Hello colleagues. Coming in from Washington, the home of more activism per capita than maybe any other place in the USA! I currently work as a substitute. #sstlap
Ben Brazeau
Tech Integrator
Host of #sstlap
Green Bay WI
This week shadowing an admin and while we dealt with a number of negative behaviors, the experience of getting to know students and getting to learn more about their lives. See the whole child.
Jeremy, Connecticut, parent of 8th and 3rd graders. My 8th grader won in her category in a regional history day contest. Do I get to count that as a win? #sstlap
A1 There are both positive and negative examples. A negative one would be the Children's Crusade in the middle ages. Positive of course are civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements. #sstlap
A1: Have them examine movements critically. What did they do right, what mistakes did they make, what rhetoric did they use, how did they find momentum, who were their adult supporters, etc? #sstlap
A1) One lesson, for America anyway, is that a large swath of the majority population respects protest in the past and not the present. Have them consider: Why is that? #sstlap
And, would they have been among the Loyalists during the revolutionary period? If not, why support violent revolution in the past, but not peaceful current protest? #sstlap
A1: It’s all about drawing parallels. Problem seen, desired result imagined, action taken. The context may have changed, but it’s a similar framework of seeking change. #sstlap
As young people, too. They can be encouraged knowing the revolutionaries were so young, but also aware that somehow CURRENT youth are automatically branded as too immature to know what they're doing. #sstlap
A2: Rhetoric in American political discourse has always been an ugly affair. I think with time we tend to soften & think of stoic founders or somehow bleach cleansed memories of our past. #sstlap
That maybe true. I think my point was maybe how done make it more civil as our elected officials think public bullying and name calling is okay. #sstlap
And, would they have been among the Loyalists during the revolutionary period? If not, why support violent revolution in the past, but not peaceful current protest? #sstlap
That maybe true. I think my point was maybe how done make it more civil as our elected officials think public bullying and name calling is okay. #sstlap
Well, when it came my turn, I chose to go the Vietnam as an Army officer rather than refuse and face army prison, dishonorable discharge, and the looks on the faces of my parents. #sstlap
And, would they have been among the Loyalists during the revolutionary period? If not, why support violent revolution in the past, but not peaceful current protest? #sstlap
A2: I think many students do not trust logic and reason. For many it appears as a tool used against them. We need to teach them that people can be pursuaded with reasoning over time if we expect them to speak reasonably and civilly. #sstlap
I agree I maybe guilty of this in my questions. My focus is to discuss how do we move towards civil discourse. When adults see bullying of children as acceptable we need to change. #sstlap
A2: Rhetoric in American political discourse has always been an ugly affair. I think with time we tend to soften & think of stoic founders or somehow bleach cleansed memories of our past. #sstlap
A3 That is a classic case of misdirection - taking CPR, walking up instead of out, etc. will do nothing to stop an AR 15 wielding young man - and they are almost always young, white men. #sstlap
Exactly! Great stuff. That is a discussion that will help students have a carefully considered position and not be shot down at the first challenge. #sstlap
A2: I think many students do not trust logic and reason. For many it appears as a tool used against them. We need to teach them that people can be pursuaded with reasoning over time if we expect them to speak reasonably and civilly. #sstlap
A3: I think he has a point, but it is limited. I think we as teachers should challenge out Ss to make sure that, as they advocate for causes that they believe in, they also make sure to prepare themselves to do more than protest. #sstlap
A3 That is a classic case of misdirection - taking CPR, walking up instead of out, etc. will do nothing to stop an AR 15 wielding young man - and they are almost always young, white men. #sstlap
It's also profoundly libertarian. Individual action vs. collective action with only the former considered legitimate. Label the ideology for what it is. #sstlap
It is not just kids who are now suspicious of logic and reason. The philosopher James Garvey wrote a book, The Persuaders, in his effort to find out why logic and reason no longer persuaded other professional philosophers. https://t.co/otE1odoLCF#sstlap
We should be careful about calling out a lack of reason or logic simply because one comes to a different conclusion than we do. Our nation’s independence was largely influenced by a manipulation of the facts (Bloody Massacre, etc) #sstlap
A3: So many thoughts...1. How does asking for a safer school/enviro become “their [kids] problems? 2. Learn CPR for the next time you are in a school shooting!!!!!! 3. Is he chiding kids for suggesting that it is the adults’ responsibility to keep kids safe? #sstlap
Exactly CPR only helps after the fact and really doesn't help when someone has been shot multiple times. #sstlap this is not the answer. And putting it on kids to solve is dodging your responsibility.
