devil Pizzeria which we may have gone to once or twice.  We got our school supplies and prescriptions from Sam’s Drug’s a few blocks to the east.  Morris Hardware, across from Sam’s, is where we when we were doing household repairs.  Next to Morris Hardware was a humble Chinese restaurant owned by my classmate Mary Look’s parents.  We never went to that restaurant.

Our Old House now

All of that is gone.  Only Burns Elementary is still operational.  Our house on Strathmoor is abandoned and boarded up.  The homes on either side of our house are gone… torn down.  Our old house looks so small and so lonely.  While all of this is true, I have fond, warm, and full memories of the place, our little slice of Detroit.  In my mind, our house was warm, spacious, full of life. 

You cannot go back, but you can certainly remember.

An Almost Autumn Day

 

     September came and went.  I did not post a thing on this blog. 

That doesn’t mean I did not write anything.  I wrote nine articles for The Armenian Weekly as part of my coverage of the Annual Armenian Youth Federation Olympics which were held in my hometown of Detroit.  It was the 90^th edition of the athletic and social weekend that is a large part of my Armenian life.  I may yet post a few of the articles I wrote for the Weekly.

When the calendar flipped to October, I half vowed to post here every day this month.  Here it is the 3^rd of the month, and I am just posting.

It was a wonderful warm early Fall day here.  The sky was pure cloudless azure, and the air had the subtle golden glow of that I only perceive this time of year.  I had the top down and tooling about town enjoying the day, the drive, and meandering my way to Lake Michigan.  When I made it to the bluff overlooking the lake, I was taken by the setting with the sky, the lake, and leaves just starting to take photos.  I was compelled to take photos and now to share them here.

 

     I read recently, in the Chicago Tribune, that the colors this Fall might be delayed and dulled this year.  The leaves may go from green to brown without hitting the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows that make for a glorious Fall.  The article blamed this phenomenon on global warming and a very dry September.  As Fall is my favorite season, I sure hope this doesn’t happen.  If it does, I hope it is not a trend.  Global warming has essentially transformed winter here in Chicago.  I would hate to see fall be diminished as well.

If the Fall colors dull and the temperature transition to Winter dampens, we can still experience Fall the good old corporate way.  All things pumpkin spice and Halloween have been available in stores for a month now.  With each passing year, more and more people decorate for Halloween as they do for Christmas.  I have seen more 20-foot skeletons and blow-up characters on lawns than ever.  All this is fine, I suppose, as it makes people happy.  I have one pumpkin spice latte a year and have yet to do so this year.  I am waiting for the first frost.  I guess I am just ‘old school.’

This all being said, today felt like a fall day albeit on the warm side.

Speaking of ‘old scholl,’ what do writers and poets have to say about this grand season?

“The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn, And the raspin’ of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn.” — James Whitcomb Riley, “When the Frost is on the Punkin”

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!” — Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby”

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” — Albert Camus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have Fun, Learn Something

 

With the start of another school year at hand, many universities and professors are grappling with how to manage the amazing AI tools that are available to students.   AI tools are amazing.  They can generate PowerPoint slides, essays, solve math and science problems, write code, generate videos, translate passages and documents… the list seems endless. 

I don’t know about most professors, but I believe I have a sense of when AI has been copy-pasted into a writing assignment.  This is especially true, if I have gotten to know the student.  Simply, the writing does not sound at all like them or there are glaring differences in writing sophistication in different sections of the paper.

I tell the students; they should use AI.  They should use it to generate reference lists.  If the topic at hand is not totally arcane, AI is perfect for this.  They should use it to outline or draft their paper.  AI is perfect for taking a finished paper and providing a PowerPoint deck to present the paper.  It can find graphics or examples to enhance the paper or PowerPoint slides.  Lastly, I emphasize if they do any of these things, they need to provide a reference entry or citation so I know how they used AI.   I go so far as to tell students if they use AI for a first draft of the paper, they should actually copy/paste the draft as an addendum to their paper.  In that way I can see how they revised the AI draft to make the paper their own. 

