Immigration from a Social Justice Perspective

Drawing on a curriculum by Rethinking Schools, The Line Between Us, Teaching about the Border and Mexican Immigration, central Vermont educators Carolyn Shapiro and Jean Lathrop designed a curriculum that includes looking at the phenomenon of Mexican workers living shadow lives here in Vermont. They co-taught with two teachers of sophomore social studies classes, one for two weeks and the other for five weeks. They arranged to have guests visit the classes including a Mexican immigrant, an American born Mexican-American who is now a PhD but was a migrant worker as a child, a Vermont farmer using Mexican labor, and the co-director of Vermont Refugee Assistance. One teacher used his classroom budget to buy each student a copy of a short book, Crossing the Wire, about a teenage Mexican boy who in desperation decides he has to go to the US to earn money to send back to his family and the ensuing dangers he faces crossing the border. Students were very involved and wrote insightful evaluations. “I think this unit was really great and made me think of things that are going on now that we can potentially fix instead of like history which we can’t change.” (image courtesy of Vermont Folklife Center)

Carolyn and Jean compiled this resource list from the work mentioned above and also from their association with The Golden Cage exhibit at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury (http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/):

Web-based Resources:

The American Friends Service Committee has a section of their Web site at http://tamejavi.com/immigrants-rights/ devoted to immigrants’ right in the United States, which includes
· AFSC blog on immigration policy
· Project Voice E-Newsletter: Real Immigration Stories
· numerous articles and reports
· resources such as Echando Raices/Taking Root, a bilingual DVD documentary on immigrant realities and immigrant rights

The Web site of the National Immigration Forum at http://www.blogger.com/ww.immigrationforum.org/ includes:
· Press releases
· Facts on immigration
· Backgrounders, issue briefs, and legislative analysis
· Immigration reform resources

A 15-page fact sheet on migration from Mexico through March 2007 prepared by the Pew Hispanic Center can be found at http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/33.pdf.

Teachable Moment Web site presents free, timely topical activities and lesson plans for the K - 12 classroom offered by the nonprofit Educators for Social Responsibility. These include lessons on social responsibility, critical thinking, etc. and can be found at http://www.teachablemoment.org/.

Witness for Peace seeks to educate the U.S. public and policymakers about the root causes of immigration, and to change U.S. trade and economic policy that contributes to migration. Online resources at http://www.witnessforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=121 include reports, news, and publications.

Teaching for Change online catalog at http://www9.mailordercentral.com/teachingforchange/ offers hundreds of carefully selected books, films, and posters for teaching from a social justice perspective.

Books:

Will Hobbs, Crossing the Wire (published by Harper Collins) is a story for young adults about a Mexican boy who crosses the border to find work to help his family in Mexico. Also an online teacher’s guide for Crossing the Wire at http://www.harperchildrens.com/

Bill Bigelow, The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border and Mexican Immigration is available from Rethinking Schools Online. The Line Between Us explores the history of U.S-Mexican relations and the roots of Mexican immigration, all in the context of the global economy. It shows how teachers can help students understand the immigrant experience and the drama of border life. It's also about imaginative and creative teaching that gets students to care about the world.

Ann Jaramillo, La Linea (published by Roaring Brook Press) is a moving story about the Herculean efforts of two Mexican teenagers to reach the Promised Land, the United States, to be reunited with their parents.

Films:

El Norte, directed by Gregory Nava, 1984, available on DVD.
A teenage brother and sister escaping violence in Guatemala flee to "El Norte" (the USA) by truck, bus and other means to reach Los Angeles, where they try to make a new life as young, uneducated, and illegal immigrants.

El Imigrante, written, produced, and directed by John Sheedy, David Eckenrode, and John Ekenrode, 2005.
This is a documentary film that examines the Mexican and American border crisis by telling the true story of Eusebio de Haro, a young Mexican migrant who was shot and killed during one of his journeys north.

• From what other perspectives do you teach about immigration?
• Do you teach about current immigration and/or migrant labor issues in Vermont? If so, what resources do you have to share with us?
• Do you have any concerns or advice about teaching about current immigration issues?

2008 VASS Conference - A Success!

Last Friday's VASS conference at the Equinox in Manchester was a great success. It was fun to see so many familiar faces, attend some really great presentations, and listen to our thought-provoking keynote speakers.

