Random assortment of thoughts.....

My usual routine was to finish class on Tuesday, make a few notes on what i was going to write about and then complete my Blog on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday while the thoughts were still fresh in my mind. Unfortunately I was a little sidetracked with parent teacher interviews and the beginning of Spring Break that its now been over a week. When i looked at my notes I had no idea what they meant.....kinda like when i read Beaudrillard!

My first note read --> From dust you were made and to dust you will return...
I know it is a Bibilical reference (in Ecclesiates i think)but i'm not sure exactly why that struck me during our class discussion. oh well...i'll return to it if it comes back to me.

Second note: Tiger Woods vs. Alex Bilodeau
Again, seemed like an abstract reference but I think it was made during our discussion of the news. I remember Denis commenting on the fact that the news in not real...or at least not real news. I think that launched us into another Beaudrillardian discussion on the reality as portrayed in the media, advertising, and television. And finally i'll get to my point. I just finished teaching a unit on Advertising and Media to my grade 9 English students. We spent an entire week discussing advertising, manipulation techniques used in advertising, with a focus on product association and celebrities. We used Tiger Woods, and his recent escapades, as the basis of our discussion of the following quesitons.

1. Why are celebrities used so much in advertising?
2. Are celebrtities role models?
3. Do celebrities, after accepting million dollar cheques, have an obligation to act like roles models (behave)?
4. Should Nike, Gillete, Buick etc keep Tiger Woods on as the face of their ad campaigns?

I got a lot of interesting discussion with one student replying with something along the lines of "being a good golfer has nothing to do with cars, shaving, or running shoes so if companies are going to use famous people to sell their products they should at least use good people."
I steered the discussion to Canadian Olympic athletes and asked the question (knowing who they would choose) which Canadian athlete have you seen on TV that would be a better role model for in an advertising campaign. It only took a few seconds for everyone to shout in unison "Alexander Bilodeau!"

My response to that was as follows
"You guys would be dissapointed to hear that Alex Bilodeau was arrested in Vancouver last night."
They then asked me "do you know what he was arrested for?"
I replied "I think he hit his girlfried."

Needless to say, they were all dejected as they had built him up in their minds as this amazing person. This after seeing a 3 minute special clip of him hanging out with his brother (who suffers from Cerebral palsy) and watching him ski jump for 30 minutes.

Of course at the end of class i levelled with them and told them. I told them that i had lied about Bilodeau....he hadn't been arrested (at least to my knowledge).
It did help me make my point which was....that he could have....they really know absolutely nothing about what he is like on a day to day basis. All of them saw a 3 minute clip and decided he was the world's greatest role model....a few weeks after they should have learned their lesson from Tiger Woods. They all set themselves up to be crushed if he ever slipped up and made a dumb mistake (like most people do).
It seems that the advertisers create a false sense of reality that public accepts...or is their portrayal the reality? Was Tiger Woods incident a necessity for society to re-establish a sense of morality?

I don't remember exactly but i'm pretty sure that was the line of thought i had when i wrote down "Tiger Woods vs. Alex Bilodeau"

Postmodernism and the Gender Studies Course...

SO much to write....so little time!
The article Ontario Bishops Reject High School "Gender Studies" Course could not have been introduced any better than a class discussion on Postmodernism. The situation certainly highlights that multiple voices (or multiple discourses) are present in a postmodern society.

A couple thoughts...I really found my train of thought interesting while dealing with the article.
Pre-reading - My first reaction (even before reading the article) was a snap judgment against the Catholic Church for rejecting the course. I admit, although i fully understand that at times the Church need not align itself with mainstream society, I'm sensitive in these issues because of the stereotypes many people have with the Church (close minded, judgmental, etc). I guess i just don't appreciate being lumped in with a close minded fundamentalist...so when an article like this comes out i tend to have a knee-jerk reaction.

During Reading - while reading the article i found a greater understanding of the possible objections to the course content. I can see if the Catholic doctrine regarding homosexuality, abortion etc does not align completely with the discussion topics and content they would have to be very careful as to how the course would be implemented.

Post Reading - I'd imagine that the Catholic Church would have no objections if the course was to implemented as history course outlining the major figures regarding Gender Issues and Equality. That type of a course avoids assigning values or "correctness" to the issues but rather focuses on the content. However, the course outline is pretty clear that many objectives in the course are aimed to foster higher levels of thinking which inevitably leads to influencing attitudes, thoughts, values, etc....does it not?

