JISHOU, HUNAN — I confess. It’s time to come clean. I am a pusher. For the last 25 years, I have been encouraging young people –even my own children! The shame! — to pursue higher education.

According to The Watchtower magazine, published by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, higher education is a really bad thing, like drugs, alcohol, wild parties, social networking sites, and maybe even rock & roll.

Been there, done that. So I’m apparently damned to hell. Crap. Who knew?

By way of Pharyngula, I saw this image scanned from The Watchtower. It’s all there. I am soooo screwed.

October 16th, 2009 | Tags: education, higher education, religion, snark, Watchtower | Category: Commentary, Teaching, religion | Leave a comment

I am now a writer for the Teachers’ Lounge at The Daily Kos. My first Teachers’ Lounge diary went up yesterday, and was even rescued overnight! In DKos-atopia, that’s a singular honor. So, go read it.

September 13th, 2009 | Tags: China, daily kos, education, ESL, teachers lounge, Teaching | Category: China, General stuff, Teaching, Teaching English | Leave a comment

JISHOU, HUNAN — Recently, I wrote a reaction to the Christian rightwing hijacking of the Texas Board of Education, and the anti-public education views of one of its members. A visitor named Joey swung by this week, and left this comment:

You will note that Joey has nothing directly to say about the Texas BOE, but definitely agrees that public education is a Bad Thing.

I don’t, though I am a critic of public education. My reply was this:

September 11th, 2009 | Tags: civics, compulsory, education, Jefferson, public education, Schools, TBOE, Texas Board of Education, Washington | Category: Commentary, Schools, Teaching | Comments (22)

JISHOU, HUNAN — As expected (by rational people), President Barack Obama will talk at noon today to students about overcoming hardships, staying on track, going to school, doing their work, and making a difference for their communities and their nation.

He even says, “God bless you and God bless America.”

I’ve read the text released ahead of time by the White House. I can’t find any socialist, Marxist, or any other kind of pernicious indoctrination. It’s not bombastic. It’s not demagoguery. In fact, he says exactly what he said he would say.

So why were people upset again?

September 7th, 2009 | Tags: Barack Obama, education, president, school, speech, students | Category: Commentary, Schools | Comments (2)

JISHOU, HUNAN — Maybe I can stop foaming at the mouth now. Two polls by Survey USA of Verona, New Jersey, shows people overwhelmingly favor President Barack Obama speaking directly to schoolchildren.

In fact, the people surveyed said it was entirely appropriate for any president to speak to schoolchildren. Most said they would want their children to hear the speech. And most said school districts should make the decision whether students should watch or listen.

Two identical polls were taken of 500 adults each in Fresno, California, and statewide in Missouri. Here are the results of the Fresno poll. The results of the Missouri poll are almost identical; you can check them for yourself.

Question 1: President Obama plans to deliver a national address to school children on the importance of them taking responsibility for their own success in school. Do you think it is appropriate? Or not appropriate? For President Obama to deliver this address?

Question 2: Do you think it would be appropriate? Or not appropriate? For ANY President to deliver this address?

Question 3: If you had a child attending a school that was going to show the address, would you tell your child to pay attention? Would you tell you child to NOT pay attention? Or would you keep your child home?

Question 4: Who should decide whether to show President Obama’s national address to school children? School districts? Or individual teachers?

September 5th, 2009 | Tags: Barack Obama, education, Schools, speech, survey, wingnuts | Category: Commentary, General stuff, Schools | Comments (2)

JISHOU, HUNAN — I am now convinced that a certain segment of the US population is now certifiably insane.

I have blogged about parents squawking about teachers who used to be porn actresses, about teachers taking kids to art museum to see statues of nude people, about schools allowing creationism to be taught in science classes, about students talking about God and Jesus in commencement addresses. These concerns are understandable, even if I don’t always agree with the parents doing the complaining. Sex and religion are after all touchy subjects.

But to object to their children hearing the President of the United States talk about the importance of education? I just don’t get it. They must be crazy.

Hey, people! He’s the fucking President of the USA! He won by majority vote. He’s YOUR president. It’s not like he’s Charles Manson or that whacko who held a girl hostage for 18 years in his backyard.

Barack Obama, a guy who rose from a low-income, single-parent family to become the leader of the Free World, wants to talk to schoolchildren on Sept. 8 on the importance of staying in school and getting an education. It apparently worked for him just fine.

Some parents, the kind who hang on every word Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Bachmann, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin utter, the kind who use WorldNetDaily as their primary source of information, believe, however, that Obama will “indoctrinate” their children into becoming socialists, Marxists, Muslims, or I don’t what else.

September 4th, 2009 | Tags: conspiracy, crazy people, education, rightwing, schools.obama | Category: Civil liberties, Commentary, Media, Schools, Teaching | Comments (1)