No Limits, No Consequences, No Way!

Remember that kid who seemed to have everything, that kid whose parents never said, “no”? Maybe you met on the playground, in class, at camp, or in the neighborhood. Were you jealous of that child? Did you think that child was spoiled? Some of these kids were aware of their wealth, while others seemed oblivious.

Did you also encounter the kid who behaved as if the rules were only for other people? This child acted as if nothing was out of bounds. Some of these kids really didn’t get the idea of consequences, but some didn’t care. Some of them were right! Their parents never said, “no.” Did you have a classmate, work colleague, or neighbor who was able to break the rules and always get away with it?

Sometimes, these kids without limits ruled recess. They gathered a group who would join them on their exploits and pick up their leavings. These followers were wannabes, flatterers, and fans worshiping someone who lived the life they wanted.

What would it be like to have limitless resources? No price would be too high. Nothing would be forbidden. What would it be like to be able to do whatever you wanted, regardless of any rules or results?

If everything is available and disposable, does anything have value? If I am never held accountable for my choices, do I believe the ideas of right or wrong apply to me? These kids certainly understood that the way the world treated them was not true for everyone. That made them special – and they knew it and exploited it.

At a reunion or in the grocery store or sometime later in life, have you run into those special kids? How did they grow up? What kind of adults did they become? Did they embrace limits? Did they become law-abiding good citizens? Or did something else happen?

Although I swam in wealthy waters as a child, my eyes were really opened to this phenomenon in college. It was the first time I met people whose resources were unlimited – and knew it. Although I knew more than a few rebels without a clue in high school, college was also the first time I heard someone refer to laws as “guidelines for idiots.”

What happens when nothing has value because everything can be replaced? What happens to our sense of responsibility when we know we are above the law and no one will dare to call us out? What do we become?

As a teacher, I saw the results of parents who provided limitlessly. I dealt with students whose parents worked very hard to prevent their children from ever feeling the negative results of their choices. Many times, these students had long-term negative ramifications. I was not going to imitate those parents and I didn’t want my children to be like theirs.

Who are those people? I remember exploring the idea of the golden rule with a group of students. One student complained that when he treated another student harshly, it would NOT have bothered him. The other student was just a sensitive wimp. He was treating someone the way he wouldn’t mind being treated. In other words, he projected his values onto the other person: if it isn’t wrong for me to do it, then someone else shouldn’t perceive it as wrong. He couldn’t see it from the other person’s perspective. It wasn’t his problem; it was the other kid’s issue. He, of course, was beyond reproach.

It was this experience that led me to develop what I called the platinum rule: treat others BETTER than you would like to be treated. I don’t know if this would have had an impact on that particular student, but I hope it might have opened up a new way of thinking.

We might wish for limitlessness and far-reaching power, but our inner voice quickly whispers “Monkey’s Paw” warnings. Yet, if the genie always gives you unlimited wishes, why would you wish for world peace? You have never seen a world of strife or need. Would you instead keep wishing to be the biggest, baddest, best, and most powerful person that walked on the planet? More, more, more! Would you care about (or even be aware of) the suffering and unfortunate or would you focus on retribution against anyone who ever dared to burst your bubble?

If I can get whatever I want, very little has value – including relationships and people. If I can do whatever I want, then any obstacle, rule, or restriction is a personal offense. It is a slap in the face from a disrespectful and offensive person and cannot be endured. Yet, if I can purchase anything and get away with everything, then what do I strive for?

Power. You might seek to fill an increasingly deep cavern of desire for satisfaction, novelty, and control. You can have anything anyone else can have and will never be limited by the restrictions that hold back mere mortals. You want what the average folks could never have. You buy politicians, public office, celebrity, and notoriety.

Most of us don’t live in that world. Our limits are all too real. If we really had no limits or consequences, we hope we’d would not become the spoiled and self-centered brat. We might be right. But if you have any real integrity at all, your little inner voice might express doubt and concern. That’s a good thing! That says you have a functioning conscience and some degree of empathy.

Let’s make sure that those who lack that inner voice, who have been disfigured by wealth and power, who see no limits and feel no consequences are never in positions where the rest of us are their pawns and playthings. They will not treat us well.

COVID Peek-A-Boo: I Don’t See You!

Remember learning about a baby’s conception of object permanence? They are only aware of things when those things are in sight. Hide them, and to the baby, they no longer exist. It is a sign of developmental growth when an infant will search for an object that it can no longer see. 

I think many Americans lack COVID permanence. They believe that, if they can’t see COVID right now, it isn’t here. If they close their eyes and minds to the situation, the situation will magically conform to their version of reality. 

Tell it to the virus!

I am shocked by the number of people who are going about their lives as if there is no virus, as if the entire pandemic is over and they are free and clear. The numbers are going up. The flu is very much present and hospitals are full of people, mostly children, with RSV, another contagious virus. It would seem that additional precautions are more than warranted. 

Nope! Eyes closed! I don’t see it! It isn’t there. I’m just fine! 

I shouldn’t be surprised. This has been an issue since the beginning of the pandemic, 1000 days ago. Humans in general, but Americans in particular, are shockingly good at fooling themselves into believing what they want to believe, even when it is painfully clear that they are living in a fantasy. 

Who won the 2020 election? Depends on if you subscribe to the real world or not. What must be done to combat climate change? Nothing if your head is buried in the sand while your behind is blowing in a hurricane! Racism? Playing the victim should be a new board game! Shall I go on? 

Some areas in the United States are moving indoors now. It has been more than a month since anyone could even entertain the thought of dining outdoors where I live. Thanksgiving events served more than turkey and stuffing. Families do what all families do: whatever they get, they share – and then they share it with the folks in the bus, plane, mall, and elevator! Tis the season of giving everyone the virus! 

In the areas of the United States where outdoor dining is still possible, the denial is so strong that their hospitals are shipping sick folks to colder places! People don’t want their so-called freedoms restrained, but are more than willing to use those freedoms to sicken their neighbors. 

And your conspiracy folks? They have moved into peek-a-boo eyes closed land. They know, somewhere not so deep down, that these fictions are just that. This is why any attempt to question or examine them leads down a never-ending spiral of evidence-free hypothetical speculation. They have fallen in love with object impermanence and will fight for their freedom to live in fantasyland. 

While that might have been okay in the past, now too many people’s refusal to grow up, put on big people’s pants, and address the problems facing all of us has become another one of the problems facing all of us. COVID, climate change, racism, election integrity, and so many other problems threaten all of us – but only some of us are actively working to address them. 

