With the very volatile situation that now exists between the United States and Iran, it’s necessary that we all have some mastery over certain words. Here’s a basic list that will help you understand the things that may become realities for us:
Category Archives: Education
Notes on higher education
I was talking with a couple of younger people who have both been employed in the field of higher education and can speak with some authority. I was surprised when both spoke about how traditional colleges and universities were losing students by the droves.
We went over some of the possible reasons and I think we agreed that there were multiple reasons. There was some agreement that part of it may have to do with the populist’s idea that colleges are elite liberal institutions and are part of some deep state plot to suppress the common man. While that is basically nonsense it is mostly true that people with college educations do tend to become a part of the elite establishment. After all, aren’t degrees supposed to result in better paying and important jobs? Isn’t that what we parents hope to see our children accomplish when they leave the nest for academia? Another reality about higher education is that exposure to a variety of ideas (otherwise known as education) should make more likely to challenge the status quo. Maybe that’s what populist confuse with liberalism.
Run Dave, Run!
My long-time friend and once teaching colleague, Dave Shoemaker, is running for an open seat on the Paint Valley School Board. There are lots of qualifiers for such a position and Dave meets and surpasses most, if not all, of them. I don’t live in his district but if I did he’d certainly have every one of my votes.
Why is Dave running? Well CLICK HERE and read what he has to say about it.
If you live in the PV district I strongly urge you register to vote and that you cast that vote for Dave Shoemaker!
Talking Black in America
Over the weekend my wife and I watched a PBS special titled, Talking Black in America. It dealt with the untold number of African American dialects spoken in America and how it all came to be. I was especially impressed with how important language is in black history and culture and how versatile many are in switching back and forth between standard-English and African American English.
It reminded me of a time I was in a fast food line near the Mexican border and how the clerk had was so adept at switching between English and Spanish. My brain has never been that flexible.
Jump Jim Crow; A Lesson in History
In my lifetime been a witness to much of the efforts to weaken or eliminate segregation in America. Unfortunately, I’m now witness to the reemergence of those forces that contributed to American segregation in the first place. I came across this short video covering the highlights of post Civil War race relations and I think we all might benefit from a refresher course.
The Hardened School House
I attended Greenfield schools from 1st grade trough graduation. After 10 years away I returned as a member of the teaching staff in 1970, retiring in 1996. Except for 1 year teaching at a California high school, Greenfield is all I ever knew.
Greenfield schools, by design, are very open. There are many buildings and lots of exterior doors. In my 38 years of being on that campus as either a student or a teacher I can only recall two instances of a potential violent threat. I remember a student in the elementary grades building a bomb and placing it under a teacher’s desk. I don’t remember if the bomb was real or how knowledge of it was learned.
The second occasion took place immediately outside my classroom door when a student shot himself in the torso. At no time were other students in danger. The firearm was immediately sequestered and the student attended to.
Reading
NOT SO OLD PROVERB: “You can drive people to the library but you can’t make them read. ” Chop
Teachers With Guns? WTF!
I just read an article in the Lexington Herald Leader about Pike County, KY’s school board authorizing qualified teachers with concealed carry permits. As a retired teacher I am very opposed to teachers taking on the added responsibility of armed guards. There are many things that I find abhorrent about this but nothing bothers me as much as the level of training, skill, and fitness needed for the task.
We’ve all seen enough TV news about our infantry troops training for urban warfare. These professionals spend months and years honing the tactical skills needed. They are also required to maintain the highest level of physical fitness. They have to be strong, agile, and fast of foot. They also have to make instant life and death decisions. These are things not often found in America’s army of mild-mannered schoolmarms. Before teaching I worked jobs that demanded physical strength and endurance. Once I entered the classroom, however, I spent the next thirty years lifting sticks of chalk and passing out textbooks.
Think about the teachers you had in school and then go to YouTube and look at some videos about police and military tactical firearms training. Looking back over my career I can’t think of a single teacher, including myself, who should have been permitted to carry a weapon in the classroom.
A Thought For Betsy DeVos & Friends
One of the most controversial of Trump’s nominees was his appointment of ultra conservative, anti-public education, billionaire supporter of all things right-wing, Betsy DeVos. DeVos got through the confirmation process in spite of massive criticism from the public, teachers, teacher unions, and this old retired history teacher.
In one of her first actions she attempted to visit a public school in DC and was turned away by a crowd of protesters. She must have eventually sneaked in the back door because she reported having met with some of the teachers. The following is from her subsequent news release. 
Video Tour of McClain High School
The included video was shot by students of the Radio and TV class at McClain High School in Greenfield, Ohio. McClain is where I graduated from and where I taught American History and Government for twenty-six years.
It was built for and gifted to the people of Greenfield by early twentieth century industrialist, Edward Lee McClain and literally is a one of a kind public school. In the late 1990s, when older public schools were being demolished and replaced with new modern facilities, the state of Ohio exempted McClain because of its historical importance.
Public Schools
SCREW EDUC: Donald Trump never attended public schools, his children didn’t, and he just made DeVos Sec. of Educ. So much for everyday kids.
Vote for Sale, Vote for Sale, Get your Vote Here!
The US Senate just made history for all the wrong reasons. For the first time ever the Vice President had to cast the deciding vote in a confirmation hearing. In this case Mike Pence broke the tie to award Betsy DeVos the position of Secretary of Education. A woman who has never attended a public school, whose children have never attended a public school, has no professional experience in education, and is highly opposed to public education. She and her family have donated over $200 million to Republican causes and guaranteed her success by heavily supporting the candidacy of a number of Republican US Senators. If any on the list below, or others, had broken ranks she would not have been confirmed. As an Ohioan I notice that our Senator Portman sold his vote for $51,000. Well, at least his vote cost more than Inhofe of Oklahoma.
Remembering Pearl Harbor and James Louis Wise
Originally published on December 7, 2011. Republished here in honor of the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
70 years ago today a young man from Greenfield, OH survived and suffered from a tragedy that would forever mark his life and end the lives of so many of his friends ans shipmates. James Louis Wise, Seaman First Class, of Greenfield, was serving aboard the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii when the air forces of the Japanese Empire began their early Sunday morning bomb runs on the just arising soldiers and sailors of America’s military establishment in the Pacific. It would mark the beginning of America’s entry into the Second World War and a personal war Wise would deal with the rest of his life.
No one of my generation doesn’t know the significance of December 7, 1941. I hope such is true of today’s generation. Have a discussion with your kids today.
The Trail Forward
I’ve written lots of words, and read even more, about the ongoing Trail of Tears controversy. I’m going to try to make this the last blog I write on the subject and the topic is how to move it forward, how to help make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Based on what I’ve read in the local newspapers the school’s path forward is to take a couple of class periods and teach the story of the forceful removal of Indians during the early 1800s. This was ordered by president Andrew Jackson, in defiance of a Supreme Court order, and resulted in the tragic deaths of thousands of Eastern Native-Americans.
Additionally the cheerleaders involved met with Hillsboro’s cheerleaders where an apology was offered.
Update; Social Studies @ McClain
Since it’s been a long time since I knew for sure what was being taught by McClain’s Social Studies Department so I made some enquiries. To my pleasure I discovered that both US History (10th grade) and US Government (11th grade) are still being taught on a two-semester basis. World History is also being taught at the 9th grade level for two-semesters. Two electives, Psychology and Ancient History, are offered for a full year during the 11th and 12th years.