my normal thanksgiving is turkey and ham, potatoes, some football i'm not really watching, maybe a beer and some wine, sparkling white grape juice, falling asleep in the corner of a leather couch, keeping myself occupied with brothers, family, books, video games, lots of dessert, waking up in the backseat when we pull into my subdivision at home. in the last years it has been similar, minus family and plus grad students, spending the day writing seminar papers before i eat.
this year we're substituting butterball for village-fresh turkey, picked, plucked, and slaughtered in front of my friend T. 4 americans are sharing the experience with about 12 Turks, filling one of our small apartments, using our collective utensils, tables and chairs, hoping the holiday translates.
post meal update:
good. nice turkey, some great stuffing, too much dessert, raki, and wine. then i beat a Turkish boy in chess- i shouldn't brag cause he's like 10 but he's really good and is nicknamed "yaşlı adam" (the old man) because of how much he plays board games. afterward we went up Palandöken and watched some Turkish folk music and tried to dance.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
tüp walks into an empty classroom
i have 42 students in my speaking and listening class, from 7-9 on Thursday. today only 1 of them showed up for class.
4 groups of students came into my room about an hour before, asking if they had class. yes we have class. there is no reason for us not to have class.
the students are taking exams, 4 in total, over the next two weeks. for some reason, that means they will not be showing up for regular class, or that 1 of 42 is to be expected.
i don't know if i should blame the students or the educational system, but something is wrong here, and i'm stuck in the middle of it, wondering why i traveled halfway across the world and prepared a lesson and a creative assignment to walk into an empty classroom.
i believe in directly democratic education. i think good leaders lead by following and when i have power in a situation, like the classroom, i try to remember that. an ideal classroom, then, is run by the students' own intellectual curiosity.
but i can't practice democratic education if i don't have students, or if they democratically decide to skip class.
in my ideal classroom situation, students come not because of grades, but because they have something important to learn (it sounds obvious). John Dewey (who, ironically, visited Turkey and worked with Kemal Atatürk on modernizing the educational system) bases his educational philosophy on the idea of growing. education is growing. the teacher's job is to help the student grow and to create conditions for further growth (more learning) based on the student's own desires and curiosities.
i will admit that my class can be boring. some days i don't prepare as hard as i could have, some days i take on more or less conventional lesson plans, but really the problem is that either i don't know or don't agree with the reason students are in my classroom.
the Turkish educational system is like No Child Left Behind on steroids. the only real assessment is via standardized testing. just 10-15% of the students who want to go to a University are accepted and that acceptance is determined by a 90 minute standardized test (the test also determines which fields they can study in). the test is offered once a year and some students take it up to three times before being accepted (what do they do during that three years?).
before taking the exam, students go to Dersane school on nights and weekends for a year to prepare (usually while attending High School). Each year, families in Turkey spend more money than the Turkish Ministry of Education on Dersane, a school that teaches for and to the test (like the Kaplan prep classes- again on steroids). (with all that money they could fund real schools that fit every child who wants a real education.) I asked students if they learned anything in these schools besides how to succeed on the test, and they answered flatly, "no."
the now infamous William Ayers, in a recent interview, discussed the one thing that separated expectations of students in a Fascist and a Democratic society. students in both social systems, he explained, are expected to show up for class, do their homework, and respect their teacher. but in a Fascist society students are taught to conform, to believe that there is one universally true answer to every question- the type of reality one could use to fill in multiple choice ovals. in a democratic society, students are taught creativity, independence, the ability criticize and question, and to see themselves as part of a larger society, one that is historical, ideological, and complex.
let's make it clear that i'm not only critiquing the Turkish educational system. the United States, in the last 8 years in particular, is moving towards more standardized assessment, to teaching to the test, to the absence of history, complexity, and creativity- to simple minds and simple answers. the U.S. proclamation of democracy does not mean democratic education, far from it.
Alfie Kohn critiques the American education system for a "do this, get that" mentality. a system dependent on gold stars, As, and other meaningless rewards (like a well-paying job but no critical consciousness). Kohn on No Child Left Behind:
Let's be clear: This law has nothing to do with improving learning. At best, it's about raising scores on multiple-choice exams. This law is not about discovering which schools need help; we already know. This law is not about narrowing the achievement gap; its main effect has been to sentence poor children to an endless regimen of test-preparation drills. Thus, even if the scores do rise, it's at the expense of a quality education.
