Category: philosophy
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Political Philosophy and Media Literacy Cornerstones
Propaganda and disinformation can have real, destructive effects in society and government. That is one of many lessons we can draw from the past week in Washington D.C., when we saw large numbers of protesters storm the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in a riot which resulted in deaths, injuries, as well…
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Reflections on Postmodern Cultural Conflict
I’m genuinely confused and troubled by the political polarization we see and experience in different ways in our culture, and I’m trying to better understand these dynamics. There are multiple reasons for the fear, anger, and frustration which individuals and different groups feel today. Some of these factors include the emergence of “identity politics,” changing…
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Professional Development and Identity
The best professional development experiences are wonderful because they remind us of who we are: They affirm and support our evolving senses of identity in a complex world filled with mixed messages and lots of noise. In this post, I’d like to reflect briefly on professional development and identity. “The October 2019 #CUDenverLSI Design team…
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Don’t Let Toxic Voices Tell You Who You Are
This is a message of encouragement for anyone out there who is feeling discouraged, especially teachers, by the hurtful and toxic words of someone else who is bringing you down and causing you to question what you’re doing, and maybe even who you are as a professional educator. We all need to maintain our humility…
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Loquendo nos ostendimus
I have updated my Twitter header image to include a statement in Latin which I’ve been thinking about now for several years: Loquendo nos ostendimus Latin phrase translated by Brianna Titus Our wonderful 7th grade Latin teacher, Briana Titus, translated this idea for me into Latin. In concise and elegant language, this means: by means…
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Teachers as Prophets: The Power to “PROF-a-sigh” Into Students’ Futures
As a teacher, you may have not considered yourself to be a “prophet.” When we recognize, call out, and encourage special and unique giftedness in our students, however, I believe we can act as prophets in their lives. The verb “prophesy” (pronounced “PROF-a-sigh”) means “to predict something.” Have you ever recognized one of your students…
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The Dream of Creative Writing
I have been doing quite a bit of soul-searching in the past few weeks and months, and I have played with several ideas for my future that are worth noting. One of these is my desire to write fiction, to unleash my creative imagination in a channel detached almost entirely from education and educational technology.…
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Don’t Equate Competency With Identity
The tendency to stereotype, define, and “put someone in a box” may be universal in our U.S. culture. Lots of people seem to have an innate desire to label others. Adults may sometimes think this is a youth behavior, or just something kids do at school, but I think many (if not most) adults follow the same…
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Unplugging, Devices, Camping, Spades and Fairy Houses
Last week our family spent six wonderful days “off the grid” tent camping in the mountains of southeast Colorado, about two hours northwest of Trinidad at 9800 feet altitude in Purgatoire Campground. There were many highlights of the vacation for me, but one of the best was simply playing cards with our family. We played…