A Video for Sunday

A classic from Carl Sagan which also highlights the insignificance of mankind and our planet in the greater scheme of the universe.

History in Egypt

Photo from TotallyCoolPix

It is an absolutely amazing thing to be sitting here and watching history unfold before our very eyes in Egypt. I have been on Twitter and Huffington Post all day following live updates of the events.  Some facts and thoughts:

• I don't watch cable news anymore because I don't get cable, but from the sounds of what others are saying, they are doing a pretty poor job of covering the unfolding events.  No surprise there.  I have always thought of cable news as the drunken, idiot uncle of journalism.
• If you are on Twitter, and you want to see really amazing updates of unfolding events, you should follow Democracy Now correspondent Sharif Kouddous.  I will look forward to what he has to say on Monday's broadcast of DN. 
• It is interesting to realize the type of relationship the United States and the Mubarak regime has had over these years.  While we periodically will criticize their government for not making enough democratic reforms, the truth is, no one has been a greater friend to United States in that part of the world (outside of Israel and possibly Saudi Arabia).  They help us "interrogate" suspected terrorists; we give them money, help them shut down the internet, and provide resources to combat protesters in the streets (scroll down to picture number 80 to see where their gas canisters are made).  I am happy with the peaceful relationship Egypt has had with Israel since Sadat, but that is the extent of my respect of Egyptian leadership.  I wonder if most Americans realize that one of the reasons Egypt is revolting against Mubarak is because of his relationship with us.  
• Then there is Vice President Joe Biden.  For the most part, I have always been a fan of his, and especially his take on foreign affairs.  I know that many people in Washington are privately sad Mubarak might be driven out of office, but I can't believe Biden has the balls to say this in an interview:

"Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he's been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing relationship with - with Israel. ... I would not refer to him as a dictator."

          Even for Joe Biden, that takes some cojones. 

• Finally, two things must be remembered.  One, a lot of people are being injured and killed in these protests over the past few days.  As exciting as these revolutionary events are to watch unfold, we must be mindful of the death and destruction that has taken place, and continues to take place.  My second concern is this: the people of Egypt are rallying to get rid of a dictator, and it does show that the United States does not need to intervene to bring change about in the Arab world.  But if Mubarak steps down, what will take his place?  Is it going to be another Mubarak-like dictator?  An Islamic fundamentalist regime?  A secular government that respects democracy and freedom of speech?  Or something entirely different?  All I can do is continue what I, and the rest of the world are doing: sit back, watch, and wait.

The Language of Special Education . . .

. . . as demonstrated by a cartoon.



It is important for parents to learn what special education language means.  It is also important for special education teachers, administrators, and other personnel to remember that parents are not always experts in the technical jargon of IEPs  Thank you Special Education Advisor for this cartoon!

The Upside of Virtual Classrooms and Online Learning

Recently, I featured a story about how the Miami-Dade County Public School System put over 7,000 students into virtual and online classes for core academic courses.  The reason so many students were put into these classes was to fulfill a Florida state quota that limited class size (by class, meaning a traditional classroom with a teacher rather than a facilitator in a computer lab).  Many students and parents did not approve of the move, and I discussed some of the downsides of virtual classrooms.  While I discussed the positives of using virtual classrooms for programs such as credit recovery, I mainly emphasized the negatives of such a program.

It just so happens that Lisa Nielsen, who I have recently had the pleasure of getting into a friendly debate over medication and ADHD (see here and here) has also written about this story.  She features several of the positives of classrooms via the computer.  Nielsen discusses them further in depth at Huffington Post, but I think it is important to highlight those positives to give balance to this topic.  She goes into more detail with each one in her post, but I will list what they are here:

1) Students can sleep in
2) Students can pursue their passion
3) Students can learn without distraction from their classmates
4) Students can learn at their own pace
5) No competition to share thoughts and ideas
6) More interesting class choices
7) Learn when the schedule meets the needs
8) Learning is possible despite health issues that get in the way in a traditional classroom
9) Easy communication with teacher
10) Easy communication with other students

It should be said that what Nielsen discusses is different than what is featured in the New York Times story on two counts.  First, this list primarily focuses on virtual learning outside of a school building, whereas the Times article primarily focuses on classes in a large computer lab with many of the features of a traditional school (same hours, surrounded by peers, etc).  Secondly, and more importantly, Miami never gave many students a choice is putting them in virtual classrooms.  As Nielsen discusses, there are many great benefits to this type of learning, and it is important to promotes those benefits.  However, parents and students should be given a choice in this matter (and I am not one who normally falls down on the side of what many consider to be "school choice" these days).

