What we're seeing with "distance learning" is that it works for some students, but others are experiencing a disaster. I think we can say that in general the students struggling with the distance learning as it is presented have some issues with learning-- disabilities.
Other students have had issues with being able to focus on the assignments. I know from being a supervisor that there are some people who are unable to focus on their work at home. They were good employees when they were in an office, but the dog, the husband, their children.. all were distractions when they were home. I'm sure the students are experiencing even more distractions.
A mom who homeschools wrote a piece in the Atlantic about her view, that we need to design the coursework so that everything is learning. This goes along with the idea that schoolwork should be related to life. Though that idea is rejected by some educators. However, instead of saying this is relevant to you because..., perhaps we should try to have them understand how adults think about problems and how they use their school work to answer problems they face as adults.
I'd say that we need to provide systems that support parents in this activity. Letters home, summaries of the classwork and so on.
In Seventh Grade today we dealt with the Holocaust. It is a messy subject and what I'd like to do is show a film about the rape of Nanking prepared by a Chinese broadcaster in English. However, the visuals are very graphic. I know I'll be hearing from parents about how offensive the images are.
They are very graphic,, violent, and contain pictures of women being raped and who had bayonets inserted into them before they were pinned with the bayonet and murdered.
Yikes!
I should say that I was never able to go to the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois because I knew that what they were going to show in their exhibits would be very triggering for me.
I withdrew the video. I didn't want to trigger some of the less mature students and I certainly didn't want to explain myself to parents and Dr. Z.
There are reasons we make political decisions. And the Holocaust and the Manchurian Army of Japan committed their deprivations in an environment that supported their view of the world. Their ethics were defective.
As Roman Catholic children, these students are being taught ethics based on doctrine developed over two millenium by the church. One of the first issues to deal with as young Catholics is whether or not to support the church's position on abortion. I can't discuss it at school. There is a desire by Dr. Z not to even broach the subject as it is a hotbed of anger.
But I can discuss it here, my private blog.
Women seek abortion for many reasons and there needs to be recognition that this is often a health issue. The canard that poorer women use abortions for birth control may be true in some cases, but I think it is a very small minority of cases.
If I was asked to vote on abortion right now I would adopt a conflicting stance of abhorring the procedure, but a vote to continue to provide abortion in most cases. It needs to be available to the woman due to incest, rape, medical issues, with limits on other cases considered with a view to the rights of all citizens to privacy and to control their own bodies.
The church does not even see that grey area. Life is a gift of grace from God. Therefore, no exceptions.
Let's get back to the Holocaust thing. The Holocaust brings up the basic question of the industrial murder of humans. A key point is that innocent people are murdered during genocide. Innocence is a key concept of the evil of a genocide.
That is much like the loss of the innocent through abortion. So, it appears to me, and I don't want to discuss this, comments are closed, that although I disagree with the church's absolutist position, the position of the church is internally consistent. And, it is well thought out, even if you see areas, as I do, where the grey suggests other answers that are more nuanced.
I think education is a way to allow students to learn to think for themselves. We have a number of documents on human rights. And with its catechism, the church has a document that is key to understanding the ethical issues so that a student can make a decision on their own about life.
Why is it important to us today? Well, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and the protesters demanding an end to local Covid-19 restrictions have decided that money is more important than life when they call for the economy to be reopened. They've decided that the lives of the most vulnerable people, those with poor health benefits, living paycheck to paycheck, are not as important as their need for a haircut, a drink, some ice cream...
As a matter of ethics, shall we help control this virus through herd immunity (by reopening the economy) in recognition of the financial needs of people, or shall we enact laws that allow people to control this virus but hurt the economy? It is an ethics issue right now. And like the German voters who decided to support the murder of six million Jews, there will be an answer provided on Monday morning.
The church hs a position on this, it should be all in on saving and preserving life. Thankfully, there is evidence of this. In Denver churches remain closed. In Italy the plan to reopen the economy has received a cool reception from the church. There are a few local churches that are opening, but for the most part the church seems to have identified that life is more important than face-to-face communion. It has looked at its ethical statement: the catechism, and decided life trumps face-to-face communion.
