Anti-American?

The course is called Challenges of Democracy. It is open only to seniors - 17- and 18-year-olds - who are about to graduate high school and enter a bigger world. With that said, here is the scenario.

I sent my students home with permission slips for the movie The Road to Guantanamo. The film takes a critical look at American policy toward detainees at Guantanamo by focusing on the stories of the 3 British men who were held there without charge for multiple years before eventually being released with no charges against them.

On one permission slip, a parent wrote the following note to me:

"I would hope there will also be propaganda/discussion to show the other side. Anti Americanism without showing both sides is not appropriate."

This comment angers and offends me on a number of levels.

From the professional standpoint, it suggests that I would present any controversial issue without giving attention to both sides. The day prior to the video beginning, students read and discussed 9 statements about the handling of terror suspects to begin a dialogue on the issue. Next, they read a press release from the White House announcing the re authorization of the Patriot Act explaining the need for legislation to make fighting terror easier. After that, they read a press release from Amnesty International criticizing the Patriot Act and the practices at Guantanamo Bay. All of this took place with mediated discussion.

I am also offended on a personal level. The comment suggests that the movie (and subsequently my decision to use it in class) is Anti-American. So is the true lesson of a course on democracy supposed to be blind acceptance of authority? Or is the more valuable lesson one that encourages students to study an issue, gather information and then draw informed opinions? I'll take the latter, thank you very much.

In fact, we just finished 5 days of topics debates. These debates took place after students researched the issues for a number of days in class so they'd have educated opinions on things like illegal immigration and student drug testing. I work very hard to keep my personal opinions to myself in my classroom. My role is to provide opportunities for students to develop their own positions on issues. I am probably more noncommittal than I even should be to be honest.

In a week when the first person (Australian David Hicks) faced a military commission under the revised rules (revised due to the Supreme Court striking down the first attempts at Guantanamo Bay due to constitutional issues), I can think of little that would be more timely and appropriate to study in Challenges of Democracy.

If my choice of resources is a problem, consider this:

• Reviews of the movie are overwhelmingly positive. It is a docudrama, not a documentary so the movie is certainly not fact minute-for-minute, but it matches the testimony of individuals who have been released from Guantanamo, including the 3 subjects of the film.
• International opinion about American policy in Guantanamo is overwhelmingly critical. Even US allies like Britain and Australia express severe concerns with human rights violations.
• A number of major human rights organizations continue to call for oversight and review of allegations of wrongdoing at Guantanamo as some detainees are now in their fifth year in detention with no allegations against them.

Rant Over.

Thanks for listening/reading. I chose to post here rather than call the parent.

Japan Club Presentation

I made the presentation to the Japan Club, a couple other random students and three of my colleagues yesterday after school.

I had a great time.

As I told them at the beginning...I love talking about my experiences in Japan and I'll talk about them as long as they let me. That turned out to be just shy of 1 hour yesterday.

I focused on my school visits, my own personal anxiety about the language and cultural barriers and answered the interesting questions they brought up.

I have one more presentation scheduled - to my colleagues in the social studies department. That will probably be a much shorter presentation due to time constraints in our monthly meetings though so hopefully I'll find another outlet.

I received an e-mail just today from the organization that sponsored the trip to Japan. They invited me to apply for a similar program to Korea in June/July 2008. It's a bit shorter than my Japan trip and would run from roughly the last day of school until just a few days before my travel to Europe. The fact that I don't think I'd have to miss any school means that I might be able to get it approved.

Here we go again :)

Weird Night

Since I returned to school almost a month ago, I've had a difficult time re-adjusting to the 5:30am wake-up call. In fact, unlike last year when I woke up no later than 5:15am so I could get to school by 6:30am to work on newspaper or band stuff before the students showed up, I'm actually getting there later than ever before (7am or so). So I've been taking naps many afternoons.

Last night I fell asleep around 6:30 for a nap. I woke up a couple minutes after 8pm, looked at the clock and then set my alarm for 9pm. The plan was to get up, get a few things done and then go to bed for good. Well, I woke up at 1am.

