Now one hundred days of protest is some serious field trip out of classroom mental work– and this exercise in the freedom to speak one’s mind with one’s feet apparently will not end with the conclusion of the course term. in Quebec. Apparently Canadian students enjoy their affordable education so much they’re willing to fight for it with zeal and determination. Bill 78 is an effort to shut down the student strike protests against the 75 % hikes in tuition. Bill 78 in effect demands that people submit to the dictates of the state and refrain from protesting en mass or face serious fines (1,000 to 25,000 dollars) and arrest. Wearing a mask could get you 10 years in prison. OOOOO what do the elected official fear from the mask wearers? Damn that film V for Vendetta for its mask wearing protestors for popularizing those masks which scares the hell out of totalitarians. Every effort to ban and il-legalize the masks serves as a red flag marker as to who is who on the battlefield for mind control. Some Canadians I’ve chatted with recently declare Bill 78 is the death knoll for Premier Jean Charest and his ’liberal’ party. Take note–these days the world ‘liberal’ has vastly different meanings depending on where, who, when–it’s all about context.
If you’re wondering what’s with the red square — little red felt squares are worn by the students and their supporters in Quebec. Yes, I am in solidarity with anyone who believes quality education should be available to everyone. I would like ALL education to be ‘free of charge’ because the mind is the most vital frontier and no one should be denied the opportunity to learn–ever. Can you imagine a world in which our monetary and other ‘resources’ are focused on education that enables humans to actualize their imaginative creative intellectual potential –instead of focused on making war, engaging in genocide and destruction of anyone some folks consider a threat to their bastions of power and control? I suspect if we’d been enabling the flourishing of the mind we might not have sown the seeds of our destruction via the pollution of our own habitat. Or at least I hope we would not have done so. One never knows what course intellectual freedom might embark upon. Hell, some of the great scientific minds created the atom bomb–and enabled it to be ‘used.’ So, yes, I admit there are such dilemmas. Yet, if there’d not been a military industrial complex running rampant then the course of human history would be —-???? We don’t quite know do we? Plenty of Science Fiction authors have explored alternative realities. I suspect this is one reason the genre threatens mainstream fiction writers — because it explores more than the status quo of possibilities and pushes the imagination into uncharted waters.
A few fundamental basics regarding quality education to consider. Oh yes, all of this comes from experiencing what ‘works’ in a teaching environment. This is NOT speculation:
Optimum student class size–14 students. This is not a secret number. It’s been shown that a student teacher ratio of 14 to 1 produces major benefits.
No standardized tests. They’re just money makers for the corporate testing business and serve no other purpose than to generate profits. They’re useless for gauging real mastery of material. Ability to properly employ and discuss material in useful and creative ways reveals having learned a subject.
No corporate produced textbooks. The textbook industry is another huge money-maker that enables mass indoctrination and manipulation of information. Guess why Americans don’t know much about HISTORY beyond what someone decided they ought to know to stay malleable.
No useless grades. Grades do little more than serve as carrots on sticks. Children have been paid to get good grades in research studies. The little student research rats behave just as one might expect–they produce only as long as they’re PAID. No more funding and they cease putting forth effort for grades. That reveals nothing good about carrots or the educational system that fails to incline children to be invested in their own learning.
As for uniforms–who gives a damn what you’re wearing if you’re not engaged in the act of discovery. Uniforms might ease some social issues in some contexts but they cannot improve a child’s learning experience. Some parents like uniforms because of how easy they make “clothing issues”. Well, if clothing issues are the main concern something is seriously skewed at the core. Uniforms are just another money-maker for those businesses that produce them.
Discovered a common thread here regarding the involvement of ‘Business’ in education? Business has NO place in education. It does not foster engagement in the act of discovery. Businesses exist for profit margins and selling products–NOT for fostering the critical thinking skills of human beings.
As for “teachers” in education. It’s a tough job these days to be a teacher anywhere. The pedagogy for classrooms has clearly failed under the current system of operations in the public sector. Education is not a ‘service’ industry where just punching a time clock is enough. People’s minds are not like car parts on conveyor belts waiting for assembly. Lecturing to the ’drones’ does nothing but leave all children behind–far far behind. To teach is to lay aside ego and engage people – not all of whom one ‘likes’– in order to educate their imaginations so that they are active participants in the world rather than factory robots. This is not easy nor for the faint of heart. “Houston, we’ve got a problem.” No shit.