Richard Long from Kurn Hattin School in Westminster sums it up best when he says, "I believe the VASS conference was the best I have ever attended and I have been attending for several years. The variety of breakout sessions and topics covered were excellent. Everything seemed to go off without a hitch. The materials I received I was able to put to use right away in my classes. Thanks for a great professional experience."

To see some photos from the conference go to http://www.tahvt.org/VASS2008Photos.htm (thanks to the Teaching American History program at Castleton for these photos).

Ndakinna Cultural Center in East Calais

From Charlene McManis at the Ndakinna Cultural Center:

Sitting Bull once said, "Let us put our minds together and see what life will make for our children." For many generations, his words served our native community.

Here at NDAKINNA CULTURAL CENTER, we endeavor to continue his goal of offering Native American Heritage for Vermont’s children. Programs like the drumming circle and beadwork classes merge artistic training with native teachings. Our web site (http://www.ndakinna.org/) provides a Wabanaki directory with valuable resources for education, research, and so much more.

For more information, you may phone 802-456-8884 or visit us at 34 Moscow Woods Road in East Calais. Gici oliwni (Many thanks)

21st Century Skills and Social Studies

I received the following email from a social studies teacher here in Vermont. I'm interested in your reactions, comments, and feedback:

Hi Sigrid,

I just read over the DOE Transformation document and the 21st Century Skills document again and here's my thought. I'd like social studies to take the lead in creating and implementing plans for these goals to be obtained. The integrated nature of the content with emphasis on packaged skills is right up our alley.

The last time DOE began an initiative, (Standards), we were dragged kicking, screaming and late to the meeting. The fallout has been that we have been marginalized and made adjunct English teachers. We can do better.

Let's embrace this stuff and move forward with it. Form a committee of people around the state that can look at these documents through the lense of classroom teachers who consistently synthesize relevant topics, pursue inquiry and cause students to create meaningful, integrated presentations.

On our best days that's what social studies does.

• Your thoughts?
• Click on the link to the VT DOE Transformation document for more info: http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/dept/transformation.html

Obama Inspired by, Compared to Lincoln

By Philip Rucker, Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

He was a boy with a distant father, raised in a family of modest means. He had a curious intellect, devouring history and memorizing passages from Shakespeare. He became a lawyer and settled in Illinois, where he was elected to the state legislature. With relatively little political experience, he decided to run for president. Few believed he stood a chance of winning a primary campaign against the party's heir apparent, a senator from New York.

But the gangly, bookish Illinoisan galvanized millions across a country in crisis with his soaring rhetoric, speaking in big strokes about transcending partisan politics and creating America as it ought to be. He rose from obscurity to clinch his party's nomination and the presidency. The New York senator returned home deeply disappointed and bitter, having fallen to a shrewd political tactician.

Sound familiar?
Read the rest at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111803854.html

Watch Doris Kearns Goodwin talk about these connections at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/doris_kearns_goodwin_on_learning_from_past_presidents.html

• What do you think about this premise (the connections between Obama and Lincoln)?
• How can you use this information in your classroom?

International Education Week

November 17-21 is International Education Week.

Like any other commemorative week or month (or year, for that matter) of some merit, the question arises "why just one week (or month or year)?" Today, international/global education is so essential that it should be incorporated into all subject areas spanning many if not all grades.

We all know this, but according to a recent report from the Committee for Economic Development our students, upon graduation, will be: selling to other countries, buying from other countries, working for international companies, managing employees from other cultures and countries, collaborating with people around the world in joint ventures, competing with people around the world for jobs and markets, and tackling international problems such as climate change, diseases, and disaster recovery.

For some good online resources, go to http://delicious.com/sigridlumbra and click on the tag "Global Studies" in the right hand tool bar.

• How do you address global education in your classroom?
• Is your school and/or district supportive?
• What resources, methods, or advice to you have for your colleagues who want to expand global education within their schools?
  

