Rest in glory. Francis brought a distinct pastoral outlook to his papacy. A simple man, he lived in a small apartment in the guesthouse. He sought to make the church accessible to all with a focus …| Grumpy Old Teacher
This series began with its first post February 4. Updates quickly followed: #1 on February 6; #2 on February 9. Now we are ready for Update #3, the deputizing of college campus police to enforce immigration law. How fitting that when we think of undocumented immigrants coming across the southern border, we think of the…| Grumpy Old Teacher
Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Investigate. Figure out things for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come…| Grumpy Old Teacher
Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most…| Grumpy Old Teacher
Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books. Take that, Science of…| Grumpy Old Teacher
I’ll be traveling home tomorrow. Today’s sessions focused on justice and fairness for all. I don’t have many notes to share, but that gives me some space to give some overall impressions. One thing I heard many times this weekend is how people have been feeling alone, fighting the good fight, but alone. I must…| Grumpy Old Teacher
Sorry, I didn’t post last night about the afternoon sessions. It was a long day beginning at 7:30 in the morning and lasting until 8:30 at night. All I had time to do was fix a few typographical errors in the previous post. Highlights from Connecting the Fight for Democracy to the Fight to Save…| Grumpy Old Teacher
I am currently attending the Network for Public Education conference in Columbus, Ohio. Here are some notes of interest from the sessions I attended this morning. I. Strategies for School Board Elections. Avoid an ‘us versus them’ mentality. Approach voters and community members with something like “Can we agree that strong public schools benefit our…| Grumpy Old Teacher
Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Stand out. Someone has to. It’s easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken,…| Grumpy Old Teacher
Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.…| Grumpy Old Teacher
Schrödinger’s cat is a famous thought experiment in which the renowned scientist pondered how a cat in a closed box could be thought of as simultaneously alive and dead as long as it is not o…| Grumpy Old Teacher