Monday, April 30, 2012
Crazy. How does a 774 mil shortfall turn into a 300 mil surplus? Can we now stop the war on the child? Please? http://ping.fm/c9mVU
The fight might lose us the freedom.
I just finished reading a really interesting article about George Hotz, the hacker who broke into the iPhone and Sony Playstation. Brilliant kid. I have a soft spot for people who can break into things, fix things, make things. My husband is an engineer. But, when Sony sued Hotz in retaliation, the incident became a trigger for a hacker war. Anonymous, the code hacking group, came to Hotz's defense.
So, reiterating my interest in folks who can break into things, fix things, and make things, I have been following Anonymous online for ages, intially because they supported Wikileaks and Julian Assange, and, then subsequently, because they were interesting in and of themselves as a force in world politics - or, at least, corporate politics - and started supporting the Occupy movement. I watched almost in real time as they shut down this or that website and broke into this or that server and, then, boasted about it all on twitter. From my point of view, it seems that there is very little a government or a corporation can do to stop a dedicated hacker or group of hackers from breaking in. At least right now.
I keep wondering at the silliness of my interest in these groups. I am a mildly responsible adult, wife, mother of one, a theatre artist, and, from time to time, political activist of the smallest sort. I will show up for protests and walk around calmly. If pushed, I will carry a sign. I will sign petitions. But don't ask me to be an operative in some crazy scheme to blow up garbage cans in Dundas Square. I do not believe that violence solves anything. Violence is unjustifiable. However, I do believe that non-violent civil disobedience is part of the democratic process.
I have to admit I was very much into Anonymous at first. And still, to some extent, am now. I am intrigued, for example, what will happen tomorrow. Anonymous have called for a worldwide general strike on May Day. Will there be a large response? Will folks simply not go to work? No idea. Now, as a mommy, I am not allowed a day off but I will be watching with interest to see what happens tomorrow.
So what could be bothering me about Anonymous? Again, I have to admit that I, sometimes, wish I could lend a hand. I feel (perhaps perversely) good when a large corporations are proven so vulnerable in such a public face as a website. But, of course, I cannot be of any assistance. I don't even know what half their posts mean. So, I watch.
And I am relieved that I cannot help. When Anonymouse or Lulzsec, a splinter hacker group, broke into Sony's servers and compromised the personal information of thousands of folks, I was dismayed. To me, this is the difference between toilet papering a house and breaking in to steal the silverware while the family sleeps upstairs. Yuk. I don't like it. I know no one got hurt. But if some unscrupulous member gets a hold of this information, a lot of folks could be robbed. And that is, in my opinion, a violent act. It crosses the line. Take on the corporations all you want but leave folks like me alone.
And, I am worried. Anonymous call themselves legion but the real legion are folklets like me. Folks who get scared. Why is this an issue?
The government will start to capitalize on our fear. What if the real legion stops supporting the fight against initiatives to control and lock down the Internet? What if the real legion stops because they perceive the current Internet environment to be unsafe? If the Occupy movement had turned violent, for example, I am sure a lot of folks would stop quietly supporting it from their couches and their kitchen tables. And so, too, those folks will stop quietly supporting Anonymous and other hacker groups.
I hope I am wrong but I am starting to think that Anonymous might be the excuse the government is looking for to lock down the Internet even as Anonymous fights to keep it free. And, sadly, that lockdown will hurt us all.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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Sunday, April 29, 2012
Love, love, love Indian cooking. Gotta smell my house, dudes. :) New dish I am trying today: http://ping.fm/LCHlb
Feels a bit like a short person jumping up and down waving a little flag in a huge crowd. Social Networking 101. http://ping.fm/ysLbw
Monday, April 23, 2012
The Big Gender Monday Morning
Boy, this was The Big Gender Monday Morning. From tomboys to educating boys about sex in a porn saturated world, to no sexual bias in personal pronouns, it was a very interesting read as I got caught up this morning. And, to add a little salt, I also read about a rape victim being publicly humiliated, read with satisfaction that Mitt Romney is despised by single women, and watched this funny video about a couple negotiating honestly and plainly about sex. What to talk about...hmmmmm. Well, the funny video, of course.
A couple are on a date and the night is coming to a close and the two of them honestly discuss what they want from each other and how they see the relationship going. She says she's not really that attracted to him but he's a nice enough guy. He says he thinks she very attractive but not very smart. She says she needs air conditioning in his apartment and a nice present or trip over the course of a short relationship. He says he's not only got air conditioning but a nice apartment and would be happy to buy her an expensive present in return for certain sexual favours. It's funny. It's funny because it's so often true. Whether we like it or not, this is how many relationships play out.
