Tuesday, October 30, 2007

My 1st Political Post

Some say that America is an increasingly politically polarized nation, and there is some truth to that. But there are still a lot more independents and people who are much more complex in their views of politics, not just "liberal" or "conservative". As I have said before, while I identify myself as a liberal with some libertarianism on personal issues, I am a registered independent and try to keep an open mind to all types of viewpoints.

I think the true polarization in America is in Washington. To get most any job, it feels like you have to have some type of allegiance to a party or ideology (Kyle Sampson or Monica Goodling anyone?). There are an increasing number of media outlets that cater to a specific perspective (redstate.org, DailyKos for example). There are every liberal and conservative children's books. I suppose liberal (blue state)/conservative (red state) is a good way to divide the nation up into two groups if you had to. But you don't. And the media, more often than not, falls prey to this notion of a truly polarized US.

This perception of American has now even spread overseas. The Daily Telegraph has come up with 2 lists: the top 100 most influential American liberals, and the top 100 most influential American conservatives. So far, they have only published 100-61 in each, and will publish the rest later this week. I must admit, they are interesting to look at, and I will be interested who tops the list. However, it is a little troubling to see England falling prey to the polarization view of the US.

Dropout Factories and the Achievement Gap

So 1 and 10 out of every high schools in the country are dropout factories, meaning that at least 60 percent of students who enter high school as a freshmen drops out before they can graduate. I supposed for many, this would seem as a major shock. But sadly, for individuals who study education policy, it isn't that surprising.

The article I have linked to doesn't just get into dropout rates, but briefly delves into multiple problems that pretty much indicate the poor quality of public education in the United States today. These include poor test scores for minorities, the traditional lack of value for education in the South, the troubling correlation between poverty and academic failure, the poor quality of GED programs, and so on. All of these, of course, are just pieces of what makes up the great American education problem of our time, the achievement gap.

I have been studying education for a year and a half now, and trying to learn as much about the achievement gap as possible. I have also been looking at several different articles, blogs, etc. that try to come up with policies to solve it. So far, I am no closer to coming up with an answer. I am not sure most education policy experts are either. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. What the hell do we do about this?

Monday, October 29, 2007

To be the parent of a Special Needs Child

This is from the Special Education Law Blog (SELB) that is both touching and true. It is one of the first education blogs I ever read, and continue to read. The blog is put out by the parents of a special needs child. The father, Charles Fox, happens to be a lawyer representing parents of special needs children. This particular post is from the mother, Lori Fox. It makes me want to do a good job whenever I finally enter the classroom as a special education teacher.

My Favorite quote:

"There is history, there is always history of one kind or another, and sometimes you can learn from it, and sometimes the inconsistency is mindnumbing, but there are always heroes. Sometimes they are therapists, sometimes they are family, sometimes they are the friends who accept your child for who he or she is, and sometimes, yes, sometimes, they are even school people, but always, always, always, they are your children."

Timing of Posts

For now on, I will try to do a better job of getting posts published on a more timely basis. I am a very busy guy with a part-time job, school, and other personal responsibilities to look after. But I will try to publish at least once a day (although I make no promises). I took so long with my last post because it is a general introduction to what I hope my blog to represent. It required me to write a lot more than I normally would, and I wanted to get it out of the way before I do anymore posting.

About "The (un)Reasonable Missourian"

The title of the blog, as you can probably tell, comes from the corresponding quote by writer George Bernard Shaw. It comes from his drama, Man and Superman (1903), but I originally saw this quote in the previews of the documentary An Unreasonable Man, about Ralph Nader. Despite whatever role he may or may not have played in President Bush's election in 2000, Nader has probably had the greatest influence on my political interest and activism of any figure alive. As the quote infers, the unreasonable man is an idealist and someone who is best suited for bringing about progress. I consider myself both an idealist and a progressive: I believe that society can always do something to improve itself, fight that which is truly unjust, and strive for a more perfect world (whatever that may look like).

However, because I am an "unreasonable man", so to speak, does not mean I don't actually believe in "reason" or "logic". On the contrary, I believe that reason, meaning "the capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought; intelligence" is necessary for every human being to survive and thrive. While I am not that religious, I would even go as far to say that the complexity of a rational mind is God's gift to mankind, and it is our responsibility to use it for good. This means that we as human beings must always strive to be better learners (instead of simple and complacent); we must always be willing to be skeptical in the face of the illogical (instead of acting like a sheep or a fundamentalist); and we must use the knowledge we acquire for the betterment the world we live in (instead of for selfish or destructive purposes).

