My AP students were assigned this book by M@lcolm Gl@dwell to read over the summer.When they returned to school, they had rave reviews for the book, some students even giving it such praise as, “This is one of the best books I’ve ever read!”While not everyone agreed wholeheartedly with Gl@dwell’s point—that the success of a person is based on much more than that one person’s efforts and motivation—the students still loved it.
At the beginning of our second day of discussion of the book, I showed a short video clip of an interview Gl@dwell had with Anderson Cooper. In the video clip, Gl@dwell hails Obama as an “outlier” and criticizes a comment Jeb Bush made once that he is a “self-made man.”(It should be noted that Gl@dwell doesn’t believe in anyone being “self-made”; his book argues the whole “it takes a village” premise.) After showing that clip, several of my students, convinced Gl@dwell is an Obama supporter, declared they no longer liked the book.
Are you kidding me?
Several days later, my colleagues and I got into a discussion in the teachers’ lounge about how we have fallen into this rut, for lack of a better word, where we can no longer have enlightened discussions in the classroom and discuss issues without misinformed opinions and bias. People are labeled either “liberal” or “conservative,” and if someone falls into the category different from what we are, we have no interest in what that person has to say.It’s frustrating to me as both a teacher in the classroom and a citizen in this country.
I was disappointed in those few AP students because I was hoping they would be, well, more enlightened. A book they had been raving about minutes before had suddenly fallen from grace because of the perceived “liberal” views of the author.
But after spending some time on Facebook last night, I realize I shouldn’t have been surprised by my students’ response to Gl@dwell. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. My students are merely reiterating what their parents are saying at home.
I am frustrated/perplexed/annoyed by the reaction to the Obama’s upcoming address to our nation’s students. I saw statuses and comments along the lines of, “If my child’s school is airing that on Tuesday, my kid is going to be ‘sick’ that day.” I even saw one comment on a friend’s page (the comment was made by a “friend” of my “friend) that compared this to Hitler’s indoctrination of Germany’s youth.
Are you kidding me?
What do these parents think Obama is going to say? “Okay, kids, when you go home today, tell your parents that you want universal healthcare.” Perhaps “When your parents are asleep tonight, whisper in their ear, ‘More government! More government!’” or better yet, “Socialism! Socialism!”
Obama is supposed to talk about the importance of education, hard work, and perseverance. In all honesty, I think that is a message that all students can benefit from. I think of my 3rd period class; two-thirds of them (at least) come from disadvantaged homes. I’m also thinking about my minority students who probably don’t feel inspired by me (although I try!), but could possibly be inspired by a President who shares their race.
Ironically enough, many of these same parents who are threatening to keep their kids home are also arguing that the Obama speech is a waste of instructional time. So…giving up twenty to thirty minutes for a speech is a waste of instructional time, but keeping a perfectly well student at home for the whole day isn’t?
I have never stated my political preference here. For the most part, it is because I don’t think it matters. The bottom line is that regardless of whom I voted for in the last election—regardless of whom anyone voted for—the man who was elected President deserves respect for his position. He deserves to have an audience. To dislike Obama and his views is fine; we are all free to our opinions. But to boycott a speech about the importance of education simply because he isn’t your presidential choice? What is that teaching our children?
Basically, it is teaching them intolerance. Disrespect for opposing viewpoints. Closed-mindedness. I fear the rut I mentioned earlier is only going to get deeper, wider.
I’m one hundred percent for standing up for one’s beliefs. I’m also one hundred percent for being respectful. I’m one hundred percent for having different views from those of the President of the United States. But I also believe in hearing the message first before becoming paranoid about secret agendas and indoctrination of youth.
And frankly, if the youth I teach are indoctrinated to work hard in school and stay the course, that’s okay with me.
(FYI—Now that I have stepped down from my soapbox…My intent is not to offend anyone. It’s just that I really cannot believe the ridiculous things I’ve heard about this. I’m still reeling from the comparison to Hitler…)
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11 comments:
WOW! I'm so proud to have a daughter who has a good mind and can think for herself. I've been reading some of those same kind of comments in the newspaper and I'm appalled at how intolerant some people are.
Amen! Also...I was listening to Rick and Bubba to see what the morons out there were saying and one person called up and said that Hitler and "Stallings" had done what Obamer was doing.
