Friday, February 13, 2015

GT Seminar II: Roger Ebert

Thanks for listening to and discussing my contribution to "Awesome People You've (Probably) Never Heard Of." To get a taste of Roger Ebert's blog, check out All the Lonely People and/or Go Gentle Into That Good Night

As you know, I fell in love with Roger's philosophy on life: 


"Kindness" covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out. - Roger Ebert, Life Itself


Let it all soak in, and then write a blog post with a personal reaction (at least 2 paragraphs) to everything you've learned about Mr. Ebert in the past two days. Think back to my original question as well: Why, when faced with a personal tragedy, do some people swim while others sink?


I look forward to reading your responses.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

GT Seminar II: Racism in America

"We must acknowledge -- with eyes and minds wide open -- the world as it is if we want to change it." - Charles M. Blow, The Perfect-Victim Pitfall

It's been an enlightening journey these past several weeks, and I've enjoyed learning from you all. Racism is a TOUGH TOPIC; I thank you for your honesty and all of your questions and research. To culminate our unit, I think it's necessary to debrief, in writing. Choose at least 2 of the topics below and dedicate at least 2 paragraphs to each. I'm looking forward to reading your thoughtful personal responses.

-Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and many others
-Institutional racism
-The Criminal Justice System (Stop and Frisk policies, militarization of police, incarceration & recidivism rates, The War on Drugs, etc.)
-White Privilege
-Intersectionality
-Immigration
-Respectability Politics, identity deletion
-Cultural appropriation