Thoughts on Hitchens

I first became familiar with Christopher Hitchens around 10 years ago or so. I watched him and read his material when he was more known because his support for the invasion of Iraq. While I was always against the invasion (and still think it was a monstrous mistake), I have always respected Hitchen's support to some extent because of his encounters with Kurds and others who were brutalized by the Sadaam Hussein regime. 

But it has been over the past year where I have become a big fan of his writings and thoughts.  Hitchens is one of the most famous atheists in the world.  He is, in fact, considered one of the Four Horsemen of Atheism with Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. I finally decided I was an atheist when I read The God Delusion by Professor Dawkins.  However, it has been the the words of Christopher Hitchens that has strengthen my convictions in non-belief just as much as any theorist, philosopher or writer has to this point. A wonderful sample of Hitchens debating the religious can be seen in this video appropriately titled "Christopher Hitchens-The Best of Hitchslapped":



I recently had the pleasure of listening to Hitch-22, Hitchen's memoir, on audio book.  It was the first book by him I have actually got the chance to read (well, listen to), and I can't wait to delve into more of his literary works in the future.

It was, of course, extremely disheartening when Hitchens announced his illness this past year.  One would think that being so close to death might make him become recluse, reconsider his non belief, and perhaps feel the need to seek out comfort in a spiritual manner.  But not Hitch.  In fact, rather than hide away from the world or turn to Jesus, he has continued to write, speak, and debate about the religious on the side of secularism and rationalism.  And he is still as good at it as anyone that is out there. 

Below is an interview that aired Sunday on C-SPAN's Q&A with Brian Lamb.  It is the first TV or public appearance from Hitchens that has taken place in several weeks.  It is very difficult to watch because it is clear how much his condition has deteriorated recently.  While Lamb asks Hitchens about the memoir, religion, and geo-politics, most of the conversation is about Hitchen's cancer, as well as life and death.  It is worth the watch if you have an hour to spare: 



Here is hoping that Mr. Hitchens is able to recover from his illness. He is an important voice that the world needs!

A Video for Sunday

Here is an awe-inspiring video that should be seen by as many people as possible.

It does showcase the man-made evil that is organized religion. But more importantly, the video showcases the absolutely phenomenal scope of the cosmos, and how insignificant (and yet, still special) we as humans being are in the grander scheme of our Universe.

What better way to celebrate the Sabbath?

Bill Maher to Tea Partiers: The Founding Fathers Would Not Like You

Here is last week's New Rules from the great Bill Maher.

Jan. 14, 2011 Clip - New Rule: Founding Fathers

A Paradigm Shift in Public Education

Below is a video of an amazing “doodlecture”. I don’t know who the drawing is by, but is a lecture from Sir Ken Robinson on the problems with education, and the need to change the “education paradigm”.



Robinson is correct in saying that our schools today outdated because it is largely based upon the economic model of the industrial revolution, and grouping kids into batches. For example, I never even thought about the pointless conventionalism of grouping kids based upon grade. There are a couple of issues I feel the need to raise:

First, I have an issue with saying that our major problem in education is that we anesthetize children in schools. While I do have concerns about to over diagnosis of ADHD for students, I am not one of those who sees the prescription of ADHD medication (Ritalin, Adorol, etc.) to children as one of our society's great evils. Those medicines are not for every child with ADHD, but sometimes, children do benefit from their use. This comes from someone who grew with an ADHD diagnosis (it was called ADD at the time).  The use of such medicine greatly helped me to not only do better in those "borning schools" but better focus and function in other areas of life where focus is imperative. This point lead me to have a fascinating debate with Lisa Nielsen of the Innovative Educator Blog on Twitter. It was on her blog where I originally found the video.

Secondly, for all the problems Robinson outlines, he doesn’t really suggest alternatives for schooling. I won’t fault him too much for that, because that probably wasn’t what he was trying to do. But as a teacher and someone who is interested in what education looks like in this country, I wish I had something more practical to work with.  Having said that, I am feeling a little more inspired to look for those answers (for starters, I suggest “What Would Real School Reform Look Like?” by James Farwell)

In addition, I hope that this videos inspires other teachers to look for various methods of teaching and differentiating instruction.  I know it is sometimes hard as a teacher to look past applying the conventionally comfortable teaching style of pencil/paper/reading/lecture/etc.   But we have got to do a better job of trying newer and exciting lessons in our own classrooms, as well as encouraging the use of non-traditional ideas to our peers and in our districts. 

