It’s been several wild weeks for #OklaEd and #OKPE4PE (the definitive Facebook Group for Parents & Educators who support public education in Oklahoma). I’m sure more weirdness is coming. The beauty of it is that we never know what or when.
Where is fairly predictable.
In the meantime, though, it’s possible you’ve missed some quality edu-bloggery from #OklaEd and beyond – some of which isn’t even about fighting legislative insanity.
Must-Reads From the Past Week
What I Am For!– Scott Haselwood, Teaching From Here, reminds us that while we’re so often backed into battles over what we’re against, there are far more important things we’re actually, you know… FOR.
It’s far too easy to forget this simple reality. Fortunately, Haselwood not only reminds us, but does it so very well.
Be FOR @TeachFromHere on the Twittering, and I suspect he’ll remind you of many good realities along the way. It’s kinda his thing. #oklaed
On Advocacy and Activism – Cory Williams, An Early Modern Millennial, ponders the blur between educator and advocate, citizen and employee, and the unending empty lip service paid to public education. Along the way I think we saw a little bit of his soul showing through.
Follow @MrWilliamsRm110 on Twitter. He’s actually fairly sharp, despite the hair, and maybe he’ll show more of that soul of his. #oklaed
I’m Done With 21st-Century Learning! – Rob Miller, A View From The Edge, has had his fill of the noncompulsory drafting of rhetorical scholastic gilding. It’s recrementitious! He has this weird idea that we should label good teaching less and practice it more. Huh.
Experience pedagogical and practical venery with @edgeblogger on the Twitters and see what other bedlam he propagates. You won’t end up chapfallen. #oklaed
Green Band Bandits – Sarah B, LadyWolf2016, is a relatively new voice in #OklaEd bloggery, but she’s already raised the bar for social justice in the classroom. Not that we’re into such things often in Oklahoma – we’re more of a ‘The 19th Century Will Rise Again’ kinda state. Still, there are oases of 14th Amendment-ness here and there…
I’m not a big nurture-y, feely-lovey guy myself – my kids respond better to Wheaton’s Law than to Cyril the Cyber-Bulling Awareness Cicada or whatever – but THIS is an impressive tale of young people learning to find energy in building one another up instead of feeding on the fragmented power of tearing others apart.
Feed on @LadyWolf2014’s energy on Twitter and see for yourself how good it feels. #oklaed
Finding My Voice – Cassie Nash, Just Teaching It Real, is another fresh voice in blogging à la #OklaEd, and an immediate favorite of mine. We always say to be yourself and write what you know – apparently Nash takes this to heart:
I need to quit being fearful of teaching writing because I know they struggle – why give them another opportunity to fail at something they already find daunting? Perhaps a bit of this is my fear that I’m not teaching them as well as someone else could…
Writing doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s hard. So what is it that propels me forward with this project? I think I have a few things to say. I’ll bet they do too.
She’s funny, too – but pointing that out on a Blue Serial summary simply puts too much pressure on an exciting new baby blogger, so you’ll simply have to stumble across that reality on your own.
Be introspective with @cassieknash on the Place of Tweeting and find out what else she has to say. I know I will. #oklaed
Retro-Link
I don’t normally link to my own stuff on the weekly wrap-up (which, come to think of it, it rather odd – given my penchant for self-promotion), but reading this week about the hacking and slashing of so-called ‘extra-curricular programs’ already beginning across Oklahoma just kills me. Such a preventable problem, hurting the most those least able to do anything about it. We all know what sorts of programs go first, and it’s just wrong.
Extra-Curriculars – “Algebra is important, but so are athletics. If our goal is ‘college, career, and citizenship ready,’ Basketball is far more likely to help you with the latter two. Algebra wins for the first, but mostly that just means that doing math qualifies you to do harder math. Most of these kids are never going to be professional athletes. But neither are they likely to become professional mathematicians, or chemists, or historians, or novelists. The skills and knowledge gained in each of those realms nevertheless serve a larger good. They help to form a fuller, better, hopefully somewhat happier person.”
