text:
Sep.07th.2021
Latest technology news September 7th, 2021
Python: best programming language, again this year
A national American mobilization because of a major threat of cyber attacks
No more swipe up for instagram: a new sticker feature with links!
Google remains Apple's default search engine, at a great price
11 ways to increase your wifi performance
Once again, it's Python that takes first place in the top programming languages list in 2021. This is the fifth consecutive year at the top of the charts for Python. Followed by Java and C. The IEEE ranking is a good way to orient ourselves and to know which programming language to prioritize in our professional practices. To learn more about the ranking, see the Blog du modérateur's article.
Original title: Python élu meilleur langage de programmation pour la 5e année consécutive - Le Blog du Modérateur
Informations: French, Programmation, August 30th, 2021
Last week, an important meeting took place at the White House. Indeed, Joe Biden has invited the tech giants to discuss the growing threat of cyberattacks in the United States and North America in general. Biden even raised the idea of an armed war resulting from cyber attacks. Through this emergency meeting, Microsoft has pledged to invest $ 20 billion in cybersecurity over the next 5 years. For more information on this extraordinary meeting, see the Presse Citron article.
Original title: Cyberattaques : les géants de la Tech promettent des milliards d'investissements - Presse citron
Informations: French, Cyberattack, August 30th, 2021
New feature for Instagram: no more swipe up to promote links in stories! Previously, users with over 10,000 followers had the option to add links to their story by asking their followers to swipe up. Now, Instagram is introducing sticker links. Indeed, the links can be added directly in the stories, to facilitate interactions. It's not yet clear if the minimum subscribers to access the feature will be the same, we'll have to stay tuned! For more information on the transition, see the Social Media Today article.
Original title: Instagram is Removing Swipe-Up Links for Stories, Replacing the Function with Link Stickers - Social Media Today
Informations: English, Social Media, 30 août 2021
It's no secret that Google has been the most popular search engine for a very long time. This success is no coincidence, for several years, Google has paid Apple a large amount of money to remain the default search engine on computers, iPads and iPhones! Recently, the news came out that in 2020 Google paid Apple $ 10 billion and in 2021, $ 15 billion. What do you think of these annual transactions, do you think it's time to switch search engines for Apple? For more information on the transaction, see the Arobasenet.com article.
Original title: Google paie 15 milliards $ à Apple pour rester le moteur par défaut - Arobasenet.com
Informations: French, Google, August 26th, 2021
In this age of telecommuting, it's important to make our work environments as productive as possible. That's why Wired published an article describing 11 ways to increase your wifi performance! We can see solutions as simple as moving the router, but also some inexpensive gadgets that can boost routers! Personally, are you happy with your wifi at home, or are you considering using a tip from this article? For more information, see the Wired article.
Original title: 11 Ways to Upgrade Your Wi-Fi and Make Your Internet Faster - Wired
Informations: English, Remote working, August 29th, 2021


Located in Wharton, Texas, Wharton County Junior College is a small two year community college offering undergraduate programs. Wharton County Junior College has an open admission policy which permits enrollment by any high school graduate or GED holding student. 2,922 students are enrolled on a full time basis, and 4,128 attend part time. In-state tuition for 2017/2018, excluding room and board, is $768 plus fees of $2,798.


Blackberry has been trying to get back in the smartphone game for a couple of years.
Their last attempt before the BlackBerry Motion was the KEYone. The KEYone was an interesting phone but it wasn't for everyone because it had a physical keyboard and it was quite expensive.
The Motion shares the same internals with the KEYone but it ditches the keyboard for a 5.5″ screen and a larger battery.
The phone's frame is made out of light aluminum and the back out of some type of rubberized plastic. The top side or the back above the rubberized plastic is also made out of plastic and that's probably covering the antennas.
A 12MP F2.0 camera sensor is also sitting on the back next to a dual tone flash. I believe that this is the same camera sensor that was used on the KEYone and the original Google Pixel.
On the front of the device there is a 8MP front facing camera and a LED notification light that can change colours.
The 5.5″ screen is an IPS panel that has a 1080P resolution. The colours are very vivid and the viewing angles and sensitivity great but the screen doesn't get super bright. It is somewhat difficult to see it in direct sunlight and i found the screen on the BlackBerry KEYone a bit better.
Just underneath the screen there is the fingerprint scanner and the back and multitasking buttons. The buttons cannot be moved around from the software and it may take you a bit of time to get used to this confirmation.
The fingerprint scanner is accurate and very quick to unlock the screen. It can also be used to pull down the notification tab and take secure pictures, but I'll get into more detail about that a bit later.
On the right side of the metallic frame there is a button called a convenience key, the power button and the volume rockers.
The convenience key is placed in a somehow inconvenient place and it's quite easy to press it by mistake. This button can be configured to open apps or different profiles depending on your needs.
On the other side of the frame there is the sim card tray slot and this phone can take a sim card and an SD card. That SD card can also be formated as internal storage therefore you won't be running out of internal storage anytime soon.
Lastly at the bottom of the phone there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, the hole for the microphone, a USB C post and the microphone. The speaker doesn't sound too bad but it's only one tiny little speaker and you can't ask too much from it.
The phone also supports OTG and dast charging. Charging the phone from 0-100% is done in just under 2 hours.
Like most flagships these days the BlackBerry Motion is water and duat resistant as well and in this price range this is a great feature.
The BlackBerry Motion has a 4000mAh battery and a the super power efficient Snapdragon 625 CPU.
You will easily be able to get 2 to 3 days on one charge with medium usage. If you are a very heavy user you will still be able to get almost two days and over 13h of screen on time.
The battery life on the BlackBerry Motion is one of the best that i have encountered.
The BlackBerry Motion is powered by the Snapdragon 625 CPU that is paired with 4GB or Ram and 32GB of internal storage. The operating system takes about 10GB of storage and the phone is left with around 22GB free.
Even though the phone only gets a Benchmark score of about 60000 on the Antutu Benchmark it perform extremely well with all apps. The main difference you will fell when comparing this with another phone using the Snapdragon 835 will be the time that it takes to open apps.
Once an app is loaded it works great and i tried most social media apps and a somewhat heavy game; GTA San Andreas.
Overall the phone's performance is adequate for anyone's usage and it will not dissapoint.
The 8MP front facing camera does great with plenty of light. The pictures are sharp and detailed and with accurate colours. In low light they become quite grainy but overall acceptable. I have included some sample pictures in the review video that you can find at the end of this article.The rear camera is a 12MP sensor with a F2.0 aperture. Just like the BlackBerry KEYone it takes great looking pictures with plenty of light or in low light. The colours are a bit more saturated than in reality but they look quite good. The HDR does a good job as well. Once again, i have included lots of sample pictures in the video review below.
The BlackBerry Motion is running Android 7.1.2 with a very light skin on top of it. It comes pre-installed with all the Google apps and a couple of Blackberry specific apps like the BlackBerry HUB and the DTEK Security app. Since the CPU is powerful enough and the software is very well optimized scrolling in between screens opening apps and closing apps is done very fluidly. Multitasking works great as well and the phone doesn't kill the apps running in the background.If you haven't used the BlackBerry HUB before you may find it interesting and useful as it brings all your notifications in the same place. Personally i am not a big fan of it because i get hundreds of notifications daily and it just feels very crowded.A very interesting feature that i haven't seen before has to do with the fingerprint scanner. If you have the camera app open and you touch the fingerprint scanner the phone will take a picture and lock it in the secure folder. The secure folder can only be accessed if you unlock it will your fingerprint. This is a very unique feature that i haven't seen before and i hope that other manufacturers will follow.
The BlackBerry Motion offers a lot of value for under $500 and should definitely be on your list if you are looking for a mid-range device.
The battery life is exceptional, the software well optimized and the front and rear cameras quite good as well.
for more information you can also check out my review video below.


You want space. But not just any space – you want your space. Exeter Station Properties can give you just that.
ESP offers light industrial spaces within walking distance to downtown Exeter. Recently remodeled office spaces also offer a lovely view of the Amtrak Downeaster train station, which gives the property its name. Exeter Station Properties are ideal for artistic workspace as well as manufacturing, warehouse, and heated indoor storage or cold storage.
Many of the spaces are simply waiting for a tenant to decide their future.
Exeter Station Properties is currently owned and operated by David Cowie and Alan Mason.
Alan Mason is owner/operator of Mace Machine, LLC, which now calls Exeter Station Properties home. Management is never far away if you have questions or needs.


