It was a pleasure meeting everyone. I appreciated the discussion about the shortcomings of contemporary social movements in the U.S. and the theories presented on revolution and social change. These kinds of dialogues always leave me with more questions than answers, so I'll share some of them with you here:
- Are revolutions desirable? After all, revolutions are violent and often destructive for intellectuals and free thinkers. What are the underlying assumptions in our dialogue about the need for reform in our own country? In other words, what does change really look like? Always a difficult and important question to ask at an elite institution...
- As educators, how do we explain the role of the United States in Middle Eastern, Arab and South Asian politics? As a U.S. history teacher, this is a burning question as my students are puzzled by American involvement abroad. It seems that setting a solid foundation in geography and world history is a vital component that is often missing for students at the high school level. Is there a fast track to a global education? I realize this is a funny question, but the conditions in our public schools demand it.
Finally, I have been thinking of the victims of the brutal hate crime at the Sikh temple recently. I came upon this link from Teaching Tolerance, and I do believe we honor people by learning about them: http://www.tolerance.org/blog/we-honor-sikhs-learning-about-them
I had the pleasure to visit the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs in Punjab, India. It was the most spiritually rich place I have ever seen. This tragic event is a reminder of how vital multicultural and global education is for this country and the world. Teaching Tolerance has some great resources and articles, check it out if you have not already done so. Looking forward to working with you tomorrow!
'we honor people by learning about them' I like this phrase because it really sets the tone for cultural tolerance and respect. As a teacher, I find it bizarre that many teachers with whom I work with do not know about nor understand the culture of the students that they teach. If I'm teaching a class of students from Dominican Republic, for example, I will absolutely be reading about and speaking to people who are from that culture. I will do whatever necessary to learn about that culture before entering the classroom. The same way our children need prior knowledge or background knowledge, so do we as teachers.
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