THERE IS NOTHING WRONG HERE

I have been working with some brand new right out of college teachers the last couple of weeks. I am really enjoying their energy, work ethics, and eagerness to learn. But, I am surprised at their lack of Web 2.0 skills. They can text, use My Space and Facebook, download music and images, and IM, but they don’t know what a wiki is or don’t have a blog.

The schools of education in this area have done a great job of making sure the new teachers can write lesson plans with goals and objectives, but not how to incorporate Web 2.0 tools in the curriculum. When I introduce the concept of a wiki or Google Doc to a new teacher they get excited, but often just want to make the wiki another way for the students to do their homework, which is a certain way to kill the wiki. I am reminded of Michael Wesch’s “A Portal to Media Literacy” where he reports that the way education is structured students only want to know what is on the test and how do I get an A.

I am encouraged that by working with new young teachers it is possible to get them to start thinking differently and not repeat their educational experience.

Finding connections between bits of information you gather over time is one of the joys of living.

First bit. I am taking a series of workshop from the Five College Center for East Asian Studies and during the first workshop I learned that for 2000 years the Confucian system of civil service provided a way for men to gain social and economic status. To become a civil servant a man had to memorize the Analects of Confucius, which are several books. If a man could pass a three day long test he could join the civil service and bring honor and money to his family and village.

Second bit. The March 2009 issue of Discover magazine has an article called “Are We Still Evolving?”. The researchers argue that cultural pressure, such as the civil service test, “… in some cultures, certain kinds of intellectual ability may have been tied to reproductive success.”

Third bit. High School graduation rates: Asian 77%, White 75%, Black 50%, Hispanic 53%. Since success in high school is measured by the ability to memorize facts it may be that the students of Asian ancestry have benefited from 2000 years of their ancestors memorizing The Analects of Confucius.

This blog has been bouncing around in my head for two weeks. (This has taken me 3 months to post) The Winter Soldier event finally happened at at The University of Massachusetts at Amherst on Oct 1. This event was conceived and carried out by the local chapter of Iraq Vets Against the War IVAW. I became involved through a friend who was a member of Vets for Peace.

The term ‘Winter Soldier’ is a spin on the opening of a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

The original Winter Soldier event was held Jan. of 1971 in Detroit. For three days Viet Nam vets testified about the war crimes they committed or saw committed. The press did not cover the event, but a film was made and a transcript was entered into the Congressional Record, which led to Senate hearings on the war.

The IVAW Winter Soldier was held in the Student Union and about 100 people attended, mainly students. Four different Iraq area vets gave testimony about their military experiences in and out of Iraq. One of the themes that emerged for me was that most of the vets had “a job” to do. When I talk about my experiences in Viet Nam I explain that I worked the swing shift from 3 pm to midnight, six days a week. The idea that as a soldier they had a job to do was a constant theme. I realized that doing your job will not be enough to win a war of occupation. The occupied are fighting for their lives, families, and country. Soldiers who are “dong their job” can not win.

After the testimony by four Iraq War vets a group was lead by a group of Buddhist monks to a mock grave yard.

The grave yard listed the names of American soldiers and Iraqi children killed in the war. Chanting and silent prayer helped us focus on the sorrow of the war.