I had to pay a visit to "1076" (Saint Ignatius for those of you not in the know) last week, and as I passed by a classroom, I saw Mr. Ed Ernst proctoring an exam, so I poked my head in the door to say, "Hi!" It caught my attention that each student was using a "laptop" (Is that the correct term?) computer. Ed came out of the room momentarily, and told me that, not only do they take the exam on the computer, but the test is automatically and immediately corrected and graded electronically. Holy ....!
I had heard that, within the next few years...maybe next year...there will be no textbooks; all texts will be electronic. It's a whole new world. I was reminded of the time, many years ago, when an alumus came to a basketball game, and, when I went to greet him, he just shook his head and said, "This isn't my school anymore." I have some peers who would just shake their collective heads and say, "This isn't our world any more."
While I have to admit to a certain “comfort” in the methods and styles of my earlier years, I also recognize that change is inevitable. Do I like the internet? It doesn’t matter whether I do or not, so, “Yes!” I like it.
Ed was also very excited about something else when he greeted me. Had I seen that an Ignatius cross-country runner had won the 3A state championship? Jack Keelan was the first Ignatian to win the state meet since Mike Patton did it in 1980. Carm Pintozzi and Jim Connelly would have been so proud. (Apologies to all of the other fine and dedicated "cross" coaches for my naming only those two. They were the ones that I knew best.)
In addition to Jack Keelan's accomplishment, I discovered that the girls' swimming team came in 8th in the state, after having won the state sectional. One young lady, Nikol Lagodzinska, came in 3rd in the 100-free at state.
Finally, in a sport that has special significance for me, the Ignatius soccer team, under the venerable Jim Luzzi (How old do you have to be to be considered "venerable"?) ended their season with a 20-4-1 record, making it to the championship game of the state regional, and losing a hotly-contested game to Hinsdale Central High School.
This coming Sunday, Dec. 2nd, Ignatius is holding its annual Open House, and I'm especially interested in attending this year, because my granddaughter, who is a freshman, is playing in the orchestra. Grandma and grandpa will be there, cheering her on, but trying hard not to embarrass her by telling everyone in ear shot who she is, and that she is the BEST ONE...even though she is.
I hope that you had a fabulous Thanksgiving. My wife and I had great weekend. In addition to an elegant turkey dinner at our son and daughter-in-law‘s home on Thursday, an offspring got married on Saturday. It was very much an Ignatius affair, since the beautiful bride and groom and all their siblings are Ignatius alumni. This also included the minister from the class of ‘86.
This is really just an excuse to say that, I had a delightful conversation with Adrian Garibay, ('84), who is Director of Registration at U.S. Soccer Federation. His kind words about the role that Saint Ignatius has played in his life certainly lifted my spirits...as if my spirits needed lifting when one of my children gets married.
Additionally, my wife and I were the happy beneficiaries of the kindness of John Tan, also '84, and his lovely wife, Zara, who drove us from the reception to our hotel. Thank you again, John and Zara.
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