- Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin
- Don't Cry by Guns N' Roses
- Sober by Pink
- Take a Look at Me Now by Marriah Carey
- Estoy Aqui by Shakira
May 25, 2010
Top 5 Karaoke Songs
Top 5 Poems
1. i thank You God for most this amazing by e.e. cummings
2. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
3. Holy Sonnet XIV: Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God by John Donne
4. Theme for English B by Langston Hughes
5. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. EliotTop 5 Books
1. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
2. Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
3. Sula by Toni Morrison
4. Midnight's Children by Salmon Rushdie
5. The Genesee Diary: Report from a Trappist Monastery by Henri J.M. Nouwen
2. Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
3. Sula by Toni Morrison
4. Midnight's Children by Salmon Rushdie
5. The Genesee Diary: Report from a Trappist Monastery by Henri J.M. Nouwen
May 20, 2010
Give Peace a Chance?: Encounter Point (Documentary Review)
Netflix summary of Encounter Point:
As violence continues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some of those touched by the bloodshed become advocates for peace. This documentary introduces citizens on both sides for whom an end to conflict has become a personal crusade. Family members of slain Palestinians and Israelis, both military and civilian, share their stories and how they've turned their grief into a force for change in the region.
Ahh, another balanced movie about a very balanced conflict. Anything that claims to be balanced in this conflict is on the side of the Jews. The reality is a huge power disparity, where Jews do not suffer as much as Arabs. The director and production company are Israeli.
This is a feel-good movie. I should feel good because I see Jews and Arabs in Israel coming together to talk about their bereavement, become friends, and go to peace rallies together. They go on the radio and say they want peace. But nowhere in the film does a Jewish person say, "The only way to bring peace is through justice. The occupation is unjust and needs to end." One Jewish man publishes his slain daughter's book of poetry about peace. Another Jewish woman goes to a settlement in Gaza and tells the people they are using the same arguments that white people used in apartheid South Africa, but she comes short of calling Israel an apartheid state.
All the same stereotypes of Palestinians are reinforced. The Jews come off calm, collected, and rational. The Palestinians come off as violent and irrational. At a Jewish funeral, everyone is calm and quiet. At the Palestinian funeral, they take to the streets. The Jewish mother is calm when she talks to the reporters. The Palestinian father yells in the microphone at his daughter's funeral. The Palestinian hero of the film, Ali, who lost his brother and his leg, says that he does not have to forgive or love to be peaceful. The Jew speaks of forgiveness. When the Palestinian suggest that Jews and Palestinians should live in peace, he gets laughed at by his friends. Palestinians, however, repeat that they don't want peace, they want resistance. They, themselves, admit to causing violence. When a peace NGO schedules an event in Occupied Territory, the Jewish woman remains calm in resolving the practical difficulties, while the Arab gives up, hangs up on her, and refuses to pick up the phone. The Jewish woman fights on, despite his belligerent immaturity, and because of her perseverance, the meeting happens. He's just smoking cigarettes and a hooka pipe and chatting with his buddies.
What's the problem with reinforcing stereotypes? As long as the world can empathize with one group (Jews) and fear the other (Arabs), the power disparity will stay put. As long as the oppressed is seen as the oppressor (Arabs), nothing changes. No justice, no peace.
Some might claim this movie is pro-Palestinian. Maybe because it clearly shows that Palestinians have every right to be angry and violent. The movie clearly displays all the injustices daily forced upon them. But this still reinforces the stereotype that all Palestinians are violent. Wouldn't you be if you lived in those conditions?
Peace is a band-aid. It is a coping mechanism for grieving families. Never do they get to the point of asking what is causing the problems. They don't get to the point where they say I have to change my fundamental assumptions and my comforts. What does the mantra "Stop the killing" supposed to mean? Isn't the Jew peace advocate just blaming angry Palestinians when she says that?
The character who makes the biggest strides is Shlomo. At the beginning, he is the stereotypical settler. He believes that the Jews should be occupying Palestine, that it is their land. And he believes that now. But he engages in a process. His thinking changes. He comes far. That process started when he met a left-leaning religious Jewish man, who helped him see past the brainwashing of the settlement where he grew up. He goes to checkpoints and asks what is happening. He decides to meet with a Palestinian (Ali) for the first time in his life. He's asking real questions.
No one else in the film displays a critical, flexible mind. In this conflict, like in all conflicts, people need the imaginative capacity to place themselves in other people's shoes. Developing empathy requires a flexible mind that comes from having a critical stance that can evaluate sources and analyze arguments. It's a process that goes against our nature and our socialization. Shlomo's character isn't feel-good. He's disconcerting (because he is an Israeli settler). But he proves to be the real hero. Instead of paying lip service to peace, he's engaging in expanding his mind and questioning all his beliefs. In this film, he is the only one who really gives peace a chance.