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Center for Teaching & Learning
WHY CTL
© Copyright 2019 by
Center for Teaching & Learning.
Tel: 832-474-8214 · Fax: 832-827-4145
Email: info@centerforteachingandlearning.com
26131 Kuykendahl Road
Linda Ellis, Ph.D.
President & Head of School
Linda earned a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Reading Education and Library Science and B.B.A. in Education and M.Ed in Reading degrees from Sam Houston State University. With over 34 years of experience, Linda taught middle school language arts for nine years prior to teaching literacy courses and coordinating field-based programs as a professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and University of St. Thomas. She has also served as Program Director for Secondary Language Arts (6-12) and for over 20 years worked with teachers in classrooms across Texas as a literacy consultant, as a Trainer for the New Jersey Writing Project in Texas/Abydos Learning, and as a Technical Assistance Provider, Professional Service Provider and School Leadership Coach for the School Improvement Resource Center and the Texas Center for District and School Support. Linda has presented at local, state, national and international conferences and has been president of numerous local and state literacy organizations, including Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading, Sam Houston Area Reading Council, Stone Fort Reading Council and North Harris County Council of Teachers of English. For over 20 years she served as Governmental Relations Chair for the Texas State Reading Association and Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading representing Texas teachers before the State Board of Education. She is the author of over 20 books and articles for teachers including Getting Started: The Reading-Writing Workshop, Grades 4-8 (Heinemann, 2007). Linda worked with an amazing team of local educators to found the Center for Teaching & Learning in 2010 and serves as Head of School and President of the Board of Directors. In her spare time she loves spending time with family.
Email: lellis@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Ryan DuFour, M.Ed.
Ryan DuFour is in his 14th year in Education, all of which were served in the Houston Independent School District. Before coming to the Center for Teaching and Learning, he had the opportunity to spend three years as the Assistant Principal at Fonville Middle School, one year as an Assistant Principal at Hines Elementary School, and nine years at Sharpstown High School as an English/ESL teacher, Lead Teacher, Department Chair, ESL Coordinator, and Dean of Instruction. Ryan DuFour obtained both his Masters degree in Educational Leadership/Administration and his Bachelors degree in Educational Studies from Sam Houston State University. He holds a Texas Professional Mid-Management Administrator's Certification as a Principal Grades EC-12 and Texas teaching certificates in grades 4-12 English Language Arts and Reading, grades 4-8 Social Studies, grades EC-12 English as a Second Language (ESL), and grades EC-12 Special Education. His lifelong dream of becoming a school leader at a phenomenal and reputable school such as the Center for Teaching & Learning is finally coming to fruition. He truly understands the importance of a school's reputation and the foundation that has been laid to get there, which places high expectations on the administration, teachers, staff, and students. He truly appreciates the opportunity to serve all constituents here at the Center for Teaching & Learning and looks forward to becoming a valuable and integral part of the team.
Email: rdufour@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Amelia Maia, A.A.C
Amelia earned an associates degree in Accounting from Damelin College in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has worked as an administrative assistant in a private school for the past 14 years performing both educational and accounting roles. Prior to this, Amelia worked in the banking industry for 12 years in South Africa. She enjoys working with students, parents, families, and staff members and is always willing and ready to help them. She always makes everyone feel welcome. Amelia enjoys traveling, exercising, music, reading, and spending time with her family. She has enjoyed being an integral part of the startup of what she feels is "an exceptional, remarkable, phenomenal, and notable new school."
Email: amaia@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Beckey Billings, B.A.
Grade PreK Teacher
Beckey earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Angelo State University. She has been working in the child development field for over seventeen years, experiencing several roles in early childhood education. Beckey served on the board of a private preschool which enabled her to develop and implement programs benefiting all students and assist in the development of the school's curriculum. She then served as lead teacher of a Pre-Kindergarten class where she implemented the curriculum she co-designed. She joined CTL as a teaching assistant serving students and teachers from grades K through 8 prior to assisting with the opening of our PreK in the fall of 2016. Beckey and her family have lived in The Woodlands area for 25 years. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family at their lake house.
Email: bbillings@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Gina Brown, B.S.
Grades K-1 Teacher
Gina Brown earned her B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Houston. She has a lifetime teaching certification in Texas. She also earned teaching certificates and taught in both Louisiana and California. She has seven years of classroom teaching experience in grades K - 6. During her time as a teacher, Gina continued working on professional development. She has great classroom management and is always willing to learn new ideas that will help her students to be successful. Gina also has lived overseas and was involved in the international school where her own children attended. She worked with students from different countries whose first language was not English and was also a scout leader there. Gina is a learner herself and is excited about joining the team at CTL.
Email: gbrown@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Lisa Lipar, M.Ed.
Grades 1-2 Teacher
Lisa earned a B.A. in Child Psychology from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) with an early childhood endorsement from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Lisa was the lead children's counselor in a women's shelter in Michigan before starting her teaching career. During her time as a teacher she has taught Pre-K ,while serving as the assistant director of the preschool and has taught grades 1-8. She has an extensive classical dance background in which she danced competitively for 15 years. Lisa created a dance program for students in Pre-K though 5th grade where she taught tap, jazz, ballet and lyrical. She choreographed and directed yearly dance recitals. Lisa continued to extend her entrepreneurial skills and started a home-based preschool for children ages 3 through 5 years. She was responsible for enrollment, accounting, food preparation, childcare, implementing lesson plans and teaching preschool children. Lisa moved to Texas with her husband and two daughters in 2008. She began substitute teaching in Conroe ISD and then went on to teach full time in Pre-K- through 2nd grade. During her time teaching in Spring, Lisa developed a K-1 multi-age program in a private school where she taught for 3 years. She holds a Texas Educator Certificate to teach EC-6 grades. Lisa was the first teacher to join CTL in 2014. Her philosophy is to continue to build relationships with students in which she creates a strong sense of self-esteem and a positive attitude toward learning. Lisa's passion for teaching includes a strong grasp of early childhood education. She guides children in learning by making connections with them. Lisa's goal throughout her teaching is to instill in her students the importance of honesty, respect and kindness.
Email: llipar@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Corrie Sheldon, B.S.
Corrie Sheldon earned a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in Early Childhood from The University of Houston. She holds Texas teaching certifications in Early Childhood-4thGrade, English as a Second Language Supplemental, and Special Education Grades PK-12. Corrie brings over 17 years of teaching experience in the elementary grades. She has served students as a classroom teacher and instructional intervention specialist for grades PK-4. She has supported teachers and colleagues as a mentor and a model classroom for instruction and classroom management. She received Literacy Collaborative training through Ohio State University trainers in Texas and provided campus wide staff development sessions on Reading and Writing Workshop. She served as a campus representative on a district level Science Cadre and Language Arts Cadre and presented campus wide staff development sessions. She has presented on teaching engaging Science STEM lessons, efficient Reading and Writing strategies in the classroom along with classroom management. She developed a math rotation system for student centered and differentiated instruction during Math Workshop with a focus on efficient problem-solving strategies and guiding students to be independent learners. Corrie is a lifelong learner with a passion to provide an outstanding learning environment for each of her students and develops meaningful relationships with her students and their families.
Email: csheldon@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Caroline Harrison, M.Ed.
Grades 5-9 Language Arts Teacher
Caroline earned her BSc (Honours) Psychology degree from The Open University in Milton Keynes, UK in 2006. Originally from Scotland, she began her career in 2003 as Policy Officer with the Scottish Government Education Department where she supported the development of the new Scottish Curriculum, The Curriculum of Excellence, and the work of the child and parent reading campaign, Read Together. From 2004 through 2010, she served as Program Manager of the Scottish Book Trust Bookbug where she developed and managed a $1.6 million national literacy program, mentoring dedicated professionals who supported parents to read regularly with their children. After leaving Bookbug in safe hands, Caroline returned to doing what she loves most, working directly with children as a storyteller and teaching assistant in two of Scotland's most prestigious private schools. After her move to Houston in 2015, Caroline completed her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston and her Texas Educator Certification. She most recently taught in Cy-Fair ISD. Caroline believes in a holistic approach to education and teaching, weaving her experiences as a parent and educator with her psychology background. She has a strong background in language arts and believes in the positive impact access to books and reading can have on a child's life. By creating a classroom environment where education is inspiring and interesting, Caroline's aim for her students is that they too become self-motivated, lifelong learners. In addition to her passion for teaching, books, reading, and writing, Caroline loves animals and spending time in the natural environment gardening, biking, and hiking. She is a keen cook and is enthusiastic about her plant-based lifestyle she shares through volunteering as a mentor in her spare time. Caroline has one son, Sean, a B.A. History Major from the University of British Columbia who currently lives in Auckland, New Zealand. She shares her home with husband John and their two fur babies, Lily and Chip.
Email: charrison@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Claire Want, M.Ed.
Grades 5-9 Math Teacher & PreK-9 Math Specialist
Earning a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Texas A&M University and an M.S. in Elementary Education with a focus on Mathematics from Stephen F. Austin State University along with nine years of classroom teaching experience have instilled in Claire a passion for education and mathematics. Claire grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas in a family of educators. She holds teacher certifications in Mathematics Grades 8-12, Mathematics/Science Grades 4-8, and Generalist EC-6. During her time as a classroom teacher, Claire developed inquiry-based math curriculum, modeled lessons, and trained teachers through on-going professional development. After eight years as a mathematics teacher, she served as Head of School for St. James Episcopal Day School. Claire is in her second year at Center for Teaching & Learning and continues to collaborate with CTL teachers on deepening enrichment of the mathematics program and allowing each student to construct individual mathematical thinking.
Email: cwant@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Laura Wellbrock, B.S.
Grades 5-9 Science Teacher, Pre-K-9 Science Specialist & 5-8 PE Teacher
Laura earned her B.S.with honors from the University of Houston-Victoria; where she played soccer on a scholarship. She founded and chartered the Run Walk club for the University and served as Vice President in the Student Government Association. Laura also was accepted and served in the education honor society - Kappa Delta Pi. Through her sports and extracurricular activities she spent several hours volunteering in classrooms and serving children with special needs. After graduating Laura followed her passion for writing and science and accepted a position teaching both in Ralls ISD. The next year she was assigned to teach math and science and completed Rice University's REMSL program. This program once again grew her passion for science and led her to join the Spring Branch ISD Vanguard program. This innovative program fostered her love for technology in the classroom and allowed her to expand her knowledge in cutting edge technology for student's learning. In 2017 she joined Tomball ISD as a language arts teacher and was trained in the reading and writing workshop approach. Laura is eager to join the CTL family and help develop the innovative science program in grades 5-8.
Email: lwellbrock@centerforteachingandlearning.com
James Milner, B.A.
Grades 5-6 Social Studies, 5-8 Drama & Grade 9 World Geography Teacher
James earned his B. A. degree in Sociology from Victoria University, Wellington, NZ. He went on to complete his Diploma of Journalism from the London School of Journalism, a Diploma of Public Relations from the Australian College of Business and Marketing, and a Graduate Diploma in Education from Deakin University, Melbourne. James also has further training and Certifications in Mediation, Life Coaching and Training and Assessment. James has had successful careers in radio, news reading and most recently education. He is passionate about instilling a love of learning in his students while promoting their self-confidence and public speaking abilities.
Email: jmilner@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Bethy Meixeiro, M.Ed.
Grades PreK-2 and 9 Spanish Teacher
Bethy was born in a Mexican City: Toluca. She was born among a family of teachers. Her mother, a renowned teacher, built the school (INEDIB) where Bethy went to high school. INEDIB now has more than 1500 students from preschool to high school. Her father, a great engineer who with hard efforts and work, formed a construction company, becoming one of the best in the state. Initially she studied nutrition and food science at the Universidad Iberoamericana of Mexico City, specializing first in Child Nutrition focused on nutrition education for children and young people, showing them the importance of good nutrition, physical activity and disease prevention. However, the passion for education led her to study two master's in education, one from the University of Puerto Rico and the other in Mexico, specializing in educational leadership and neurosciences. Bethy speaks three languages: French, English and Spanish and is willing to learn Portuguese. Her life has been motivated by her family and the passion for education teaching students the love of learning so a year ago she made the decision to start her PhD in education. Her professional experience has been around education--from French, English and biology teacher to Assistant Principal. She has written three nutrition books for children as well as develop educational programs for INEDIB. Bethy is IB certified, is an academic consultant in Mexico and for 13 years has made the summer camp for INEDIB. Life brought her to The Woodlands along with her husband and three children and to CTL where she taught Spanish in CTL's After School Program last year and where she will be CTL's Spanish teacher this year for Grades PreK through 2 and 9th grade. She is looking forward to building CTL's Spanish program for the entire school, teaching her language to the CTL children who will be able to survive in this world of changes and globalization.
Email: bmeixeiro@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Sarina Eckhardt, B.F.A.
PreK-4 Physical Education Teacher
Sarina has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree from the University of North Texas. For the past eight years she has been with TGA Premier Sports teaching golf for their after-school programs for grades K-5 and managing and teaching at summer camps with youth. Sarina is also owner/photographer at Creative Photo Clicks in The Woodlands and has served as photographer of Great American Business Products and Program Coordinator of the Houston Center for Photography. She also volunteers as a side walker for the SIRE Houston's Equestrian Therapeutic Center where she works with children with autism and cerebral palsy. Sarina loves teaching youth and has been described as having great classroom management and communication with students that inspires and boosts confidence. She is a proven reliable self-starter with exceptional organizational and planning skills. We are excited Sarina has joined our CTL team to teach Grades PK-4 physical education.
Email: seckhardt@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Melanie Garcia, B.A.
PreK-8 Music Teacher
Melanie is a classically trained pianist of 17 years. In her intermediate and advanced years of study, she pursued piano at the Bay Area Theatre and Voice Academy. There, she studied under the accomplished pianist Laura Fultcher. She also took three years of percussion studies to establish a solid rhythmic foundation. Due to her musical experience, Melanie performed with a jazz band for over two years. The ensemble covered classic rock hits with a special emphasis on incorporating jazz elements. Due to this experience, she incorporates fun songs into her teaching curriculum that students want to learn. While attending the University of Houston-Downtown, Melanie majored in Philosophy. She believes in the real life benefits that music has to offer, such as expanding attention spans, developing musical passion and knowledge, and evolving emotions in a productive and expressive manner. She has years of experience teaching students with alternative learning styles and special needs. While her students would consider her a fun and exciting piano teacher, her students' parents would describe her as a teacher who keeps lessons structured and students accountable with a progressive teaching style. As a result, Melanie's students excel in their musical studies with the same passion she discovered for herself as a child.
Email: mgarcia@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Pam Mayo, B.A., Young Rembrandts
PreK-8 Art Teacher
Pam is a 1985 graduate of Sam Houston State University where she earned a bachelor's degree in K-12 Art Education. After graduating, Pam taught art in Huntsville ISD and DeSoto ISD. In 1989 she moved to Northwest Harris County and gained employment with the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD at Moore Elementary where she taught kindergarten through fifth grade art. Pam had students participate in numerous district art shows as well as students who were awarded medals for their art in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Art Show. During her tenure at Moore, Pam not only taught art to children, she also trained teachers in a classroom management course called Building Better Relationships: Classroom Management in the Cypress Fairbanks ISD. One year when Cypress-Fairbanks ISD fifth graders were attending Space Camp, Pam trained Space Camp counselors to use this classroom management system. After a long and fulfilling career teaching art in Cy-Fair, Pam retired in the Spring of 2014.
Since retirement she has enjoyed spending time with family, traveling, and working part-time but found she missed the art classroom. So, she recently found employment with Young Rembrandts. Much like her own art instruction, Pam found that Young Rembrandts believes in exposing art students to a wide variety of subject matter, artistic concepts, art history and mastery of art materials. Young Rembrandts offered Pam the opportunity to teach art once again!
Pam has twin sons, Adam and Jonathan. Jonathan and his wife Whitney and daughter live in Michigan. Pam is active in her church and volunteer work. She is married to Thomas Gregory (Greg) Mayo. Greg is a Speech and Debate teacher at Westbury High School in Houston ISD. Pam and Greg live in Cypress, TX.
Email: pmayo@centerforteachingandlearning.com
Stephanie Jones, M.Ed.
Grades 5-8 Physical Education Teacher
Stephanie earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2004 from Texas A&M University and her M.ED. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2006 from Sam Houston State University. She is certified to teach PreK through 4th grade generalist and 4th grade through 12th Math. Stephanie taught briefly in Klein ISD before returning to her engineering roots. During her career she worked as a Pipeline Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, and a Project Engineer in the Oil and Gas Industry. Stephanie is a licensed engineer in the state of Texas. In 2015, she left the workforce to focus on her family. Outside the home, she has remained active by volunteering with several organizations. Stephanie's passions are fitness, crafts, cooking, and photography. She is excited to join CTL and to plug in wherever she is needed.
Email:sjones@centerforteachingandlearning.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Caverswall Road railway station is a heritage railway station on the Foxfield Railway in Staffordshire.  It serves as the centre of the railway's operations.  Since the Foxfield Railway is a former industrial railway, there were no passenger stations on the line originally.

