There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it. Buddha

I'm somewhat partial to Buddhism, simply because my body is morphing into that of a fat, jolly man who always seeks the good out of life rather than the bad. Yesterday, however, I thought of this quote after talking with my best friend in the world, Alice, and then another great friend, Elizabeth, in Syracuse. It's also a fitting quote that resonates with many of my wonderful friends in Bridgeport, including Shaun and Julie, and their district issues with vision (or lack thereof) and authenticity (or lack therefor...seems to be in the hands of courts).

The connection for all, however, is that we are all teachers. We pride ourselves in excellent work. We do all we can for students.  We believe in the goodness of educating and mentoring.. Yet, at times, colleagues (and bosses) (and parents) (and hierarchies) (and paradigms, such as those entrenched at universities) are not good people. They are evil. They  don't see themselves as this and, often, they live vaingloriously in a heightened sense of themselves. Still, at the core, their actions are truly pathetic and wrong..

The junior year curriculum at the Brown School was dedicated to exploring two things: Good and Evil. It was that simple and we used literature, writing, history, wars, ethics, and philosophy to explore both as themes. The goal, of course, was to have students come up with their own solution to what each meant (solutions, in fact, proudly displayed in 301's showcase windows - a room that holds incredible memories that have been created by Brown School upperclassmen, Gay Rapley, myself, and most recently, Alice Stevenson). Something as simple as displacing a teacher from a room can be at the heart of what is both good in the world (for some), but absolute evil (for others). And then, we must process what it all means. Who is right? What is just? Who is wrong? What is evil? Who knows best when to stand up as a wall or to stand up to walk away?

That is why proving the purity of goodness, for me, and rising above evil, is always the best answer (even if my decisions are depicted as devilish by others).

That, and homemade chocolate chip cookie ice-cream sandwiches make me look even more like Buddha. They're both good and bad, so I prove my point (I think).