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editors eugenio garza de la puente adrián gonzález guerra gabriela lopez benavides authors of this edition lorea canales edward wilson editorial design facebook the asfm alumni network twitter @asfmnetwork blogger http asfmnetwork.blogspot.com if you would like to subscribe or un-subscribe to this newsletter receive it at a different address or contribute with an articule suggestion or letter please write us asfmnetwork@gmail.com the opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the american school foundation of monterrey or the asfm network 2[close]
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yr old nate precocious and gifted with an internal drive to inquire to quench his endless thirst for knowledge was the first to notice the unique landmarks of the location he and his family had been searching for comparing the landscape out the left side of his father s solarpowered cruiser with the half dozen or so digital images on his information console a paper-thin screen monitor mounted into the back of the driver s seat facing nate showed the distant hills the highest of which crescent point with its distinctive tilted-crescent shaped arch could clearly be seen the etched lines of the alluvial fan of the hills carved out through the millennia led down into the flat earth of the valley one of the offshoots of the natural runoff a dry brush4 b lined streamlet ran perpendicular to the hill formation and parallel to the most distinctive landmark practically etched into nate s memory after viewing its image countless number of times a natural amphitheater-like formation of jagged granite mother earth appeared to have created her own romantic venue for watching sunsets as this leveled tier-like semi-circle of rock about half the size of shakespeare s globe theatre faced precisely west as nate was the most mobile healthy and fit were no longer used to characterize our species of any age over 3 or 4 years in his kin group now contained in the wide family vehicle designed for heavy loads he was the first to exit the cruiser and begin slowly walking toward[close]
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the land of his ancestors a multi-acre spread in what is now a desolate geography of uninhabited land no signs of life past or present could be seen a product of modern culture in which a wide array of high-tech devices or assistants have replaced most aspects of human labor his parents and elder sister required the use of their detachable seat modules which when not connected to a group transportation vehicle served as a highly functional individual mobility assistant ima to carry their heavy human frames over both smooth and ruff surfaces nate a slightly shorter than average prepubescent boy of just over 240 lbs needed to pause after a few minutes of walking to catch his breath he used this brief respite to visually map out the best route to bring him to the base of the amphitheater over a hundred meters of undulating dry scrub terrain to the relatively flat surface of smooth rock and hardened earth that abutted the multi-ledged tiers of the theater nate had been fantasizing for months in anticipation of this moment it had been purely by chance that nate s father had decided to look through a number of ancient metal file cabinets left in an underground storage facility a couple of hundred years ago before disposing of generations of assembled clutter by perhaps good fortune destiny or predetermined fate an old diary was discovered under a pile of decaying paper envelopes a substance once in apparently great abundance the diary was in pretty good shape and was quickly scanned into a portable data retrieval device for careful perusal the diary s author was nate s father s great great uncle ned on his father s side of the family and was the last owner before the complete mandatory exodus from nonvaluable land of the terra firma on which he now stood nate s long-past relative documented his struggle maintaining a small farm through decades of severe drought and top-soil erosion ned literally died while trying to scrape and scratch out a living from the hostile soil but before he died having used up all his resources selling most of his equipment for a dime on the dollar and taking out a second mortgage ned invested in a gamble a far-sighted vision his diary told of the bitterness he felt from his grown children as they watched any hope of inheritance be converted into literally a few handfuls of precious objects and an overpriced storage device ned had seen the future of human kind he watched as man was slowly being overcome by gluttony then sloth we were to become victims of our own design the human mind holds the potential for great ingenuity as seen in the hundreds of assistants developed to alleviate the physical requirements of work or even movement as a result of technology and inherent human weakness obesity became standard size health care had kept up with our growing frames to ensure longevity but for lack of interest or customer not healthy diet but human consumption for all things sweet tasting and textured with synthetic-fat molecules had led to a sharp increase in hybrid artificial food substitutes and a rapid decrease in types and quantities of naturally grown produce as a result of a drastic change in lifestyle and nutrition ned believed that in time the human body including the brain would transform into a pathetically weak copy of its robust agile and physically active ancestor nate and his family had trekked into the hinterlands to find uncle ned s storage device and have revealed what exactly would help humankind return to its peak condition while the diary detailed the why and where it was remiss in this most important question what was in the storage device as nate reached the base of the tieredrock formation he studied the photo found tucked into the pages of ned s diary that pointed to a man-made cranny slowly carved out by ned to accommodate a solid aluminum case about the size of a large shoe box the bright edge of the weathered storage case could clearly be seen at about chest height just to the right from where nate was standing excited but frustrated so close yet so far nate immediately