Facebook Faith #37 Grinch Obama continued...

Cartoon by NakedPastor

A few days ago, I posted about a meme that was going around.  It complained that President Obama did not go to church on Christmas.  My friend who initially posted this was questioned as to why it mattered to her what President Obama did on Christmas, she responded:

Its Christ's birthday its an important day. If it was his daughters birthday would he forget it and play golf? Just a sign of respect from my prospective. Just food for thought this is how I was raised to have a reverence and respect of God and his son ,Jesus. Don't mean to offend some of you ,but I was raised to honor the Lords birth so this is offensive to me.

That meme, the scores of people who liked it, and her response are an example of why I spend so much time publicly resisting religion. It is not enough that many religious people enjoy their religion and get something out of it. It is not even enough that they desire other people to be part of their religion. No, like most religious people, they take it further and find offense when others do not show deference to their religion.

In their annoyance that others are not showing preference toward their spiritual predilections, they often seek to assuage this irritation by going to the courts and using legislation to make everyone else submit to their religious laws and customs.  We are seeing this presently as my home state of Utah is desperately working the courts in order to enforce religious dictums on its populace.

I would gladly leave religion alone... if it would leave me alone.  However, as Christopher Hitchens observed, this is probably too much to hope for.

 "there is a real and serious difference between me and my religious friends, and the real and serious friends are sufficiently honest to admit it. I would be quite content to go to their children's bar mitzvahs, to marvel at their Gothic cathedrals... And as it happens, I will continue to do this without insisting on the polite reciprocal condition - which is that they in turn leave me alone. But this, religion is ultimately incapable of doing."  ~Hitchens

Facebook Faith # 36 Grinch Obama

"Guess what Obama didn’t do for Christmas? Go to church. That’s right, Obama did a lot of things on the 24th and 25th, including playing golf on Christmas Eve, but he did not have time for church."

The text above accompanied this meme on my newsfeed today.  I literally sat and stared in wonder at this one for a few minutes.  I have seen a lot of bizarre religious things proclaimed this year, but this one slips in - with just 24 hours to go - as perhaps being the most idiotic statement of 2013 in the religion mixed with politics category.... and given Michelle Bachman, Ted Cruz, and  Louie Gohmert.... that is saying a lot.

In fact, it was so absurd, I thought that even the usual suspects of Pavlov conservatives would reject this. Unfortunately, when I went to the source page on Facebook - ForAmerica - I found that in 10 hours, nearly 60,000 people had liked this so far.  Combine religion with Obama-hate and the salivating will commence.

Beyond that.... the comments... oh, the comments!

• Muslims don't go to church
• Don't think Jesus is especially pleased, (we're not supposed to be anything but Christian..)
• Narcissist, sinners with messiah-complex don't feel a need for God. He'll try to lie his way out at his appointment before the judgment seat! He'll of course forget that God sees all, knows all, and has it all recorded. Poor soul.
• Prolly brought either his prayer rug, or a hammer and cicle golfing...
• he hates America and is an illegal muslim how is that news?
• if the dems get the house because idiots re-elect or the left fixes the votes again, this country is done for
• Don't get upset with him because Christmas is not a Muslim holiday.
• At least he's no longer pretending to be a Christian.
• he is a very mean person & only has one thing in mind.....To ruin our wonderful country

The President Wants To Encourage Students To Do Well... What An Outrage!!

I posted this article last year when this issue came up.  Here we go again.  My daughter had to get signed permission to view a speech from the President of the United States at school.

________________________

I try. I really want to keep an open mind when it comes to conservative politics and issues. I know that the best way usually sits between the two poles that extremists on both sides propagate.

For those of you just tuning in, next Tuesday at 11am central time, the President of the United States will be giving an address to the students of America "challenging students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning."

I have been teaching for 18 years. If ANY president (Bush, Clinton, Reagan, etc.) were doing (or had done) this, I would take the opportunity to have my students watch. This is America and the President is going to speak to our students.

No brainer right?

Not if you listened to talk radio today! Here are some highlights:

• "He's recruiting his civilian army. His 'Hitler' youth brigade,"

• "Totalitarian regimes around the world have sought to spread their propaganda and entrench their power by brainwashing the children."