And they’re $#%&ing it up on purpose, and we’re going to Teacher Hell if we don’t make them stop.
That’s It This Week.
Take deep breaths, rejuvenate a bit this weekend, and then teach like you’re their only hope this coming week. Love them like no one else does. Push them like no one else has. Tap into all that experience and learnin’ you’ve got to try one more way to make those damn horses drink that water.
Win or lose, short-term or long, at least we can say we left it all in the classroom. At least we can say we refused to let them be taken softly.
Full Disclosure: I’m no longer a registered Republican. I stuck it out for decades, but at some point between the Tea Party breaking Rand Paul and the crowning of Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz as voices of ‘moderation and reason,’ I simply couldn’t do it anymore.
And yet… the Right Wing are still my people, however far I’ve strayed, and despite their collective loss of sanity over the past decade. Evangelicals, gun-fetishists, the socially repressed – I can’t support their positions, but I treasure their possibilities.
The modern Republican Party is a backslidden mess. They are a bewildering diaspora of conservatism’s potential – particularly the minivan and Easter crowd smothered within their ranks. I hereby call on them to leave their false idols and begin the journey home… starting with an issue which should be a no-brainer: public education.
Forget that it’s the right thing to do – it’s a winning political strategy.
The Right is all about personal responsibility.
An equitable and effective public school system goes a long way towards promoting real-world opportunity and unlocking individual potential. Education doesn’t cancel out poverty, systemic racial discrimination, etc., but it gives students – soon to be actual people – the option of whistling Vivaldi along the way and dramatically improving their personal odds.
You’re welcome to point a finger at the downtrodden and underserved and ask why they haven’t done more to better themselves, but your judgment is untenable unless those at whom you point have reliable access to high-quality, fiscally prioritized, meaningful education.
If you really want to add teeth to your moral outrage, provide wraparound services addressing many of the underlying sources of disparity reflected in grades, graduation rates, and test scores. Inequity may remain, but the system enabling it would be far less overt – and your expectations regarding individual achievement thus much more persuasive.
The Right is all about the economy and being a productive member thereof.
Those with better educations tend to avoid prison. They tend to get and hold better jobs. They tend to become settled, have families (and stay with them), and galvanize into moderation.
Yes, the most educated in our nation often grow rather liberal in their ideals – but not usually in their lifestyles. They spend, invest, even donate – all of which lubricate the wheels of the commerce.
The Right is all about family values.
Despite the rhetoric coming from the fringe elements (who always seem to end up in charge these days), public schools consciously inculcate good character – hard work, honesty, empathy, personal responsibility, etc.
Constitutionally, these must remain distinct from specific theology or faith, but as I recall from my evangelical days, God’s truths are strong enough they can’t help but be reflected in the natural world all around us (the one He created, and for which he set up ‘natural laws’?) with or without appropriate credit attached. Gravity need not be labeled “God’s Gravity” to be just as true, or just as useful to understand; why would “do unto others” or “study to show thyself approved” require sectarian sanction?
Granted, public schools DO tend to welcome and value children of all cultures, colors, sexual proclivities, etc. Many of you have been told this equates to a collective sanction of ungodliness. Surely five minutes with the Jesus of the four gospels refutes such silliness?
The Right loves to talk about America’s Founding Ideals.
This one gets trickier, because so much has changed logistically since our nation’s inception. But if the ideals themselves are as timeless as we hope, they should find traction and demonstrate value in modern times. As with matters of faith, however, it’s important we not mistake the logistics of their historical application with the eternal principles those in the past were attempting to honor.
The Constitution (a set of rules) can be amended as situations evolve. The Declaration of Independence (a statement of ideals) cannot. The Ten Commandments (a list of rules) were superseded by the arrival of the Messiah (the supernatural made flesh). The goal of personal communion with an eternal Creator (an ideal) remained consistent, but we need not sacrifice birds or sit in our gardens naked to get there.
