August 14, 2014
In my classroom, in the school I will work for, I see elections for everything, everywhere, all of the time. Elections for major decisions for school-wide decisions. Elections for in-class rules; for making decisions on how to study, and learn the required curriculum. We would need a central website that would regulate and make sure all students only get their one vote, and to insure there's no corruption, we also need a paper trail. Microsoft offers “Mouse Mischief”, which is software, and equipment to allow for quick surveys, and also, up to 525 can answer the surveys at the same time, while being able to do other things, such as simultaneously drawing on the overhead projected video image on the whiteboard (Mouse Mischief). Since we need capable citizens operating as responsible stewards of democratic institutions millions have died for, it's best we use democratic elements in our educational structures, even if only for our ends, so there's some type of committee formation, and caucusing, and petitions, and other social, political, and legal wranglings, organizations, and fighting tactics that only peoples in democratic society knows how to do, is learned by our youth. I'm an idealist, so I want to see the whole thing operating as a consensus-based pure democracy. Short of finding a job at Summerhill, or Sudbury Schools, I'll have to enforce democratic structures in my own classroom, my fiefdom, so that they'll learn what the State and Common Core tells them to learn.
Some teachers I have worked around have been at “teaching” their dictatorial ways for such a long time, they've long interest in the job, and over time, gradually, teaching just became a job to them. It's usually the older teachers, the older grouchier teachers, who should have quit, and done something else with their lives, a long time ago. While I know there will be struggles, I am prepared to go the extra mile in order to make sure my students learn, and are prepared for the world, when they graduate school. There's many movies which inspire me, so if I ever get down about the teaching profession, I can just turn to these movies, which inspire me to be the greatest teacher I can be. The movies are: Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, High School High, Lean on Me, Edward James Olmos's Stand and Deliver, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, The Miracle Worker, Election, Conrack, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Sidney Poiter's To Sir, With Love.
That is one way technology can help in our lives. We can be inspired by these hour long Hollywood dramas. But there's so much more. Technology, according to Merriam-Webster.com, is “: the use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems”, and “: a machine, piece of equipment, method, etc., that is created by technology” (Merriam). The first definition is the best one, and it states that Technology is when we use science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems. This takes us back to the caveman days. When the first human being picked up a rock, sharpened it, and found out that pointed arrows could be used to kill large game, and now nomadic tribes could survive throughout the years, was when the first piece of technology was used. When the first human being picked up a tool, any tool, with his opposable thumb, and used it to smash something else, was one of the first technological breakthroughs ever. Some folks claim to disdain technology, to be scared of it, or brag openly about not knowing “all of that stuff”, such as the Luddites, or the Amish, but to be “anti-technology” is to be against whenever scientific knowledge becomes practical, which is … everything. That is literally everything. Fast forward to today, I have a toaster that toasts my bread, a George Forman grill to cook up my hamburger patty, a refrigerator that keeps the cheese, and other condiments in good condition, as well as a clock that wakes me up, and a laptop that taps into the vast cyberworld that is the Internet; the Information Super Highway.
