Corruption

Wikipedia-Based Project Learning

Since the time I was in elementary school I wanted to become a marine biologist to study and swim with sharks.  Next summer I’m planning a trip to Australia and for my 40th birthday, *this* is what I plan on doing....  Check out the video here.  #dreamvacation

Great Whites circling the “ghost cage” video.  This was pretty amazing and would totally love to do this, but with a door that stayed closed!

#InternationalWomensDay

There have been, and are, so many women that inspire me but this year on International Women’s Day I have to recognize my 4-H Leader, Mrs. Kay Peischel.   

When I was in 4th grade, I joined a 4-H club.  My chapter of “The Rosendale Happenings” started as a group of 4 and we met at least once a week for over 10 years.   We focused on sewing, cooking, public speaking, and volunteering. We learned so many valuable skills and had tons of fun.    

I loved my experiences in 4-H.   But these are not the only reasons why I chose Mrs. P. as the person I wanted to recognize on International Women’s Day...   Why? Because without Mrs. P.,  I would never have achieved my dream of becoming a teacher. 

Thanks Mrs. P., and Happy International Women’s Day!

Visit 4-H.org for more information about 4H and find out how to join or start a club.

Talk about timing...

It's amazing that it's been a year since Glen met with Snowden and the NSA landed in the headlines for violating our 4th amendment rights to privacy, a cornerstone of democracy.

Last week the USA Freedom Act passed in the house- doublespeak from our government that allows this abuse to continue. This week Snowden gave his first American Network TV interview.

Why does this issue of privacy and democracy matter so much? After all, "If you aren't doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide"?

----- excerpt from The Eternal Value of Privacy by Bruce Schneier-----

"Two proverbs say it best: Quis custodiet custodes ipsos? ("Who watches the watchers?") and "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Cardinal Richelieu understood the value of surveillance when he famously said, "If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged." Watch someone long enough, and you'll find something to arrest -- or just blackmail -- with. Privacy is important because without it, surveillance information will be abused: to peep, to sell to marketers and to spy on political enemies -- whoever they happen to be at the time.

Privacy protects us from abuses by those in power, even if we're doing nothing wrong at the time of surveillance.

and

"Too many wrongly characterize the debate as "security versus privacy." The real choice is liberty versus control. Tyranny, whether it arises under threat of foreign physical attack or under constant domestic authoritative scrutiny, is still tyranny. Liberty requires security without intrusion, security plus privacy. Widespread police surveillance is the very definition of a police state. And that's why we should champion privacy even when we have nothing to hide."

For the link to a short collection of other related articles, visit http://americanvirtueproject.wikispaces.com/readinglist

This is awesome:

BONUS: Using Colors

Wait! What? You can use colors in your delicious bookmarks? Yup, you sure can and it can help make your bookmark stand out from the rest.

When saving a bookmark in Delicious, simple add the following at the beginning of your url: color:FE9600,. Note that you can change out the number to equal any color you like, but remember to have the comma at the end of the number and before the url.

Example: color:0099CC,999999,006699,http://www.blueglass.com

I am a HUGE delicious fan... in fact, it's one of the very first websites that got me into using technology... for more about that, check out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krillion/5281400160/in/photostream

#empathy #perspective

A friend of mine posted this on FB today:

"When confronted with someone whose “normal” is not our “normal,” we are forced to confront the most frightening prospect of all: that there is no such thing as “normal.” Just the accidental cultural moment we happened to be born into, a cultural happenstance that never existed before, and will never exist again.

We resist difference because it requires we acknowledge that the culture we grew up with as “normal” is just a momentary accident. It requires we accept that the world we were born into will never be the same as the world we die in. The longer we live, the more we become interlopers, even in our home towns. But, if we’d let it happen, also, the more we will learn.

...someday, someone will look back and think, “Those were the days! That was what was normal!” And that person will be wrong. And that person will be right."

(which, side note, led me here and here, but that’s a story for another occasion)  

While another friend of mine emailed me today and talked about having to unfriend someone on FB today because of racist comments on a friend’s timeline related to what’s going on in politics today...

In some respects, I think that tools like Virtual Reality could be a real help in teaching people to learn to acquire a less judgeful and more peaceful mindset-- take a look at this article: The Virtual Reality Renaissance: How Learning in VR Will Inspire Action Like Never Before

...  of course, technology is never the panacea, VR could be a great tool in the arsenal of the one thing if anything would help solve this problem--- education...  

Education has the power to change the world...  that is truly one of my core beliefs...

I’m encouraged by organizations like following as well as articles that I’ve tagged  #empathy on delicious

StartEmpathy.org

 ActionSprout.io

 RootsofEmpathy.org

So while it's very telling that the largest factor of predictors for Trump is education- or lack of education that is-  there’s still the hope that rationality will win out...  

And if all else fails there’s:

How to move to Canada – Google search spikes after Donald Trump Super Tuesday success

Blacklisted: The Secret Government Rulebook For Labeling You a Terrorist

The Obama administration has quietly approved a substantial expansion of the terrorist watchlist system, authorizing a secret process that requires neither “concrete facts” nor “irrefutable evidence” to designate an American or foreigner as a terrorist, according to a key government document obtained by The Intercept. The “March 2013 Watchlisting Guidance,” a 166-page document issued last Read more

Higher Ed is the Province of the High Achieving and the Wealthy

I don’t want a society that massively excludes so many students, nor one where you have to be better than perfect to gain admission to your state university. For 20 years now, anyone with access to the internet has been able to publish ideas to anyone else in the world with an internet connection. That’s an amazing opportunity and a formidable responsibility. Yet our antiquated educational system rewards a hierarchical form of silo’d, standardized teaching and learning that was designed for the Taylorized Industrial Age. Our over-emphasis on standardized testing undermines the intellectual skills of critical thinking and productive contribution needed to thrive in our interactive Do-It-Yourself era.

It’s all about the editor

Amazing video, this guy has serious editing skills!

The Starfish Story

I heard this story the first year I taught and have never forgotten it... I just shared it with a teacher friend of mine who needed some encouragement- thought I would share it on my blog as well.....  Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said- "It made a difference for that one."

How many "starfish" do you come across in a day?