All Entries in the "Classroom Controversy" Category
Ayn Rand: The Blinkered Visionary
Ah ideology. Whether it is left or right, pink or blue, it is ideology non the less. Ayn Rand was clearly an ideologue and people liked her because she provided justification for all sorts of greedy, selfish, and inconsiderate behaviors under the banner of some sort of naturally sanctioned individualism. But swing the pendulum the other way and we trod on our fellow peeps in the name of the collective good. My question? Are left and right really that different when the result (oppression, suppression, and concentrated wealth) are the same?
No Justice for All
Here’s a little criminological snapshot of incarceration rates in the U.S. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this one speaks volumes not only about the high rates of incarceration in the U.S., but the incredible social cost that is associated. Something to think about for all you would-be criminologists in the audience.
The Corporate Welfare State & Growing Inequality in American Society
Unlike a lot of people out there, I am one to say I TOLD YA SO. The current growth in inequality, the current “mess” in the global financial system, the weird political machinations that seem to directly contradict the principles upon which modern democracies were founded, these were all predicted decades ago by Sociologists. So what are you going to do? Well, read this article, but slowly. There’s a lot of enlightening Sociology in this article. If it gets a little thick, pop on over to the forums and ask Owen a question.
Ding Dong the Alpha Male is Dead
Is our socialization process a process of ideological indoctrination? As part of our socialization we learn “how the world really works.” Our religions teach us of a cosmic “fight” between good and evil, science teaches us about the struggle for survival and “survival of the fittest,” and everybody talks about how its OK for the “winners” to dominate the “losers.” It is all part of the natural (or divine) social order! But is it really, or is it just indoctrination. You be the judge.
God, Darwin, and Sturgeon Heights School Division
Ah school. Frolicking days of care free learning in positive and loving environments right? Guess again. Schools are contested grounds and parents, administrators, and teachers struggle to find equitable, democratic, and positive ways to raise the next generation of citizens. But what does that entail? Better yet, what do we want to teach our children? Do we want to teach them love, acceptance, and tolerance, or do we want to model judgment, punishment, and disdain. Children learn by watching what the adults do so as adults we should be careful what we do to our children.
The Last Days of the Lilliputians
Are you an angry student? Are you pissed off? Does your education lead you to look at the world and say WTF? Well welcome to our nightmare, the world as it is, and not how it is presented by the corporate media. But what are you going to do with that anger? Riot in the streets? Burn some police cars? Throw some bottles? All I can say to that is, grow up and get some analysis, get some hutzpah, and join a cause. You don’t like the way the world is working? Get together with some others and make some change.
The emotional abuse of our children: Teachers, schools, and the sanctioned violence of our modern institutions.
You never stop to think that sending your kids to school can be a problem, but it can be. From the residential schools of First Nations infamy to the violence of straps and the horror of school yard bullying, schools are not always safe places. The truth is, children can experience physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse at the hands of students, teachers, priests. ministers, reverends, etc.. The research demonstrates that abuse of all forms undermines self esteem, lowers social productivity, causes depression, and contributes to long term social problems. Isn’t it time we recognized the horror and stopped hurting our children?
Family is Fascism
When it comes to family, do we have a problem?According to Anna we do and I gotta agree with her because in a lot of ways she’s right. As a therapist I have seen first hand how “families” shit on and abuse each other and it ain’t pretty and what’s worse, the abuse is always justified. Even sexual abuse of four year old children can be conveniently ignored when it occurs in a “family” setting. On top of all that, children are programmed into The System by their parents. But does all this mean family is necessarily a bad thing? No, not necessarily. Personally I think family is the best bet we have of surviving, and tight knit, functioning families are pretty much the only way of meeting the deep emotional and psychological needs of children. But that holds only when the family is healthy, only when all members have equal power, only when all members are respected, and only when all members are one hundred percent free of emotional, psychological, sexual, and physical abuse. If these conditions are not met then ya, there’s a problem.
Facebook is a Spy Machine
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Facebook ain’t your friend. From the facile and shallow way it connects people to the awesome power it gives authorities to monitor and surveille, Facebook is a technology born not in the hallways of emancipation and freedom but in the byways of power and control. Or at least, that’s what Julian Assange founder of WikiLeaks thinks and frankly, I tend to agree. Never before in this history of this planet have so many been monitored by so few with so little responsible oversight.
Are you my “friend?”
Is it really possible to have 800 “friends.” Does connecting through FaceBook really mean you’re connected in life? Or does the proliferation of one-click social media really represent the emasculation OF human social contact? Like the reduction of human marriage to the consumerist frenzy of the marriage ceremony, new technologies do not necessarily mean a better life, better friends, or deeper connection. In fact, perhaps exactly the opposite. New social media elevate superficial social display to epic proportions and neuter the supportive and transformative potential of authentic human relations. Viva la revolution… NOT!
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