Genç Siviler, a student group for social justice, on the Turkish educational system:
Universities are lumber factories. This is the role the regime finds appropriate for them. You put different sizes of logs onto the chopping table and cut the standard sizes needed according to the demands of the country. This type of uniform production creates a human model that follows orders -- it does not matter whether it’s coming from right or left or center -- without thinking, and this human is ready to fight when called to duty. There is no creativity, no pluralism and no freedom of thought at universities.
i was the only teacher to not have an exam this week- high stakes testing doesn't fit with my educational philosophy. it is a good way to rank students, but that ranking will have little to do with their ability to act in society or to continue their education. for Dewey, education is in a lot of ways about the ability to continue learning- to grow and build on your education and apply it in real life. and standardized testing certainly diminishes that. all that buildup and then a purely meaningless release- an 83% and another round of memorization for all your years of study.
it is clear that my class, after studying all night for an exam, didn't have any motivation for the examless class. i can't fault them- the students are just being pragmatic materialists- there is no clear and quantifiable "get that" to the "do this" of my classroom, at least at the moment.
the question is what to do- do i punish my students with a written quiz, asking for 1,200 words in response to the question "what are you doing here?" and throwing out any student who speaks or looks up from their paper? do i not show up for class the rest of the week so they can feel what it's like to walk into a deserted classroom? (the students have a week-long break coming up in mid-December, but the majority of them, i'm told, will take an extra week off while i continue to walk into nearly empty classrooms- so i don't think adding to their lack of education is the answer). do i conform? make it easy on myself and start giving exams for people who don't think (most standardized exams are harder for those who do), and pursuing my own curiosities outside the classroom: reading, writing, working on art projects. a teacher with no ambition can gain a lot of free time.
and the sad thing is that the students respond so well to informal education when they are not bombarded by a series of exams (this assault happens 3 times a semester, leaving little time between to recover for real learning). my best classes have been done with students outside the classroom, in my office, or sitting down at their level and having discussions about topics important to their lives (like education, for instance) then i see them as creative and thoughtful- they are already so resistant to the form of education that demands sleepless nights of memorization and 50 minute sessions of pencil shaking recitation, i just wish they would show up for class and we could talk about it.
4 groups of students came into my room about an hour before, asking if they had class. yes we have class. there is no reason for us not to have class.
the students are taking exams, 4 in total, over the next two weeks. for some reason, that means they will not be showing up for regular class, or that 1 of 42 is to be expected.
i don't know if i should blame the students or the educational system, but something is wrong here, and i'm stuck in the middle of it, wondering why i traveled halfway across the world and prepared a lesson and a creative assignment to walk into an empty classroom.
i believe in directly democratic education. i think good leaders lead by following and when i have power in a situation, like the classroom, i try to remember that. an ideal classroom, then, is run by the students' own intellectual curiosity.
but i can't practice democratic education if i don't have students, or if they democratically decide to skip class.
in my ideal classroom situation, students come not because of grades, but because they have something important to learn (it sounds obvious). John Dewey (who, ironically, visited Turkey and worked with Kemal Atatürk on modernizing the educational system) bases his educational philosophy on the idea of growing. education is growing. the teacher's job is to help the student grow and to create conditions for further growth (more learning) based on the student's own desires and curiosities.
i will admit that my class can be boring. some days i don't prepare as hard as i could have, some days i take on more or less conventional lesson plans, but really the problem is that either i don't know or don't agree with the reason students are in my classroom.
the Turkish educational system is like No Child Left Behind on steroids. the only real assessment is via standardized testing. just 10-15% of the students who want to go to a University are accepted and that acceptance is determined by a 90 minute standardized test (the test also determines which fields they can study in). the test is offered once a year and some students take it up to three times before being accepted (what do they do during that three years?).
before taking the exam, students go to Dersane school on nights and weekends for a year to prepare (usually while attending High School). Each year, families in Turkey spend more money than the Turkish Ministry of Education on Dersane, a school that teaches for and to the test (like the Kaplan prep classes- again on steroids). (with all that money they could fund real schools that fit every child who wants a real education.) I asked students if they learned anything in these schools besides how to succeed on the test, and they answered flatly, "no."
the now infamous William Ayers, in a recent interview, discussed the one thing that separated expectations of students in a Fascist and a Democratic society. students in both social systems, he explained, are expected to show up for class, do their homework, and respect their teacher. but in a Fascist society students are taught to conform, to believe that there is one universally true answer to every question- the type of reality one could use to fill in multiple choice ovals. in a democratic society, students are taught creativity, independence, the ability criticize and question, and to see themselves as part of a larger society, one that is historical, ideological, and complex.
let's make it clear that i'm not only critiquing the Turkish educational system. the United States, in the last 8 years in particular, is moving towards more standardized assessment, to teaching to the test, to the absence of history, complexity, and creativity- to simple minds and simple answers. the U.S. proclamation of democracy does not mean democratic education, far from it.
