Have Europeans Out-Evolved Us?

Never fails to entertain me.

Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the NY Times, had an interesting little article a couple of weeks ago. (I love, love, LOVE the Times columnists... they seriously are the best in the business!) In it, he wonders if it is our brains' prehistoric wiring that renders us useless to ponder such long term issues as climate change. His reasoning, based on the interesting genre of evolutionary psychology, is that our brains are programed to deal with instant threat, like snakes or animals, a throwback to our less civilized days. The whole fight or flight thing. Therefore, we tend to prioritize our big ticket issues by place those that seem the most imminent threat to our safety ahead of long-term goals that are equally as threatening, just not immediately.

He lists, for example, the hoopla that started when Pres. Obama announced that he would be shutting Guantanamo and potentially moving detainees into super-max prisons in the States. I'll admit, when I first heard this, my instinct was "WTF?!" However, as I looked beyond that initial emotional reaction, I was able to reason why this isn't as crazy of an idea as it sounds. Yet, "housing terrorists in our nations prisons" is a phrase with a lot of emotional grab and a lot of people don't give much thought after that first gut feeling.

He's got some interesting facts thrown in the mix and he also talks to a couple of evolutionary psychologists. (The U.S. spends about $700 billion on military expenses a year but only $3 billion on the Food and Drug Administration, despite the fact that more people die a year of food poisoning than by terrorist/foreign army attack).

Now, after reading this, my next thought (and the thought of several of the commenters, I noticed) is that since many of the European countries have already adopted cap and trade systems, advanced environment legislation, and universal health care (not to mention better schooling!), does that mean that they are more highly evolved than Americans? Not to sound anti-American, but I do think they are. With the risk of sounding Euro-centric, I will say that the Europeans are ahead of the game when it comes to rising and falling civilizations... They've been around the block quite a few more times than we have. And though we may have participated in both world wars, we weren't exactly at ground zero like the Germans, French, British, etc, etc. So I think it's natural to assume that they might come to such conclusions that are more long term sooner than we would. I mean, we are only just now learning the dangers of colonialism, hegemony and interventionism, a lesson that the British learned the very hard way not so long ago.

You can also see such divides in the ways of thinking of the rural American population versus the suburban and urban areas... Those who live in rural areas are more likely to exhibit acts of tribalism... i.e. regular worship services, territorial, resistant to change, afraid/threatened by outsiders. (Hey, I grew up there, I've seen it firsthand)(I also think that there's a tendency with a lot of people to take for granted that we are the same species that we study in history... anthropology doesn't stop just because we're in post-modern society.) Those that live in cities adhere to more communal ways of life-- open to diversity, not as resistant to change, use public systems such as transportation and parks. I think suburban areas offer a mixture erring to the ways of the rural areas.

So I didn't mean to run off into a big discussion of sociology/anthropology. I just thought that Kristoff raised some interesting points that could be built upon...


God bless America, right? So maybe this one is slightly anti-American. Doesn't mean it's not true

Culture Rap

My second class started this week. It's social studies technology and, of course, it's awesome! We discuss topics on a forum and complete activities and it's all about social studies. swoon! For tomorrow's lesson, we had to choose one of the themes in social studies and make up a poem, song, jingle, advertisement, etc explaining why it's important. I've already been assigned culture for another activity so that's what I stuck to... I give you... My culture rap.


Culture: People develop, learn, and adapt culture. Students develop an appreciation and respect for the variety of human cultures in the community and around the world by exploring the similarities and differences among people.

Ever since the beginning of man
People started living by their own distinct plan.
As time went on, tribes went on the move,
People began to carve out their own unique grooves.
The stories they told, to what they ate,
All began to evolve at a generational rate.
Now it’s the way we live, none’s quite like another
It’s what makes people special, we call it culture.

From Canada to Arabia, all the way to Scandinavia,
All has their own particular way of life.
It’s food, it’s tradition, it’s holidays,
It’s how people work and how people play.
If you’re the type of person that thinks what you don’t know is outrageous,
You better watch out cause culture’s contagious

Culture affects every part of our game,
It’s the ways that we’re different, though we’re all the same.
The god that you worship, how you say what you say,
The job that you work, the place where you stay.
What’s normal to me might be crazy to you.
It doesn’t mean one’s better, it’s just the things that we do.

