What I Am Reading...

I just came back from a book signing by former President Jimmy Carter in St. Louis, so I am starting his new book "We Can Have Peace In The Middle East" tonight. It looks like a very good read.

What I Am Reading...The Last Campaign

During the Obama campaign many references were made to the 1968 campaign of Robert F. Kennedy. Obama appealed to people of all races, creeds, economic, and educational backgrounds. Kennedy's campaign was a little different. Kennedy appealed to the lower class, African Americans, Chicanos, and Native Americans. His relationship with the privileged class was anything but stellar. The common thread that both campaigns had was that they both offered hope to a period where hope seemed a far away dream. Kennedy got in late to the election after he realized that none of the candidates for the Democratic nomination offered the hope he felt America needed. His problem was finding his footing or his core group of supporters. The pro-Vietnam group supported the candidacy of LBJ and when he chose not to run, they immediately rallied behind current Vice President Hubert Humphrey. The university students and anti-war activists were behind Eugene McCarthy, and most southern Democrats were supporting George Wallace. This left the late arriving Kennedy to carve out his own niche. Kennedy was unique in is method of campaigning. He chose to go to areas where candidates didn't normally go, the inner city ghettos, the Indian reservations, etc. He chose to campaign in methods that most politicians had deemed antiquated.

Kennedy was the hope that America needed at the time. One has to wonder what would have happened had he made it to Chicago in 1968. Would the 68 Democratic Convention have been the stain on the party that it became? What kind of atmosphere would another Nixon-Kennedy campaign have created? Imagine how Nixon would have felt coming so close to the presidency only to run against another Kennedy?

The Last Campaign is a very appropriate title in that it was the last campaign conducted of its type and probably the last campaign that captured the imagination of individuals that had previously been locked out or disinterested in a presidential campaign. One can only hope that the recent campaign has recaptured the imagination of the American electorate.

Why do we do the things we do?

I just got back from spending three days snowed in at a technology conference in St. Louis. It was an excellent conference. The two keynote presenters were fantastic. The first keynote was Will Richardson, who I have followed through his web-logged blog and also read his book. The second day's keynote was Meg Ormiston. What an awesome person! I don't see how anyone could come away with this conference not being challenged as a teacher but more importantly accepting the challenge as a teacher. Will's challenge of building a network of people to learn from and allowing our children and the students we teach to experience building their own networks forces us to let go of the reins as teachers and let the children learn in the way that they learn best. He focused on the idea that the "answer" isn't as important necessarily as the process we use to get the answer.
Meg just blew me away. I left there questioning why I do the things I do when I teach. Why do I teach what I teach? Why do I teach it in the manner I teach? Why don't I do more? When I was driving home I was asking myself all of these questions? The more I thought about it I realized that there was not justifiable answer for any of these questions. That often times I am critical of others for doing the same old same old simply because that is the way it has always been done. What a poor excuse? I really want to go into my classroom and just start throwing things away. Sounds kind of hasty! Maybe I had better do it quick before I change my mind! I really hope that I can break the predictabliliy I have fallen into with my teaching and work to engage my students in a more effective manner. It won't happen overnight but Will and Meg gave me a place to start.

My Thoughts on Inauguration Day

I sat in my classroom yesterday looking at an event that I never really dreamed as being possible as a little kid. I remember studying MLK Jr. as a kid and I remember listening to my grandfather lose his cool when African Americans were referred to in a derogatory term. I remember going to school in the fourth grade and learning that an African American family had moved to our small central Illinois town and how they only lived there for three weeks. I remember family friends referring to King in negative terms. I remember standing idly by as people told jokes about African Americans, maybe even laughing just to fit in. But as I watched yesterday and followed this election from start to finish I realized that what President Obama had been preaching his entire campaign, "CHANGE", had actually occurred in me. I think that over this past two years I have grown more tolerant of our differences and less tolerant of ignorance. I have grown more aware of other people's situations and maybe less aware of my own.

Being in Springfield the day that this journey kicked off will be something I will always remember. Meeting then Senator Obama and his wife Michelle on two different occasions will be something I always remember. Watching the first African American President of the United States being sworn in with all of those individuals who fought so hard for equality during the 1960s will be something I always remember. Listening to the ignorance of people and their remarks based on nothing other than ignorance will be something I hope to forget.

I can only hope that my own children remember it for what it really was. The day some of America grew up.