But I am struck, as I am so often, with one question: Where in this equation lives female desire? I see the male desire. We are to assume the man asked the woman out in the first place and though it is not he who initiates the honest part of the discussion, it is he who must invite her up to his apartment first. Pretty old fashioned, huh? Aren't women supposed to be emancipated? To ask a guy out? To initiate sexual contact?
Well, the problem with the video is that it's funny. Not that it shouldn't be, but here's the thing: This video shows a couple talking honestly and it's funny. The only time honesty is funny is when the truth is uncomfortable. The video posits that if we negotiated many short-lived romances honestly, the conversations might sound more like a sex trade negotiations than sweet nothings. It's funny because it's true.
So, it really makes me wonder. Is that what it's really like out there? Is this generation of men growing up believing that if they are always going to have to pay for sex if they want a beautiful (albeit stupid) woman? Is the generation of women coming forward still subduing its own desire for the sake of a nice necklace?
Well, obviously, or I wouldn't be laughing at the video.
Until female desire is accepted as a norm, and women are allowed to own that instead of just a pretty necklace, there will be no hope of gender equality. If, always, the underlying assumption in a short (or long) term relationship is the woman wants stuff and the man wants sex, then not much is really going to change.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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A couple are on a date and the night is coming to a close and the two of them honestly discuss what they want from each other and how they see the relationship going. She says she's not really that attracted to him but he's a nice enough guy. He says he thinks she very attractive but not very smart. She says she needs air conditioning in his apartment and a nice present or trip over the course of a short relationship. He says he's not only got air conditioning but a nice apartment and would be happy to buy her an expensive present in return for certain sexual favours. It's funny. It's funny because it's so often true. Whether we like it or not, this is how many relationships play out.
But I am struck, as I am so often, with one question: Where in this equation lives female desire? I see the male desire. We are to assume the man asked the woman out in the first place and though it is not he who initiates the honest part of the discussion, it is he who must invite her up to his apartment first. Pretty old fashioned, huh? Aren't women supposed to be emancipated? To ask a guy out? To initiate sexual contact?
Well, the problem with the video is that it's funny. Not that it shouldn't be, but here's the thing: This video shows a couple talking honestly and it's funny. The only time honesty is funny is when the truth is uncomfortable. The video posits that if we negotiated many short-lived romances honestly, the conversations might sound more like a sex trade negotiations than sweet nothings. It's funny because it's true.
So, it really makes me wonder. Is that what it's really like out there? Is this generation of men growing up believing that if they are always going to have to pay for sex if they want a beautiful (albeit stupid) woman? Is the generation of women coming forward still subduing its own desire for the sake of a nice necklace?
Well, obviously, or I wouldn't be laughing at the video.
Until female desire is accepted as a norm, and women are allowed to own that instead of just a pretty necklace, there will be no hope of gender equality. If, always, the underlying assumption in a short (or long) term relationship is the woman wants stuff and the man wants sex, then not much is really going to change.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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Friday, April 20, 2012
Dirty hands or no?
What would you do? If faced with the prospect of staying on unemployment benefits or doing something, any kind of job?
Canada is facing a problem in that its own workers are staying on unemployment insurance while close to 200,000 foreign workers are brought in to do jobs that Canadians won't do. Granted these jobs are tough and your hands get dirty. And a significant percentage of the population would consider the work below them.
And here we are, at the crux of it: I really don't know what's right for other people but I know what I would do for myself. I would take the job. I know this because a few times in my life I have taken the job or been willing to do the dirty work rather than sit at home being idle. So, I am left wondering. Why do these folks feel they are better than I? Also, I have to state that at my age and health, there are less and less hard labour jobs I could do -- I have done a bit of damage to my knees and back over my lifetime -- and I am not suggesting folks should do things that will hurt them. I am assuming that I am talking about folks who are able bodied, young, and healthy.
However, I am loath, as I assume most Canadians are, to tell people how to live their lives. I can only say that I feel a quiet resentment when I read this story. And I am left with a ton of questions.
Okay, okay. I hear you. But in provinces in which there are chronicly high levels of unemployment, I wonder why folks don't move to where they can find a job more to their liking. Yes, it's hard but isn't it better than staying idle? We only have one life. We want to make the best of it, no? So, I guess when it comes right down to it, my real question is why don't folks want to work?