Hollywood, Bollywood, all the way down to your neighborhood.
Respect all cultures just like you’d hope others would.
It’s food, it’s tradition, it’s holidays,
It’s how people work and how people play.
If you’re the type of person that thinks what you don’t know is outrageous,
You better watch out cause culture’s contagious.

Yeah. Culture. Don’t hate, learn to appreciate!

I'm out.

Pit bull Euthanized

From Vanity Fair, the hunter gets scoped out and it ain't pretty!

Anybody who has even the slightest idea of who the hell Sarah Palin is MUST check out this article in the August 2009 Vanity Fair. As VF isn't exactly Cosmo, you can trust that this isn't just some fashion magazine half-assed reporting; Todd Purdum dug deep to get the goods on Sarah. I have to say, for a woman who still remains somewhat of a mystery to most of the country (even if you're a supporter, you have to admit, how much do you really know about her?), Purdum is very effective at shining the light into those darker cracks of the pre-McCain Sarah Palin career.

The result left a particularly bad taste in my mouth. Say what you want about "leftist" media, the man did his homework, calling up anyone and everyone who ever worked with her. He goes behind the "barracuda" name to reveal a women almost drunk on power. Still, there were moments when I was reading this that I almost felt sorry for her, especially when he talks about her during her V.P. run. Palin seemed naive to what the national scene really entailed. However, at the same time she remained arrogant about her short(long)comings and was uncooperative towards those who tried to help her. As I watched The View earlier I noticed that even Elizabeth had backed down from enthusiastically supporting Palin and she hardly countered any one's argument against the soon to be ex governor.

Now, I absolutely abhor this woman. I thought that I would give her a chance at first, but she did nothing but disappoint and disgust. What's more (and this is pointed out in the article as well), she stands for everything that I don't and she revels in her ignorance as if to say that being stupid and culturally ignorant is a good thing. It's not. We live in a highly globalized society and we can't afford to have "leaders" who shelter themselves from the rest of the world in important decision making positions. Say what you want about Obama using a teleprompter to deliver speeches, but watching Palin give interviews is downright uncomfortable. Personally, I wouldn't even let her overseas in the name of "brushing up on her foreign policy" for fear of the stupid things that she might say.

(I realize that Joe Biden is a one man gaffe machine, but at least I know that behind those stupid comments is a brain that has legitimate political experience)

It should be noted that I am thinking about this woman as I read over the National Social Studies Curriculum Standards, which strongly advocates for more thoughtful social studies teaching that includes emphasis on discussion, real world relatability, cultural education, and civics. I highly recommend this article. For someone who thought she had heard all there was to hear about Sarah Palin, it was definitely a shocker.

America... F*ck yeah!

Only in America can you openly mock the people and still make millions. Hilarious movie, btw, and I might just have to go rent it later...

Like a lot of people these days, I often find myself thinking about what it means to be an American and what the future has in store for our country. Ok, scratch that first part. Like some people. More often than not, people in this country seem to hold themselves in high esteem because they happened to be born here and, as far as they are concerned, everyone else can kiss their ass, right or wrong. These are the same types of people who feel that Obama is spinelessly apologizing for our selfish and imperialistic ways.

Personally, I'm all about patriotism in that USA! USA! Olympic spirit kind of way. There's nothing wrong with healthy competition at the World Cup and I want my team of compatriots to win just as much as the fat guy in red, white, and blue sitting next to me. But when you get the ridiculous and pompous idea in your head that we are Americans, we can do no wrong, that's where I draw the line. Most people glean this borderline fascist view of country and self from what little they remember of their high school history class. Unfortunately, up to a certain point, these textbooks were really good at glossing over all of the country's shortcomings, making the era entitled "Rise of American Imperialism" seem like a healthy pit stop on the road to greatness instead of the beginning of an arrogant attitude of interventionism and jingoism similar to the one that eventually brought down the British Empire.

