Bird Droppings October 8, 2012

What are we doing to our kids?

 

I started writing this in addition to yesterday’s thoughts just before heading to North Georgia to drop off our granddaughter fully intending on completing and having ready to post my dropping for the day and one thing led to another and soon I was wandering aimlessly. So I am completing here this morning sitting at school checking on my critters and finishing up with thoughts and ideas. I have been thinking about several issues over the past few days dealing with how we educate and evaluate children in our American society and as always issues of spirituality and religion seem to creep in.

I went out to my mother’s house to drop off breakfast earlier on Sunday and to pick up a few items she thought I might want as she is going through old photos and items of my fathers. She has been cleaning out boxes that have been unopened for some time and finds bits and pieces of memorabilia that has significance to my sisters and brother and I. My mother was intrigued by a comment in a recent Bird Dropping on coincidence and since I nearly daily use that term I had to have a clue as to when which she said was this week. So I searched my last six or seven Droppings to fins the quote and passage she was referring to that had caught her attention. I was actually an older one from a week or two back I used several quotes from Laurens Von der Post, a favorite writer I have used often and a statement he made in reference to Carl Jung.

 

“I suspect, are some sort of indication to what extent the evolution of our lives is obedient or not obedient to the symmetry of the universe.”  Laurens van der Post reflecting on Carl Jung’s work

 

This was the last line of a quote I used so I know my mother had read my whole dropping.I do know she does since we talk often of my daily wanderings. We sat and talked about his idea of symmetry of the universe her idea was you could very easily put in God to this statement. I interjected how so many religions find solace in that idea or thought of symmetry in the universe. A balance always a counter weight to the weight placed on one side of the scales. A right and wrong a black and white sort of yin and yang of eastern thought. I will be pondering this further in my journey.

I had many events and stepping stones as I journeyed the past few days. Perhaps this is why I pulled from the dust bin some words from my son infamous for his crossing of the Toccoa Creek and a now famous picture of him sopping wet going stone to stone in days gone by.  John’s words were from a 2004 posting in his Zanga a seldom used site now but I occasionally I go back and do a posting. With the ease of many of the newer sites Facebook for example Zanga gets often left alone. John and I talked much about education and his views from the day I started teaching high school and he was still a student. So many of his ideas are ones I have considered and written about over the past twelve years or so.

 

“For the love of God, it’s a shame that American education has come to a point where the greatest accomplishment of a graduating collegiate-type is good grades.  I’d like to blame it on the idea that competition is better.  It is but it isn’t.  It stifles creativity by limiting discussion (people are too worried about themselves to listen to others) and it creates a constant high tempo environment.  I ask people questions about classes they took last semester, “I don’t remember.  I learned it for the tests and forgot.”  That’s what memorizing and studying get.  I want to see real education where knowledge and skills are gained rather than where trivial facts are memorized.” John Bird, Georgia Tech student, 2004

 

When I was looking back through some files and found this note from my son so many thoughts flooded my mind. As a teacher I teach in a class room setting somewhat different than most I still see the daily turmoil of teaching to the test that is instilled through rigorous standards and structured curriculum that has been prescribed and analyzed and dissected to a point of almost every word is scripted and edited many times over. Go into a biology class in most schools in the state and you will see literally the same page and same lesson. Is that really education and is that really how we encourage and stimulate creativity and imagination. I always cringe when I hear curriculum people talk of the success of directed teaching programs. Research based and always showing great success rates except for comprehension. WOW!!!! You can read great you just don’t know what you are reading.

 

“Problem not enough teachers and not enough people capable of this sort of academia. I’ve been learning material all semester rather than studying and memorizing.  I want my knowledge and skills to expand for my own personal gain not to get good grades.”  John Bird, Georgia Tech student, 2004

 

From the mouth of babes not that my son when he said this was a babe just simply borrowing how so often a novice, someone who has never had an education course gets to ideas great educators base books and theories on. John Dewey saw this a hundred years ago you need context for the content. As I wander with this thought on Friday I left school discussing faith religion and such with a fellow teacher. Coincidence I am looking through the Saturday AJC, Atlanta Journal Constitution our daily newspaper and find a book review.

In the Faith & Values section a short article on a man Ed Dobson, former pastor of a Michigan Mega Church and more familiar to many as once head of the Moral Majority. Dobson who was diagnosed eight years ago with Lou Gehrig’s disease has written a book chronicling a year in his recent life. He took to living a year as Jesus would.

“You don’t have to grow a beard and walk around in a robe and sandals like I did but it will improve your life.” Ed Dobson

 

Dobson spent a year trying to understand in person what it was the teaching of Jesus was about. It was living the life that perhaps changed his views politically as well. In the last presidential election on a TV talk show he confessed to voting for Barrack Obama because he felt his views were closer to what Jesus taught. Many conservatives were outraged by this comment. His book is entitled “The year of Living like Jesus”.

As I do when I am about I tend to get talking and today with a young man who happens to be a Muslim. I have always been depressed by religion and how we have churches reaping fortunes and pastors making six figure salaries and condemning social actions of government or even those who believe they are doing the right thing. I found myself talking about the crusades and The Knights Templar and how they made fortunes charging for safe passage through the holy lands. The church eventually caught wind and realized the Knights were wealthier and disbanded the monastic order and took their lands and wealth on conveniently Friday the 13^th.

But where am I going and why. Perhaps a confession of sorts, I had a little girl come up to me during my bus duty endeavors Friday morning with a grocery bag. She was all excited how they had found a rat snake and she brought it to me. I got back to my room and there in the sack a baby rat snake along with a printed copy of a nature sheet on rat snakes. Sadly the little snake was in three pieces. I felt as if my pet cat had brought me a trophy from a kill. I was angered that she thought I would be excited with a dead snake seeing how I have several live snakes in my room at school. When she got to class I asked why they killed it and while not harsh with her she began apologizing. It hit me how different we all are perceiving the world. It would have been better I had reacted differently and maybe said next time save the snake in a jar carefully to not get bit (just in case it is poisonous) send me a photo email or on cell phone and I can identify it without killing it. She was afraid and they killed it in haste, not on purpose and not knowing it was harmless. But it made me think so hard about trying to live, trying to set the example is hard, trying to do no harm and hold all sacred. So hard as I walk each day. May we all try harder and please keep all in harm’s way on your minds and in your hearts and to always give thanks namaste.

 

Wa de (Skee)

bird