Math Olympian Up a Tree by Dr. Michael J. Lenaghan

Maximo was a mathematical whiz kid in Cuba! Maximo had been a child prodigy among math geniuses in Cuba! Maximo had been a member of the Math Olympic champions in Cuba!

And Maximo had asked for a conversation before our Social Environment course would begin one Fall semester at our Hialeah Center. He had communicated through the Hialeah Center Director in a respectful manner, never telling the director exactly what he wanted to discuss. But our center director was very proud to have Maximo at his center and nowhere else in the college. And the staff seemed deferential to Maximo because he was sooo smart in mathematics.

At the outset of a semester, I was generally excited about new and renewed encounters with a broad range of scholars from a variety of disciplines. My area of principal focus was social sciences but I was also very supportive across disciplines, especially mathematics, calculus and physics because so many college students are fearful and I am not fearful about the beautiful and important subject of mathematics.

On the other hand, it occurred to me that perhaps I was being encouraged to in some way be deferential to Maximo’s strengths and not be overly demanding in my specialty area of social sciences. Maybe a genius in math was social science-phobic like others claim to be math-phobic. But my colleagues never were intrusive or imposing in such a matter. Maybe Maximo had language and linguistic problems since he had only recently arrived from Cuba. And losing a math genius did not reflect well on the totalitarian-authoritarian political regime there. Maybe there were security issues. Who knew? I would review my own competencies in the delicious Spanish language so as to be appropriately ready for my conversation with Maximo! (Maximo actually translated to mean MAXIMUM but could be interpreted to be awesome on a good day).

Maximo and I met early on the first day of class. I bought him a cup of “cafecito Cubano” (Cuban Coffee) and he proceeded to pick a large tree at the side of our building under which we would converse. The tree reminded me of one in a park near where I grew up in Chicagoland: many leaves, many branches, easy to climb and cool in the heat of the day when direct sunlight could be very stifling.

Maximo spoke of his love of mathematics and how mathematics when applied properly could help solve many problems of the social environment, natural environment and material environment. He appeared to be demonstrating his readiness for our class. I was impressed and somewhat thrilled that this exemplary human being was going to be in my Social Environment class.

We spoke about how each student has his or her own unique learning style and teaching style, absorbing and mastering content and then applying and demonstrating what was learned and how it impacted the human condition from aesthetics to zoology. As someone who was informed and inspired by Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory, I was fascinated with Maximo’s self -knowledge and how to make his unique learning needs and wants and capacities work for himself. And we both agreed that each scholar should create or contribute to the optimum learning context and dynamics in which he or she and learning peers could advance best.

Maximo truly seemed happy with our discussion. I was absolutely enthralled with his participation in our class. He excused himself and said he would “verle en la clase” (see you in class). Perfecto, I surmised.

I arrived in the third floor class on the North side of the air conditioned building to find the window open, providing a friendly breeze. The thirty plus class members were gathered at the window chatting with someone or something on a tree branch outside. I was amazed to discover that Maximo was situated in the tree outside, with his notebook and pen in hand and a textbook in a book bag. Trying not to be shocked nor surprised nor angry nor fearful of an accident, I walked over and greeted my new scholar: “Thanks for joining us in this novel way. Please come into the classroom so we can begin class.”

Maximo, looking disheartened and disappointed, responded: “I can learn best at this center when I am seated here in this tree. And we both agreed that each student had best ways of learning. Mine is here. You can close the door and save air conditioning during this class. And I will be very attentive when each person speaks, if each can speak a little louder than normal. And I will speak a little louder to accommodate my fellow students.”

This was a new experience for me. Since it was a sunny day, without major winds and no signs of a storm, I decided to proceed with the class, noting that the other scholars appeared curious, probably thinking this could have been a role play or a novel approach to getting focused on the first day. Social Environment. Why not? We had self-introductions, an introduction to course expectations – and no one questioned the non-traditional placement of Maximo in the tree.