The Foxfield Light Railway Society

The society was formed in 1967 to preserve any railway artifacts irrespective of their origins and to operate them on the line that originally connected the former Foxfield Colliery in Dilhorne, Staffordshire, with the Stoke on Trent to Derby line of the former North Staffordshire Railway at Blythe Bridge.
The Society became a Company, Limited by Guarantee in 1972. It was granted Charitable Status by the Inland Revenue at that time. It has no Shareholders and each Full Member has a liability limited to £5.
From January 2009 it has been registered with the Charity Commissioners as a Registered Charity in its own right and as a former constitution.

In 1995 after 28 years of operation, the Company was awarded a Light Railway Order SI1995 No 1236 under the Light Railways Act 1896. This gave it Statuary Powers as defined in the Instrument to build and operate a railway and buildings. Before this time it had simply taken over the "grandfather rights" of its former owners. An important reference in the Order is to the Railway Clauses Consolidation Act of 1845. This empower the company to erect such buildings and structures as necessary for the operation of its line, without having to seek planning permission from the local authority.
The Company has operated on a volunteer basis since 1967, but some paid staff also work.

History of the line

The line is standard gauge (1435mm) and was originally constructed in 1893, with left-over materials from the North Staffordshire Railway, over part of a route intended to join the market town of Cheadle (North Staffordshire) and its collieries with the North Staffordshire Stoke to Derby line at Blythe Bridge. This line was never completed over the current route and the Foxfield Colliery Company built the line itself over private land. Historically it appears that some of the line near the colliery was laid on the path of a former plateway or tramway.

The line crosses two public roads, one using an under bridge, the other on the level. It was these crossings which ultimately defined that the LRO would be required in order to comply with the Transport and Works Act, 1992.

The characteristic features that set this line apart from others are its many steep gradients and sharp curves. These are unique amongst heritage lines and it is these features which also provide it with unique operational difficulties and skill needs. Gradients on the line range from 1:950 to 1:19 making it one of the steepest heritage railways in the country.

