tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post8785762722312812828..comments2024-03-26T23:57:42.268-04:00Comments on SpeEdChange: Why would any child listen to us?irasocolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-44674798390994937102011-07-14T12:41:06.284-04:002011-07-14T12:41:06.284-04:00Very thought provoking. My parents grew up in wak...Very thought provoking. My parents grew up in wake of the Great Depression. I am very lucky that not only did my parents sacrifice their present for my future they taught how important that it would be for me to do so as well. I feel that we have lost sight of what is really important. Our children are lacking in education, unemployment is sky high, and the only thing that people are worried about is money. I think once the adults can say that our system is not working and needs to be fixed and are willing to step up and sacrifice for the future of our country and our children we may stand a chance of becoming a great country again.Ouida McDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12737166953795492458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-21701843310225528022011-07-10T11:01:40.215-04:002011-07-10T11:01:40.215-04:00Excellent post! I've been thinking of asking ...Excellent post! I've been thinking of asking my students to look at great speeches and respond free-form to what they found powerful. (I figure it's a better way of talking about persuasion and word choice and all that English Language Arts-y terminology). I think I'll add your links to videos to the bank of them I've been building.<br /><br />It's also a great excuse to expose them to new ideas, ideas they haven't heard from Tea Party or religious right parents. (I asked my students the same question about the motive of the original Tea Party, and the kids had no idea!) I have been teaching 11 years now and I'm noticing the students regurgitate whatever they hear from home or their small parent-approved community. I think the first step to free thought is to hear ideas different from your own and that challenge you to rethink why you believe what you believe. Hegemony only "works" if there is no dissent or if dissent is quashed.<br /><br />I also was thinking that the ideas you emphasize here in this post about sacrifice and vision for the future, with less emphasis on the pleasure in the present are ideals that sports and music and drama can teach. Ironically, these are the programs being cut in our schools due to budget concerns.<br /><br />But I will not be discouraged. I also read as much of Larry Ferlazzo's blogs as possible-- check him out when you can. In the last few weeks he posted a (Washington Post?) write-up of some research about delay of gratification being the key to future academic success-- the marshmallow study. I plan to look at his links for helping my high school students some delay of gratification. Perhaps we can make some difference and these kids can help put the country on the right track?Jennifer Geigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10368121524017163863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-73819969376946115932011-07-09T16:45:39.391-04:002011-07-09T16:45:39.391-04:00You are absolutely right, Darren. Today's adu...You are absolutely right, Darren. Today's adult generation definitely knows how to produce children but don't have a clue when it comes to deciding between the adults' present or the children's future. Self-sacrifice is no longer in our lexicon just as leadership and statesman no longer mean anything in politics.<br /><br />Great thoughts, Ira.David Brittenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02941093468439800218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-66780082305315912422011-07-09T09:42:14.060-04:002011-07-09T09:42:14.060-04:00Part of the problem I see, Ira, is that the adults...Part of the problem I see, Ira, is that the adults in generations past were willing to sacrifice their present for their children's future. How dare they, for we, clearly, are not!<br /><br />The collective adult "we" in our society today cares only for ourselves, our present, and our gratification. When selfishness, greed, and indulgence lose out to empathy, sacrifice, and saving, then - and only then - will the future of our children look bright.<br /><br />Thank you for such a thought-provoking post.Darren Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578208859042859340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-23369217208989672312011-07-09T08:30:04.467-04:002011-07-09T08:30:04.467-04:00Thank you - once again, your post covers what I...Thank you - once again, your post covers what I've been mulling over lately, only much more eloquently. :)<br /><br />I've stopped watching the news, because all I can think about is how we're throwing away the potential of an entire generation at this point. I went through elementary and middle school at the tail end of the Cold War, when the rhetoric we got was still "the U.S. the greatest nation on earth and we can do ANYTHING, and to do that we need the best and brightest and smartest students, so if you apply yourself, you will be contributing to the AWESOME that is the U.S." I really believed, as a kid, that I was growing up in a country that valued and needed my contributions.<br /><br />I don't want to return to the "we're awesome, you suck" kind of jingoism, but I do miss the U.S. in which being The Most Awesome County That Ever Awesomed meant supporting students to find out what their personal best was and then achieve it. Now I feel like no one gives a crap whether schoolkids (or anyone else, for that matter) succeeds or fails. I feel like we've been thrown out, and I hate it.Dani Alexishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05320126446776981308noreply@blogger.com