My morning began with a parent making an unannounced visit to meet me. She did not attend Open House last night, but what she wanted to talk about was more specific to her son, not about a general overview of the course. The family has very recently moved here from Puerto Rico. That is, they moved here just last week due to the father's job. The student is a senior and is now taking the courses that, we believe, will allow him to graduate in June. The major concern is that most of the courses he has to take are required EOC (End-of-Course) subjects. These courses are those where the state makes the final exam and uses the data it collects from the results to determine school performance. The big concern here is that these are high pressure courses at Leesville. The stakes are pretty high and the student is afraid that he will not do well. And of course, his extra obstacle to success is a language barrier. From speaking with the ESL teacher, this student reads and writes English very well, but seems to have a difficult time comprehending spoken English. This is very concerning because i want him to succeed. The mother told me today that her son wants to go back to Puerto Rico in order to complete the 12th grade. The mother was on the verge of tears and I felt very badly for her. I wish there was more I could do to help, but I do not speak Spanish so I can't explain things more plainly to him. What is more, the nature of the course, Civics & Economics, is current events. All of the concepts and theories that are read and taught are followed up with real time examples as the make headlines day-to-day. My explaining these examples, I fear, will be lost on him. I only hope that his hard work (which is already evident) will be rewarded in the long run.
The rest of the day was business as usual. The classes cooperated very well. We seem to get a long very well and so I anticipate great progress this year. I did have a student ask me a personal question during class today about my political views. That is a bit of a slippery slope because as a teacher and an authority figure, I have to be careful not to portray my opinion as fact. So I did my best to explain that from time to time, when asked, I will give my opinion and that the students should understand that by no means is my opinion the rule or the fact and that the students should make sure to form their own opinions after gathering as much information on a subject as possible.
In the Civics & Economics class I showed a short video about the Declaration of Independence. It is a very well done video featuring many popular movie personalities reading the Declaration of Independence, but not after an inspiring introduction by Morgan Freeman (what a great name for the person introducing the Declaration of Independence). I was hoping to add it here to this blog today because I believe everyone should see it, but I do not have it saved on my computer. I will try to remember to bring it home tomorrow and add it. It is very moving and inspiring, and was made even more so, today, Patriot Day, September 11.
Today's Headlines:
Kanye: MTV Exploited Britney for Ratings
Kanye West seems a bit fed up with MTV, and I can't blame him, I have been up with the network ever since they took the "music" out of MTV and filled it with reality shows that are clearly not any person's reality (the "Real World," for one!) His gripe is that MTV exploited Britney Spears Sunday having her perform during the music awards knowing she was not ready and was not up to it. Although I did take my shots at Britney yesterday, I have to say, I do agree with Kanye, the network must have known that she was in no condition, physically and mentally, to perform, but signed her on anyway. That is just despicable. If you haven't seen the performance, just look to my blog from yesterday.
Frustration Evident as Officials Grilled on Iraq
Six years ago today terrorist attacks were engaged on the United States that were largely successful. Today (and yesterday), in the Senate, General Patraeus and Ambassador Crocker presented their report on the current condition in Iraq. They were asked some serious questions today and responded admirably. Although I personally am skeptical, I agree with Senator Leiberman who gave these two men much credit for their candor, truthfulness, and clarity. Having heard information from the General who is one of the best positions to understand and respond to the conditions in Iraq, I am confident in what he is doing there. That being said, I still do not remain confident in the plan as portrayed but this "administration." We are however at a critical point in Iraq (every point from no on will be a critical point). Despite my disagreement with the motivations for invading Iraq, our forces are there and cannot just up and leave with making sure that a stable and secure government exists. As a result, our troops must remain in Iraq until that job is done because it is in the best interest of the region, the United States, and the world. Iran has already said that any political or power vacuum that exists in Iraq after American forces leave will be filled by Iran. So, despite the fact that our government created this problem in Iraq, we must stay there until it is fixed.
To hear part of the Senate hearing:
listen at NPR.org
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