That part isn’t new. There have always been a small number of selfish and immature children who masquerade as adults - and now they are recruiting. They have decided that their game of peek-a-boo is a virtue, a right, and a fact. They are incensed over anyone’s attempts to acknowledge reality and protect all of us, seek justice, or save ourselves and our planet. 

But we see you! COVID is still here. Climate change is humanity’s greatest threat, and the movement toward a more equitable and just society is unstoppable. You can pretend otherwise, but that is all it is –make-believe. 

Reality doesn’t bend to your belief or acceptance. Reality doesn’t care about your freedoms or rights. Reality doesn’t play peek-a-boo. 

And reality is coming for you! 

When You Say You Are Voting Based on the Economy, What You Are Really Saying Is…

Saying you are voting on Tuesday based on your concerns about the economy is really really a way to avoid saying you are voting for other issues that you might not want to admit because voting for Republicans is not going to improve the economy. 

How could you vote for people who condone political violence? The attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was an attempted political assassination. Countless Republicans have made light of it, spread absurd conspiracy theories, and even openly celebrated it. This is more than a lack of empathy, it is an acknowledgment that they approve of political violence. Since January 6th, that should not be a surprise. 

Aren’t they supposed to be the anti-crime party? They have done nothing to ensure the safety of kids in classrooms? They have prevented legislation that would stop dangerous people from getting guns and defended people who used them to kill. They protect people who kill as long as they didn’t like those who were murdered. Violence is never good for the economy. 

The real reasons for our economic issues are more complex than our current political leaders. One major driver is the continuing effect of the COVID pandemic. Did the Republicans handle COVID well while they were in office? How much of our current situation is due to their choices while in power? 

Another major economic issue is the current war in Ukraine. The war’s effects on energy and food prices are being felt all over the world – but most powerful in Ukraine itself. Republicans have made it quite clear that they think we are doing too much for Ukraine and want to reduce our support. We know that some Republicans have a crush on Putin. Would further war and bloodshed in Ukraine make everyone safer and more prosperous? 

How could people vote for candidates who are unqualified for the positions for which they are running? Candidates who can’t answer questions, recently moved into the areas they are running to represent, and have problematic and disturbing pasts will not make strong leaders. Please judge a party by the company it keeps. If these weak candidates are elected, will they have the skill to move the economy forward – or move anything forward? 

What about the hate speech, racism, Anti-Semitism, phobias of all kinds, white nationalism, and religious extremism? When asked to wear a mask to protect their neighbors, they cried, “my body, my choice,” and now they will not extend that “right” to women. A race-based theocracy will not create more jobs or reduce costs, although it might make the trains run on time. 

And will these candidates concede if they lose? What about their allies who are now running some of these elections? Many still cling to the lie that the last election was not legitimate, even though the same ballots they contest for one office, they accept for others! This kind of election denial could create dangerous chaos! 

Of course, voting based on personal (selfish) economic interests is an American tradition: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Nope, let’s rephrase that, in 2022, it is stupid to believe that people are really doing that. They are condoning and supporting a party that continues to threaten our economy, democracy, and way of life.  However you read the economic tea leaves, it is clear that those who say that the economy is their main issue are really supporting a dangerous agenda: it will worsen the economy –and it will diminish and degrade America.   

The Kind of Person You Are!

You are a good person. You are a person of integrity and strong beliefs. You are a person who is thoughtful and emotionally aware. Sometimes, you get angry. Sometimes, you are disappointed and feel like this country is heading down the wrong path. 

You are not racist, sexist, or any of those things. You work hard to be fair and keep an open mind. You admit that you sometimes judge people, but that is a normal human response. What counts is how you judge - not based on skin color or wealth or religion or any of those things, but on how people function as human beings. 

While you are subject to the whims and impulses that flesh is heir to, you consider yourself logical. You may not be Mr. Spock, but you are reasonable and rational. You consider a situation carefully and look closely at the details, facts, and history before rendering an opinion. 

You are not afraid to admit when you are wrong or to change your point of view when you learn new things. Like many of us, you dislike changing your opinion, but you see it as a sign of growth. 

You see disagreement as a way to discover more about other people and enhance your understanding of them and the world. Such conversations are opportunities to deepen both the relationships and your own perceptions. 

Fairness and consistency are critical. While there are rules that are wrong, for the most part, rules should be obeyed and those who do not obey them should face consequences. Although there are people who feel like they are so special that they should have the right to walk over everyone and do whatever they want, rules should apply to everyone the same way. You have worked hard to be an evenhanded person when dispensing this kind of justice and, although sometimes begrudgingly, accepted it when it was your turn to receive it. 

The only way any of us moves forward is to help one another. You believe in charity, giving, and being your brothers’ and sisters’ helper. People have reached out to you when you needed it and you do your best to pay that forward. 

You stand by your promises. You do what you say you are going to do. You have little respect for those who talk a lot and do very little. You believe that there are obligations that we must fulfill, whether it is to our family, community, nation, or the world at large. Sometimes, you have had to remind people that everything is not just about them! 

Your sense of yourself is not bound up in any one particular thing. You have strong philosophical beliefs, but you are more than that. Your family connections are very important, but that is not all there is to you. You are complex. 

You do not respect people who take advantage of the weak, old, or vulnerable. You will not be scared into decisions or let fear drive your choices. You do not like cheaters, spoiled sports, or bullies. Those who work hard should reap the fruits of their labor while the lazy, entitled, and selfish should not be allowed to profit from others’ efforts. 

You work hard to be honest with yourself. Sometimes, you excuse bad behavior of those you like or are critical of good acts of those you find objectionable, but even as you do this, you realize it is not consistent with how you see yourself. You would not want to be judged that way. 

You are practical. You rarely engage in flights of fancy, except perhaps as a mental exercise or an occasional lark. You believe that the simplest and most straightforward explanations are usually correct and when people have to twist themselves into pretzels to justify or explain something, you are suspicious. 

Sometimes you have trouble trusting people. You want to believe that people are naturally good, but that doesn’t fit with all you have experienced. You agree that most people want to be good, but don’t always make good choices for a variety of reasons. You can forgive some of them, sometimes. Forgiving is one thing, but it doesn’t mean that you allow yourself to be duped or conned. 

When you were younger, you would sometimes say and do things to get the approval of your friends or authorities, even when you did not agree with them. You recognize that this is also a normal and human thing to do, but as an adult, you do not conform with the majority when it is not authentic. You are willing to champion an unpopular view when you believe in it and you resist yielding to social pressure.

You would make a good judge. You weigh facts before making decisions. You are slow to anger. You try to see things from the other person’s point of view. The world is not just good and bad, near and far, rich and poor, but is far more complicated. 