After class terminated, I closed the window, Maximo descended and I sought some advice and guidance from the center director. We agreed to change the class to the second floor (reducing the hazard) since there was no classroom on the first floor. The director volunteered to get any background information that explained why Maximo preferred tree sitting to being in a classroom. His parents were not in the USA.

Maximo arrived for the second class with assignments prepared, reading done and very participatory. His peer learners were surprised to find how conscientious he was but still in the tree on the second floor. Upon doing some inquiries, we learned that Maximo’s parents and brothers died in a catastrophic fire in Cuba in a deficiently constructed and unprotected building. His preference to not immediately trust learning inside a building right now was understandable. We completed the semester with him up a tree or sometimes all of us in a garden, as Maximo maximized his new social environment for success and sensitized his new faculty and classmates.

                                    2015 © Michael J. Lenaghan

Do you know Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Vishnu, Joseph Smith, or Yahweh? By Dr. Michael Lenaghan

I can honestly say that I know each of these individuals and have graded their academic, experiential, simulation and service learning performances, endorsed them for transfer and scholarship applications and championed them for internships and awards, even been their reference for employment. It is quite humbling to realize that my scholar named Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Vishnu, Joseph Smith and Yahweh actually may need my support to reach the next level of anything. On the other hand, one of the things that I do rather well is that I ascertain the dominant “multiple intelligences” that each of my scholars demonstrates in her or his learning performance which tends to be predictive of each student’s disposition to success in specific learning and teaching environments. My existential analyses, critiques and conclusions pertaining to each of these divinely derived namesakes adds to advancement and higher spirits among my scholars which is gratifying to me, glorifying to them, comforting to their parents.

With so many scholars from so many places, with so many ethnicities and nationalities from so many geographies, with so many cultures and languages from so many tribes, indigenous and ignominious, with so many religious affiliations and identities and with so many delicious scarves, blouses, slacks, dresses and diverse apparels, why should it be surprising that one or more cohorts of scholars would have normal names for individuals in one context that appear abnormal, maybe offensive, to others? Each day at our college and in my classrooms I encounter colleagues and scholars bearing the names of Divinities, Prophets (Peace Be Unto Him), Saviors, Charismatic Messengers, Messianic Founders, Saints, Holy Ones, Martyrs, and Spirits. To affiliated believers these names are sacred, sometimes venerated, occasionally never spoken or written but implied in any one language. 

Living in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual Miami – microcosm of the world – not only enlightens, enriches, enhances and enlivens my life but it also equips me to have some unanticipated consequences that are beneficial, protective and even motivational.

Approached by a zealous well-meaning, proselytizing Christian on an elevator, I have been asked: “Do you know Jesus?” When I respond by saying, “I not only know him but he is earning good grades and may get a transfer scholarship!” My response is a conversation stopper, an intensity reducer and a humorous relaxant to all in the elevator, when I leave at the next stop on the elevator. I was not anxiously pursued nor angrily admonished by the zealot, who probably had a sense of humor too. Confrontations about religious belief need not be conflagrations.

When asked by a kind and caring older scholar “whether I might know of the peace that Buddha brings through meditation and chanting,” I respond that “my Buddy (aka Buddha) is more like someone with ADD and a tendency to rap.” Not wanting to be offensive, I accepted some readings shared by a conscientious and caring student who now realizes that he may need to be clearer in articulating his intentions when sharing something as precious as belief.

One of my intense scholars, a member of a particular Islamic denomination, asked me if I knew “the power of Mohammed’s (PBUH) divine insights and inspiration in describing and delineating the connections, hereditary history and synergies among all ‘People of the Book’”? My response was: “My Mohamed (aka Moe) has trouble determining what the author has to say about the people and their roles in a democracy presented in our textbook in a Federal Government class. I had no idea he had key information about how other people related in the text of another book.” With self-deprecating humor, I signaled that my student interrogator should define her purpose, terms and meanings for what may be a very interesting discussion about how she is experiencing being a Muslim in a religiously diverse Miami. In a comfortable and ironic exchange, we may have opened a door to a deeper, inspired, safe and friendly conversation. And those nearby witnessed an exploratory conversation about an important topic.