Disintegration

Stephen Colbert takes a look at a part of North Carolina where racial and economic integration has lead to great success and popularity . . . and how the Tea Party is now trying to undo this progress.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Disintegration
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

The Limited Capabilities of Virtual Classrooms

 Photo from NYT/Carolina Hidalgo

In 2002, Florida voters passed a ballot amendment limiting class sizes.  This does not include virtual schools and online classes, which are becoming increasingly common across the country.  In Miami-Dade County Public Schools, over 7,000 students are enrolled in a program where core academic subjects are taken in a computer lab.  There is no teacher, but a facilitator making sure you are doing your work and "making progress".  All coursework is done by logging onto a website.  This is fine and all but there is a problem. 

In order to meet state classroom requirements in Florida (no more than 18 in lower elementary school classes, 22 students in 4th-8th grade school classes, and 25 in high school classes), many students in the Miami-Dade area have been put into these virtual classes without a choice.  And surprise, not every student is taking their online educational experience very well.  Take Alix Braun:

Alix Braun, 15, a sophomore at Miami Beach High, takes Advanced Placement macroeconomics in an e-learning lab with 35 to 40 other students. There are 445 students enrolled in the online courses at her school, and while Alix chose to be placed in the lab, she said most of her lab mates did not.

“None of them want to be there,” Alix said, “and for virtual education you have to be really self-motivated. This was not something they chose to do, and it’s a really bad situation to be put in because it is not your choice.”

I don't want to diminish the unique opportunities virtual education can provide for students who do not do well inside a traditional classroom.  For example, the article mentions how Chicago High Schools use virtual classrooms for credit recovery.  The high school I work does the same thing, and number of students benefit from it.  But just shoving students into a computer lab to take a class is not an acceptable solution to lowering class sizes.  Virtual schools are only great programs to be in, provided a) you can read at grade level, and use a computer; b) you are a self-motivated learner.  This sounds simple enough, but those who work in education know that such criteria are only applicable to a certain segment of the student population.

The Ineffectiveness of D.A.R.E.

To say that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program is ineffective, as well intentioned as the program is, should not be a surprise to anyone.  If it were effective, the number of youth who refuse to turn to drugs and alcohol would be significantly less.  But a new study has discovered that the program is not only ineffective, but counterproductive:

Scientific evaluation studies have consistently shown that DARE is ineffective in reducing the use of alcohol and drugs and is sometimes even counterproductive -- worse than doing nothing. That's the conclusion of the U.S. General Accounting Office, 1 the U.S. Surgeon General, 2 the National Academy of Sciences, 3 and the U.S. Department of Education, 4 among many others. 5

How do supporters of the D.A.R.E. program react to these findings?  By disregarding them, or flat out criticizing the scientists as having some type of pro-drug agenda.

Leaders of DARE say the program shouldn't be judged by evidence from empirical research studies. They tend to be indifferent to factual evidence and prefer to rely on feelings, impressions and hopes. As one DARE leader explained: "I don't have any statistics for you. Our strongest numbers are the numbers that don't show up.” 6

 Another excerpt:

DARE leaders not only tend to ignore scientific evidence but even challenge science itself. On one occasion, when confronted with the scientific evidence found by a major study, DARE leadership retorted that "Scientists tell you that bumblebees can't fly, but we know better." 15 Of course, scientists don't tell us that bumblebees can't fly and this statement illustrates a complete lack of any understanding of science. Similarly, the leadership sometimes seems to dismiss scientific evidence as nothing more than opinion or preference." 16

 "Our detractors like to characterize DARE as an 'Orwellian reality' or 'Big Brother' at work," says DARE. "These bush-league tactics are transparent for what they are: attempts to support various individual personal agendas at the expense of our children." 17

Rather than learn from the scientific findings, those in charge of the D.A.R.E. refuse to even acknowledge the damaging reality of their own program.  The dismissal of scientific evidence by the program reminds me of the stubbornness Christian fundamentalists have when refusing to acknowledge the scientific realities of things like comprehensive sex-education and evolution.