recognized that he physically couldn t wrest the case out of its granite encasement now trundling into the am phitheater nate s father arrived nestled into his multipurpose ima a robotic arm fired quickly out of his high-tech wheelchair grasped the metal container with a claw-like rubber-tipped pincher yanked it out of it s centuries-old sanctuary and deposited it gently at nate s feet no lock no combination nothing to have prevented looters should they have risked violating the recently-overturned laws preventing land travel through the novaluable lands the moment of true discovery had arrived nate kneeled down to the degree his girth and thighs would allow turned the case toward him unclasped the two retainers and opened it nate was expecting rare coins pieces of ancient jewelry or anything other than what he found there in neat labeled rows were dozens and dozens of small clear airtight plastic bags of seeds each row listed its contents of phytochemical enriched germinal buds there were allin-rich garlic seeds lycopene saturated tomato seeds soy seeds containing isoflavones orange and squash seeds brimming with beta carotene and red grape and blueberry seeds containing potent anythocyanins with a practically inaudible chuckle nate s father attempted to interpret and explain aloud old uncle ned s perhaps futile goal of reversing the human trend toward obesity by ensuring that the essential ingredients for body development free of oxidative stress and harmful free-radicals nate s father knew though that a potential market existed amongst a younger generation looking at retro-behavior as cool for natural phytochemical rich fruits and vegetables with a little capital investment in synthetically enriched soil nutrient-treated water a hothouse environment and the use of these handfuls of inherited nutrient gems the long-since dead industry in whole foods could be 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this august will be different it is not only because it is a whole new school year with new teachers and new students wandering the halls of huasteca we are used to that this year will be different because mr wilson will no longer be part of asfm to commemorate his time at asfm and the great impact that he left in everyone he knew we decided to collect some thoughts and dedicate this newsletter to him all asfm alumni remember certain teachers experiences classes tests assemblies or memorable moments of being a student at asfm long after they studied there our days at asfm are a great part of what made us who we are today we are in debt to the teachers administrators and staff members of asfm it causes great sadness to see such a person leave a person who has taught so many of us who we have laughed with learned from and admired after more than 10 years teaching at asfm it is time for mr edward wilson to move on to his new adventure of teaching in china his departure is a great loss for asfm i can t imagine the new generations not having him as a teacher not visiting his classroom during lunch having discussions in psychology gossiping with him taking his famous quizzes and having to copy all the whiteboards in his classroom mr wilson it has been a pleasure having you as a teacher and getting to know you as a person so many students are forever grateful to have met you here are only a few of the lives you have touched gaby lopez wilson let me start by saying that there are not a lot of teachers like you there are tons what there are not a lot of and the world needs many more are people with the human quality as you this rare kind of people are the best teachers even if they re not practicing the profession that s why you are probably getting along with my brief letter many letters of people who have been influenced by you actions speak for themselves words and words that i might write in this auto-corrected text are merely keys striked with fingers what matters i text again is what you did for all of us you will be missed you better stay in touch your top 100,000 student cause you treated all of us equally federico fred padilla 6[close]
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wilson your departure ends an era at asfm i really do think it won t be the same without you it got me thinking about how my years at asfm and teachers like you have deeply influenced me in a positive way i thank you for all youve done for me and all of the students whose lives you ve touched i can honestly say monterrey and mexico are better places because of the students you ve educated motivated and inspired most of whom have only just begun to shape the future of this country i leave you with a series of meditations that somehow remind me of special teachers i ve had along the way like you you are educated your certification is in your degree you may think of it as the ticket to the good life let me ask you to think of an alternative think of it as your ticket to change the world tom brokaw the direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life plato i am not a teacher but an awakener robert frost the mediocre teacher tel s the good teacher explains the superior teacher demonstrates the great teacher inspires william a ward one looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings the curriculum is always necessary but the warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child -carl jung a teacher affects eternity he can never tel where his influence stops -henry brooks adams what nobler employment or more valuable to the state than that of the man who instructs the rising generation -cicero you don t have to be a person of influence to be influential in fact the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they ve taught me scott adams thanks again for influencing all of us in such a positive way you legacy will live on indefinitely at asfm i wish you joy and happiness in your next journey wherever life may take you all the best ricky 7[close]
