Brief reflections on the Costa Concordia disaster
The news has been filled with stories about the Costa Concordia disaster. With nearly half a billion dollars in damage, it’s probably understandable that the media was focused on the dishonorable actions of Francesco Schettino, the captain of the ship. However, I think it equally important for us to focus on the ship’s crew and passengers, who exhibited courage during an impossible time.
Two quick lessons here – first, the old adages of “the captain goes down with the ship” and “women and children first” seem to be under review. Second, I find it remarkable that some people still show the ability to exhibit courage during perilous times. Perhaps the best-known story from the Costa disaster is that of Sandor Feher, a musician, who lost his own life after helping small children put on their life jackets. (http://abcnews.go.com/US/italian-cruise-ships-hungarian-violinist-1st-victim-indentified/story?id=15388970)
These two lessons highlight a need for balanced perspective; to look beyond the first report and to look at a situation with some optimism and some balance. Whether it’s the news media or the dinner table, I hope we can all look at things a bit more “Feher”, and a bit less “Schettino”.
MacDuffie Run for Hope – April 28th, 2012.
It is important to foster a spirit of service in our students, so that they not only do well in life, but that they also do good. Our mission speaks to “great success” post-MacDuffie, and I think that, along with an international perspective, a service mindset is an important aspect of a successful life.
Our Key Club has been active this year in local projects, whether it is turkey donations to a homeless shelter, funds for the Granby Senior Center, or clothing and toy donation drives. While charity begins at home, it is also important to recognize that there is a whole world in need outside our boarders.
That’s why I’m pleased to announce our partnership with Food for the Hungry www.fh.org and FH World Sports. Our students are busy planning the “MacDuffie Run for Hope”, a 5 km walk/run on April 28th.
The newly formed country of South Sudan has one of the lowest rates of girls’ education in the world. A girl in South Sudan is 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than she is to graduate from high school. Currently, there are only 400 female high school seniors in the entire country. Proceeds from the event will aid development in South Sudan, with an aim to facilitating girls’ education.
Some concern has been raised that while MacDuffie is a secular institution, Food for the Hungry is a Christian organization. I want to assure you that in this instance, the goal of both MacDuffie and Food for the Hungry is the same. We will ensure that our funds are directed to aid infrastructure projects, and not to other programs.
You’ll be hearing a lot more from our students in the coming months about the event. I’m hoping that this can be something that our entire community can rally around.
Summer Programs at MacDuffie
I’m pleased to announce that MacDuffie will be offering summer programs in 2012. Jerry McCullough has been working to formulate a plan for our Summer offerings. Please visit http://www.macduffiesummer.org to have a look at our program offerings for students aged 4-18. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Jerry directly at JMcCullough@MacDuffie.org
Staffing Announcement
After reviewing an excellent pool of candidates, we are pleased to announce that we have hired a new French Teacher, Kevin Hillman, who began his MacDuffie teaching career last Thursday. He is a 2007 graduate of the University of Wisconsin (French & English) and has spent two years living and working in France. He also taught French to the US Coast Guard. Most recently, he spent the last year and half at St. Joseph’s High School in Pittsfield teaching French and chairing the Modern Languages Department. He is also participating in the school’s homestay program by parenting an 18-year-old Korean student. Due to his commitment to this program, he will commute until the next academic year. He enjoys gardening, cooking and theatre, and his references praise his willingness and eagerness to get involved.
Both Tom Addicks and Mika Saarela will shepherd the World Languages Department until such time as they appoint a new chair.
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