Last fall I read an interesting book about such glossing in textbooks in Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen. Loewen originally published in the mid-nineties and what he found after surveying a dozen of the most popular textbooks in the country was pretty appalling as far as the twisting of history goes. After I read the first edition, I compared what he found to the textbook used by the 11th grade U.S. history classes in CISD and found that many of the things that Loewen had pointed out had actually been taken to heart. Still, most people don't realize that history is a fluid study and what is considered cold fact today might be outdated tomorrow if new evidence is found that counters the story.

I'm not saying that we all need to dwell on the horrible things that our countrymen have done. I'm saying that we should acknowledge these things as the mistakes that they are and actively try to learn from these errors now and the future. After all, a country is only as good as the humans who run it. And isn't progress and prosperity the American way?

P.S. Click here for interesting thoughts on the ways the American government could have gone back in the day. :) Happy Independence Day! (Dad, sell lots of fireworks! And be thinking of something awesome to get me for my birthday!! ;)

School Daze

So, the good news is that I think I've finally narrowed down what I want to write my term paper over for my Teacher Research class. The bad (or just more stress inducing) news is that I have already received an email from my other teacher reminding the class that Social Studies Technology begins on Monday... arrrggghhh. Looks like July is going to be a lot less laid back than June.

Oh, well, I'm still kind of excited/relieved that I've figured out what to write my research paper about... In class we've kind of gone over several different data collecting methods including interview and observation. I had already mentioned that I would like to use my subbing experience as part of my research. Last week we began to talk about providing the context of a situation when presenting the findings, as well as using teacher reflection as a means of teachers collecting data on their own practices... I shall attempt to combine most of these methods for my own research paper. I give you....

Sam's Observational Narrative Illustrating the Evolution of Her Teaching Philosophy Through a Year in the Classroom (that's the working title)

So basically it will be how my experience in education growing up provides the context of what I expected teaching to be and what I expect of students and how being out in the field has turned me into a cynical bitch. Hah. Kidding on the last part. Seriously though, my own education cast a long shadow over how I view a classroom should be run and a course designed, a view that a lot of teachers might call unrealistic. However, I think mine is a very realistic idea for me and one that I think will be very successful in practice. To a degree, it already has been. Continuing on this idea, I'll reflect on my teacher training courses and how some of the work seemed to make me feel less prepared for the classroom as well as how the book The Students Are Watching helped me evolve my teaching philosophy shortly before I began substitute teaching.

That's part one.

The second part will be a more practical discussion of the lessons learned and applied in day to day work as well as how I had to come to terms with "the real teaching world" not living up to my expectations. I want to chronicle what I learned from a year in the classroom as an active observer and how this will serve as a concrete base from which I will be able to build a solid teaching career.

So, that's the idea, in a nutshell. I began working on an outline earlier that's a bit more meaty. To some, this may seem a bit too personal to write a formal research paper over, but our teacher encourages us to include personal stories that will help better explain what it is that we are trying to show. After all, we tend to write better about those things that we have the most passion for. Should be an interesting month.

Philosophically Speaking...

Shheessh, I'm not as good at keeping up with this thing as I thought I would be. I guess I've been processing a lot of information lately (nothing major, just ideas), so it's been hard to whittle it down or even settle down long enough to get back to this. But there is one thing I have been thinking about a lot lately... and that's philosophy!

Last Friday during class, we were discussing different research approaches (qualitative versus quantitative) and one of my classmates kept referencing a book called Sophie's World. He noted that it had to do with philosophy and history and since the topic that I am going to be presenting next week kind of touches on both in relation to "scholarship" in America (too complicated to get into, but not complex at all), I thought it would be worth the read. Plus, the only philosophy course that I took in college was Critical Thinking, which I think is pretty important now but I definitely did not have this appreciation in the summer of 2005.

I popped into Barnes and Noble, my least favorite place to buy books, btw, and 15 minutes later I had my very own copy. Now, in case you didn't click over and read a summary, it's a history of western philosophy told in a narrative format about a 14-year-old Norwegian girl. I'm only up to the Middle Ages, but so far this book has definitely given me A LOT to think about, not just philosophically, but also in relation to teaching.