Online Election Resources

The following web sites are good resources for integrating 21st century skills and the election:

• The Living Room Candidate: Web site sponsored by the Museum for the Moving Image that provides clips of presidential-campaign commercials from 1952 through today, as well as background and historical information about campaign advertising.
• National Association for Media Literacy Education: The national membership organization promotes media-literacy efforts. It offers suggestions for teaching about the election.
• Glassbooth: An online quiz that analyzes a user’s position on social, political, and economic issues to see which candidate’s views he or she is most aligned with.
• Mouse: A New York City-based nonprofit organization that supports research, policy initiatives, classroom resources, and training programs for teachers and students that promote the use of technology to enhance instruction.
• Presidential Election Wiki: A wikispace, or collaborative Web site, that includes resources and Web links for teaching about the election process. The site is administered by Joyce Valenza, a library information specialist at Springfield Township High School in Pennsylvania.
• YouTube: The video-sharing Web site has a channel dedicated to the election hosted by YouTube that includes clips of the candidates on the campaign trail and in debate, as well as video commentary by both prominent and unknown pundits.
• Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns: Curriculum materials from Project Look Sharp, the media-literacy program at Ithaca College. It includes a detailed teacher’s guide and downloads for units covering media issues in presidential campaigns since 1800.
• Access, Analyze, Act—A Blueprint for 21st Century Civic Engagement: The Public Broadcasting Service’s resources include a teacher’s guide for developing lessons that tap social media to teach media-literacy, critical-thinking, communication, and technology skills. The site, created by the Media Education Lab at Temple University in Philadelphia, also includes podcasts and interactive simulations on campaign issues.
• Factcheck.org: The searchable Web site from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania monitors the factual accuracy of statements, advertisements, interviews, and debates related to the presidential campaign.
• Get My Vote: A Web site sponsored by National Public Radio that allows citizens to write, record, or videotape their views about issues they deem important to the election.
• The Internet Archive: The site contains historical collections in digital format. It includes video, audio, and print documents, as well as software and Web page archives.
• eLECTIONS: An online, multimedia game offered by Cable in the Classroom in which players are candidates and choose their party affiliation and positions on key issues, then analyze polling maps and choose campaign strategies.
Source: Education Week

• What other good online resources are you using in your classroom?

Presidential Election TV Ads: Past and Present

The Living Room Candidate contains more than 300 commercials, from every presidential election since 1952, when Madison Avenue advertising executive Rosser Reeves convinced Dwight Eisenhower that short ads played during such popular TV programs as I Love Lucy would reach more voters than any other form of advertising. This innovation had a permanent effect on the way presidential campaigns are run.

In a media-saturated environment in which news, opinions, and entertainment surround us all day on our television sets, computers, and cell phones, the television commercial remains the one area where presidential candidates have complete control over their images. Television commercials use all the tools of fiction filmmaking, including script, visuals, editing, and performance, to distill a candidate's major campaign themes into a few powerful images. Ads elicit emotional reactions, inspiring support for a candidate or raising doubts about his opponent. While commercials reflect the styles and techniques of the times in which they were made, the fundamental strategies and messages have tended to remain the same over the years.

For more information go to http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/.

Are you a technophobe?

Are you irritated that your students know (way) more than you do? If so, there's a great web site that could help. It features simple "how to" videos made just for teachers that cover the following types of technology:

• Second Life L1
• Second Life L2
• Mind Mapping Tools
• Make Online Surveys
• RSS Feeds
• All About YouTube
• How to Use Blackboard
• How to Use iTunes to Get PodCasts
• 24 Tips for PowerPoint
• How to Create Blogs
• How to Use and Make Wikis
• How to Use Del.icio.us
• Tips and Tricks for Word
• Drawing and Recording

To view these videos go to http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/.

• How do you use technology in your class?


• What resources do you suggest for people to learn more about integrating technology into their classrooms?

Banned Books Week

From the ALA:
BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

The 10 most challenged books of 2007 reflect a range of themes, and are:
1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell [Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group]
2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier [Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence]
3. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes [Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language]
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman [Reasons: Religious Viewpoint]
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain [Reasons: Racism]
6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker [Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language]
7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle [Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group]
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou [Reasons: Sexually Explicit]
9. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris [Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit]
10. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky [Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group]

For a lot of interesting information about banned books, including a Resource Guide, breakdown by year(s), graphs of data including Challenges by Initiator, Institution, Type, and Year, go to the ALA's web site at http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/frequentlychallengedbooks.cfm.