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mr wilson thank you for being a part of our lives i hope you realize how much you have affected everyone in this school including myself and i can never thank you enough for that i will always remember your class how you always found ways to teach that made it exciting and entertaining for everyone i am sure that wherever you decide to go you will continue to impact other students like you have impacted me not only have i learned much about your courses but i have also learned so much about things that are of greater importance that will someday make me a successful individual in all other aspects of life your natural ability to understand others your patience and charisma has left us all hoping that you will think twice about your decision to leave and perhaps chose to stay we will miss you so much especially me thank you for all these years isabel delgado long story short only wilson could have ever touched so many hearts while standing so many feet away only he could have elicited the loudest laughs with the most discrete and quiet quotes and only his departure could have evoked as much nostalgia and homesickness from a crowd of students who ve yet to see him leave forever your grateful students forever this your home thank you -ana gabriela alanis santos mr wilson is known for making an impact in people s lives legend has it that it s not just his students who feel this way mr wilson made such a strong impression on a young quentin tarantino a mere video store clerk at the time that tarantino named a character on natural born killers after mr wilson how do i still remember that bit of trivia after ~13 years anyway i always enjoyed mr wilson s class he really encouraged us to take everything with a grain of salt to analyze the angle that the authority on each subject matter was taking and to develop our own educated opinions and not just adopt what was being spoon fed to us by the media/government/religion/etc as we were getting ready to leave our protective bubble and go out into the adult world mr wilson gave us the confidence to express and defend our opinions on even the most controversial subjects i wish mr wilson all the luck in the world and that he may continue changing lives forever grateful domingo j guerra 8[close]
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dear mr wilson where do i begin it s been almost six years since i was in your ap psychology class and it seems just like yesterday that i was running from my character ed class over to yours when i was contacted to write some parting words to you i realized that you are one of the few educators i have actually taken the time to address simply because of the tremendous impact you had on my life i know that i am not the only one you have impacted there are probably too many to count however i am sure you must know by know what an impact you have had on the asfm community you have been nothing but a genuine friend confidant and educator to us i know you will continue to do great things in china or wherever you may go and significantly impact a completely different demographic i wish i could have seen you before you left but i know that you are still the same funny charismatic individual i met years ago you should know that you will forever remain in my memories these memories are nothing but happiness and intellectual richness i am sure i am not the only one there are probably hundred even thousands of individuals who share these positive memories with me people always say that college is the best four years of your life however i feel that high school simulate or even superceded my college experience due to great educators as yourself that provided a positive energetic and intellectually challenging environment i wish you the best and hope to see you soon nancy pardo aka your favorite ap psych student lol just joking wilson i had you only for a semester but hey you where the teacher that impacted me the most i do not only remember your mexican history class but also all those times that you helped me with my college applications essays that we had a couple of beers at sierra madre and all those times that we spoke about politics you helped me realice my true passion which i am forever grateful i remember the letter i wrote for you a couple of years ago and i mentioned that asfm is not great because of it s academic curriculum facilities or campus but because of its teachers i am sure this year asfm will not be the same but i am sure you have impacted your students enough that we will be able to make a change in the world just as you did during your stay in monterrey thank you for everything and keep in touch eugenio garza 9[close]
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from pulque to purell a random collection of wilson memories it would be easy for me to assume that many of my memories of mr wilson s class are unique to me and the other 23 students in my class that would be the case with any other teacher in any other class so what makes this guy so different i feel stupid even asking this question when everyone who reads this already knows the answer when someone is so obsessively methodical in his everyday planning even the jokes are the same year after year i share these random memories from 1998-2001 with full certainty that at least some will be similar to those of 2008-2011 phil zimbardo and his impeccable black hair is his hero pedro aspe comes in a close second quotes of the day why do men have nipples book lying on a table in the front of the room piles of tests lying next to his desk dating back to 1997 juany and chinto at least 5 girls in his classroom during break/lunch/conference/after school chismeando and consequently leading to him knowing more than was really his business his room was the only one that could not be used as an mun committee room first teacher to arrive in the morning first one to leave i wasn t there when it happened but i believe you died your hair once nice move daily vocab quizzes for ap psych the magical number 7 plus or minus 2 he tried to pull the plug on the first arts festival arts fest after the infamous goldfish yennifer now known as bloopie was viciously murdered in her blender/fishbowl taught us how pulque can be fermented quickly by dropping a deuce in the mix showed us how puberty is much like going on a roller coaster with a vhs video of a dude on a roller coaster as a visual aide heidi klum was his dream woman back then that may have changed over the years although he doesn t remember he would say that i