A Video For Sunday: Humanism

Picture from Institute for Humanist Studies

At the lower corner of this blog, I have a red "A" which stands for Atheism.  Yes, I am an atheist, and am proud to be one.  What this means, of course, is that I don't believe in God.  Atheism (like any ideology or -ism) is a label, but the thing about labels is that they can be limiting.  This is especially when that label has to do with what one doesn't believe.  If I had to choose another label to put upon myself, as I am sure many nonbelievers would prefer to put upon themselves, it would be a humanist.

Rather than what one doesn't believe, humanism has to do with what one does believe.  There are a variety of definitions for humanism, but I think I prefer the one from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; especially: a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason.

In addition to espousing a belief of the importance of humanity and reason, the label of humanism does more to descredit the notion that nonbelievers (atheists, agnostics, skeptics etc.) are incapable of leading moral and ethical lives because they do not have the threat of consequences via a supernatural power or powers hanging over them. 

To talk about some more about humanism, specifically secular humanism (although there is such a thing as religous humanism) as well as the issues of labeling addressed above, here is a video by Patrician Atheist:

  

Also, check out websites like the American Humanist Association to learn more about what humanism actually is.

The Importance Of Learning History

Picture from Michael Jones

"If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience"
 -George Bernard Shaw

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."
-Edmund Burke

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." 

-George Santayana

Meme of the Day

Some sad statistics to consider from Presente.org.

Sorry its size looks so sloppy on my website.  This was the only way I could upload it to have the text big enough to read.

Happy Fourth of July

Below are some videos to share on America's 236th Birthday. 

First, here is a lesson plan that an 8th grade Social Studies teacher from Missouri recorded a few years back.  In it, he says he found a break-up letter on the floor, and decides he is going to read it to the class.  This turns out not to be an actual break-up letter, but a letter he made up to lead the class into a lesson on the Declaration of Independence.  It is a brilliant hook, and one I decided to use whenever I taught the American Revolution to my Social Studies class.

Next, is Danny Glover's recitation of the Frederick Douglas speech, "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?"  It is far from a patriotic look at America, and it's independence.  But as an American who believes in looking at the truth, it is important we study the dark sides of American history (as well as the more positive sides).  The full text of the speech can be found here with an introduction by The Nation's Dave Zirin.  Also, check out this link to the Zinn Education Project about rethinkig the Fourth of July.


Finally, we have a couple of patriotic anthems.  This first one is definitely NSFW.  Happy Birthday America!  You aren't perfect, but you are my home, and I love you!

The Stupidest Thing I've Heard All Day

I'll just give you the name of the headline from Huffington Post first:

Bob Kingsbury, New Hampshire Legislator, Explains Remarks Linking Kindergarten To Higher Crime 

 

And surprise, he is a Tea Partier with connections to legendary birther, Orly Taitz.  In addition:

Kingsbury has also sponsored legislation to require future state laws to be based on the Magna Carta and said in February that statehood for the District of Columbia could cause New Hampshire's crime rate to rise 25 percent.

So what is Representative Kingsbury basing these remarks on?

Kingsbury discussed with The Huffington Post on Tuesday his research showing a dramatic jump in crime. "The sources I have is I went to the Department of Education and got a list of kindergartens and I went to the safety department and got the crime report," he said. "In general, the towns with a kindergarten have 400 percent more crime than other towns in the same county. In every county the towns and cities with kindergarten had more crime."

Noting as well that some communities experienced a crime jump of 300 percent, he singled out his hometown of Laconia, the largest community in Belknap County. Compared to the other nine communities in the county, Laconia had the highest crime and the only kindergarten program, he said. Kingsbury cited crime reports indicating Laconia had 63 of the county's 70 rapes, 6 out of 9 robberies, 44 out of 47 arsons and 408 out of 506 simple assaults, along with all the county's murders and higher rates of other crimes.

I haven't done the research to corroborate Representative Kingsbury's story, and nor do I intend on doing any.  I'm just going to go ahead and call "bull shit".  Here is some information on the "devastating" effects that all-day Kindergarten has on children.

"The Myth of the Super Teacher" (alternate title: "Teachers Are Human")

 Photo from Wikipedia

Probably anyone and everyone who has ever been a teacher can relate to Roxanna Elden's message in the video below (including myself).  Everyone who enters the teaching profession has an image in their mind of what the job will entail.  Every new teacher thinks they are going to step right in, reach every single student, and change the world.  It doesn't matter how big the classrooms are, or what type of home life these students have.  Every lesson will be perfect, every student will like us and WANT to learn, and will behave properly.  While Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds may not come to everyone's minds, they do have that image in their head of the super teacher.  We all tell ourselves "By God, I am going to be that super teacher."

Then, of course, we start teaching, and realize that we are human, and this is not the movies.  The job entails longer hours than you can imagine, lesson plans with potential holes (holes that are often exposed during that first year of teaching), and students who could care less about what a fantastic lesson you have worked hard on (no matter how "interesting" the lesson is).  Oh, and what you have always heard about teacher pay is true.  That paycheck you bring in seems pretty miniscule given the amount of hours you put in and stress that comes out.  There are numerous reasons why nearly half of all teachers leave the profession by their fifth year.

