Help from Grandpa

Here's a clip of Grandpa Reinking helping Jackson develop his walking skills during Thanksgiving weekend in Tulsa.

Walk This Way!!!

Here's a clip of Jackson practicing his walking skills. It won't be long now...

Homecoming 07

Enjoyed going back to Southern Nazarene University for homecoming this past weekend. It was Kimberly's ten-year reunion and it's always good to meet up with friends and family. Big shout out to my cousin Allison who did an excellent job watching our son Jackson during the reunion luncheon. He didn't cry or fuss once for her.

I love my university but I am sad to see the change in campus culture due to the increasing presence of athletics. Adding football and baseball has really transformed the dynamic of the campus community. The transformation has been for the most part a negative one.


The problem does not come from sporting events that involve smaller numbers of students...such as basketball, tennis, golf, track & field, etc... The problems arise from sports like football, soccer, baseball and softball where large numbers of athletes are involved. The recruitment of large numbers of athletes often allows some to slip in who are not the most positive members of Christian society. You always hate to see academics sacrificed for big time athletics...and I believe our society in general will not be judged positively by future generations for our obsession with such activities.

Must Go To Outer Space!

At least once a school year a parent complaining about the rigor of my Advanced Placement classes asks the same tired question..."do you have kids?" Implying that if I did, I would understand their point of view and loosen up on my standards.

Fortunately the past few years I've had very few "issues" with parents. And once educated about what A.P. classes are all about the parents usually become quite reasonable. But since I teach three sophomore sections of Advanced Placement World History and quite frequently am the first A.P. class these student take I often serve as the gate-keeper of sorts to our A.P. programs.

I am indeed a parent but I still find the question insulting and worse yet intellectually flawed. It is an insult to all professional educators who do not happen to have children. Teaching is about educating...not parenting. And of course it's fairly obvious that the ability to breed does not often translate to an ability to parent. In the past I was always tempted to answer "no, I do not have kids, my wife nearly died recently in the attempt due to an ectopic pregancy. Thanks for dredging that horrible memory up to the forefront of my consciousness."

Their argument is based on a faulty logical syllogysm. They are implying that an oncologist cannot treat cancer unless they have had cancer themselves. They are implying that an astronomer cannot be an expert in his or her field unless they have actually traveled in outer space...which of course is ridiculous.

Experiencial qualifications doesn't hold up under the microscope of intellectual scrutiny unless one is speaking of being experienced in the job itself. Empathy does not necessarily require experience. Experience may greatly assist in developing empathy...but it is not a prerequisite.

These type of arguments once again exhibit the subtle (and sometimes very un-subtle) disrespect that parents often have for my profession. But I guess that's okay since I often have a profound disprespect for their parenting abilities...or lack thereof.

Microcredit and Kiva.org

This past May I blogged about how I had participated in providing a microloan to an entreprenuer in Zacatecas, Mexico through Kiva.org. Well, Alicia Pinales Najar has repaid her loan in full and I have taken that same $25 to help finance a microloan to Zipporah Wangari Kihika in Kenya. Zipporah sells eggs in a market within a slum in Mombasa, Kenya. Her husband sells potatoes at the local market. Her microloan will allow her to expand her business and purchase more inventory to help support her family. You can read more of her story here.

I encourage you to take a look at Kiva.org. The website is safe and secure and has been profiled in the NY Times, PBS Frontline/World, Oprah and is mentioned in Bill Clinton's new book. It's fast and easy. You can loan as little as $25. As soon as the loan is paid back you can either withdraw the money or cycle it into another loan. Microcredit is an ingenious way to act locally across the globe. The $25 I gave was given to me as a birthday gift. Now that gift can literally keep giving for as long as I keep cycling it through Kiva's microcredit program.