Alfie Kohn critiques the American education system for a "do this, get that" mentality. a system dependent on gold stars, As, and other meaningless rewards (like a well-paying job but no critical consciousness). Kohn on No Child Left Behind:
Let's be clear: This law has nothing to do with improving learning. At best, it's about raising scores on multiple-choice exams. This law is not about discovering which schools need help; we already know. This law is not about narrowing the achievement gap; its main effect has been to sentence poor children to an endless regimen of test-preparation drills. Thus, even if the scores do rise, it's at the expense of a quality education.
Genç Siviler, a student group for social justice, on the Turkish educational system:
Universities are lumber factories. This is the role the regime finds appropriate for them. You put different sizes of logs onto the chopping table and cut the standard sizes needed according to the demands of the country. This type of uniform production creates a human model that follows orders -- it does not matter whether it’s coming from right or left or center -- without thinking, and this human is ready to fight when called to duty. There is no creativity, no pluralism and no freedom of thought at universities.
i was the only teacher to not have an exam this week- high stakes testing doesn't fit with my educational philosophy. it is a good way to rank students, but that ranking will have little to do with their ability to act in society or to continue their education. for Dewey, education is in a lot of ways about the ability to continue learning- to grow and build on your education and apply it in real life. and standardized testing certainly diminishes that. all that buildup and then a purely meaningless release- an 83% and another round of memorization for all your years of study.
it is clear that my class, after studying all night for an exam, didn't have any motivation for the examless class. i can't fault them- the students are just being pragmatic materialists- there is no clear and quantifiable "get that" to the "do this" of my classroom, at least at the moment.
the question is what to do- do i punish my students with a written quiz, asking for 1,200 words in response to the question "what are you doing here?" and throwing out any student who speaks or looks up from their paper? do i not show up for class the rest of the week so they can feel what it's like to walk into a deserted classroom? (the students have a week-long break coming up in mid-December, but the majority of them, i'm told, will take an extra week off while i continue to walk into nearly empty classrooms- so i don't think adding to their lack of education is the answer). do i conform? make it easy on myself and start giving exams for people who don't think (most standardized exams are harder for those who do), and pursuing my own curiosities outside the classroom: reading, writing, working on art projects. a teacher with no ambition can gain a lot of free time.
and the sad thing is that the students respond so well to informal education when they are not bombarded by a series of exams (this assault happens 3 times a semester, leaving little time between to recover for real learning). my best classes have been done with students outside the classroom, in my office, or sitting down at their level and having discussions about topics important to their lives (like education, for instance) then i see them as creative and thoughtful- they are already so resistant to the form of education that demands sleepless nights of memorization and 50 minute sessions of pencil shaking recitation, i just wish they would show up for class and we could talk about it.
But really not that overwhelmed
i also thought, as i wrote the last post, that i could be teaching special ed math and science to sixth graders in south-central LA or many other infinitely more difficult jobs.
there is a demand here to be in contact with a native English-speaker, and so i have more and more students all the time and droves of visitors coming to my office (students and non-students both). papers are piling up, homework needs to be looked through, attendance calculated, and students become sensitive when i can't remember their names.
but then sometimes my smaller speaking classes decide to go out for dinner instead of sitting in the classroom. the students are funny, thoughtful, and curious, and i end up learning more than they do. walking to a coffee shop and restaurant for a meal last night with my students, i thought "this is my job?" we talked about religion, family life, love, horror films, and Nietzsche. and they paid for my dinner. i have had to work very hard to pay for a meal here.
there is a demand here to be in contact with a native English-speaker, and so i have more and more students all the time and droves of visitors coming to my office (students and non-students both). papers are piling up, homework needs to be looked through, attendance calculated, and students become sensitive when i can't remember their names.
but then sometimes my smaller speaking classes decide to go out for dinner instead of sitting in the classroom. the students are funny, thoughtful, and curious, and i end up learning more than they do. walking to a coffee shop and restaurant for a meal last night with my students, i thought "this is my job?" we talked about religion, family life, love, horror films, and Nietzsche. and they paid for my dinner. i have had to work very hard to pay for a meal here.