But most of us who do stay in do not give up.  We love what we do, and we still want to make a difference in EVERY student's life.  I don't want education students to think that teaching is a hopeless, thankless profession (although it may feel like that some days).  By all means, it is a wonderful profession, and I am grateful everyday that I chose it.  But experience does bring in a more realistic view of what being a school teacher entails.  Just know that you can be a great teacher, but you are human, and there will be days the job will suck.  I am generally a strong defender of traditional teacher training programs as a whole, but it is true that there are things that NO education course can teach you.

Please enjoy this video!
The Myth of the Super Teacher from EdWriters on Vimeo.

A Video For Sunday

Here is a beautiful time lapse video of the starts with a guide to the different constilations in the sky.  Enjoy!

Goldstein: Why Cities Increasing Faster Than Suburbs Is Good For Education

It appears that, for the first time since World War II, major American ubran cities are increasing at a higher rate than those of suburban areas.  There seems to be a number of reasons for this that has taken place.  There are also a number of reasons to be skeptical that this is just a temporary statistical "blip" and not a long-term trend.  Here is an exert from Will Oremus of Slate:

This shift has been in the making for over a decade. As early as 1999, a Brookings report noted that “declining crime statistics, falling unemployment rates, balanced municipal budgets, and a resurgence in downtown living have cities across the country claiming that they are in the midst of a renaissance.” Back then, though, those claims were undermined by Brookings’ finding that suburbs were still outpacing cities in job growth. According to Frey’s new analysis, just five of the largest metropolitan areas saw greater urban than suburban population growth between 2000 and 2010. (One caveat: The U.S. Census itself can't confirm Frey's numbers, since it doesn't break down the data in this way.)

The question now is whether the past year’s reversal is a blip or a leading indicator of America’s urban future. If you think it’s the former, you blame the housing bust and the economy for the suburbs’ short-term slowdown, and predict that they’ll resume their growth when the market clears.

In any case, let's suppose this is a long-term trend.  If that is a case, than this means potential benefits for American education and the cause for integration of public schools, according to Dana Goldstein:

We know school segregation is a major social crisis because—despite the good performance of some high-poverty schools—poor children tend to have better academic outcomes when they attend school alongside middle class students.There is also some evidence that highly effective teachers prefer working in integrated schools.And it is my own strongly held belief that all children benefit from exposure to other children whose backgrounds are different from their own.

With more middle and upper-income young families now showing a predilection for urban living, city school districts have a wonderful opportunity to create more integrated schools. There are several ways they can do this:

1. By purposefully drawing school enrollment boundaries to encompass both high-income and low-income housing stock. My small Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill contains multimillion dollar, single-family brownstones, as well as a large housing project. Yet only one of the local elementary schools is truly diverse while the other two—both in easy walking distance—are segregated.

2. By asking charter schools to embrace diversity as part of their mission statements, and recruit students from across all races and classes, instead of focusing solely on poor children.

3. By creating magnet schools that draw students from across the city, and that do not require high test scores for enrollment. (Chris Hayes’ new book, Twilight of the Elites, is eloquent on the problem of frantic, expensive test-prep contributing to urban school segregation.)

4. And by attacking residential segregation head-on, in part through the sort of housing policies that Slate’s Matt Yglesias proposes in his book, The Rent is Too Damn High.

All of these suggestions have merit to them, and should at least be up on the table for debate in policy and political circles.  I do have one suggestion for the second proposal above regarding charter schools, assuming they are part of this picture to begin with.  Right now, they do more to hurt the cause of integration in public schools than help.  And it is one thing to "ask" charter schools to embrace diversity, but I think they will.  I am uneasy about how selective charters would become if they are given the ability to recruit white, middle-class students.  The one fear I have is that they may overrecruit white, middle-class students who tend to perform better on standardized tests.  School boards and politicians have to make sure that in such a scenario as Goldstein is proposing, that such selectivness doesn't take place.

I would also add that redrawing boundary lines is a good suggestion, but good luck getting the public and local politicans (especially in more, white suburban districts) to agree to it.  Here in the Kansas City metro area on the Kansas side for example, I have a hard time imagining Johnson County schools (Shawnee Mission, De Soto) agreeing to share students with Wyandott County schools (Turner, KCK).  Goldstein expresses similar skepticism at the end of her post:

Sadly, no American governor or big city mayor I know of has committed to school integration as a central, clearly articulated facet of his or her education reform agenda. In part, this is because so many middle and upper class parents still feel skittish about sending their children to school with poor kids, and so “school choice” policies have evolved, in many cities, as a way to de facto segregate the children of the creative class. If we continue down this road, we simply won’t be taking advantage of the social, civic, and academic upsides of our rapidly diversifying cities. That would be a national shame. 

Justice Scalia Truly Doesn't Give A Fuck, Does He?

Photo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Today, the Supreme Court gave a split ruling on President Obama's challenge against Arizona's controversial immigration law, S.B. 1070.  The court struck down multiple provisions, but did leave the statute that said law enforcement officials could demand to see paperwork if they suspected an individual of being an illegal immigrant.  This, of course, has lead to concerns there would be mass amounts of racial profiling.

The good news for civil libertarians like myself, is that the Court did strike down provisions that said illegal immigrants weren't allowed to seek employment, as well as a provision that allows police to make a "warrantless arrest of anyone they had probably cause to believe they made a deportable offense."