A Good Day

What I Am Reading.. John Lennon

I recently completed reading the recently released biography of John Lennon by Philip Norman. I have always been a Beatles fan but especially a Lennon fan. Probably because he was the most political. I got turned on to the Beatles by my 6th grade music teacher, Joe Foss. I still remember many of the things that he told us. What the original name of the Beatles was? How Stu Stucliffe died? He told us about how Ringo wasn't the original drummer, the rumor that Paul McCartney had died, and what brought about an end to the Beatles. This was my first investigation into the various details.

I decided to tackle this immense task knowing that the writer had the approval of Lennon's widow Yoko Ono to write the book. What struck me immediately was the amount of disfunction that existed in Lennon's childhood. A father who left, a mother who died, and numerous up tight aunts who raised him, all impacted his development.

He was by no means a good student although he was blessed with an abundance of talent both musically and artistically and equipped with what we would refer to as a sick sense of humor. He also had problems committing to any long lasting relationship other than with his Aunt Mimi. His relationship with his first wife Cynthia and his relationship with his first son, Julian, were seemingly loveless at times.

The book goes into adequate detail regarding the rise and fall of the Beatles which was what I was really interested in. (Yoko shouldn't get the entire blame for their demise!) It was quite evident that by the late 1960s Lennon was looking for a way out as were the other Beatles. Only Paul seemed to have the motivation to keep the band going.

John and Yoko's relationship was that of soulmates but it was not without its own issues. John's relationship with Yoko was marred by experiementing in the drug culture and a seemingly open marriage. (Lennon was also heavily involved in a variety of drugs during the Beatle days.) Lennon would right many introspective songs during this time period and tackle many political issues of the day much to the dismay of President Nixon and others in Washington. He and Yoko would also welcome their only son Sean into the world as well. Towards the end of his life, John seemed to withdraw from the music scene, and become comfortable being a husband and a dad to Sean and attempting to rebuild a relationship with Julian. The last segment of the book is a touching interview with John's son, Sean.

Throughout the book, Philip Norman draws references to occasions when John himself commented on his fear of dying at a young age or at the hand of an assassin. He was very much afraid of guns. What is said is that in the months before he died John Lennon was more at peace than at any other time in his life. He had come to terms with being an ex-Beatle and with being a husband and father. What the future held for this musical genius is left up to our imagination...

This was a great book...probably one of the best biographies I have read in some time.

How True!!!

A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election.
Bill Vaughan

Small Fry

I just finished coaching my two sons in small fry baseball for the season. We had a rather young team with a bunch of new faces. Usually that makes for a long season but this one just flew by. The new kids were such a joy to be around. They understood the game of baseball and just loved playing it. There skills haven't caught up with their intentions yet but that will come. What was really refreshing to me was the parents of these children. They were truly involved with what their child was doing. They were supportive of their child whether they failed or succeeded and even though sometimes they may not be as "in" to playing ball, they made sure that they were there. The parents were also very supportive of the other coach and me during games and always willing to chip in and help. I hope these parents continue to do this with their children because I think this attitude and approach is what is necessary to have successful children and in the long run successful schools. The success of our small fry team was not solely the responsibility of the other coach and I. We merely presented to the boys how to play the game. The parents and coaches working together is what made it successful. School is the same way. It takes all of us working together for our children to be successful.

Habitat for Humanity

I had the opportunity to see the Habitat for Humanity organization in action this past week. My family and I went to Dieterich to see work being done on the Clark Wiebking home. The State Treasurer Alexei Giannoulias was there to help work on the project. I must admit my help was minimal. There were some very hardworking and talented indivduals working on the home. I was completely impressed with the individuals working together to help out one of there own. And watching Clark work on his own home and the pride that he showed in the work was touching. This is an amazing program and all those parties involved in the planning and carrying out of the project should be commended.