Well said, my friend! Very impressive and so, so true.
Amy, I followed a link from Max on FB :-) to your impressive posting. How interesting if you had shown a couple of Gladwell interview clips to different class periods--perhaps another where he uses a non-political reference--as a mini-experiment of sorts to see if those students decided they didn't "like" him and/or the book also.
I do have a (somewhat rhetorical) question: regarding your 3rd paragraph, was there a time when students were more "enlightened" or class discussions more open? It seems there is always a "hot button" topic that even the most intelligent, fair, unbiased teacher can inadvertently create divisiveness. (e.g.-- I started teaching the fall following Rodney King, and I was teaching during OJ, and there were many topics I simply avoided or tiptoed around, unfortunately.) Now that hot button seems to be politics...and as always in the South, the big 3: gun control, abortion, capital punishment. Thank goodness Gladwell didn't discuss one of those in the interview clip!
Love your last four paragraphs. Rock on.
I think the issue that some people have is not the speech - I believe that speaking to kids about staying in school and getting good grades is a good thing. However, the curriculum that came to the schools to go with the speech I have been told included the kids writing an essay on "how they can serve Obama" and was later changed to how they can help themselves due to outrage. My allegiance is to my country and the flag, not to one man. Obama is not my Savior. The "I Pledge" video produced by Demi Moore was more bothersome to me. They stated at the end that they pledge to be a "servant to Obama" and I am only a servant to one man - Jesus Christ. I do appreciate the debate that his has begun though, I think it is waking up people about our government, our schools and so forth. Thanks go to all the teachers for the job they do, because it is tough.
What Lindy is talking about is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE! Nothing but internet/Fox News myth. As a 20-year veteran teacher, I can assure that this is "I Pledge" nonsense is a hoax.
It is my understanding--after reading from several credible news sources--that the original lesson plan included an essay topic that was worded something like "How can I help the President?" and then was revised to "how can I achieve my short-term and long-term educational goals?"
I still don't have a problem with the original question, because I believe that the appropriate responses would be to study harder, finish school, apply myself, etc. I don't think the question was meant to push any kind of agenda, other than to inspire students to make and achieve educational goals. If I thought the message was going to be anything suspect, I would voice those concerns for sure.
All that aside, I originally was speaking about people who were responding in a knee-jerk manner simply because the speech is coming from Obama. One FB "friend" posted a status that read something like, "Contact your school board if you have a problem with Obama's address to students." More than a few responses read, "What? I haven't heard anything about this yet but you can bet my kid won't be at school Tuesday if this is taking place." These parents didn't even have a clue what was going on; they just knew they wanted no part of it if it was related to Obama. That, to me, is ignorance (with a little paranoia mixed in for good measure) in its purest form.
I do appreciate everyone's interest in this blog post. When I wrote it, I thought it might be read by about four people, primarily family members who stop by to look at cute pictures of Amelia. :)
So, where are the cute pictures of Amelia?
"That, to me, is ignorance (with a little paranoia mixed in for good measure) in its purest form."
And just a pinch or two of racism--never forget that. (We have to call it like we see it, folks--stop trying to pretend it isn't true.)
Such a great post, Amy--I'm glad so many people have stopped by to read it!
Great post! I also am a teacher, and I am floored by the reaction to this speech. I am even more surprised by some of my colleague's reactions to the speech. Several teachers I work with see this as an opportunity for Obama to push his political agenda (they clearly have not visited the website that we were forwarded that contained further information on the speech) and feel our school should not participate. And I teach in the "liberal Northeast"! I would hope that if Bush had ever been that interested in connecting with our students, I would have supported participating in his speech, too.
To give a little historical depth to Max's comment above, here's a brief passage from page 97 of Susan Ashmore's Carry It On: The War On Poverty And The Civil Rights Movement In Alabama:
At that same time [early 1966], Black Belt school districts began receiving letters from the Justice Department informing officials that they were not in compliance with the Civil Rights Act. After attending a school desegregation conference at Florida State University, Wilcox County superintendent Guy S, Kelly wrote to Wallace suggesting that the state not comply: "If I ever heard Hitler speak, and I did," he told the governor, "I heard him matched on Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida."
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