Heritage railway stations in Staffordshire
Railway stations built for UK heritage railways

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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THE GORKHA EARTHQUAKE - TRAGEDY STRIKES HIMALAYAN NATION OF NEPAL
Gorkha Earthquake : a personal narrative
"Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts; we are shortly going to land in Kathmandu; the local time is 2.45 pm, and the temperature is 25 Celsius". The shrill voice of the airhostess woke me up from my reverie. I was returning to Kathmandu after a year, and for the first time after the devastating earthquake of 25th April. Ever since I visited Kathmandu for the first time in 1995, I fell in love with Nepal and its people. And this love, having been cemented with my stay in Dharan, 1997-1999, has grown over the years. During my short journey from Delhi to Kathmandu, I could not help but thinking with trepidations that in what shape would I find Kathmandu and its people. Though I remained in regular touch with my acquaintances in Kathmandu and Dharan to know their welfare, I knew it would be a different ballgame to see things first hand.
From the window of the aircraft I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the mighty Himalayas, but was disappointed due to the cloud cover. During the check-in at the Delhi airport, I was surprised when the check-in agent asked me if I had any preference for the seat. That meant the flight was not full. Usually Delhi-Kathmandu flights are always full, so one cannot get a seat of choice if not already reserved on web check-in. I always prefer a window seat on the left side, since it allows one to have a peek at the Himalayas. Predictably, a number of seats were not occupied. Tourists are avoiding going there, and for trekkers it has been a big disappointment, since all the popular treks are closed down due to massive landslides that had claimed lives of so many Sherpas and the trekkers. From the aircraft, I could only see buildings after buildings. Each successive year, I find the green cover of the valley shrinking in geometric proportion. The baggage area of the Kathmandu airport had stacks of relief material all over.
After I checked in a hotel in the Thamel, I went for a walk in the area. Thamel is usually a lively area with mostly white tourists (for Indian tourists, the favorite spots remain Pashupatinath temple, casinos, and various malls and shopping areas). The shopping in Thamel is mostly of the trekking gear, and it is littered with restaurants serving cuisines of every part of the world. It also has some very good bakeries, and my love for apple pie began here only. In a decade or so, an additional 'attraction' that has been added here is of 'dance bars' and 'massage parlours'. It was disappointing to see the area bereft of its usual crowd. There were virtually no tourists in any of the shops. The eateries wore a deserted look. 'Hot Bread', which usually would sell its unsold items of the day at 50% rates at 9.30 pm, was doing so at 8.30 pm.
Prof Saroj Ojha, head, Dept of Psychiatry at the Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu visited me at my hotel with his wife. And after preliminaries, the talk soon shifted to the 'Gorkha earthquake'. Listen to Prof Ojha in his own words, "We were having lunch with my aged mother and two kids, it being the Saturday, and suddenly felt as if our chairs and the table were pushed by a train engine with a deafening roar. After a momentary hesitation, we realized it was an earthquake, and went underneath the dining table, hoping it would be over within seconds. But the seconds stretched to never ending time. I felt we were pushed and pulled simultaneously in opposite directions, with a force over which we had no control. I was stunned into total silence, remained huddled underneath the table, clutching my two children, while my wife and mother kept chanting prayers all the time. All I could think was death, death, and death; all other thoughts had deserted me; I could not even frame my parting words to my family. Once the violent jerks stopped, it took us a few minutes more to come from underneath the table, which seemed to be providing some security, and we immediately rushed outside into the open area, which seemed to be the safest place on entire Earth. The scene outside was chaotic; no building had fallen down, but the entire neighbourhood had come outside; people were crying, even when none seemed to have died there, shouting, screaming, whispering, some were in total shock; people rushed to me for advice as to what they should do now. What could I tell them; I was as confused as they were. I was totally paralysed, not knowing what to do, should we go back inside, or just run away somewhere. I wanted some divine intervention to suggest to me the safest place on the Earth, where I could head to with my family." Prof Ojha decided to shift his family to his office in the Institute of Medicine, where he lived with his family for the next one month. It seemed to be the most convenient place; besides his own, IOM is working place for Mrs Ojha too, who is gynaecologist there. Food was available in many canteens within the hospital compound, or from many eateries in the vicinity. In case of any emergency, medical help was available 24 hours. For next few weeks, Prof Saroj Ojha remained in great demand with the TV channels and print media for his advice to people on what should they anticipate, and how they should look after their emotional health, but 'I myself remained a bundle of nerves within myself; I did not know whom to turn to for advice'.
Sudhir K Khandelwal
Despatch from Kathmandu
By Sudhir Khandelwal at June 28, 2015
Poonam Kirpal said...
Heart rendering account of the tragedy that occurred in Kathmandu. The country is already under a grip of so many man made problems and then this natural calamity was simply uncalled for. Hope the country can grapple with these and rise
Sir, a very touching account of the tragedy that struck Nepal. It must have been a scary experience. When these things happen, only then do we realize that we are playing with fire by spoiling the nature and depleting the natural resources. Unfortunately, the lesson doesn't last very long. :(
Sudhir Khandelwal said...
Poonam, the aftermaths of the tragedy still remain in Nepal. I firmly believe that all tragedies are man-made. In our greed we are destroying nature, and if calamity happens, we look for causes and excuses somewherelse. It happened in Uttarakhand very recently. You may like to read it in this blog whenever you have time on nature unleashing its fury
Swati, thank you for visiting this blog. Unfortunately, man has very short memory. A calamity happens, or when a tragedy strikes, we make big noises to correct the situation. But nothing happens, and we get back to our usual routine thinking 'nothing would happen to us'. Human beings are endowed with so much denial and also some sense of being omnipotent that they do not wish to strive for change.
Such an amazing post. Your experience in Uttrakhand was incredible. I am too looking forward to visit after reading your journey. Photos are really good as well.
THE GORKHA EARTHQUAKE - TRAGEDY STRIKES HIMALAYAN ...
THE REEL GAP


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The Balkans - The Only Place Where Europe Never Went to War!
By Borna Sor 19 April 2018
You read it right. Now, keep going...
Global politics viewed from the western perspective is full of prejudice, and mostly it is connected to the wealth of the nation. The richer the country, the more respect it holds. Stability is a close second. Wars, revolutions, and rebellions are considered to be a sign of primitivism. It has to be pointed out, only if these calamities are happening on your territory. If you're promoting them in other countries, they are considered the sign of active foreign policy. Imperialistic? Perhaps. But not primitive.
This criterion can be heard in the voice of the American president when he calls African states ''sh*tholes'' or in your grandmother's warning not to visit Angkor Vat for the fear of being boiled alive and eaten by the local cannibals. This ignorant view doesn't stop on the borders of continents and races but it follows us into the heart of Europe. To the place where the hunter-gatherer met with the first farmer and started the oldest European cultures and civilisations. Ages ago. Literal ages. Old Europe, they call it. The cradle of the West. Known today as the Balkans.
''Balkanisation is a geopolitical term used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states which are often hostile or uncooperative with one another''
Oh, golly, what a great nickname for us all! Hostile and uncooperative. Grandma would be proud. Not the process of spreading literacy, but one of fragmentation and the division of regions so small, they could end up being city states! Laughable! City states?! Imagine something ridiculous like that. In Europe? Fragmentation and division? Hostilities? Unheard of! It's the Balkans and their weird primitive ideas.
To be fair, the last European war, prior to the Ukranian crisis, was on the Balkan peninsula. Bloody and savage wars in Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, shocked the whole world. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, and many other atrocities and war crimes are still in the media today. Just last week, another Serbian leader was convicted of war crimes. So it is no wonder that ''Balkanisation'' was picked up from a dusty 19th century German thesaurus, an exotic and negative word for those ''exotic and negative'' people from far away.
Yes, there are still some hostilities and a lack of cooperation, nothing strange for countries that went to war in recent history, and economies need time to recover from the cataclysmic corruption that war leaves behind. Not destruction. Corruption. Destroyed houses are easier to rebuild than a broken moral compass. So, things are not great, nobody should claim that the Balkans are doing amazingly, but this prejudice still exists and is an embarrassment for the whole of Europe, and for the EU most of all. So much so, that the halls of our common parliament ring with ignorance and war propaganda.
Croatia and Slovenia are having a border dispute. To pressure both governments into finding a quick and easy solution, some members of the parliament are using volatile rhetorics once again. ''The powder keg of Europe!'' they yell. ''Pandora's box of the Balkans''. They warn of war preparations and weakened peace. Not to insult these MPs, but to claim that two EU/NATO member states will go to war over a fishing village either deserves a trip to the doctor, or a brief history lesson. So, let's start.
Slovenia and Croatia never went to war. Never. Never, ever. Let that sink in. Two European, Balkan countries (they claim they are not, but the rest of the planet disagrees), two neighbouring countries, never went to war. Never burned each other's villages, never massacred each other's citizens. Never shelled cities, never sank ships, never raped, pillaged, plundered, or occupied each other.
How many countries in Europe can say that about their neighbours? That they wentthrough thick and thin with them, fighting invasions together, and suffering together under imperialistic yoke. Creating, back in 1927; TIGR, first anti-fascistresistance in Europe, and after changing six different states in last hundred years, still didn't go to war. How many countries can say that?
Balkanisation? More like Restofeuropeanisation.
Tagged under: politics slovenia slovenia croatia slovenia border dispute slovenia arbitration kosovo bih croatia bosnia and herzegovina homeland war war war crimes history serbia european union
International Supermarket Tourism: More than Lidl near Bregana Border
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A Week in Croatian Politics - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Schengen and Qatar