• Have you ever used any banned or challenged books in your classroom?


• What should social studies students know about banned books or the process of banning books?

Social Studies Network Meeting: Vermont in the Civil War

Social studies teachers from the southeastern part of the state came together on September 17th for an exciting day of investigation around the Civil War's impact on Vermont. We heard from historian Howard Coffin about his efforts to uncover how Vermonters lives were touched by the war and from reenactor (and teacher) John Swanson about Springfield's first 10 days of the war. We learned about individual soldiers and the people they left behind by examining primary source documents and how to create a Quest from questing "guru" Steve Glazer. The highlight of the day, though, was our trip to the Dummerston Center Cemetery. There we collected data from the graves of soldiers as well as learned how to "read" cemeteries in general.

The feedback about the day was positive and informative:

"Howard Coffin was very inspiring. I want to look for Civil War history in my own town."

"Great cemetery work. It motivates me to do the same in my school community."

"Great mix of speakers, workshops, and field trip to the cemetery."

"The presentations, trip to the cemetery, and activities were 10 on a scale of 10."

Participant feedback also suggested some changes that will be made to the next inservice date (October 22nd at the Danville School). Specifically, we will have a breakout room geared toward elementary teachers.

Thanks very much to Sarah Rooker from the Flow of History project, Julia Lewandoski from the Vermont Humanities Council, Larry Coffin, former teacher at Oxbow and member of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, and Christine Smith, women's history teacher at Spaulding High School who were all instrumental in making this day happen!

• What would you like to see at the next social studies network meeting?
  
  

Vietnam Field Study Summer 2009

Would you like an opportunity for teachers to enhance instruction of the legacy of the Vietnam War Era? An opportunity for staff to travel to the Republic of Vietnam during the summer of 2009 for academic credit? An opportunity for staff & students to participate in a fund raising campaign to eliminate the risk of unexploded ordnance left behind during the Vietnam War?

Keene State College and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund have authorized a field study for 6 academic graduate credits in the Republic of Vietnam during the summer of 2009. Bill Holiday, teacher at Brattleboro Union High School, will be the instructor. Costs and Dates are being worked out, but dates are likely to be from June 30, 2009 through July 12, 2009.

For more information please contact Bill at Bill_Holiday@wsesu.org.

If the World Were 100 People

If the World were 100 PEOPLE:

50 would be female
50 would be male
20 would be children
There would be 80 adults,
14 of whom would be 65 and older
There would be:
61 Asians
12 Europeans
13 Africans
14 people from the Western Hemisphere
There would be:
31 Christians
21 Muslims
14 Hindus
6 Buddhists
12 people who believe in other religions
16 people who would not be aligned with a religion
17 would speak Chinese
8 would speak Hindustani
8 would speak English
7 would speak Spanish
4 would speak Arabic
4 would speak Russian
52 would speak other languages
82 would be able to read and write; 18 would not
1 would have a college education
1 would own a computer
75 people would have some supply of food and a place to
shelter them from the wind and rain, but 25 would not
1 would be dying of starvation
17 would be undernourished
15 would be overweight
83 would have access to safe drinking water
17 people would have no clean, safe water to drink

• Have you seen this information before? Have you used it in your classroom?
• How can we verify this data....or better yet, how can you have your students verify this data or create their own demograhic snapshot?
• In addition to working with data, what is the bigger understanding here for your students and the world they will and do inhabit? Here are some web-based resources that might be of help answer some of these questions:

U.S. Census Bureau International Database http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/

GeoHive http://www.geohive.com/default1.aspx

Population Reference Bureau http://www.prb.org/

Population Reference Bureau Datafinder http://www.prb.org/datafinder.aspx

The Media, Politics, and American Society at the State House

SAVE THE DATE!

The Bill of Rights Institute is pleased to invite you to apply for a FREE one-day seminar entitled Seeking the Truth: Media, Politics, and American Society. This seminar is for social studies teachers, grades 8-12, and will be held on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier from 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Complimentary breakfast and lunch will be provided at the seminar.

