Law Presentations

The last two class periods of law presentations turned out to be more interesting and informative than expected. Each group did a great job. Law issues and court cases can be dull and boring. Lawyer talk and the writing by lawyers often make issues less clear. It sometimes does take a lawyer to explain complicated issues. In this case, the law presentations did make the laws and the concepts behind the laws more clear. The different areas of law that a teacher must be aware and follow were in number more than most people realize. The list of law topics did cover a wide range of catagories. The list did cover many problems that society has struggled with inside and outside of the classroom. It was interesting that on a particular issue that states sometimes have different laws. Communities within a state can have different standards. The issue of Unions had ninteen states requiring teacher participation in Unions and collective bargaining and sixteen states that prohibited collective bargaining. The Union staes did pay their teachers more. It would be interesting to find which states did a better job with student achievement. Union or Non-Union?

Consequentialist Versus Nonconsequentialist

Emilie Barnes wrote, "Yesterday is gone and tomorrow hasn't come. All we have is today." Then she wrote that she is always looking forward to tomorrow and that she was still learning to live for today. Since she has survived serious cancer treatments, her words are especially meaningful.
After class last week, I received a check in the mail for a construction job that I already had been paid. I did think of consequences. "The money would look good in my bank account." I did think of principles and fairness. "It wasn't fair to pay double." Principles are important.