Category: leadership
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LISTEN Carefully to his Words
I’ve never previously recommended on my blog that anyone watch an official video from the National Rifle Association / NRA, but I am tonight. Today after school and following an evening school event, I watched the entirety of our 45th President’s recorded address this afternoon at the “NRA-IRL Leadership Forum.” He was the last speaker…
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Podcast479: Teaching About Conspiracy Theories and Media Literacy
This podcast features a presentation by Wesley Fryer at the ATLIS (Association of Technology Leaders of Independent Schools) 2022 Conference in Orlando, Florida, on May 3, 2022. The title of the session was, “Teaching About Conspiracy Theories and Media Literacy.” The official description was: Conspiracy theories are popular on social media and influence our local…
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1000 Starships to Mars Every 2 Years
Tonight Elon Musk and Chris Anderson have stretched my mind in some unexpected ways. Elon hopes we’ll see (and is working toward) a future within 10-20 years where SpaceX is launching 1000 Starships to Mars every two years, so we can establish a self-sustaining city of a million humans who will be able to carry…
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15 Things I Love About My Classroom (and teaching situation!)
I’ve been teaching and working in education since 1995. The past 3 years, as I’ve served as a media literacy teacher, instructional coach for our teachers, and (last year) an introductory Spanish teacher have been some of my best ever. Yesterday afternoon and evening, I recorded and edited a 17 minute video I titled, “15…
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Putin and Christian Nationalism
Whether or not you are a follower of Jesus and publicly profess “Christianity” as your faith, it’s important to pay attention what many “Conservative Christians” have been saying and continue to say about Vladimir Putin and his cultural / political agenda. I want to recommend two recent articles and OpEds on these topics. First, check…
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More YouTube Restriction Options for Schools
YouTube is a phenomenal platform for learning and sharing, and should be available for both students and teachers to use in schools worldwide. Unfortunately, however, in addition to hosting inspiring and amazing content, YouTube also hosts trashy, objectionable content which students under 18 in schools should not see. Fortunately, Google announced at the end of…
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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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The Fragility of Democratic Institutions – Memories of Cairo in November 2017
On November 16, 2017, I had the privilege of dining in my Cairo hotel restaurant with Ahmed Ragheb, a long-time friend of my parents who I first met in 1978 when we lived in Columbus, Mississippi, and my dad was a T-37 squadron commander. Ahmed had an amazing military career in the USAF as a…