I must have been tired though because I didn't have much trouble getting back to sleep until my regular time for a grand total of about 11 hours sleep. I felt better today than I have in the past 10 days so maybe the extra dose of sleep helped.

Reflecting on Teaching Internationally

Just like when I was planning for my presentation on Japan to the People to People delegation a couple months ago, I find myself reflecting on my travels a great deal as I prepare for my Japan Club presentation.

I miss the trip. Just looking through the photo slideshow and some of the short video clips I’ll share, I get really sentimental about the whole thing. I know I capitalized on the opportunity and made the most of those 18 days though and that does make me feel better about the whole thing.

This type of thinking naturally brings me back to my consideration of teaching internationally sometime. This is one of those sometimes that I feel I should do sooner rather than later. The question remains: Do I really have the guts to pick up and move to another country for a commitment of at least two years? Am I all talk or do I have it in me?

One of my seniors was talking last week about how his mother just accepted a position as principal of the American School of Dubai (United Arab Emirates). That’s one of the locations I looked into after my host family in Japan told me about their great experiences living in Dubai. My heart is still telling me that the American School in Tokyo is choice #1 (and one of the more difficult schools to get a position in) though.

One of my fellow Japan program colleagues recently accepted a position teaching in Pakistan next year. I talked to him about the process he went through and found out he was offered three positions during 1 weekend of interviews. There are two organizations that handle recruiting for international schools. I think I should plan to take a trip to one of their fairs in January/February 2008 to see what kinds of opportunities there may be for me for the 2008-09 academic term.

If I go for it then, I’d be back in the United States by the time I was 29 (if I stayed through 1 contract only), still plenty young to jump back into things right where I left off.

My current Bernards Township contract allows teachers to take unpaid leaves of absence for up to two years for programs that involve teaching internationally. Upon return, I would be placed back into a full-time position at the salary position I would have attained had I not left. This is a pretty good perk to consider as well.

For those that follow this blog regularly, expect to see my thoughts on this from time to time over the next 10-12 months.

Japan Presentation on Monday

I'll be speaking at Monday's meeting of Ridge High School's Japan Club. There I'll show a variation of my P2P Power Point presentation and my photo slideshow. I'll also be opening time for student questions about my experiences or Japan in general. The advisor to the club said he expects 10-15 students, but this is open to anyone interested so if any of the Ridge students or teachers that read this want to come check it out, we'll be in Room 213 at 2:30pm on Monday, March 26. I'll be touching on a lot of sociology-esque topics, playing some music and a couple real short videos I took while there as well.

School is Bad for Your Health

I've been back at school for 2.5 weeks. I'm already sick.

I started to feel it Friday night and definitely felt it when I woke up Saturday morning. It was even worse on Sunday.

The drastic change in my daily schedule and sleep quantity is probably one factor. Instead of sleeping 8-10 hours a night with my body deciding when to get up, I'm getting 5-6 thanks to multiple alarm clocks.

Schools aren't exactly the greatest place to be in terms of germs. Direct contact with 125 students and 15-20 teachers plus indirect contact with hundreds more each day mean increased contact with bacteria.

The weather change, from sitting out on my balcony reading on Wednesday afternoon, to shoveling my friend's car off an ice mound on Saturday morning, also plays a role I suspect.

I don't want to take a sick day seeing as how I've already missed six months of school. While I certainly don't take responsibility for the terrible situation the kids in my classes have been put through with 5-6 teachers this year, I'm not going to make it any worse on them if I can help it.

Besides, I actually feel a bit better this morning.

Marching Band 2007 Update

Here's an update on where things stand for the fall...

USSBA - I must be moving up the judging ranks because USSBA notified me that they plan to schedule me for every weekend of the season. So far I've been assigned to shows for each of the first 3 competition weekends in September including a preview/clinic show in Maryland. I can still get out of some of these assignments should I need to. Dollars to hours, this is the most lucrative option for the fall.

Ridge - Whether I return as assistant director at Ridge is something that is out of my control. The current band director wants me there, I agreed to help him, I'm not in the position...

Park Ridge - I'm starting their drill soon and will likely teach at least some of their band camp. I have officially declined their assistant director position.