I learn from a 1953 documentary about how democracy is used in the classrooms. “At the heart of our struggle to maintain and strengthen our democratic way of life are the nation's schools. Now as never before American education is challenged to help prepare the new generation for the vital business of acting as free individuals in a free society. (Herrick, 1953). “Teaching students subject matter in democratic situations that develop better citizens is being done more and more in alert school systems. This school happens to be in Michigan. But it could be any other school, anywhere. Any school where parents and teachers are concerned about how and what they learn, to prepare them for citizenship.” (Herrick, 1953)
During the struggle to end segregation in the South, many Freedom Schools popped up, which taught not only the basics—reading, writing, arithmetic—but also civics, and they registered voters to vote, since in many counties in Mississippi, Black folks outnumbered whites by wide margins, but had been too intimidated to enforce their rights, and were allowing a white supremacist minority to control the county. When we embrace democratic values, then we embrace each other as an important person in our community, instead of a competitor of the valuable As and B grades, where few are given out, because of the Bell Curve. In Mrs. Larson's class, the students and their teacher are all one big family. Mrs. Larson's class is “a safe environment where everybody is comfortable sharing their ideas” (Larsen, 2013). While I was gifted in many subjects in schools, including math, I always tried to hide it, because I was embarrassed about it, and ashamed. To be “cool” could mean a million different things, but it definitely didn't include being a teacher's pet. This is a major reason we need to redo how education is delivered. We're alienating those talented tenths, and we aren't being taught to respect intelligence. Instead, those who are considered “smart” are actually usually the most obedient (I would know; I was Valedictorian of my High School), and that's the reason for the stigma. But if we used democratic structures, then friendships and conversations can happen in the classroom, as well as teaching us to respect each other's ideas, talents, and skills. Since it can be demanded that teachers get respect, that same demand can be made of students, in regards to each other. When we see things with democratic lenses, we then see that in a way, we are “family”, at least for an hour a day, five days a week, for several months. There is a culture that is being created. Granted young folks may not be good at operating in democratic settings, but with practice, they'll get better, and I can have some template, some outline, a vague sketch of how a classroom can be both democratic, and effective at learning all of the required state curriculum requirements.
Cell phones can be used in the same way as Mouse Mischief, since there's programs were folks can all text their answers to the computer screen, but since we can't assume all students have cell phones, since they won't, either by parental choice, or poverty, then this means that the students will need to be provided the tools to make democratic learning successful. I haven't used Microsoft Mouse Mischief, but I have watched video tutorials on them, and it's from a reputable source, so I vouch for it, until another software bundled package comes about that competes with it. The voting devices should be separate than student's own cell phones. A student's cell phone is their personal property, and we shouldn't require them to have an expensive smart phone, though it is smart for them to understand the revolutionary potential of smart phones. The Internet is the Gutenburg Printing Press Revolution, and Smart phones make that Revolution even more Revolutionary, by being mobile. The Internet, of course, is way better than the Gutenburg Printing Press, because basically anybody with an Internet connection, and some photos, videos, or just a thought they want to share, they can do so, with little effort.
“One thing the world need, one thing this country desperately needs, is a a better way of conducting our political debates. We need to rediscover the lost art of democratic argument.” (Sandal, 2010).
From that 1953 documentary on democracy in the classrooms, we have an actor playing an American History teacher named Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis told us, presumably, the future students whose
learning about the “experiment” of democracy in schools, this:
“Our staff for sometime had been aware of the limitations of it's teaching methods. Through considerable reading, committee work, discussion, experimenting, and in meetings with parent and civic groups, we tried to find the answer. The authoritarian method, with the teacher dominating, we found out, wasn't the answer. Letting the students do as they please, the laisse-faire method, also was inadequate. Neither method produced the best citizen.” … “We discovered, as others have, that the answer sprang from our nature of our democratic society. In essence, it's teaching methods which will produce better citizens while teaching subject matter. Teaching methods which develop and draw upon the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of all of the students.” (Herrick, 1953).
7 hours a day, 5 times a day, for 38 weeks, for 13 years = 17,290 hours. That's how many hours we're required to go to public schools, starting from the time we are five years old, to 18 years of age, when we're allowed to fight and die for our country, but not drink alcohol, and for a considerable portion of American history, 18 year olds didn't even have the right to vote. We're told what to do from the time we're babies, and our will has already been checked, over and over again, by a many authoritarians. The fear of technology may actually be it's benefits. Our government bombs poor people in other countries, and nobody in America bats an eye. Blind obedience has given us the worst periods of our collective histories—war, slavery, genocide—all happen because of blind obedience, allegiance, to a single man, an autocrat. Because technology can liberate us, first ourselves, and then, through democratic structures, everybody else, that's the very reason for the vitriol from the electronically illiterate.
