Teaching as Shaping (and Listening)

Finkel's point (page 8) that good teachers "shape" the environment is an interesting one; how many teachers have you had that did nothing to really shape the environment of the classroom?

If you know me, you probably have guessed that I have a bias. I believe that good communication is more about listening than speaking. And Finkel does, too (page 9).

How many of us actively listen to our students? How do we demonstrate that we're listening? I had a professor that always came to class with a legal pad. It was a seminar class, and although he sat at the front of the room (actually, the head of the table), he let the class do most of the talking. And when we spoke, he acted like he was learning from us. He took more notes than anyone in the class, and it modeled his belief that what we said mattered.

I will never forget Dr. Guzlowski for that. He's retired now, but you might be interested in hearing one of his poems -- read by Garrison Keiller himself:

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2007/12/28

Morality and Economics

Is coal really the "the liver of Mother Earth"?

I may be too white to understand that line of thinking, but I'm not too white to agree that we must start infusing some morality into our capitalist system.

Judith Nies' "The Black Mesa Syndrome" (pages 117-128) provides a sickening historical account. Basically, $100 billion dollars in coal is hiding under the ground -- ground controlled by Indians. Nevertheless, what the white man gives, he also takes away (as soon as he finds out its worth something).

Lawyer John Boyden plays the villian in this story, and I have no doubt that he thought he was doing the "right thing" by representing both the interests of the Hopi and Peabody. Of course, he got richly rewarded for doing the right thing, to the tune of at least 2.7 million dollars.

And after all, isn't this a question of "greater good"? Who cares what happens to a few thousand Indians if white capitalists get stinking rich, and if Phoenix and Las Vegas get the energy and water they need?

And one final question: Why are megacities allowed to exist in deserts? How stupid are we to have allowed this to happen?

For more on this story, the following links might be useful:

http://www.blackmesais.org/

www.sheepdognationrocks.blogspot.com/

The Global Warming Experience

One possible problem with Rush Limbaugh is: he talks about things of which he has no direct experience.

Charles Wohlforth's "On Thin Ice" (pages 107-116) goes to the source, the Inupiat. These are the Eskimos of the Barrow, Alaska region, and they are the ones with direct experience as it pertains to global warming.

There's a difference between first-year ice and multi-year ice: only the latter can support a whale carcass. And as the nature of ice continues to change, the fact is, a people's way of life will have to change as well.

People adapt, even Eskimos believe it or not, and it's interesting to read about what some consider to be "true whaling." What the Inupiat have that hopefully will never change is a deep respect for the environment of which they are apart.