When your heroes and leaders reveal their feet of clay, you are disappointed, but not surprised.  You feel uplifted when they make things better, and like a disheartened parent, are saddened when they behave badly. But they, like all of us, should face the consequences of our choices. You strongly believe that no one is above that. No one has the right to get away with misdeeds. No one, you insist, is above the law. That would be unfair and would cause or society to collapse. 

Of course, there are people who think the rules do not apply to them. You have encountered these people too frequently. You pity them as much as dislike them. While it isn’t usually your job to remind them that they are human, too, you have taken perhaps too much pleasure in knocking some of them down a peg or two. 

You vote. You pay your taxes. You obey the laws. You go to the courthouse when you are called for jury duty. You are a good citizen. You believe that we all should support our communities. 

You are charitable. You give to the poor, sick, and those who have had bad luck. You hope you will never be on the other side of that, but you hope that, if you were ever in need, people would help you. 

You could never support a candidate for office who you knew to be cheating, lying, or hurting people. That would not be consistent with who you are. You would never give your backing to someone who was selfish, spoiled, or hateful.  You would not turn your back to all you are and all you hold dear to follow a seductive smooth-talking charlatan! You are not a sucker or a hypocrite! You wouldn’t be able to face yourself in the mirror if you did. 

Watch Out Parents: Big Conservative is Not Just Coming After Teachers and Librarians

We need to talk about how you are interacting with your children at home. What are you teaching them? How are you modeling well? Are you making the right choices - the best choices? Would your legislators and political leaders approve of how you are raising your children? Do you talk about CRT? Are you too accepting of gender non-conforming behavior or ideas? Would you allow your child to use they/them pronouns? If so, Big Conservative might knock on your door for this kind of thought crime. 

We hear about parents’ choice. That is the rationale for a slew of censorship across more than a dozen states. However, which parents? What choices? For the most part, these book-banning (and sometimes burning) movements are aligned with a far wrong wing political agenda. They do not reflect ALL parents’ choices, just a specific conservative religious and usually white one.  

So this isn’t just about parents having a say in what their kids read in school. This is about ideologues having control over your children’s educations. Teachers and librarians were the first to experience this intense scrutiny and vitriol, but this movement will not end with them. 

You may think, what I teach my children in my own home is not anyone’s business but my own – and you would be right as long as what you were doing was aligned with Big Conservative. But if it is not, your behavior might be labeled child abuse and you as a negligent parent. 

Several states banned children who identify as a gender other than the one assigned at birth from receiving any interventions. They criminalized the act of assisting these children from even exploring anything beyond their gender at birth – even if their parents did it! 

So if you are looking at teachers and librarians and thinking, just pick less controversial texts, just make your lessons about the subject area and not about social issues, know this: that same message will be tailored for parents who don’t agree with the censors and extremists. 

Let’s go one step further: How will these wrong wing censors know you are veering away from their prescribed curriculum? Your children will tell them. The idea that children would “turn in” their parents was common in totalitarian and fascist regimes. Whether it was the Hitler Youth, the Soviet Union’s Young Pioneers, or Communist Youth reading Mao’s Little Red Book, this technique has deep roots in authoritarian governments’ control of parenting. 

So as you are confronting those who don’t want their kids to “feel uncomfortable” in school because topics deal with parts of our past that are problematic, this is just the first battle in a larger war for who decides what your child learns – in and out of school. 

As with abortion, immigration, and elections, choice just means sticking with Big Conservative’s point of view; freedom means the right to express opinions that echo specific politicians in a specific party. They are not advocating for freedom and choice, they are creating vehicles to coerce and control – and their reach will not end at the schoolhouse – if we don’t stop it, it is going to ram through the door and enter your house! 

Impossible Doublethink Before Breakfast

In Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, the Red Queen believed at least six impossible things before breakfast. George Orwell’s 1984 gave us the concept of doublethink: being able to believe two completely contradictory ideas, acknowledge that they are incompatible with each other, yet fully endorse both of them. Doublethink was the critical component in maintaining 1984’s totalitarian state. Although there are more literary examples, recent events move these concepts from fiction to frightening reality. 

I don’t understand how someone can fervently support the police, believe that “blue lives matter” and yet want unlimited and open access to guns. Likewise, if one wants to be “tough on crime,” how does one accomplish this if guns are more accessible than cigarettes or allergy medication? And the police in Uvalde? 

How can one condemn violence after Black people are killed by police, but then condone violence against our own elected lawmakers who are certifying an election? How can people threaten and intimidate local election officials when they disagree with the results of an election? If violence is bad, shouldn’t it be bad no matter who commits it? 

How can someone claim that the 2020 election was riddled with fraud when it comes to the election of the president, but make no objections to all the Republican candidates who won on the very same “rigged” ballots? If there were issues with one race on the ballot, wouldn’t there be problems with the other races, too? And where is the evidence of all these irregularities? If there were so many, wouldn’t some have led to criminal charges, successful lawsuits, or altered election results? The only verified instances of election fraud I could find were people voting for the former president! 

Some people say they want to honor the past and thus preserve confederate statues, monuments, or symbols, but when discussing historical aspects of the civil war that deal with enslaved people and systemic racism, their discomfort trumps honoring and remembering other shameful aspects of the past. Could this perhaps maybe possibly be about race? 

Many of these same people are eager to protect the unborn, but do not give any protection to already-born children sitting in schools. Some of these folks also refused to protect anyone by wearing a mask or getting the COVID vaccine. Is life only worth protecting when it is not yet here? Do children have to protect themselves – from guns and illness? Is it only embryos who deserve protection? Why? 

If people don’t want teachers discussing the racism of our past and present, the diversity of gender identities, or any subject that might make some (white) kids (and/or their parents) uncomfortable, who decides what is or isn’t included? Wouldn’t the exclusion of this content make other students uncomfortable? Wouldn’t its inclusion eventually create understanding and thus bring more comfort? How are people evaluating this harm? How is repressing some people’s ideas and history not just another form of bullying and bigotry? 

Some of these folks claim to be religious people acting on precepts from scripture. However, they worship people who are adulterers and bullies whose behavior is the opposite of the religious figures they claim to revere. They take minor biblical passages out of context and hold them as more important than the Ten Commandments and key statements from Jesus, Moses, and other key figures. Whatever happened to “love thy neighbor as thyself” and “thou shalt not murder?” 

The slogans of the state in 1984 were: “War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. Today, many people are holding a complementary set of commandments: 

Morality is Indecency

Honesty is Deception

Bigotry is Equality

Freedom is Selfishness

Cruelty is Compassion

Rage is Virtue

Hypocrisy is Integrity

I don’t see how we can move beyond our current political impasse without civil discourse, common ground, a shared sense of right and wrong, and a moral commitment to improving the conditions for everyone (not just a few).  Instead, so many are practicing deadly doublethink before, during, and after breakfast – and it is not only unhealthy for them, as Orwell predicted, it is poisoning all of us. 