The particulars were always intended to evolve, even if the overarching principles were not.
America’s founding ideals are about equality in the eyes of the law – actual, demonstrable equality, not just theoretical equality. The principal was established in the Declaration of Independence; the expression of that principal has expanded in fits and starts ever since. We could get closer.
America’s founding ideals are about meritocracy. We’re unlikely to find the best hockey players in towns with no ice, or gifted writers in communities with no books. Merit must be sought, nurtured, and unleashed.
Finding it and growing it – as often and in as many varieties as possible – is great for the individual, but of exponentially greater value to the whole.
America’s founding ideals are about diversity. I know, I know – old rich white guys, etc. But what they started expanded true citizenship – economic, social, and political power – far beyond anything known in their worlds at the time. The expansion of those ideals to include people of other colors and both sexes was perfectly consistent with their vision, if not their temporal understanding at the time.
America’s founding ideals are about opportunity for the humblest citizen.
This is a big one.
We value our business-owners and investors, certainly, but 150 years of both state and federal land policy made it an absolute priority to redistribute resources – 160 acres of land, usually – in the name of opportunity, to any citizen, however humble, free of charge and with the obligation only that they utilize it as best they could.
John Adams, before we’d even declared independence, argued that “Power follows property.” Thus, the way to make sure we preserve a “balance of liberty” – a full, meaningful involvement of a wide spectrum of citizens – was to make the “acquisition of land easy to every member of society.”
The various statutes governing land distribution over the years generally discouraged (or outright prohibited) the hoarding of resources. Homesteaders could only claim as much as an average family could realistically use. This wasn’t to be nice – it was best for society as a whole.
The best-known and most important of these was the Homestead Act of 1862. It was promoted and signed into law by THE founding Republican, Abraham Lincoln.
Today the key to opportunity is no longer land. Today’s “Homestead Act” is Public Education – the modern gateway to economic, social, and political opportunity, so sacred as to occasionally be oversold on just what it will and won’t guarantee in individual lives, but largely essential for anything else of value to become possible.
The Republican Party Was Created to Reduce Inequality.
The Republican Party sprang out of a combination of the ‘Free Soil’ party and a few other ‘not-the-Democrats’ groups in the 1850s. ‘Free Soil’ in this case had a dual meaning – they were against slavery, and they were for those without property being given land – and thus, a realistic shot at their own little version of the American Dream.
They had serious issues with polygamy as well, although we tend to brush that aside when covering the time period, meaning…
The Republican Party was quite literally born with THREE priorities –
(1) Let’s treat black folks better, because… America!
(2) Let’s give more free stuff to people who need an opportunity, because… democracy!
(3) Let’s tell people who they can and can’t marry because… icky!
We’ve held fast to the third, but forsaken the first two. Why?
The Republican Party would like to remain relevant and win elections.
The GOP has not done a very impressive job adjusting its rhetoric or expanding its reach beyond some very clichéd demographics.
There are a LOT of educators – public and private, teachers and support staff – in this country.
Can you imagine the electoral potential of a party which embraced public school teachers (most of whom are personally rather moderate)? Are there really SO many core values which would have to be jettisoned to pay teachers a living wage and get a bit more creative enabling schools to do what schools want to do best?
I’m certain that’s a large part of why many otherwise productive, caring people in our worlds don’t seem to get involved or vote their convictions more often.
We may be participating in some noble, time-honored practice when we inform ourselves about candidates and legislation and mark those little ballots time and again, but it feels very much like we’re tearing off pieces of ourselves and our loved ones to sacrfice to the cruel gods of democracy, in hopes they will be kinder to us in the coming season.
BUT (and I have a BIG BUT) – there are still some wonderful things being woven among the interwebbing which you simply must not miss. Bursts of enlightenment and edu-bloggery which will make your day richer, your attitude better, and any elitism you may manifest a bit more justified.