I hoped this ruling would have gone further, and activists need to push for Arizona to change the law completely.  However, in addition to sharing the news about the ruling, I also want to share a quote from the ever-modest, Justice Antonin Scalia.  Here is some of what he had to say while defending he Arizona law in his own ruling:

Notwithstanding “[t]he myth of an era of unrestricted immigration” in the first 100 years of the Republic, the States enacted numerous laws restricting the immigration of certain classes of aliens, including convicted crimi­nals, indigents, persons with contagious diseases, and (in Southern States) freed blacks. Neuman, The Lost Century of American Immigration (1776–1875), 93 Colum. L. Rev. 1833, 1835, 1841–1880 (1993). State laws not only pro­ vided for the removal of unwanted immigrants but also imposed penalties on unlawfully present aliens and those who aided their immigration.

I know Justice Scalia tends to take a more traditional view of the law, but he seems to be crossing a moral line here, especially because he is apparently citing some of these laws as precedent.

UPDATE:

The day after I wrote this post (everything above), E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post wrote an editorial saying that Scalia should resign from the Supreme Court.  On the face of it, I suppose one could say that this is just some left-wing pundit spewing out liberal rhetoric and talking points.  Well, that isn't totally inaccurate, but Dionne makes some excellent points.  As he points out, Scalia wants to be a politician or pundit as much as anyone:

Unaccountable power can lead to arrogance. That’s why justices typically feel bound by rules and conventions that Scalia seems to take joy in ignoring. Recall a 2004 incident. Three weeks after the Supreme Court announced it would hear a case over whether the White House needed to turn over documents from an energy task force that Dick Cheney had headed, Scalia went off on Air Force Two for a duck-hunting trip with the vice president.

Scalia scoffed at the idea that he should recuse himself. “My recusal is required if . . . my ‘impartiality might reasonably be questioned,’ ” he wrote in a 21-page memo. Well, yes. But there was no cause for worry, Scalia explained, since he never hunted with Cheney “in the same blind or had other opportunity for private conversation.”
Don’t you feel better? And can you just imagine what the right wing would have said if Vice President Biden had a case before the court and went duck hunting with Justice Elena Kagan?

Then there was the speech Scalia gave at Switzerland’s University of Fribourg a few weeks before the court was to hear a case involving the rights of Guantanamo detainees.
“I am astounded at the world reaction to Guantanamo,” he declared in response to a question. “We are in a war. We are capturing these people on the battlefield. We never gave a trial in civil courts to people captured in a war. War is war and it has never been the case that when you capture a combatant, you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts. It’s a crazy idea to me.”

It was a fine speech for a campaign gathering, the appropriate venue for a man so eager to brand the things he disagrees with as crazy or mind-boggling. Scalia should free himself to pursue his true vocation. We can then use his resignation as an occasion for a searching debate over just how political this Supreme Court has become.

This is why we need to amend the Constitution and implement term limits on Supreme Court Justices.  I'm just saying . . .

Happy Birthday, Helen Keller

 

Photo from Wikipedia

This amazing woman was born today 132 years ago.  She is most famous as being the deaf and blind girl that learned how to communicate when she was taught by Annie Sullivan (also an amazing woman, and one of my inspirations as a special education teacher).  This was story was famously depicted in the play and movie, The Miracle Worker.  Keller went on to college, and would eventually become the first deaf and blind person to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Picture of Keller (left) and Annie Sullivan (right) from Spartacus Educational

As amazing as her story is, it is only part of the story.  Historically, she is simply by most known as a deaf and blind woman who could talk and become educated.  What most people don't know is that throughout her adult life, she spent her time traveling the globe as an activist.  Among other things, she campaigned in for Women's Suffrage, Labor Rights, and was member of the anti-war movement in the lead up to World War I.  She was even a member of the Socialist Party of America.  That's right: Helen Keller was a Socialist.

Photo from Huffington Post

As Education Professor Ruth Shagoury points out in a recent piece on Huffington Post, most people don't know the real history of Helen Keller (but should):

If I were creating Hero trading cards for Helen Keller, I would include her passionate work for women's voting rights, and against war and corporate domination. And I'd include her courageous quotes where she asks tough and impolite questions: "Why in this land of great wealth is there great poverty?" she wrote in 1912. "Why [do] children toil in the mills while thousands of men cannot get work, why [do] women who do nothing have thousands of dollars to spend?"

Sounds to me like the mother of today's Occupy Movement.

From publishers like Scholastic Teaching Resources -- which uses her life events to "give children practice reading a timetable" by asking insipid questions such: "How can you use the first two dates to figure out Helen's age at the time she got sick?" -- to St. Aidan's Home School pages, which encourages teachers to show "the Disney version of the The Miracle Worker," the information on-line portrays the same individualistic and socially empty Helen Keller myth.

It takes a little more digging, but I encourage parents and educators to turn to resources like the small press book Helen Keller from Ocean Press's series Rebel Lives, which includes excerpts from her writings on disability and class, socialism, women, and war, or the fine young adult biography Helen Keller: Rebellious Spirit by Laurie Lawlor. It's time to share with children Helen Keller's remarkable adult life. As a defiant rebel, she could be a true hero for 21st century activists.