I found it interesting that Chelsea, Lana, and Brad's presentation on the Grade 9 Social Studies Curriculum centered on the fact that, although values were integrated into the curriculum, they rarely are actualized in the classrooms as teachers get wrapped up in the content, lack the ability, or run short of time. Perhaps, the Catholic school board is wasting their time in the objections...most teachers would probably find there was too much content, not enough resources, and too little time to actually develop the open minds intended by the course. They'd default to teaching only the content in a dry boring manner that would do little to change the attitudes or behavior of the students.

I know...i know...i'm being a little facetious but i thought i'd try to tie together all the ideas, thoughts, and discussion from last class into one giant blog! I look forward to hearing your comments!

Thoughts from the recovery bed............

PART 1: Beethoven and Bach….the great disciplinarians!

Ashley…I am eagerly awaiting your response to this post.

Last night I was sitting around chatting with my parents about school, kids, university classes, and a variety of other education topics. I mentioned our class blog assignment as well some of the topics I/we’ve all discussed in class and on our blogs. I mentioned that I had referenced the Europe trip and how the tours of Art museums contributed to an appreciation of art history. Then….to my utter shock my parents mentioned this story that they heard on CBC radio a few days ago.

CBC Story: There is a school in England that has been using Classical Music as a punishment for student behaviour. If students misbehave during the school day they have to spend an hour in a detention room with nothing but Beethoven and Bach. Teachers claim that the strategy is working as students will do anything to avoid having to spend time listening to that music. Upon hearing this I thought to myself…."well…it’s probably not the music that is the deterrent but rather the fact that they have to stay after school.”

Hang on…it gets crazier. Apparently word got out to some local businesses in the community that the trouble making students didn’t like to hear that kind of music so shop owners, who had been complaining about graffiti, vandalism, and unwanted loitering, began playing loud classical music on speakers outside their shops…and get this…the problems stopped. Apparently kids didn’t want to hang out at their old meeting spots if they would have to listen to classical music.

What does this say about music education in England?

Would that work in Winnipeg?

Even if it would work….would that be a reasonable approach? Is it offensive to use it…or just pragmatic?

Do we need to spend more time in schools teaching kids to appreciate classical music? Art? Literature?

I was thinking about these questions and then it hit me…. If the situation was flipped I would act the same way. I would stop going to Cousins Deli (my favourite pub) if they started playing Taylor Swift and Mily Cyrus (sp?). I am not saying that Taylor Swift is this generations.... but it does point out that some music sounds good to some people and can turn the stomach of others.

PART 2: Post-Nationalism – Baby Ming …. Chinese or American?

To continuing our discussion on post-nationalism and provide a current example from the sporting world….i found this article on ESPN.com yesterday.

“BEIJING -- Chinese basketball fans want to know -- will Yao Ming's baby be an American?

The Houston Rockets center, who is sidelined this season with a broken left foot, recently returned to the United States with wife Ye Li. That prompted speculation among his followers that the baby girl due this summer could be born in America.

Yao's personal life is closely followed by his many fans at home, from his 2007 Shanghai wedding to the former basketball player to reports last month the couple is expecting a baby girl in July.”

Yao Ming and his wife Ye Li were both born and raised in China. They began their amateur and professional basketball careers in China and both competed for China in the last Olympics. Yao now lives and works in America….and makes quite a bit of money at it I might add….16.4 million dollars to be exact. So, his national pride and allegiance are aligned with China but his occupational and financial allegiance is to the States. His daughter is due to be born this summer and if born in the US will be eligible for citizenship. Because Yao and Ye are both Chinese citizens their daughter can also be granted Chinese citizenship, however, Chinese law that does not allow for anyone to hold dual citizenship with another country.

The following quotes were given from Chinese basketball fans…

"Yao Ming is an individual, not a political tool”

"Only an idiot would pass up American citizenship"

However, the quote that I found most interesting was "He has the right to choose where his child is born and what kinds of medical care and education will be available to her. His child's citizenship has nothing to do with loyalty."

What then does have to do with loyalty? What has a bigger impact on developing loyalties than education?

Do the Chinese fans really think a child could be born and raised in the lifestyle of an NBA star in a private (or public) high school in Houston Texas and still develop her biggest loyalty to China?

Wishful thinking….but I doubt it.

PS. my surgery went well. i'm really sore and moving really slow but feeling pretty good!