Stuff You Shouldn’t Miss From The Past WeekFew Weeks Month in Edu-Everything:
A Touch of History w/ Modern Relevance…
How Female Computers Mapped the Universe and Brought America to the Moon – Natalie Zarrelli on Atlas Obscura shares the story of how women at Harvard Observatory were gathered to do the ‘boring clerical work’ of deciphering endless reams of data and translating complex mathematics into a better understanding of the universe. Yes, it’s history – but it’s also Women in #STEM, it’s gender studies, it’s rather motivational/inspirational/celebrational, and – icing on the brownies, here – it’s a helluva good read and there aren’t too many big words.
Follow @nataliezar on the Twittering. She’s a new one to me, but I’m already a fan. Plus, I think she owns a bunny.
Samuel Pepys Checks His Smartphone… er. Watch, 1665 – Isabella Bradford, on Two Nerdy History Girls. “So even though all that Pepys’s watch could to was tell the hour, he still couldn’t help but check it repeatedly – and ostentatiously – throughout the day in a very smartphone manner…” This is a short, fun read that still leaves you feeling smarter at the end. Follow @2nerdyhistgirls on Twitter and discover how entertaining getting smart can be.
Christian Shaw: Satan’s Victim or Demon Seed? – This tale, brought to us by Strange Company, should sound familiar to anyone who’s read in any detail about the Salem Witchcraft Trials, although it’s a different case entirely. I find it particularly fascinating because of the difficulty in determining which parts are malicious, which are mental illness, which are childish hysteria, and which are simply… inexplicable. The protagonist is a young lady of what today would be Middle School age, and the dilemmas of those involved won’t be entirely unfamiliar to anyone trying to decipher young people today – even those not possessed by evil spirts.
Follow @HorribleSanity via the Twitter app of your choice. You never know what you’ll experience as a result.
The Victorian Easter Bunny – Mimi Matthews on her self-tltled blog does a nice little bit on bunnies with eggs. And yeah, I mostly included this one because it’s Easter and it’s a good read. Actually, most everything @MimiMatthewsEsq shares is a good read, so go follow her on the Twitters.
RELATED NOTE: In case it’s not obvious – KEEP YOUR EASTER BUNNIES FICTIONAL. Rabbits are fragile, high-maintenance creatures who make horrible gifts for children. I love mine, but they ARE NOT TOYS. For those of you looking for worthwhile organizations to support, she has a nice pitch for the House Rabbit Society at the end of the piece. I have first-hand experience with this organization and they are quality through-and-through.
I confess it’s all the more enjoyable, then, when he says so succinctly, so poignantly, and so powerfully, what I’ve tried so poorly to express for years. Bonus points for using the Violent Femmes effectively.
Follow @plthomasEdD on Twitter and be challenged with me.
One Right Answer – Peter Greene, on Curmudgucation, ponders the absurdity of preparing students for a complicated and ever-changing world by requiring them to guess what version of ‘CORRECT’ is being mandated from on high THIS time.
Follow the sometimes-complicated and often correct (but never mandated) @palan57 on the Twittering and let him provoke your thoughts regularly.
When Bias is a Crayon – Molly Tansey on Young Teachers Collective. I don’t even want to ruin this one by trying to do a proper teaser. Just… trust me. Go read it. Then, after you’ve processed it in the intended way, read it again and see how many other poignant and pithy realities are woven through it – intentionally or not.
If you’re an educator and not following and supporting @YTCollective, then you’re doing it wrong. Find them, follow them, share them. While you’re at it, show @lena_tansey some edu-love as well.
My #OklaEd peeps have been busy fighting the insanity of another legislative session, but I have no doubt they’ll be prominently featured next weekend for a variety of brilliant outbursts. Until then, my adored and adorable colleagues – GET INVOLVED and GET MAGNETS.
If you’re #11FF and weren’t included, please let me know. I assure you it’s not intentional – it’s old age and perpetual confusion.