Reading For Treasure: We Need to Keep Talking and Reading About Racism, Roe, CRT, and Hate

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! 

The news overflows with horrible stories of racism, sexism, and other forms of hate. Here is a small selection of articles and videos to further your understanding of these critical issues. 

Imbolo Mbue writes in The Atlantic about the recent biography of George Floyd. Neither he nor the writers of the biography shy away from a nuanced and complex picture of Floyd – and that picture is also one of our America:  “The America that Killed George Floyd.” 

The overturning of Roe v. Wade puts several other rights in jeopardy. This article from Blavity outlines how this Supreme Court decision could open the door to eliminating other rights: “5 Other Rights That Could Be Struck Down If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned”

Alexis McGill is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood. She writes in the New York Amsterdam News that “The end of Roe and what it would mean for the Black community.”

Two pieces that focus on Critical Race Theory: Lifehacker provides a clear piece on “What Critical Race Theory Actually Means (And What It Doesn’t).”

John Oliver discusses Critical Race Theory on this episode of Last Week Tonight.

How do we prevent white children from becoming white nationalists? My former colleague provides teachers, parents, counselors, and coaches with information about “Inoculating Our Students Against White Nationalism — Teaching While White.”

Finally, the Associated Press published this article, “Explainer: Theory of White Replacement Fuels Racist Attacks” which provides a background to the ideas that are motivating terrorist attacks by white nationalists. 

I am currently reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Reading For Treasure: Pick A College But Not Just Any College

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! 

It’s that time of year again. High school seniors are being plagued (sorry) with the question, “What are you doing next year?” Here are some articles that might help them make those choices and prepare for next year. 

“Want to find an affordable college? There's a website for that” from NPR is a good overview of The College Scorecard website, which was just updated. It is an invaluable resource to any family sending a child to college. 

Also from NPR, “Georgetown study measures colleges' return on investment” describes a website that looks at how much college graduates earn and how different schools’ alumni perform after college. Oddly, the article does not provide you with the Georgetown study results – but I will! 

Although short and a little simple, “College and Alcohol: Sober in College (And Still Having Fun)” from yourteenmag.com is a good way to start the conversation about drinking in college. 

And while we are talking about drinking, let’s talk about sex. “At Northwestern, a Secret Society of Virgins” from the Chicago Tribune is a candid discussion about being a virgin at college. 

If there are issues, Consumer Reports addresses the question, “Will You Be Able to Help Your College-Age Child in a Medical Emergency?” It turns out that HIPAA privacy may make this challenging. This article lets you be prepared. 

From Grown and Flown, here is one parent’s experience when her son did have to go to the emergency room, “My College Freshman Went to The ER: What This Mom Learned.”

This is not my first blog post with a college focus. Here are a few posts from this blog that might come in handy as your child tries to decide what will come after high school: Avoiding mistakes and some good advice,  College Advice from Shakespeare (and me), Textbooks and Sex: A Reading List for College Students, Future College Students, and the People Who Love Them, College Readiness, and What does it mean to go to a “good school?” 

Finally, here is a powerfully candid piece from Slate that all students should read even more closely than they read (if they read) their actual college syllabuses, “My Fake College Syllabus” 

I am currently rereading This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Reading for Treasure: Dealing with the Unvaccinated

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction.

My most recent blog post makes the metaphor that the unvaccinated are pissing in a pool in which all of us are swimming. It laments the current stalemate between those who want a COVID-19 free world and those who simply won’t get the vaccine. Here are some articles that further explore this topic. 

The Atlantic’s “Vaccine Refusers Don’t Get to Dictate Terms Anymore” This opinion piece makes a strong case that the unvaccinated should have to pay the price for their choice,  “Americans are entitled to make their own decisions, but their employers, health insurers, and fellow citizens are not required to accommodate them.” The time has come for vaccination mandates by schools, employers, agencies, and others or financial penalties as well as testing for the unvaccinated.  

John Banzhaf, a professor emeritus from George Washington University, goes one step further, “Vaccinated workers, students, airline passengers and others who go out in public should not have to bear the risks and huge financial costs that the unvaccinated are imposing on society.” In his opinion column for CNN,  “Make the unvaccinated pay out for their deadly decisions,” he argues that, “Vaccine refusers should pay more for life and health insurance,” as well as  “If the unvaccinated want to get hotel rooms or board cruise ships or fly on airplanes, they should have to pay more to cover the additional costs of thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing the places they may infect. They should also be charged more because of the added burdens associated with requiring all airlines, bus and train passengers to be masked.” Basically, if you don’t want to get vaccinated, you need to pay for the additional costs you are creating! Yes! 

Inverse provides a specific and highly scientific answer to the question, “How Immune Are You After Having COVID-19? Why You Still Need a Vaccine” The common sense answer is to get vaccinated no matter what. Doubt that. Read this! 

Here's an update to my blog post: CNN is reporting that, "New analysis estimates $5.7 billion price tag for treating unvaccinated Covid-19 patients in the last 3 months." That is a lot of money helping people, many of whom could have been vaccinated! 

Finally, a little hope from an older article from The Atlantic. In, “One Vaccine to Rule Them All,”  Dr. James Hamlin describes research to create a universal vaccine. May this research be successful! 

I am currently reading A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine 

Pissing in the Pool: The Broken Social Contract

Recently, a doctor in Alabama stated he would not treat unvaccinated people. It was simply too painful to watch them die. Many of these people, says another doctor, ask for the vaccine as they are being put on the ventilator. 

It is appropriate to feel sorry for people who have made poor decisions like this. Certainly, there are people who, due to medical conditions or circumstances beyond their control, cannot get the vaccine. But what about the willfully and proudly unvaccinated? What about those who could and should be vaccinated, but won’t? 

What happens when people who have been hateful, hurtful, and horrible need help and those of us who have taken proper precautions pay the price of their poor choices? What is our obligation to the unvaccinated, unmasked, Clorox and Ivermectin taking folks? What happens when some people, who place their own desires, feelings, and “rights,” above the wellbeing of the entire community, fill hospitals to capacity so that there isn't even room for children with cancer?  Should we rush to Texas’s and Florida’s aid even if they are outlawing the very actions that would make their situation better?  

The idea of a social contract is  “(a)n implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection.” While you may never need the fire department, you pay taxes to have one because it helps the community as a whole – and if someday you should need it, it will be there for you. We all get this idea – or do we? 

