facebook   linkedin   goodreads    Buy the Book
  • Home
  • Authors
    • Sister Authors
    • Meet Leslie
    • Meet Meryll
  • Book
    • About the Book
    • Discussion Questions
    • Beyond the Pale
    • Behind the Scenes
    • More about the Dedication Page
    • Reviews
  • Blog
    • Latest Blogs
    • Featured Books
    • Blog Archive
  • Extras
    • Deleted Chapters
      • Choose Your Beginning
        • The Missing Introduction
        • Alternate Chapter 1
      • Ballerina Alla
      • Baubie Chapters
        • Celestial Tea and Essig Flaish
        • Celestial Tea and Mandelbrot
        • Celestial Tea and Poppy Seed Cookies
    • Recipes from Baubies
      • Recipes from Grandma Rae
        • Essig Flaish
        • Mandelbrot
        • Mohn Cookies
  • Press
    • Press Kit
    • In the Media
    • Reviews
  • Events
  • Contact
Font size: + –
Print
Bookmark |

Return to Hope

Saturday, 19 November 2016
Meryll
Jewish Luck Blog
2330 Hits
0 Comments
Return to Hope

Headbanging, bubblebursting, handwringing threaded my post-election world. As I moved through last week talking to friends and acquaintances in these two liberal Minnesota counties, I felt the shock waves and the questions—could we be so out of the mainstream? Could this really be happening? What will tomorrow's United States feel like for "the other?" Will we be "the other?"

Amidst the post-election shock, I found myself committed to an all day workshop on Veterans Day. The preparation with Bruce Richardson, parent of two former students, school board member, West Point graduate, and Vietnam War veteran had been an exhilarating exchange of ideas.The Minnesota Humanities Center provided us with a range of resources so we could create a program for teachers who chaperoned their high school students to the Student Leadership Seminar sponsored by the West Point Society of Minnesota.Students would focus on leadership values with the help of local Minnesota high school ROTC cadets while Bruce and I met with the chaperones.

Following the election, Bruce and I had already shared our mutual fears for the future but I was leery about entering a room filled with ROTC cadets, former military officers, and high school students drawn to the seminar. The West Point alumnae weren't recruiting for their alma mater, but bringing their vision of ethical leadership and their sense of integrity to high school students. I wondered if that was an achievable goal in one day.

Arriving at Target Headquarters did not assuage my misgivings. Target's downtown Minneapolis HQ feels like lifting off into millennial universe. What was I doing in this sleek alternative world?As Bruce and I made our way to the assembly point, the irony and suitability of the leadership seminar on Nov.11th,, three days following the election, did not escape either of us.

Despite my fears I might be entering a Trump victory celebration or a rumble, the tone was nothing of the sort. Publicly no one spoke of the election.The keynote speaker set the tone for a committed enquiry into values and translating values to ethical leaders. The students—all races, male and female, urban and rural, American born and foreign born-- plunged into the daylong meeting--tentatively at first. Within an hour, they were divided into groups with a cadet to discuss how they rank ordered their personal values.As they leaned towards each other to talk and listen, their posture told us, they were engaged. By day's end, one of the students told his chaperone, "It was a life-changing event." That was clear when student representatives spoke to their peers and the adults gathered together proclaiming their resolve to put into action the values they'd learned and to look for opportunities to step up and be a leader for good in their own school and communities.

While students participated in their seminar, Bruce and I led a workshop for the teachers. Veterans began to drift in just to listen.Our goal was slightly different—we wanted to expose the teachers to the Minnesota Humanities Center's shared inquiry approach to literature by and about veterans. From study we hoped to move the teachers to create their own lesson plans that would incorporate the same shared inquiry technique with their students and also include an action component. We, too, had an enthusiastic cohort and by the afternoon's end each teacher group had at least one lesson plan in mind to deepen the meaning of Memorial Day.

During the day as I listened to veterans and cadets, the prejudices and misconceptions I held drifted away.They were not in search of the next war or eager to talk about military strategy. Their vision of commitment to duty and country means encouraging ethical leaders grounded in their values and strong enough to maintain their integrity.

Eight hours of civil discourse, eight hours of enthusiastic participation, eight hours devoted to thoughtful self-analysis, eight hours that pushed high school students to commit to lead for the greater good. What an antidote to Election 2016. These teenagers are harbingers of hope.

