MLK Day 2013

Bob Dylan, Death of Emmett Till (1963)

Twas down in Mississippi no so long ago,
When a young boy from Chicago town stepped through a Southern door.
This boy's dreadful tragedy I can still remember well,
The color of his skin was black and his name was Emmett Till.

Some men they dragged him to a barn and there they beat him up.
They said they had a reason, but I can't remember what.
They tortured him and did some evil things too evil to repeat.
There was screaming sounds inside the barn, there was laughing sounds out on the street.

Then they rolled his body down a gulf amidst a bloody red rain
And they threw him in the waters wide to cease his screaming pain.
The reason that they killed him there, and I'm sure it ain't no lie,
Was just for the fun of killin' him and to watch him slowly die.

And then to stop the United States of yelling for a trial,
Two brothers they confessed that they had killed poor Emmett Till.
But on the jury there were men who helped the brothers commit this awful crime,
And so this trial was a mockery, but nobody seemed to mind.

I saw the morning papers but I could not bear to see
The smiling brothers walkin' down the courthouse stairs.
For the jury found them innocent and the brothers they went free,
While Emmett's body floats the foam of a Jim Crow southern sea.

If you can't speak out against this kind of thing, a crime that's so unjust,
Your eyes are filled with dead men's dirt, your mind is filled with dust.
Your arms and legs they must be in shackles and chains, and your blood it must refuse to flow,
For you let this human race fall down so God-awful low!

This song is just a reminder to remind your fellow man
That this kind of thing still lives today in that ghost-robed Ku Klux Klan.
But if all of us folks that thinks alike, if we gave all we could give,
We could make this great land of ours a greater place to live.

Wednesday, August 28, 1963

At MLK's March on Washington on August 28, 1963, Bob Dylan performed "Blowing in the Wind".

Emmett Till on PBS

The Untold Story of Emmett Till


From Wikipedia:

Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois, visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam arrived at Till's great-uncle's house...

Emmett was kidnapped and killed; his body was found in the river - his father's ring helped identify the boy as Emmett Till.

While the KKKs numbers may have dwindled - extremist groups are still strong and hatred still exists.  MLK teaches us to speak out against repression and for justice and love for all human beings.

Teaching Social Media WRA ECHO: Social Media is a Powerful Tool: Be Smart - Be Kin...

Teaching Social Media WRA ECHO: Social Media is a Powerful Tool: Be Smart - Be Kind.: Please watch this video. Please post a thoughtful reflection below - Click "C...

Teaching Social Media WRA ECHO: In Class Today: Week1TSM ECHO

Teaching Social Media WRA ECHO: In Class Today: Week1TSM ECHO: Just for fun - it never gets old:  Class Notes and Links. In-class assignment:   1. Take Proust Questionnaire and Pre-cla...

Detention: Thinking Out Loud with Social Media

So it's Saturday night, and I'm in detention. Not quite a John Hughes film like The Breakfast Club. 

(I include the trailer for students that haven't seen such '80s classic films)

To clarify, I am not serving detention. I monitor detention that runs from 7:45 to 10:30pm. The students have cut class or required work to make up. Some may have skipped one too many sit-down meals or assemblies. The list is relatively short - seven kids - in a boarding school of about 400 - not bad.

Their eyes are fixed on laptops and ipads with earbuds secured. 

One boy falls asleep; after twenty minutes, I tap him on the shoulder and tell him to take a bathroom break and splash a little water on his face. 

Truth be told: many of these students would be doing the same thing in their dorm rooms. The punishment is to sit in uncomfortable chairs in a math classroom under terrible fluorescent lighting. My eyes hurt. 

Meanwhile, I contemplate grading, reading, revising plans for tomorrow's lacrosse clinic, or finishing an overdue course plan for a unique ECHO course this winter entitled: "Teaching Social Media."

(What is an ECHO Course? FYI )

So please allow me to think out loud with you.

Here's the course plan: 

_______
TEACHING SOCIAL MEDIA; Social Media for Social Good

Pre-meeting sign up for Edmodo.com - in-class assignments will be shared on Edmodo.com

Take Edmodo group poll and quiz to see where the 25 students stand in terms of literacy with, and use of, social media.

Hopefully, there will be more than five veteran iMovie editors - and many students with smart phones with HD cameras.

(Exploring possibilities to partner with Mr. Gerber's video editing ECHO that will run simultaneously.)

Week 1:

Watch and Discuss the Fine Brother's viral video:
Teens React to Chilling Cyberbullying Video

"Be With" Exercise - to see one another eye to eye.

Discussion on Integrity: Who am I? An existential crisis in a world of social media.

Review privacy issues on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well as personal exposure on social media.

(Re)introduce Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and the Class Blog. Create platforms to share and learn.

For some, it will be old hat - for some it will blow their minds; therefore, partner students with a tech savvy mentor.

Things to think about: Who would you like to interview on campus or in Hudson? We will create content for our blog that the admissions office, alumni office, or deans office will likely appreciate - and share with prospective students, alumni, and current students and parents.

Course Projects: Why WRA? What makes WRA special to you? Tell your WRA story.  

Week 2:

Brainstorm in groups; then, go shoot short films on smart phones - one take - no splice editing necessary.