Hopewell Valley - The last time I spoke with the band director, things were on track for me to assume the role of assistant director there. It is a reasonable distance from home, but a bit of a trek from Ridge. The director knows that my assumption of that position depends on how things go at Ridge as well.

Somerville - Good location. I told the director I couldn't commit a month or so ago. He did tell me to get back in touch if my schedule clears up.

New Providence - Same kind of thing. I told the director I couldn't commit and he left the door open to discuss things in the future.

Bridgewater-Raritan - I haven't spoken to the directors since early September. They told me they'd welcome me back once things were cleared up at Ridge. I don't know that I care to return.

Delayed Opening Schedule

We got the call early tonight that there will be a delayed opening tomorrow. Based on the weather reports - that snow is going to start sometime near the morning commute and continue through Saturday - I doubt we'll go in at all, but we shall see.

Since all lunch periods are cancelled on delayed opening days, and I teach 3 of those 4 periods, I only have 2 classes tomorrow. Not a bad deal.

Crash at My Sister's Mother in Law's House

This occurred on Friday at my sister's mother-in-law's house. Crazy stuff, but everyone was okay.

From The Jersey Journal:

Out-of-control van crashes through two condos

SECAUCUS - At first, Debbie Warga thought the loud crash she heard yesterday morning was her cats knocking something over.

Then she saw the van in the middle of her downstairs office.

"I never expected to see that a van had crashed into my home," she said, scanning the pile of debris that remained yesterday afternoon and the gaping hole exposing her neighbor's lounge room.

"This was my husband's office and he is normally checking his e-mails at 7 a.m."

The accident happened about 7:10 a.m. when a van for the Kearny-based organization Pathways to Independence careened into the home on Blue Heron Drive in the Riverside Court complex.

According to police reports, the driver, John Rizzolo, 46, of North Arlington, had just picked up a 43-year-old disabled client from a nearby home when he lost control of the vehicle, crashing though a fence on Julianne Terrace, a glass door at the back of the home, and a wall dividing two units.

Police Capt. John Buckley said both the driver and the passenger sustained minor finger cuts but were otherwise unharmed.

"The operator of the vehicle says when he took his foot off the gas pedal the van kept going, so we are going to look at that van and then we will determine a course for us," he said.

Pathways to Independence Executive Director Alvin Cox refused to discuss details about the incident but confirmed the van belonged to his organization and the passenger was one of its clients.

"Everyone is fine," he said.

About 40 firefighters arrived on the scene and initially cut off gas and electricity to four units, said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Gonnelli. Power was restored yesterday to all but one, where a gas leak was identified.

Town Building Inspector Vincent Prieto, who is also a state assemblyman, determined that despite the damage, the buildings were structurally sound. Carpenters worked yesterday on patching the hole at the back of the home.

Despite the mess and damage, Warga was philosophical about the situation.

"It is property, but fortunately nobody was hurt," she said. "There is nothing that can't be recovered. It is an inconvenience but you think of what could have been. And they (the passengers in the van) must have been terrified."

Warga also praised the fast response of emergency vehicles and local officials, and the community support.

"Everyone came and it happened very quickly - and I got to meet the neighbors," she said.

Living Without Freedom - A History Institute for Teachers

I applied for a position in the Living Without Freedom history institute that will take place on May 5-6 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The program is open only to social studies teachers and curriculum supervisors. They select 40 educators nationwide to receive the following:

• free room and board
• assistance in designing curriculum and special projects based on the History Institute
• stipends of $250 in exchange for curriculum units based on the History Institute
• partial travel reimbusements (up to $250)
• professional subscriptions

From the program's website:

"Students grow up in a free society; it is the only kind of society they really know. To appreciate and comprehend the benefits of freedom, students need to know what it’s like to live without freedom—or worse, in conditions of harsh repression, even genocide. To help teachers teach students about life without freedom, FPRI’s Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education, in cooperation with the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum, is assembling some of the world’s leading analysts—and witnesses—of countries without freedom. The conference will help teachers define totalitarianism while examining the history of the idea of freedom.

"Most of the conference sessions will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia; the Saturday evening program will be held at the National Liberty Museum, a few blocks away."