Indeed, schools should teach about Ms. Keller (her whole biography).  She is an excellent role model for all students: girls, boys, disabled and non-disabled.  Helen Keller is a truly remarkable figure, both for overcoming her adversity, as well as her dedication to social justice.

Disability Highlight: Tim's Place

Here is a feel-good story about a man with Down Syndrome who owns not only lives on his own, but owns and runs a restaurant called Tim's Place in Albuquerque, New Mexico.


Now, as the story states, the restaurant is basically paid for and run by his father and other individuals. Still, the fact that he lives on his own and is able to do as much as he does at this restaurant is amazing. This is a great example of what great parenting, great life skills education, and an open-arms, inclusive society can produce.  This make me proud to be someone who works in Special Education.

A Video for Sunday

The great Richard Dawkins give us a brief lesson on our ancestors while promoting his book, The Magic of Reality.

Talking to Children about Marijuana

 

Photo from MJ Dispensaries of Southern California

 A few days ago, the Associated Press released a story on how families in Washington and Colorado are having a difficult time explaining marijuana to their children, especially with more liberal laws which naturally bring about a great prevalence of medical marijuana dispensaries in their states.  It was a fairly captivating and even-handed article on the dilemma that some of these parent feel they have.  This prompted the NORML to come out with a response, insisting that it doesn't have to be a complicated matter to talk about pot with your children:

Education gives children the tools and understanding to help them cope with the challenges they have already experienced, and will continue to face further down the road.  Creating a government regulated system for marijuana legalization, which will include everything from age limits to promotional and advertising restrictions (and obviously impaired driving regulations), will actually help parents address this issue with their kids.  Several studies have already shown that states with regulated marijuana programs have not seen an increase in teen use.  Some have even seen a decrease in pot use among their youth population.

The prohibition of marijuana sends the message “marijuana is morally wrong” and implies that there is no such thing as a responsible marijuana consumer.  This ignorant policy improperly allows the government to interfere in the parent’s job of teaching their kids about moderation and responsibility.  Scare tactics and rhetoric are disingenuous and do not help children understand the realities of the world we live in.

I understand why parents may nervous about having the marijuana talk with their child, especially given our country's long history of looking down upon cannabis and it's users.  But as the facts about marijuana become more understood, and the laws for marijuana become more lenient, these conversations should not only become easier, the tone and direction of the conversation should look different than it has in the past.  I personally think the best way to approach such a conversation can be found by the Cannabis Consumers Campaign website article entitled "Talk to Your Kids About Pot: JUST SAY 'WAIT UNTIL YOU GROW UP.'"   Here is an exert:

Many adult cannabis consumers are put in an awkward position with regard to their children. When they were younger, many hid their use from their parents. Now they are hiding it from their kids. Some people feel that it's easier just to keep their use separate from their children, in order to avoid dealing with the subject until the children are older. Others are quite open and honest about it, hoping to "normalize" their use, and teach responsible use by example -- like people who would have a drink of alcohol in front of their children. Regardless of which path you take in this matter, it's important to be involved in your kids' lives and to keep the lines of communication open with them.

Parents and other adults are role models to their children. If you are open about your use, be conscious of the values, ethics and behavior you are teaching your children. Show them what responsible use means. Don't use cannabis as an excuse for not upholding your personal responsibilities or for acting carelessly. One thing that must be taught to your children is that this activity is currently illegal and the social and legal consequences can be quite severe for the entire family. They need to know that cannabis choice is a private, family matter that should not be discussed outside the home, as some people don't like it and want to punish people who use it, just like some people hate others for being of a different race. It's not right, but there are people who are intolerant and mean. Tell them that you think the laws against cannabis are wrong, and it should be legally controlled, like alcohol. If they see you actively working to reform the laws, they will learn that cannabis laws need to be fixed, and its consumers should be held to the same social and legal standards as alcohol or tobacco users.

If you don't consume cannabis -- at least not in front of the children -- it is still important to talk to them about marijuana. You may want to wait for the subject to arise, but be prepared when it does. If you think they are using marijuana, you should bring it up right away, not as an attack but as a topic of mutual concern. Otherwise, bring the subject up whenever you find it appropriate; but since many kids go through DARE or a similar propaganda class at age 10 or 11, you should not wait too much longer than that age, and you should definitely bring up the subject by age 16. Be factual and direct. Don't get into things that are above the heads of your child and their age group. If they are being subjected to the DARE program, take the opportunity to review their class materials with them, correct the lies, and have an honest discussion with them.

Be up front, but keep it simple. Be cautious in discussing your own history, because it can backfire on you (example: "How would you know if you've never tried it" or "Well, you did it, so why shouldn't I?"). Don't try to squeeze this talk into a tight time slot; allow enough time to thoroughly discuss the issues that come up in the discussion.

The article is worth a read, especially for parents who feel they do face a "pot talk dilemma".  And while I haven't talked to my wife about it yet, I would like to think we will have a similar cannabis conversation with our children when the time comes.

On a side note about pot, this clip of Congressman Jared Polis questioning DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart is making the rounds on the web.  Ms. Leonhart could not answer whether heroin and meth were dangerous or more addictive than pot, which defies common sense.  

Plato: Scholar, Philosopher . . . Totalitarian?

 

Photo from Wikipedia

It is not very often that I will write about ancient Greek philosophy, so enjoy this.