Okay. Come and get me. :)
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Like what you read?
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Canada is facing a problem in that its own workers are staying on unemployment insurance while close to 200,000 foreign workers are brought in to do jobs that Canadians won't do. Granted these jobs are tough and your hands get dirty. And a significant percentage of the population would consider the work below them.
And here we are, at the crux of it: I really don't know what's right for other people but I know what I would do for myself. I would take the job. I know this because a few times in my life I have taken the job or been willing to do the dirty work rather than sit at home being idle. So, I am left wondering. Why do these folks feel they are better than I? Also, I have to state that at my age and health, there are less and less hard labour jobs I could do -- I have done a bit of damage to my knees and back over my lifetime -- and I am not suggesting folks should do things that will hurt them. I am assuming that I am talking about folks who are able bodied, young, and healthy.
However, I am loath, as I assume most Canadians are, to tell people how to live their lives. I can only say that I feel a quiet resentment when I read this story. And I am left with a ton of questions.
- In harsh economic times, should people be forced to take work they don't want?
- Should people be forced to take work they don't want ever?
- I don't advocate cutting people off from unemployment benefits, but if they refuse to work, is this really fair to the rest of society?
- Would a reduction in benefits make sense?
Okay, okay. I hear you. But in provinces in which there are chronicly high levels of unemployment, I wonder why folks don't move to where they can find a job more to their liking. Yes, it's hard but isn't it better than staying idle? We only have one life. We want to make the best of it, no? So, I guess when it comes right down to it, my real question is why don't folks want to work?
Okay. Come and get me. :)
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Raising 'em up -- in jail.
Unless I hadn't read it myself, I am pretty sure I wouldn't have believed that any police, anywhere would take a six year old child out of school in handcuffs and let her sit in jail because of a tantrum.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/04/17/georgia-kindergarten-handcuffed.html?cmp=rss
My gut reaction to sending a child to jail is negative. The response is heavy handed and inappropriate. We have gone a long way toward criminalizing youth in society. Are we going to criminalize childhood, too? If so, we will actually need all those jails the conservatives plan to build. I posted the article on facebook.
Well to my surprise, the responses were not as negative as I would have thought. Only one person hated the thought. Others, thoughtful and caring folk, had witnessed children behave this way. Seen other students and teachers hurt by tantrum behaviour. They felt that this measure made sense to them and, definitely, the generally folks felt the parents had failed the child. Made me think....
Right. And there are a ton of questions.
Should teachers have the right to physically restrain a child? Would they want to, if they did? Could they have sought help? A social worker or other professional might have been consulted. Teachers can be key in children's development. Many troubled kids cite a teacher along the way who mentored and guided them on a clearer path. But, do teachers really have the time or energy with schools being turned into factories with severely reduced bottom-lined resources, demanding curriculums, and standardized testing?
The child would have, certainly, been an ongoing problem. Why was the child in a mainstream class and not in special ed? Where were the resources to support that teacher in class? Where was a TA or Caregiver for the child? These measures would come down to resources which, we all know, no longer exist in many school systems. There are no provisions for TA or special ed classes because the board in question simply cannot afford them.
And, then, we get back to the parents. One assumes they've noticed their child is a handful. These behaviours don't all of a sudden express at school. Why did they not diagnose, get help? Why have they not done the work to adjust her behaviour? Perhaps they, too, do not have the resources either in ability or the time or money to seek help.
It's pretty clear that the child is living in a system that cannot accommodate her or help her. Though I don't think that she should be allowed to run roughshod over every other person in school, there were many steps along the way in which the child, maybe, could have been helped to adjust her behaviour - well before she was dumped in a cell.
At the end of the day, I am pretty sure that the child carted off in handcuffs is actually just another victim, the smallest and saddest one.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Like what you read?
Encourage me by clicking on one of these ads in this blog.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/04/17/georgia-kindergarten-handcuffed.html?cmp=rss
My gut reaction to sending a child to jail is negative. The response is heavy handed and inappropriate. We have gone a long way toward criminalizing youth in society. Are we going to criminalize childhood, too? If so, we will actually need all those jails the conservatives plan to build. I posted the article on facebook.
Well to my surprise, the responses were not as negative as I would have thought. Only one person hated the thought. Others, thoughtful and caring folk, had witnessed children behave this way. Seen other students and teachers hurt by tantrum behaviour. They felt that this measure made sense to them and, definitely, the generally folks felt the parents had failed the child. Made me think....
