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Joe Henderson
Rochester, NY
Recent Activity
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Joe commented on the article |I don't think it's right to delete either. Free speech means putting it out there and then allowing others to call bullshit on it. Having said that, I try not to even engage IDers anymore. It's like playing chess with a monkey, and then the monkey eats your queen. The logical rift is insurmountable. Just refer here:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/02/how_to_respond_to_requests_to.php
But don't silence. Fundamentally science is about the study of the natural world. By definition it is incapable of dealing with the supernatural. The sooner we all realize that, the sooner we can all get on being both scientific AND religious. Imagine that. -
Joe commented on the article |What happened? Neoliberal ideology as applied to school policy:
http://aer.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/44/3/493
Sadly, I think we're going to get more of the same with Duncan. Change won't be coming to public schools anytime soon.
Now, I'm off to imagine something closer to Bruce Smith and the Sudbury Model. Or something like that... -
Joe commented on the article |
Yet again, Bruce, I'm in awe. Lately, every day at school for me seems like an exercise in authority. From my interactions with the kids to the accountability structure guiding the decisions of the school. And all of it is so disingenuous to me. It's the "schooliness" that Clay so resents. My fear, and this is very deep, is that I wouldn't even know where to begin by being a part of a school like Sudbury. I fear that, like Lianne, I've lost that part of me. I know that is down in there somewhere, but it's become so buried under massive layers of schooliness.
Do you find that you have to put people through some sort of detox as they come out of compulsory schooling? I think I would probably twitch for a little while myself, but then I'd be better off for it.
Please keep sharing your work with Sudbury. Some of us are trying to imagine alternatives and are working at becoming better at facilitating true learning. It's refreshing to see people actually doing this work. Keep on keeping on. -
Joe commented on the article |"I think that good is built on individuals' being allowed to develop to their full potential."
I think it's more complicated than this. Rampant individualism only takes us so far, as we're seeing with the current economic mess. I think it has to be a blend of both individualism and care for one's community development. I don't think we do a good job of either these days, so you're right: we have to act boldly.
Personally, there is great work to be done. That is exciting. I look forward to more of your posts. -
Joe commented on the article |
I think you're mostly right on this. I generally stay away from Ayn (as her fervent egoism sometimes drives me nuts), but the premise is an interesting one. It's a struggle that I think many of us in public schooling have felt, especially over the past years under NCLB. Some of us are at the point where change cannot come from within the model within which we are currently existing. And it really pains me to write that, but I know in my heart that better models exist. If only we dare to be more creative...
I agree that more choice is probably a good thing, but how can we do this in a way that truly has the interest of the public good in mind? It seems to me that Charters schools and all their various spin-offs typically become selective communities, as those with capital naturally gravitate towards more selective schools. How to do this without reifying economic disparity?
