How Not To Defend An Argument.

from PostPartisan.

A Michigan governent official went on CNN yesterday to defend the blog he wrote personally attacking a gay college student. Watch how he tries to defend his argument, he does such a poor job that it is a) amusing and b) slightly informative.

*Update. one of the wonderful things about the internet/blog world is that in addition to just reading about things, you can actually take action. I work with an organization called Advocates For Youth, who are running a small campaign to get this guy fired. Check it out, and consider clicking the button to sign on to a letter to remove this crazy person from office.

From post partisan (if you are interested in hearing more about this story...)

An assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan is waging an ugly one-man crusade against the first openly-gay student body president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He may be doing this on his own time, but it raises issues of fairness and security. How can the gay men and lesbians of Michigan trust a lawyer for the state when he spends every waking hour out of the office denigrating who they are?

Since Chris Armstrong was elected in April, he has been hounded by Andrew Shirvell. "Chris Armstrong Watch" is the primary vehicle for the public servant's seemingly unhinged rants against Armstrong and his "radical homosexual agenda." Shirvell also called Armstrong "Satan's representative on the student assembly," a "privileged pervert" and accused him of recruiting incoming freshmen "to join the homosexual 'lifestyle.'" You'd swear the two were running against each other for office. Or that Shirvell's constant and vitriolic blog postings would constitute cyber bullying. But there's no anti-cyber bullying law on the books in Michigan.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper last night, Shirvell said that he was practicing his First Amendment rights of free speech. That's fine. What's stunning is his total lack of judgment and his seeming inability to understand how, well, strange his actions are.

Paper Topic

This paper is due on Tuesday, October 19th in class (in your folder).

Length: 4-6 pages

Topic: To be a good ruler does an individual have to learn to be bad? Does morality apply to politics the same way it applies to ordinary people?

You must cite any four of:
Plato, Machiavelli, Bodin, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant
(anything extra is just bonus)

An article you may enjoy?

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/148/how-ted-became-the-new-harvard.html

Fast Food Education vs. Zagat Education

Ken Robinson makes the statement that creativity in children should be on the same level as academics. Throughout my education i have been encouraged to use my creative insight to further my education, for example i invented and co-taught a class called Zombie Ethics in which we explored the ethical standpoints of notable philosophers in context to the world of Zombies. My education can be majorly contrasted to that of the "fast food education" because at Friends school not only is it a goal set by the school to nurture creativity, but as a 12th year student i feel like my creativity is being furthered and respected. Friends school, in a lot of ways, achieves the goal Ken Robinson is talking about. He makes a point that math should be as important as dance, and during my schedule this trimester i have an an hour and fifteen minutes of dance on one day and only forty five minutes of math. Friends school does not create a rigid path of linear education like Ken Robinson describes public education to do, it allows students to discover that which they wish to do and ends up creating a diverse community of graduates who are individual in their choices and professions. i too am grateful, as Emma T. said, that i go to a place where creativity is encouraged and not prohibited.

He makes another point that you can only discover something if you are prepared to be wrong. In Senior Seminar alone, we make arguments hoping to be right but preparing for Jamie and Elise to disagree in an attempt to develop the right opinion. the reason i joined Senior Seminar was so i could see the flaws in my own arguments in an attempt to make them better, and i believe that everyone else in this class is expectant to see flaws in their own insight as well.

Being able to develop your own creativity and take your learning into your own hands (like CFS allows its students to do) helps a person empower themselves in whatever way they want to be. as a senior in high school i don't view myself as an empowered member of society yet (as Katie originally stated) but i do believe that my education at friends school has helped develop my own sense of empowerment and creativity so i will be able to empower myself in society in the future. if i was forced to follow a strict path of learning and studying, i would not be the person who i am today and thus i would not be able to be an empowered member of society later. I am encouraged to find subjects in school that may differ from the norm yet that i am still passionate about. by finding my passion, i feel like i can empower myself through it and end up being an empowered and virtuous member of society.

promoting creativity and virtue--a tool belt for the future

CFS views creativity and virtue as two essential tools for solving the problems of the world. To solve a problem, we must have creative solutions and the virtue to carry them through. CFS promotes creativity and virtue by creating an environment in which it is acceptable to make mistakes. Discipline is a supportive, constructive process at CFS. Teacher/student relationships are friendly and collaborative. The staff encourages the students to take risks by trying new things and taking leadership roles. If students believe in themselves and trust that they are supported by their community, they are likely to allow their creativity to go uncensored and to try out embodying virtue, even through mistakes and failures. In this way, CFS promotes creativity and virtue, two essential tools for students to be empowered citizens of society.

