May 4, largely on the recommendation of our friend, Annelee, we went to the documentary, “I Am”, at the Lagoon Theatre in Minneapolis. Wherever you are, I would highly recommend you see this extraordinary and thought provoking film. Then seriously consider the implications of what you just saw. The official website is here. Doubtless, there […]
Wisconsin, like many other states, is faced with attacks by some of its citizens on public employees, public education, and local community services. These attacks are a direct outgrowth of how all of the parties have developed, used, and abused their power relationships with each other over a period of many years. While these attacks […]
Since May 3, 1985, National Teacher Day in the United States has been observed on the first Tuesday in May. About 1944 an Arkansas teacher first had the idea of a National Teacher Day, and in 1953 the first such day was observed. May 3, 1985, I was Minnesota Education Association field staff (some would […]
I wrote a friend a bit earlier this evening saying I probably wouldn’t comment on the killing of Osama bin Laden a day ago. I’ve changed my mind…a little. All day I kept thinking about the hit song from Wizard of Oz, “The Wicked Witch is Dead”. There are endless analyses of what L. Frank […]
Back in the 1990s I participated in a workshop in which one of the activities was to identify the “circles” of which I was a part. It was surprising to learn how many circles, and thus associations, I really had. These circles would include groups like “family”, “church”, “work”, “political party” and on and on […]
Back in the 1970s, when overhead projectors were the way of conveying information, and handouts were the takeaway record from attending a meeting, I once attended a meeting where the below handout left, and stuck, with me. (Click on it to enlarge.) The premise of the handout is very simple and timeless: change is not […]
I went to Atlas Shrugged on Monday afternoon at a local theatre. My only certain prediction: Part III of this apparent three part made-for-the-theater movie will be released just in time to attempt to influence the 2012 election. This is a hard-edged propaganda film. It is pretty hard to make ruthless Capitalist Captains of Industry […]
April 15 we were invited to an event at Friendly Hills Middle School in Mendota Heights MN. “Telling the Story of WWII and the Holocaust” was the event: “An Interdisciplinary Project between Language Arts & Social Studies” involving eighth graders in five classes at the school, each of whom had worked on a particular project […]
April 11, 2011, found me in a hotel near Bernalillo NM. The hotel offered complimentary newspapers, and as I usually do I picked up the local paper, in this case the Albuquerque Journal. Front page, front and center, was a “Beyond the Classroom” story about teacher Kathleen Cox, and her 12 year old student, Elizabeth, […]
April 7 I was at committee meeting unrelated to politics or political parties, and my colleague sitting next to me showed me a book he was reading, which he felt was a must-read for anyone interested in politics. The book: “Winner Take All Politics” by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson. I have yet to pick […]