What Would bell hooks Do? (Regarding the Kenneth Adams murals in the Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico) June 2010 Per the objectives for this course, I have gained a greater understanding of how educational institutions reproduce social inequalities. I have also studied, and understood to some degree, the severe criticisms levied against these institutions … Read more
Changing Thinking (Reaction to Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society) After reading the first chapter of Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society, I felt something like a cheerleader rooting for the home team. With no significant exceptions, I agreed with his characterizations about problematic schools created by and perpetuated within by a problematic society (thinking about the U.S. specifically). … Read more
Problem-Posing vs. Problem-Solving (Comments on Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed) When I was searching the online catalog for an afternoon course to take this term, I knew I’d found something that would resonate with me when I read the description for this course. The topic of “foundations of educational philosophy” was one that pertained … Read more
On Conformity: Emerson and Thoreau Respond to Mann? (Comments prompted by Horace Mann’s On the Art of Teaching) Born within a generation, living and working within 30 miles of each other, and publishing seminal works within a six-year period, Horace Mann, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau articulated viewpoints about a contentious American ideal … Read more
The following is an excerpt from my application letter of intent that broadly summarizes my academic interests in the field of Educational Psychology. My decision to pursue the M.A. in Educational Psychology is the result of a 40-year gestation period. A few significant milestones along the way: In high school I began thinking about individuality … Read more
Special to the Star-Telegram Every three decades or so, there’s a federal case over broadcasting bad language. The most recent was on Election Day before the Supreme Court. This is like one of those cartoon caption contests. You know, like there’s this completely frazzled fish lying on a psychiatrist’s couch, distraught eyes fixed to the … Read more
Special to the Star-Telegram Chesapeake Energy’s impressive and expensive PR campaign has folks asking questions. Lots of questions. One of the overlooked and under-reported aspects related to drilling in the Barnett Shale is the negative impact to our local linguistic environment. We’re not talking particulate matter here. This is the worrisome increase in measurable propagandulate … Read more
Special to the Star-Telegram The local community had an opportunity to go beyond talking about race. Instead, we passed to avoid the front page, content to be merely a footnote. Today is graduation day at Texas Christian University. I teach a class in general semantics there, and seven of my 46 students will walk across … Read more
Special to the Star-Telegram An obscure monument south of downtown Fort Worth recalls a progenitor of the Stock Show and the tragedy that occurred there. The 2008 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo concludes tomorrow. Since its inception in 1896, the show has grown to world-class proportions, attracting almost a million visitors each year and … Read more
This exercise simply asks you to look at this image. What do you see – 3 smaller dimples or bumps? What do you see – 1 larger dimple or bump? (A dimple appears to recede into the surface; a bump appears to protrude out of the surface.) After you’ve determined how many dimples and how … Read more
