Musings of JR Simmang

This isn't a dialog about Socratic seminars or circles, though I do find them interesting and inspirational. And, there will be no imbibing of hemlock on the Senate steps. Instead, I wonder how Socrates would approach the modern educational dilemma. Educational Dilemma. It seems there's been one every year since Socrates, and I don't know if there actually is one, or if it's just the same issue since then and that issue hasn't ever been resolved. Keeping that in mind, if there's an issue that hasn't ever been resolved, is it a dilemma or just a quandary? Perhaps, I'll refer to it as the Educational Quandary from here on in. So, what is the Educational Quandary? Here I stand in the front of the classroom, Monday through Friday barring holidays, and I expect to see attention, semi-attention, and non-attention. Henry Wong coined these green, yellow, and red zones. Other teachers have come up with synonymous dubs, and I think they're all right....

I get asked this question a lot in my classroom: "What do you think of Trump?" I teach 6th grade science. There's a time and a place for political discussion, and the 6th grade science classroom is not that place. But, my kids know they can bait me into a discussion, and it's one I like to answer. Here's my response: "Get back to work." Kidding. I'm a better teacher than that. So, I answer from the perspective of 6th grade science teacher. I try to respond as if whatever I say may have ramifications for years to come. So, here's what I say: "Kid, you know there's a lot of news, information, slander, bias, fact, and opinion coming at us from all directions. We're getting distracted and being told what we want to hear, or we're ignoring what we don't want to hear (By this time, I've lost a few of them. Only the stalwart remain.). Truth of the matter is this: 95% of media coverage of Trump has been negative. U...