Classes began today. The excitement in the upper year class as they all saw each other for the first time after the summer break brought smiles. The second year class was more subdued but still happy to be back. I prepared a new technological item for lecture tomorrow -- I'll let you know if it works <smile>. It will take some time to get back into the rhythm of an academic term. In the meantime, I'm focusing on enjoying things as they come my way.
A leadership talk was held tonight on campus with three TedTalk-style presentations from student leaders all about the broader theme of life impact of experiences -- with NGOs, venture capital projects, and a reflection on immigrant parents escape from Ethiopia in the 1980s to start a life and family in peace. All were inspiring since most were 20-22 years of age and have such amazing experience and wisdom. It does provide hope.
The featured speaker of the evening was Lt. General The Honourable Romeo Dallaire -- retired from the Canadian forces and the Canadian Senate. This man is a true hero, who has brought much to light for discussion since his time in Rwanda. There he headed the UN peacekeeping forces. He warned the UN of impending genocide, but was ignored. When troops were ordered out of the country, he refused as did small numbers of troops from many nations -- they stayed to try to do what they could when 800,000 were killed and 1,000,000 were injured over a 100 day period in 1994. His bravery had a dark side -- PTSD and depression when he returned to Canada. He unsuccessfully attempted to take his own life three times. He told us he finally realized he needed a goal - something to move towards -- a purpose. He chose to advocate (he used the term agitate <smile>) for improved support for wounded warriors, physical and emotional care to support them throughout recovery and beyond. He also began Romeo Dallaire's Child Soldier Initiative. General Dallaire noted that children were being used as weapons of war -- recruited, trained to hate and kill, dispensable -- all for the sake of maintaining a state of war, not to win a war. He has written three books reflecting on his time in Rwanda (Shake Hands with the Devil: the failure of humanity in Rwanda), the plight of child soldiers (They Fight like Soldiers, They Die like Children: The Global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers) and his latest memoir exploring mental health issues (Waiting for First Light: my ongoing struggle with PTSD). The first of these, Shake Hands with the Devil has been made into a movie. A minor character in the movie, Hotel Rwanda, was based on him and his experience leading peacekeepers there. His passion is infectious -- I left feeling uplifted. His belief is that those with post secondary educations have a moral obligation to use that privilege to change the nation and the world for the better.
On my walk home after the talks, I stopped to stare at the full moon -- amazingly gorgeous tonight. The day left me with much to think about. While I process the calls to action from the speakers, I will share a less deep song tonight in honour of the first day of classes for the Class of 2021. I hope I can live up to the expectations of students and learn something that improves my facilitation of their learning. This song is by a singer/songwriter from Nova Scotia. Enjoy!
Come On Teacher -- Joel Plaskett
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