October 27th, 2009
In part 1, we hypothesized that both parents’ and teachers’ effectiveness has been undermined by significant and long-term efforts to disempower both groups. We stated that this disempowerment did not diminish the responsibilities heaped upon teachers and parents nor ameliorate subsequent blame. In fact, blame directed at teachers and parents has increased. We further hypothesized [...]
Tags: intelligentsia, Noam Chomsky, praise, reading, school culture, work ethic
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October 14th, 2009
I just retired – as of this school year – from approximately 31 years of teaching. I haven’t retired from 25+ years of parenting. Being a parent and a teacher causes a strange kind of schizophrenia including multiple personality (dis)order (for those of you who are running or 35 watts, this is hyperbole). Think like [...]
Tags: learning theories, teacher, teaching
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October 13th, 2009
There’s a great concern today that the modern evangelical church has, at best, marginalized Jesus Christ in the church or, at worst, kicked him out completely. Below are some “Top 10” (or more) lists on the topic These are not necessarily in order of importance. Your pastor wears Hawaiian shirts, jeans, and no shoes. (see [...]
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian, Christless, evangelical church, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, worship
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October 10th, 2009
(This one has to be in the first person, folks.) My first reaction was “huh” followed quickly by “oh brother” and “for what?” …. But I think we have all gotten used to the “moral intelligentsia” superimposing greatness on their chosen ones. President Obama was inaugurated on January 20. The nominations for the Nobel Peace [...]
Tags: intelligentsia, Mikhail Gorbachev, muslim world, nobel peace prize, Obama, President Obama
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October 9th, 2009
In part 1, we argued that Banned Book Week was fundamentally misleading. We defined “banned” and questioned whether banning was actually a real problem in the United States. We questioned the lumping of “banned” with “challenged” books as a challenge was not fundamentally in itself a problem. We stipulated that “banning” in America, if it [...]
Tags: offensive language, teacher, United States
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October 8th, 2009
Last week was Banned Book Week. This celebration, sponsored by a consortium of organizations including American Library Association, wants people to realize that others challenge the availability of books. The specter of “banning” and “censorship” causes a certain emotional reaction – bringing up pictures of wild-eyed mobs with torches or the “Fire Department” of Fahrenheit [...]
Tags: censorship, fahrenheit 451, United States
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October 1st, 2009
It wasn’t surprising to see the religious not too thrilled with yesterday’s International Blasphemy Day. Yet it was notable that the founder of the Center For Inquiry, Paul Kurtz lambasted the organization regarding activities of Blasphemy Day. An excerpt follows (emphasis added): The celebrating of “Blasphemy Day” by the Center for Inquiry by sponsoring a contest encouraging [...]
Tags: blasphemy, Blasphemy Day, Christian, hate speech, secular humanist
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