• "I don't care what the heck he's going to talk about, unless he holds a teaching degree for every state, and he plans on actually TEACHING a lesson, this SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED!!!"

• "What's he going to do, tell the kids to report their parents to the Thought Police if they don't support Obamacare?"

• "It essentially tries to force kids to say the president and the presidency is inspiring, and that's very problematic,"

• “I think it's inappropriate because it smacks of political indoctrination of the worst kind,”

Oh Boy!

Many conservatives are making it REALLY hard for us would-be independents to give the republicans the time of day. Every time I think the rhetoric can't get any weirder, it goes a notch higher!

There are actually conservative groups encouraging parents to keep their kids home that day, lest they hear the President's speech!

I think Frank Schaeffer had it right... this last election broke their brains.

In all seriousness, the Republicans need to jettison the loons (especially the talk show hosts stirring them up) while there is still some respectability in the party.

Obama Continues The Myth

Last year I wrote an article about why I believe inner-city schools score more poorly than their suburban counterparts. In the article, I referenced President Bush who said he wanted to "liberate poor children trapped in failing public schools".

Now, a year later, I find President Obama is continuing to spread the ill-conceived notion that inner city schools are to blame for the educational outcomes of the kids they serve. In his state of the union address, President Obama declared that he wanted to turn "around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans!"

Stealing the future of young Americans?!! Gee, I didn't realize that was what I was doing!

As one who has taught both the wealthy and the poor, I can testify that the inner-city teachers of America's schools are not stealing anything from anybody. They pour their lives daily into children who have every disadvantage. They work hard against incredible odds, trying to beat a system that is designed to work against them. Many of the kids they serve are dealing with constant chaos at home, where their studies are not even considered. These teachers often work in communities that do not know how to support them, with legislators who are hostile to them, and with a president who insults them.

Yet when the kids walk in the classroom door, some who have been wearing the same clothes all week, they set all those realities aside and smile. Today, the teacher will again teach all that he or she can.

Race To The Top?

Race to the Top is the Obama administration's attempt to address the problems ailing American public education. But like all of the attempts previous, I believe this is going to create a lot of lingo and a flurry of activity, but will ultimately be an adventure in missing the point. Like its predecessors, this program fails to address what really ails us.

The four main points of the program are:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
  
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
  
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
  
• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

Here we see the same old failed argument - Set better standards! We need standards! This approach has been tried repeatedly and never changes anything. Simply throwing a goal into the air, but not addressing the circumstances which drives our condition does nothing but frustrate the students, parents, and teachers.

Building data systems? Allow me to translate: Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. Throughout my 19 year teaching career, I have seen a steady buildup of paperwork to be done for each child. Paperwork that ultimately ends up in a file that no one looks at, but sounds impressive when we tell school boards we are tracking it.

Rewarding teachers? Heh.... heh... heh... please! Bonuses for teachers in good areas, threats for teachers in tough areas. This is utterly pointless and will not improve a thing.

I work in an impoverished inner city area. My students come from homes with little to no education in the family, who are on their own most of the time, who often have family members with substance abuse issues or are in the penal system. I have sixth grade students who will be parents by the time they are 15 and will drop out by the 10th grade. Setting higher standards, threatening my pay, or having me fill out more paperwork on my students is not going to change the fundamental factors that are driving their educational performance.

President Obama, I expected something other than more of the same from you.

I Say NO to More School! - Teacher Perspective

Last month, I wrote a commentary about President Obama's thoughts that we, as a nation, should consider lengthening our school day and year. I spoke from a parent's perspective, since I have two elementary age children.

Now I want to look at it from a teacher's point of view. I have been teaching elementary school for 18 years and have taught to the very wealthy and the very poor. I am against adding time to our day and year. I truly feel there would be nothing to be gained by increasing our children's time in school. TIME is not really our issue. Most time in school is not being used efficiently; so to add more inefficiently used time will not provide any real growth.

