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The "Un-Civics" Lesson Dilemma

By Teach53 - Mar 8th, 2008 at 9:42 pm EST

Also listed in: 4 groups

While the Democratic elders wring their hands about what do about the Michigan and Florida delegations, as a fourth Grade teacher I have a much larger problem to deal with. How do I explain to the enthusiastic bunch of fourth graders in my class, that everything I had taught them about the presidential election and political process was a big, fat lie?

When Senator Obama’s picture appeared on the front page of the Washington Post the day after the Iowa caucuses, my class of predominately African American, high poverty level students were fascinated with the possibility of a “President Obama”. They asked endless questions about what a caucus was, did all those white people really vote for Senator Obama, how do campaigns work, how long was the campaign going to take and who would decide who would be in the election in November. My explanation, that each candidate had to campaign for people to vote for them in each state and then a certain number “delegates” would be awarded, was simple and straightforward enough for the class to understand. However, I made the mistake of teaching them that when all the primaries and caucuses were over, the candidate with the most delegates would be nominated at the Democratic convention in Denver this summer.

My students have been avidly following the presidential election process, watching some of the debates, following the voting in each state and excitedly greeting me the morning after a primary with “Obama won, he got lots more delegates last night”. When the term “Super delegate” began to be tossed about on the news programs, I explained who they were and what role they had played in previous conventions. Now that Senator Clinton has decided continue her fight for the nomination with a strategy of convincing enough Super delegates into awarding her the nomination despite the fact that she will never have a majority of pledged delegates, I have a serious dilemma. How do I explain that even if Senator Obama wins the most elected delegates, the most votes and the most states, he won’t be the Democratic nominee?

Can any of the Democratic Party leadership give me some advice on how to respond to my students when they ask me why this is happening? How about an explanation for why playing by the rules and winning fair and square isn’t enough? Or more importantly, why should they ever bother voting when they’re old enough if their votes won’t make a hill of beans difference in the end? Since Senator Clinton is in the “Solutions” business, maybe she can come up with some credible answers to those questions that a bunch of fourth graders might buy because I certainly can’t. Great Un-Civics Lesson you‘re providing the next generation Senator Clinton!

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21st Century Education - An Outsider's Perspective

By Teach53 - Nov 18th, 2007 at 12:44 pm EST

First, let me be clear that I am not a career educator, and am only in my third year in an elementary school classroom. After graduating from college with a BA degree in Political Science, I spent 30 years working in the business world, almost all of it for the IBM Corp. I made the decision to enter teaching at the age of 52 because I believe that EVERY child can achieve academic excellence, regardless of socio-economic background, and that our education system desperately needs to be reformed in order to prepare our young people for the world of the 21st century, not the last century. While my perspective from inside the classroom may be limited in time, I believe that my years of management experience bring a useful perspective to some of the issues surrounding educational reform. Many of my colleagues, the teachers unions and many democrats are currently railing against the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. NCLB is a flawed effort at reform and the implementation at state and local levels has been less than stellar, but it does contain some very important principles that I don't think we should abandon. My views of educational reform are probably not consistent with many of my colleagues or the teachers unions. I stand in support of: • holding teachers and schools accountable for the educational progress of students, • use of a standards-based curriculum, • measuring and improving the quality of teachers in our classrooms and • the implementation of technology-based learning in all classrooms. Merit pay for teachers, although not part of NCLB, also is considered to be another of those "third rail" issues that I heartily endorse. By blogging here, I hope to spur a discussion by the various stakeholders in education- parents, taxpayers, employers, and teachers about what needs to be done to ensure that our children receive the quality education that will allow them to compete in a global economy. Senator Obama's views on education are similar to mine, and that is one of the major reasons I whole-heartedly support him as a candidate. Why don't we start the discussion by talking about NCLB. What should we do with it?

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A Little Additional Humor (but spot on)

By Teach53 - Oct 18th, 2007 at 10:15 pm EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

Whenever I need I laugh I check out the political cartoons over at Slate.com. This one had me howling, also exactly what the Clinton campaign has been spinning to everyone:
http://cartoonbox.slate.com/hottopic/?image=2&topicid=131

Enjoy!

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Inspiration vs. "flawless (albeit boring) campaigning

By Teach53 - Oct 7th, 2007 at 10:31 pm EDT

Also listed in: Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack) | Maryland for Obama | Prince George's for Obama

I've been thinking about the campaign for the last several days, and while there are many substantive differences between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, I think the single most important difference is his ability to inspire average people. I'd like to see the campaign find some opportunities (there don't have to be a lot of them) between now and Thanksgiving to recapture some of the inpirational magic that the Senator can generate. The article below maybe on to something. (link below)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2185975,00.html
I find the perspective, on the US presidential race, from the foreign press to be more reflective and thoguhtful than most of the US MSM. Maybe some of the new adds could include some footage from the Senators speech at Howard U. or to the SEIU convention.

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WP Article - "Who Made Hillary Queen?"

By Teach53 - Oct 6th, 2007 at 9:10 pm EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

Thought everyone would like to see what's in tomorrow's Washington Post by Geoffrey Wheatcroft. The title of the article is a scream! Interesting perspective on how the rest of the world looks at the Clinton campaign and its claims of "experience".

"Who Made Hillary Queen?"

"Among so much about American politics that can impress or depress a friendly transatlantic observer, there's nothing more astonishing than this: Why on Earth should Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton be the front-runner for the presidency?"

Link

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Peggy Noonan's Wall Street Journal Opinion Article

By Teach53 - Oct 6th, 2007 at 1:31 pm EDT

Also listed in: Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack) | Maryland for Obama | Prince George's for Obama

Like many supporters of the campaign, I have been discouraged, but not surprised by the bias I've seen from many MSM outlets and journalists. So when I do see a well-balanced article I want to be sure others get a chance to se it as well. The opinion piece written by Peggy Noonan was refreshing for its lack of bias and though provoking as well. She asks readers to consider the ramifications of the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton dynastic rule for our country. Read ad enjoy;
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/

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