Other students have had issues with being able to focus on the assignments. I know from being a supervisor that there are some people who are unable to focus on their work at home. They were good employees when they were in an office, but the dog, the husband, their children.. all were distractions when they were home. I'm sure the students are experiencing even more distractions.
A mom who homeschools wrote a piece in the Atlantic about her view, that we need to design the coursework so that everything is learning. This goes along with the idea that schoolwork should be related to life. Though that idea is rejected by some educators. However, instead of saying this is relevant to you because..., perhaps we should try to have them understand how adults think about problems and how they use their school work to answer problems they face as adults.
I'd say that we need to provide systems that support parents in this activity. Letters home, summaries of the classwork and so on.
In Seventh Grade today we dealt with the Holocaust. It is a messy subject and what I'd like to do is show a film about the rape of Nanking prepared by a Chinese broadcaster in English. However, the visuals are very graphic. I know I'll be hearing from parents about how offensive the images are.
They are very graphic,, violent, and contain pictures of women being raped and who had bayonets inserted into them before they were pinned with the bayonet and murdered.
Yikes!
I should say that I was never able to go to the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois because I knew that what they were going to show in their exhibits would be very triggering for me.
I withdrew the video. I didn't want to trigger some of the less mature students and I certainly didn't want to explain myself to parents and Dr. Z.
There are reasons we make political decisions. And the Holocaust and the Manchurian Army of Japan committed their deprivations in an environment that supported their view of the world. Their ethics were defective.
As Roman Catholic children, these students are being taught ethics based on doctrine developed over two millenium by the church. One of the first issues to deal with as young Catholics is whether or not to support the church's position on abortion. I can't discuss it at school. There is a desire by Dr. Z not to even broach the subject as it is a hotbed of anger.
But I can discuss it here, my private blog.
Women seek abortion for many reasons and there needs to be recognition that this is often a health issue. The canard that poorer women use abortions for birth control may be true in some cases, but I think it is a very small minority of cases.
If I was asked to vote on abortion right now I would adopt a conflicting stance of abhorring the procedure, but a vote to continue to provide abortion in most cases. It needs to be available to the woman due to incest, rape, medical issues, with limits on other cases considered with a view to the rights of all citizens to privacy and to control their own bodies.
The church does not even see that grey area. Life is a gift of grace from God. Therefore, no exceptions.
Let's get back to the Holocaust thing. The Holocaust brings up the basic question of the industrial murder of humans. A key point is that innocent people are murdered during genocide. Innocence is a key concept of the evil of a genocide.
That is much like the loss of the innocent through abortion. So, it appears to me, and I don't want to discuss this, comments are closed, that although I disagree with the church's absolutist position, the position of the church is internally consistent. And, it is well thought out, even if you see areas, as I do, where the grey suggests other answers that are more nuanced.
I think education is a way to allow students to learn to think for themselves. We have a number of documents on human rights. And with its catechism, the church has a document that is key to understanding the ethical issues so that a student can make a decision on their own about life.
Why is it important to us today? Well, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and the protesters demanding an end to local Covid-19 restrictions have decided that money is more important than life when they call for the economy to be reopened. They've decided that the lives of the most vulnerable people, those with poor health benefits, living paycheck to paycheck, are not as important as their need for a haircut, a drink, some ice cream...
As a matter of ethics, shall we help control this virus through herd immunity (by reopening the economy) in recognition of the financial needs of people, or shall we enact laws that allow people to control this virus but hurt the economy? It is an ethics issue right now. And like the German voters who decided to support the murder of six million Jews, there will be an answer provided on Monday morning.
The church hs a position on this, it should be all in on saving and preserving life. Thankfully, there is evidence of this. In Denver churches remain closed. In Italy the plan to reopen the economy has received a cool reception from the church. There are a few local churches that are opening, but for the most part the church seems to have identified that life is more important than face-to-face communion. It has looked at its ethical statement: the catechism, and decided life trumps face-to-face communion.