When I was in college, I majored in Political Science and one of my favorite courses was on political theory.  Probably my favorite book we read was Plato's The Republic.  It is a great piece of commentary on government and justice, and I can't recommend enough (though if you do buy it, I would also recommend having a copy of the Cliff  Notes handy). 

However, when I was reading it, there was something in the back of my mind that felt pretty disturbing.  This can be summed up by a recent post on the Philosophy and Life blog by Mark Vernon:

Karl Popper almost did it for Plato, when he published The Open Society in 1962. A central plank of Popper’s defence of freedom was a fierce attack on what he called ‘utopian social engineering’. He cast Plato as the originator of a form of totalitarian politics that in the twentieth century threatened the whole world, in the form of the Marxist regime of the Soviet Union. In short, Plato was an armchair Stalin. The ancient Greek philosopher was responsible for nurturing the dream of all subsequent dictators, that they could design an ideal state that would never decay.

This is not a stretch.  In The Republic, Plato proposes some pretty drastic ideas in order to create the perfect, "just" society.  From Wikipedia:

For over two and a half millennia, scholars have differed on the aptness of the city-soul analogy Socrates uses to find justice in Books II through V. The Republic is a dramatic dialogue, not a treatise. Socrates' definition of justice is never unconditionally stated, only versions of justice within each city are "found" and evaluated in Books II through Book V. Socrates constantly refers the definition of justice back to the conditions of the city for which it is created. He builds a series of myths, or noble lies, to make the cities appear just, and these conditions moderate life within the communities. The "earth born" myth makes all men believe that they are born from the earth and have predestined natures within their veins. Accordingly, Socrates defines justice as "working at that which he is naturally best suited," and "to do one's own business and not to be a busybody" (433a-433b) and goes on to say that justice sustains and perfects the other three cardinal virtues: Temperance, Wisdom, and Courage, and that justice is the cause and condition of their existence. Socrates does not include justice as a virtue within the city, suggesting that justice does not exist within the human soul either, rather it is the result of a "well ordered" soul. A result of this conception of justice separates people into three types; that of the soldier, that of the producer, and that of a ruler. If a ruler can create just laws, and if the warriors can carry out the orders of the rulers, and if the producers can obey this authority, then a society will be just.

The city is challenged by Adeimantus and Glaucon throughout its development: Adeimantus cannot find happiness in the city, and Glaucon cannot find honor and glory. Ultimately Socrates constructs a city in which there is no private property, women and children are held in common (449c-450c, 3 times), and there is no philosophy for the lower castes. All is sacrificed to the common good and doing what is best fitting to your nature; however, is the city itself to nature? In Book V Socrates addresses this issue, making some assertions about the equality of the sexes (454d). Yet the issue shifts in Book VI to whether this city is possible, not whether it is a just city. The rule of philosopher-kings appear as the issue of possibility is raised. Socrates never positively states what justice is in the human soul, it appears he has created a city where justice is lost, not even needed, since the perfect ordering of the community satisfies the needs of justice in human races' less well ordered cities.

 He also believed that democracy would degenerate into tyranny, and the best form of government is aristocracy. 

Our Education System

From Urban Juke Joint via Facebook

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels To Be The Next President of Purdue University

 

Picture from Thinq

Something about this seems a little odd.  One might say, ass backwards.  From Balloon Juice, here's why:

Purdue University’s Board of Trustees has just voted unanimously to install Governor Mitch Daniels as the new president. As a doctoral student at the university, there’s a lot to say about this, and I intend to, but for now it’s enough to point out that while in office Governor Daniels pushed to cut funding to Indiana’s public universities again and again. I simply cannot fathom extending an invitation to lead an organization to a man who had worked tirelessly to defund that organization; it simply would not be countenanced in other contexts. In addition, Governor Daniels’s administration has repeatedly attacked public education and public teachers,  pushing for privatization schemes like private school vouchers and ascribing broad educational failures to Indiana’s schoolteachers, without providing responsible evidence. The man is an enemy of public education in Indiana who has now been selected to run one of our public universities. Internal opposition to that selection is the purest, more rational self-interest regardless of the political views of the individuals so opposed. Our media, of course, will regard any protest as a sign of liberal bias, no matter what kinds of complaints are voiced against Daniels.

This reminds me of when George W. Bush appointed John Bolton to be the American Ambassador to the United Nation.  Another thing to keep an eye out for, although I am sure almost no one in the mainstream media will pick it up, is when Freddie deBour is saying about students taking pictures outside the Board of Trustees meeting:

Today, I’ve heard repeated stories of intimidation by security at the Board of Trustees meeting, including signs that forbid protests that were not in keeping with “accepted social behavior” and the like. I’m also hearing that students who took pictures of that signage and of security were followed and searched by security, unlike other attendees. Many described the meeting as unlike any event they had ever attended at Purdue in terms of the amount and aggression of security. I’m still trying to get all the facts, but as soon as I know enough and have pictures to share, I will report back to you guys.

 Also, is there not a law in Indiana that says active Governors cannot be appointed to the Board of Trustees of a state college; let alone, become the President of a state college?  I guess not.

Teachers, Doctors, and Professionalism

 Photo from Professorbaker's blog

Diane Ravitch shares a fascinating story a reader sent her:

A reader sent in a comment about holding teachers accountable for test scores.