“But I don’t trust the government,” someone replies. “It is my right not to wear a mask,” cries another. “You can’t make me get the vaccine,” says the third. Yet, people who have these views are treated in our hospitals like any other. Their children are going to school and potentially spreading COVID. They are making it impossible for children or teachers who are immunocompromised to return to school at all. 

At this point, arguing with them doesn’t seem like it is working. While loving responses and listening and acknowledging their fears may be a way to reach them, that does not address the current preventable crisis. And can that be scaled up to address all of them? They have made their choice clear: their individual choice (which they see as rights) are more important than the social good. Me first, us last. 

Last year, the folks making these claims said that COVID deaths were an acceptable cost for reopening businesses and that we should “sacrifice the weak.” More recently, a woman at a Trump rally compared this situation to “separating the sheep from the goats” which is a reference to a parable from the Gospel of Matthew. Ironically, the sheep are saved and the goats are lost. The unvaccinated woman identified herself correctly as a goat. 

Yet, we are paying for and cleaning up their messes – and it is quite expensive! We are spending billions of dollars to treat unvaccinated people and their choices may mean higher insurance premiums for all of us. Should we endorse their logic and put these goats out to pasture?  

We are an interdependent society; our choices significantly affect far more people than ourselves. We are not living in isolation. Regardless of whether you accept the social contract, we are still all swimming in the same pool.  

Why withhold help from those who need it? Why persist in holding a grudge against unfortunate and misinformed people? What good comes out of hurting those already in pain? Is the suffering of COVID a reasonable consequence for being arrogant and super selfish? 

I don’t think hospitals will stop treating willfully unvaccinated people. It is unlikely that large numbers of doctors will refuse to treat them. But there is an exodus of healthcare professionals leaving the field, and that will affect everyone. 

Here’s the issue: Should the willfully unvaccinated get care despite their disregard for the chaos they create or do we back off and let them suffer the consequences of their choices, even though that, too, could be deadly. 

If you run a red light, you get a ticket. If you leave your child in a hot car, that’s child abuse. If you drive under the influence…There are consequences when people flagrantly break the social contract. Defying mask mandates is against the law and prohibiting them is certainly a breach of contract. What about vaccination? 

It’s a lose-lose scenario if there ever was one. Thanks, assholes. 

Twenty Five Years In Our Home

I had to convince my wife that this was the house for us. She liked modern architecture with open floor plans and this house was a typical colonial. But, it had the right number of bedrooms, the space we needed to expand our little family, and was at the very top of our price range, and had all of our school first choices! It was very well kept and would make a wonderful home for us.

I remember our final walk-through before closing; we met the seller and his son, an English teacher at Lane Tech High School in Chicago (He later became my colleague and friend when we hired him to teach at his alma mater). The seller showed us where everything was and how they worked. He was gracious and helpful. We were overwhelmed and a little frightened. We had struggled to sell our old home. We had to move in the summer because since we were educators, moving during the school year was unthinkable. 

Oh, yeah. The local high school was in the backyard. This house backed up to our school, the one at which we worked. We weren’t just moving closer to work, we were practically moving in. We understood what work from home meant twenty-five years ago. 

We both spent way too many hours at school. My average day was eleven or twelve hours and my wife could compete with that many times during the year. So a shorter commune would be a good thing, even if it was just turning a seven-minute drive into a five-minute walk.    

We were already used to teaching and working in the same community. We tried to be graceful at the grocery store when parents wanted to do business. “We’re off duty,” we’d demur. “I can’t remember the specifics, call me at school,” I’d reply. Our students were startled when they saw us around town. High school students still don’t really believe that their teachers have lives outside of the classroom. Well, this new house would practically be living in a file cabinet drawer, just bigger. 

A lot bigger. Our new house was much larger than the little one we had moved into after we got married. We loved our first house, but if we were going to have another child, we needed more space. When one of my former students found out where we were moving, he said to me, “Oh, Mr. Hirsch, you’re not the North Trail type.” 

He couldn’t explain to me what the North Trail type was and, as we got to know our neighbors, we couldn’t either. We already met several sets of neighbors because we taught their children. Yet, our neighbors immediately across the street never came out or said hello or acknowledged us ever – not even when they moved. Others were very warm and came over and introduced themselves. 

Within a few months, there were several other new families nearby and our two-year-old made new friends as we all walked to school together: she went to the school daycare and preschool! We shared the great commute. 

After a year or two, I started a neighborhood newsletter. This was when a newsletter meant photocopies, envelopes, and hand distribution. At almost the same time, a neighbor initiated a renaissance of the homeowners association and we combined our efforts. While there had been a homeowners association, it had gone fallow. Now there was only a person paying landscapers to keep the common areas from looking too shabby from a checking account that was rapidly being depleted. 

So I took on the role of secretary in those pre-email days and we recruited a few others to help us. Most of those folks are still working together, but that is going to change soon. We had little kids, all of whom are in college or out of college. 

Now, we are empty nesters. The two of us live by ourselves in this house. When we retired, the most common question was, “When are you going to move?” We are not. This house still works wonderfully for us. When the kids came home during the pandemic, we were so grateful for the space. I transformed my daughter’s room into a combination office and entertainment room. My daughter calls it my man cave and I call it my ready room. 

While I could see why someone might downsize, I am optimistic that this house will work for us for another decade or so. For all the changes we have experienced as a family, this house still fits us, twenty-five years later.

Reading for Treasure: Eat Less Meat

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

I have been a vegetarian for almost twenty-five years. There are many reasons to eat less meat: health, environment, economics, ethics. Here are some articles that may help you understand the issues about reducing how much meat, chicken, pork, or fish you consume and how that choice might benefit all of us. 

From Inverse: “U.S. Meat Eaters Should Consider This Study Before Their Next Grocery Run” “Research shows nutrition is a major component of reducing our risks of chronic disease and premature death. Sulfur amino acids are naturally more prevalent in meat than vegetables, so switching to plant-based protein sources like whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, and eating recommended daily intakes of sulfur amino acids, could make it less likely that you will develop heart disease or diabetes in future.”

From Lifehacker: “How to Become a Vegetarian (or Eat Less Meat)”  “You don’t need me to tell you that industrial meat production is an enormous contributor to global warming (and climate denialism) or that meat processing corporations are almost cartoonishly evil in their exploitation of an underpaid, often undocumented workforce. The facts are out there for the whole world to see, which is probably why more people are choosing to eat less meat.”