Festivities aside, I know enough of you across the state – and beyond – that I HAVE to believe in the possibilities.
None of us can single-handedly change everything we’d like in Oklahoma’s leadership or edu-slation, or that of whatever other state or country you call home. Other than a vigorous sign-carrying from time to time, far too many of us don’t get politically involved. We don’t pay attention to the legislation that affects us or the individuals who (supposedly) represent us at the State Capitol.
I get it – it’s time-consuming, confusing, and depressing. We’re busy with our own classrooms and our own problems, and that other stuff seems so far away. It’s not like we can DO anything about it, right?
But there are something like 45,000 teachers in Oklahoma. (The percentages are likely comparable in whatever state you happen to be.) Assuming many of us are married, or have adult children, or siblings in other professions, or even, like, friends – that should mean an easy 100,000+ voters willing to support public education.
Know how many people voted in the last statewide election? Just over 800,000. Maybe we can’t run the show or get everything we’d like, but we could MATTER. Greatly.
And yet, a recent campaign run (and won) by an educator in Oklahoma discovered that less than half of the teachers with whom they spoke were even registered to vote.
This isn’t to criticize anyone, and it’s not about guilt or shaming (well, maybe a tiny bit of shaming – but then we’ll move on). It’s about starting where we are. I’m talking about Oklahoma, but if you’re somewhere else, the general ideas still apply. I’m THAT wise and ubiquitous.
Voting in Oklahoma for Busy People
March 1st was, as you were probably aware, the date of the Presidential Primary in Oklahoma. That’s a whole other descent into madness we won’t worry about here.
Statewide Primaries are on Tuesday, June 28th. This is when we begin the process of choosing who’ll be setting state edu-policy for the next 2 – 4 years. As in national elections, this is when you help choose your party’s nominee for each office serving the district in which you live. Sometimes there will be multiple candidates from the same party running for an office; sometimes not.
Any state primary in which no candidate receives a majority of the vote will result in a Primary Runoff election on August 23rd. Only the top two candidates for each disputed office will be on these ballots.
Statewide elections are on the same date – November 8, 2016 – as national elections, including this year’s Presidential elections. That means turnout will be higher than in off-years, and besides… well, I think we can safely say that this year is going to be weird no matter what transpires between now and then.
Members of the State House of Representatives are elected every two years – just like at the national level, every single one of them are up for re-election (or not) every time. State Senators are elected every four years, meaning half are up for re-election (or not) each time.
The window for filing to run for state office is April 13th – 15th. An impressive number of teachers are getting involved by simply running themselves – it’s fewer contract days and WAY more money, so consider this. It’s a legitimate option.
You have until June 3rd to make sure you’re registered to vote in Statewide Primaries. Here’s why they matter:
Democrats / Independents
We really do have Democrats here. Some even hold office. Most are strong supporters of public education. They have limited impact, however, unless there are MORE of them up there. So, if those are your leanings, you need to get involved and vote these folks in. I realize national politics seems a bit futile for you lefties in these parts, but you can have a huge impact closer to home.
Keep in mind that an Oklahoma Democrat isn’t necessarily the same creature as a California Democrat or a Massachusetts Democrat. Many of our ‘lefties’ have strong approval ratings from the NRA, conservative social values, or other traits which would count as ‘ultra-conservative’ in other parts of the country.
The State Democratic Party is allowing Independents to vote in Democratic primaries this year. So no excuses for you, either.
Republicans
As to Republicans, the state has quite a range. Primaries are probably even MORE important on this side of the proverbial aisle. They’re unlikely to vote as if they ‘feel the Bern’ across the range of all possible issues, but some are much nicer to public education than others. Get involved. Figure out who’s been voting for what.
If you care about other issues deeply, that’s great – look at their records on those ALSO, but be realistic about what state legislators CAN and CANNOT actually do. Several of our entrenched legislators spend most of their time in office writing bills which appeal to the paranoid and ignorant, but which can’t realistically pass and wouldn’t survive constitutional challenges if they did.
