Let me start by saying that this is my first ever blog and I am definitely taking the trial by fire approach. I will apologize ahead of time for the many mistakes I am sure to make. I am quite certain though, that my wonderful students will be quick to point those mistakes out to me. I have had this idea for some time now, and I originally had planned on using Myspace or Facebook to publish my blog. I was directed to this website by our technology coordinator and I believe it will be much better than my original plan. My goal is to create meaningful discussions among my students and I hope that this will be an avenue that promotes this discussion. I believe we make our best decisions when we utilize a number of different opinions and make an informed choice. That being said, I appreciate any ideas you may have to make this more effective. The spring term students will be utilized as my experimental learners (not guinea pigs because apparently that offends Javan). I hope you all will give me honest, critical feedback on ways to make this thing work! So, let's begin with what I spoke about in class today. I talked about seeing things from different perspectives and the importance of gathering information before we make decisions. I also spoke about disagreement and how compromise quite often leads to better results than doing things on your own. I closed by discussing my feelings about people who are indifferent (don't really care) concerning the many problems we face today. I want to know how you feel on this subject (indifference). Am I just completely and totally wrong? Is it alright to be indifferent about big issues? Shouldn't we all (at least those who utilize their right to vote) be informed about the major concerns in this country before we make decisions? What about the war in Iraq? Is it ok for someone to simply not care about what is going on there? Whether you agree or disagree with what I said in class, let me know how you feel about some of these questions.