In order for a student to progress at a good pace, I believe they need three things:

1. A teacher who is competent in the subject matter
2. Pre-requisite skills for the learning that is taking place
3. A commitment by the student and/or parent(s) to learn the material

Most school reform movements will address my first item, but you will NEVER hear anything about the other two. Worse yet, most school reform believes that changing the structure of the day, or the curriculum, or how we house children, or how we assess or deliver instruction will be the key. I have watched for 19 years as legislators, districts, and school boards have tweaked these items... it never delivers.

The reality is, most teachers are competent to teach their class. As much as the anti-unionists would have us believe there are scores of clock-punching lazy teachers being protected by unions, it simply isn't the case... and teachers are certainly not what is driving the condition of our schools.

I believe our largest failing pertains to pre-requisite skills. The truth is that up to two-thirds of the students in a given classroom do not belong there. The subject matter is simply too advanced or too easy for the student.

In an inner-city environment, such as I teach in now, the subject matter is too advanced. But in American schools we have a "ready-or-not, here-you-go" view of class advancement. Whether or not a student has the skills in place to move on... we move them on. Students are placed by age, rather than what skill they are ready to acquire. I have used this example before, but it would be like if I wanted to switch careers and decided to go to medical school. The registrar at the University looks at me and says, "Well, normally we would put you on a pre-med schedule to get in your sciences.... but if we did that, you would be in class with a bunch of twenty year-olds. You look like you are about 40, so why don't we put you in 2nd year medical school ... that way you would be in with classmates closer to your own age." To be on a class track that I am completely unprepared for could not be more demoralizing.

Consider also what it would be like for the professor, trying to teach surgical skills to folks who failed Biology 101 or couldn't stand the sight of blood... along with students who were ready to move on to their next year of medical school. Does that sound chaotic and wrong? In my class I have an even spread of Harry Potter readers, down to See Spot Run. My students are expected to be taught, and later tested on, the division/conversion/and reduction of mixed numbers - yet many struggle to add 13 and 7 in their head.

Anti public education folks will often point to studies that show that our students do worse the longer they are in the system. I believe this is because of our determination to advance kids by their age rather than their readiness.

I believe this also has a negative effect on my third category - student commitment. The longer a student, who is not ready, gets pushed to higher and higher levels... the more their commitment wanes. This of course brings out the misbehavior that is more and more prevalent in our classrooms. How frustrating it is to be pushed on to the next level, when you felt completely helpless in the previous one.

There needs to be a fundamental shift in the way we approach education in our schools. Simply lengthening the time in a bad system will only increase everyone's level of frustration.

I Say NO To More School! - Parent Perspective

Recently, President Obama took up the cause of extending the school year and the school day. A recent AP report said:

"Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe.

"Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go."

_____________________

I am a parent of two children, ages 11 and 8. I am also a public school teacher. I have many academic thoughts on this, but in this post today I want to speak as a parent.

I do not want my children spending ONE more second in school. Seven hours a day for 180 days is more than enough.

My children are involved in many things outside of the classroom that I deem just as important as that which is occurring within the classroom. Martial arts, theater, dance, music, and time with family and friends is sacrosanct. I will not offer any of it in trade for more time in the classroom.

I firmly believe that most of our kids are over saturated with peer socialization; much of which happens at school. Our children simply do not have enough time with adult mentorship; and as important as I think classroom teachers are, they are not mentoring 30 children. The students are mentoring each other; and it is most often a case of the blind leading the blind.

One of the greatest indicators of future stability for a child is that they have 3 or more non-custodial adults who are investing into their lives. My children have many adults who are serving as mentors, and for this I am eternally grateful. More classroom hours would undercut the precious time they have with their scout leaders, theater directors, music instructors, senseis, dance teachers, and family friends. I am not willing to sacrifice this time.

I also do not want to cut into the time that my wife and I get with our son and daughter. Children in America already spend a fraction of the time with their parents that children did a generation ago. Extending school hours would exacerbate an already troubling trend.

When my children were home-schooled, they received more education in half the time. Extending the quantity of time in school is not the solution that I want to pursue.