This seemed like a good idea.  In a year and a half with close to 300 hundred students writing two papers each, only one student actually attached an AI draft of one paper to his final paper.  There were perhaps a quarter to a third of the students who I strongly suspected used AI for their entire paper. 

Here in lies a problem.  We emphasize one metric:  grades or points.  The students are motivated by that metric and like to get the highest grade, the most amount of points, with the least effort.  AI is most certainly an amazing ‘least-effort’ tool that can generate a high grade.  This has made grades a poor indication of learning and subject matter mastery.

I have begun asking students ”why are you here?” Why are you are in college?  What are your objectives?  Do you really want to learn?  Gain knowledge?  Learn to communicate effectively?  Be able to think critically?  Master some skill?  “Or do they just want a degree with a high GPA where learning is ancillary benefit if it happens at all?”

This kind of questioning is to get students to understand that one of the main purposes of college is for them to shift from doing things because of extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation.  Extrinsic motivation is that provided by teachers and parents to ensure that students do their homework and study for exams.  Extrinsic motivation is critical in K-12 and, of course, dependent on the intrinsic motivation of parents and teachers.  Intrinsic motivation comes from the individuals own drive to get something done or achieve some goal.  Of course, the quality and voracity of both kinds of motivation varies person to person.

In many of my assignments, I add this to the last line of the assignment online: “Have fun, learn something.”  If the objective is to learn something, the grade will follow.

This may be my objective this academic year, to emphasize learning and intrinsic motivation to truly maximize the return on the students’ tuition investment.  If I can do, I might truly be a teacher.

The Merton Prayer

 

The other day, I was feeling a bit out of sorts, floundering a little, basically somewhat empty.  It was far from an existential crisis or a depression requiring any sort of intervention.  It was more the ebb and flow of emotions, motivation, self-esteem, and a wee bit of ‘what’s it all about’ angst.  Needless to say, I was also feeling a tad lethargic.

I was scrolling around in Facebook which, admittedly, might not have been the wisest thing to be doing.  Social media is generally thought to create more angst than it dissipates.   Well, in this case it helped.  A friend, Shant, posted The Merton Prayer without any explanation or commentary.  I read and  immediately felt much better, more centered, and purposeful.

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, and mystic. Born in France and educated in the United States, Merton entered the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky in 1941, where he lived most of his life. He is best known for his autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), which became a spiritual classic and brought him international fame. Merton wrote extensively on spirituality, social justice, and interfaith dialogue, particularly between Christianity and Eastern religions. His writings continue to inspire those interested in contemplative life and social activism.  He was very popular with several philosophy majors in my circle of friends when I was an undergraduate.  They all, went, to the premier Jesuit High School in Detroit.

I never did get around reading anything by Merton even though I recall they suggested Thoughts in Solitude.  Had I taken their advice and read that book back then, I would have been aware of The Merton Prayer fifty years ago.  I am almost certain The Merton Prayer would not have had nearly the same impact back then as my reading it a few days ago.

    The Merton Prayer is a deeply reflective and honest expression of spiritual humility and trust in God. The prayer acknowledges the uncertainty and confusion often felt in the journey of faith, where one may not always know if they are following the right path or any path at all for that matter. Despite this uncertainty, Merton expresses a profound trust in God's guidance, believing that the desire to please God is itself a sign of being on the right path. The prayer's value lies in its affirmation that sincere intention and trust in God are what ultimately guide a person's spiritual journey, even when the way forward seems unclear. It resonates with many for its honesty and its emphasis on faith amid doubt.  It allows for communities of faith but also personalizes one’s journey and relationship with God.

To me, religion and faith was always a bridge from we empirically know in this world, actually it is more like what we think we know, and what happens to us after we die.  Faith is the only solace to that question that no living person knows the answer to.  The nature and axioms of one's faith also guidance in how to live our lives.

This is a very comforting prayer.  Thank you Shant.