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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the Morse v.
As information becomes available, consider the following issues in your own deliberations on the case:
Could this case set precedent for public school officials having control over non-school spaces and public forums? (Can a school discipline a student or teacher for writings on a personal Web site?)
If you are interested in doing more research on this topic, check out my other blogspot on First Amendment Love = http://firstamendmentlove.blogspot.com/
Here’s another film I highly recommend. It is a thinking movie that fiction lover’s will appreciate, yet it will also keep the average viewer entertained and enthusiastic. The published reviews have commented favorably on its low-key nature, the GUI special effects, and the casting choices (though Queen Latifah just doesn’t do it for me in her role). Beyond the thoughtful storyline, what works most for me is a cast of characters that includes a blocked writer (Emma Thompson), a tax auditor (Will Ferrell), and a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) who thinks he knows everything. Oh, and of course there is also the econo-anarchistic baker who only pays the income taxes that go to the initiatives of which she approves (Maggie Gyllenhaal). By the way, her character also dropped out of Harvard Law because she was too busy keeping up the morale of her study group by baking cookies. You have to appreciate the social message there. If you view the film, note the math names and the absurd locker room shower scene. 
Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women’s Liberation Movement
A History of Women: From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints
A History of Women: Silences of the Middle Ages
A History of Women: Renaissance and Enlightenment Paradoxes
A History of Women: Emerging Feminism from Revolution to World War
A History of Women: Toward a Cultural Identity in the Twentieth Century
Born for
The Women’s History of the World
Everyone Was Brave: A History of Feminism in
Herstory: Women Who Changed the World
Feminist Theorists: Three Centuries of Key Women Theorists
The Female Experience: An American Documentary
A Century of Struggle: The Women’s Rights Movement in the
A Heritage of Her Own: Toward a New Social History of American Women
The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women’s Liberation
Root of Bitterness: Documents of the Social History of American Women
Judith, Sexual Warrior: Women and Power in Western Culture
The Feminist Papers
Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future
Our Bodies, Ourselves
Suffragettes to She-Devils
100 Women Writers and Journalists
Uppity women of the Renaissance
Uppity Women of Ancient Times
Uppity Women of the
100 Women Artists
100 Women Healers and Scientists
Norton Anthology of Literature by Women
I couldn't sleep a wink last night, so I just got up and watched a video. Yeah, NetFlix! The title I've been trying to find time to finish is The U.S. vs John Lennon. Although the major reviews have been fairly lukewarm at best, it was an entertaining historical walk in the middle of the night. For anyone interested in the counterculture and political activism of the 60s and early 70s, this film will refresh your memory of events and a bit of the music of the era. But, you might want to use those rememories as a place to check your facts and the full picture once again. USvJL doesn't proclaim to be unbiased, nor does it vow to be thorough. It's just a short doc film. What can a director do in less than 2 hours? It presents a plethora of talking heads, well-placed snippets of Lennon's musical genius, and eerily strong parallels between the Vietnam War era of government infringement upon civil liberties and our current administration. In fact, there's a line near the end of the film that's a clear FU to the current Bush. Although I would agree in political view, it was unnecessary in this film (and may have eroded the authoritative tone).
I'm having a little remodeling done on my basement right now. I'm doing this for a variety of reasons -- mostly to increase the value of my house. More room for bookshelves and creativity play. It was such a daunting process at first -- too many decisions, too many phone calls. Now that it has actually gotten underway, it's really cool. The guys (and sub-contractors) doing the job are really great about working around my schedule. And, they clean up the dust every day, too!! It's been so nice to come home to the smell of freshly-cut wood. Oh, and they let the dogs out during the day. The girls love that.
This is an incredibly painful post for me to write. I was told this afternoon that my school (a long-standing alternative program) will need to cut a 50% allocation in our English Department for next year. Our population numbers have not changed, the need for graduation credits in English has not changed, the type of students my alternative program serves has not changed (at least not for the better). My district simply cannot afford to offer our students the same sort of alternative education any longer.
Although I am not the instructor with the least amount of seniority, it feels like a huge blow to me. Although it is not my position this year, next year it may be. For now, I may lose a colleague dear to me. Our students may lose the intellectual expertise of an amazing professional. As public education formulas and state revenue caps continue to strangle our districts, our department offerings will change and become more regimented and standardized. Special programming that our students need to succeed will be reduced. Our current system of best practice will alter to focus only on teaching the basics. Our already-marginalized students may not be prepared for a future with multiple possibilities. Our district will no longer have an “academic” alternative program. The message to our children is that they don’t deserve alternatives, quality, or best practice.
When a district begins to cut allocation in core curricular areas, it may be time to just eliminate public education altogether. Perhaps that is what the men in charge have wanted all along.