He attended a “question and answer” luncheon hosted by the Lafayette, Louisiana, Chamber of Commerce, where Governor Bobby Jindal was the speaker. Jindal came late, spoke fast, and left without answering any questions. The reader, possibly the only educator in the audience, turned to the CEO of a hospital sitting next to him and asked “if he ever pondered posting his hospital’s mortality rate outside its door.”

The reader was “a little surprised at how firmly his ‘no’ response was—-it was as if I asked him to jump off of a bridge. I was merely trying to make a comparison to cohort grad rates and letter grading systems in our state to the business community.” The reader concluded that “accountability as educators know it will never be applied to any other type of profession much less within the business community despite their unwavering support of accountability for public schools. That CEO’s firm ‘no’ response was all the proof I needed that accountability the way we know it will not make anything better….and the business world knows this.”

Another reader liked that comment and added: “had the CEO offered more than his terse response, I suspect his explanation would include that although doctors play a role in a patient’s health, there are a number of other factors that doctors have no control over–patient’s genetics, prior medical history, willingness to follow the doctor’s prescriptions, environment, how far an illness has progressed before the doctor sees the patient, etc. And, of course, his explanation is perfectly valid. For some reason, though, when teachers make the same point regarding students’ test scores, corporate ed reformers are quick to accuse them of making excuses.“

Now it is true that doctors absolutely HAVE to go to school for a much longer time than teachers do given the amount of life-saving information they must know, sometimes right off the top of their head without being able to look it up.  And let's be honest, as important as the purpose of being a teacher is, the purpose of being an MD is much more important when all things are considered.  I can even see this being a valid justification for doctors making a lot more money than teachers (though, of course, public school teachers are still highly underpaid).

But the overall point Diane and these readers are making are absolutely true.  For whatever faults the teaching profession may have, teachers are still highly trained professionals.  Education, like medicine, is an area that is unconditionally paramount to a healthy, successful society.  Accountability - whether in education, medicine or elsewhere - is certainly important.  But accountability in any profession that serves such an important purpose should not be reduced down to an agenda-driven panacea (i.e. testing), while trying to factor in other such complexities of said profession are considered making excuses.  Accountability, especially when it is for a highly critical profession dealing with significant complexity, should be reflective of that complexity.  Here is what Ken Jones of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has to say about teacher accountability:

We most certainly need teacher accountability. But it should be the kind that builds capacity, not the kind that creates fear. It should look at complexities, not simplicities. Teachers should be accountable for grounding professional practices in the best available research, for maintaining a modern vision of what constitutes important mathematics, for providing students with engaging and relevant lessons and equitable opportunities to learn. This type of accountability must focus on individual responsiveness and interpersonal dynamics within specific contexts. It must be local in implementation and of high resolution in the light it sheds on teachers’ practice and students’ learning.

High-resolution accountability is a far cry from the new trend for high-stakes teacher accountability. It emphasizes information feedback and continuous improvement, not false and degrading “incentive” systems. It takes time, leadership, attention to the many details of practice, and a culture of reflective practice. Let’s face it—there are no shortcuts to improving education

Professor Thomas Baker of the English Department at Colegio Internacional SEK in Santiago, Chile also an a piece of teachers and doctors on his blog that is worth a read.  He sums the issue up this way:

Society is pretty darn lenient with doctors. We don’t hold them accountable for things which they could be reasonably expected to perform a lot better, for society as a whole.

On the other hand, society, in general, gets pretty riled up about teachers. People get angry when they talk about the performance of the teaching profession.

There is even, “strong empirical evidence that suggests teachers are the most important aspect in the educational achievement of students.”

And so, society is very upset with these so-called “Teacher Professionals”.

“Why can’t teachers be more like doctors?”, society asks.

This teacher, myself, asks the reverse question:

“What if doctors were treated like teachers?”

Transparancy And Obama Asserting Executive Privilege

 

Photo from Huffington Post

As a civil libertarian, as well as a believer that an Obama presidency would have brought about greater government transparency with regard to the affairs of the Executive branch, President Obama's decision to exert executive privilege in order to deny requests in Congressman Darrell Issa's (R-CA) investigation into the Fast and Furious gun running program is a complete disappointment.  First, in case you don't know what the Fast and Furious program was:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ran a series of "gunwalking" sting operations^[2][3] between 2006^[4] and 2011.^[2][5] This was done under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico by interdicting straw purchasers and gun traffickers within the United States.^[6] "Gunwalking" or "letting guns walk" was a tactic whereby the ATF knowingly allowed thousands of guns to be bought by suspected arms traffickers ("gunrunners") working through straw purchasers on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.^[7]

The stated goal of allowing these purchases was to continue to track the firearms as they were transferred to higher-level traffickers and key figures in Mexican cartels, in theory leading to their arrests and the dismantling of the cartels.^[8][9] The tactic was questioned during the operations by a number of people, including ATF field agents and cooperating licensed gun dealers.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} Operation Fast and Furious, by far the largest "gunwalking" probe, led to the sale of over 2,000 firearms, of which around 700 were recovered as of October 20, 2011.^[15] A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high-level cartel figures have been arrested.^[7]

Firearms "walked" by the ATF have been found at violent crime scenes on both sides of the Mexico–United States border, including scenes involving the deaths of many Mexicans and at least one U.S. federal agent, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The "gunwalking" operations became public in the aftermath of Terry's murder.^[2] Dissident ATF agents came forward to Congress in response.^[16][17] As investigations have continued, the operations have become increasingly controversial in both countries, and diplomatic relations have been damaged as a result.^[2]

Representative Issa has been hovering over this issue like a vulture whenever he first became Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  He has submitted numerous document requests, has engaged in some cantankerous questioning of Attorney General Eric Holder in the committee hearings, and is now pushing to hold Mr Holder in contempt.  I have no doubt that one of his main motivations, if not his main motivation, in taking such a publicly strident interest in this case is politically calculated.

