Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and What It Isn't

What 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Isn't

Allen Barra writes a critique of "To Kill a Mockingbird" in the Wall Street Journal that is worth reading. We've been having discussions in our school on whether this 50-year old book is appropriate for 7th graders with its inclusion of viciously racist language (the "N" word) and moreover how we choose the cannon that is read at our school. It's an important conversation and a most difficult one. I think that we must recognize the value of tradition while respecting the evolving landscape of our countries, cities, and schools - finding the balance is incredibly challenging but is the real goal of these conversations.

Why I like the word "tolerance" when talking about diversity

"Tolerance" is surely an imperfect term, yet the English language offers no single word that embraces the broad range of skills we need to live together peacefully.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used the Greek term "agape" to describe a universal love that "discovers the neighbor in every man it meets." The various disciplines concerned with human behavior have also offered a variety of adjectives: "pro-social," "democratic," "affiliative."

In its Declaration on the Principles of Tolerance, UNESCO offers a definition of tolerance that most closely matches our philosophical use of the word:

Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance is harmony in difference.

We view tolerance as a way of thinking and feeling — but most importantly, of acting — that gives us peace in our individuality, respect for those unlike us, the wisdom to discern humane values and the courage to act upon them.

via tolerance.org

Many people don't like the word "tolerance." I really like it. People have said to me that they feel it suggests that we should "tolerate" people who are different than us. I think the Teaching Tolerance explanation of word choice is elegant and clearly deals with the potential problem of wording. Do you use "tolerance" in your diversity discussions? Should we?

side note: Teaching Tolerance is one of the best educational resources I've ever come upon. It has material on so many issues from class to race to gender to sexual orientation to gender, and many more that I'm missing.

Workshop for K-12 computer science teachers working with under-represented populations (women, students of color, etc)

Agenda


K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop

“Overcoming Barriers, Boundaries and Bad News”
Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
October 1-2, 2010
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
Atlanta, GA

Day 1: Friday, October 1, 2010

All Day GHC Conference Registration
All Day Attend GHC Sessions & Attend Lunches
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Ignite Talks – Ignite Talks are short presentations given by various presenters working on outreach to various communities interested in collaboration.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Town Hall Meeting: Bridging Boundaries and Creating Capacity: Engaging Stakeholders to Address Equity in K12 Computing
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Sponsor Night – This is a networking event to celebrate the conclusion of the 2010 Grace Hopper Celebration. The event features dinner, music and entertainment.

Day 2: Saturday, October 2, 2010

8:00 am – 9:00 am Workshop Registration & Networking Breakfast
9:00 am – 10:00 am Welcome & Keynote (TBA)
10:00 am – 10:15 am Break
10:15 am – 11:00 am Breakout Sessions I
Social Networking (TBA)

Dot Diva: Changing the Image of Computing: Julie Benyo

An Update on the New AP CS Course: Chris Stephenson and Jan Cuny

An interdisciplinary Approach to Introducing Computing in Grades K-5: Kathleen Larson, Sarah Pennachio, Donna Russo
11:00 am – 11:15 am Break
11:15 am – 12:00 pm Breakout Sessions II (TBA)
Open Source: It’s All Out in the Open…But Where Do We Start: Anita Verno, Bill Madden, Leslie Hawthorn

Teaching Programming is Easy with Alice: Steve Cooper

Teaching Computer Science with Toys: Robb Cutler

Modeling & Simulations: Betsy Frederick, Irene Lee
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Panel: Teacher Leadership & Advocacy as a Tool for Broadening Participation: Stephanie Hoeppner, Eugene Lemon, Daniel Moix
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Wrap-up
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Networking & Sponsor Activities
via gracehopper.org

This looks like a great program hosted by the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Get involved, people!

Recruiting and retaining male teachers

A colleague at another school posted a message today about the struggles they are having recruiting male teachers in their school. I'm quite sure there are unlimited numbers of possibilities of why schools get into a gender equity challenge. In responding to her I passed on a helpful resource from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, "Recruiting Male Teachers." I found it helpful, and hope you do, too.

If you've got any other strategies or resources for me to share, please do let me know.