But for better or worse, the North won the Civil War and the 14th Amendment is a thing. All we accomplish by passing laws in clear violation of national socio-political realities are expensive lawsuits – which we always lose – and national mockery. A vote for a return to the 19th century is a wasted vote. Sorry.
How Can You Stay Informed Without Becoming Bogged Down In The Inanity?
The Tulsa World is good about covering issues impacting education in Oklahoma, usually in ways supportive of public ed (unlike their counterpart in OKC). It’s not expensive to subscribe, and you get both paper and online access.
Oklahoma State Legislature – If you know what you’re looking for, this is the official site of the OK State Legislature. You can read both proposed and current legislation, look up the voting record of your elected representatives, etc.
OpenStates.org – A bit easier to navigate when researching bills and voting records from the past several years. You can search by bill number, legislator, general topic, etc.
The Oklahoma Policy Institute – This group doesn’t focus exclusively on education issues, but they’re amazing when it comes to making sense of all the complex budget talk we’ve been hearing this year. They also make nice charts and graphs to share with your slower friends so they’ll understand.
Oklahoma Education Journal – A relatively new, mostly news-ish site which is off to a very promising start. Short pieces, easy to understand, no fluff.
If you’re on Twitter, search the hashtags #OklaEd or #OKElections16. There are also weekly #OklaEd Twitter chats every Sunday evening from 8:00 – 9:00 on a variety of topics, often including political issues.
There are a number of rather vocal bloggers who advocate for public education.
OKEducationTruths – Rick Cobb has been around for a very long time in blogger years and can be relied upon to consistently explain and analyze events impacting you and your kids.
A View From The Edge – Rob Miller is another veteran blogger, sometimes a bit kinder than myself and usually amusing. Required reading.
Fourth Generation Teacher – Written by Claudia Swisher, retired educator and active advocate at the Capitol and around the state. Good stuff, especially when she’s annoyed.
Blue Cereal Education – That’s where you are now, silly. You’re welcome to enjoy the full range of my wit and brilliance, but at the moment I refer you to #OKElections16 where I have candidate profiles, updates issues, etc.
At this level, with typical voter turnout, your voice matters in state elections.
You shape who gets in, starting with primaries. You shape what they write and how they vote by what you say and do NOW.
We don’t have to win 30-40 seats to matter. A few key seats, or a half-dozen wins ANYWHERE educators haven’t been a factor before will get the attention of every member of the legislature. It will add to the influence of those who already support us and give pause to those who don’t when they’re deciding what to inflict next.
Let the ones you support KNOW that you support them – and why. Let the ones you don’t KNOW you don’t – and why. Be clear, informed, and professional when you call, email, or meet with them.
Some won’t care, b/c they answer only to their fiscal overlords. But even all that out-of-state money can only buy so many votes – at some point they need YOURS as well, or it’s all for naught. Their masters do not show mercy to losers.
Even I, in all my wit and wisdom, lack the power and influence to force involvement. Most of us do.
But we can each do our part, large or small. Cliched as it sounds, that’s all we can do. Collectively, though…
My little part is to offer token thanks for your involvement – not for WHO or WHAT you vote for, but for getting more involved, and getting OTHER EDUCATORS more involved in the electoral process.
Presenting the Brand New, Classroom-Ready, TLE-Proof, BCE #11FF Pedagogy Protection 5″x7″ High Quality Magnetized Magnet:
How It Works
Administration observing you? New teachers sitting in on your classroom? Parents concerned about a lesson you taught or a strategy you used, or even a grade you gave their little boo-boo?
Just point to the magnet and nod – slowly, but confidently. You pass, all 4’s, discussion over, thanks for coming.
Two Ways To Get It
(1) Push any Blue Cereal post or content page related to #OKElections16 (although in my vanity I’ll accept anything from the page you decide to share) by Tweeting it or sharing on Facebook. Make sure you tag me or use #11FF so I’ll see it.
