The New Pink Floyd- We DO Need Education; we DONT need thought control! Leave Our Teachers Alone!
The addiction to teaching comes from the fact that we do “reap what (we) sow!” Educators seldom know how the “seeds” we plant will harvest. Will they learn how to think critically? Will they be able to create, be an asset to their community and their families? Have I really helped my students reach their full potential and realize their goals BEYOND state test scores? Will they be true, active American citizens or politicians’ and cooperations’ sheep or worse yet, mules? Will they be self-reliant and at peace? Our interaction with our students fully immerses us in what and where they are coming from while compelling us to relentlessly focus on what they might be and where they might go if just given the proper education, environment and nurturing.
So imagine how proud the educators of Philadelphia are right now to know that our students protested by the thousands against budget cuts and school closings. Our students’ march caused traffic delays and blockages. This time, they cut class so that class would still be there when they returned!
I wonder did legislators and local school officials really think that our children were going to stand by and watch school after school close and program after program be denied funding. Our children are listening, watching and experiencing the school districts and their cities financial priorities. And as for critical thinking !!!!! One of my students asked the most profound question today! “If whatever the army needs or even doesn’t need is funded, then why not fund whatever the school district needs to give the best to its students?”
Be encouraged, educators! Our children are paying attention ! Legislators and public school officials. . . beware; our children are observing what your true priorities are!
Thought of the Day
Proper education can produce an entire generation free from man-made tragedies such as poverty. Proper education teaches its scholars to love humanity and learn from the human story called history. But ultimately, a proper education teaches self-reliance while also cultivating a natural human need for cooperation.
– Lady Camille
It’s College Tour Season Part 2
So, our second college tour happened to be the Historically Black College, Bowie State. Before we toured their campus, we went to the National Mall. Now, we didn’t have a lot of time to go each of the museums and tour all of the monuments so I created a scavenger hunt for my students, so they could take in as much as possible.
Unfortunately it rained, so it dampened my students’ spirits a bit, but we still had tons of fun. One of the rules of the scavenger hunt was to post their pictures on Instagram they could not however, post their answers on there because all the other teams would see it. (yes, we use this a lot because the kids use it a lot why not incorporate it into my lesson?)
the hunt begins
one of the clues
of course I had to make the Capitol one of the clues
After our scavenger hunt, we trekked on to our tour of Bowie State. It’s a little off the beaten path, so we couldn’t tour the neighborhood like we did at Georgetown. Our tour guide were very helpful here. Usually, tour guides have trouble with middle school students…they aska ton of questions and a little on the immature side. They usually prefer high school students, but our tour guide joked around with our students and made them feel right at home. They were also very thorough and we were able to go inside some of the buildings. My students really appreciated the welcome mate being rolled out for them.
and the tour begins
Our tour guide, joking around with the students and showing them the Performing Arts building.
My students loved this tour!
Count Your Lessons 