Tags:
Minnesota Humanities Center Veterans Day veterans West Point Student Leadership Seminar
Not Twittering One's Life Away
The Cossacks Are Coming

About the author

Meryll

Meryll

  http://morejewishluck.com
View author's profile More posts from author
Meryll Levine Page is a retired high school history teacher with a special interest in women’s history. She taught extensively about the Soviet Union and its break-up. Currently she co-facilitates the Minneapolis Jewish Artists’ Lab.
Author's recent posts
Friday, 09 April 2021 Jewish on the Down Low
Sunday, 02 July 2017 Hack Attack
Sunday, 02 July 2017 July Book of the Month: Bloodlines by Neville Frankel
Sunday, 11 June 2017 Haunted by the Past; Family Pictures, Part II
Friday, 26 May 2017 What happened to Meryll's blogs?

Related Posts

What happened to Meryll's blogs?

Jewish Luck Blog
 

Comments

No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment
Already Registered? Login Here
Guest
Wednesday, 06 December 2023

Captcha Image

Recent Blogs

Meryll
Meryll
09 April 2021
Jewish on the Down Low
I snapped up the invitation to speak at a zoom meeting for the Jewish Affinity Group from Columbus School for Girls. Self-quarantining for almost a year has made me hungry to talk about Jewish Luck. It's certainly clear from the news that Vera and Alla's perceptions about the "New" Russia are just as relevant now as they were when Vera first encountered Putin in Leningrad.More than the intellectua...
Read More
Leslie
Leslie
07 February 2021
American Kompromat
What I learned from American Kompromat by Craig Unger (2021) Dutton: NYC has prompted me to write a blog. Trigger Warning: This book contains potentially distressing content that could trigger trauma that we have experienced regarding the previous US President. I whisper this mantra to myself: "We're safe now. He's gone. We're safe now." The purpose of this exercise is to reduce my blood pre...
Read More
Leslie
Leslie
31 January 2021
Alexey Navalny: Intrepid SuperHero of Russia
"Faster than a speeding bullet." .Organized anti-government rallies in 109 cities across Russia from jail for January 23 and January 30, 2021. Watch each weekend. "More powerful than a locomotive."  Able to make a miraculous recovery from Novichok poisoning on Aug. 20, 2020 after remaining in a coma for nearly a month. His is the only known case of survival of that strain of Novichok. "...
Read More

Invite Us To Speak

invite

We were featured speakers at Hadassah Brandeis Institute and Levy Summer Series. Our speaking engagements include JCCs, synagogues, libraries, book groups, retirement communities, schools, and organizations (e.g. ORT, Hadassah, and Women's League). References are available. 

Invite Us To Speak
 

Talk Review

"I was very fortunate to be able to hear Meryll and Leslie speak at a Hadassah event in Israel. Each of the ~50 participants really enjoyed the event because Meryll and Leslie were so engaging. While they had a natural rapport with the audience, you could also tell they had prepared well so they could connect with our particular group's interests. I learned a lot from listening to them, and I found their sisterly interaction unique and fun. If you want an enlightening and uplifting experience, attend one of their book talks."
Lisa Shimoni, Modiin Israel

Book Review

"Truly, you have written a story that makes accessible the reality of existence in Russia, through the eyes of individuals who lived through the various regimes and dictates.  It is fascinating and very well told.  As I read Vera and Alla's story, I learned more Russian history than I had known from a textbook.  That's a big deal, women!  You tell the tale with vivid detail and hook us on the two women and their stories, then weave in the history to illuminate their journeys. It is such a necessary book.  I am thrilled that the two of you collaborated, as I can see the uniqueness of your personalities come through in the stories, and that, too, makes the book a gem."
Margaret Leibfried, Danielson Group consultant

Buy the Book

Online:

Click here to order your copy of Jewish Luck: A True Story of Friendship, Deception, and Risky Business on Amazon.com.

The Kindle version is available here

In Stores:
cgb250
logo-sholom
Make a donation to Sholom Home and enjoy Jewish Luck at the same time. Jewish Luck is now available at the Sholom Home West gift store. Meryll and Leslie will donate 50% of the proceeds back to Sholom Home. Enjoy!

Tasting Torah

Nourish mind, body, and soul with Meryll's Tasting Torah, which will bring oneg (joy) and limmud (learning) to your Shabbat, broaden your culinary horizons, and draw your Shabbat guests closer together.

logo tasting torah

Highlighted Books

Meryll
Meryll
02 July 2017
July Book of the Month:  Bloodlines by Neville Frankel
July Book of the Month: Bloodlines by Neville Frankel
Leslie and I began writing Jewish Luck with an underlying question in our minds—what would life have...
Read More

Copyright © 2016 All Rights Reserved by More Jewish Luck

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Login

Site created by LiveSites