Parents Pay Down the Road

Well, some parents had good reason to fear Obama's education speech. They were right to try to shield their darlin's ears from what the President might say. Listen to these reactions from students:

"I didn't know [about] his dad. My dad died; it's kind of weird to have that personal connection."

"There was no hidden agenda."

"It just surprised me that he's human, you know."

The last thing reactionary parents wanted was for their children to see a president who stood in stark contrast to the strawman they have been building in their children's minds. What do you do when you have made the president out to be a madman and a demon.... and he turns out not to be??

This is why we hear so many stories of children who have radically different beliefs and politics than their parents when they move out on their own. Some of it, I believe, is a genuine difference of opinion; but often I think there is a swing reaction to discovering that your parents presented a very skewed view of reality. In their enthusiasm to "protect", parents often cross the line into exaggeration, misrepresentation, and flat out lies.

If you really desire your children to follow in your footsteps, I suggest you make those steps humble ones.

You continue to impress me Mr. President

This is one of the many reasons I voted for Barak Obama. In the following video, he respectfully extends his best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world for the month of Ramadan. He is taking us in a new direction.

Video at Youtube
HT: Bruce

Only Obama could go to the Mid-East

A superb speech and message was given by President Obama in the Middle East today. There is a long way to go, but Obama has finally pointed us in the right direction.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Christianity and Capitalism

Did you know, beginning in the late 19th century, that corporations were granted all of the rights of the individual? -but none of the annoying responsibilities. They lack, almost by design, any kind of moral compass, conscience, or compassion. Basically, corporations are a way to enact sociopathic behavior on a grand scale. In short, they are what make this country so damned great! ~Ray Wise (as the Devil)

One of the push-backs that has occurred due to the Obama administration is the Religious Right's vigorous promotion of capitalism. To read some articles and listen to some ministers (and fellow Christians), you would think that the capitalist economic format is a scriptural mandate. In their resistance to socialism, many in the Christian Right are trying to wed the economic system of capitalism to Christianity in the same way they have tried to tie certain political and social ideas to their faith. To question capitalism or endorse socialism in some churches would bring your spiritual well-being into question.

I am not a trained economist, so my opinions here are limited; but allow me to raise some issues as I see them. It would seem to me that capitalism, at its core, is opposed to the Kingdom of God. Aside from running contrary to many of the economic edicts laid forth in scripture, capitalism makes use of tendencies we are supposed to guard against. It calls us to be first, rather than last. It wants us to be dissatisfied rather than content. It encourages acquisition instead of giving.

So, where do I stand? I think the old axim - Capitalism is the worst system on earth... except for all of the others... - has some truth to it. However, it needs to be critiqued rather than embraced. Capitalism can be very powerful and produces a lot of prosperity for many individuals; but I believe much of its success is because it uses sin as its engine. As a people of faith, we should be suspicious of it rather than endorsing it.

Obama does not "get it" with Education

I was listening to President Obama talk about his education plans on CNN today. I was distressed because, as high as my hopes were for him, he seems to regurgitate the bullet points I heard from the previous administration. He bemoaned our scores in the international standings. Then he pronounced how we are going to turn this around - get quality teachers in the classrooms.

President Obama seems to believe that we can raise scores by attacking our perceived problems at the teacher level. This will fail, because our scores are NOT being driven by teachers.

I have been teaching for 18 years. Here is the truth as I see it: You can put a motivated student in with mediocre teachers for years and at the other end, the student will have made good gains. Conversely, you can put an unmotivated student in with the most talented of teachers and a few years later the student will have made minimal gains. If we put (to use No Child Left Behind logic) above average teachers in every classroom in America, I believe we would see negligible change.

I am a perfect example. Up until my tenth grade year, I was a poor student. I never made a grade above C. I just didn't feel like doing the work. When I turned it around and committed to work, I became a solid A/B student. My scores did not improve because a teacher taught harder, or better, or longer. My scores changed when I decided they would.

I really wish that my students' outcomes were solely dependent on me, but they are not. If we, as a nation, desire different results then we will need to address the situation a little more honestly. Attacking the problem at the teacher level will yield no real difference, and will give us a very frustrated teaching workforce.

If you haven't seen it yet....