Some might say that what I am describing is a contradiction. While I could probably have a better title than this one (I've never been good with titles), I stand by it. I believe that the "unreasonable" man and "reasonable" man (as described above) complement each other. Simply put, one cannot be a virtuous person unless he or she properly uses the most important gift God has given them as a human: their brain.

This is partially why I have decided to become a special education teacher. I know that without accommodations and the extra assistance of special education teachers, I would have never made it to college. There are many other students in schools all across the country who, like me, need that extra help in order to thrive. I have decided to use my personal experiences as a special education student, as well as the knowledge I am currently gaining in my education program, to eventually help those students who also need that extra assistance. It is an injustice whenever a child is not able to reach their full potential in school. Such a child is truly left behind (both in academics and in life).

There is a lot of uncertainty about how I think my blog will look. I anticipate that it will evolve over time, and go places that I currently cannot imagine. But I do have an idea of how I see it initially looking. While I will not give a lot of details into my own personal life (see prior post for reasons of my anonymity), I will periodically give some insight into who I am. I will also have some posts that share topics I find fun or interesting (i.e. sports, comedy, movies, pop culture, etc.).

Primarily though, The (un)Reasonable Missourian will be an analysis of the ideas and issues surrounding two great passions of mine: education and politics. My own views on these topics will hopefully reflect both my idealism and passion for progress ("the unreasonable" side), as well as my belief in logical reflection and analysis (the complementing "reasonable" side). I encourage others who end up reading my blog to add their own thoughts, whether it be through commenting on a post, or emailing me personally. I don't want the exchange of ideas to merely be one-sided because, the world is a better place when ideas are freely exchanged. As George Bernard Shaw also once said:

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Hello and Welcome to my Blog!

I am delighted for everyone who is reading my blog right now, or who will be reading it in the future. Creating a blog is something that I have wanted to do for a while now, ever since I started reading blogs a couple of years ago. I started off reading mainly political blogs, but as I got into my studies in Education, I started reading more blogs by teachers and education policy experts. I hope this blog will be a good mix of both education and politics, as well as other areas that interest me. More on that in my next post.

First, I would like to give some background information on myself. As the blog name indicates, I am a Missourian: born, raised, and still a resident. I have attended two colleges, one where I received a degree in Political Science, and the other where I am currently pursing state certification in Special Education. I attained the Political Science degree because politics has always been a great passion of mine. So why a Special Education teacher? I have many reasons for pursuing this career: some practical, but mainly personal. Not only have I worked with special education children before (and felt a deep sense of accomplishment because of it), but I also have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and lived my entire life as a special education student. I know what it is like to be in the shoes of students who need extra help in order to achieve their full potential in school. Simply, I want to help be their guide in reaching that potential.

Some other pieces of information on me:

Politics: While I always try to keep an open mind to politics and policy , I personally am pretty liberal, with some libertarianism on personal issues. Despite my strong liberalism, I am a registered independent, and don‘t plan on joining a party anytime soon.

Religion: While I belong to a mainline Protestant church, I would more appropriately be described as a “Unitarian Christian” based upon my own personal beliefs.

Sports: While I am not a sports fanatic, I am a fan. This is especially true for the St. Louis Cardinals in baseball and the Missouri Tigers in football.

Also: I am a news junkie, I am a BIG movie buff, I enjoy almost all types of music, I love almost anything that is on either HBO or Comedy Central, and I love my girlfriend very much!!!

There is lots of other information I could share about myself but won't. This is because I posting on this blog anonymously, and need to limit the details of my life to a certain extent. As a future teacher, I do not want any comments I have maid to come back and, well, bite me in the ass (many parents, students, and administrators know how to Google). I want to be as open and honest about my beliefs, and I want the exchange of ideas between me and other readers to be as free as possible. I will give details about my life here and there as I deem appropriate, and I do not rule out the possibility that one day, I may decide to reveal my identity. Until that day, call me Mr. S.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Hello

Just a quick hello and a promise I will add some content to this blog very shortly. I am in a bit of a rush so I can't say much more. Thanks for the understanding!