The Educated Imagination website dedicated to Northrop Frye http://fryeblog.blog.lib.mcmaster.ca/ O my, Frye was a Canadian?? Hehehe, see this post is ‘connected’ …..
How is your imagination today? Please do share your thoughts if you’re so inclined. No rulers for knuckle bashing nor ink pens held at the ready for grammar put downs in this blogcasa comment section. Anyone have a positive educational experience to share? Hmm? Horror stories also are ‘welcome’. Is your school under siege? Are you a teacher wondering what the hell has gone so horribly wrong? Are you a lucky teacher in a great supportive environment with eager students?
By now you’ve probably heard something about the action by John Huppenthal, the superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona to shut down the Mexican American Studies Program in the Tucson School District. If not, there’s plenty of coverage online for getting up to speed fast, including a ‘debate’ on Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/2012/1/18/debating_tucson_school_districts_book_ban between Huppenthal and Richard Martinez, the lawyer for students and teachers who wish to retain the Mexican Studies Program. You’ll probably want to supplement this coverage but it is good for seeing and hearing John Huppenthal speak for himself ‘live.’ Make sure whatever you toss at his mug on your computer monitor is easily cleaned off the screen and keyboard. Dry spit balls might be a good choice. O damn, my bias is showing, isn’t it? Well, I’m not a supposedly neutral reporter so who gives a spit.
Let’s kickoff with a quote by John Huppenthal (source: Democracy Now! link):
“If all you’re teaching these students is one viewpoint, one dimension, we can readily see that it’s not an accurate history, it’s not an education at all. It’s not teaching these kids to think critically,” Huppenthal says, “but instead it’s an indoctrination.”
Well, excuse me, but is this not precisely what has been done in American schools across the country with every corporate produced history textbook imposed upon every teacher and student in America ever since the school textbook industry got its biased fingers into the realm of education? Now the Mexican American Studies Program in Tucson challenges that corporate textbook industry indoctrination and guess what, the oppressors act with more oppression to impose their perspective again. Is that not what this action in Tucson amounts to? It it not more oppression? It this not totalitarianism in action? John Huppenthal wants his brand of indoctrination in full force in Tucson–and he’s not alone. Apparently he’d got buds who write laws to suit his ends. Yeah, a new law is what Huppenthal is using to get rid of the Mexican American Studies Program that has been running for 13 years. Isn’t that nifty? Don’t like something so write a ‘law’ against it. What a way to USE the system, Mr Huppenthanl. Oh and Huppenthal also employed blackmail to get the school district to comply–do what The Huppenthal demands or lose millions. Wow, what incredible lessons the Mexican American students are learning with every move The Huppenthal makes. Seriously, this is priceless instruction in how oppressors operate. Who needs a textbook when there’s The Huppenthal making headlines around the world with his assault on the Mexican America Studies Program? As for instruction in Oppression–well, when books are removed from school courses and school libraries because they’re deemed ‘illegal’ what more could you ask for regarding direct instruction in how the oppressors attempt to control information? Guess where I’m going with this next? Yeah, forbidden fruits are the sweetest are they not?
Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Right Movement by Arturo Rosales
Critical Race Theory by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic
500 Hundred Years of Chicano History in Pictures by Elizabeth Martinez
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos by Dr. Rodolfo Acuna
Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years ed by Bill Bigelow
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Read these books and discover what John Huppenthanl fears, besides Karl Marx. I was a tad baffled by The Tempest at first, but then it came to me–exile, dissent, oppression etc. Yeah, can’t have that play giving anyone IDEAS now can we? O Will, what sensitive fingers you had on the pulse of the people . . .. If real freedom of the mind is important then we need to find ways to support the students and teachers of the Tucson School District and their Mexican American Studies Program. One way would be to donate the funds that they’d be penalized by NOT suspending the program. Hence taking the ‘teeth’ out of The Huppenthal’s blackmail. Alas I do not have millions to make such a gift. Nor, I suspect does anyone reading this spit ball counter-attack. What we can do is READ the books being denied the students of the Tucson School District and thereby educate ourselves about their history. By doing so we stand in solidarity against The Huppenthals everywhere. Today its Mexican Americans. Yesterday the Japanese were sent to interment camps in the USA. In 1492 Columbus began the rape of the New World. The perspective of the oppressed is not pleasant to step into–but it’s part of the reality of America and should not be denied.