But as far as I can tell, Representative Issa also happens to be absolutely correct in the being so stringent in his requests. 

Could he, perhaps, scale back on the sullen-tone during committee hearings? Or to put it another way, could he not be such a dick when talking to Mr. Holder?  Absolutely.  His interactions with Mr. Holder in the Committee hearings are nothing more than cheap political theater.

But Representative Issa is absolutely doing the right thing is his insistence on investigating the Fast and Furious fun-running program, as his duties require that he does as the Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  It is with significant disappointment that I am aligning myself on the side of Congressman Issa over the Obama Administration on this, or any issue.

It is also disappointing that Obama is once again fighting steps for a more transparent executive branch.  The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf recently said this about Obama's openness to transparency (or lacktheirof) regarding leaks surrounding Obama's drone programs in the Middle East:

There is no way that this can possibly turn out well for anyone who values transparency. Either President Obama will get away with dispensing classified information in a way that advantages his side in various national-security policy debates, or there will be a crackdown, and Americans will be even less likely to get even the small amount of information we now have about U.S. actions abroad.  

As a liberal who voted for Obama in 2008 (and who hopes he wins again in 2012), I am deeply ashamed with Obama's record regarding transparency (not to mention issues surrounding civil liberties and the military, which I will address another day).  Below is a video of Obama shortly after becoming President regarding the issue of government transparency entitled "Obama: Transparency Will Be Touchstone"




My, how things do change.

Charter Schools Enroll Fewer Students With Disabilities Than Public Schools

This, of course, is not surprising:

Across the country, disabled students represented 8.2 percent of all students enrolled during the 2009-10 year in charter schools, compared with 11.2 percent of students attending traditional public schools, according to a Government Accountability Office analysis of Department of Education data.

In the previous year, 7.7 percent of students in charter schools had disabilities, compared with 11.3 percent in traditional public schools. Data covered students ages 6 to 21 in the 40 states that have charter schools.

 There seem to be a couple of reasons for this:

Some parents choose public schools that have more established programs for students with disabilities, while some charter schools do not have the resources or teaching staff to support individual students’ needs. But in some cases, the report said, school administrators tacitly discriminate by discouraging students with disabilities from enrolling. 

Happy Juneteenth

I saw someone on Facebook recently remark "how do all you white people not know what Juneteenth is?" Great question. So, what is Juneteenth? Well, here is a good summary from Juneteenth.com:

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19^th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another, is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All of which, or neither of these version could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln's authority over the rebellious states was in question   For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

General Order Number 3

One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began most significantly with:

"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."

The reactions to this profound news ranged from pure shock to immediate jubilation. While many lingered to learn of this new employer to employee relationship, many left before these offers were completely off the lips of their former 'masters' - attesting to the varying conditions on the plantations and the realization of freedom. Even with nowhere to go, many felt that leaving the plantation would be their first grasp of freedom. North was a logical destination and for many it represented true freedom, while the desire to reach family members in neighboring states drove the some into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Settling into these new areas as free men and women brought on new realities and the challenges of establishing a heretofore non-existent status for black people in America. Recounting the memories of that great day in June of 1865 and its festivities would serve as motivation as well as a release from the growing pressures encountered in their new territory. The celebration of June 19^th was coined "Juneteenth" and grew with more participation from descendants. The Juneteenth celebration was a time for reassuring each other, for praying and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston on this date.

There is more on the Juneteenth website about the history and festivities of Juneteenth.  There is also a great post on Juneteenth by former Social Studies teacher and currently one of the best education bloggers out there, Ken Bernstein (aka teacherken).

Finally, here is a video from Houston PBS station KUHT-TV about Juneteenth day.  It is actually an official state holiday in the state of Texas.

Back Again With Some Good News

Greetings, I have decided to come back AGAIN after another one of those unannounced hiatuses of mine (Jesus, I am such a bad blogger).

Since September, I have been working as a paraprofessional at for teenagers with behavior disorders for a school in Kansas.  In addition, I have had an evening job working as a tutor for reading and math skills.  I have worked these jobs with near-complete enjoyment, but always with the main goal of obtaining another full-time teaching position.

The reason for this most recent hiatus, quite honestly, was the stress of looking for a new teaching job was getting to me (again).  I slipped into that unhealthy, depressed state that I had last year while looking for a job.  Self-doubt became my closest frienemy.  I started smoking again, I was not sleeping very well and all I could obsess on nearly every minute of every day was whether or not I would ever teach again.