From CNN: “One of the world's top restaurants is ditching meat. Here's what could go wrong” “It might seem like the perfect time to get people on board with an all-vegan menu. Plant-based proteins are as popular as ever. Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat (BYND), which sell alternatives to meat designed to look, taste, and cook like the real thing, have expanded massively in grocery stores and struck major deals with big food companies and restaurant chains. Last month, the food site Epicurious said it would stop publishing beef recipes, noting that production of the meat emits harmful greenhouse gases.”

From Inverse: “A Controversial Diet Change Could Reduce Air Pollution and Save Lives” “New research implicates air pollution caused by agriculture production in the premature deaths of 17,900 Americans. This air pollution is linked to both ammonia and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These findings were published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.There are solutions that could curb air pollution deaths significantly, the study team says. These include eating a more plant-based diet.”

From The Atlantic: “The Economic Case for Worldwide Vegetarianism” “In a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Marco Springmann and his colleagues at the University of Oxford conservatively estimate that if people continue to follow current trends of meat consumption, rather than shifting to a more balanced or plant-based diet, it could cost the U.S. between $197 billion and $289 billion each year—and the global economy up to $1.6 trillion—by 2050.”

I am currently reading Artificial Condition by Martha Wells.

Without Reason and Rationality, There is No Responsibility

“I didn’t cheat!” 

The student is not looking me in the eyes, “I wrote that. Those are my words. It is just a coincidence that they were similar to another source. I never saw that source. I came up with that paragraph, just like someone else did.” 

Plagiarism was my least favorite student issue. It came in many flavors. Some students took things from the internet and passed them off as their own. Some used quotations or parts of published sources. Others would try to pass off another student’s work as original. Most of the time, their parents made no attempt to defend them. Most of the time, these students came clean and admitted what they had done. 

When they owned their mistake and when their parents stood beside me in holding them accountable, we moved forward. They learned a lesson. I never ever called a parent or sat down with a student to talk about this issue unless I was 100% certain that what they had turned in was not their own. There were times I suspected. There were times I had evidence, and there were times I advised students that what they had written was too close to another source. 

When I confronted a student and their family, I knew what had happened. I knew that they knew it, too. If the student denies what they had done or their parents look at the theft of the writing and excuse it, the student is reduced back to that child inventing excuses for the broken vase. It turns a teenager into a toddler and their parents into patsies. 

If students’ behavior doesn’t matter, if their choices have no effect or consequence, then they really are children. If students cannot be held accountable for their errors and misdeeds, then their successes and achievements are meaningless. They are ineffectual, lame, and impotent. When parents find excuses for their children’s behavior or try to reason it away, their failure to deal with the reality comes at the cost of their own integrity and their child’s growth.  

Similarly, when we don’t like the reality of a situation, we may sometimes find logical or probably fantasies that replace the bad news we wish to avoid. We have all done it. We rationalize away things we don’t want to accept. We find soothing excuses that feel better than the harsh facts that we want to wipe away. 

A rationalization isn’t a reason. It is an excuse. It is thinking one’s way out of dealing honestly with an unpleasant truth. It is a thin imitation of reason, a shadow lacking the substance of the truth. It is a childish strategy of pretending what you want to believe is true. 

And it frees us from doing what needs to be done. It forgives us, lets us off the hook, and gives us phony peace of mind that, at least temporarily, staves off the guilt of lying to ourselves. We are not responsible. We are victims. We didn’t do anything wrong. 

There is nothing new or shocking about avoiding responsibility. There is nothing revolutionary about putting on blinders to avoid seeing what is in front of us and escaping into an imaginary world of  “what ifs” and “that might not be true” and “someone else is to blame.”  

Without honestly and accurately facing the truth, we avoid responsibility for our actions. That is what denial is all about. Without looking at ourselves critically and as dispassionately as we can, we cannot own our errors and learn from them. Without “fessing up” and learning to acknowledge and own the bad as well as the good, we cannot move forward to repair our relationships, learn from our errors, and be better people. 

The denial of the truth, the failure to accept responsibility, and the refusal to think critically rob us not only of our adulthood but also of the two of the most important parts of our humanity: reason and responsibility.

Prayer to the People

Fellow citizens of this great country

Built on hope and horror

Liberty and inequality

Invention and detention 

Arise now in these difficult days 

And illuminate the world with the depth of your decency  

Fellow citizens of this tortured land

Who struggle daily 

With illness, violence, and questions of truth

Lean into the wisdom of good books and good people 

Love your neighbor and

Bring the fairness that can only come 

From just us 

Oh, beautiful Americans, 

Obey your better natures 

Not despots or desperation

Care for the desperate and dispirited

Choose goodness and generosity

Open your arms wide 

Embrace each other 

And the future 

I Still Believe That Americans Are Good At Heart

Anne Frank wrote, “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” 

I believe that Americans want what is best for the country and that a vast majority can see beyond their own parochial interests. I believe that most Americans are kind, compassionate, and empathetic. I believe they want the truth and are upset by those who would manipulate, lie, or deceive them. In spite of everything, I still believe that Americans have their country’s best interests at heart. 

Now, more than ever, it is difficult to argue that Americans are people of integrity and generosity. Racism, anti-Semitism, and hatred are growing. Rather than helping their neighbors, we see pictures of people flaunting common sense and endangering themselves and others. How could I say that these people are good at heart? 

The past months have been extremely difficult. Some of us have borne those challenges more than others. Some of us have taken more precautions than others. Some of us have faced the dangers directly and others have provided support. Some of us have ignored, denied, or defied the recommendation of scientists trying to contain this pandemic. 

We are afraid. We fear that we will get sick or those we care about will get sick. We long for a return to our lives before the arrival of coronavirus. We want to plan again. We want to leave our homes. We want to hug and touch again. We want to feel some kind of control. It is so frightening to feel out of control. Yet, we don’t all have the same response to this situation. 

When someone is drowning, they will cling to anything that is thrown to them. They are desperate. An anvil or a life preserver? A boat or a bomb? People in crisis don’t make measured choices or thoughtful decisions. They react instinctively. They are guided not by thought, but by feeling and instinct. They are not their best selves. 

While we may be tempted to rush to judge our neighbors and friends who are making different choices, I urge us to stop and consider: how can we best help them and the community? What can we do to ensure that people who are drowning are given boats and life preservers? What can we do to the stop the hate and start the healing, even before there is a vaccine? How can we be agents of positivity and well being? 

The first step is to see our fellow Americans for what they are: frightened and frustrated, grasping for whatever might help them stay afloat. If that means denying the reality in front of them or demonizing people who look different, it might be because they can’t tell a boat from a bomb. 

I am not excusing the hatred, racism, sexism, and cruelty. It is wrong. It isn’t going away any time soon, but it must stop and our racist structures must change. It would be helpful to have more of us on board with this idea. I believe, deep at heart, most of us share the idea that everyone should be treated fairly both under the law and beyond it. 