What can I say? Olbermann is just so good at scoring direct hits that it’s downright spooky. Who is occupying whose mind here? Olbermann mine or me Olbermann’s? It doesn’t really matter because the bottom line is that we’re on target when it comes to The Billionaire Bloom of New York City and his handling of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Heck, even NPR said at one point that it wouldn’t cover OWS unless there was violence involved. Gee, that must have been Mayor Bloomberg’s cue card to show his secret support for the people pointing fingers at the folks who destroyed the economy. Nothing else makes sense, does it? Why else would The Bloom march out New York’s finest to deal with peaceful protestors every chance he gets? With every confrontational step he takes, The Bloom aids and abets the very folks certain big banks want to banish into the pits of debt slavery of all ilks. A huge round of applause is due The Bloom for preventing the occupiers from becoming complacent in Liberty Park and encouraging everyone into the streets. According to one NYPD estimate 32,000 people accepted the mayor’s latest invitation to stomp through the streets and across the Brooklyn Bridge. Kudus to The Bloom for revealing the very uncomfortable reality of the world in which we are living.
~ click the image above for more information and images~
Do you get the feeling something serious is going on here? Just for a moment let concpets of positive social evolution occupy your mind. Just one moment at a time is fine. Really, everyone moves at their own pace–even the one percent like The Bloom.
Greetings, all cyber surfers. The speech video posted here came to my attention while visiting Occupy Dame Street in Dublin, Ireland on its first day of streaming live for a few hours. If you’ve wandered into the various chatstreams arising for the spreading occupy movement then you’ve probably experienced everything from total madhouse chaos of Occupy Wall Street in New York City to relatively coherent discussion of issues in Los Angeles–at times. Pure chance led me to Dublin’s livestream debut and its sublimity. Yes, sublimity of experiencing the positive actualization of what the internet can do for bridging the literal physical distance between people and places. People were watching and listening online the very serious and informed discussions of those occupying Dame Street across from the Central Bank in Dublin, Ireland. We watched, listened and conversed. There was discussion and communication in English and Gaelic. It was grand. After the livestream went down to cool the computer on the ground and recharge its batteries the conversation continued. It was sweet, heady stuff. Not because of the political exchange, but because of the reaching out and sharing and learning and connecting. All the things nearly impossible in the now often free for all textual brawling, trolling and raving in the Occupy Wall Street chatstream. This video shared by the wildirishpoet is a tiny part of that wonderful conscious inter-connecting. It exemplifies something important for Ireland that can be extrapolated to the rest of humanity–to manifest the sublime we’re capable of actualizing.