A4: The rainbow flag is a huge symbol for change today. Also, the US flag in certain contexts can be used as a symbol for a particular political agenda. #sstlap
I admit feeling unsettled with the "we need to get along better" argument. Bring a knife to a knife fight. If we "fight for what's right," we can't leave out the "fight." #sstlap
Images & imagery are so powerful. The photo of “Tank Man” flowers being placed in guns during Vietnam, etc... I think our students know even more than we did at their age the power of images. #sstlap
Manipulation of facts has been used in what we generally consider "good causes" before. What are the consequences? Also, they can be used in negative causes, ie. the sinking of the Main and pushing the US into war with Spain. #sstlap
Exactly! Great stuff. That is a discussion that will help students have a carefully considered position and not be shot down at the first challenge. #sstlap
You could just do a Picasso lesson, Guernica, the peace dove etc. But I think positioning this as a lesson on propaganda is more useful. Recognizing dehumanization and peace symbols as both agents of persuasion. #sstlap
Alright #sstlap, it’s been fun chatting while I took a break from driving this evening, but time to get back on the road so I can get where I’m headed at a decent hour. Always great conversation! Be well. Teach on!
That was my first reaction. It is not the kids problem to solve they don't have the power to.enact the type of change necessary to.keep themselves safe. #sstlap
A3: So many thoughts...1. How does asking for a safer school/enviro become “their [kids] problems? 2. Learn CPR for the next time you are in a school shooting!!!!!! 3. Is he chiding kids for suggesting that it is the adults’ responsibility to keep kids safe? #sstlap
I think we need to discuss where the line between acceptable passion and unacceptable incivility lies. I propose that it might exclude rhetoric designed to shut down meaningful debate before it has run it's course, as well as outright slander. #sstlap
All good points. I'm remind that "propaganda," at least to some limited extent, is a necessary component of a functioning society. And it's also always going to be used for manipulation in positive or negative directions. #sstlap
Comparing anti-busing/segregation demonstrations in Boston and Civil Rights Marches in Alabama? Right to life marches (esp. in the 1970s) and the recent Women's marches (both of which prominently feature women?) #sstlap
#sstlap A5 Few years ago, Congressman John Lewis spoke to our 1960s class about the Civil Rights Movement, Selma and the March on Washington. Gave Ss an insight into an inspirational movement.
I don't disagree. I think what often happens is that the relatively civil people are persuaded to be more civil, and the already uncivil dig in their heels and end up winning. #sstlap
I was in high school during the Civil Rights struggle in the South. David speaks the absolute truth here. Most in the early 60s saw the Civil Rights demonstrators and workers as communists. #sstlap
I was in high school during the Civil Rights struggle in the South. David speaks the absolute truth here. Most in the early 60s saw the Civil Rights demonstrators and workers as communists. #sstlap
Progress is fragile, there is no guarantee that BLM or Waterislife will be perceived as heros in the future. Consider how Reconstruction was written about for a 100 years or so. #sstlap
A6) #BlackLivesMatter. Pure example of a movement that should be unnecessary if we lived by our ideals; shows how a majority can still be blind to how we don't. And how even the most peaceful of First Amendment expression is seen as a threat depending on who's expressing. #sstlap
By "our" I meant "ourselves," "myself." History has shown there's no guarantees for what society decides. It's not the best determinant of right and wrong. We're on our own. #sstlap
A6: SNCC, sit-ins, and the students in the Tinker case...shows the power of protest, a range of protests, and the importance of unflinching dedication in the face of consequences #sstlap
Sorry, where does Father Coughlin fit into this? America Firsters in the 30s? etc. Not all protest is good, not all speech is good. Is it sometimes necessary to punch a Nazi? #sstlap
As David Hollinger asked "How wide the circle we?" #sstlap It's the most basic question of American history. And while the tendency has been to be towards a bigger circle, it's not always that way. #sstlap
YES. Also, I've observed inconsistent vilification of "draft dodgers" depending on who it is. Though they should be distinguished from conscientious objectors. #sstlap
I also urge all Ts to teach their students abt the man behind the bus boycotts, March on Washington and much of the Civil Rights movement, Bayard Rustin. He is an American hero that was been deliberately left out of history. We owe it to our students and put history #sstlap
agreed. If we could live up to our ideas we wouldn't have the injustice and prejudice that face large numbers of people in this great nation, especially after so many have fought and sacrificed to create positive change #sstlap
Yes, there were draft dodgers like Trump and Bolton, conscientious objectors willing to serve prison time or be medics, and those who fled to Canada. #sstlap
Focusing on the moral authority of the action rather than the underlying causes and ideology driving the action leads to false equivalences: seeing "White power!" and "Black Power" as equal statements. #sstlap
As David Hollinger asked "How wide the circle we?" #sstlap It's the most basic question of American history. And while the tendency has been to be towards a bigger circle, it's not always that way. #sstlap
Which ideals? The Constitution was founded on white supremacy as much as it was ideals of equality. These have been in tension since the founding. #sstlap