Web 2.0, usually, “wiki”'s are mentioned as the example for this, but I feel like technology is like a calculator. While knowing all of the steps to finding out the square root of numbers may have it's advantages, I think of Web 2.0 as the next step, the next generation's use and application of the Internet. It's a paradigm shift. We're already a Postmodern Society, and have been my 32 ½ years, and now, we'll be even more Postmodern. This isn't something to be afraid of, but to embrace, because that means we can put together incredible projects, using the many tools of the Internet, and use the Internet as a calculator who can calculate square roots of numbers quicker than me, but instead of just crunching numbers, it's calculating more, greater tangible results. CAD constructs entire city designs with specialized architectural designs for each and every building. Kids have found cheap methods for diagnosing pancreatic cancer, and a way to clean up the ocean of our garbage and waste. Technological achievements, it's been said on a facebook meme or two, takes 10,000 scientists to come up with 1 major scientific breakthrough. The Science Fair at the White House shows the incredible intelligence of young people. I taught my younger brother how to play chess when he was just 5 years old, if not younger. He could comprehend how to move the pieces at such a young age. I grew up during KERA, and therefore, computers are second nature to me, and I'm grateful for that training, but it was limited. Since most Americans are technologically literate, actual democracy—Web 2.0—will be the inevitable narrative of our futures, since it's already painted up our history, and I say, it's about time.
Bibliography
Herrick, Theral T., Ph. D. 1953. Practicing Democracy in the Classroom. 1953. Encyclopedia Britannica Films (top billed credit in movie). Copyright: Educational Films Services. Accessed August 13, 2014: Maintaining Classroom Discipline by Using Democratic Methods. Daughters of the American Revolution. Kalamazoo Public Schools, Michigan. Rosaryfilms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yObnwkvh1o
Larsen, Katie. 2013, February 11. Mrs. Larsen's Democratic Classroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=visJ81Rm_HA
Merriam: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology
Mouse Mischief. 2014. Accessed August 14, 2014. http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-mischief/en-us/learn-more.aspx#ProductBenefits
Sandal, Michael. 2010. Michael Sandal. The Lost Art of Democratic Debate. TedTalks. Uploaded June 10, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPsUXhXgWmI.
In my classroom, in the school I will work for, I see elections for everything, everywhere, all of the time. Elections for major decisions for school-wide decisions. Elections for in-class rules; for making decisions on how to study, and learn the required curriculum. We would need a central website that would regulate and make sure all students only get their one vote, and to insure there's no corruption, we also need a paper trail. Microsoft offers “Mouse Mischief”, which is software, and equipment to allow for quick surveys, and also, up to 525 can answer the surveys at the same time, while being able to do other things, such as simultaneously drawing on the overhead projected video image on the whiteboard (Mouse Mischief). Since we need capable citizens operating as responsible stewards of democratic institutions millions have died for, it's best we use democratic elements in our educational structures, even if only for our ends, so there's some type of committee formation, and caucusing, and petitions, and other social, political, and legal wranglings, organizations, and fighting tactics that only peoples in democratic society knows how to do, is learned by our youth. I'm an idealist, so I want to see the whole thing operating as a consensus-based pure democracy. Short of finding a job at Summerhill, or Sudbury Schools, I'll have to enforce democratic structures in my own classroom, my fiefdom, so that they'll learn what the State and Common Core tells them to learn.
Some teachers I have worked around have been at “teaching” their dictatorial ways for such a long time, they've long interest in the job, and over time, gradually, teaching just became a job to them. It's usually the older teachers, the older grouchier teachers, who should have quit, and done something else with their lives, a long time ago. While I know there will be struggles, I am prepared to go the extra mile in order to make sure my students learn, and are prepared for the world, when they graduate school. There's many movies which inspire me, so if I ever get down about the teaching profession, I can just turn to these movies, which inspire me to be the greatest teacher I can be. The movies are: Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, High School High, Lean on Me, Edward James Olmos's Stand and Deliver, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, The Miracle Worker, Election, Conrack, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Sidney Poiter's To Sir, With Love.