It’s been interesting to watch this “movement” of occupation from its inception in New York City with Occupy Wall Street. At the start it was impossible to find any coverage of the event and now, well, now even Fox News is covering OWS as best it can–with the usual suspect results of course. Still it’s telling that even right wingers are increasingly aware of the occupy movement. It’s clear some have no comprehension of the fundamental issues that are bringing people into the streets to voice discontent. The lack of understanding is a sign of what’s gone so very wrong in this culture and others. When one part of the population doesn’t really comprehend what’s got people riled up to civil disobedience then there’s a serious problem with seeing reality. It’s still easy for many to remain comfortable and cozy in their havens of home and work. But I sense that comfort will not last much longer. Chris Hedges recently penned a piece titled “Why the elites are in trouble.” Hedges hits the target right on mark. The occupation will continue until real change occurs. But what Hedges does not contemplate–at least not yet to my knowledge–is just what bringing about real positive change will entail in the long run. The One Percent and their minions may be aware and may have passed the stage of ridiculing the movement indeed–but they are nowhere near capitulating to its demands. Why should they–yet? When they have many tools of FORCE at their beck and call via the carrot of money to blow. I suspect the honeymoon period is about over for the Occupy Movement. The newness and novelty are fast fading. Roots have dug in and are spreading. Now real work is beginning–the work of awaking the rest of the population, the work of having to really deal with the power of the One Percent who will NOT “go quietly into that dark night”. This shifting of consciousness has no clear ending in sight. No one really knows just where it will lead. Oh there is all the hope for a better world for everyone. The thing is how will we get to that promised land of loving compassion for all? There are still the dark dark woods to venture through. And the history of human nature so far shows that’s not an easy journey. This is about more than just creating jobs that give everyone a living wage and enough disposable income to feed the consumer addiction. This shift in values, perspective and relating goes far beyond that and what shape(s) may eventually manifest is anyone’s guess. Oh and for those thinking this will fade and go the way of the peace movement of the 60s, I say think again. This is an awakening that knows no bounds. When the mind is free from illusions then there are no limits, no boundaries and no constraints. People often cite the Rule of Law. Well The Law is a human construct. It’s clear our current Rule of Law is fatally flawed. It does not serve the people. It serves the interests of the One Percent. Only the Laws of Nature are pure and uncorrupted by human meddling. The Laws of Nature are perfect and complex. Nature’s Law trumps human created Rule of Law because it cannot be corrupted by avarice, ego or blackmail. For humans there are laws beyond Legal Law. At the risk of sounding offhandedly simplistic I’ll call these the ”laws of doing the right things” for the “right reasons.” We want to protect the Earth because it’s our only home and it’s a Wonderful Home. We don’t have a planet to migrate to so we need to clean this one up if we wish to continue as a species. We reach out and help others because it’s what caring humans do. Some, like Tim DeChristopher, defy the human construct of Rule of Law to do the right thing–and do it without regret or remorse because they know they’re doing what needs to be done on the most fundamental levels of understanding and awareness.
The Rule of Law serves the One Percent, it’s just one tool they will use in every way they can because they enjoy being the One Percent Feudal Lords and they don’t want their luxury boats rocked by any uprising serfs. The One Percent has not yet begun to fight back. They will. It won’t be a pretty sight. They will not cede power and bow out gracefully. That’s not their style as evidenced by how they’ve become the One Percent This revolution will not be won by millions of keys shaken in the streets per the Czech’s Velvet Revolution. It’s going to be won one heart and mind at a time. And that’s damn hard work. Get ready for the long haul because once awake no one goes back to sleep. This street only goes one way–forward. To where? How long? Creating what?
Imagine the possibilities.
What kind of world do you want to live in?
I imagine a world where no one goes without the necessities of life because of someone else’s greed; where quality education is free for everyone; where everyone gets the healthcare they need; where there is no war, where Mother Earth is loved and respected; where everyone can live a live worth living–and that’s just for starters.
At this point in time the lack of mainstream news coverage of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street event is becoming news in itself. As more people become aware of the now week-long effort to raise awareness of the 99% of the population who are NOT reaping the benefits of Wall Street shenanigans–the more glaring the lack of coverage becomes. Yet this lack is not really surprising. It is most predictable considering the present nature of the media that flows nightly into the homes of millions of Americans. Ironically, many of these same Americans unknowingly have a vested interest in the efforts of the occupiers who are from their non-Wall Street ranks. Yet, showing Americans other Americans engaged in protests like the recent Tar Sands Keystone XL arrests in front the White House for two solid weeks during which over 1,253 were arrested, seems to make the Americans who own and run news broadcasts in America very uncomfortable. Why is that? Have they forgotten that the goal of their occasionally respectable profession is to inform people? Naw….they haven’t forgotten. They’ve been co-opted, sold out, and/or taken over by certain interest groups who are distinctly uncomfortable with anyone/anything that rocks the boat of the status quo–no matter how badly that boat is taking on water. Like climate change deniers, news media deniers cannot make the reality go away. Climate change is not invisible nor is the Occupy Wall Street protest. Tuning into the livestream video at Peaceful Uprising and elsewhere online may not bring stunning images of dramatic nonstop action into your brainpan. But it will provide a sense of what is involved in such activism. Yes, there are scenes of Police presence and arrests when the occupiers are on the move. There are interesting arenas of group communication and consensus reaching efforts during the General Assemblies. There’s a great deal of dealing with the practical issues of everything from keeping the video operating to information on where/how to donate food supplies. Occupations require the necessities of daily life. Who knew? In many ways this is a practical primer for such activist efforts. Is it any wonder the mainstream media is avoiding it like the plague?
