Freedom Takes a Hit

I wrote a while back about the law in Indiana requiring government-issued ID in order to vote, and I am shocked to say that the Supreme Court upheld it.

From an editorial Tuesday in the New York Times:
"Democracy was the big loser in the Supreme Court on Monday. The court upheld Indiana's voter identification law, which solves a nearly nonexistent problem by putting major barriers between voters -- particularly minorities -- and the ballot box. Worse, the court set out a standard that clears the way for other states to adopt rules that discourage disadvantaged groups from voting. It is a sad reversal for a court that once saw itself as a champion of voting rights."

There is still no evidence that there has ever been voter fraud at the polls in Indiana - so this "solves" an imaginary problem. But it creates an important new one: preventing the poor from voting. Getting a government-issued ID is not free or easy; even when the fees are waived, it takes money to get required documents like birth certificates, and it also takes time and energy and knowledge about where to go and what to do. Not so simple.

A related milestone: I paid $41.53 to fill my gas tank today. I know folks with larger gas tanks passed that mark a while back, but it's a first for me. $3.52/gal.

I really think this is all part of the same system that caused Antoine's death... (see below). Things are going VERY well for a small group of the wealthy powerful, and not so hot for other folks.

Democracy could fix this - on all three counts - but the slow destruction of the public schools means average folks no longer understand their power.

What's the solution to THAT???

Perspective

Just as I finished the last post, Amy Grant began to sing...

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Amen.

Dead Children

I have lost another student to murder by gun. I am ANGRY.

I didn't pay close attention to what the Rev Jeremiah Wright actually said that was offending folks, but my recollection is that it was generally negative about America. Right now, I'm feeling that America is on the road to hell, and I can relate to anyone who is ANGRY with the circumstances we find ourselves in today in this country.

I have been in education for 15 years. In that time I have had four students killed and three locked up for murder or other gun crimes. Plus one more just arrested last week for gun possession but apparently getting off. And those are just the ones I know about.

I am ANGRY that a student of mine who was smart, who graduated from high school with skills last year, is now dead after participating in an armed robbery. If the smart ones go down, what hope does that leave for the rest??? Antoine was a good kid by teacher standards - he didn't cause trouble and he learned what I tried to teach him. What on earth was he doing in an armed robbery???

I am ANGRY that kids with potential, who had lots of support while in school, graduate and suddenly have nothing. If a kid is not ready when they graduate, then what? One former student, who keeps telling me he is going to enroll in community college, was caught getting high with a gun in his car, sitting across the street from a school, waiting for his girlfriend. Is that really all he's got?

I am ANGRY that two of the brightest young black men I've sent off to college in recent years have returned - dropped out - in less than a year. As their English teacher, I know it wasn't simply a skill issue - they could think and write just fine. There's more to it. And again, those are just the ones I know about.

What exactly does America offer our poor black boys? Someone asked me this afternoon if Obama could make a difference on this issue, and I said maybe for the generation yet to come, but for these guys? I'll have to ask them, but I doubt it.

I am ANGRY.

25 Years After "A Nation at Risk"

I don't often agree with George Will - though he is an incredibly articulate writer and one often has to pay careful attention to avoid getting sucked into baloney with him. But his reflection on the state of education the other day is worth reading.

I disagree with much of his rhetoric, but he dares to go where good liberals (myself included) fear to tread, noting that a 1966 report concluded that "the qualities of the families from which students come to school matter much more than money as predictors of schools' effectiveness." (Note the work qualities, not quality. That's important.)

A cursory glance around any school community will confirm this. In general, when parents insist that students do well academically, they do well. When parents do not push, students do not accomplish as much. Occasionally, a student fails or succeeds in spite of their parents, and that's the nature of America. But educators know that, as a group, in general, students will meet our expectations.

(This is why I tell my friends with small children to stop using "or else" - it signals that you don't really expect them to do what you've asked.)

Soo... Will blames schools for focusing on teaching and funding (the things they CAN control) rather than the percent of students born to single parents or poverty - which is not only unfair but pointless. It's unfair because the family is not the purview of the schools. It's pointless because the family is not the purview of the schools. Blaming families is handy, but accomplishes nothing.

It's not a matter of helping parents understand that their kid needs a desk with a light in a quiet place, and needs to sit there for an hour a day, in order to get homework done. That we can do. It's a matter of finding housing for the friends & relatives who are staying in the home and giving kids no privacy. Of keeping the electricity turned on. Of providing a meal - even without the family gathered around one table for dinner. Of convincing folks that Dr King's dream did not die with him, much as it appears to have when viewed through the lens of poverty.

So while Will brings up a point that is relevant to discussions of academic achievement, it is not helpful in terms of improving schools. The spin-master strikes again.

Misusing statistics to push an agenda is not a conservative thing - people from all points of view do that. I was joking with a friend in my stats class today that we can use statistics to prove just about anything. Correlations don't necessarily even show relationship - they certainly don't show cause.

For example, Will implies that the unionization of teaching is the cause of a decline in the average SAT score. That's crap. The first teachers union was created in 1962 and America's highest average SAT scores were posted in 1964. Cause? Of course not. Correlation? Hardly. Relationship? Maybe - both were reactions to the fact that America was asking its schools to do something never before attempted: educate everyone.

Schools do what they can with what they have. Some are racist places that create barriers for kids who don't have well-educated parents. Can't deny this. But the system is a reflection of America - and the many people who think like George Will. We who are working in schools know that we have much work yet to do to accomplish the goal of educating everyone. But unlike the pundits, we're in there fighting the good fight.

Getting Easier...

Still struggling with this crazy stats class, but getting better! Here's a question on the current assignment that I actually know the answer to:

For Analysis #2, what are the null hypotheses associated with each of the three linear contrasts for the post hoc tests?