The evolution of the First Amendment press protections in American history and the use of media in political campaigns is a complex area of study. This seminar provides teachers with tools to address protections afforded to political speech, analyzing sources as varied as Thomas Jefferson and the Federal Communications Act of 1934. The protections afforded political speech and its impact in the media are addressed through the analysis of political images and advertising from previous elections.

At the seminar, you will receive a complimentary copy of our new curriculum, Media and American Democracy , with lesson plans, classroom activities, a glossary of journalism terms, and Landmark Supreme Court Case activities. Participants will also receive a professional development certificate.

Registrations must be completed online by October 16, 2008. You will be notified of your acceptance via email no later than October 21, 2008. To register, please visit: http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/ApplyOnline. For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page, linked to our registration page.

Constitution Day: Opportunity or Irony?

The idea of Constitution Day might seem paradoxical to many social studies educators: Does reserving a single day in honor of the Constitution actually mitigate its importance by encouraging single-shot, surface-level learning? Furthermore, how can we compel teaching about freedoms that are integral to the lives of every one of us, not just school children? How can (and should) the federal government drive state and/or local school curricula in this manner?

Reflecting on these questions is important when determining what we want our students to understand about the Constitution, their government, and their rights and freedoms as well as how we want to address Constitution Day in our schools. I've made a Constitution Day Planning Guide with the hopes that it can help you provide exciting and relevant educational opportunities to your students throughout the entire school year, not just on September 17th.

The Planning Guide includes the following:
* Programming Ideas: ideas for classroom or school-wide events celebrating the Constitution
* Primary Source Documents and Reading Informational Text Strategies: the U.S. Constitution, the Vermont Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence formatted for student interaction; a glossary for the U.S. Constitution; informational text reading strategies for teachers
* Classroom Resources: resources for teaching about the Constitution and the U.S. government. Grade levels, themes, and types of resources are highlighted.
* Current Events: recent events from the news that focus on student rights and responsibilities

Click here for the guide http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_curriculum/history.html, then click on Curriculum and Assessment Resources.

• What do you think about the idea of a Constitution Day? Does it hurt or promote learning about the Constitution?

Cartoons for the Classroom

You’ve got to love editorial cartoons and the critical thinking skills they can enhance in us and develop in our students, especially during this election season. The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists’ web site has a section called “Cartoons in the Classroom” that contains these useful amenities:
*A weekly lesson
*Blank cartoons
*Cartoon evaluation worksheet
*128 archived cartoon-related lessons
*Links to addition editorial cartoon web sites

Click here to check it out: http://nieonline.com/aaec/cftc.cfm

• What suggestions do you have for using editorial cartoons in your classroom?
• How do you assess the use and creation of editorial cartoons?
• Do you have any good resources to share?

Image courtesy of UnionLeader.com

What Did You Do This Summer?

It seems like summer is usually about two things that are potentially polar opposites: vacation and professional development. One relaxing and fun-filled, the other full of work and deadlines. Or so I thought...

I'm happy to say that I had the opportunity to participate in some really great professional development this summer. The Vermont Geographic Alliance's 2008 Summer Institute for Educators managed to combine intense and eye-opening content with collegiality and fun. On more than one occassion I thought to myself, "Every Vermont student should be learning about this." Current geographic issues are some of the most pressing our world is facing today. Learning about these, and learning to use up-to-date geographic technology are crucial ways to assure that our kids are ready to be citizens of the 21st century.

Some of the interesting things we learned about were:

*Google Maps
*Google Earth
*The Gap Minder (a very interesting web site that takes current geographic data and makes it visible for you and your students) http://www.gapminder.org/
*GPS
*Geocaching
*Geography-centered literature at the elementary level
*Geography lessons at the elementary level
*Vermont's topography
*Resources from the Fleming Museum
*New curriculum from National Geographic being piloted by Vermont teachers
*The America Over There: A Look at Contemporary American Colonies and Overseas Military
*Migration to the U.S.
*Illegal immigration in Vermont, the human conditions it creates, and its importance to Vermont's agricultural economy
*Arctic melting
*Historical geography of Vermont

Let me know if you would like any more information on the above topics. And please consider applying for VGA's summer institute next year!

• Did you participate in any good professional development this summer that you would like to recommend to your colleagues? Use this blog as a forum for sharing this information.

