Friday 3 March 2006

Teaching

I got this from Ang - thanks hon. Click here for a recording made in a classroom in the US. Of course the teacher is getting grief now as un-American but I honestly hope my children are taught by people as passionate as this guy, I hope they are taught critical skills and challenged as part of their education. This guy is excellent whether you agree with him or not.

4 careful considerations:

kat said...

With a bit of luck a lot more children will get to hear and think about it now. Good!! They are things which they should be thinking about and questioning.

Nogbad said...

But isn't he brilliant Kat? When people asks questions he has answers! I know people might find it surprising that I'm surprised but I am - and with good cause. Here's a guy who is fully across his subject, he knows what he's talking about and he's not "delivering a lesson" he's engaging a group of young people with a subject that they need to understand. If they don't agree with him and go away and learn to critically engage him that's what he's paid to do. Simply silencing him would be the biggest indictment yet of what is happening in parts of the States.

bluefluff said...

I don't hear any children's voices in there. I don't hear them engaging with the issues - just being ranted at by a scarily shouty teacher. It doesn't matter what he's shouting at them, I imagine they will have switched off. I managed the first 5 minutes, then I'd had enough of being harangued.

My daughter has a history teacher like that, who "goes off on one". They sit in frightened silence, but she never has a clue what it was about - "we don't listen to him when he's like that - we just want to get out".

Rob said...

I think Lynne has a point. Presumably the kid who made the recording did so in the expectation that the teacher would do one of his rants about US policy. I do think kids should be made to think about these issues,though - there's far too much unquestioning acceptance of US policy, I think. The furore about this enables conservatives to label this guy a nutter, when clearly he is simply pointing out a few home truths.