I'm finally to the point where I know answers like that without having to check notes. I'm learning! ;)

Peacemakers

A seminar is not usually my first choice for a Saturday, but I attended a great one yesterday! Peacemaker Ministries teaches conflict resolution using biblical principles - very interesting.

A few highlights:

There are three categories of responses to conflict: flight, attack, or conciliation. Of course the first two are much easier than the third!

The "four promises of forgiveness" are really just sensible ways to ensure that a conflict, once resolved, stays that way - definitely something I can use with students with different language!
- I will not dwell on the incident
- I will not bring it up later & use it against you
- I will not talk to others about it
- I will not all it to stand between us
If my 6th graders would commit to these promises, we'd have a lot less drama in the middle school! :)

Conflict can provide opportunities - sometimes to hep others, or serve others, or for us to grow! And sometimes even the chance to glorify God. So conflict is not - as "Minnesota Nice" would have us believe - something always to be avoided. Ha - radical concept.

I was glad to have the time to think about how to bring positivity into situations where it is needed - it was powerful. God is so good!

This is What 40 Looks Like!

I've been having a "this is what 40 looks like" attitude this month as the milestone birthday hit. I refuse to be bummed out about anything to do with this age. My life rocks! The idea that we should want to be younger is crap. Here's a bunch of my friends at another friend's 40th birthday party last month - all but two of the women in the picture are 40 or 41. I think we're doing just d*** fine. :)

Female Creativity

This came via email so who knows about it's real origin, but it is attributed to a company called Edge which is apparently female-run. This photo is of a space that they supposedly created for another female-owned and run company... true or not, it's still pretty funny. (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Marc Bamuthi Joseph

Saw a very interesting one-man show at the Walker last night - Marc Bamuthi Joseph in a performance called "The Break/s" combining spoken word, dance, acting, and more. Born in '75 he is a Gen Xer in full flower - finding his powers, naming and using them to speak truth to the world and try to make it better. Like the social justice movement rising from the spoken word scene, he has the beautiful faith of the young that he can and even will make his mark.

I took some notes - although there was so much that was rich and interesting I couldn't possibly capture it all. I hated to pull out my TREO because the light form the screen can be distracting, but I covered it up as best I could because there were a few lines I just had to get down:

"If you lose your mind, what jumps in to take its place?" Before the show, the MC was moving through the crowd, asking questions designed to get the audience thinking about the big themes in the show, and he asked "Have you ever lost your mind?" to several people. My friends & I laughed - of course! Every day! In education, how can you avoid it? Ha ha. But Bamuthi took it to the next level: If you lose your mind, what jumps in to take its place? Fascinating question.

About his white girlfriend and the complexities of identity politics: "She is the woman I want to come home to, but not always the woman I want to leave the house with." Ouch. Honest! He talked about how the black mother of his black child challenged him about the extent to which a white stepmother might not be good for his son... when did love get so complex? Was it always so?

"The more I am accepted by others, the less I accept myself." He didn't imply so much that he was seeking approval from others, but he found that as he moved through the world and received approval & acceptance, he lost some sense of self. I can relate. I know I am much more interested in acceptance by others than I should be.... It's a hard habit to break.

His experience of being black in America: "I have not experienced oppression. That is just some shit I see on TV." Oppression is so much bigger around the world than we realize in America. He talked about going to Senegal & learning from a woman who was teaching the elders in very rural areas to stop genital mutilation. So much larger than our problems here. He does see that being descended from slaves is a relevant part of some black Americans' self-identity, but he does not name it as defining for himself.

About the extent to which artists can actually make a difference in the world: "Like Basquiat tagging Bush's yacht..." What am image! I love it! No one talks about Jean-Michel Basquiat anymore, but as a rebel artist I think it makes sense to evoke his name, as it stands in such contrast to George W. Bush, who is no rebel and no artist...

And maybe most important: "How you love is what you do, not what you say. Action is truth." Oh, I believe this.

BRAVO, Bamuthi!

Here's a video to give you a little idea of the experience:

21

The Mn Legislature is apparently considering a bill to lower the drinking age back to 18, and the Strib came out against it today with an editorial for keeping the drinking age at 21 that surprised me a little. They seem to be relying heavily on "research" that isn't cited. I don't like reading about "studies" and "evidence" with no names, dates & details attached.

I do like the assertion that if it's ridiculous to have kids serve in the armed forces but not be able to drink, then maybe the age for serving should be raised too. We could add marriage to that too & call it a day. But I hesitate to believe it can be wrapped up so neatly.

I have one striking experience with the subject that has informed my thinking for years. When I was in high school, I went on a school-sponsored trip to Spain for a couple weeks. Drinking was considered part of the "cultural experience" and our parents signed a form giving us permission to drink alcohol on the trip. Accordingly, we drank every single chance we got. But the 16-year-old Spanish girl whose family I lived with did not. The first night I was with them, we went out to dinner, and wine was offered. I happily accepted. Chiqui declined. I turned to her in surprise and asked why she wasn't having any, and she said "it's a school night." He parents would have allowed it; she just didn't want any.

The experience has stayed with me ever since. All the American kids on the trip - jocks, geeks, etc - drank. The Spanish kids, who had ready access with no legal drinking age, did not. Do the math, people.

Someone pointed out recently that if the drinking age was 18, most kids would turn "of age" while still living with their parents, and thus have parental influence on learning to drink. Logical.

The Strib says that the rate of drunk driving among 18-21 year olds has apparently dropped significantly since the drinking age changed. Also logical.

But is there another way to address that, besides the law?

Homoscedasticity

I love statistics class...

Homoscedasticity apparently means homogeneity of variance – we can plot predicted values on a scatterplot against standardized or unstandardized residuals to figure this.

Who knew?