As violence continues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some of those touched by the bloodshed become advocates for peace. This documentary introduces citizens on both sides for whom an end to conflict has become a personal crusade. Family members of slain Palestinians and Israelis, both military and civilian, share their stories and how they've turned their grief into a force for change in the region.
Ahh, another balanced movie about a very balanced conflict. Anything that claims to be balanced in this conflict is on the side of the Jews. The reality is a huge power disparity, where Jews do not suffer as much as Arabs. The director and production company are Israeli.
This is a feel-good movie. I should feel good because I see Jews and Arabs in Israel coming together to talk about their bereavement, become friends, and go to peace rallies together. They go on the radio and say they want peace. But nowhere in the film does a Jewish person say, "The only way to bring peace is through justice. The occupation is unjust and needs to end." One Jewish man publishes his slain daughter's book of poetry about peace. Another Jewish woman goes to a settlement in Gaza and tells the people they are using the same arguments that white people used in apartheid South Africa, but she comes short of calling Israel an apartheid state.
All the same stereotypes of Palestinians are reinforced. The Jews come off calm, collected, and rational. The Palestinians come off as violent and irrational. At a Jewish funeral, everyone is calm and quiet. At the Palestinian funeral, they take to the streets. The Jewish mother is calm when she talks to the reporters. The Palestinian father yells in the microphone at his daughter's funeral. The Palestinian hero of the film, Ali, who lost his brother and his leg, says that he does not have to forgive or love to be peaceful. The Jew speaks of forgiveness. When the Palestinian suggest that Jews and Palestinians should live in peace, he gets laughed at by his friends. Palestinians, however, repeat that they don't want peace, they want resistance. They, themselves, admit to causing violence. When a peace NGO schedules an event in Occupied Territory, the Jewish woman remains calm in resolving the practical difficulties, while the Arab gives up, hangs up on her, and refuses to pick up the phone. The Jewish woman fights on, despite his belligerent immaturity, and because of her perseverance, the meeting happens. He's just smoking cigarettes and a hooka pipe and chatting with his buddies.
What's the problem with reinforcing stereotypes? As long as the world can empathize with one group (Jews) and fear the other (Arabs), the power disparity will stay put. As long as the oppressed is seen as the oppressor (Arabs), nothing changes. No justice, no peace.
Some might claim this movie is pro-Palestinian. Maybe because it clearly shows that Palestinians have every right to be angry and violent. The movie clearly displays all the injustices daily forced upon them. But this still reinforces the stereotype that all Palestinians are violent. Wouldn't you be if you lived in those conditions?
Peace is a band-aid. It is a coping mechanism for grieving families. Never do they get to the point of asking what is causing the problems. They don't get to the point where they say I have to change my fundamental assumptions and my comforts. What does the mantra "Stop the killing" supposed to mean? Isn't the Jew peace advocate just blaming angry Palestinians when she says that?
The character who makes the biggest strides is Shlomo. At the beginning, he is the stereotypical settler. He believes that the Jews should be occupying Palestine, that it is their land. And he believes that now. But he engages in a process. His thinking changes. He comes far. That process started when he met a left-leaning religious Jewish man, who helped him see past the brainwashing of the settlement where he grew up. He goes to checkpoints and asks what is happening. He decides to meet with a Palestinian (Ali) for the first time in his life. He's asking real questions.
No one else in the film displays a critical, flexible mind. In this conflict, like in all conflicts, people need the imaginative capacity to place themselves in other people's shoes. Developing empathy requires a flexible mind that comes from having a critical stance that can evaluate sources and analyze arguments. It's a process that goes against our nature and our socialization. Shlomo's character isn't feel-good. He's disconcerting (because he is an Israeli settler). But he proves to be the real hero. Instead of paying lip service to peace, he's engaging in expanding his mind and questioning all his beliefs. In this film, he is the only one who really gives peace a chance.
Building a Better Teacher
Elizabeth Green's New York Times article, "Building a Better Teacher" has been receiving a lot of press as of late. It's true. I was never trained to be a teacher. I have a master's degree in education and jumped all the hoops to get my licensure, and I was absolutely never trained in the practical everyday-ness of being a teacher. When I taught in private schools, I struggled somewhat, but it was never debilitating. But my lack of skills has made me completely incompetent to do my job now.
What tips did I pick up from the article:
- Stand still when giving directions. Don't walk around or be doing anything else at the same time.
- Be very specific with directions and model.
- Point out and thank the kids who are doing that behavior.
- Correction needs to come with a smile and a reason. "Sweetie, we don't do that because it distracts our classmates."
- Ask the question, and then call a random student.
- Give students nicknames.
- Play learning games.
- Establish norms and routines for classroom discourse.
You have to not only know the subject matter intimately, but you have to be able to think the way the students think. You have to think of at least 30 ways another brain might be interacting with this information. The teachers that are the most successful at that get higher test scores. They've made an M.K.T. (Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching) test that can test this ability for math teachers.
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