Before I go any further on that issue, I would first like to give an update on a student I spent a lot of time with, and blogged about during my paraprofessional work experience.  I continued to work with this particular student throughout the school year, but with a month or two left, the student was getting in trouble so often that his parents were afraid at some point, he may end up getting himself in trouble with the law at school.  He exited our program, and entered another program with less emphasis on academics, and more on behavior treatment.  As unfortunate as it was that he reached this point, I know it was the right thing for this young man.  I can look back on my work with him, and know I did the best I could.  I do question whether he got anything academically out of this program, but I know for a fact that both he and his parents were satisfied with job that I and the other staff members did in working with him. 

The other, much more positive news I wanted to share is that I WILL BE TEACHING AGAIN!



A small school district on the Missouri side of the Kansas City border has hired me to work with middle school students who have behavior disorders.  In addition to an impressive interview, I can also give credit to this most recent employment news to the experience I obtained this past year as a paraprofessional.  Even after I accepted the offer, I continued to receive phone calls for other job interviews.  All of these were with fine school districts, but I knew the opportunities afforded to me with this position were too numerous to turn down.  The administrators of the school informed me that I would be given a lot of freedom and responsibility for what happens with my students at school.  In addition, I am in charge of only a half-dozen students, I have very little paperwork, and I can set my schedule as I please for most of the day.  Translation: I get to spend more time actually helping students.

This, as well as some other things going on in my life, has me feeling more optimistic about my future than I probably have ever felt in my entire life.  What better time than now to start up my blog again? 

For readers of this blog (what few of you currently exist), let me reiterate (as I have in the past) that this may not be the last hiatus my blog ever encounters.  Ongoing events in my life - both personal and professional - will dictate the volume of activity this blog will see.  In the meantime, I hope you will read and enjoy.

A Video For Sunday

The great Bill Maher talks about the fact that Atheism is NOT A RELIGION, and then performs an un-baptism on Mitt Romney's father in law (who was a fellow nonbeliever).

If We Really Want To Close The Achievement Gap . . .

There are other factors that must be taken into account besides test scores and teacher quality.  

Picture from My Favorite Quotes Digitized II

Videos for Martin Luther King Day

In the past year, the prevalence and importance of protest has gained traction like no other time in at least 20 years, and perhaps longer.  On this Martin Luther King day, let us remember the importance of King, not only as a Civil Rights leader, but as a protestor against injustice of all types.  As important as the message of racial equality, he also stood up against economic inequality and unjust wars. 

A Video for Sunday

 Photo from The Urban Daily

Recently, I have been listening to the late Manning Marable's biography of Malcolm X on audiobook, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention.  So far, it is a fascinating book, and I am learning a lot about Malcolm that I never knew (and some things I am sure he didn't want people to know).  As I listen to it, I keep thinking back to Spike Lee's classic film, Malcolm X based partially upon Malcolm's famous autobiography. 

 Photo from Rotten Tomatoes

It is a film that is about as good as any biopic I have ever seen.  It is also a film that, as a white person, helps me understand the significance of what Malcolm truly meant to African-Americans, despite the racially-charged language he used in his time as a member of the Nation of Islam.  I feel a good clip for a Sunday is the scene where Malcolm (played masterfully by Denzel Washington) is still in prison (after recently converting to Islam), and he challenges the prison chaplain on the race of Jesus.

Unfortunately, I cannot embed the clip to my blog.  But you can view it here.

What Teachers Make

I just watched this video and felt the immediate urge to post it.  It inspires me and reminds me of some of the reasons why I originally became a teacher.  And as much as I enjoy my job as a para, I cannot wait to have my own classroom and be called a "teacher" again.

First Day Back/Highlight of the Day

Today was the first day back at work after winter break.  I was greatly concerned, and quite convinced, that the autistic student I have been working with would have a really bad day transitioning with his behavior after two weeks away from school.  I would have considered today a success if we made it without him getting physical with staff, as opposed cussing me out, which is what he normally does.  Instead, he surprised me by having an absolutely fantastic day.  He went to all his classes, he completed all of his assignments, and he never so much as said a single bad word or inappropriate comment.  When he is having a good day like that, he is as pleasant a student any teacher could ask for.  I know that at some point, he will start acting out again, and have to leave the classroom.  I just hope that when it does, it is not on a regular basis like it was last semester.  Let's hope we can build upon the progress made from last semester.

On a separate note, I would like to share a funny story from today.  I was helping out in a Social Studies class, and they were talking about the Iowa Caucus.  One of the other paras in the room was talking about remembering when the state of Iowa decided to change their caucus to January so they could be one of the earliest states in the country to help decide the nominations.  A student in the classroom with Asperger's raised his hand and gave the following comment "So, what you are telling me is that Iowa is a very self-obsessed state."

I was apparently the only other person in the room who thought it was funny, because I was the only one to laugh.

A Video for the New Year

This one is primarily inspired by Cee Lo's butchering of John Lennon's classic "Imagine" on New Years Eve.  I think Cee Lo is a musical genius, and I love his songs otherwise, but I was very disappointed in his decision.  As someone on Twitter recently wrote:

The whole point of that lyric is that religion causes harm. If "all relgion's true" it would be a pretty bleak place.

In addition to that, this is one of the greatest songs ever written, and it's message (while perhaps overly optimistic to someone with a more realist view of the world) is something that we as the human race should always be trying to strive for.  May Lennon's words live on in the hearts of good people everywhere, and may you have a wonderful 2012.