- The child has behavioural problems.
- The parents have not or cannot address these problems.
- The child is in mainstream public school.
- There is no teacher's assistant or caregiver applied to the child.
- The teachers were simply unable to calm the child.
- The teachers probably cannot touch or restrain the child for fear of reprisal or suit.
- The only public servants we have who are empowered enough to physically restrain anyone are the police.
Right. And there are a ton of questions.
Should teachers have the right to physically restrain a child? Would they want to, if they did? Could they have sought help? A social worker or other professional might have been consulted. Teachers can be key in children's development. Many troubled kids cite a teacher along the way who mentored and guided them on a clearer path. But, do teachers really have the time or energy with schools being turned into factories with severely reduced bottom-lined resources, demanding curriculums, and standardized testing?
The child would have, certainly, been an ongoing problem. Why was the child in a mainstream class and not in special ed? Where were the resources to support that teacher in class? Where was a TA or Caregiver for the child? These measures would come down to resources which, we all know, no longer exist in many school systems. There are no provisions for TA or special ed classes because the board in question simply cannot afford them.
And, then, we get back to the parents. One assumes they've noticed their child is a handful. These behaviours don't all of a sudden express at school. Why did they not diagnose, get help? Why have they not done the work to adjust her behaviour? Perhaps they, too, do not have the resources either in ability or the time or money to seek help.
It's pretty clear that the child is living in a system that cannot accommodate her or help her. Though I don't think that she should be allowed to run roughshod over every other person in school, there were many steps along the way in which the child, maybe, could have been helped to adjust her behaviour - well before she was dumped in a cell.
At the end of the day, I am pretty sure that the child carted off in handcuffs is actually just another victim, the smallest and saddest one.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Like what you read?
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
I worry. I surely do.
I worry. I surely do. But that's just me. I worry about everything. My husband calls me The Worry Girl. Now, I need to sleep nights so I try to behave accordingly (i.e. reduce my worry factor) -- which is why my sweet daughter is experiencing a relatively structured approach to education as opposed to an unschooling approach.
Just to clarify, we homeschool our now twelve year old and have done from the word 'go'. For those of you who aren't intimate with homeschooling jargon, unschooling is a non-process approach to teaching a child. One just lives one's life as normal and the child learns, naturally, the skills he or she needs to live well. No books, no classrooms, no testing - unless the child asks for them. Consider it the opposite to the current approach being used in group schooling, today.
And, for the article that inspired me to write this post, today, take a look at: http://www.alternet.org/education/154849/Chomsky%3A_How_the_Young_Are_Indoctrinated_to_Obey/?page=1. You gotta love Noam Chomsky. This guy is my hero.
Chomsky is suggesting, here, that the current changes in education as predicted by many (we have long known that getting our children a university degree would be very expensive, compared to what the boomers enjoyed) are driven more by the desire to control the population than to allow the population to fulfill its fullest potential because its fullest potential is a dangerous thing. So the prices are going up and the curriculum getting more restricted and the institutions more bottom-line driven. Fewer and fewer folk will be able to afford a university degree...and those people will be rich. The rest will be cowed and controlled, weeded out by frustration and apathy or lack of funds.
And, as the power of unions is systematically garrotted and political voices for the common man drift ever toward the centre (to get access to more political donation money), we know that honest labour will no longer be valued as it has been. It will be harder and harder to live well on a factory job, for example, if no one will pay a reasonable wage -- and if some guy in Nebraska is willing to work for eight bucks an hour, one loses the job entirely. Really makes me wonder who the rich think will buy anything at all, not to mention all the computers and trinkets and such. Henry Ford would have asked the same question.
So, getting a university education may be critical in the coming decades if one wants to make a good living. Even now, I understand folks are struggling to win jobs over others -- even after the proven competency of working in the industry for over thirty years -- because they didn't get a degree way back when. Yikes. But with the system becoming prohibitively expensive, how the heck are the average and poor kids going to aspire to even our slipping standard of living?
Now, I am not saying that a child has to go to university to live a fulfilling life. Our current lifestyle seems to be producing folks who can't cut their own grass, clean their own house, cook their own meals, or change a light bulb. So, anyone with a bit moxy and an entrepreneurial spirit who is willing to service these basic needs will probably be successful. Again, another trend predicted decades ago.