I wish I could say that this is a total spoof; but if you hang in Christian circles at all.... you know someone who thinks like this!!!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Unusual Suspect

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Amazing Inauguration Pictures

Boston.com captured yesterday beautifully.
Go check it out here.

HT:Mike

Congratulations President Obama!

It is a great day for the USA. It is a great day for the world. A statesman has reached the oval office and a new generation moves into its place in history.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."

"We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people. Yes we can."

"In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?"

"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America."

"But today I'd like to talk about the connection between religion and politics and perhaps offer some thoughts about how we can sort through some of the often bitter arguments that we've been seeing over the last several years.
I do so because, as you all know, we can affirm the importance of poverty in the Bible; and we can raise up and pass out this Covenant for a New America. We can talk to the press, and we can discuss the religious call to address poverty and environmental stewardship all we want, but it won't have an impact unless we tackle head-on the mutual suspicion that sometimes exists between religious America and secular America."

"if we don't reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, then the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons and Alan Keyeses will continue to hold sway."

"Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all."

"We are the ones we have been waiting for."

Where do the Republicans go next?

This morning as I headed to work, I was listening to Bob Lonsberry, our morning radio host on KNRS. Bob is conservative through and through, but he was mentioning that he liked a lot of what Barack Obama had to say at his victory speech last night. Lonsberry also said that, though he was a McCain man, Obama is now the President and it will be good for all Americans if he is a successful one.

Contrast that attitude to Sean Hannity, who was stating today that Obama only got elected through deception and would never have been voted in if he told people what he really thought. Mr. Hannity made prediction after prediction of an Obama presidency bringing gloom and doom.

This contrast was also apparent at McCain's gracious concession speech. As he talked about wishing Obama well and declaring his support, there were boos from the audience. Patiently, McCain tried to redirect some of his supporters to the bigger picture.

This contrast, I believe, is why the Republicans are losing and will continue to lose in the near future. There is a large faction of the Republican party that puts everything in black or white, us vs. them, with us or against us rhetoric. They are not interested in dialoging with their opponents because the opponent, by definition, brings nothing worthwhile to the table. Opponents are the enemy.

I have talked to a number of lifelong Republicans who cast their first vote for a Democrat yesterday. They feel their party has been shanghaied by the ignorant and the abrasive. I agree with them. I believe there are many intelligent, reasonable people in the Republican party, but they are not the ones being heard. The face of the Republican party is becoming the loudmouthed, education dismissive, media paranoid, rumor perpetuating simpleton who shouts down whomever does not capitulate to his or her view. This camp includes the end-time focused religious fanatics, who are trying to work out biblically why Obama may be the anti-Christ.

Reasonable Republicans are losing the ability to anchor anywhere ... and therefore find themselves just looking at who is the most genuine and able candidate, rather than being loyal to a party.

Hmmmm ... actually.... I think that is where we all should be.

Happy Election Day

For all of you American readers out there, I wish you a happy election day! It will be a tight one this evening and who knows which way the wind may blow.

In any case, tomorrow we will have a new president elect. Regardless of who wins, we will have a peaceful and civil transfer of power come January. This makes me proud of our country! May both candidates and their families have a wonderful evening ... come what may.

Replay of Obama in Berlin

If you are still wavering between presidential candidates, take a look at Obama's speech in Germany. This is a man who can speak to the World.



HT: Igneous Quill

Obama's 30 Minutes

For those who have not seen it yet....

James Dobson's Vision of Hope

With every new stunt that James Dobson pulls, my wife reminds me, "Yes, but he does so many good things for children and marriages." I can't accept that trade off anymore.

I find it hard to hold my tongue. Most critical speech just pleasures the speaker, but does little to affect the opinions of others. When does one speak? That is the question.

So let me just say this: James Dobson - Your "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America", in my opinion, is filth. I would spend more blog space on this, but Jim Wallis put my thoughts much better and more calmly in his response.

I wonder if, when 2012 comes and your letter is proved by history to be a slanderous, fear invoking, godless diatribe ... will you then repent and apologize??

I won't hold my breath in hope.... but we'll see you in four years.