Overwhelmed
so, i'm teaching 8 classes, 20 hours of class a week, and have 350 students. as a comparison, the largest teaching load for a college English instructor in the states is something like 6 classes and 120 students at a community college. and, because of the heavy work-load, one of my well meaning professors said he would rather commit suicide than teach at a community college. how about triple the students?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Obama
i started this blog post a week ago, just 2 days after seeing Obama's acceptance speech, choking up when hearing Obama's refrain, watching the crowd near my home town, feeling comfort in the fact that the citizenry finally toppled the Bush empire.
i believe that we can change societies because i've witnessed it happen. and, while i battled the post's pretensions and let it sit, i watched as people around the globe expressed their beliefs and hopes of social change with our new president.
-----
Symbols are powerful things. Sometimes they have a life all their own. They may come to mean something more than first intended. History has been made. We shall see what kind of history it will be.
-Mumia Abu-Jamal, Prison Radio
Obama represents possibility, an ethical climb to a more just world order, and proof of our continuing social unfinishedness. in 1619 a European ship carrying 20 African Slaves landed in Jamestown to work in the growing tobacco fields. many humanitarian battles later, we have a half-African elected president of the United States. just 43 years after blacks gained real voting rights, the country's youth and minority came out in support of a black president. while the last eight years will come to represent madness, greed, fear, prejudice, stupidity, and depression, we have elected a president who embodies the possibility of social progress.
but what should we do now?--those of us who won't base our economic and social systems on the belief that humanity is by nature greedy and vindictive, and those of us who remain unconvinced that Christ's second coming is the solution to global warming and inhumane occupations in the Middle East. what should we do to help pass the progressive legislation we hope for with Obama?
-----
No we haven't.
we elected symbolic power, kinetic energy-Yes we did on November 4th. we resisted another masthead of idiotic, fear-mongering religious fanatics-Yes we did. and we should celebrate- Yes we have--but let's not be too pleased. we elected a progressive symbol, but let's not get that confused with Obama's function as a policy maker. Let's have no illusions. We suffered 8 years of illusions and can stand no more.
Obama's executive decisions just began, and we already have a disconnect between the progressive symbol of Obama and his moderate-conservative economic and foreign policy positions. just after the election, he named Rahm “Rhambo” Israel Emanuel as his chief of staff. what should concern us here is Rhambo's stance on the gravest humanitarian concern of our time- the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. the Gaza Strip has effectively become a 140 square mile prison, one in which Israel has recently barred the U.N. delivery of all food and “basic humanitarian assistance,” starving 750,000 Palestinian civilians. Obama's appointment of an Anti-Palestine chief of staff should be no surprise, considering the absurd concessions Obama made to AIPAC ("Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided"- a comment that “exceeds what most Israeli leaders would say”). under a rational, humanist president, the Gaza Strip wouldn't exist in its current form for another day (even Hamas, a democratically elected government party nonetheless labeled a terrorist organization, has called for a two-state solution), but Obama's first appointment and his stance throughout his campaign has signaled no positive change on this issue of basic humanity. today, we need to view Obama with suspicion instead of being blinded by his symbolic progressivism. those who starve in Palestine tonight, and who will continue to suffer if we leave Obama to rule uncritiqued, have no illusions of change. we can't afford any illusions either.
after Greenspan blew his mind and deregulation brought the world's economy to its knees, one commentator stated "with Democrats like these, who needs Republicans" when referencing Obama's pics for Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs was Obama's 2nd largest contributor of campaign funds, Obama has moved toward the center when talking about the war in Iraq and has promised more warfare in Pakistan and Afghanistan, he doesn't support gay marriage, and he hasn't yet put his support behind John Conyer's single-payer health care plan.
the message is that we haven't won anything but the opportunity for change. we're done selling Obama, and we used great energy and collaboration to get him elected- now we have to maintain that energy to educate about rational legislation (i would say "sell" "progressive" legislation, but basic rights should be mainstream and need no advertisement). our vote was a historical one for a great symbol and an energizing figure, but as a legislator Obama was only the better of two politicians in a sad political reality.
if we want to change corporate take over, change the cynical health care industry, change legalized prejudice, or change belligerent and immoral U.S. foreign policy, we still have to do it in spite of our formal leaders. we can, and we have to, but we can't rest now.
get in the streets. i'll be there soon.
love
tb
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
first snow
hey!
i thought it would come sooner. 5 months of this maybe will get boring but today yr doing good.
thinking
i thought it would come sooner. 5 months of this maybe will get boring but today yr doing good.
thinking
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Farewell Studs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
