...smashing ice into tiny, little pieces

I don't recall if I've blogged on the concept of chapel at IST before. If I have, or if you have talked to me about it in the last 2 years, I'm sure you didn't hear great things. I've never been thrilled with chapel down here. I don't exactly know how to pinpoint what's wrong, but it's got something to do with a not-so-prevalent faith life of many IST students (rendering chapel "useless" to, or at least not worth attention of a high percentage of students) coupled with a general lack of focus for messages and content (this is opinion based upon the past 2 years; not enough time has elapsed to judge on this year).

One of the biggest problems with high school chapel is the length: a full 42 minute class period (once a week) is allotted for chapel. That's twice as long as chapel at Calvin (though, admittedly, Calvin has chapel every day) and almost twice as long as the (thrice weekly) chapel I thoroughly enjoyed at Holland Christian High School. I think a 20-25 minute break in the middle of the day is about perfect to set itself off as a special time to honor God, but not so long as to get restless as teenagers are wont to do. 42 minutes is long for me, even.

This year, they've tried to offset this length of time by beginning with music videos playing as students come in and doing a couple "Ice Breaker" games before anything spiritual happens (please read with a sense of verbal irony on my part). Ice breakers are meant to do what they say - break the ice among people who may not know each other or are unfamiliar with each other. They're not something that is used week after week among students who've know each other for years. Maybe I'm just getting caught up in nomenclature, but trust me, the ice has been broken. Many, many times.

At any rate, these activities that take up usually half of the period have included Human Bingo, an identify-the-teacher-from-a-high-school-photo game (spread over 2 weeks), and karaoke. Today, as was common for chapels of last year, the activity was of a style you'd see on the TV show "Minute to Win It:" a basic challenge to be completed in 60 seconds or less. This week, four students sat up on stage, leaned their heads way back, and had an Oreo cookie placed on their forehead. The goal was to get the Oreo from forehead to mouth without using hands (quite difficult - try it!)(Remember, this is the weekly chapel.) None of the students succeeded, and in fact, most of them dropped the cookies off their faces several times and replaced them before the minute was over.

Next, of course, Mr. Barahona suggested the teachers may do better. So let's get some teachers up there! Show that they're not frumpy and all that! Make them look silly! I sang in the karaoke last week, so I wasn't inclined to volunteer (I don't really want to be THAT teacher) despite several students pressuring me to go up. But the third chair remained unfilled. Finally, I said to heck with it and went up (secretly, I wanted to see if I could do it, but not necessarily in that context). I looked skyward, felt the cookie's placement, waited for the countdown, and proceeded to wiggle my forehead muscles.

The Oreo inched toward my eye socket, then suddenly was there. My chocolate wafer and cream monocle twitched with my eyelid. I tested the angles and (literal) gravity of the situation, and realized a slight flick of the head could effectively flip the cookie, but I didn't want to overdo it and send the Oreo to the floor. I had one shot. My mouth instinctively opened with concentration, my neck muscles flexed, and the cookie fairly magnetically shot from eye to mouth.

I'd done it. The other teachers were still struggling, getting closer than the students had, but perhaps 20 or 25 seconds in, the contest was over as a cheer resounded from the 11th and 12th graders in the chapel. The Oreo crumbled under the triumphant closing of my jaws. I returned to my seat, proud of myself and ready to sing with the praise band that was coming up to begin the more chapel-ish protion of chapel.

Now, I do have to make sure to note that I'm much more pleased with chapel thus far this year than at pretty much any point in the last two years. I attribute that largely to the group of students that are in 11th and 12 grade this year (a truly solid set of 140 or so kids) and no longer having the terribly disrespectful class of 2011 in that context any more. I'm hopeful and optimistic for this year, in ways that extend beyond my classroom, where things already feel very positive.

Now I have just one more day before a 5 day Independence Day break. Nicaragua, here we come!