Blog Entry #3

I believe that multi-cultural behavior is foreign to almost everyone.  It is natural to want to be within a community that shares you interests, and there's nothing wrong with that.  Multi-cultural behavior, therefore, has to be learned, and censoring material in public schools has to stop if that's going to happen.

What do we want children to learn about history?  If America is going to be the debatably multi-cultural society that was set forth in the Constitution, then doesn't all history have to be set forth, as ugly as it is?  I don't believe that children should be kept in ignorance of the truth of history, but I also am skeptical about who thinks they're qualified to dole out that truth. 

I was listening to an episode of "This American Life" today on my commute, and the story was about a couple that had established contact with three Iraqi brothers at the start of the Iraqi/American war.  This contact lasted for more than 7 years, and continues today, and the issue that kept coming up on the side of the Iraqi brothers was why are you lying to us about our own country?  There were discrepancies in what the American couple heard on the news and would tell these young men about their history-in-the-making, and they couldn't understand why the things these Americans were telling them might happen weren't happening.  They were heart-broken that the trust they built up with people from another culture continued to be torn down.

The point is that this well-meaning couple didn't know that their news was flawed or what effect it was having on the minds of these brothers.  I think this happens in the States in public schools, as well.  Children are indoctrinated to believe one thing, only to find out when they're old enough to sort things out that it isn't true.  I have a student from India at the moment, and the only way I could make her understand pre-Revolution America was by comparing it to what happened in the Kashmir Valley.  You'd better believe she understood that, and had lots to say on the behalf of the plight of Pocahontas afterward.  

One teacher in Norway explained to her students that America was no longer a melting pot, but a salad bowl, in which all people had to be tossed....lettuce, tomato, and cucumber all had to be in there with croutons and dressing, and they're all different, but can taste delicious together!  What a metaphor!  

Sorry you all couldn't see the cartoon in my last blog!  Will try to find a link to it to post on email, because it really is funny and enlightening!  

Cheers!

Blog Entry #2

For me, both these issues are non-issues. 


A moment of silence isn't anymore than that, and do with it what you want.  If nothing else, it gets those kids a moment to rest their voice boxes.  If they got rid of it, would people still find time to pray? Of course! 


The Pledge of Allegiance is outdated, and if it could be re-written to accommodate the diversity in America, it might be a whole lot more to memorize!  I don't make my ELL kids say it, as some of them aren't even citizens, but I do make them stand up at the very least, so they don't forget to do it elsewhere.


America is the most law-suit crazy country I have ever seen.....people will sue anybody for anything here, and my feeling is that it is usually for a quick bump in income or a serious desire for the 15 minutes of fame.  


It's funny that in a country where there IS separation of church and state, no one "can keep their hands to themselves."  Maybe part of the problem is that there are too many religions whose doctrine requires that they witness and convert.  Perhaps if there was a law that addressed interfering with another's religion/lack thereof that would do the trick.  Probably not though.


Below is a cartoon that sums up my thoughts on this issue better than anything I could say about it.

Blog Entry #1

The information about the makers of education is particularly interesting.  I think many people often forget what a non-subtle influenced industrialists and capitalists have on the society in which we live.  Children are raised to be consumers in America, and when I moved back here to teach, it was noticeable how different their relationship with "stuff" was compared to children in Norway or Costa Rica.  Children everywhere love electronic gadgets and video games, but American children are colored with a shade of obsession.  While working in Metro Nashville schools, it was an everyday occurrence for phones, game boys, PS2's, and iPods to be stolen, and what was ironic, is that it seemed that everybody had at least one or two gadgets, but they would still be lifted on a regular basis.

After reading through the material on innovators and makers, I have decided to write about Linda Brown and J.P. Morgan

I like that Linda Brown's family had the courage to enroll their daughter, knowing what kind of reception they were going to receive at the school.  I wonder if as she grew up she realized how instrumental she was in desegregation, and what feelings, if any, she had about the incident.

The financial crisis in America  now can probably be traced straight back to J.P. Morgan.  I think this man loved growth for the sake of growth and stepping on necks to get it.  Although I don't have much respect for men like this, they remind us that it's not hard to make a lot of money if that's all you want in life.  The scary thing that follows is that these people always have a heavy hand in how the country is run.  This is reflected in education as the obsession there is with test scores and results.

Jenny McGhee

My name is Jenny McGhee.  I'm a K-12 ELL teacher in Maury Co.