Moses, Vishnu, Joseph Smith and Yahweh namesakes also inhabit my course rosters and classrooms, hallways and community pathways. Each is a human being designated to be worthy of a name precious in a different Faith tradition. On the one hand each of us (like Michael named for an Archangel in several religious traditions) has an awesome expectation placed upon us when we were designated to be informed, imbued or inspired by potential as great as our name. On the other hand, our name is a gift from someone who loved us and probably chose the name with care and hopes. However, first and second names, occasionally a surname, may be a signpost or signal to strangers that we have a predetermined or predestined mission or affiliation that defines who we are and our relationships to others  – some open, some closed, some suspicious, some paranoid at the unknown – around us. And the Shakespearian concept: “What’s in a name. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” is not always operative or in play. 

In a world whose history has suffered from Crusades, Jihads, Pogroms, Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide, it is important to know the “stranger”, “the other”, “the alternative”, “the non-sister and non-brother” as a human being, person, neighbor and member of the community before casting a net or building a wall to capture, convert or conceal their real identities – starting with first names, their actual meanings and the identity of the human being currently wearing that name, their history, their present and their aspirations for the future – and not live in a pernicious, prejudiced and self-limiting – other-inhibiting bubble. It’s easy. Start with “my name is … and the menaing of my name to me is…! And what is your name and its meaning?”

2014 © Michael J. Lenaghan

Override The Lazy Boy ® by Dr. Michael J. Lenaghan

Override The Lazy Boy ®  by Dr. Michael J. Lenaghan

Empowering scholars at America’s largest, most diverse and most internationally representative institution of higher learning contributes to the feeling that everyday can be life changing, community changing and Earth changing. And it also facilitates a full range of scholar innovations, shortcuts and occasional deceits.

A scholar of mine who had performed at an exceptional level in other peoples’ courses, insisted that he had to be in my Fall semester Federal Government course. The course had been full since late summer. However, Ronald insisted he would get in the course anyway he could manage to do it. He was never available to come in and talk about the matter, perhaps get my advice on another professor equal to or better than me for what he wanted to accomplish by knowing more about how our national government worked.

I had to explain to Ronald that classrooms were limited by physical dimensions and the ability to accommodate only so many desks. I found it odd that his contentions were solely his, not endorsed or advocated by other staff or service staffs that sometimes get involved. But I was patient because for whatever reason he thought I could add value to his learning and mastery journey. I explained that sometimes classes lose a member – unpaid tuition or conflicting work schedules – and maybe he could be a last minute addition within a very limited seat apportioned classroom. He assured me he would be in class the first day.

Meanwhile, I explored squeezing in an extra seat to the classroom which appeared to be impossible that semester. In desperation, I called Ronald and informed him that unless he brought his own seat and desk, the class was totally filled with the apportioned seats being fully assigned. Always pleasant, positive and yet assertive, Ronald informed me that he had his textbook and I would see him in a few days.

On the first day of class in that Fall semester in my Federal Government course, the classroom was full. I commenced self-introductions – when the classroom door opened and an individual entered and inquired if this was “Federal Government POS 2041 and was this taught by Dr. Lenaghan?” I responded that this was the class and I was the professor of record, rather formally. And the inquirer announced: “This is your last scholar for the class and he has brought his own seat and desk!”

Rolling into class in an electric wheelchair with a laid back carriage to accommodate his being paraplegic, Ronald entered with a smile, parked in a complementary manner and started to introduce himself. “I am Ronald and here to testify that this professor keeps his word. He said if I brought my own chair and desk, I could override into this filled to capacity class. Here I am. Me and my Lazy Boy (his chair not his personality) are ready to engage among my fellow scholars. Thanks for being a welcoming community of scholars.”

In that electric set of minutes, a wonderful array of dynamics activated across the room and among those present. Obviously, I was enthused and elated. My other scholars suddenly realized that if Ronald could make success happen here, everyone else ought to be able to advance. And I learned another lesson in empathy, humility and innovative inclusion: be open to the possibilities among scholars of a wide variety of abilities. None to be dismissed.

2014 © Michael J. Lenaghan