"I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it."
-Harry S. Truman
I only just recently saw this quote by Harry S. Truman, and immediately connected it to what I believe about education. If students are going to learn, then what they are doing must be meaningful to them. I am not the knower of all things, and rather than provide my students with a totally irrelevant curriculum, it is important to find a way to involve them in the natural process of inquiry and discovery.
"If A Tree Falls"
Bruce Cockburn
Rain forest
Mist and mystery
Teeming green
Green brain facing labotomy
Climate control centre for the world
Ancient cord of coexistence
Hacked by parasitic greedhead scam
From Sarawak to Amazonas
Costa Rica to mangy B.C. hills
Cortege rhythm of falling timber.
What kind of currency grows in these new deserts,
These brand new flood plains?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?
Cut and move on
Cut and move on
Take out trees
Take out wildlife at a rate of species every single day
Take out people who've lived with this for 100,000 years
Inject a billion burgers worth of beef
Grain eaters, methane dispensers.
Through thinning ozone,
Waves fall on wrinkled earth
Gravity, light, ancient refuse of stars,
Speak of a drowning
But this, this is something other.
Busy monster eats dark holes in the spirit world
Where wild things have to go
To disappear
Forever
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?
(If a tree falls in the forest)
(If a tree falls in the forest)
A few weeks ago Kathy referred to Bruce Cockburn’s song “If A Tree Falls in the Forest”. I had the pleasure of attending one of Cockburn's concerts last year and became aware that many of his songs are about social justice and environmental issues. The chorus of this particular song makes me think about teachers and whether or not, when they speak up, they are heard. I don't mean the voice teachers have through their Federation, but about what they do in the classroom every day. During this course I have been happy to hear that many participants have been invited to contribute to curriculum development. However, I still view our educational system as an organization with top-down management, and teachers are expected to do what 'others' have determined is best for the students they teach.
One line in this song that I found interesting was “What kind of currency grows in these new deserts, These brand new flood plains?” Just as Cockburn is suggesting that someone is bound to get rich off the changing land, I believe that the concerns expresed in our course about someone (publishers, for example) getting rich off the education system are well founded.
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new
start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new
end."
-Carl Bard
This simple quote by Carl Bard is extremely important, especially for educators. We cannot be all things for all students and need to know in our hearts that what is done cannot be undone and that tomorrow morning we can start again!

Click here to access the full text of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 address.
Much has gone on in my world until this point in time, and I realize that how I approach situations and how I teach are a direct result of numerous cumulative experiences in my life. Many events in history have impacted my way of thinking, and one in particular was the speech, "I Have A Dream", given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963. I can remember as a young girl watching the racial riots on television during the 60's and not comprehending what they were all about. I lived an isolated life and had no idea that there was so much hatred in the world. I continue to wonder how far our world has really come in terms of acceptance and inclusion. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 recognizing his efforts to promote peace.
"Students express anger"
By: Yvonne Bendo, Chatham Daily News
I have included this recent article from the Chatham Daily News, as it addresses authentic learning for the students involved in the situation. Students who have a valid purpose for writing are far more likely to be engaged in the activity, and their response to the stolen money provided them with a compelling reason for writing those letters!
About a month ago, my daughter and I saw this sign on one of the main streets in Chatham. I immediately saw a connection to critical literacy and I will leave you now with these questions: What comes to mind when you see the sign? Is the sign appropriate? For who? What do you think the sign is about?
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