The Foreign Service Journal, September 2013

10 SEPTEMBER 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL used, the more credible the explana- tion, and the more likely that the prob- lem identified will be corrected. There is no better example of this than Charles A. Stevenson’s article in the same issue, “Capitol Hill and Foggy Bottom: Bridg- ing the Cultural Divide.” It’s one of the best pieces I’ve ever read. Fred Kalhammer USAID FSO, retired Sun City Center, Fla. Remembering Shep Lowman News of the passing of Shepard C. Lowman saddened me and, I am sure, everyone who was privileged to know him. He was my last boss in the political-internal section of Embassy Saigon. In 1975 I worked there for both him and Lacy Wright, who wrote the “Appreciation” in your June issue, as part of the “Black Box Crew.” Shep was a fine officer and leader. In the best traditions of the Foreign Service, he cared greatly for each of us. For instance, he sat up most of the night debriefing me after the fall of Da Nang and my return to Saigon. Wright’s tribute to Shep was very much on the mark. Charles Currier FSO, retired Knoxville, Tenn. Consider Online High School Curiosity may kill the cat, but it can also get you a job. I saw an advertise- ment for “Stanford University’s Online High School for Gifted Youth,” and answered just because I had no idea what an online high school was. I ended up teaching for Stanford and have found that it suits a Foreign Service mentality down to the ground. I know it works for FS families, as well. Online High School is the opposite of the massive open online courses that many universities offer to huge numbers of students. OHS offers small classes (seven to 12 students for me) with direct interaction in a seminar format. Students raise their hands to answer questions, explain ideas and comment on oth- ers’ answers. Because the class is online, those hands may be raised in New York, Arkansas, Califor- nia, Hong Kong or Mexico. Interestingly, every one of the seventh-graders in my class has a passport and has traveled abroad. OHS also has homerooms and clubs—but not a football team (yet). The students are gifted in many ways. One of my seventh-graders is the youngest person ever to earn master status in the International Scrabble Association, and one of my ninth- graders is a tennis player who just went pro. They also challenge ideas—did you know that Aladdin likely spoke Chinese? And their sense of humor is deadly: a seventh-grader, when asked to make up a name for a Chaucerian character, said, “Sir Cumference, a Knight of the Round Table.” How does the online school work for Foreign Service families? It allows students to take just one class (filling in the need, say, for calculus not given at a local school) or any combination up to a full load. Classes are available anywhere that has the Internet, so the school does not “move” even if the family does. One of our students is accompanying her parents around the world on a sail- boat, and uses a satellite connection to attend class. Another student is juggling a professional modeling career with her schooling. While the school was only founded seven years ago, there are now students from 44 states and 23 foreign countries. Accredited to give high school degrees, OHS already has an enviable track record of university success. In this year’s graduating class of 30 gifted students, there are three National Merit finalists; three students were admitted to Stanford and more to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. About two-thirds of the gifted faculty members have doctorates, and the rest hold master’s degrees. Our last faculty meeting reminded me of a country team meeting. Six groups were asked to answer three questions and were given a template. Reporting back after 30 minutes, all the groups had answers, but each had worked out their own approach—no one used the template. As this shows, the faculty is independent-minded and trains students to think independently and critically. Check OHS out for yourself by visit- ing http://ohs.stanford.edu/. Judith Jones FSO, retired Sunnyvale, Calif. CORRECTION John Brown’s July-August article, “Some Thoughts on Dissent,” inadver- tently contained inaccurate informa- tion concerning the author’s father, the diplomat John L. Brown. Though he did spend most of his Foreign Service career at the U.S. Information Agency, as the article stated, John L. Brown remained a State Department employee through- out his tenure. In addition, USIA was founded in 1953, not 1950. We regret the errors. n