Post to blog - and share via platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

Brainstorm longer documentaries that will require editing and more story boarding and planning.

HWK: Contact possible individuals to interview on campus and in town.


Week 3: 

Continue to brainstorm and plan in groups; then, go interview individuals on smart phones.

Edit.

Post.

Week 4:


Brainstorm in groups; then, go interview individuals on smart phones.

Edit.

Post.



Week 5:


TBD - Possible field trip one week.




Week 6:


Review and showcase work.

Final discussion.



Conclude with another "Be with" exercise.
________


During the course, we will discuss and share various findings, video clips, and TED Talks.

I hope to have short visits from guest speakers both live and via Skype or Google Hangout. For example, tech savvy faculty, alumni, social media gurus, business owners, non-profit organizers, content producers, writers, etc.

FYI: I've already been tweeting @kob14 relevant links and posts using: #teachingsocialmedia #wraecho

I am guessing the students will teach me more than I can imagine right now; however, I do want to share the idea that who you "Follow" in cyberspace is just as important as it is in the real world.

Technology is a tool - how do we use it responsibly? That's the question.  Imagine if we shifted the mindset from mundane status updates and cyber bullying to social media for social good.

Any feedback would be most appreciated. 

Turkey Transition and Novel November

Today, a Taco Tuesday in the dining hall, was the first day back after a generous week off for Thanksgiving break. Long vacations such as these are well-deserved at boarding schools for students and faculty alike.

Yet it's the transition - ramping up to speed - that can be a challenge as November turns to December. It's been called the final sprint to the second marking period and the looming fall exams.

This morning, I was greeted by the sleepy eyes of juniors. This afternoon, the tired seniors showed the effects of disrupted sleep schedules. First days back I tend to tread gently and keep expectations low - the secret to happiness is low expectations according to Barry Schwartz argues in his TED Talk.

Tomorrow will be better as we transition to our second home here at WRA. Expectations are high - and the final push can be intense. Students and faculty up there game in preparation for final essays, projects, and exams. The reward: another long vacation.

However, I appreciate today. Despite the cold grey but dry day, there is an energy and excitement that buzzes on campus as students reconnect like a family reunion with stories and questions, smiles and laughs. I am reminded how special community is - and how special this WRA community is.

_____
And as another birthday passes and November ends - National Novel Writing Month, I think of another year without writing that unfinished novel; however, taking inspiration from Matt Cutts "Try Something New for 30 Days," I will blog for the next 30 days.

Thanks for reading. Here's to writing, again!

So I leave you with a final quote that I found on a new favorite site, brainpickings.org:

The Daily Routines of Famous Writers

by Maria Popova

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” - E. B. White

Dawn Reader: Oops! To err is human--but I don't like to be hum...

Read a great blog from Dr. Dan Dyer - former colleague, prolific reader and writer, and ongoing inspiration to countless students and peers:

Dawn Reader: Oops! To err is human--but I don't like to be hum...: I have spent much of my adult life finding and marking mistakes.  For thirty years I taught English to middle-schoolers (and fifteen more...

Dorm Duty and Darth Vader

Ah Freshman! Nothing quite like dorm duty in Wood House, the freshman boys dorm.

I am tempted to email freshman teachers and let them know that they are not assigning enough homework.

This is what I say when freshmen start wandering the halls like animals prowling for food.

I ask if they are finished mastering their foreign language, memorizing their bio book, and annotating all the white space in their Rime of the Ancient Mariner... 
Not to mention - have you completed AP multi-variable calculus?
There is always something to study.  

A door bangs, and I hear pounding, "You can't close your door during study hours."

A door opens, and I hear a bag of cellophane snatched.  More pretzels have been stolen.

Math homework is discussed in another room.

A pretzel thief tiptoes across the hall, seeking more salty snacks.

Another freshman strolls slowly down the hall to get a drink, killing time, then detours into a room not his own.  

They move like Obi-Wan-Kenobi in the orginal Star Wars (Episode IV) - where he sneaks around the Death Star.  

They think I don't notice their wandering and stealth strolling about.
I too am a Jedi, feeling the force.
I guess that makes me Darth Vader, roaming the hall; the Man; the bad guy; the faculty master, playing cop.

  

Freshman don't realize, yet that little goes unnoticed in a dorm, or at a boarding school.  Eyes and ears are everywhere.  It's a wonderful community where everyone (soon) knows everyone.
But everyone knows everything (sooner than later).
People talk, tweet, and text.
So "live with integrity" is not just part of our mission statement, but sage advice to heed.  

At times, we choose our battles, but we hold them accountable.  Admittedly, the homework is easy at the start, but it will pickup and requests for late lights will soon be frequent (and regularly denied to those who wander).

At 9:45 at the end of study hours, we allow them to have their cellphones - we collect them at 745 when study hours begin.  Two hours without tweets and texts - no notifications vibrating and beeping.   A freshman literally dances and moonwalks down the hall - the joy - the reunion of boy and iPhone.

I notice another wanderer; so I talk with him - a catechism of sorts: questions about his homework in each subject.

A boy down the hall sings a rap song from memory, but can't remember his homework assignments.  A paradigm shift is in order.  I must go.  The music grows louder.

Good night. Duty calls.