Bobby’s Suggestion About My Problems… - A School in Taunggyi, Myanmar

Bobby’s Suggestion About My Problems…
A School in Taunggyi, Myanmar

Over the past decade, I have written dozens of essays about Bobby Kennedy. As a mentor, he enabled me to deal with all sorts of issues confronting me since the 60s. He told millions of his followers, “Hang a lantern on your problems.”

Bobby

This essay is an excellent example of how, in the midst of several problems recently, I realized that Bobby was correct about hanging a lantern on my problems. I emailed a couple of people about a vexing issue confronting me. Additionally, I called Scott Leturno while waiting to hear from my emails.

Scott

Scott works in the IT department at the school at which I teach. We have known each other for over half dozen years. A couple times a month, I’ll call him about how to resolve tech issues regarding my online teaching platform. In two minutes, even I understood how to solve the problem the next time.

Therefore, when I called recently, Scott was ready to address another techy issue that I had, which related to one of my online classes. However, that wasn’t what I needed this time. What I needed from him was some ideas of some people that could resolve several other issues.

Nonetheless, that was only a partial part of the problems that haunted me. My secondary problem was related to teaching but teaching at an elementary and middle school in Taunggyi, Myanmar/Burma. Presently, I have three granddaughters in that school, which is located near Inle Lake.

Snow, Fatty, and Ti Ti in front of their school in Taunggyi.

Aside from loving my three granddaughters, I want to do something for them to assist them educationally. Myanmar is an emerging country economically. After the assassination of General Aung San in 1947, that country soon became closed off from the rest of the world by the military. Being involved in teaching nearly my entire adult life, education is the single most important tool, which can provide a chance for anyone to succeed in life regardless where that someone might live.

Scott patiently let me explain my drive in an attempt to resolve my hauntings. In essence, I wanted to teach online to some of the classes that my three granddaughters attended in Taunggyi. What I envisioned was going online with the classes for an hour a couple times a month. However, you are probably wondering what was behind that motivation.

On my last trip to visit Myanmar, I visited my family for a week near Inle Lake. While overseas, I take photos and videos of things of interest to me. The photos and videos are used on my website and also in classes that I teach. I copy them to my laptop and also to an external hard drive. While spending time with my family, it dawned on me that once I got home, my laptop would be put on my bookshelf…and left. I don’t need one except to backup photos. However, Ti Ti, my 13-year old granddaughter, needed it. Ti Ti now has her own laptop. She knew more about it including using the touchscreen than I did. Okay, to be honest, I didn’t know whether it was a touchscreen laptop. We Skype and email each other via her laptop. What a delight!

Granted, Ti Ti is brilliant, but there are others at her school that would benefit from having their own laptops. On and on I went about my drive to help the Taunggyi school acquire laptops between now and when I return in several years. I don’t have the money to get computers for the school. Enter Scott. He gave me links to organizations that will provide funds for worthy projects. This is a worthy project. I am beginning to work on writing a request for funding this initial project.

I have written to Moh Moh, my granddaughters’ mother, many times about the school that they are attending now as well as the schools that they may be attending as they further their education. Therefore, I am hanging my lantern on my problem. I am working on the funding issue, but, if anyone wants to assist me now, I would appreciate your help. More importantly, students in Taunggyi would appreciate laptops to assist them. If you have any ideas, merely email me at campbell@wolverton-mountain.com. I listened to Bobby Kennedy, “Hang a lantern on your problems.” However, can you tell that I am serious?

Hanging my lantern on my problems went steroid.

PS This is an email that I sent to Moh Moh in Myanmar.

Moh Moh,

Scott is the guy at my school that told me about the funding source. I need to write an essay, do a video, etc. It will be several months before I’ll be ready. This is all new to me. I need to find someone who has already done a request and learned the do’s and don’ts. However, Scott wants to help me. He wants my school to see what they can do in the next month or so. That will wind up on my webpage, which I will use to convince the funding source for money.

What he wants to know is about the school.

1. What years does the school cover? Elementary school through junior high school?

2. How many students in each class? For example, how many students in Fatty’s class, etc.

3. Who, in the school, has a computer? Does the principal and/or teachers have one?

4. Also, I told Scott that I wanted to connect with the classes through Skype once or twice a month for 15-minutes or more. Is that something that the principal and/or teachers would be interested?

5. Scott wants me to push my dream about helping the school in essays that I write for my website, which I’m doing. They will be posted this month and next. It shows the funding source that I am really interested.

6. Also, you and Ko Ko need to discuss this next item. Which person at the school would be most interested in what I am attempting. I would be happy to write to that person(s).

7. Finally, if all works out and I get money for laptops, I’ll use that success when I talk about the next idea, which would involve Ti Ti’s new school.

Remember what Bobby said, “Some men see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say, why not.”

Allen, the dreamer.

PS And all this got started because you had to pick up some papers at your old house four years ago. There I met Ti Ti, my granddaughter. (-;