Which leads us to the key question. Those folks, those people without masks, spewing hate, believing absurd fantasies, and pushing us further into a dark age, what would ever convince them to treat everyone fairly? I don’t know. I know that “discussions” on social media don’t seem to do anything but further reinforce the ideas we already have. 

Compassion, empathy, listening, loving, kindness, caring, and integrity are not weapons, but tools by which our behavior can actively show “them” that there is another path. We can love our neighbor, even when our neighbor is working very hard to be hateful. 

It is not going to be easy. I don’t know who will win this election, but we will need to heal each other. I hope our leaders will help us do that, but I am not going to wait or depend on them. 

I am proud to be an American. This is my country and I am committed to helping make it the best it can be for everyone. My arms are open wide enough to embrace our diversity and disagreement. We can be united even if we are not in agreement.

Reading For Treasure: Before The Election:

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

How can we tell what is “real” or “fake” news? For most of us, our social media feed is primarily populated with opinions similar to ours. Wired’s article, “How to Break Out of Your Social Media Echo Chamber” provides some good suggestions about how to change our use of Facebook, Twitter, and other online sources so we can get a more balanced and complete picture of our world – not just a confirmation of what someone thinks we want to hear.

A second Wired article explores the problem of fake news, specifically the use of deep fake videos. How can we recognize news sources designed to fool us? Maybe, “America Needs A Ministry of Truth.” The author explains that this is not going to be the same as the one in Orwell’s 1984, but more along the lines of the EPA, FDA, or other agencies that protect the public. As I read this, I thought about a media Underwriters Laboratory; an independent agency that puts their stamp of approval on information. Regardless, we are soon going to need help separating the fact from deep fake.

The great scientist Carl Sagan wrote about “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection” and provided some very specific advice in his book, The Demon-Haunted World. His route to critical thinking has been the subject of several articles, including “The Baloney Detection Kit: Carl Sagan’s Rules for Bullshit-Busting and Critical Thinking” from brainpickings. The article summarizes his rules and provides Sagan’s take on logical fallacies as well. If you are interested, here is the complete chapter of the book.

While a lawn sign may tell which of your neighbors supports which candidates, Lifehacker provides us with tools that let us “See Who Has Donated to a Political Campaign With These Tools.” If we want to avoid the echo chamber or make certain that a source is being sincere in support, it might be good to know if they put their money there, too.

Two articles answer the question I hear a great deal, “how could THEY believe this stuff?” Medium’s “Why Your Christian Friends and Family Members Are So Easily Fooled By Conspiracy Theories” and the Independent’s “I grew up in rural, small-town America – and I can tell you the real reason why people love Donald Trump.” While not entirely unbiased, they do give a glimpse into these specific points of view.

The Washington Post recommends, “Stop fretting about Trump and do something about it. Right now.” This article is good advice regardless of your political leanings. It is basically a guide to how to check your voter registration and make sure you can vote - and get others to vote!

I am currently reading The Regional Office is Under Attack by Manuel Gonzales.

COVID-19: No Them, Just Us

As you finally get away from the sinking ship and are huddling in the little lifeboat adrift in the middle of the ocean, you notice a person sitting near you with a drill. They are drilling into the floor of the boat! You are shocked and yell at them, “You can’t do that, you’ll sink the ship! We’ll all drown!” The person looks up at you with a sneer and says, “What do you care, it is my seat!”

 

During this time of crisis, it is increasingly evident that individual actions have far-reaching community consequences. It is frightening that some stranger, because they do not take precautions could start a chain reaction that would affect hundreds of people – or more.

People are weary of sheltering at home and are struggling economically. It is unsurprising that some are celebrating as states reopen.  There is no doubt that people can’t stay at home if they can’t feed their families.

 

There you have it.

 

If people can’t feed their families, they can’t stay at home. If they leave their homes to work, we risk spreading this disease and hurting everyone. Therefore, it benefits all of us to support people who need assistance! Helping the needy benefits the entire community.

 

We need everyone to be safe and fed at home. It isn’t just about THEM. It is important to US! Or more succinctly, there is no them, there is only us.

 

Similarly, if people are scared to call health professionals because they can’t afford to pay, they are more likely to ignore illness or go to work sick. Everyone should be able to call a doctor if they are ill. If they do not do so, the community at large is at risk. Universal healthcare benefits all of us.

 

The term herd immunity is in the news a great deal. Herd immunity means that, when a great enough percentage of the population is immune to an illness, those who are not immune are protected because the odds of someone giving them the illness are small. But in order to create that percentage, everyone must have access to health care, vaccines, and doctors. The whole herd is in the boat; we are all adrift in this storm. Our well being is inextricably linked to everyone else’s.

 

What does it mean to be a member of a community? What does it mean to be a member of a family? A family is a smaller community. It means that our lives and our welfare are interconnected. It means that we sink or swim together! It means that our choices, for better or for worse, affect the whole – even when we are not aware of it. It means taking responsibility for this awesome responsibility. It means making mature and measured decisions that acknowledge the far-reaching impact of our seeming personal choices.

 

Americans love their independence. We want the freedom to do what we want to do, virus be damned. No one gets to tell us what to do! But that freedom comes with a price and an obligation. It isn’t free and it isn’t without limits.

 

As citizens, we must participate in our communities. This goes way beyond voting, jury duty, or even paying taxes. Most of us would sacrifice for our families and friends. Most of us would rush them to the hospital, give them money and support, and deny our own needs to meet theirs. This is what we need to do now for the health and well being of our community and country.

 

Sheltering in place is not simple. Masks are not comfortable. Staying home is problematic. For reasons too long to list here, for many, it is beyond challenging.

 

However, no one may drill a hole in a seat. If they do, we all go down. Therefore, we must make sure that everyone’s seat is safe and secure. We must make sure that everyone has enough of everything. We must make sure that everyone has access to healthcare. We must take care of everyone or more people will become sick and die.

 

I want to get my haircut, go to a restaurant, and attend family gatherings. I can’t right now. I am privileged to have enough money to stay home and not worry about my family’s basic needs. Both individuals and our governments must take deliberate and thoughtful actions to make sure that everyone can safely stay home – and for those who are doing jobs that are essential like doctors, first responders, grocery workers, and others – we as a community must ensure that they are also safe on the ship! Without them, we will not survive the voyage.

 

Protesters who are flaunting distancing and shut down orders are endangering everyone. They are drilling holes in their seats and endangering the ship that is rescuing our children, parents, and all whom we hold dear.