Creativity is prized at Friends School. The importance of a healthy body to support a healthy mind is broadly accepted. At CFS, though, dance is celebrated for its own sake. In contrast to what Sir Ken Robinson reported about the tendency of public schools to teach only the head (and slightly to one side), Friends School tries to teach the whole body. We see this in the long lunch we are given to unwind between classes, the much disputed PE requirements, and our teachers' general willingness to let restless students leave class to stretch their legs. We at CFS also value the arts. There are certain limits because most of the students do want to earn admission to a college, which directs the curriculum to a somewhat mainstream selection of required subjects like math, science, social studies, literature and foreign language. Nevertheless, creativity is celebrated when a student finds a new way to answer a math problem, draws an impressive picture, or has a cool idea.

Friends School's mission includes the goal of teaching students that they can, and should, make a positive impact on the world. The teachers at CFS strive to teach students to appreciate the world and the people in it, and to embody virtue--bravery, fairness, generosity--as we engage in that world. From a young age, we Friends School students are taught to think not only of ourselves but also of our friends and classmates. We are told about the world, and paired with children in Afghanistan to write letters. As we grow older, we are shown a fuller picture of what goes on in the world. In the sophomore Global Citizenship Capstone class, my classmates and I were urged to consider whether our complex economic relationships with people in poverty around the world gave us a moral obligation to help them. Different students gave different responses to the question, and our discussion was dynamic. In addition to facilitating theoretical thinking about our world responsibilities, Friends School strives to inspire students to embody virtue by taking action. This is evident in service days, class raise-awareness projects like Susan's class's water bottle wall, and End of Year Trips.

Carolina Friends School provides students with an unusually supportive and engaged community. Students can reflect on the world, express themselves, and try out their virtue on trips and in clubs. Not to mention that if students are unsatisfied with the Upper School experience, we can talk to teachers or Clerks to try to change it. This is one of many ways in which CFS allows students to practice being virtuous, empowered citizens.

My own education is very different from the education that Ken Robinson suggests needs to be revolutionized. We are not taught that the sole purpose of our education is so that we can go to college, graduate with twelve degrees, and become a wealthy college professor. We are taught to take our learning into our own hands. Ours is an organic education.

In watching these videos, I felt very lucky to have received the education I did. Although many people claim that ours is a “slacker school,” it only is if you make it. I—along with everyone else in this class, and many other students—choose to make my education meaningful. We take on the difficult courses. We don’t necessarily aim “high,” but we aim towards what we want. An example from the second video that stayed with me was the story that Robinson told about the young man who wanted to be a fireman. The boy was told by a teacher that he was “throwing his life away” and that he wasn’t living up to his potential if he achieved the one thing he had dreamed of doing since childhood. Again, I feel so lucky to have been raised in a school setting where my dreams are encouraged, not rejected. What if the boy had listened to his teacher? What if every child who wanted a perfectly practical job, one necessary to the survival of a community, was shot down? Socrates argues that each person must fulfill their “should,” and by doing so, make their community virtuous and balanced. Aristotle believes that the human telos, end, is happiness, and by doing their “should,” everyone should find that happiness. These philosophers also believed in the true importance of education. This boy’s “should” was firefighting, and in fulfilling this “should,” this dream of his, he saved the life of the very teacher who told him that he was going nowhere.

Like Katie said, I don’t feel that I am developed enough—or have learned enough, yet—to be an “empowered member of society.” I do believe, however, that my education at the school that I am so grateful to attend has shaped me in a way that any other schooling would not have done. By continuing to practice the values and the virtuousness that my education has provided for me, I will become both a virtuous and empowered member of my community.