First, I have finally found my soul mate. Unfortunately, he lived several thousand years ago and wasn't so easy on the eyes. I'm talking about Socrates, one of the first great Greek philosophers and teacher of Plato. What I like most about Socrates is his methods; see, Socrates did not inhabit some ivory tower, far away from the every day lives of the lesser mortals. Oh no. Ole Socrates, in search of knowledge, would approach random passersby in the middle of Athens' town square and attempt to engage them in conversation so that he might learn from others. Now, Socrates had been prophesied to be the smartest man in Athens and he humbly lived up to this expectation. I say humbly because Socrates did not consider himself to be some kind of genius. Socrates is he of the quote "The one thing only I know is that I know nothing." He stood in the middle of town square trying to appease his insatiable appetite for knowledge.

Socrates also had what we would call today a more sophisticated view of knowledge in that he believed that true knowledge comes from within. He felt that it was his pedagogical duty to lead people to bring this knowledge out via discussion. However, this did not sit too well with many Athenians and Socrates was ultimately sentenced to death for introducing scary new ideas to the townspeople. Sentenced to death for making people think.... Hmmm....


We could have made it work... This is what Socrates is believed to have looked like.

Why do I love Socrates so much? For one, we share similar views on education. I think that everyone is capable of learning complex ideas and it drives me crazy when students aren't able to hold at least a basic discussion about what a given lecture topic. In the real world, it drives me even crazier that people around me aren't able to carry on conversations and I usually come off looking like I have something to prove. Truth is, I'm not trying to prove anything. Like Socrates, I'm just looking for someone to bounce ideas off of and who will give me fairly reasoned criticism in return.

Studying philosophy has also reaffirmed my atheism, with nothing being more telling (for me anyway) than the regression of civilization that took place in the first few centuries of the Middle/Dark Ages, when Christianity began it's death grip of Europe. Alas, that is a warpath better covered in it's own post.

The Perils of too Much Downtime

Last week Time magazine added a new word to their lexicon: Funemployed. Definition- noun. people who have found they enjoy being out of work. Usage: "The funemployed write blogs, issue regular updates on social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and devote entire websites to helpful advice and encouragement on how to make the most of the U.S. government's $475 weekly dole check."

Hmm. Sounds quite familiar. Actually, that is my life minus the government check, which I would be thrilled to receive in lieu of my less than glamorous substitute teaching checks. However, even though I don't have regular employment, my life isn't all funemployment and games. The lack of a schedule actually kills me work-wise. Despite having all of this free time to plug away at the book review and presentation that I'm supposed to be presenting on Friday, I still am only just now making significant headway. That's mostly because my brief work periods are punctuated with frequent Ava interruptions and it is almost impossible to concentrate on graduate level reading to a soundtrack of Elmo's World or Dora. Unfortunately, shutting her out completely would be begging for a call from CPS and I would work during nap time, but she's boycotting those as well.

What's a poor girl to do? I've already started to hide all of her noisier toys so that they don't add to the problem. The worst is that I'm caught between being a "good parent" and actually getting work done. It's so easy to prop a kid in front of the television for a couple of hours, long enough for me to produce something, but I just feel morally against it. Every time the television is on for more than an hour, even if Ava isn't paying attention to it, I feel a sense of guilt creep into my stomach that starts to eat at me. So I turn it off. And then have to endure a monstrous fit as a result. Which knocks my stress level up another notch and makes everything even less efficient. Who knew that staying at home with my kid would actually make me a worse parent?

And this week I downloaded a bunch of yoga workouts from iTunes. Turns out, yoga can really help your concentration. After finishing a 20 minute session yesterday, I could already notice that I seemed to be taking longer and deeper breaths and I seemed less apt to be distracted. It's so cheesey/yuppi-new ager sounding, but it actually works. I'm also pretty sore today, so it looks like I might actually get into a little better shape.

Anyway, back to the lack of schedule thing. Despite being fairly spontaneous by nature and subject to acting on whims, when it comes to day to day life, I'm a pretty big creature of habit. Especially when it comes to things like morning routines. I get pretty grumpy when I don't do little things the same way every day. So I'm thinking that if I start to structure my days a little better, I'll be more likely to get some things done. And maybe even be motivated enough to clean up? hmm. Maybe not.