Pandamonium Version 2.0

On May 5th, we will be conducting our annual fundraiser called the Pandamonium. Silent River KUNG FU PANDAmonium - get it? We’re making some massive changes this year that I know will make this project more vibrant. We’re combining our intra-school tournament with our 24 hour forms marathon and our Pandamonium fundraiser into a single event under the Pandamonium banner. This will be a 24 hour sweat fest of perpetual kung fu that will help us raise funds and awareness for several charitable initiatives.

The changes we are making this year will definitely pose some challenges. Our annual fundraiser has been running every November for the past ten years. November has always been a difficult time of year to raise funds because most potential sponsor’s generosity has already been maxed out by the local elementary school fundraisers that run that time of year too. Moving our Pandamonium from November to May makes a lot of sense but we recognize that this change will present a significant perception challenge. We just finished collecting the final funds from last November’s Pandamonium less than two months ago and now we’re gearing up for our next fundraiser. It will be very difficult to get everyone to support this project if we don’t keep the purpose of the Pandamonium clearly defined.

The Pandamonium is a major component of our curriculum that helps us teach empathy. We spend hours every week in the kwoon training hard, honing our skill, and  building our strength and our self esteem. The development of empathy is crucial to ensure this newfound skill and power is tempered with compassion and control.

The purpose of the Pandamonium is to teach empathy. The fundraising aspect of the project is only a tool to help us achieve the goal of teaching empathy. Sometimes we become so focused upon the tools in front of us that we forget what the tools are actually for. Reducing a project like this to be about fundraising and forgetting its ultimate purpose makes it very difficult to commit to the project.

I recognize that the vast majority of my students may not keep the big picture in front of them. Many parents carry out the fundraising on behalf of their kids and just hand in the funds at the end of the project and that is that. They take care of the fundraising but fail to take advantage of the opportunity the project offered them to have the dialogue with their children to impart the importance of activism and community service. They are not taking advantage of this opportunity to empower their children by reminding them that they have the power to change the world by being the change they want to see.

The Pandamonium is an integral part of our curriculum. As with all aspects of my school’s curriculum, I can’t completely control how a student actually applies themselves to the lessons I am teaching,  I can only provide the tools and inspiration. Hopefully my team’s passion for this project, and the purpose it serves, will help this transition from November to May to be perceived as a positive change by my school body through the dialogue it promotes.

“A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop.” - Robert Hughes (b. 1938)