more from the classroom

Tales from the classroom.

The first day back from break is always a bit stressful. The students are busy catching up with their friends activities and in the case of Thanksgiving, describing how much they ate. Some are more focused on all the stuff they bought on Friday, while others remember they didn't look at any of their homework since leaving school on Wednesday.

Today in World History we looked at the chapter titled "Renaissance and Reformation." I did a time line activity with the class before I gave them another activity. I put the date 1517 on the line and asked if anybody was Lutheran. The first response was, "Why would that matter?" One student said she goes to a Lutheran church but doesn't really consider herself to be Lutheran. Next I asked if anyone had heard of Martin Luther. One student said, "He's that black guy, isn't he?" I told her she was thinking of Martin Luther King Jr. Another student blurted, "aren't they they same person?" I told them "no" and asked if anyone had any idea when Martin Luther King Jr. lived. Guesses were made from 1700 to 1950. From there we went back to the Reformation. I wrote the date 1525 on the board and asked if anyone knew why that might be important. Nobody seemed to know, so I wrote "Anabaptist's begin." The next question, from a Mennonite student, was "What's an Anabaptist?" followed by, "what does Anabaptist mean?" By the time we got through this there wasn't much time for the activity.

Next was U.S. History where we are finishing the Civil War and looking a bit at Reconstruction. The one group of students seemed mystified that many in the Union thought the Confederates had committed treason. I discovered part of the problem was they didn't know the meaning of the word, "treason." One well meaning young woman, summed it all up (at least for her) when she said, "Why couldn't they just have their own country?" It only got worse, but it did bring to mind what I read somewhere, "teaching history to 15-16 year olds is an unnatural act."

American Gospel by Jon Meacham

Found this to be interesting but for some reason it was slow going. Meacham argues America's founders recognized the value of religion and the importance of religious values in establishing a new country,but at the same time realized if the new country was to survive it would have to be tolerant of different religious beliefs. Rather than create state support for one set of doctrines, Meacham documents how Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and others set about creating a new religion, what Meacham calls "American public religion." Describing God as transcendent, or "Natures God" leaves it ambiguous enough that nearly anyone, except the most avowed atheist, can believe. So if you are a fundamentalist, or evangelical who "wants America to get back to its Godly heritage," Meacham says you can find support for that position. If you are Jewish, and don't buy into the Jesus stories, American public religion is broad enough to include you. If you lean towards a God who doesn't get involved in the daily goings on of people, the idea of nature's god should be enough to keep you happy.

I found the idea of American public religion to be useful in thinking about the country's history and our contemporary situation. Thanksgiving has become one of the high holy days of American public religion. Driving across the mid-west on Thanksgiving it was interesting to hear what some of the "Christian" radio stations had to say - some preacher ranting about being more thankful, prayers for the soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, prayers for all the men who have "kept our country free," gratefulness for a country bestowed with such blessings, with the occasional song thrown in.

Coming from a sectarian church background, it is easy (tempting) to see the many contradictions between what is generally considered to be "true Christianity" and American public religion. The most dangerous of these are the belief in American exceptionalism and the idea of "redemptive violence. Meacham's book did help me understand those people I know, who devoutly salute the flag, say the pledge of allegiance, pray at the pole, and then work to raise money for missions in other parts of the world. The question for me is, to what kind of Christianity do we want these people to convert? Is it to buy into the American public religion described by Meacham, or is it a universal Christianity with an emphasis on spreading good news to the poor? (less)

How JFK changed my life

Yesterday was the 47th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I have vague memories of watching the funeral on television but since I was only five I don't remember much. Still his death changed my life, at least in a round about way.

My parents had grown up in a conservative Mennonite church which did not allow its members to have television. They were living in Idaho in 1963 and since there were no conservative Mennonite churches in the area they made do with a regular Mennonite church. Sometime I will have to ask if they were just being good members, or if they didn't want to spend the money, but in any case we did not have a tv.

This changed with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. After the assassination, my father rented a television in order to watch the funeral and the many news stories. Walter Cronkite, along with Huntley and Brinkley, must have made an impression and my parents decided to keep the television. I may have been allowed to watch Captain Kangaroo but probably not much else. It is also where I learned that disappointment would long be a part of my life. NBC had its peacock, and the slogan, "Bringing this program to you in living color." I always waited eagerly for the black and white images I saw on the screen to appear in "living color" but for some reason, (we had a black and white tv) the "living color" never appeared.

We moved back to southeastern Iowa a few years later and I don't know if the tv came with us, or if the decision was made to buy another one once they arrived. The conservative Mennonite churches in the area still had a rule against tv, so my parents eventually joined Kalona Mennonite, a congregation which allowed tv's. By now 60 Minutes was on the air, and in our home, it was required viewing. All of my first cousins in the area attended the conservative churches so our house became a favorite destination. If an Iowa basketball game was televised we had company.

If my parents had not purchased the tv, they may well have remained in the conservative church. I may have attended Rosedale and married a nice girl who wore a covering and didn't cut her hair. Instead I was corrupted by shows such as 60 Minutes, Hogan's Heroes, and Carol Burnett. I was one of the few kids allowed to watch the Smother's Brothers before they were kicked off the airwaves. Maybe that is why I struggle with trying to not be too cynical.

The conservative churches dropped the tv rule a number of years ago when it became impossible to enforce. There seems to be little difference between what these churches and regular Mennonite churches say about the use of technology. I certainly don't see a difference in the gadgets the students use and carry to school.

getting back to this - Social Studies Conference

With all the summer activities I seem to have not got back into the habit of writing every so often. Maybe over the next few weeks I can catch up a bit since some interesting things have happened.

Back in October I attended the Iowa Council on Social Studies meeting for the first time in my teaching career. I drove over to Des Moines and arrived in plenty of time. At the registration table I received the packet of information including my name tag. I was tempted to not put it on, but as everyone else seemed to have them on, so I wore it. What resulted was a day with rather interesting questions.
"You teach at a Mennonite school. Do you use technology?" "Yes", I replied. "You mean you have electricity?" Another "yes." Another women asked, "How do the kids get to school?" This seemed normal until she added, "those buggies don't travel very fast, do they?" Next, another teacher said, "Since you have a beard, does that mean you are Amish?" At this point I was about ready to take off the name tag and head to the fake seaside bar in the hotel.

Among the interesting things I learned - Elkader, Iowa is named after a Muslim prince and religious leader. Today he might be called a terrorist as he fought to keep the French from colonizing Algeria.
Iowa schools are struggling with technology and the many changes it is bringing. Some schools have a lap top for every student 9-12. Some schools struggle to keep their computer labs up to date. One school requires its teachers to have Twitter accounts, while other schools tell their teachers they shouldn't have Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking sites. Most schools, including the public schools, are struggling with finances and the costs required to keep up with the latest technology.

All in all it was a good day. I met some interesting people, heard some decent speakers, and had a safe and pleasant drive home.