The Last Chapter

I have to admit that I wanted more from the last chapter of this book. I've read the book before, and I can't remember how I felt when I finished it the first time. Have you ever read something and it didn't effect you, but then you read it again and the message was different? What was bland was now amazing. That's happened to me several times. I often think about teaching as a means to a revolution. Am I getting to the kids, or am I just speaking letters condensed into words that hit the ears of students listening to another voice? A texting voice. A Top 40 voice. Maybe all this is hitting a deaf ear. Today I taught Rock Cycle to a group of 4th graders. I wonder what they will remember from the experience. Will they remember the terms, Esker, Igneous, Glacier, or Kame? Maybe the will remember the lyrics to Rock Cycle. Does it really matter anyway? Do they need to remember any of those terms. These kids were crazy. They were off the wall. At one point their student teacher asked me, "How long until the next activity, because the kids are just goofing off at this point?" This was a student teacher. Not their "real" teacher. I thought the same thing. We were in the pit looking for rocks, and after 10 minutes the kids lost interest. I'm not saying that the activity isn't worthwhile. It has it merits, but the timing is off. Sami wrapped things up, but then we still had several minutes to kill. I decided to take the kids on a short hike. We went exploring for wild things. One of the students found a woodchuck den, and I "tried" to lure it out. Of course I knew the woodchuck would not come out, but it was exciting. The kids were totally silent for the first time. They were engaged. No bells, or time told us what to do. We were in the moment. This is the revolution. We don't need a revolution on a bus. Rosa did this for us already. God bless her. We don't need to write a letter to a senator, or a president. We just need to take kids outdoors. We need to learn how to feel for the moment. We might miss the bell. We might not follow the rules. Some might get upset, but who cares? Feel the moment. Feel the moment.

The Final Chapter, the force has been restored

So a few thoughts. First, I have just finished watching Star Wars all VI episodes for the first time ever in time. YAY me.

Second. I loved at the end of the chapter he got all biblical. "We cannot live on bread along" THank you word of God. I also thought it wasn't nesessary and didn't add to his point, but each to their own.

THird. I would have liked the difficulties of movement and reform to be discussed more. I think that reform is truly difficult for those involved. It is emotionally hard even when you truly believe in something and have to go aganist friends, family and co-workers. Things are most often taken personally because we put are heart into almost everything. I must say that I am most aware of the anabaptist reform, which was very harsh and grave consequences for believers. It is not easy to believe things when people are always saying that you are wrong.

Well I think that this class has been good overall. Dispite my issues.

Chapter 7

I really enjoyed reading this chapter the best. It was more interesting and kept me going. chugging on like a little train... toot toot. I thought that Palmer set up his argument for the need of social change well. I liked how he outlined the stages of social change and then later went into more detail. Changing a system is very hard and time consuming and requires a lot of planning. But however hard social change becomes, there is always the push for something different and better, which is great. So whether the is change that is happening for cleaner air, better educational system, betterment for people's rights, it is possible that it can change as long as there is that desire, push, organization... change will slowly come about. I liked the part when Palmer said, " As a movement goes public, the identity and integrity of it's participants are tested against the great diversity of values and visions at work in the public arena. We must stay close to our own integrity in this complex field of forces, where we an easily lose our way. But we must also risk opening ourselves to conflicting influences, for in that way both the movement and out integrity can grow."

Let's Make Some CHANGE

Oh, how I love me some talk about social movements.

I come from a family of movers and shakers. My grandfather worked for peace among violent offenders in an unjust system, but eventually got shot for it (he lived). My dad and mom worked for FLOC fighting for farm workers rights and had many a run in with an angry farmer with a shot gun, while my mom's parents almost disowned her for acting like a "commi". I was brought up going to protests, having people yell at me and cops threaten jail time, but I was always told to keep on fighting. I remember going to my VERY conservative high school during the Bush/Kerry election wearing a "Buck Fush" shirt and having every teacher and faculty member tell me that I shouldn't be so brave. So, I guess this chapter really didn't come as much of a shock or much news to me. I have always been one who has been attracted to these people who push the system, or as Palmer calls it "living an undivided life". But, I will not say that I would call myself one of these people, because most of the time, this scares the crap out of me.

While reading though, I realized that my favorite teachers were these people. Sorry to go back to my mentor, Dr. Kimmel, but that man tried to change Texas State again and again. People loved him though. He had students that loved him, awards from administration, respect from the community, etc. I don't really know how he did it. So many other people that I ran into there were not the same way because you could tell they were trying so hard to get that tenure. His classes were not your normal State college classes. He gave his students the test 2 weeks before hand. He hated testing, so he just gave it to us and if we wanted to get A's, we could, EASILY. He focused on an end project that we basically did on our own. The great thing about the projects was that it forced us, as students, to go to him with our thoughts and questions. He would have a line outside of his office during office hours every single day! This always amazed me! But he made that available and open. He was the least threatening person, but everyone respected him. When he decided to write his second book, he pushed the envelope again. He went to the administrators to ask for the semester off, but instead of just telling them he needed it to study the Rio Grande, he told them that he would be studying the "paradigm shifts that were occuring along the Rio Grande". It was great! And they let him have his time off. I feel as though most people would have looked at him like he was a lunatic, but the man pulled it off...somehow.

Sorry, to get a little off track, but I couldn't help myself. I feel as though this change in academia and education in general needs to happen. I think the fate of our society rests on it. I don't know what the world will come to if we continue to have these institutions and teachers who follow them that are just training people not to think, but to follow. I don't think that these people are able to inspire anyone anymore, and that is the most important thing that education can do for a student. When I think about this change though, and I think about myself and the fact that I will be getting a "real job" soon enough, I get a little nervous. My head tells me that I should take a job, and do what is needed, in order to pay the bills (mainly loans for this fine education). But me, who was taught to be a radical, is yelling and screaming that I will refuse to do what I am told to do, unless I think it is right and I can do it without beating myself up for it. This is why I did not get the "English Education" degree. I couldn't put myself in this box and be able to live up to it. I knew that I had too much to offer and too much of a brain to do what the institution told me to do.