One of John F. Kennedy’s lesser-known accomplishments was the establishment of the Peace Corps. It began in 1961 and currently there are nearly 8,000 members serving abroad. Over 200,000 US citizens have volunteered to go to underprivileged nations to serve, teach and learn in the spirit of world peace. One ex-Biodesigner served in an arid area of Africa and was allowed 1 cup of water for her daily bathing.
Started much earlier, the American Field Service (AFS) was established to provide opportunities for US and worldwide high school students to spend one year with a host family. Ingrid Latin, BOFAW, “Ingrid,†was a foreign exchange student from the former Yugoslavia. Eventually, approximately 50 students came from nearly 20 worldwide nations.
Although the rule is unspoken, it is unprofessional and unfair for teachers to have favorite students. However, now that I am retired, I can confess that I had pets, although there were mitigating circumstances. I suspect that, in most cases, members of each class knew how I felt, because they felt the same way. I am not referring to students who were academically or athletically gifted or who were the most popular. I had about 50 of them, over a 24-year period and they all had something in common; they were AFS foreign exchange students.
Actually, they had several things in common.
1. They all spoke a foreign language (and often very good English).
2. Each one brought a foreign culture with him/her, replete with customs, idioms and folklore.
3. They were all highly curious and wanted to learn and absorb as much as they could in one year.
4. They were open, loving and caring.
5. They were very courageous to leave the comfort and security of their home and homeland to go on an extreme adventure of living with a host family and attending a “foreign†school.
6. By observing our culture, they were able to reflect many gifts that our students ignored or took for granted.
7. They were profoundly grateful for the daily blessings that they received from families, friends, community, the school and schoolmates.
8. Generally, they were too modest to understand that they were profound gifts to the Biodesign Class that they were a part of.
In the biological world, when two closely related varieties or species are cross-bred, the best and strongest traits contribute to a phenomenon known as “hybrid vigor.†The hybrids are often stronger, more vibrant and genetically more successful. What happens genetically can also happen culturally. This factor may be the biggest factor in creating what we now know as The United States of America and was a huge factor in adding variety and spice to nearly all 24 years of Biodesign.
Typically, when AFS students first stepped on the St. Helena High School campus they thought they had mistakenly been taken to a country club. In addition to a 500-seat auditorium, there was the gymnasium, weight-room, Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, baseball field, soccer field and football stadium with oval track for track and field events.
Each year, the first writing assignment in Biodesign was simply titled, “Who Am I?†Even though they were courageous, it was not uncommon for them to meet me after class and fearfully indicate that they had never been asked to write such a paper and it was daunting. I assured them that they were not alone and that most of their classmates had not been given such an assignment. Each student was a special gift, but they were nearly all shocked by the “Socratic Method†of them being asked to think for themselves. Regardless of his/her homeland, they were typically expected to learn the material that teachers (and parents) taught them without regard to what they thought. Some of them had little panic moments when I asked them to interpret a passage form Emerson, Muir or Thoreau.
One year, the parents of a German student came to St. Helena to stay a week with their son’s host family. They were both high school teachers and wanted to meet Christie and me. We met over dinner and they were curious (and a little concerned) over some of the lessons and techniques used in the Biodesign Class. The father said, “In Germany, we don’t encourage students to consider philosophical questions, like those you are raising, until they are about 30.â€
I mentioned that I was using the Socratic method, which places more value on questions than answers. Furthermore, there were many Americans, especially school administrators,who felt that some of the areas that we ventured into were better off avoided. One of these “taboo†areas was the realm of “human spirituality†which just happened to be the essence of naturalist writers such as Henry Thoreau, John Muir, Loren Eiseley, Ralph Emerson, Annie Dillard and countless others.
They were intrigued, but conflicted, to hear me say that Galileo properly pointed out that regardless of what people say, they are not usually searching for truth, but for information that harmonizes with what they already believe.
I had no idea of what to expect at the dinner, but I did not anticipate that the Biodesign curriculum would be upsetting to foreign visitors. They were cordial, however, I think they were relieved when we parted company.
As for the students, they were some of the most colorful, creative and courageous students that I had the privilege of learning with.
Lowell H. Young, Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk
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