Current group schooling approaches produce many things but moxy surely isn't one of them. This is one of the reasons I homeschool. However, if my sweet daughter ever hopes to go to university, she is going to have to be able ot prove that she can get grades. I am currently researching the best methods to get homeschoolers into university - most involve taking online courses and tests. Bleck.
Huh. So how do you school a child so that she is an independent thinker AND capable of conforming in order to ensure that no doors are shut against her choice of lifestyle? Well, everyday, we do a bit of book learning. Everyday, we get a bit more under our belt. I can only hope (as I am sure all parents are hoping in these uncertain times) that I am doing enough.
But I try not to worry. :)
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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Just to clarify, we homeschool our now twelve year old and have done from the word 'go'. For those of you who aren't intimate with homeschooling jargon, unschooling is a non-process approach to teaching a child. One just lives one's life as normal and the child learns, naturally, the skills he or she needs to live well. No books, no classrooms, no testing - unless the child asks for them. Consider it the opposite to the current approach being used in group schooling, today.
And, for the article that inspired me to write this post, today, take a look at: http://www.alternet.org/education/154849/Chomsky%3A_How_the_Young_Are_Indoctrinated_to_Obey/?page=1. You gotta love Noam Chomsky. This guy is my hero.
Chomsky is suggesting, here, that the current changes in education as predicted by many (we have long known that getting our children a university degree would be very expensive, compared to what the boomers enjoyed) are driven more by the desire to control the population than to allow the population to fulfill its fullest potential because its fullest potential is a dangerous thing. So the prices are going up and the curriculum getting more restricted and the institutions more bottom-line driven. Fewer and fewer folk will be able to afford a university degree...and those people will be rich. The rest will be cowed and controlled, weeded out by frustration and apathy or lack of funds.
And, as the power of unions is systematically garrotted and political voices for the common man drift ever toward the centre (to get access to more political donation money), we know that honest labour will no longer be valued as it has been. It will be harder and harder to live well on a factory job, for example, if no one will pay a reasonable wage -- and if some guy in Nebraska is willing to work for eight bucks an hour, one loses the job entirely. Really makes me wonder who the rich think will buy anything at all, not to mention all the computers and trinkets and such. Henry Ford would have asked the same question.
So, getting a university education may be critical in the coming decades if one wants to make a good living. Even now, I understand folks are struggling to win jobs over others -- even after the proven competency of working in the industry for over thirty years -- because they didn't get a degree way back when. Yikes. But with the system becoming prohibitively expensive, how the heck are the average and poor kids going to aspire to even our slipping standard of living?
Now, I am not saying that a child has to go to university to live a fulfilling life. Our current lifestyle seems to be producing folks who can't cut their own grass, clean their own house, cook their own meals, or change a light bulb. So, anyone with a bit moxy and an entrepreneurial spirit who is willing to service these basic needs will probably be successful. Again, another trend predicted decades ago.
Current group schooling approaches produce many things but moxy surely isn't one of them. This is one of the reasons I homeschool. However, if my sweet daughter ever hopes to go to university, she is going to have to be able ot prove that she can get grades. I am currently researching the best methods to get homeschoolers into university - most involve taking online courses and tests. Bleck.
Huh. So how do you school a child so that she is an independent thinker AND capable of conforming in order to ensure that no doors are shut against her choice of lifestyle? Well, everyday, we do a bit of book learning. Everyday, we get a bit more under our belt. I can only hope (as I am sure all parents are hoping in these uncertain times) that I am doing enough.
But I try not to worry. :)
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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Saturday, April 7, 2012
Some potatoes and a root cellar.
I used to joke with my husband a lot about how Canada has a summer that's about two weeks long. He's from Australia, a country in which the summer never ends. The warm Canadian months, though, come and go. From the first blush of green to the erupting forsythia, to waves of flowers, back to the flat green of summer, and then the chill. The inevitable chill. It all seems to pass so quickly.
Just like the flower of civilization. In my lifetime, I have witnessed the flower burst forth in blazing colour and, then, slowly die on the vine. We went from marching for civil rights, to wallowing in them, and, then, wondering why those civil rights are disappearing. We went from investing heavily in education and science to, now, veiling ourselves in superstition. We built amazing institutions and, then, ignored them, only to 'question their viablility'.