Coping with Rising Gas Prices

Got any field trips planned this year? If your answer is no, you're not alone.

In addition to a recent Times Argus article "Schools look at trimming extracurricular activities", other headlines ("Gas prices fuel rise in virtual field trips ," "School field trips in jeopardy as fuel prices rise") don't bode well for Vermont's students getting out of the classroom much in the coming year.

How are you planning on coping with these new economic realities?

Here are some tips and/or examples:
*CILC http://www.cilc.org/
*The Smithsonian Institution http://www.si.edu/
*The Louvre http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/visite_virtuelle.jsp?bmLocale=en
*The Metropolitan Museum of Art http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/features.asp
*National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/learn/distance.htm
*The National Zoo http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WorldTour/
*The Tomb of Tutankhamen http://www.nationalgeographic.com/egypt/index.html

There are thousands of other examples. You might find some of relevance on my del.icio.us page or under the Curriculum and Assessments section of my DOE web page (http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_curriculum/history.html).

• What sites have you found that can be used to create a good virtual field trip?

"Your Shot" China Map from National Geographic

With the Olympics on the way, see National Geographic readers' photos of Chinese life plotted on an interactive map—with tranquil rivers, frenetic cities, and more.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/05/china/your-shot/china-map-interactive?source=email_places_20080710&email=places_20080710.

You Tube video "Where the Hell is Matt?" - hurting or helping global education?

Recently a New York Times article caught my eye. It began with this description:

"There are no weekend box office charts for online videos. But if there were, near or at the very top of the list right now might well be a four-and-a-half-minute video called 'Dancing,' which more than four million people have viewed on You Tube, and perhaps another million on other sites, in the just over two weeks since it appeared. It’s the online equivalent of a platinum hit, seeping from one computer to the next like a virus."

Almost the same day a global education listserve that I belong to alerted its readers to this video's existance. This started an interesting and spirited conversation about how we teach our students about other people and cultures around the world.

Some people were fully supportive of the video, posting comments such as, "There can be such difficulty in persuading our youth and our students to venture outside the U.S. and experience other countries and cultures, that it's great to find something that shows them all the places they can go and experience and that they can have fun doing it. And even make contact with local people."

Others, though, were strongly against using this video in the classroom. One response focused on perceived superficiality by saying, "What I heard from a group of social studies teachers (some are from other countries) is that 'Matt' was just another superficial look at other cultures. Someone said it reduced people in his country to being the backdrop for a white American guy's video. One compared it to white actors using Kenyans as scenery in Out of Africa."

Another person brought up the topioc of deeper understanding with this comment: "Why not ask students to analyze the carbon footprint of that activity? And what does it really contribute to people's understandings of cultures that they can't get from M-TV? The two best scenes, in my opinion, are where he dances with the Indian women who are doing their own dance, and where the PNG folks are doing their own thing while Matt does his little dance. This is fun but I think there are better ways to contribute to students' understandings of world cultures. I think it feeds students' celebrity-itis and their desire to do gimmicky things to put on the internet rather than feeding a real desire to understand other cultures."

What do you think?

To view the video go to http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/?fbid=B_z_WU.

• Does this video really contribute to students' understanding of the world around them?


• Would you use this video in your classroom? If so, how? If not, why?

Bradford to celebrate bicentennial in 2010 of America's first globe

By Tom Haley
Rutland Herald
July 5, 2008

The man who made the first globe in North America had a farm in Bradford, and it's not difficult to see the town is proud of that distinction. There are signs in town and a historic marker on Interstate 91. Years ago, the local bank had a drawing of a globe on the checks, according to Bradford Historical Society President Larry Coffin.

But the grandest proclamation will come in 2010 when Bradford celebrates the bicentennial of the Wilson Globe. James Wilson might well have made his first globe before 1810, but that is the date of the first recorded sale so the town is using that year to celebrate the event. The centerpiece of the celebration will be one of the first three globes made by Wilson.

The globe is in Williamstown, Mass., where it is being restored by the Williamstown Art Conservation Center to the tune of about $25,000."It was falling apart and fragile," Coffin said. He felt if they were ever going to be able to achieve its restoration, it would be for a bicentennial event. There will also be a stand for the globe and a booklet that Coffin estimates will be 20 pages or so with information on Wilson.