Civics and Student Government

As I look forward to next school year I am extremely excited about teaching American Government. I usually am during a semester when there is an election but in 10 years of teaching I don't think any of the elections before have been this historic. The challenge I face, as do teachers in many other subjects, is transfering my enthusiasm and excitement on to my students. Many students do not come from politically active families, some from homes where the parents have never voted. Some do not have access to newspapers or network news. Others may see themselves as victims of a political and government system full of self interest and promises broken and come to the conclusion that their opinion doesn't matter. The argument is justified in many situations. The question is how do we get the youth today to become more involved in civics? How can we get them to realize the impact that they can have on their own future, our future? Textbooks do not put it in the proper context. We have to put them in positions where they can see how government works and see the impact that they can have. In the past three years we have implemented a student member of the district school board. They are nonvoting but they are the voice of the students at board meetings. We have a student council that in the past few years has consulted more and more frequently on matters of dress code and discipline policy, with much success. The issue is that these students that fill these positions are the ones that truly feel that they can make a difference. I believe they are the minority. The majority of the students today feel like they are far removed from contact with government and that government has their own agenda with no accountability towards who they represent. Only during this past year have I believed that this was starting to change, most likely due to the changing of the guard in the American presidency. Education itself actually promotes the lessening of importance of civics. If you examine the statewide and nationwide tests that we have our students take, virtually none of them have any Social Science or Civics questions. Literacy, math, and science take center stage. Four years ago Social Science was dropped from the Illinois PSAE exam. When class size becomes an issue in schools, social sciences tend to be overloaded. It isn't the schools fault, however. National and state boards have not placed the importance on civics that they should. As many of my collegues say, "Social Studies has become the red-headed step child of the four core curricular areas." I recently read a blog entry referring to the impact that civics education is having in developing countries like Afghanistan. (http://www.edutopia.org/node/5585) We don't need to be a developing country for our students to have an impact in civics. Arguments can be made that students need math if they want to become engineers, science if they want to become doctors, English if they want to become writers, but those are things that they become. All of our students are already citizens who have the privilege and duty to participate in our future through civics. Maybe a civics education is more important that people think.

Technology and Campaigning

I just finished reading a blog post by Will Richardson discussing the use of today's technology in the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/preparing-for-participatory-politics/

It is amazing to see how today's candidates have and have not used technology to gain access to voters. It is not just used in the schools where our students are using computers to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic but they are using it in politics as well. Our family does not get the major daily news papers anymore because the webpages of the news sources are so much more accurate and updated more frequently. Many of the political candidates have rss feeds in order to update their supporters more frequently. A person doesn't even have to search for updates on campaigns, they are automatically sent to you. Being active in politics I have observed first hand how successfully candidates use email as well. Candidates are also being held accountable by bloggers who post comments that the major media outlets miss. If these avenues have an impact on a national presidential election still remains to be seen, but if they do, what impact will they have on state and local politics? If our young people or just society in general can become more informed politically, how will politicians react if their statements and actions are circulated via the Internet. Imagine being elected to a political office and being held accountable by an educated, well informed electorate...its something to think about.

Jon and Kate

During the summer my wife and I try to limit the amount of television our kids watch. We always start the summer very idealistic and by mid summer reality sets in and our limited viewing expands a little. Often this happens because we are trying to keep our own sanity. One of the shows that we all watch together is Jon and Kate Plus 8. I have to admit when I first watched it I was a bit sceptical and didn't want any of my NASCAR buddies to know that I watched the show but...I got hooked. First, the kids are hilarious, and second the husband has got to be a saint to deal with Kate's ocd. My wife and I discuss how TLC probably forks over the $$$ in order to do the show and how that probably makes raising 8 kids a little easier but money won't solve all of the problems. What I have noticed is how they value time together as a family, and yet they make time for each child individually. Kate does days out with the girls and Jon does male bonding time with boys. (You have to see the episode where he takes the boys golfing.) On one episode, the parents made a statement that was really important. The both stated that they would not allow the fact that there were 8 children to deprive any of them from what other children experience, whether it be golfing, skiing, or a trip to Disneyworld. As a parent I know I have used the excuse of having three children involved in a variety of activities to deprive one or all of them of something. Jon and Kate are not perfect and they readily adminit that but I believe that those eight children will grow up to be well adjusted adults, becaue their parents give them the most important thing in the world...time. Skeptics would say that because they are on tv that gives them the ability to spend time with their kids. It doesn't take as much time as one may think. How will this valuable time reflect on their education???

Summer Observations

As I sit here teaching summer school, I have had time to reflect on the state of education in this small community and other problems we face in educating our children. As a roamed the Internet I found some interesting statistics. Read A+ Illinois report and Senate Bill 2288
http://www.aplusillinois.org/toolbox/faqs.asp#2
http://www.ieanea.org/SB2288.aspx

If we look at the problems in our society...poverty, unemployment, overextended welfare system, crime, drug use, abortion, the decline of the family, etc. we have to stop and wonder what is the root of the problem and what is an achievable solution. I truly believe that a strong education system is a fundamental foundation on which a solution can be achieved.