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December 19, 2019 December 19, 2019 Palmyra, New Jersey Middle & High Schools Essays
Game, Set, Match!
Tennis has always been a big part of my life. Throughout high school, I've been a proud member of the girls tennis team, and my passion for the sport has only grown since becoming a senior and making the varsity team. While I'm not the best player on the team, I have my own personal set of skills that work to my advantage, and I have played many good (and bad) matches because of my unique style. However, one of the most memorable games I have ever played was at the Burlington County Open this past autumn, and it shaped the way I play and view tennis.
On a cool morning in September 2019, the girls tennis team huddled eating warm chocolate chip cookies baked fresh by one of our teammates. The bus was late (again), the freshmen were inside filling our water jug, and Emmanuella and the coach hit a tennis ball against the wall. When it finally arrived, we all bundled into the back and gabbed, each adorned in our uniforms and tennis sweatshirts. The scent of Coach Nevitt's coffee was aromatic and wafted to the back of the bus, making the atmosphere welcoming and comfortable. Driving to the designated meeting place, Veteran's Park, took about an hour.
When we arrived, we put our bags down at our traditional tree, near which roughly twenty courts surrounded the official hub for announcements. That's when we discovered we hadn't brought any of the necessary materials: new tennis balls, scorecards, and the community water bottles. So we went to a court picked at random and stretched and hit for a while, then gathered to hear the lineups. I was scheduled against Pemberton's third singles player, Gabby. She was nice but had a competitive side to her, which I had seen at our scrimmage almost a month earlier. We had ten minutes to rally, and Gabby opened up a new canister of balls. The lid popped off with a click, and she handed me one of the fluorescent-colored spheres.
The rally started off fairly normally, with regular playing followed by practicing our serves, but then her coaches came over. They stood at the far end of the fence, so they could watch both her and their first doubles' matches. Their loud, laughing voices rang across the courts. At first their presence didn't faze me, but my perspective changed when the match actually started.
I lost the first point after getting to deuce, but I knew I could bring it back because my serves are decent, but my returns allow me to win points. The game went back and forth for a while, with the score 4-3 in my favor, when a Pemberton coach walked to our side of the fence to watch.
"It's all about the serve, Gabby. That's what I like to see," he said, shouting loud enough to make birds scatter. She was serving after tying the game, 4-4. I began losing my patience with his every cheer and clap mocking the skills I had worked so hard to develop. However, I was determined to not let him get to me, and by focusing my energy on the game, I succeeded in gaining back the upper hand. As we switched sides, the second coach and some of her teammates who had already lost their matches came to watch our match.
"Take those risks, Gabby!" Her coach was irritated with the current score, 7-6 in my favor, since my opponent had lost two points in a row. By now, my coach had come to watch as well, but he remained still and silent, like the calm before the storm. I could tell his blood was boiling over their remarks, but he maintained control.
When the score became 8-9 in Gabby's favor, my teammates gathered in a wave and sat, talking among themselves, oblivious to my need for concentration.
"Shh! I'm glad you're watching my match, but you need to be quiet," I said.
This next point would determine the entire match, and I did not want to risk it all. Unfortunately for Pemberton, I won the point. We were told the match would end with a tie-breaker, first to seven with a two-point difference. As I drank my water I tried to steady myself , but my hands shook. Two hours had passed since the tournament had begun, and my body was starting to shut down. Forcing myself to continue, I took my place, ball in hand.
A hush fell over the crowd as I tossed the ball high and started the first point with a serve. A nice rally commenced, until the ball was hit into the net. The winning side cheered for their girl, and the two switched sides. The tie breaker was tense, with loud cheers from Pemberton, and more subtle cheers from Palmyra. It was the last point, and back to my serve. I hit the ball, but Gabby returned it fast, a powerful hit to the opposite side of the court. Somehow, I was faster. Without much thought, I decided to take a risk. Cross-court returns with a backhand are almost never a good idea because too many things can go wrong. However, in that moment, the stars aligned. Gabby wasn't expecting the angled shot and attempted to get it over, but her body placement wasn't right. I met her at the net where I shook her hand, a thrilling match finally over. My body weary, I picked up my equipment and left the courts.
While my team cheered, the Pemberton coaches came down on her hard, practically yelling at the poor girl for not taking more risks, but I knew she had. We both did everything in our power to win that match, but only one victor could arise.
"That was so intense! You played great! We're so proud of you," my teammates said. I was glowing with joy at what I had accomplished, yet exhausted from the effort.
"I'm third singles, Palmyra versus Pemberton. I won 9-9, with a 7-5 tie breaker," I reported to a match official, who then told me I could have a short break before the second round. In that second round, I was pinned against someone who was in a higher seed-ranking than Palmyra, and I lost pretty quickly, but I didn't care. I was overjoyed to have even made it as far as I had, and I remember smiling throughout the rest of the day because of it.
I think back to that match often, and I consider that win to be one of my biggest accomplishments. It's not necessarily that Pemberton was a fierce competitor, or that making it past the first round was that big of an achievement, but I'm proud of myself for all that I did because I know what it was like to be on the court that fateful day. Overall, the tournament didn't affect my tennis career or determine anything special, but the memory of it will always linger in my mind because it helped me gain confidence in myself and my skills, which I have channeled in a positive way to other aspects of my life.
And for that, I am grateful.
— By Alyssa Rimanthe Schweiger, Class of 2020
Tagged competitions, memoir
I'm John, I'm probably dead now


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This plant comes in several leaf and flower colour. This purple leaf variety can be used in many bedding schemes where height is not required. The raceme of flowers reaches up to about 12inches(30cm) and adds interest during summer. It is clump forming, hardy and is a good ground cover. It can stand being dried out but does best when wateres well during summer.


Hortensia Simple Garter Cardigan Free Knitting Pattern.
I never go anywhere without a woolly cardigan. Not even to the tropics. So when I was getting ready for a trip with my family to Vietnam and Cambodia, I decided I had to knit myself a light and airy cardigan. It had to not take up too much space in a suitcase, but still be warm enough for the flight and for cool evenings in the mountains. The result has become "Hortensia" – a simple garter knit cardigan with short row shaping in the yoke and light waist shaping, for a flattering fit.


Based on extensive research, this provocative volume explores how schools are places where racial conflicts often remain hidden at the expense of a healthy school climate and the well-being of students of color. Most schools fail to act on racial microaggressions because the stress of negotiating such conflicts is extremely high due to fears of incompetence, public exposure, and accusation. Instead of facing these conflicts head on, schools perpetuate a set of avoidance or coping strategies. The author of this much-needed book uncovers how racial stress undermines student achievement. Students, educators, and social service support staff will find workable strategies to improve their racial literacy skills to read, recast, and resolve racially stressful encounters when they happen.
A model that applies culturally relevant behavioral stress management strategies to problem solve racial stress in schools.
Examples demonstrating workable solutions relevant within predominantly White schools for students, parents, teachers, and administrators.
Measurable outcomes and strategies for developing racial literacy skills that can be integrated into the K–12 curriculum and teacher professional development.
Howard C. Stevenson is a clinical and consulting psychologist and the Constance E. Clayton Professor of Urban Education and Professor of Africana Studies, and former chair of the Applied Psychology and Human Development Division in the Graduate School of Education, both at the University of Pennsylvania.


San Diego Zoo Global is a conservation organization committed to saving species around the world.
Learn how we are working toward that goal.
Each time you visit the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, donate to a project, purchase an item from us, or share what you know about wildlife and conservation, you help us take another step in achieving our mission.
For more than a century, people have flocked to the San Diego Zoo to discover animals. The Zoo connects people with wildlife to inspire a passion for nature.
Picture the wide-eyed wonder on a child's face upon meeting a living, breathing giraffe, something she's only seen on a digital screen before. Or the wonder of encountering a penguin that is looking at you with the same curiosity you have about him. These are the moments that tell the story of the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It is these connections that spark the desire to protect and save species.
The Zoo and Safari Park are protected havens where breeding and caring for endangered species can help protect against extinction.
They provide opportunities for animal behavior and health studies that would be difficult, if not impossible, to conduct in the wild. The results of these studies are shared with other zoos and wildlife parks, and help guide animal conservation efforts in field projects.
The expertise of the animal care staff, veterinarians, nutritionists, horticulturists, and conservation scientists who work with our animals at the Zoo and Safari Park is an invaluable asset that can inform challenges animals face in the wild.
Species San Diego Zoo Global has released back into the wild.
Rhinos born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Years the San Diego Zoo has conducted giant panda research.
By uniting our expertise in conservation science with our dedication to inspiring a passion for nature, San Diego Zoo Global is committed to saving wildlife worldwide.
San Diego Zoo Global field projects take our researchers to sites around the world, working with local people, fellow conservation scientists, partner organizations, and government agencies.
These projects are located in the heart of regions with some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet, from the rain forests of the Amazon to the savannas of Africa, and from the jungles of Indonesia to the tundra of the Arctic. Our goal is to save the unique species that live there for future generations.
Countries that San Diego Zoo Global has conservation projects in.
Partners that San Diego Zoo Global collaborates with.
Conservation field stations that San Diego Zoo Global operates.
The science of saving species is an essential part of San Diego Zoo Global's approach to conservation.
The expertise, knowledge, and dedication of our conservation scientists are vital to the fight to end extinction. Their home base is the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, the largest zoo-based, multidisciplinary research facility in the world. For more than 40 years, our scientists have been at work solving conservation challenges, including everything from wildlife diseases to animal behavior to reproduction riddles.
The Frozen Zoo, a collection of cryogenically preserved skin and reproductive cell tissues from a wide variety of animal species, is perhaps the most famous component of the Institute. Currently, a multi-year project to try to save the northern white rhino is making use of the precious resources stored there.
Conservation scientists who work in the lab or in the field for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.
Different animal species represented in the Frozen Zoo.
The number of different divisions that make up the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, including Conservation Genetics, Recovery Ecology, Disease Investigations, and Reproductive Sciences.
Hope for a brighter future—for wildlife and people—is at the heart of all we do.
Wildlife conservation cannot succeed without the understanding and commitment of people. As wildlife and wild habitats are facing increasing pressures worldwide, organizations like San Diego Zoo Global must lead the way in wildlife conservation education. San Diego Zoo Global conducts science and conservation education programs at the Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute; in school classrooms; through our websites and broadcast programming; in teacher training and colleague exchanges; and through informal community outreach in countries where we are working on field projects. In all of these, we foster conservation curiosity, connection, and understanding through active engagement with wildlife and the natural world.
Continents where San Diego Zoo Global conducts education outreach programs. This includes Peru, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Mexico, Madagascar, and Fiji, among other places.
Students in education programs at the Zoo and Safari Park who come from Title I schools.
Hospitals and other facilities showing the San Diego Zoo Kids television channel. San Diego Zoo Kids reaches children globally through the website at kids.sandiegozoo.org, and helps young patients in hospitals through our programming on the San Diego Zoo Kids channel—a television adventure network that brings the Zoo to children when they need it most.
Want to Join Our Fight to End Extinction?