Appropriately, one of the events for raising the funds is a geography bee held at Oxbow Union High School in Bradford. The second bee will be Nov. 15. The first in 2007 was a success financially and in terms of the enthusiasm it generated. With its entry fees, sponsorship money and a matching sum from the Modern Woodmen of America, the geography bee raised about $3,800. But it was the excitement and fun it brought to the community that was its signature."Everyone had a great, great time. It was so successful, we are going to do it again," Nordham said. Who knows? The bee might have a life beyond the bicentennial."It will go at least through the bicentennial," Coffin said. "It might go for awhile."Personally, I love geography."

Evidently, so do many others. The competition of the first bee was spirited and the knowledge impressive by the three-person teams in the two categories: elementary school and high school/adult."Many of the adults were impressed that the kids knew as much as they did," Nordham said. The grand prize is a $300 16-inch Replogle Globe in a Queen Anne style cherry floor stand that was donated by the Replogle Globe Co. The winning team will select the area school or library that receives it. National Geographic Society atlases and other prizes will also be awarded.

Bradford's bicentennial of the Wilson Globe will be a celebration of its heritage, but as much as anything it will be an event honoring ingenuity and hard work.It is fascinating what this farmer/blacksmith went through to achieve his globe business after moving to Bradford in 1796 with little formal education."He was totally self-taught," Nordham said.Wilson sold cows from his farm to buy an encyclopedia and educated himself in cartography and map making. He sought out an expert in engraving, Amos Doolittle in Connecticut."He taught himself geography and astronomy," Nordham said. "He studied all the skills he needed to make his globes."

For the complete story go to http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080705/NEWS02/807050328.

It's high time to retire the Pledge of Allegiance

By PAUL M. HOWEY
Times Argus

July 6, 2008

We say the Pledge of Allegiance a lot, mechanically mouthing the words without truly understanding them or their history. Are we deluding ourselves into believing this somehow renders us more patriotic?At the risk of sounding like Cliff from "Cheers," here are some little-known facts, Normie.

Conservatives are up in arms about presidential candidates wearing flag pins. I'll bet precious few of them, however, are aware the Pledge of Allegiance was written by a left winger, a socialist even, and that corporate profits were the sole motivating factor behind it.

Francis Bellamy penned the pledge in 1892. Bellamy was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and an extreme nationalist whose sermons ("Jesus the Socialist," for one) eventually got him booted from the church. He then landed a job with Youth's Companion, a magazine that also happened to be in the business of selling American flags. The magazine's owners decided they needed to boost flag sales. They came up with a marketing gimmick. They engineered a deal with the National Education Association to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the New World. By agreement, all the schools in the country were to have flag ceremonies, and naturally they would all need to have flags. To cement the deal, they had Bellamy write the following pledge that youngsters all over the country would be required to say:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

One nation indivisible" was a phrase Bellamy used to drive home the fact that states had no inherent right of secession. The Civil War was still fresh on the minds of Americans, and the Northerners wanted to be sure the Southerners understood the new rules. Socialist that he was, Francis had wanted to include "equality for all" in his pledge, but he knew the states' superintendents of education — who generally did not support equality for women or for African-Americans — would object.That could hurt flag sales (the pledge was, after all, just an advertising ploy meant to peddle more flags), and so he dropped the idea.

The last change to the pledge came in 1954. In response to the "Red Scare" of the McCarthy era, the words "under God" were added, supposedly to show that we rejected the godless precepts of communism. Otherwise patriotic atheists and agnostics were not consulted.

Sadly, the Pledge of Allegiance was but an ad campaign created to bolster a corporation's bottom line. Perhaps worse, it was worded to be politically expedient rather than politically correct. We're about the only nation to "pledge allegiance" to a flag, and we do it without even understanding why we do so.

Perhaps it's time to consider retiring this anachronistic practice, or at least finding a meaningful replacement.

Paul M. Howey is an author and photographer, and lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

• Do students in your school regularly recite the Pledge of Allegiance?
• What is your opinion? Would you use this article with your students? If so, how? If not, why?
• Have you ever used the Pledge of Allegiance as the basis for a lesson in your classroom? What did that look like?
• Do you have any resources you would recommend for others about this topic?