Oh the joy of telephones of all ilk. Use a minute of your time and give Mayor Bloomberg a call to let him know you’re “watching” how his fair city is treating the peaceful protest of Wall Street Greed that has made life miserable for so many Americans and people around the world. It’s very easy and there’s a very nice Lady answering the phone. Be nice and polite as she patiently listens to your concerns about police actions against the people giving Wall Street a piece of everyone’s minds about their rampant unabashed greed.
212-341-2009 or 212-772-1081 x 12006
It’s an “easy” way to show support and speak your mind too. And the RICH just might be paying a little attention. They must be considering all those police officers doing their duty in and around “Liberty Park” confiscating gas and tarps and cardboard signs. Are they being paid overtime? Who is paying for that overtime? Wall Street?
Who really occupies Wall Street?
The protestors? The police? The suits? The squirrels?
Kansas Expo Center, I Expocenter Drive, Topeka, Kansas
Noon – 3:30, 4- 8 pm.
Written comments due by Midnight of October 9, 2011.
Email: keystonexl-nid @ cardno.com
FAX: 206-269-0098
Snail Mail:
Alex Yuan, Keystone XL EIS Project, P.O. Box 96503-98500, Washington, D.C. 20090-6503
This pipeline will destroy 740,000 acres of irreplaceable Boreal Forest.
This dirty oil is intended for Export not domestic use in America.
This dirty oil will not create long term job opportunities.
This dirty oil has damaged the health, water, soil and air of Indigenous communities downstream of the Tar Sands.
The Keystone 1 Pipeline has already leaked 12 times.
Imagine the BP Oil Disaster in the Middle of America.
WRITE NOW!
For more information visit online The Indigenous Environmental Network, Tar Sands Action, 350.org, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Peaceful Uprising
Currently being in no position to travel to Washington, D.C. for the ongoing protests in front of the White House which faces a park the homeless are NOT allowed to sleep in (a very noticeable thing if you’ve been to the nation’s capital and rubbed elbows with its massive homeless population visible everywhere except within sight of the WHITE HOUSE)–I risk droning on like an insane bee to online friends while conducting my own protest to the Keystone XL Pipeline here in blogland. Well, folks, I make no apologies. This is my tiny space and it’s all I’ve got to work with, so I’ve got to make it count NOW. We have had an incredible, perfect place to live and thrive on Earth–but it’s not that way anymore because of US. Either we face the reality of living in a delicately balanced “closed system” and take responsibility for the messes that humans have made or we sign our own death warrants via execution by pollution. The choice is ours. This pipeline is just one more battle in the war for more than survival on Earth. But it’s an important battle for Americans who are dealing with a government that willingly has put its heads in the sands. We need clean water and air MORE than we need oil. Or have I got that wrong? Test: Just try drinking gasoline when you’re thirsty. Better yet, try watering a garden with gas and see how that grows.
I wish I could adopt a lighter tone but I’m all out of “light” at the moment.
Peace
And it’s up to US to clean up OUR mess. Yes, it’s our responsibility to live as lightly upon Earth as we possibly can. We’ve got to do better than we have so far. 350 carbon emissions is a memory. We’re at 393 and rising. If we don’t stop ourselves from killing Earth no one else will. I’m not counting on aliens from outer space arriving in time to save us from ourselves. I’m not counting on some divine power intervening to spank us and put us on the right path. We’ve got to count on ourselves. WE’ve got to do the right thing or perish. And perish we will when the air, water and soil no longer support life on Earth. None of us can do everything, but we each can do all we can as soon as possible. Demand clean energy not more dirty oil. Germany is leading the world with shutting down nuclear power plants after learning from the ongoing disaster in Japan. Germany is going solar and wind. Why can’t the United States learn too? What are we waiting for? Extinction?
