All week I've been thinking about Sartre and Camus whom I had left at the curb a decade or so ago. Now I'm really thinking about man being responsible for his own actions. Oil spills into the gulf (did they finally cap that sucker today?) and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Hey teachers, it's our job to call things out. No politics, no religion. But yes, we can and should take stands on issues to get kids thinking.
I'm outraged - for no reason really. It's the 3 hours of sleep I stole last night after writing a slew of words on school nutrition and my philosophy of teaching. I leave with you with the poignant words of Van Morrison: "Doesn't matter to which God you pray/Precious time is slipping away."
Bonne nuit.
--Joe
I'm right there with you on the whole sleep deprivation thing, I don't handle it well, I just get sassy.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about wasting time looking for cheaters, it seems like teachers spend so much time creating tricks and failsafes to catch them that in the end it's the students who aren't cheating that suffer the most.
Julia
Although I completely agree with you that every man (or woman) is responsible for their actions, I have always felt that compassion and empathy didn't have a big role in Existentialist philosophy.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what a kind word or action from a teacher can do to change a child's slide in the wrong direction. Lj.
http://graciouslivingdaybyday.com/
Joe - When Jeff and I were brainstorming across subject areas, making sure we had an idea for each of you in our back pockets in case you needed a nudge, my "back pocket" idea was to compare the hubris of the oil spill with similar events in history/literature. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll just add that, to me, the Deweyan talk about democratic ideals in the classroom has everything to do with what you're talking about here. How to bring current events (e.g., the outside world) into the classroom in a way that situates kids in their world, rather than leaving them feeling like distant observers.
ReplyDeleteIn enacting this noble purpose, we're reminded that schools are contested public spaces, which makes doing what you propose to do both that much more important, and also somewhat fraught. Which gives you the added benefit of being able to do some modeling for your students regarding some VERY important matters of social interaction.
Learning opportunities everywhere we look! ;-)
I have the same thoughts about cheaters. Honestly, kids are going to find ways to cheat no matter what us teachers do--the best we can do is call them on it and try and create a classroom environment where cheating is looked down upon. But for those that do cheat, it's on them.
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