Abortion

At mass yesterday, my priest brought up the topic of abortion-not surprising for a Catholic. I will layout his specious argument against abortion.  Each of us was put on Earth for a special reason.  Einstein was put on Earth to produce his famous Theory of Relativity. If his parents had aborted him-we would never has the theory.  I disagree that no other scientist would have developed the theory. Calculus was developed independently by Newton and Leibniz.  Neptune was discovered independently by John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Vernier.  We did not abort the person who would have cured cancer, as he claimed.

If we are to argue that a loss of one life can have a negative impact, such as his examples of Einstein and Walt Disney, what about a positive impact.  What if Stalin's parents had an abortion or Mao.  Millions would have been saved. The argument goes both ways.

Charter Schools

A few weeks ago, 60 Minutes had a piece on how successful a chain of charter schools were. I found it interesting that the schools were using methods of teaching that I used when I first began teaching in the 1990s.  Back then many teachers were using project-based learning.  I was able to a theme- connecting reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies and the students researched a project of their own choosing. I would guide the students through the research-some needing more guidance than others.

Unfortunately, due to state and federal mandates, I am no longer give the freedom.  I must teach prescribed lessons  within a given time frame with fidelity to the text. I am reminded of a scene from The Godfather.  One of Michael's (The Godfather) is asking him to have more freedom to protect his territory. "I am not asking for anything, just take off the handcuffs."  I am asking for the state to take off  the handcuffs and I will be more successful than these charter schools.  All schools should have to play be the same rules.

Republican Overreach

Since the end of World War II, Republicans devise a way to limit their opposition, which in the end hurts the Republican party.  After Roosevelt's four terms, the Republicans pushed for an amendment to limit the president to two terms.  I believe that Eisenhower and Regan would have been elected to a third term.  In order to make inroads in the South, the Republicans devised the Southern strategy to get the Southern white vote.  It put the Republican party on the wrong side of history.  The party lost the black vote, which was heretofore solidly Republican.  The Republican party to an extreme position on immigration, which caused it to lose the Hispanic vote.  The Republicans are attempting to go back in time on women's rights, alienating another larger demographic of voters. If the Republican Party continues on this track, they will be an all white party of the rich or evangelical Christians.  It is not a winning strategy.

Downtown St. Petersburg

I recently took a day trip to St.  Petersburg and was pleasantly surprised at my discovery.  I visited the Dali museum, which I enjoyed.  The paintings cover the breadth of Dali's work from his Impressionist beginnings to Surrealism.and into his classical period. The body of  work reveals a constantly growing and evolving artist. Docent tours are available every hour on the half hour.  Headsets with information on the paintings are available as well.  I first went on a docent tour and used the headsets to supplement information on pieces that were not discussed on the tour. In addition to his painting, you can watch a film Dali made.  Outside is a labyrinth you can walk through.  Despite my penchant for Impressionism, I enjoyed the museum.  I was able to get a better understanding of Dali and surrealism.

Along the waterfront, there are a plethora of restaurants and boutiques.  I dined al fresco at Moon Under Water with an excellent view of the bay.  I had a delicious curry dish.  The menu was full of a variety of choices.  It was difficult to decide but the kind waitress gave me her recommendation.

I went to the Chihuly Collection.  I was impressed with his glass works, which are beautifully displayed.  His art work is puerile.  He squirts acrylic paint on a canvas and calls it art.  It takes him ten minutes to do a piece.  My third graders could do the same but would not be able to charge $12,000 for it. A docent tour is available and recommended.

My final destination was the Vinoy hotel, a gem from the 1920s.  It fell on hard times in the 1970s, as did apparently the city, but has been restored.  A Chihuly chandelier hangs in its ballroom.  Although we were not guests the manager was helpful in providing a history of the hotel.

I recommend visiting St. Petersburg.  I will return to see the museums I missed.

   

Too much riding on one test

On Monday FCAT begins.  It is a test that will determine if my students will progress to fourth grade.  It trumps what they have done the rest of the year.  It is a test that will determine if I am considered an effective teacher.  In a recent article in Phi Delta Kappan, a professional journal for educators, research show that gains in student achievement are influenced by much more than the any individual teacher.  School factors such as class size, curriculum materials, instructional time, availability of specialists and tutors and resources for learning are a factor.  Another factor is home and community support.  Individual student needs and abilities, health and attendance are a factor.  Differential summer learning loss is a factor, especially among low-income children.

It is folly to think that a four day test can give you the whole picture of a child, as it is to think it does the same for a teacher.  It is disheartening to think that teachers who sacrifice to promote the love of learning to children are reduce to a secret state mathematical formula.

Immortality

I read an article about the quest for immortality in Scientific American and decided to use to see how I am on my quest.  According to the article there are four immortality narratives.   The most basic is staying alive.  While no one can stay alive forever, we can extend our lives. I chose to do this by eating a healthy diet and daily exercise. I think I can add another 20 quality years to my life by doing these simple activities.  The second narrative is resurrection - physically rising again with our bodies.  I do not believe in resurrection.  The third narrative is soul, "surviving as some kind of spiritual entity."   While no one is absolutely sure there is a soul, that is why it is called faith, I am following Pascal's wager and living my life to achieve an afterlife. If God does not exist, it does not matter how you wager, for there is nothing to win after death and nothing to lose after death. But if God does exist, your only chance of winning eternal happiness is to believe, and your only chance of losing it is to refuse to believe. As Pascal says, "I should be much more afraid of being mistaken and then finding out that Christianity is true than of being mistaken in believing it to be true." The fourth is legacy to leave an impact through children or our work.  I do not have children but as a teacher I have a major impact on the lives of children every day.  My hope is that they remember the wisdom I have passed on to them.

Will I achieve immortality? I can do what I can to extend my life and have faith that there is an afterlife or at least I will be remembered for the good things I have done.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

I recently finished Absolute Monarchs by John Julius Norwich, as history of the papacy.  It was very enlightening, more so since I am a Catholic.  Mr. Norwich is very objective in his writing, so we learn about great popes, the corrupt popes, and the average popes. It was interesting that through the middle ages most popes were ordained priests after they were elected priests.  Many popes were more interested in enriching their families then to shepherding their flocks.  Nepotism was common place until the 20th century.  The Renaissance popes built grand monuments and palaces for themselves but also added to the Vatican library.  There were a few forward thinking popes but most were conservative afraid of losing control of the papal states and power and influence over the kings of Europe.  Some were pawns of the kings of Europe.

How have things changed in the 21st Century?  Not much. Our present pope was the head of the Inquisition, which is now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.  His duty was to ensure that the doctrines laid down by Rome were being enforced.  If they were not, the offenders were exiled to the hinterlands. The recent Vatican leaks show that there is still corruption in the Vatican. Cardinal Vigano had been making marked progress in his battle against corruption and cronyism as deputy governor in charge of financial reforms of Vatican City.  Last August, Vigano was suddenly appointed papal nuncio, or ambassador, to the United States. But Vigano felt that if he were moved out of Rome it would send the wrong signal—that anyone who fights the church’s corruption won’t get to do it for long.  He was moved anyway.

The more things change the more they stay the same.