 

This is not about rights or being told what to do. It is about duty, responsibility, and safety. We, not them, must choose to protect each other. We, not them, are sacrificing in order to save each other. Everyone must participate. Everyone must give to save all of us. And everyone must do their part.

How’s Distance Learning Working For You? Ideas for the Fall

It is not hard to hear the cries of teachers, parents, and students right now. Distance learning, e-learning, or whatever you want to call it is not a big success. It is difficult and cumbersome. It is a very poor substitute for what happens in classrooms across the country. At best, it is a stopgap, and at worst it is a sham. 

And now we are learning that we may not be able to return to school as usual in the fall! Does that mean that teachers get all summer to get better at the bad solution? One could rationalize that we are only now learning how to do learning online and, by next fall, we’ll all be experts and do it beautifully! I don’t know who might say that, but whoever would has never been in education – or they are experiencing quarantine delusions.

Kids are disengaged, teachers are frustrated, and parents feel like they don’t have the tools to help their children. The technology is buggy, the content feels overwhelming, and so many other factors are at play. Providing an online analog for school is not working.  

So what do we do? More of the same? Amp up what isn’t working anyway? Become stricter and create more punishments if students don’t comply? Threaten kids with grades, demotions, or failure? What a great formula for success!

We must create better options and reinvent the way online school functions. Rather than a failing attempt to replicate regular school online, let’s use what we know about what makes learning successful to create new options.

The relationship between student and teacher sits at the heart of education. Anything that disrupts this relationship will have a devastating effect on learning. Whatever we do in the fall, it must allow teachers and students to build powerful interpersonal bonds. This is especially important since teachers and students may not have met each other prior to this crisis.

Students must be actively engaged in learning and that engagement must be maintained over time. Teachers are talking about digital fatigue. Students are complaining about school being turned into a series of worksheets, readings, online quizzes, videos, and Zoom meetings.

More is not better, no matter what the highly materialistic parts of our culture may argue. Students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled with formulas, dates, and texts. Education is not a constant barrage of information. Without active involvement, interactive experiences, and engaging ideas, students either disengage or robotically play the game.

So what do we do? How do we make the best use of this time with our students even though we can’t be in the same classroom with them? Here are alternative ways we might structure school in the fall:

Less is More: Some high schools have as many as nine periods a day. Some schools use a block schedule and have two, three, or four longer classes for any given time period. Beloit College in Wisconsin is considering  breaking its first semester into two parts. Students would only take two classes during each part. Teachers would teach fewer classes, too. These classes would be more immersive and in-depth.

What if, instead of taking five, six, or more classes, each student only took two? This would allow for more in-depth contact with the teachers, more time to explore in more depth, and prevent some overload. Instead of a long semester with many classes, what about two classes at a time for four weeks each? 

Teachers and schools must be flexible with their curriculums and standards. This is an unprecedented situation and insisting that we cover all thirty-seven chapters, quiz on each, and take the unit test is not the path to success now. Fewer classes give teachers and students a better chance to develop a relationship. It gives them more time to find engaging activities that might go beyond the computer screen. It could also provide a natural limit on the content.

Beloit is also using their two at a time as a way to be able to pivot when the actual building can be opened again. After the first set of two classes, maybe we can then get back together. If not, we do it again.

Interdisciplinary Teams: Another approach would be to bundle several classes together. Instead of a single teacher and twenty-some student several times a day, what if we had a group of teachers and a group of students working together? Instead of Science, Math, English, Art, and Social Studies, what if we had a team of teachers working with a group of students? They would not divide into individual subject areas but create an integrated curriculum. The group of teachers might also include a counselor or social worker. Perhaps these classes would focus on social issues like climate change, racial identity, or a particular art form, period in history, or scientific concept. Perhaps they would employ a variety of experiences both on and off the computer. Perhaps they could engage parents and community members who had specific talents or backgrounds.

This approach must not be “today is social studies day, look at the document.” To function well, each activity and assignment should challenge students to explore. The connections would be the focus of the course! We could feed one bird from several feeders!

Again, teachers and schools will have to say that they are not covering the entire AP curriculum and be willing to go deeper with a more narrow focus.

If they build it, you will come: We can take both of these ideas one step further. What if we let students drive the curricular choices? What if we put them in charge and make teachers their guides and coaches instead of their directors?

What if we ask kids what they would like to learn and organize courses around student generated interests? Students and teachers would be paired based on suggestions, maybe some from the adult staff and some from the students. These teams would then design their own courses as a team, students and teachers working side by side. Could everyone “do the work?” Could assignments, activities, and assessments apply to everyone, adults and kids alike?

This would also mean that some courses might need outside experts as consultants. Teachers might have to move beyond their areas of expertise and learn with the kids.

After school activities could be approached in the same way. Could we have e-sports teams? Could we move from theatre productions to short films? What about puppetry? Electronic music? The school newspaper online could be a critical piece of keeping the community informed and connected!

We must be able to relax rigid structures that stand in the way of student success during this time of learning apart. We must be willing to make relationships, engagement, and depth the educational priorities. Why can’t we have multi-age classes? Why can’t art, physical education, and world languages be integrated with traditional academic subjects? Now is the time to go as far as is necessary to help students learn and thrive. They deserve no less.

Dear Senator

Dear Senator,

Thank you for your service to our country. Thank you for the time, thought, and careful attention you are paying to the current impeachment crisis.

It is my hope that what I have to say is not news to you. I think you probably hold all of this in your heart. However, I want you to know that your constituents and the people of the United States are just like you.

When this is all over, and the current administration and turmoil are in our past, we will know a lot more about what has happened in the White House under this president. The truth about his decisions, actions, and behavior will become highly public. There will be books, movies, and more. The current scandal is not the end, whether the president is impeached, removed from office, or even if he is reelected. The truth will come out.

Do not let all the good work you have done and all the good work you have yet to do become a footnote to your defense of this president.

Do not let history remember you as someone who gave in to the bullies, put party over patriotism, and allowed political expediency to trump integrity.

Do not let your legacy be a presidency that goes unchecked, a congress that won’t acknowledge wrongdoing, and a country without a moral center.

Listen to that righteous voice that is telling you to return to your ethical and moral values.

Listen to those people who are urging you to do the right thing.

Listen to your inner sense of truth, justice, and the American way.

You were elected because the people believe you will do what needs to be done, even when it is difficult or costly. It is time to do that.

History will remember you. Your decisions will determine how.

You know this. We know this. I sincerely doubt that my letter will change your mind. However, when these events are years in the past, I urge you to make sure that you are remembered as one of the heroes, not one of the confederates.

Sincerely Yours,

David Hirsch