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Author: Bastian Berbner
Bastian Berbner is a reporter for the German newspaper DIE ZEIT. He has worked in TV and is now doing the podcast 180 Grad – Geschichten gegen den Hass. His book by the same name was published last year in Germany and has been featured on This American Life. His work from around the world has been honored with some of the most prestigious journalism awards in Germany.
In March 2004, the headmaster of the school where Carol Ramolotsana worked called her into his office and handed the young religion teacher an envelope. It carried the stamp of the Ministry of Education, which could mean only one thing: a transfer. Carol opened the envelope and read the name of her destination: Lentsweletau. "Lion Hill." She began to cry.
At home, she looked up Botswana in an atlas, her finger searching the map until it settled on a small point on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Lion Hill, population 4,000, was home to the Bakwena tribe, who worship crocodiles.
Carol, a sophisticated city girl, had known this day would come. After all, this was Botswana, where teachers, doctors, nurses, administrators and other civil servants are shipped off against their will to remote regions of the country, expected to sacrifice their own freedoms for the collective good. It's an extreme model of governance. It also works extraordinarily well.
In the 1960s, as dozens of countries in Africa began to decolonize, their leaders promised prosperity and development. Instead, oftentimes, violence broke out, economies withered and infrastructure crumbled. But one country kept its promise: Botswana. In the three decades after independence in 1966, Botswana had one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It went from having 12 kilometers of paved roads to over 18,000. In 1966, it had 22 college graduates — now, it boasts a highly educated populace, many of whom studied in South Africa, the U.S., Great Britain or Sweden. After a few years, these graduates returned and built ministries and hospitals, universities and airports. They ran power lines and water pipes through the savannah.
Today, education in Botswana is largely free, from kindergarten to university, and Botswans pay nothing for visits to the doctor, and just as little for seeds, fertilizers and harvest workers. According to Transparency International, Botswana is the least corrupt country in Africa, and less corrupt than many European countries, too, including Italy, Spain and Malta.
When Botswana's colonizers drew its new borders, they tore apart tribes who wanted to be together and locked together others who didn't. This sort of reckless divvying up had led to chaos in countries like Nigeria, the Congo, Mali and Rwanda. But in Botswana, that didn't happen. Instead, Botswana's tribes drew closer as one nation.
When I traveled through the country in 2018 and spoke to dozens of Botswans about their identity, not a single one mentioned their tribe. They said first and foremost: "I am a Botswanan." This loss of tribal identity runs counter to what many other societies now recognize as an important element of diversity: namely, people's right to hang on to who they are, even as they come together as a unified group.
In this way, Botswanans have made a monumental sacrifice for the tranquility of their nation — they have deprioritized their deeply held tribal identities for the sake of societal stability, and in the process, formed a unified state out of a multiethnic, multilingual, partially hostile tribal society. This sacrifice can't be discounted, and yet it has worked. Today, thanks to these sacrifices, Botswana is perhaps the most successful example of nation-building in history.
The reason this happened is the same reason that Carol Ramolotsana, a happy 29-year-old who loved going to the movies, grabbing Chinese food with friends and frequenting O'Hagans Pub, found herself, a few days after receiving the notice from the headmaster, watching as her couch, her refrigerator, her bed, her whole life, disappeared in a moving truck that then rumbled off towards the Kalahari.
A few days later, Carol was following the same route in her Honda Civic. Soon, the glittering towers of Gaborone disappeared in the rearview mirror. The road narrowed, the landscape widened. When she arrived in Lentsweletau, the first thing she saw was a crumbling building and a half-finished gas station. No cinema. No pub. No Chinese restaurant. The school consisted of a few dozen shacks scattered across the red earth.
In her small brick house, Carol sat on her bed and cried. It was days before she stepped into her high heels, hung a purse in the crook of her arm and went to class. Her new colleagues laughed at her outfit.
Carol Ramolotsana
"The fine lady," said one.
"You won't wear the shoes for long," said another.
Carol spent the lunch breaks alone in her house. At night, she drove to the village bar, ignoring the looks. She ordered beer at the counter and drank it outside, alone in her car. Five, sometimes six cans in the evening. Then she drove home and slept.
When Carol was transferred to Lentsweletau, she was consumed with resentment. Why does the government have to bring teachers from the city to the country? Why can't everyone work where they come from?
I put these questions to Simon Coles, deputy minister at the Botswana Ministry of Education. He sat behind a wooden desk piled with letters, printed emails and transcripts of phone calls eight inches high.
"All complaints from dissatisfied teachers," said Coles, gesturing at the piles. "Most of them are thrown out."
Botswana's civil servants — 120,000 people, around ten percent of the working population — often complain about the fact that they could be transferred to another part of the country at any time. If a rural clinic needs a new nurse, if a distant district office requires a driver, if a far-flung town hall needs a secretary, the government ships someone out. Many try to get out of it. Few are successful.
"We owe our national unity to the transfers of officials," says Ponatshego Kedikilwe, Botswana's former vice president. He explains that Seretse Khama, the first president of the independent Botswana, observed how tribalism was tearing apart one African society after another. Botswana had tribes too, each with its own territory and chief, and usually represented by an animal. There were the Kalanga in the north, the good-natured elephants. There were the Batswena, the crocodiles, a warrior people. And there was Khama's own tribe, the Bangwato, the antelopes, which, even then, were seen as the elites.
A statue of Seretse Khama, first president of independent Botswana, stands outside the National Archives of Botswana. Credit: Wikimedia
Khama knew that these tribal identities would have to give way to a national, shared identity — a painful sacrifice to ask one's people to make, but one that the government felt was the only way to avoid the fates of other African countries that had struggled to unify following independence. At the same time, the government had to ensure that rural people could go to school or see a doctor. So it began shipping out its civil servants, who often belonged to a different tribe than the place they were sent. It quickly became clear that these transfers were having an interesting side effect.
The officials made friends with the people whom they were sent to serve. Some fell in love, got married and had children — children with parents who belonged to different tribes and sometimes even spoke different languages.
All over the country, in thousands of one-to-one contacts, prejudices fell and new bonds were formed. Exposure, says Kedikilwe — that was the key. Every citizen must be exposed to his fellow citizens, regardless of tribe.
After arriving at Lentsweletau, Carol Ramolotsana only left her home to teach and drink. She resisted exposure. Until one Saturday in the spring, five months after she had arrived.
That morning she had driven an hour southwest of Lentsweletau for a change of scenery. She sat on a plastic chair in front of the "Big 6 Bar" and drank a beer. When it was almost empty, a man got up and got her a new one. He was tall and handsome, with strong shoulders and a broad smile. He was a soldier, he said. His name was Thabo.
"Where are you from?" he asked. Lentsweletau, Carol said.
"Really?" he replied. "That's my home village."
He visited her a week later. Another time, he brought friends and took her to a wedding party. He had bought her three skirts, and she felt like her old self, when she would dress up and hit the town in Gaborone.
Ponatshego Kedikilwe
Thanks to Thabo, Carol soon felt more at home on Lentsweletau. She attended the festival of the village choir, where goats were slaughtered. She became a juror in the local beauty pageant. She danced at weddings and cried at funerals. "At first I was so angry with my employer that I transferred this anger, this hatred, to everything that was near me, including the village and the people," she says. "Thabo took my hatred away and suddenly everything appeared in a different light."
It takes surprisingly little contact to break down even the most persistent divisions. In one of the last great battles of World War II, the German and American armies battled for a bridgehead. It was defended by the American Company K, among others. Many of Company K's soldiers had already been killed, and others were injured. If reinforcements didn't come soon, the Germans would overrun them.
Then, on the afternoon of March 13, 1945, they heard gunfire from the forest below their position. "The men feared the worst," writes American author David Colley in his account of the scene. "Then they saw a jagged line of soldiers emerge from the forest. They were relieved to see that the men were wearing olive uniforms and the pot-shaped helmets of the U.S. Army. But as they got closer, the GIs of K Company saw that the faces of these men were brown… Their relief turned into shock. It was Black Americans who came to their aid."
Like all of American society back then, the army was segregated by race. But in the closing stages of World War II, for the first time since its formation, the U.S. Army broke its doctrine of segregation. One of these Black soldiers, J. Cameron Wade, later said: "We ate together, slept together, fought together. There were no incidents, the army couldn't believe it." They held the bank. Then they marched further east, towards victory.
Afterward, to find out how this inadvertent social experiment had affected those involved, the Army sent researchers to question the soldiers. 77 percent of whites who fought with Blacks said they liked and respected Blacks better now. When asked how the Black soldiers fought, 84 percent of the whites questioned answered "very good," and the remaining 16 percent with "good." A Nevada company commander said, "You'd think it couldn't work. But it did." A sergeant from South Carolina: "When I saw them fighting, I changed my mind." A platoon leader from Texas: "We all expected difficulties — there weren't any."
After the war, Gordon Allport, one of the most brilliant social psychologists of the 20th century, found himself poring over the Army's research in his office at Harvard University. As it turned out, in the last months of the war, the researchers had questioned not only those soldiers who had fought with Black comrades, but 1,700 U.S. soldiers, asking them all the same question: How would you feel if your unit included Black platoons?