Speakers and Topics (a partial listing):

• Wei Jingsheng on China
• Carlos Eire on Cuba
• Kongdan Oh on North Korea: The Nadir of Freedom
• Alan J. Kuperman on Genocide in Rwanda and Sudan
• Edward Friedman and Michael Radu on What is Totalitarianism?
• J. Rufus Fears on Freedom: The History of an Idea

My Racial Identity @ Spirit of Newark

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated about how things are going at the Spirit of Newark/New Jersey.

As we began discussing diversity in Challenges of Democracy, I talked to the classes about how I only really think about my racial identity when I’m at Spirit rehearsals. Unlike every other day, during those Saturdays, I’m a racial minority.

At yesterday's rehearsal, there were 31 students present. 29 of those students are black and 2 are Hispanic. There were 4 white, 2 black, 1 Asian and 1 Hispanic instructors and 2 white and 1 black volunteers.

Today was the first meeting of an ongoing leadership program that I created. There were 5 or 6 students there early and we sat and talked about why they wanted to be part of the leadership team and anything else they wanted to talk about. I noticed my speech patterns and vocabulary usage changing throughout the 30-minute session. Was I changing the way I talk to match them? Was I bringing some subconscious preconceptions to the surface? Were none of these things actually occurring? Maybe I was just more aware because I was the sole member of my race in a meeting.

This sort of dialogue and self-analysis, as I taught my Challenges students on Friday, happens on a regular basis any time someone feels like they are different from the dominant group. It could be race, political ideology, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic class or anything else.

On to the drum corps aspect of things. The horn line is still too small for success. There were only 8 students in that section today. It was warm enough outside to head out for visual block, which is really important as we are only 4-6 weeks away from beginning drill rehearsals. It was the best block thus far. I was able to teach a couple new exercises and, after some shaky moments early, the students were focused and did pretty well.

We did "meet" some of the nice Newark neighbors as they walked along the street yelling and making noise. I did my best to ignore them and the students didn't really seem to react. There was also a security guard nearby; I think he patrols the church property where we rehearse.

So all in all it was a good rehearsal from my perspective. I even got to take home an entire pumpkin pie that was left over from dinner. Sweet!

Bernards Township Board of Education Vision Statement

We were talking about education reform during today's faculty meeting. One of the primary points brought to our attention was that we should be preparing students for real world experiences through interdisciplinary classroom activities among other things. We were told that the societal tendency to emphasize competition utilizing school report cards, AP and HSPA test scores, etc. is a bad thing.

Bernards Township Board of Education Policy #2110 (Philosophy), adopted May 13, 1996, sets the following Vision Statement for the district:

"The Bernards Township school district will be one of the preeminent educational systems in the Unitd States."

Interesting conflict of vision there...

Bernards Township Education Association

I have accepted a nomination to run for vice president of the Bernards Township Education Association. This should add an interesting twist to the next few weeks leading up to the election.

For anyone that doesn't know, the BTEA is the local branch of the New Jersey Education Association, the union representing public school teachers in the state. BTEA includes professional staff members at my school as well as the middle school and four elementary schools. Primary responsibilities on the local level include negotiating and upholding the contract agreement between the district/board and staff members, professional development, staff/administration mediation, etc.

I think my experience in wide areas of the school community, my recent experience and first-hand knowledge of the importance of NJEA in times of crisis/conflict and my relative newness to the union as a building rep all count as strengths for my candidacy.

I swear it's not just b/c I'd love to walk into a meeting with district administrators or the board as an elected leader of the district's professionals --- but that will be fun too.

Movie quote = me

"I am nothing without the constant elixir of movement. I do not know how to be just still." - Jack in "Man About Town"

I was thinking of writing an entry about this while driving home this afternoon and then when I heard this line at the very end of the movie tonight, I knew I found a match.

The hardest thing about the past six months was not having direction, not having a real reason to get up and do something each day. That's not even totally fair because there were important people to see (and meet as the case may be), judging to do for USSBA, an unbelievable trip to Japan, a part-time job or two and other things, but it wasn't the same as heading to school each morning and giving it my all.