That is one way technology can help in our lives. We can be inspired by these hour long Hollywood dramas. But there's so much more. Technology, according to Merriam-Webster.com, is “: the use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems”, and “: a machine, piece of equipment, method, etc., that is created by technology” (Merriam). The first definition is the best one, and it states that Technology is when we use science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems. This takes us back to the caveman days. When the first human being picked up a rock, sharpened it, and found out that pointed arrows could be used to kill large game, and now nomadic tribes could survive throughout the years, was when the first piece of technology was used. When the first human being picked up a tool, any tool, with his opposable thumb, and used it to smash something else, was one of the first technological breakthroughs ever. Some folks claim to disdain technology, to be scared of it, or brag openly about not knowing “all of that stuff”, such as the Luddites, or the Amish, but to be “anti-technology” is to be against whenever scientific knowledge becomes practical, which is … everything. That is literally everything. Fast forward to today, I have a toaster that toasts my bread, a George Forman grill to cook up my hamburger patty, a refrigerator that keeps the cheese, and other condiments in good condition, as well as a clock that wakes me up, and a laptop that taps into the vast cyberworld that is the Internet; the Information Super Highway.
I learn from a 1953 documentary about how democracy is used in the classrooms. “At the heart of our struggle to maintain and strengthen our democratic way of life are the nation's schools. Now as never before American education is challenged to help prepare the new generation for the vital business of acting as free individuals in a free society. (Herrick, 1953). “Teaching students subject matter in democratic situations that develop better citizens is being done more and more in alert school systems. This school happens to be in Michigan. But it could be any other school, anywhere. Any school where parents and teachers are concerned about how and what they learn, to prepare them for citizenship.” (Herrick, 1953)
During the struggle to end segregation in the South, many Freedom Schools popped up, which taught not only the basics—reading, writing, arithmetic—but also civics, and they registered voters to vote, since in many counties in Mississippi, Black folks outnumbered whites by wide margins, but had been too intimidated to enforce their rights, and were allowing a white supremacist minority to control the county. When we embrace democratic values, then we embrace each other as an important person in our community, instead of a competitor of the valuable As and B grades, where few are given out, because of the Bell Curve. In Mrs. Larson's class, the students and their teacher are all one big family. Mrs. Larson's class is “a safe environment where everybody is comfortable sharing their ideas” (Larsen, 2013). While I was gifted in many subjects in schools, including math, I always tried to hide it, because I was embarrassed about it, and ashamed. To be “cool” could mean a million different things, but it definitely didn't include being a teacher's pet. This is a major reason we need to redo how education is delivered. We're alienating those talented tenths, and we aren't being taught to respect intelligence. Instead, those who are considered “smart” are actually usually the most obedient (I would know; I was Valedictorian of my High School), and that's the reason for the stigma. But if we used democratic structures, then friendships and conversations can happen in the classroom, as well as teaching us to respect each other's ideas, talents, and skills. Since it can be demanded that teachers get respect, that same demand can be made of students, in regards to each other. When we see things with democratic lenses, we then see that in a way, we are “family”, at least for an hour a day, five days a week, for several months. There is a culture that is being created. Granted young folks may not be good at operating in democratic settings, but with practice, they'll get better, and I can have some template, some outline, a vague sketch of how a classroom can be both democratic, and effective at learning all of the required state curriculum requirements.
Cell phones can be used in the same way as Mouse Mischief, since there's programs were folks can all text their answers to the computer screen, but since we can't assume all students have cell phones, since they won't, either by parental choice, or poverty, then this means that the students will need to be provided the tools to make democratic learning successful. I haven't used Microsoft Mouse Mischief, but I have watched video tutorials on them, and it's from a reputable source, so I vouch for it, until another software bundled package comes about that competes with it. The voting devices should be separate than student's own cell phones. A student's cell phone is their personal property, and we shouldn't require them to have an expensive smart phone, though it is smart for them to understand the revolutionary potential of smart phones. The Internet is the Gutenburg Printing Press Revolution, and Smart phones make that Revolution even more Revolutionary, by being mobile. The Internet, of course, is way better than the Gutenburg Printing Press, because basically anybody with an Internet connection, and some photos, videos, or just a thought they want to share, they can do so, with little effort.
