Volume One… Number 22
Contents:
Superintendent’s Column: Reliance Gives Us Courage
Macky’s New York Photo Essay
Announcement: RHS New Players presents 2021 VIRTUAL CABARET - TICKETS ON SALE
RHS Virtual Choir: “When You Believe”
“Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
― Langston Hughes
Tom Gorman, RHS 1987, is the new Superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools System as of 8 March 2021. He and I share an appreciation for Langston Hughes. I think this is because we believe in what New Jersey Pediatrician and Poet William Carlos Williams once wrote about poetry:
“It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.”
― William Carlos Williams, Asphodel, That Greeny Flower & Other Love Poems
Here is Tom’s column from the Ridgewood News on 26 February 2021:
Resilience Gives Us Courage
The Ridgewood Public Schools Strategic Plan identifies resilience as an essential skill for success in life. The other three habits of learning, empathy, creativity, and critical thinking, are indeed necessary and crucial to helping us solve our problems and emerge from these tumultuous times; however, resilience is what is needed most to lead us through this year and create a better future.
Everything we do or fail to do matters. Each of us has a choice, and we all have to accept responsibility for our actions or inactions. Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing.” Life is too short to be indifferent and idly watch what is taking place in the world around us. We all must rise up, get involved, and make a positive difference in whatever passion moves us.
While empathy, creativity, and critical thinking are needed to make a change, build consensus, and find solutions, resilience is required on an individual level to bring the concrete, actionable steps to fruition despite any obstacles we may encounter. Resilience is what helps us when the nights are dark and lonely or when we feel our cause is lost. Resilience is what gave Martin Luther King, Jr. strength, Hank Aaron fortitude, and Cicely Tyson courage. Women and men of all colors are breaking through ceilings and barriers like never before. Some are local like Cory Booker and Kim Ng, and others are from far away like Lloyd Austin and Kamala Harris. But each of them has shown “discipline and tenacity of purpose” in their chosen field.
Building upon the shoulders of our ancestors and predecessors, we are able to shift thinking and practices in a meaningful way forward. Together, we can take the next steps to address critical issues facing our society. Mothers and fathers made sacrifices to give their children a brighter future; businesswomen and men broke barriers to attain equality; and brave women and men fought necessary battles to achieve rights that are justly deserved. We owe it to them to remember and pay homage to all that they gave for what we enjoy today. However, there are still many injustices in this world, inequalities that must be overcome, and problems to be solved. Knowing where we come from and what we want the future to look like will help us in these endeavors.
The students of the Ridgewood Public Schools are taught to be empathetic in understanding the issues at hand, critical in their thinking when analyzing the problems presented, and creative when considering and developing solutions. The foundation for this work is a caring community that is fostered beginning with our youngest learners. We believe that a positive and successful learning environment is built upon respect, cooperation, teamwork, and mutual understanding.
Throughout the K-12 curriculum, students learn about past experiences that have influenced our society. To support units of study in specific areas, teachers invite guest speakers to address topics such as civil rights, genocide, and the Holocaust, giving students another perspective and engaging them in critical conversations. Shifts to project-based learning engage students in real-world issues, where they must analyze a problem, consider historical context, and propose a solution. Beyond the classroom, students become active citizens and leaders who develop initiatives to support local community-based organizations as well as people in places as far away as Africa and Cambodia.
After we have all been through this past year with the pandemic, political turmoil, and civil rights movements, I am reminded and inspired by the Langston Hughes poem:
Still Here
I been scarred and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me, Looks like between 'em they done Tried to make me Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'- But I don't care!
I'm still here!
We are still here. Our resilience will enable us to keep forging ahead, no matter how many difficulties or challenges we encounter. Now, we must make that critical choice - action or inaction. Will we follow in the footsteps of those who had a vision and brought about change? By choosing action, we can positively influence others and help make our community and the world a better place for ourselves and future generations.
Thomas A. Gorman, Ed.D. is Superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools. For more information on the Ridgewood Public Schools, visit the district website at ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Macky’s New York
January 16, 2021 - Williamsburg
Dog town.
This is an outtake from my earlier shot - the Giant Schnauzer walked into the frame as I laid on the stone not even noticing me...he just stood there taking in the view and so I figured I would hit the button and this was the result.
North 6 street at the east river looking west with Empire State.
Time 145pm.
#mackysnewyork
***Announcement***
RHS New Players presents 2021 VIRTUAL CABARET - TICKETS ON SALE
CABARET 2021
TWO EVENTS TO ENJOY via STREAMING on your computer or Smart TV:
Fresh/Soph Cabaret starts streaming Fri Mar 19, 7pm
Junior/Senior Cabaret starts streaming Sat Mar 20, 7pm
TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
Go to https://www.showtix4u.com/events/20207
During these uncertain times we are fortunate that there are hopeful people amongst us. These RHS alumni are all too aware of how hard it is for anyone to grow up and develop during a pandemic. I find it striking and quite inspiring that they are still able to produce a performace tinged with optimism. We are all going to need to find it in ourselves to anticipate the best possible outcomes, when we finally are able to relax, be around friends and family, and have time to believe in a better future for everyone.
Ridgewood High School "When You Believe" Virtual Choir
Peace