Ed Week Oct. 27 ed.

There was an interesting article on pg. 5 "Teacher Speech Rights on Curriculum Rejected" According to the article a teacher was fired because of some reading selections she made that were controversial. It is interesting that politics as in school boards still control much of what is taught in the classroom. Ironically, books seem to be the source of much of the controversy that develops. In a nation that is reading less and less and with many students who have trouble with reading it seems to me we should be encouraging reading books--even if we don't agree on the content. It's not like the problem has to do with pornography or books that promote hate and violence, as much as it is with what is politically popular in a particular community. Of course objecting to books like Siddhartha or Catcher in the Rye is just plain silly and ignorant; other books like Heather Has Two Mommies are a little more challenging. Books that involve subject matter on the cultural fringe should be included in curriculum--as long as they are age appropriate and serious discussion is encouraged. Unfortunately, many points of view are either suppressed or endorsed by the school system when they should be simply presented and discussed as point of view. This would encourage critical thinking.

"Small Victories, 20 Years Later" on pg. 18 really piqued my interest. It sound like and excellent book and I'm going to check it out at the library as result of reading this article. I like to hear about real people that are busily going about their business trying to do the best that they can. I think we spend way to much time hero worshipping a few super stars--when if fact it's the people in the trenches day in and day out that really deserve our admiration.