Showing posts with label Boston Tea Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boston Tea Party. Show all posts

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Coffee, slide rules, and educated children



What matters?

If a child had true control over her education, and she truly understood what matters, would she sit in my class?

Ah, yes, interesting question, but it is our job as
the wise teachers to help her understand what matters....


Do we? Would you risk your livelihood by doing what's in the best interest of our children?

Of course, we're professionals, we are advocates,
can you not hear our self-righteous chest-beating?


Do you proctor state tests you noisily condemn in the faculty lounge?

Ah, well, yes, I see your point, but that's really out of our hands.

What would a well-educated, thinking young adult look like in my classroom?
Would I recognize her?

Ah, yes, the problem child, the one in black
reading Dante's Inferno, not even pretending to hide the book.

I once told a bright, fascinating student reading an interesting book that she needed to learn to be more discrete in the classroom.

Are we creating the kinds of adults we need to create?





Kids start drinking coffee in high school.
We don't use slide rules anymore, we use far more powerful tools.
What are we doing?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Jerry Mander would be proud

In 29 fell swoops, Westley Strellis advanced education in Atlanta today.


He took out 29 televisions at an Atlanta Walmart using an Easton baseball bat he borrowed from the sporting goods section.

Eight days before the Braves open training camp in the Grapefruit League, Mr. Strellis struck a blow for small businesses, for education, and, by golly, for baseball.


The "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television" ought to be mandatory reading for anyone contemplating teaching. The Case Against the Global Economy: And for a Turn Toward the Local ought to be mandatory reading for anyone interested in maintaining our republic. Both were written by Jerry Mander, once a Madison Avenue guy, and a hero of mine.

I know, I know, I shouldn't encourage this kind of nonsense. And maybe those Boston dudes should not have tossed the tea overboard.









The police report was lifted from The Smoking Gun