Believe me, I'm not saying I enjoy getting up at 5:15 in the morning. My body has not adjusted to the return to teaching time yet, but it will sooner or later.

I'm confident that everyone that knows me agrees that I've always given it my all at Ridge, in the classroom and out. I'm worried that my experiences this school year have created a level of cynicism that I always vowed to avoid.

Many have asked me if I'll return to the marching band, the newspaper or to Ridge at all next year. All I can say for now is that I'm taking things one step at a time. There is a lot of unfinished business to tend to and unfortunately, even with my return, the time line of these decisions is still not within my control.

Thank you to the band parent who baked the cookie for me welcoming me back, to the color guard member who delivered a hand-made card, to the newspaper editors who signed the picture of the group wearing "I love Mingle and Stew" shirts and to the countless students, faculty and, perhaps most unexpected, the Aramark custodian who welcomed me back genuinely.

This post has meandered quite a bit from its original intent. I'm tired - 5:15 comes soon.

Lamington Black Cemetary

I met with William "Buzzy" Hundley yesterday morning for a visit of the Lamington Black Cemetary in Bedminster.

We spent an hour or so walking about the cemetary, which volunteers have restored over the past five or so years. He told me stories about some of the people buried there, black history in NJ, slavery in Somerset/Hunterdon counties and more. I learned quite a bit that I wasn't aware of (including the fact that NJ was the last northern state to do away with slavery) and that as late as 1865, the black population of the Bedminster area was equal to the white population in number. After being freed, most moved south to Bridgewater, Somerville, Bound Brook, etc.

He provided me with a wealth of information and materials that I can bring back to Ridge. It's unlikely I'll be able to get anyone to take the trip there this spring, but maybe next year the American History classes can spend a morning at the site and at the other black/slave cemetaries throughout the area. I'm also going to try to convince the administration of Spirit of Newark/New Jersey to take the corps to the sites sometime this summer.

Drum Corps on ESPN.com

From March 1-15, ESPN 360 is free. Included on the site are two one-hour videos from ESPN's broadcast of the 2006 Drum Corps International World Championships that aired in September.

Check them out here.

Day Two

Day two back was more of a regular routine.

I got in around 6:30am to meet with the long-term sub and go over a transition plan. We came to some agreements and headed into period 1 - honors world history. They were taking a test today so I just spoke for a minute and got to organizing my desk and unpacking things that were still waiting from the summer.

Periods 4-5 I met with the first two Challenges of Democracy classes. I will be the fifth teacher these classes have had this year and the students in the classes are not happy about it. The first unit we'll be doing when I take over there next week is on diversity, one of my personal favorite topics in sociology. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some good discussion going and that will help up the morale. I'm going to provide these classes, all seniors, the opportunity to vent their frustrations next week and maybe then we can wrap it up and move on.

Period 7 was another Challenges and period 8 another Honors World. After school, I headed out for a little while with some of my colleagues and it was nice to catch up on things a bit.

The early wake-up call is catching up to me since I was used to sleeping through most of the morning for the past 9 months when including the summer.

First Day Back

Today was kind of a weird day as I had no specific responsibilities and spent the day talking to colleagues, students and wandering the building a bit. I continue to be humbled by the support from the other staff members. Even teachers who I've never really spoken to much more than a hello made it a point to say hi and that they were happy to have me back. Numerous teachers relayed stories about students searching for me before or during school and asking about my whereabouts.

I had a chance to speak to many of the marching band members when I stopped by the band room after concert band and wind ensemble and many of the newspaper staff members when I stopped by the meeting after school.

I'm still waiting for my school e-mail access to be restored so I can review 6 months of e-mail and I never really got around to getting into my classroom to unpack my things and set up my desk. I'll be going to my classes tomorrow although the sub will still be running things for a day or two. Next week includes adjusted schedules due to HSPA testing so I'll have a few hours each morning to get settled and prepare for my classes.

I do want to make one thing clear for the parents reading this. The staff and administration of Ridge High School have been extremely supportive. The principal and my supervisor expressed their happiness at having me back in the building today as well. My problems and concerns (which still remain) relate to district administration and the board of education. It's good to get back into the classroom and get going with my teaching career, but there are still some issues to be resolved.