To solve the problem we have to educate and motivate teachers, parents, tax payers, and government officials to see that education is a solution to those problems as well. It is embarrassing to see the attention that our state legislators pay towards education, continually creating more hoops for educators to jump through (hoops that cost more financially) yet they continue to cut funding. If funding becomes an issue then they propose gambling boats to finance education or selling off the lottery to do the same. (This is the same lottery that decades ago was supposed to be an unlimited source of income for education...that worked well!!!) Look at it this way, if we assume that a good education is the healthy future of our nation, why are we so willing to gamble with it?

Look at those problems again...

• Poverty - In many cases those people are poor because the school system did not serve them properly or they did not take the importance of education seriously.
• Unemployment - Did the schools prepare them properly for the workforce? Did parents and teachers instill the proper work ethic at school? Did the schools hold them to high achievement standards?
• Crime - Crime rates continue to rise. Many of these crimes are committed simply because people do not have a quality education to meet their own basic needs. A better education system would be one step in the direction of lessening crime.
• Drug use - Selling illegal drugs is in some cases how people make money to make ends meet. There are also consumers willing to make the purchase in hopes that this will help them cope with their day to day problems.
• The Decline of the Family - Higher paying jobs tend to allow parents to spend more time at home with their children. In order to compete for those high paying jobs, individuals must have better educations. In lower income households many teenagers must work long hours to help the family make ends meet, giving them less time to spend on their education.
• Abortion - How many choose abortions simply based on economic reasons? Young people who can't afford to take care of a child, or if they agree to adoption, young people who can't afford the health care necessary for a healthy pregnancy???

If we encourage education, we allow people to compete for better jobs. Better jobs increases income, increased income increases property values, increased property values increases property tax, increased property tax increases revenue for schools.

Educators, parents, community members and government officials need to remember what Aristotle said...

All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that
the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.

Obama and Father's Day

In the previous post I wrote of Tim Russert's bluecollar background and his goal of making politicians accountable to the people who elected them. This concept goes much farther than the political realm. As teachers, we should want to be held accountable for the job we do. Without accountability it is easy to become lazy, cut corners and become apathetic. As a result, our students suffer from our lack of effort. Students also perceive teachers as role models. If I come to school tired everyday or do my best to cut corners, the students will adopt that same philosophy. By the same token, if the child is not held accountable for his actions at home, he or she will not be willing to be held accountable at school or in the workforce. Parents also should be accountable unto themselves, because they also serve as role models for their children. Raising and educating children today is no easy task. Adults face more challenges rearing children than ever before. Higher education becomes more expensive. Gas prices rise daily as do the price of groceries. More parents are taking second jobs simply to make ends meet. That delicate balance to provide for a child's physical needs and emotional needs becomes more strenuous. To have a successful child we have to successful parents, successful teachers, and even successful elected officials. That can only come from each of us being accountable for our actions and continuing to strive to improve. I am by no means a Hillary supporter, but she did hit on something in her book "It Takes A VIllage". If we are to have a strong and successful America in the future, it will take all of us to raise children with strong morals, principles and work ethic. If you examine Senator Obama's speech on Father's Day, he present that "call to arms" for dads everywhere, of all races. His vision is nothing new...he merely has the avenue in which to express it.

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/06/obama_on_fathers_day.html

Tim Russert

This past week American politics lost a true friend and mentor...Tim Russert. I have always been intrigued by politics but at the same time somewhat intimidated by politics at the national level. Tim had the ability to put politics and government on a level that a "layperson" could understand. As Americans, we have become intimidated by politics and government. We have allowed our input in national government to slowly disappear due to low voter turnout and apathy. As a result Washington D.C. and even some of our state legislatures have become the playground for the rich or more fortunate. Tim Russert did his best to use his working class roots to restore our faith in government and to encourage us to become involved. Tim held himself accountable on Meet the Press every Sunday morning and he held other politicians and public servants accountable through his questioning/interrogation. If all of us would follow his example of faith in God, and the ability of man, and if we would hold ourselves and others accountable, how much stronger would America be?