From Industrialized to Agricultural

Ken Robinson agrees with Aristotle in that education through the state is possibly the most important means to creating children of virtue and justness, therefore ultimately leading to what Aristotle believes is the most important end for humanity--happiness. But there is a major difference between the education that Aristotle and Ken Robinson believe will help these children to the ultimate end. Ken Robinson believes that our education is corrupt. He calls it an industrialized idea, where the purpose of education is to "create university professors". He says that the only belief now, that has not changed in the slightest from when it started in the 19th century, is to create humans who have two goals in mind--to learn useful subjects for work, and to be accepted entrance into universities. Robinson does not believe that schools create creativity and individuality, even though all students learn in unique and distinct ways. He mentions a great story that highlights this exact point. It is about a dancer named Gillian Lynne who is told she might have learning disabilities, just because she can't learn in the way she is taught--she learns through movement. This is the whole point of his speeches. Robinson believes there needs to be an education revolution, where the learning doesn't "dislocate from your natural talents" and the "linear process" is changed to an organic method. He wants the "fast food" method that he mentions in the second clip, in which everything is standardized, to be completely reformed and customized to every child, to give each child the support and foundation needed to dig deep and discover their own true talents, instead of teaching them only what is believed to be good or things that will be helpful in an unknown future.

I believe that everything that Ken Robinson discusses is true. Our education should be there to support us, rather than tell us what we need to learn and force that knowledge onto us. No child learns the same way as another, and through this "standardized" method, most don't have passion for learning or the diversity needed for figuring out their true passion. There is a certain lesson that each person is told throughout their life, the things that are going to help you in the future, and the things you can be passionate for even if they will bring you to a cheap and meaningless existence. If you want to survive and flourish, you must do something intelligent or meaningful (which brings us back to university professors). However, I do believe that this education, even though forced upon you without much decision on your part, will help you become virtuous and an empowered member of society.

On a personal level, Carolina Friends School is definitely a place that has a different"agricultural" community that can help a student flourish and decide what he or she wants to achieve in their future. But for personal reasons, I believe that our school talks more than it acts. This means that while there is a lot given to a student to try, there are still certain restrictions and expectations that must come with this task. You can try all you want, but the topic of acceptance or tolerance is an issue that our school, even if we say we have under control, do not. There are still certain ideals one must face day-to-day, so I do not believe that we have free range to discover our own personal talents or creativity.

On the topic of virtuousness, I do believe that CFS has taught us as much as possible, and it just depends on the individual person to either accept or deny such advice or education. We question what is right or wrong daily, in discussion in class or through social interactions, and this has helped me question circumstances that I am thrown into during my outside life. On the subject of being an empowered member of society or not, I feel that this is not really something that can be determined yet. We are still young, and trying to figure out our purpose. In this aspect, I also believe that education is a huge factor in how we determine what an "empowered member of society" means, and I believe this also determines how we decide to go about this, whether we want to or are "told to". Education is a huge factor in how we act and take part in the community around us, as well as on an individual basis and how we prepare for the unknown future ahead. If we are constricted to the "proper method of education", I believe our huge range of options are limited to only a small number: what the education system believes will help us succeed.

Third Assignment

First, everyone should watch these two talks (in this order):

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

The writing assignment (one person per group, rest of group must comment and respond):

Define the nature of your own education. How has your education helped you to become a virtuous and empowered member of society?

Two computer skills to help with Senior Sem work

First, to "annotate" (highlight, make comments, etc) to a PDF. If you have a mac, open the PDF on your computer using Preview.

Then, watch this simple video showing you how to annotate. Right at the beginning he covers highlighting and underlining, around the 2:50 mark he covers writing "notes," or comments.

Next, to get your computer to READ the readings back to you! If you have a mac and are in Safari, highlight the text you want to hear. Then right click (or press Control while you click) and go to Speech. Click Start Speaking, and walla! It will speak to you.

I find this very useful-I listen and read along and it seems to make more sense.

To adjust the pace of the reading or the voice, you can to go System Preferences.

If you are unlucky enough NOT to have a mac, you can get Microsoft Word to read to you. Open your document in word, click View, then Toolbars, the Speech, and select your speech and click Start Speaking.

I hope this helps!

PS my 86 year old grandpa will be visiting class tomorrow, and he is reading Nicomachean Ethics tonight. It is difficult for him to hear in noisy settings, FYI.

Aristotle's Ethics

Book 1 and Book 2 lays out the beginning of Aristotle's view of the relationship between ethics and politics.

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