Some Final Reminders of MLK

I thought I would share a couple of videos for reflection upon this MLK Day.  The first one is from the Adult Swim show, The Boondocks.  This episode, toying with revisionist history, pretends that MLK was never assassinated, but rather, goes into a coma until the year 2000.  He wakes up to find a very different world.  I will admit that it is a commentary on the modern African-American community (of which I have no authority to speak upon), and it does use the N-Word several times.  Having said that, it is perhaps the smartest, funniest piece of social satire I have ever watched, and well worth 22 minutes of your time to watch.








The second video (found at this link) is a re-airing of this morning's Democracy Now.  The entire episode plays two of Martin Luther King's famous speeches (neither of which are the "I Have A Dream" Speech").  Both Speeches deal with King's stance on controversial issues (at the time).  None the less, they show King's dedication to social justice and standing up for what is right.

Some Articles on American Education on MLK Day.

Dana Goldstein points out that schools are more segregated today than they were when Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in 1968.  She also notes the following:

And make no mistake--integration is one of the most powerful school reform tools in the kit. 

Here's how we know that: At the macro level, four decades of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress--the "nation's report card"--show that the achievement gap between white and minority students shrunk fastest during the 1970s and 1980s, the era of Court-mandated school desegregation. Between 2004 and 2009, on the other hand--our NLCB, "standards and accountability" era--the achievement gap between white children and black and Latino children did not shrink at all.

Sarah Mead explains that simply making MLK a day of services, as well intentioned as it is, misses the point in teaching what MLK was really about:

I'm particularly uncomfortable with the decision to make King's holiday a "day of service," on which young people are encouraged to engage in service projects. Not that there's anything wrong with any of these projects. They're nice things to do. But the progress of the civil rights movement didn't come from people working in soup kitchens, cleaning up parks, or doing similarly nice, service-y things. It came from people nonviolently but directly standing up to unjust power structures and engaging in civil disobedience. People actually broke unjust laws--and got arrested for it. Teaching our kids that this is a day about service seems to get the message dead wrong--or at least to suggest that our nation and world are no longer plagued by injustices that require more than volunteer work to right them.

In the South, many school districts do not let there students off school for MLK Day (along with other holidays) in order to make-up for missed snow days.

I have two things to say to these school districts: First, given your less than stellar history on race relations, using MLK Day as a snow day is not the smartest move (at least from a purely PR standpoint).  In fact, it is quite disrespectful and offensive.  Secondly, you should do what other districts in the country do for missed snow days: build in snow days when making your calender, and if you use them up, add on days to the end of the year. 

Finally, there is also this piece from my favorite education writer these days, Diane Ravitch.  She  published this on last year's MLK Day.  She asks if you can imagine Martin Luther King standing along side businessmen and billionaires in favor of more testing and charter schools. I know that what is known as "education reform" gets a lot of positive attention from progressives and leaders in the African-American community these days.  However, MLK was a supporter of public workers and unions, and would just as likely been on the side of supporting public schools, teacher unions, and more money for poor districts (not based on test scores).  He would also have likely pointed out that the real culprit of the achievement gap was poverty.  The NYC Educator blog shares Mrs. Ravitch's views on MLK and union support by quoting him:

"The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old age pensions, government relief for the destitute and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival, but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome."
-- MLK Jr., Illinois AFL-CIO Convention, 1965.

Welcome!

Greetings, and welcome to my blog.  Although this is my first post on this particular blog, this is not my first attempt at blogging itself.  Efforts in the past have been stifled by my busy work schedule and other matters getting in the way.  Indeed, I have no idea how long this blog will last or how often I will get to updating it this time around.  Without making any promises, I am going to try my best to update it weekly, if not daily.

A few quick pieces of information about myself:

• I am a Life Skills Special Education Teacher at a high school in North East Kansas.
• I live in Overland Park, KS with my wonderful wife and our dog.
• I am 28 years old, have a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and  Master of Art's in Education. 
• I am quite progressive in my politics (I would use the term democratic socialist), but with an independent mind and no political party affiliation. 
• I was raised in the mainline Protestant denomination, but am now a Secular Humanist.
• I am a major film buff (a bit of a movie snob, if you will).
• I am lifelong fan of both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Missouri Tigers Football team.

This blog will primarily focus on issues regarding education, including special education, transition, education policy, curriculum, and instruction.  However, I will not shy away from writing on various other topics that reflect my own personal interests (movies, sports, politics, culture, comedy, atheism, etc.).  Feel free to comment if you ever have anything you would like to say in response to a post of mine.  I hope you enjoy!