No, now it's about ferris wheels and casinos - more and more spots to play, to squander our hard won free time, and squander our hard-earned money. And it's more and more hard-earned. We have emerged from talk of a four-day work week only a few decades ago to most people working at least part of the weekend and being tied to work 24/7 with Blackberry's -- so much electronic leash, it's a wonder we're not, like Marley, weighed down and moaning.
But! Wait! Marley chose his chains. We didn't choose this! We love our life!
It was a beautiful flower, though. So amazing to be a part of it. And, I am not done yet. I will fight against the coming winter. Fight against the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, fight against the homogenization of - well - everything. Fight against the loss of civil rights. Fight against the control and demonization of the young. Fight against the criminalization of the poor. Steward as well as I can the environment, those institutions, that education.
But, sadly, I think that too much of my personal resource is starting to go to knitting metaphorical sweaters against the coming cold. And preparing my young one to be able to jump, to change gear quickly and as necessary. Survival in winter. That takes a bit of moxy, a bit of creative thinking. Good thing it's not that cold, yet. I don't think I could function without the Internet, for example. (Ah, the Internet. I think I am doing absolutely everything else in order to save that one darn, beautiful, incredibly dangerous thing and leave the world a better place for our daughter, of course).
I wonder. Can we stop the season changing? I don't think so. Times of high civilization are so fleeting. They come and go -- and I am wondering if, in the past, it was the same lack of attention that lost us what we won. Because, most of the time in history, the bulk of the population fights against yawning oppression. And, even as we enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) our privilege in the western world, even the most uncaring among us must be aware of how lucky we are. The rest of the world is not so lucky.
And I also I keep wondering if the fighting is better? I truly don't wish for tougher times, of course, but I wonder. It makes us leaner, a bit meaner, but more creative and clever. And right now, we are bloated, slow, docile. Not at our best.
In a perfect world, I would give my child a flower - an armful of flowers picked gaily in the sunlight - but, instead, I am working toward giving her some potatoes and a root cellar. Best have something in for the winter.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $160. Both prices hold until April 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Like what you read?
Encourage me by clicking on one of these ads in this blog.
Just like the flower of civilization. In my lifetime, I have witnessed the flower burst forth in blazing colour and, then, slowly die on the vine. We went from marching for civil rights, to wallowing in them, and, then, wondering why those civil rights are disappearing. We went from investing heavily in education and science to, now, veiling ourselves in superstition. We built amazing institutions and, then, ignored them, only to 'question their viablility'.
No, now it's about ferris wheels and casinos - more and more spots to play, to squander our hard won free time, and squander our hard-earned money. And it's more and more hard-earned. We have emerged from talk of a four-day work week only a few decades ago to most people working at least part of the weekend and being tied to work 24/7 with Blackberry's -- so much electronic leash, it's a wonder we're not, like Marley, weighed down and moaning.
But! Wait! Marley chose his chains. We didn't choose this! We love our life!
It was a beautiful flower, though. So amazing to be a part of it. And, I am not done yet. I will fight against the coming winter. Fight against the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, fight against the homogenization of - well - everything. Fight against the loss of civil rights. Fight against the control and demonization of the young. Fight against the criminalization of the poor. Steward as well as I can the environment, those institutions, that education.
But, sadly, I think that too much of my personal resource is starting to go to knitting metaphorical sweaters against the coming cold. And preparing my young one to be able to jump, to change gear quickly and as necessary. Survival in winter. That takes a bit of moxy, a bit of creative thinking. Good thing it's not that cold, yet. I don't think I could function without the Internet, for example. (Ah, the Internet. I think I am doing absolutely everything else in order to save that one darn, beautiful, incredibly dangerous thing and leave the world a better place for our daughter, of course).
I wonder. Can we stop the season changing? I don't think so. Times of high civilization are so fleeting. They come and go -- and I am wondering if, in the past, it was the same lack of attention that lost us what we won. Because, most of the time in history, the bulk of the population fights against yawning oppression. And, even as we enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) our privilege in the western world, even the most uncaring among us must be aware of how lucky we are. The rest of the world is not so lucky.
And I also I keep wondering if the fighting is better? I truly don't wish for tougher times, of course, but I wonder. It makes us leaner, a bit meaner, but more creative and clever. And right now, we are bloated, slow, docile. Not at our best.
In a perfect world, I would give my child a flower - an armful of flowers picked gaily in the sunlight - but, instead, I am working toward giving her some potatoes and a root cellar. Best have something in for the winter.
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $160. Both prices hold until April 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Like what you read?
Encourage me by clicking on one of these ads in this blog.
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