Signing Off

I have truly loved my time here in Pinon.  Teaching the students here, whether it was History, Spanish, Wrestling, Cross Country, or Education Professions, it has been a privilege and an honor.  I have come to love the Navajo people and their land.  This experience has become etched onto my very soul.

In addition to being a teacher at a public school I have also been able to perform many services for the church as a 1st Counselor, an Elder's Quorum President, a Branch President, and a Clerk.  I have performed two weddings, six funerals, and given countless lessons from the Holy Bible and Book of Mormon.

Most importantly while here I have grown as a person.  I have gotten married to a wonderful woman and had two beautiful sons.  I am so glad that God has allowed me to have all of these wonderful experiences and that I have been so honored to have.

Coming here and living this life has been very similar to when I was a missionary for two years in San Jose California.  Back then I dedicated myself to the Lord and helped my fellow man 24/7 for two years.  I have been here five years and while I have been allowed to be more selfish here and do many things for my own benefit, I have done an incredible amount of service here.

Just as I miss the people of San Jose, California, I will now miss the people of Pinon, AZ.  These lands have become a big part of who I am and where I will be going.  My next adventure is Memphis, Tennessee.  In addition to a new job I am looking forward to earning my masters degree.  I hope to see you there.

If not, perhaps you should come to Pinon.  Meet its people, taste its food, enjoy its art, and serve this community.  There is a great need for good teachers here.  I know that someone needs to take my job.  Pinon is the number one school district in Navajo Nation.  The students are great, I love them.  This is more than a job it is a life experience that will benefit you in every way imaginable and it is an adventure.  I believe that as humans we need adventure, we need wonderful and unique opportunities to go out and do something incredible.  I have taken the path less traveled, will you?

Will you venture out of comfort to a the place where the road ends and the wild west begins?  I hope that you will.  This is a great community and they need you.

Wishing you all the best,

Brent Maynard
Husband, Father, Elder, Educator
BA in History

Xander's Preschool Promotion Ceremony

My little buddy is finishing up a partial year of preschool.  To celebrate those who are promoting to kindergarten and those who have finished but aren't quite ready to move on, we had a Pre-K Promotion Ceremony today.  Students sang and danced for the parents.  It was really cute.  Xander was not feeling it.  He was still pretty tired when the ceremony began and Daddy taking away his toys probably did not help.  He spent most of the ceremony in the audience with us.  He at least got to walk on the stage and his teacher delivered his awards.

Dropping him off at preschool has been a lot easier lately.  He has really gotten into their routine.  Having him in preschool has been a big blessing.  He is speaking more and interacting with friends.

Staff Honored at Pinon 8th Grade Promotion

This year my wife Pamela has worked as the Dean of Students at Pinon Middle School.  She has worked tirelessly on many projects and in sponsoring several activities.  While her main job in the school was discipline she did much more than that.  She went above and beyond what was expected of her and she had a relationship with every member of the 8th grade class.

I attended the promotion for a couple of reasons.  Pamela is my wife and I want to support her.  Also, many of her students have been on my Cross Country and Wrestling teams.

The students thanked their teachers and their principal who will be the next superintendent.  On the stage there were teal roses set out for all the teachers with thank you cards.  The students thanked their families and those who had given them support.  They had something special for my wife.

The students brought out a surprise for her.  She became very emotional and went up to thank the students holding the sign and ended up being thronged about with about a hundred students hugging her and thanking her, even the "trouble makers."

In addition to the students honoring Pamela, she was also recognized by the Pinon School Board members who were in attendance.  My wife has accomplished a lot here and has made herself a part of this community.

Xander Visits a Hogan

While at the zoo, Xander and his classmates were able to explore what is sometimes called a male hogan.  This type of dwelling was typically used in ceremonies verses the female hogan which is where families would live.  Traditional female hogans are only made nine logs high for nine months of pregnancy, today hogans are made of many different modern materials.  Even in more modern hogans with TV and electricity the floor is always dirt, this reminds them of their connection to Mother Earth.

Field Trip to Navajo Nation Zoo

Xander's preschool class had the opportunity to go to the Navajo Nation Zoo in Window Rock.  I was asked to come along as a parent volunteer to help out.  These images were taken on the trip there.  Xander was very well behaved on the bus for the first forty minutes or so.  Pinon to Window Rock is about a two hour journey and it was a lot for Xander, especially since we were on a bus with no seat belts.  I kept him pretty distracted with a toy car and some snacks.

Everyone who had talked about the zoo had said that it was a small zoo that was mainly traditional animals.  I was expecting it to be like a farm.  The Navajo adopted many animals from the Europeans and became a pastoral people.  I was expecting to see sheep, cattle, and horses.  Instead the zoo was filled with actual traditional animals from before the arrival of the Europeans.  Each animal had an information sign that had its name in Navajo and English and explained the animal's role in the Navajo Traditions and Religion.  I have always been fascinated by animals and symbolism, so to say the least the trip to the zoo became a lot more interesting for me.

This albino raccoon came out to play and saw hello to the children.  

I learned that the raccoon is credited with creating the Mountaintop Ceremony and is important in several other traditional ceremonies.

The bobcat was my high school mascot back in the day.  So of course I am a huge fan of seeing them in any zoo.  It is especially cool that the Navajo have such respect for this animal and its prowess as a hunter.  Hunters would use their pelts as quivers so that the bobcat's excellent hunting ability would rub off on the arrows.

Xander was really cute with the elks.  He had never seen an elk before.  Pamela and I have only recently seen an elk in the wild just outside of Flagstaff.  With enthusiasm I pointed to the male and said, "Look Xander, that is an elk!"

"Elk."  He looked at it, "Hi elk!"

Each animal in the zoo had a name plate to tell visitors what to call each animal.  For the most part I ignored these but for whatever reason I looked at the name plate for the female and found out that her name was Carin.  I told Xander what her name was.

"Elk.  Carin.  Bye Carin!"

Horned Owl was the brother of Eagle and a messenger for the Holy People according to Navajo Tradition.  The Navajo do not talk about a Great Spirit the way that many tribes do, they emphasize the Holy People, different spirits that help humanity. 

The porcupine did not leave his shady house while we were there so I wasn't able to get a good photograph.

It was starting to get hot at this point in the day so the grey fox and the red foxes stayed in the shade and were not very active.

Even though the kids knew that they were going to go to McDonalds where they would be able to play they still were very excited about the playground and wanted to stop and play awhile.  It made for better interaction with my son than McDonalds.  It was nice getting to play with him.  We did not quite see every animal in the zoo but that is okay.  The most important things are that Xander had fun, and he and I were able to bond.

Xander getting back on the bus with his classmates.  The students were treated to lunch at McDonalds where they played like crazy before finally eating.  Xander had fun by swiping my french fries and using them to practice counting.  He also ate about half of them.