(2) Enlighten others about #OKElections16 – The resources on this website AND in general. Talk to your co-workers, meet with your department, and calmly, rationally explain some of the issues impacting #OklaEd this year and EVERY legislative session. Encourage them to GET INVOLVED.
Better yet, ask your building principal for 5 minutes at the next faculty meeting to encourage co-workers to get informed and start voting in state primaries this June. Suggest their spouses or other family members run for office themselves – I’ll help raise the $200 filing fee if need be.
As long as you’re not telling people who to vote for, there’s not even gray area in encouraging teachers to learn more and do more about the issues which impact them and their students.
And if it’s YOU – if you haven’t been engaged in the political workings of your state – then GET INVOLVED yourself. That counts, too.
It takes verve to do this, and some of you will start uncomfortable conversations different than those you’d intended. THAT’S OK – you got this. It’s even OK if you don’t know every detail about every bill or every legislator.
This isn’t about what we already know and have already done – it’s about what we’re willing to learn and how much we’re willing to do.
Then, let me know. Email or DM me with your story (short or long – I’m curious, but I know you’re busy). I’ll send you a couple of the BCE Magnets as token thanks and acknowledgement that you’re awesome and Totally Forever #11FF. If you’d like extras for co-workers who responded supportively, I’ll send more – up to a dozen at a time if you believe it’s merited.
I trust you – you’re now #11FF. You tell me what’s appropriate.
If you’re not in Oklahoma, but fighting similar battles in your edu-world, that works, too. You just let me know – same offer, modified as YOU see fit.
There’s nothing sadder than not talking about me anymore.
I mean, we can still TALK about me. Often. In glowing terms. But the week devoted specifically TO that purpose is rapidly drawing to a close.
But it’s not over yet. So hit me baby, one more time. (Situations like this are pretty much what that song is about, right? In my naive youthful innocence I can never be sure.)
I started this week of Blue Cereal Celebration with my 10 Most Viewed Posts/Pages – to great internal accolades, I must say. I’d like to finish with my Top 5 Personal Favorite Posts Not Already On Some Other List This WeekTM. (If this becomes a new thing with the other edu-bloggers, remember that you saw it here first. It’s freakin’ brilliant, if you ask me.)
I’m certain it goes without saying that they’re some of your favorites, too.
My 300 Epiphany (8/10/14) – Teaching can be a noble profession and all that. I mean, we don’t do it for the money or the glory or the clarity of expectations from above. We do it because on some naïve, idealistic, melodramatic level, we want to change the world.
But I don’t think of it that way anymore. I have found great freedom and comfort, actually – and I share this without cynicism or sarcasm – in the fact that I’m pretty sure we’re going to lose. Those who are with us are far, far fewer than those who are against us, and whether you use Common Core math or give up and figure it the old way, we are totally and completely screwed.
But it is a good day to teach.
The Gettysburg Address: Parts I, II, and III (4/14/15+) – Before I committed to focus on Oklahoma politics and legislation during 2016, I loved writing history-related posts. While they didn’t prompt the most views or comments, the responses I did receive were some of the most thoughtful and gratifying.
That’s partly my own briilliance and style, but mostly because I have the smartest, sexiest, most thinkiest readers in the universe.
This little trilogy on Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” came out particularly well. It’s also sparked some great email conversations with other teachers. Maybe now it will spark a few more.
I’d Rather Be Aquaman (9/25/14) – Written during one of the ‘Does AP U.S. History Glorify America Enough?’ crises, this post is about the choices every history teacher, and textbook, and movie, and curriculum-writer, has to make. It’s also about allowing real live dead people the same humanity and complexity we find so compelling in fictional characters.
I particularly liked this line: “We can’t narrow the gap between young people and American ideals by doing a better job bullsh*tting them.”
Don’t tell Jay, He missed this one first time ’round.
