tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post114541494061931259..comments2023-10-31T08:17:07.012-05:00Comments on Aunty Belle's Back Porch ( Serious Talk ): TechnopolyAunty Bellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13868780211706866610noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145732430340538202006-04-22T14:00:00.000-05:002006-04-22T14:00:00.000-05:00Howdy V.A. Tongue, uh huh..youse right--kids doan ...Howdy V.A. Tongue, uh huh..youse right--kids doan have imaginations noranyone to hep em/ if they do--used to be a bis sister would hep you play house or a coison would bait your hook and then you could sit on the c=]dock and make pictures out o' the clouds...<BR/><BR/>But truly, sweet pets, we's loosin' out community feelin' we's all so virtual rather than real--stead of jawing on the porch wif real folks we's alll tucked into a cubbyhole tapping on keyboards...this ain't right.Aunty Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13868780211706866610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145676370487692632006-04-21T22:26:00.000-05:002006-04-21T22:26:00.000-05:00hey there Auntie Belle,like K9 said, good one. kno...hey there Auntie Belle,<BR/><BR/>like K9 said, good one. know what this makes me think of? kids. the way they can't seem to find their imaginations anymore - everything bein' so automated ... push a button fer this, push a button fer that, fer heaven's sake, they don't even hafta move to change the channel on the TV! yes ... convenience is overtaking civility ...velvet acid tonguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04109259979131443493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145533307282421512006-04-20T06:41:00.000-05:002006-04-20T06:41:00.000-05:00Oh Dawg, youse onto sompin' important--let's us st...Oh Dawg, youse onto sompin' important--let's us start a movement, have a real interaction each day with someone NOT necessary to your immediate task, send a real note in the mail, hum a tune to the birds, make a real dinner, not a frozen plastic simulation of earthy goodness, dig in the earth itself to plant life, do someting REAL not virtual!!Aunty Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13868780211706866610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145483578301308842006-04-19T16:52:00.000-05:002006-04-19T16:52:00.000-05:00/bark bark barkgood one aunty. nobody at starbucks.../bark bark bark<BR/><BR/>good one aunty. nobody at starbucks talks to each other theyre all wi-fied and in their own world; neighbors dont know anything about each other -step outta your car and into the house, log on, make dinner, eat, sleep and repeat. so they cant be aware if say, the kid down the street gets into a strange car.....guys looking at girlies on the puter and finding the flesh and blood in their own house too difficult; leaf blowers instead of that occaisional sound of rake over pavement; emails now no hand written beauties to temper the stacks of bills..........yeah its a more convenient world. but it is less civilized. no question about it.<BR/><BR/>/grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsparringK9https://www.blogger.com/profile/08031137344229440004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145460614139129152006-04-19T10:30:00.000-05:002006-04-19T10:30:00.000-05:00Teacher as deadly or saintly is a concern with me....Teacher as deadly or saintly is a concern with me. <BR/><BR/>My private agenda in the classroom is indeed to be subversive - but not necessarily in a political way - except of course, everything is political.<BR/><BR/>I want students to question and challenge and not take anything for surface value - to dig and dig. Sometimes this means arriving at a place where there are no answers - only confusion and doubt - a troubling place for students - they want things black and white, they want absolutes. They may well arrive at a personal absolute later on - but I think you have to go through a lot of questions and exploration - things have to get pretty messy and confusing before you can break thorugh to a well-founded, well-reasoned opinion. <BR/><BR/>I think this sort of philosphy of teaching is in some ways subversive to my students - who often arrive on campus with the notion that the teacher is the fountain of all knowledge - the content expert. But that's not what I am at all. I am an "expert" at writing craft and at faciliating thinking - that's all.<BR/><BR/>Students also seem to think that knowledge is also absolute, immovable, fixed, static. They have to go through quite a process to understand that knowledge is constructed and develops, shifts, etc. Tricky ground. <BR/><BR/>But I do go on....<BR/><BR/>OFf to fly through more blue skies - the morning is LOVELY here!Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05048533325118829436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145453281833596752006-04-19T08:28:00.000-05:002006-04-19T08:28:00.000-05:00Hey Bird Beauty!! Yes, Postman is a fine mind--I d...Hey Bird Beauty!! Yes, Postman is a fine mind--I done met him, actually at an event in Denver some years ago. I also read Amusing Ourselves To Death--very interesting, isn't it?<BR/><BR/>As for doublespeak and politicians...ain't that the whole<BR/>M O of modern politics?<BR/><BR/>Fact is, it points out what Postman has in mind, that ideas ain't easy to cogitate on as technology is overbearing and we get nuthin' but doublespeak from politicians, scientists, businessmen, even educational establishments as Postman points out in "Teaching as a Subversive Activity."<BR/><BR/>Fact is teachers can be deadly or saintly...we get back to the integrity of the individual, I guess. I shur would like to be takin' your course next semester when youse using Postman---sigh.<BR/><BR/>8:26 AMAunty Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13868780211706866610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145453172587091402006-04-19T08:26:00.000-05:002006-04-19T08:26:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Aunty Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13868780211706866610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23067963.post-1145417315653566182006-04-18T22:28:00.000-05:002006-04-18T22:28:00.000-05:00Hey there Aunty Belle,Neil Postman, eh? Unfortuna...Hey there Aunty Belle,<BR/><BR/>Neil Postman, eh? Unfortunately, he is dead, but he wrote quite a few excellent books and essays. I'm fond of his book, The End of Education and will be using it in one of my courses next semester.Amusing Ourselves to Death (a critque of the media) is also quite good.<BR/><BR/>I'm proud to say that the Orwell Award for Clarity in Language is the responsibility of the National Council of English Teachers. Jon Stewart of the Daily Show won the award last year. <BR/><BR/>The NCTE also gives out the Doublespeak Award - "an ironic tribute to public speakers who have perpetuated language that is grossly deceptive, evasive, euphemistic, confusing, or self-centered." In the last few years, the Doublespeak Award has gone to members of the Bush administration - and to Bush himself. But to be fair, in 1997, there was a three-way tie for the award - Clinton, Trent Lot, and Gringich. Here's the link: http://www.ncte.org/about/awards/council/jrnl/106868.htm<BR/><BR/>Postman was a brilliant mind and an excellent writer. DO try his End of Education, Aunty - you might enjoy it.Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05048533325118829436noreply@blogger.com