EDUC 336: Half Nelson

Does this film have a "message"? If so, what do you think it is? In the film, Mr. Dunn teaches his students about Hegelian dialectics and opposing forces in history. In what way do we see these factors at work within the lives of the characters in the story? What is your opinion of the film's presentation of Dunn's moral leadership? What commentary does the film make about human behavior, society, and moral choices? Typically these teacher movies tend to present a white teacher going into an inner city school to "save" students of color, but this film obliterates that narrative; how do you feel about this retelling? Which character does the "saving"? Feel free to interject any of your own questions into the conversation...

EDUC 336 Film Options

There are four films we could watch on April 21. After the film we will carry on a discussion on this blog. Take a look at these trailers and reviews in order to gain an understanding of each of the films and then post a comment noting your preference for what film we will watch in class on the 21st.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley trailer reviews christian

Half Nelson trailer reviews christian

Edges of the Lord film clip imdb review

I generally read the Christian websites before I show a film in school because it helps me understand how some parents might react to it. Usually I read the uber-conservative Pluggedinonline.com but they don't review independent films so I've linked to christiananswers.net which is a great deal more open-minded and tolerant of divergent viewpoints. These films have nothing in common, yet each of them addresses some aspect(s) of our discussions and reading this semester.

EDUC 336: Teaching Empathy

As some of you know I recently showed the film Maria Full of Grace, which brilliantly convinces the viewer to empathize with the main character of the film, Maria, who happens to be a "drug mule" trafficking cocaine in her stomach. The film does not allow the viewer to classify and dismiss "Maria" as the "other" - her struggles are too much like our own for us to do that.

Our histories often divide between "us" and "them" by categorizing people according to those who are like "us" and those who are different - "them." Using empathy as a tool in teaching history is one way to avoid reinforcing the "us" and "them" dynamic that seems perpetuated by the dominant society. Chapters 19 and 20 in Voices of a People's History present the voices of people who are often marginalized, such as gays and lesbians (check out the trailer to Milk), non-conformists, prisoners, and American Indians, among others. How might you utilize these documents to teach empathy? And more specifically, how might you use these documents to help students understand points of view different from their own? Do you have any reservations about using these documents because of their content? If so, what are your reservations?

Jonestown

For those of you interested in listening to the Jonestown suicide here is the link to the audio and the wikipedia article.

The Waco Incident & Your Government

The Waco incident stands out as the biggest blunder of the Clinton administration. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Clinton's biggest screw up (no pun intended) was the Monica Lewinsky affair and the subsequent cover up. Clearly, though, when looking at more important issues than sex (yes guys, there are some things more important than sex) we see the Waco siege as a direct violation of people's constitutional and human rights.

The film Waco: The Rules of Engagement (see parts I & II) clearly demonstrates an outrageous offense against American citizens. What does this film have to say about the danger of intolerance? What are some examples of violent acts committed by the US Government against its own people? What needs to be done to avoid another Siege at Ruby Ridge or Waco Incident? Interestingly, both of these incidents were cited by domestic militant Timothy McVeigh as reasons for his bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995. You might discuss the cyclical nature of violence. Consider Malcolm X's infamous words when asked by a reporter for his reaction to JFK's assassination: it was a case of "chickens coming home to roost." He added that "chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they've always made me glad."

Make one comment of your own and then comment on another post.

EDUC 336: Individual Narratives

While for many students of history, most history texts, history courses, and innumerable History Channel biopics, history is all about the dead guys, for me its basically about dead women. Two incredible biographies have shaped much of my political, social, and economic ideology and therefore a good bit of my teaching I guess as well. The autobiographies of Emma Goldman, Living My Life, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Rebel Girl, have had a tremendous impact on my interpretation of history and society. Still, these works are for the most part useful for an audience of the first half of the 20th Century, not so much for your average high school student.


That being said there are ways to integrate these kinds of works in your classroom. You can use excerpts that pertain to particular periods that you and your students are studying or you could recommend these books to your more keenly aware and advanced students. What ultimately happens is your students become the disseminators of the ideas contained in the biographies because they know exactly how to translate them for their peers. There are also obvious alternatives to biographical texts such as documentary films, feature length dramas, and graphically illustrated texts. Concerning Emma Goldman there are a number of great resources such as the PBS documentary about her life, the award winning film Reds, and an illustrated book about her radical life.

Still, I find that my students appreciate the spirit of Emma Goldman and The Rebel Girl more than they actually appreciate women who have been dead for 70 and 45 years.

What biographies are important to you? Do these biographies impact your own perspectives on the world we muddle around in? How might you use these individual narratives in your curriculum? How will you "translate" your favorite dead people's lives for the modern era?

EDUC 336: Narrative & Social Studies Education

As we've already discussed there is always a bias, agenda, or point-of-view found in our teaching of social studies, which is an inescapable reality even if (perhaps especially if) one attempts to consciously avoid it. Throughout history there have been numerous attempts to conceptualize the world through one system of thought. Hegel's dialectics, for example, inspired, positively and negatively, numerous important thinkers whose ideas have become the basis for historical narrative.


On the left wing, Marx and Engels' reading of history (and reinterpretation of Hegel) became indispensably important in providing the ideological basis for many of the revolutions of the 20th Century, while on the right-wing the neo-conservative author Francis Fukuyama has more recently argued that "the end of history" has arrived with "liberal democracy" being the unchallenged societal and government form. Setting aside the strengths and weaknesses of Marxism and Fukuyama's neo-conservative position, one can at least observe how incredibly dominant each is as a historical narrative.

Would you consciously teach from a specific historical narrative such as a particular nationalism, the story of progress or capitalist expansion, class conflict & power analysis, Calvinistic determinism, Social Darwinism or scientific determinism? If so, what narrative stance would you take and why? What would be the strengths and/or weaknesses of your approach? Be sure to comment on another post.