Of course you know how history teachers are – when we talk about the past, we’re usually trying to analyze the present. If only there were contemporary situations in which we told one another agreed-upon lies about history and fought enlightenment in others in order to better marginalize and mistreat entire classes of people. Perhaps a current example of some sort will eventually come to mind…
Most Americans are big fans of “liberty”, just like we love to talk about “justice” and “opportunity” and “heroes” and “high expectations.” The difficulty comes when we try to clarify just what those words mean in practice.
That’s when it sometimes gets ugly.
Does “liberty” simply mean a lack of overt constraints, or does it suggest actual agency and opportunity? What are the limits and necessary supports for liberty – especially the kind that’s supposed to with “justice for all”?
*pause*
And that’s… that’s it for the week of Celebration.
Now – Let’s Talk About The Way Forward and the Brand New, Classroom-Ready, TLE-Proof, BCE #11FF Pedagogy Protection 5″x7″ High Quality Magnetized Magnet…
How It Works
Administration observing you? New teachers sitting in on your classroom? Parents concerned about a lesson you taught or a strategy you used, or even a grade you gave their little boo-boo?
Just point to the magnet and nod – slowly, but confidently. You pass, all 4’s, discussion over, thanks for coming.
Looking for a new gig somewhere they hate teachers less? Or simply trying to persuade your local legislator that you’re not a complete idiot standing alongside the highway of life with a ‘Will Teach for Food’ sign?
Point to the magnet.
Students challenging your classroom management? Whining about the subject matter or all that thinking you’re making them do? Maybe your principal is trying to interrupt your class for another $#%& assembly?
The magnet.
You’re gonna want one of these. You’re gonna want it bad.
Two Ways To Get It
(1) Push any Blue Cereal post or content page by Tweeting it or sharing on Facebook. Comment or frame it in some way so it seems personalized, not randomly selected and widget-sent.
Sell it with your eyes, baby – sell it with the eyes.
Make sure you tag me or use #11FF or otherwise let me know – my intentions are pure, but my brain is old and my attention span unreliable.
(2) Enlighten others about #OKElections16 – The resources on this website AND in general. Talk to your co-workers, meet with your department, and calmly, rationally explain some of the issues impacting #OklaEd this year and EVERY legislative session. Encourage them to GET INVOLVED.
Better yet, ask your building principal for 5 minutes at the next faculty meeting to encourage co-workers to get informed and start voting in state primaries this June. Suggest their spouses or other family members run for office themselves – I’ll help raise the $200 filing fee if need be. Offer to help them GET INVOLVED.
As long as you’re not telling people who to vote for, there’s not even gray area in encouraging teachers to learn more and do more about the issues which impact them and their students.
Oh, and don’t be all wild and frustrated like me – do that calm, wise thing you do so well.
It takes verve to do this, and some of you will start uncomfortable conversations different than those you’d intended. THAT’S OK – you got this. It’s even OK if you don’t know every detail about every bill or every legislator.
This isn’t about what we already know and have already done – it’s about what we’re willing to learn and how much we’re willing to do.
Then, let me know. Email or DM me with your story (short or long – I’m curious, but I know you’re busy). I’ll send you a couple of the BCE Magnets as token thanks and acknowledgement that you’re awesome and Totally Forever #11FF. If you’d like extras for co-workers who responded supportively, I’ll send more – up to a dozen at a time if you believe it’s merited.
I trust you – you’re #11FF. You tell me what’s appropriate.
If you’re not in Oklahoma, but fighting similar battles in your edu-world, that works, too. You just let me know – same offer, modified as YOU see fit.
Know in advance that you amaze me every day, my darlings. I wish I was half the person and a quarter of the teacher most of you can be. Be stubborn but graceful, wise but humble, and keep changing the world.
Where is fairly predictable. 
The Gettysburg Address: Parts I, II, and III (4/14/15+)
I’d Rather Be Aquaman (9/25/14)
A Little Knowledge, Parts I, II, and III (2/21/15+)
Liberty, Parts I & II (6/1/15+)