Dynamic speech.  Most quotable takeaway for me was: How can we have civil rights if we don't even have human rights?  She put it more eloquently though.

I think minor offenses like having a bag of weed on you shouldn't ruin somebody's life forever but sadly this is the case for many young African Americans.

Also, very sad to realize the deeply rooted economic interests in perpetuating this massive underclass of incarcerated and virtually enslaved people in America.  It's something that needs to be talked about more and on more widely publicized platforms.  We really need an education President and a social justice President instead of a war president or someone who just wants to focus on the economy and "creating jobs".  Well, by continuing on our path with the massive incarceration, correction officers will have some decent jobs with pensions and benefits but I think we can all agree that we want a populace of a more nuanced variety shall we say than corrections officers and impoverished incarcerated folk who will probably never be able to break out of the system.

Daniel

So far I have selected two cold war presidential speeches to analyze as well as a quote from Nixon. It wouldn't be a complete cold war unit without a Nixon quote.  We will start with this, doing a 5 minute free write on the quote, then we will discuss the tasks and background knowledge of the unit.

The LCD does a good job outlining all the important parts of a module.  They allow space to start with the end in mind but also to scaffold the unit appropriately with good background knowledge building tasks and task analysis -- or making sure the students understand what they are doing and why.

I want them to understand how to break down complex texts and to formulate an argument.  Simply by interpreting a quote from a historical context, students will get a micro version of the whole module which they will work with in much more depth throughout the unit.

Also, I've researched some articles for my research on teaching content to ELLs.  I'm not sure if I can get data myself at this point but I think I can write a summary or reflection of the articles and then posit my own take and experience.

For my personal narrative, I think it is really good but a few things might need to be tweaked.  Not 100 percent sure yet.

Daniel

Excellent video.  Seems like this young man is from England -- how cool.  Or maybe Australia.  Not sure.  Probably England.  Anyway, he really has perfected his voice in this performance poetry piece. The rhythm and flow mixed with the true-to-life vernacular of a young man educated mainly in the university of life charged with the determination to succeed no matter the odds.  What a great inspirational monologue or performance poem for all kinds of people to watch, not just young.  Anybody can have a positive revelation from this.
Daniel

Morning Reflection

I recently came across the spoken word work of Suli Breaks from England. The young man reflects the general opinion of his generation, culture, and time. While the Millennials have transformed into the next generation (generation Z), understanding the Millennials (and Generation Z) can be helpful to those of us who are older teachers.

The Millennial Generation Manifesto Article from the Huffington Post (Suli Breaks).

10 Point Manifesto 

1. Allow us to educate ourselves. Nurture our independent thought.

2. Have faith in our decision making, no matter how radical or crazy the ideas sound.

3. Our love doesn’t see colour or religion.

4. Let us make mistakes

5. Allow us to be who we want to be, even if it is a profession in which there is traditionally [little/next to no] money.

6. Give us the opportunity to see the world.

7. Social media  is a tool, not just a “distraction”.

8. Don’t expect us to be you.

9. Don’t let us pay for your mistakes; we want to form our own view of the world.

10.We are the politics and the politicians.

Along with these points, take a look at Suli's spoken word video on education, and reflect.

If you have 8 seconds, here's a link to a website by Anne Boysen about the Z Generation.

Michelle Alexander, The Future of Race in America (TED Talk)

I first saw this video during a professional learning experience called Teaching Children of Color: Engaging with the Seven Constructs of Effective Teaching in Urban Schools offered through the Rochester Teacher Center.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ6H-Mz6hgw

I enjoyed the video.  Very well done.  Bravo.  Excellent cinematography, lighting and graphic effects. And of course a sincere, well-thought out, complex message on identity and integrity and being true to who you are -- all things that are very important to teenagers especially.  Unfortunately, there are very few classes that successfully teach stuff like this in a formal setting.  It seems the students have discovered themselves over a long course of healthy, natural education.

Morning Reflection--Maria Popova, Brainpickings

Here is a link to Tuesday's morning reflection:

http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/01/07/dissolve-7-things/

I discovered Maria Popova after listening to Krista Tippett's wonderful weekly podcast interview and web site: On Being