“One thing the world need, one thing this country desperately needs, is a a better way of conducting our political debates. We need to rediscover the lost art of democratic argument.” (Sandal, 2010).
From that 1953 documentary on democracy in the classrooms, we have an actor playing an American History teacher named Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis told us, presumably, the future students whose
learning about the “experiment” of democracy in schools, this:
“Our staff for sometime had been aware of the limitations of it's teaching methods. Through considerable reading, committee work, discussion, experimenting, and in meetings with parent and civic groups, we tried to find the answer. The authoritarian method, with the teacher dominating, we found out, wasn't the answer. Letting the students do as they please, the laisse-faire method, also was inadequate. Neither method produced the best citizen.” … “We discovered, as others have, that the answer sprang from our nature of our democratic society. In essence, it's teaching methods which will produce better citizens while teaching subject matter. Teaching methods which develop and draw upon the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of all of the students.” (Herrick, 1953).
7 hours a day, 5 times a day, for 38 weeks, for 13 years = 17,290 hours. That's how many hours we're required to go to public schools, starting from the time we are five years old, to 18 years of age, when we're allowed to fight and die for our country, but not drink alcohol, and for a considerable portion of American history, 18 year olds didn't even have the right to vote. We're told what to do from the time we're babies, and our will has already been checked, over and over again, by a many authoritarians. The fear of technology may actually be it's benefits. Our government bombs poor people in other countries, and nobody in America bats an eye. Blind obedience has given us the worst periods of our collective histories—war, slavery, genocide—all happen because of blind obedience, allegiance, to a single man, an autocrat. Because technology can liberate us, first ourselves, and then, through democratic structures, everybody else, that's the very reason for the vitriol from the electronically illiterate.
Web 2.0, usually, “wiki”'s are mentioned as the example for this, but I feel like technology is like a calculator. While knowing all of the steps to finding out the square root of numbers may have it's advantages, I think of Web 2.0 as the next step, the next generation's use and application of the Internet. It's a paradigm shift. We're already a Postmodern Society, and have been my 32 ½ years, and now, we'll be even more Postmodern. This isn't something to be afraid of, but to embrace, because that means we can put together incredible projects, using the many tools of the Internet, and use the Internet as a calculator who can calculate square roots of numbers quicker than me, but instead of just crunching numbers, it's calculating more, greater tangible results. CAD constructs entire city designs with specialized architectural designs for each and every building. Kids have found cheap methods for diagnosing pancreatic cancer, and a way to clean up the ocean of our garbage and waste. Technological achievements, it's been said on a facebook meme or two, takes 10,000 scientists to come up with 1 major scientific breakthrough. The Science Fair at the White House shows the incredible intelligence of young people. I taught my younger brother how to play chess when he was just 5 years old, if not younger. He could comprehend how to move the pieces at such a young age. I grew up during KERA, and therefore, computers are second nature to me, and I'm grateful for that training, but it was limited. Since most Americans are technologically literate, actual democracy—Web 2.0—will be the inevitable narrative of our futures, since it's already painted up our history, and I say, it's about time.
Bibliography
Herrick, Theral T., Ph. D. 1953. Practicing Democracy in the Classroom. 1953. Encyclopedia Britannica Films (top billed credit in movie). Copyright: Educational Films Services. Accessed August 13, 2014: Maintaining Classroom Discipline by Using Democratic Methods. Daughters of the American Revolution. Kalamazoo Public Schools, Michigan. Rosaryfilms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yObnwkvh1o
Larsen, Katie. 2013, February 11. Mrs. Larsen's Democratic Classroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=visJ81Rm_HA
Merriam: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology
Mouse Mischief. 2014. Accessed August 14, 2014. http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-mischief/en-us/learn-more.aspx#ProductBenefits
Sandal, Michael. 2010. Michael Sandal. The Lost Art of Democratic Debate. TedTalks. Uploaded June 10, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPsUXhXgWmI.
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