“Cut” by Vivek Chauhan with Sanctuary Asia network (www.sanctuaryasia.com).
Main source for the footage was Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s film HOME. Music by Armand Amar.
Uploaded to Youtube by bittusahgal
Much thanks to Diane Smiling Wolf Beaty for sharing this video on facebook—oh yeah, fb is good for more than silly chatter.
This is the story NOT being covered by any corporate News station in America: Two weeks of protests in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. of an alliance of environmental, Indigenous, and concerned AMERICANS to protest the building of the Keystone Pipeline all across America. Native people have been fighting the pipeline in Canada ever since it began. Now the media ignores the ongoing protests and arrests in order to keep other people from learning about the Keystone Pipeline and joining the fray. So–Spread the News! We can’t all be in DC. But we can all share the responsibility and show solidarity by NOT BEING SILENT. USE the tools at your fingertips and SPEAK out for the Earth Today! Or there may not be any pleasant tomorrows for our children.
Violating copyright births bad karma---imagine a mad hacker you'll never see coming--nor catch going. Respect = my work is my work and your work is your work.
Everything posted here is my work, copyrighted, unless otherwise noted. Comments aside. Om
KKFI
Streaming Online
"Radio Like You've Never Heard It Before!" Click the logo above for KKFI 90.1 fm KCMO.
For Kili 90.1 fm, Pine Ridge, SD, click the image below for The Voice of the Lakota Nation.
Cemetery Hill, Wounded Knee, Mugged by a Squirrel for a plum, Ed's driving, Art for Art's Sake, painting nudes, Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, KKFI, Crazy Horse, Reading, Marry, Critical Path, Political Missionary, White Wolves, teaser (1), We Shall Remain Shallow, Winter Fox Frank, Wes Studi, The Only Good Indian, Spotted Elk, naked woman centered, devotees (Crazy Horse), Blue Heron, Critical Path, An Adaptable Woman, and other plums ripening and Tanka Bars.
Art Short Bull Gallery
Click Art Above
to see more of Arthur Short Bull's original Art online at www.dawnhawk.org. Clicking on other images on the sidebar will take you to other places or enlarge photos.
om mani padme hum jewel in the lotus wahupa qi prana universal life energy
Can’t get to Toto-Land? Exercise your right to write! Take a stand against Dirty Oil from the Tar Sands. Write Now.
September 19, 2011 at 9:18 pm (art, culture, education, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, humor, journalism, life, nature, photography, politics, random, Writing)
Tags: art, black and white photography, business, Economy, email, events, evirnonment, Expo Center, fax, forest, Green, hearing, Indigenous, Kansas, Keystone, mail, nature, network, news, Oil, opinion, people, photography, Pipeline, politics, public, random, rant, snail mail, Tar Sands, Topeka, trees, write, Writing, written comments
"we see you" @ eva
Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline!
Save 740,000 Acres of Boreal Forest!
Say NO! to Dirty Oil from the Canadian TAR SANDS!
Public Hearing Sept. 26, 2011:
Kansas Expo Center, I Expocenter Drive, Topeka, Kansas
Noon – 3:30, 4- 8 pm.
Written comments due by Midnight of October 9, 2011.
Email: keystonexl-nid @ cardno.com
FAX: 206-269-0098
Snail Mail:
Alex Yuan, Keystone XL EIS Project, P.O. Box 96503-98500, Washington, D.C. 20090-6503
This pipeline will destroy 740,000 acres of irreplaceable Boreal Forest.
This dirty oil is intended for Export not domestic use in America.
This dirty oil will not create long term job opportunities.
This dirty oil has damaged the health, water, soil and air of Indigenous communities downstream of the Tar Sands.
The Keystone 1 Pipeline has already leaked 12 times.
Imagine the BP Oil Disaster in the Middle of America.
WRITE NOW!
For more information visit online The Indigenous Environmental Network, Tar Sands Action, 350.org, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Peaceful Uprising
Kick our oil addiction!
1 Comment