Because the army, with its divisions, regiments, companies and platoons, is so confusing, a somewhat simpler comparison might help: Let us imagine four groups of white soldiers. Group one consists of the men who fought alongside their Black comrades at the front lines. Group two consists of soldiers across the river who watched the fight through binoculars. Group three is made up of soldiers who only heard the battle through their radios. And group four consists of soldiers who weren't anywhere near the fight — they were back in the U.S.
Now, imagine that all four of these groups were asked the same question: " How would you feel about serving in a unit with Black soldiers?"
Of the soldiers in the fourth group, who were back in the U.S. thousands of miles away, 62 percent said they strongly disliked this idea.
Contact theory posits that contact between enemies reduces prejudices and leads to more peaceful coexistence.
Soldiers who heard the battle through their radios, however, had a different reaction: only 24 percent of them disliked the idea of fighting alongside Black soldiers.
Of the soldiers in group two, who watched the battle from the other side of the river, only 20 percent disliked the idea.
And as for group one? The soldiers who had actually been there in the trenches, fighting alongside Black Americans, had almost no problem with it anymore — only seven percent of them didn't want to serve alongside Black soldiers.
The more contact, the less prejudice. And then Allport found something even more fascinating: a second row of data in the same document.
The researchers had also asked the soldiers about another group of people: the Germans. Of the American soldiers in group four — the ones who have never been to Germany — 74 percent had a negative view of Germans.
Of the soldiers who were in Germany but had no contact with the civilian population, only 51 percent had a negative view. Of those who had had brief contact with German civilians, only 43 percent felt negatively about them. Among soldiers who had had closer contact, that number fell further, to 24 percent.
In other words, the soldiers who were physically closest to the population of the country they were fighting had the most positive attitude toward that very population.
Based on this and other research he conducted, Allport formulated the now well-known "contact theory," which posits that contact between enemies reduces prejudices and leads to more peaceful coexistence. However, warns Allport, there is a type of contact for which this does not reduce prejudices, but actually reinforces them. Namely, when the contact is so superficial that it arouses a prejudice but cannot attack it.
We can see where a lack of contact can lead. As a reporter, I've visited McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania. It has a thousand residents, two traffic lights, 11 churches and a well-frequented gun shop. Eighty-four percent of its residents voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Carol Ramolotsana's house in Lentsweletau. Photo courtesy Bastian Berbner
The people of McConnellsburg told me about the threats to America as they see them: illegal immigrants, liberal city dwellers, Blacks. Yet 97 percent of McConnellsburg's population is white. City dwellers rarely go there. And there are hardly any illegal immigrants. The residents are afraid of people they don't know. They've created monsters in their heads.
I've also met people in New York who refer to Trump supporters as fascists, racists or Nazis. When I ask how many Trump voters they know personally, many tell me they've never met one.
Carol once saw the people of Lion's Hill as similarly separate from her. Now, she feels so connected to them that she would like to remain there forever. On the edge of the village is a large field where an old woman grew watermelons. Carol, who loves watermelons, would visit this field so often that the woman began calling her "my daughter," a title in Setswana, Botswana's national language. One day the woman asked if Carol liked a piece of the land. Carol said yes, and the woman gave it to her. Carol started building a house on it. It wasn't even finished when a letter arrived from the Ministry. Carol was to be transferred again. Her next station would be 200 kilometers north. She could move into the house here later, she told the old woman — at the latest, when she retires. As it turned out, Carol had decided she would like to spend her golden years in Lion's Hill, and be buried there, too.
In his book Sapiens, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari tells the story of a group of Homo Sapiens who journeyed from their African homeland towards the Middle East 100,000 years ago. There, they met another species, the Neanderthals. A battle ensued and the Sapiens were crushed. But 30,000 years later, the Homo Sapiens returned a second time. This time they won, and went on to conquer the rest of the world.
What happened between those first and second encounters? According to Harari's thesis, during that time, Homo Sapiens acquired a skill that no other species had mastered — namely, the ability to speak about things that could not be seen, touched, or smelled. Many species can express basic thoughts: Be careful! A lion! But Homo Sapiens learned to verbalize concepts like: The lion is the guardian spirit of our tribe.
In other words, they invented fiction, which Harari believes is the most important innovation in the history of our species. Because once the Homo Sapiens began to tell stories, they were able to form societies. Myths and legends were spun. God was created. Suddenly people no longer had to know each other personally to stick together. They felt they belonged to one another because they believed in the same stories. "You cannot convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him that, after he dies, in monkey heaven he will get an infinite number of bananas," writes Harari. "Fiction has not only enabled us to imagine things. It enabled us to do that together."
Today, human life is dominated by groups that are held together by fictions. Hundreds of millions of people believe in the story of Jesus — they live on different continents, yet form a community. A piece of paper, printed with the right ink and symbols, becomes a thing of great value — about seven billion people believe this story today. And then there are the stories of nations. What is Germany? What is France? What is the United States? Nations are no different from God, money and the law: they exist only in our collective imagination.
But after World War II, globalization began to shoot people around the globe en masse, physically in planes and high-speed trains, virtually through television and the Internet. Suddenly, millions looked beyond their national stories and began to feel less connected to them.
This has caused something of a crisis. Too many people's group identities have outgrown the national framework, yet we continue to make politics within it. Some Western societies are starting to resemble African states in the 1960s: warring tribes locked in with one another, confined by borders but not beliefs.
Botswana shows us a way forward. The government formed a nation out of a tribal society by weakening the old group identities through thousands of one-on-one encounters. It built a new, national group identity by telling its citizens a new story — a fiction so convincing that many began to believe it.
Contact was their most important tool.
A version of story originally appeared in the book "180 Grad: Geschichten gegen den Hass" (180 Degrees: Stories Against Hate) by Bastian Berbner. Berbner is the host of the podcast 180 Grad: Geschichten gegen den Hass. Both feature stories of overcoming hate and division.
Looking back at his somber life of 62 years, Finbarr O'Brien sees some silver linings. The births of his two sons. Afternoons spent with his grandchildren. And an autumn day in 2012 that began like most others, with Finbarr driving his postal van through the small Irish town of Macroom.
That day he drove across rolling green hills and narrow stone bridges, filling 540 mailboxes. On his way home, after delivering all of his letters and packages, he stopped for a cup of coffee. He was sitting at a table alone when a woman entered the café. Finbarr, a good postman, knew that her name was Caroline and that she worked for some sort of polling institute.
Finbarr, she asked him, would you fancy going to Dublin once a month to discuss a new constitution for Ireland?
Finbarr laughed. Surely she was joking.
She wasn't. Caroline explained that she had been assigned to find ordinary citizens to participate in a so-called constitutional convention. No special skills were required, and it didn't pay, but travel costs would be reimbursed.
At the time, Ireland was facing two crises: one of economics, another of trust. People had lost faith in the political system, so the government decided to try something. Why not let the citizens have a direct say in the issues? Reforming of the electoral system. Abolishing the Senate. And one of the most controversial: legalizing same-sex marriage.
Finbarr O'Brien. Credit: Kenneth O Halloran
The prohibition of same-sex marriage was written right into Ireland's constitution, and this, combined with the power of the Catholic Church, made reform seem highly unlikely. But public opinion was slowly evolving, so the government decided to re-examine the issue. It would do so through the civic experiment of which Finbarr was about to become a part.
The experiment was this: 66 citizens would be selected from the electorate, a cross-section of Irish society — male and female, old and young, urban and rural, high and low earners. They would be joined by 33 politicians as well as an expert who would serve as chairman to the constitutional convention, for a total of 100 people.
This group of 100 would discuss amendments to the constitution that were being considered by the government. No expertise would be required. Each weekend in Dublin, the group would be given time to learn, examine and debate a different issue. Scholars and advocates from both sides would be brought in to make their case. At the end of each weekend, the group would make a recommendation to the parliament, which could either accept or disregard it.
This is how a woman named Caroline came to stand in a cafe in the rainy town of Macroom 250 kilometers southwest of Dublin, and offer a chance to determine the future of Ireland to a stocky postal worker with a round head and a timid smile, who would thank her for considering him and politely decline the offer.
If Finbarr O'Brien were an American, it's easy to imagine he would have voted for Donald Trump. He was the Irish version of the angry old white man. He hated politics and politicians. The way that they promise you the world and after the election can't remember a thing! Yet, today, Finbarr is the proud owner of a leather-bound copy of the Irish constitution. Sometimes he flips through it, poring over the signatures and notes from other participants in the convention.
"It was great to meet you."
"It was great working with you."
Back on that day in the café, Caroline left her phone number with Finbarr just in case he changed his mind. That evening Finbarr caught hell from his oldest son. "Dad," he said, "you'll only get a chance like this once. Plus, you can't keep complaining about politicians and at the same time refuse to make a difference yourself!"
