Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Some people are mean

and that's about it.

For those of you on the border, check out some of the writings of Nel Noddings. She does work in the "ethic of caring". Although I don't agree with some of her major points, her respect for humanity and the earth is astounding.

Also, I want to take a moment to urge you to also consider the concept of democratic schooling. Michael Apple, Henry Giroux, and Paulo Freire would ask you to question your blind acceptance in the current structure of schooling.

Consider:

1. Epistemological.What should count as knowledge? As knowing? Should we take a behavioral position and one that divides knowledge and knowing into cognitive, affective, and psycho-motor areas, or do we need a less reductive and more integrated picture of knowledge and the mind, one that stresses knowledge as process?

2. Political. Who shall control the selection and distribution of knowledge? Through what institutions?

3. Economic. How is the control of knowledge linked to the existing and unequal distribution of power, goods, and services in society?

4. Ideological. What knowledge is of most worth? Whose knowledge is it?

5. Technical. How shall curricular knowledge be made accessible to students?

6. Aesthetics. How do we link the curriculum knowledge to the biography and person meanings of the student? How do we act "artfully" as curriculum designers and teachers in doing this?

7. Ethical. How shall we treat others responsibly and justly in education? What ideas of moral conduct and community serve as the underpinnings of the ways students and teachers are treated?

8. Historical. What traditions in the field already exist to help us answer these questions? What other resources do we need to go further?

It's funny that some of the rudest, selfish, narrow minded people are those that are the least informed. Is your ability to diagram sentences really a reflection of your abilities? If that's all you've got, you're fucked.

One more thing, if Ann Coulter would become a scientologist, I think my fantasy baseball team would be complete.

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