didn t pay attention in class and still get good grades by getting the answers for tests from the previous class he coined it the scarnati method to this day i will defend the fact that i never cheated on any of your tests i never had to yours was one of the few classes that i was genuinely interested in with all the antics chismes videos mom jokes stories and sociological experiments get into an elevator full of people and face them instead of facing the door it was hard not to pay attention in your class and even harder not to remember things i am one of a handful who have been able to call you both a teacher and a colleague which makes me respect what you do even more you have a love for your job and a passion for making everyone who has walked in and out of your classroom a critical thinker as trite as that last sentence sounds it is no small task when you think of the people you have worked with growing up in san pedro means living breathing and thinking in a bubble what makes the asfm graduate different from the rest of society is that we have spent at least 2 years in your classroom you can be satisfied that you have made a big difference in the lives of thousands of people during our critical formative years we all wish you the best in china as you try to burst the bubble and make an impact in their lives as you have ours thank you for everything rafael scarnati 10[close]
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wilson papa hahah it was a pleasure to have you as my teacher and my friend during high school i learned a lot about psychology mexican government funny how you know much more than the majority of mexicans music germs and life i love the way you are passionate about your classes and how you try to make each day different than the one before your daily rice krispies and mamuts saved my stomach many days in a row i am sure you are going to be successful in your new school and i hope to visit you some day stay hungry and keep enjoying life the way you do i ll miss you bull riding expert paloma elosua dear señor it s hard to start a letter about someone when there are so many things you would like to say about him for starters i would like to take the time to thank you for all those wonderful memories and as an individual i can say i feel very fortunate to have had you as a teacher you are someone who has had great influence in my life and i am thankful for it papa i will never forget your sense of humor is this a preview of brokeback mountain ii stop flirting you sure made me laugh wishing you luck at this stage would be non sense because i am more then sure you are going to rock out there have a good one i m sure going to miss you bear hug ji ji ji ji ji mariana guerra e mechanical bull buddy 11[close]
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the following are taken from mr wilson facebook wall anazarina willows hey mr.wilson thank u for everything good luck in shanghai joseph beavers mr wilson so you have moved on i wish you the best in your travels good sir and thank you for putting up with me you always will have friends here in texas rebeca garza wilson i can t believe you left mx wow gluck in your travels and send some pics of your new town alexander assad not a goodbye but a see you later good ol friend norah zuloaga me vas a hacer mucha falta en asfm te agradezco todo el apoyo que me has brindado querido maestro y colega te deseo lo mejor en esta nueva aventura y nos vamos a ver más pronto de lo que crees un fuerte abrazo isabel delgado will thank you for everything i hope you still have my letters i will miss you lucero espino sorry dear ned 14 years make you part of the soul of asfm so technically even if you re not there you are not gone best of luck lee greenberg thanks for your help this year man best of luck in china marce morales wish u the best you ll be greatly missed and remembered brenda garcia willie wilson best of luck keep in touch chantel elizondo hinojosa love you wil though it s long since we ve seen each other my friends and i can never stop quoting you and remembering everything we learned from you you are the best teacher ever and definitely psychology would have never been the same without you thanks for every advice for all the gossip for being there every time i had a problem every day and even for putting me on the spot with the lie detector jajajajaja keep in touch and hope to see you soon gabriela gutiérrez thank you sir for all the good times and windex swipes forever in my heart jessica villarreal karren mr wilson thank you those memories always bring a smile have a great time in china i wish you the very best maggie noriega its been a long time since we ve seen each other but my family and i remember you fondly you were the best teacher i ever had thank you for everything i will miss you a lot good luck keep in touch 12[close]
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laura lzo best wishes thanks for everything you taught us you were a big part of our lives david gromo not only a great teacher but an awesome friend see ya soon bud u can count on it marcelo martinez mr wilson thank you for everything take care over theree but dont forget uss come visitt sometime soon haha ana catalina m i haven t got much to say there are just some things you will not forget in a lifetime the best of luck mister moni andrés mr wilson thank you for sharing all your experiences with us i wish you the best good luck in all your future projects xoxo ana laura baca it was a pleasure and honor to have you as a teacher great meeting you hopefully we ll meet again someday thanks for everthing santiago richy good luck wilson and remember take it easy on the chinese kids they wont get your jokes like we did have a great time veronica morales nothing but good memories of you all the best clau scala i will miss you mr your akward waves in the hallway and everything wish you the best thanks for everything edith garza v much love wil isabel delgado you will come visit me for sure so i m not that sad right now i will miss you download what s app sofia garibay thank you i ll miss the moments when we were in opposite ends of the hallway and we knew the whole `awkward process so you simply waved from far away as to get it over with hahahah best of luck maricarmen del bosque best wishes great having you as a colleague the school in china lucky to have you luis daniel the few the proud the great teachers of asfm you did a superb job and 168 likes so far is a small testament that we ll never forget you good luck rafael scarnati thank you for being a professional role model i wish you as much success and happiness as you ve had in monterrey monica montemayor hope you have a great time in china mr wilson i wish you the best of luck =d thank you for being such a wonderful teacher carlos garza thank you wilson may you have great success ahead mauricio gonzalez kane thank you wilson you ve made a difference in many of us aleida montalvo the amount of comments in this post is some evidence of the big impact you bad in all of us 13[close]