If Finbarr O'Brien were an American, it's easy to imagine he would have voted for Donald Trump. He was the Irish version of the angry old white man.
His son was right. As Finbarr dialed Caroline's number, he secretly hoped that she had already found someone else. But she hadn't.
A few months later, on a Saturday morning in late January 2013, in a hotel north of Dublin, Finbarr found himself searching for his place on a seating chart on the wall: Table four. It was the constitutional convention's first working session. The question they would consider was whether or not to reform the electoral system.
Finbarr entered a massive conference room decorated in Irish green. There were cameras at the back, a stage up front and big round tables in between. A few people were already seated, but table four, towards the front, was still empty. Finbarr doesn't like to be late and therefore often arrives early. He sat down.
A few moments later, a young man came up to the table. He had two lip piercings, and his head was shaved, leaving only a single row of spiky hair down the middle. Finbarr saw that the man was wearing eye makeup and had painted each of his nails a different color of the rainbow. He assumed this man must be gay, and in his chest he felt a surge of panic.
"At first, I thought I'll punch him through the window," says Finbarr. "My thoughts were out of control. In my head I was catapulted back into my childhood room. I was nine or ten years of age. Just as clear as the pierced face of this man in front of me, I could see another man's face in my mind's eye. A man with polished manners and expensive suits. This was many years ago, but it felt like yesterday. He was a friend of my parents, and whenever he came over they used to always ask him: Are you staying for the night? Every time I hoped he would say no. But no, he would always stay. He would come into my room at night, for around two years, again and again. It would have been a fine thing if the house fell down and buried us under."
Credit: mozzercork / Flickr
Young Finbarr endured the abuse. He never told a soul what had happened, not even his parents. As a teenager, he hit the bottle, often drinking himself into unconsciousness. He avoided people, and lashed out whenever a man touched him, even by accident. He drove to Cork, where his tormentor was said to live, and roamed the streets, revenge on his mind. He never found him.
Ever since it happened, Finbarr has seen homosexuality as equivalent to pedophilia. He became a lorry driver, longing for solitude. One time, when he was about 20, he put a rope around his neck and jumped. But the rope snapped. He got away with a few scratches and bruises — and his life.
It wasn't until the age of 50 that he finally spoke to a therapist, who explained to him the difference between homosexuality and pedophilia. It was a revelation. She also taught him techniques to deal with his traumatic flashbacks. As soon as he feels the panic rising, she said, he should lean back, look around and describe what he sees: the color of the walls, the people in the room. This way, he can bring himself out of the flashback and back into the present. To this day, he uses the technique all the time.
And so, Finbarr believed he was ready for the convention, during which he, of all people, was to have a say on same sex marriage. But suddenly all of that disappeared when he saw the man: piercings, fingernails, hair. His chest inflated. Panic.
Finbarr leaned back, looked around: Wood panel walls, beige carpet, a flow of people entering the room.
Seriously? This is the first guy I'm meeting here? I saw him stare on my fingernails, he clearly felt weird about it. I probably went overboard with the gay look. Mohawk, eyeliner, fingernails — I could have done with less. I look at him and he looks up in the air. Okay, gentlemen's agreement: You don't look at me, I don't look at you, and we don't need to introduce ourselves. Your name tag says Finbarr O'Brien, and mine says Chris Lyons.
In Finbarr, Chris saw the kind of older Irish man he had fought against his whole life. Again and again, he had to explain to them that he was not a pervert, that he was a full-fledged human being. In Cork, at university, Chris had found his place in the small gay community. But even there, men would wait outside the pub to throw bags of beer glasses at him. One time he was hit and cut the back of his head. He laughed it off, but in truth it was devastating.
Chris Lyons. Credit: Kenneth O Halloran
Chris was 26 when, in the autumn of 2012, the mother of a friend sent him an email about the constitutional convention. She asked whether he wanted to be a part of it.
By then, his unhappiness had morphed into activism. He was angry. Ireland has one last chance, he said at the time. Either he would get full rights or he would emigrate. He had already started looking for houses in Canada.
But when Chris arrived at the convention, his confidence vanished. There were barely any young people, a lot of old traditional Ireland. Then he arrived at his assigned table and saw Finbarr who clearly had trouble pulling himself together.
The participants at the table introduced themselves one by one. When it was Chris's turn, he was so insecure that he hardly knew what to say. So he said what he was thinking: that he felt out of place. That he would probably not have the confidence to stay. On the other side of the table, Finbarr started to nod.
Seeing that his words were resonating with Finbarr, Chris kept talking, saying that he didn't know why he was here, among all these important people. Finbarr was now agreeing so emphatically that Chris thought he might climb right across the table.
Then Finbarr burst out: "Thank you for saying that. That's how I feel."
At lunch, Finbarr and Chris sat next to each other, and during dinner they shared a laugh about all the experts with their complicated formulas and numbers and graphs who had taken the stage that day. When, at some point, the moderator had asked whether everyone was able to understand the presentation, Finbarr's hand went up, and he said no, that now he understood even less than before. Chris had been glad, because in truth, he had been just as lost.
In the evening they met at the bar for a pint. Finbarr's fear hadn't quite disappeared, but he was surprised by the discrepancy between Chris's appearance, which conformed exactly to Finbarr's expectations, and his straightforward manner, so similar to his own.
Credit: Kenneth O Halloran
As the weeks rolled on, Chris arrived in Dublin for convention weekends to find Finbarr, always early, waiting for him at the hotel bar. They would talk late into the night — about Finbarr's grandchildren, about Chris's job in IT, but also about the issues being debated at the convention. Should the president's term be reduced to five years? Should the Senate be abolished?
Over time, these conversations become more personal. Chris told Finbarr about his coming out experience, about how his mother considered him a pedophile and his father's only concern was secrecy.
Chris shared things with Finbarr he hadn't even told good friends, and he felt that the more he opened up, the more Finbarr tried to open up about something, too. One day, their conversation started as usual, but then Finbarr kept talking. He didn't tell Chris everything, but he said enough for Chris to understand.
In April 2013, the convention finally met for its session on same-sex marriage. Finbarr sat at the very front of the room, Chris a few tables further back. Experts and lobbyists presented arguments. At the back of the room, a scrum of journalists covered the proceedings, typing busily on their laptops. Barely anyone was chatting. The room was riveted.
After many conversations with Chris, Finbarr already knew most of the arguments. He had decided at this point that he would probably vote in favor of same-sex marriage. He knew what was at stake for Chris. But one question still nagged him: If two men have children, won't their kids get bullied at school?
Then, on that Saturday afternoon, a young woman took the stage. Finbarr was all ears.
"Hello, my name is Claire O'Connell," she said. "I am 22 years old and I'm studying medicine. We are a typical family, except that I have two mothers. People ask me: what is it like having two mums? My answer usually disappoints them because my childhood was quite ordinary. My parents bandaged my knee when I fell and comforted me when I cried. Then people ask: weren't you bullied? Again, I have to disappoint. Most of my friends even thought it was cool that I have two mothers. The running gag was that my family is the most normal out of all of them."
It's hard to say how many of these votes were influenced by Finbarr O'Brien. But Chris says he has no doubt that Finbarr's speech persuaded others at the convention.
This speech put Finbarr firmly in the Yes column. That's when a Catholic bishop took the stage to talk about the Church's love for the institution of marriage. As he spoke, Finbarr began thinking of the many boys who had been abused by men of the church, just as he was abused when he was a child.
Suddenly, Finbarr stood up.
Wearing a wine-red sweater with a white shirt underneath, his right hand clasping a microphone, Finbarr began to speak. His words were unrehearsed. A camera zoomed in on his face, broadcasting him live to the internet.
"I think the biggest problem with people is ignorance," he said. "They don't know enough. Because it happened to me personally years ago. I was abused and automatically from there on, any gay person I came across, I categorized them as the same — the abuser. And I kept that up until I got educated. And then I found out that the gay people — man or woman — they're perfect person."
At that point he hadn't even told his wife about the abuse. Or his sons. After the session, Finbarr headed straight for the bar and downed a double whiskey. As he stood there, adrenaline still coursing through him, people started to approach him, shaking his hand, congratulating him, thanking him. Two people spoke to him, and Finbarr was surprised to hear that they were gay. They told him how much his words had meant to them.
The next day, 79 of the 100 participants voted in favor of the amendment — 79 percent for the legalization of same-sex marriage in one of the most socially conservative countries in Europe.
It's hard to say how many of these votes were influenced by Finbarr O'Brien. But Chris says he has no doubt that Finbarr's speech persuaded others at the convention. Other participants that I interviewed — a teacher from Dublin, a dancer from Kildare, a social worker from Wexford, a political scientist from University College Dublin — said the same thing.
Following the convention's recommendation, on May 22, 2015, Ireland held a national referendum to decide whether to change its constitution to allow same-sex marriage.
The day of the vote, Chris scrolled through the thousands of pictures on his Twitter feed. Irish citizens living abroad were returning home to vote for same-sex marriage. Marked with the hashtag #hometovote, the photos showed them on planes and buses, young and old, men and women, many holding rainbow flags in their hands.
To Chris it felt almost as if they were returning for him personally, so that he could finally feel like a fully equal citizen in his own country.
Finbarr was at home following the referendum on TV when the newscaster announced the result: 62 percent for gay marriage. The measure had passed. Same-sex marriage would become legal in Ireland.