What extreme would you go to, if you believed it was for the "greater good"?

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Today is the 15 year Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombings by Timothy McVeigh that marked the deadliest domestic terror attack of U.S. soil. Is homegrown radicalism on the rise again?

This video is a chilling interview that was aired on The Today Show this morning and it answers many questions for me, as to why McVeigh committed such crimes and what his rational was...he is quoted in stating "As I analyzed the history of not just the U.S. but all nations throughout the history of mankind, people have killed for what they believed was the greater good..." McVeigh went on to say that "killing is accepted," and how do we teach our children what is right and wrong when on the news there are reports every day of what is happening overseas with our U.S. military. As a graduate of a Military University I understand first hand how it feels to see my friends put their lives on the line for our country, some of whom have given their lives for the freedom of Americans. How do we teach our children what is right, when killing is wrong? Especially when some of these children might have parents in the military serving overseas to protect and defend the U.S.?

My last question to all of you reading is, how do we as future teachers provide the foundation for our students to be individual thinkers, to question authority (to an extent), and to provide the foundation of ethical decision they will make in the future? I would love to find articles and interviews from McVeigh's elementary teachers describing him as a child. At what point in his life did his teacher or family fail to provide him the right love, care, attention and support to have him believe this was for the greater good of mankind? 168 people including 19 children were killed by a fellow American in our own backyard.

I understand this doesn't go along with Dewey and what we are learning currently but I do believe this is something that is affecting our lives today, and fear and distrust of the government is something that can affect anyone. The anchor stated that McVeigh "did not see himself as a lone wolf. He saw himself as a movement...A guns-rights based, anti-government, so-called patriot movement." It is important to realize that not everyone believes that what our government does and stands for is always "good" and how do we as teachers remain neutral to such ideas?

Just something to think about today, and take a moment to remember those who were killed in Oklahoma back on April 19th, 1995.

Here is a link to the Today Show website with the video if your flashplayer does not work (like mine!)
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/36640839#36640839

Maxine Greene Interview

The Death and Life of the Great American School System & Teacher Ed. Article

The Death and Life of the Great American School System was a book title that caught my attention the other night while watching a PBS interview. It was interesting to hear, especially in light of our many discussions regarding testing and accountability measures. For those of you interested, here’s more about the text and the video of the conversation:

http://www.dianeravitch.com/news.html
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/201004/20100413.html
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/201004/20100413_ravitch.html?vid=1467888185#video

As we also discussed the nature of teacher education, I still reflect back on my own teaching experiences. Yes, we need standards, but I was amazed to see the number of students in English 102, American Literature, and even Business Writing classes who could not formulate their ideas on paper. Seeing it firsthand, I recognize there is a need for reform, radical or otherwise, in our current system. As educators, I think we need to truly reflect on our assessment practices and encourage thorough and thoughtful feedback that requires our students to write, reflect, and synthesize, not just check a multiple choice answer – even little ones can do this, if we give them the tools to be thoughtful, reflective thinkers and writers.

Monday night’s PBS documentary The Hobart Shakespeareans touched me as a former English teacher who has taught those works. Part of my decision to change careers was the apathy I saw and heard each semester… “We have to read Huck Finn, As I Lay Dying, Thoreau…why!? – Well, at least it’s better than taking British Literature!” Over the course of the semester, I hope I changed some narrow mind sets and helped them realize that indeed literature and reading and discussing literary works does matter – words matter. I like to think it makes it you a better human being who can relate to others who are often different than you.

I truly believe in public education and I also believe that when students are young, they are the most impressionable. As a teacher, I want to be the one who helps that child see things differently, and understand and appreciate the joy of learning. Seeing a teacher such as Esquith reach a diverse group of 4th graders with such sophisticated and challenging works illustrates that when we are creative in our teaching, wonderful things occur! The scene when the child is so moved by Huck’s choice speaks volumes. We as teachers have to think outside the traditional box of standards and use innovative ways to reach our students. I firmly believe that reading and examining challenging and thoughtful materials is the key. As a society we want to simplify, but life is full of choices and nuances. These kids get that. I can only hope I can maintain a level of passion such as Esquith and reach my students in innovative ways while continually learning myself and reflecting on the best ways to reach a variety of learners.

Teacher Ed article from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html

One-size-fits-all reform isn't working

Me again! In light of our conversations on radical school reform, here's an interesting column:

Education reforms get a failing grade
Neither conservatives nor liberals have a cure for bad schools
Steve Chapman
April 15, 2010

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-oped-0415-chapman-20100415,0,2567437,full.column

What we're bringing to Dr. Pope's house

I thought I'd get the food sign-up list started!

Public officials, private schooling

To follow up on our conversation of public officials who choose to send their kids to private school, Here is a link to SC Senator Mick Mulvaney's stance on public education: http://www.mickmulvaney.com/site/pdf/Education_Issues.pdf.

Yes, he sends his triplets to Catholic school, but I think what we should be looking at when we go to the polls should be his voting record on education and where he stands on the issues. He's up against long-time incumbent John Spratt to represent the 5th district in the US Congress.

I must state my bias here-- my first job out of college was working on Ralph Norman's campaign for Congress in '06 to unseat John Spratt (we lost!) But regardless of your political views, I think it's important that we as citizens and future educators pay attention to the way politicians vote on education issues. These people are making decisions that impact our jobs, our children, and ultimately our society.

Are creative teachers the same as teaching creatively?

This was an interesting video I found, that discusses the importance of learning styles, creative teachers and ethics in education. Dr. Gururaj Karajagi, is the Director at the International Academy for Creative Teaching in Bengaluru, the capital city of the Indian state of Karnataka. The Academy for Creative Teaching is a unique training institute that deals with all aspects of teacher training and management. Dr. Karajagi is a scientist that follows philosophical paths in his goals to train teachers. I thought it was interesting to see how someone from another culture viewed ethics of teaching, and the importance of creativity. Dr. Karajagi believes you are first and formost a learner, then a teacher. He works hard to incorporate Western thought with Eastern philosophy.