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june 1 2010 it was fall semester august 2006 i needed to fulfill my class requirements amongst them my elective course and my mexican government class it happened to be that my first choice elective course ap comparative government and mexican government fit perfectly in my schedule and were both taught by the same teacher in retrospect i find the fact that i happened to unintentionally stumble into two of my favorite classes in high school to be a true blessing i remember being skeptical about my mexican government class with my previous exposure to the subject matter i found it difficult to believe that a teacher could spark such an interest in what i thought would be a boring topic it did not take long for me as an avid student of history to become trapped by my teacher s words he battled through mexican government structure and submerged us into the complexities of its history in what felt like twenty minutes the process of how my country came to be what it is today the troubling times mexico went through throughout the 20th century including the seventy years of one-party control it was all at my fingertips at least four times a week one hour a day in the course of high school i took every class taught by professor edward wilson including ap psychology in my senior year this class had the most impact in me since i could relate my everyday ac 14[close]
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tivities to what i was learning every day i started to train my dog applying learning theories like classical conditioning changing their behaviors as a result of experience and i planned my sleeping hours in such a way that i would complete my sleeping cycles nine hours was ideal completing six cycles of ninety minutes each and of course such a great class could not be without its most important element a great teacher to say that professor wilson was superb is an understatement he filled the room with excitement with everything from mexican government chinese political structure to psychological disorders and neuroscience it was obvious from day one that he was completely head over heels about every subject he was teaching his towering presence the way he never stood still and how he pranced from one side of the classroom to the other holding models or showing videos the depth of knowledge of which he spoke on the subject and his enthusiasm as he illustrated their meaning to us it all added to his magnanimity as a person professor wilson was not the typical high school teacher that would teach and leave the building he stayed until the end of the day making sure there were no doubts and made himself very available to his students even when students did not ask for his help he was more than willing to give it he loved to share fascinating stories about his experience in the marines his years in london and in the university of colorado he went beyond everyone s expectations becoming an important figure in our lives he had a keen sensibility to our problems and could identify when somebody was going through a hard time when my brother was diagnosed with cancer during my junior year in high school professor wilson was present throughout the whole process he could tell when i was sad and always found a way to make me feel better he was understanding and gave amazing advice he help me cope with it and for that i will be eternally grateful he even took advantage of a trip he made to houston texas where my brother was receiving treatment to take us out for lunch mr wilson was the kind of teacher that served an unlimited supply of granola bars for his students in case we had not had a good breakfast or a satisfying lunch even at my sophomore year at college i have never encountered another teacher that goes to such measures to help their students as does professor wilson today i am studying architecture at the university of texas at austin it seems only yesterday that i was sitting in his classroom listening to him talk about mexican presidents and social psychology sadly it has been a little longer than that but i still remember it well and i cherish those memories fondly i relish that i am actually aware of my body language and that of whomever i am speaking with from what i learnt in psychology about gestures body posture eye movements all of which are signals that are sent and received unconsciously by all of us i love the fact that today with everything we are living in mexico i can apply my understanding of mexican government in my daily life professionally and in my personal life but most of all i love to talk and read about what i have learned and to learn even more about these subjects and it is all thanks to the high school classes i took with professor wilson even a month ago when my younger cousin a junior in high school asked me to help her with an essay she had to write about the power of authority figures in obedience i did not hesitate when i recommended her to talk about the milgram experiment a series of social psychology experiments that demonstrated the willingness of study participants to obey authority figures in situations that differed with their personal conscience yet another delightful memory from ap psychology i wish the best for this incredible teacher any school would be lucky to have him as part of their faculty catalina padilla monterrey mexico 15[close]
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