This Brazen Teacher

Farewells

2009-07-07T13:37:00.004-04:00

I don't have the patience to figure out a lot of things. One is how to transfer feeds and content, in spite of Samurai's helpful advice. Hopefully I don't lose too many people along the way. It will be some metaphorical house-cleaning. Pretty please re-subscribe HERE.

Goodbye Blogger.

Moving Time!

2009-07-03T13:33:00.003-04:00

Looking at new Real Estate. Come check it out.

Extreme Makeover: School Edition

2009-07-01T12:57:00.010-04:00

I teach in two school buildings and people will ask:

"Which is the most ideal of the two spaces?" My answer is: both and neither. Truthfully if I wanted the ideal working space it would be on the floor. Throw away the desks, and give me washable wide open floors with carpet squares, drawing boards, and huge windows for gallons of natural light.

I ordered clipboards my first year teaching for drawing outside. The kids sprawl on their bellies and CHILL. Not fall asleep I'm tired chill, but become centered, focused and peaceful, chill. In the winter the clipboards reside in a class Art station. When students finish projects early they can draw in their sketchbooks on the floor. Soon they are asking to do regular projects down there too.

I discovered The Ordrup School in Denmark on Imagine School Design. The website is dedicated to featuring innovative school design from around the world. The Ordrup School was designed by Bosch and Fjord Architectural Firm, with a lot of collaboration from teachers and students. The architects focused on 3 learning concepts when designing the spaces: "Peace and Absorption," "Discussion and Cooperation," "Security and Presence."

Question for the class:

Why is it that a typical Public Elementary Classroom almost hits the target:

But apparently once they hit puberty they learn best with... ?

The Creative Bug

2009-06-29T20:46:00.003-04:00

Hugh McLeod. GapingVoid.com

"Counter-culture and Urban Art is where it's at," says Tom to me on the phone one day back in November.

He's 28, lives with his dad, no job... just makes tedious, hyper-detailed pointillist art in moleskin sketchbooks hoping for a break. Once he got offered a scholarship to a prestigious Art school, and was rejected when they found out he had spent time in jail for tagging buildings with graffiti as a teen.

I imagine he's bitter at a world that consistently kicks him down for not playing by the rules. His sister is a doctor with a 5 bedroom house upstate, yet he continues to create in his Wisconsin bedroom, 10, 12, sometimes 14 hours a day. He says "he has to do it," in the simple way one tells you they are hungry and must have dinner. I think even if MOMA called him tomorrow he's feel like a sellout and give them a moleskin to shove up their...

"It's on the streets where no commercial influences can hack the work before it reaches the public. Kids on the streets aren't doing it for money, they're doing it for the love, and that's pure man."

True words my unemployed, hippie friend. Never-the-less, Paris Hilton and The Jonas Brothers are still getting the media spots and big money contracts. This post is dedicated to refreshingly non-mainstream, urban, visual artists shifting cultural conversation and redefining the artistic landscape. You know- the little guys.

To be fair they're not that "little" or I wouldn't have heard of them. Really- they're the "littler" guys, but people outside of the art world have likely never heard of them. Some are successful at the originality thing, some not as much. All links were selected on the specific criteria: I like them. Oh, and this is not your Thomas Kinkade country fucking kitchen.

Is ingenuity possible anymore? All further judgment is up to you.

The Wooster Collective
New York Art Collective dedicated to showcasing up and coming Urban/Street Artists. I love everything they post. Literally.

Reverse Graffiti
Alexandre Orion from South America creates a mural on the side of a freeway in Brazil, and makes an environmental statement in the process in this powerful short video.

David Shrigley
Random, fun, and also kind of demented. I spend more time than I care to mention looking at his photograph section.

Luke Chueh Anime
Teaching children to draw Anime has been one of the most rewarding units as an Elementary School Teacher. The quote on his home page from a child's letter, compelled me to see more.

Art of Burning Man
Hippies in the desert of Nevada are not very "urban." But these installations are wickedly cutting edge, massive in scale, and genuinely thought provoking.

Gaping Void
While the Art of Hugh McLeod is probably no longer "refreshingly non-mainstream" since his book deal and recent acclaim, he is an authority on retaining Artistic Integrity in this insanely competitive world. He's witty, he's from Scotland, and is my current "Art Crush."

Ghost in the Machine
Art made with vintage cassette tapes. Nuff said.

Street Art by Joshua Allen Harris
Garbage Bags on Street Vents? Sounds boring... right?

Taylor McKimens Installation
I don't get it... and yet I get it. This installation makes powerful statements while leaving me vaguely confused. Fabulous.

Exactitudes
A project that studies fashion, appearance, and the similarities that bind us.

Wesley Burt Drawings
It's hard to find a really impressive drawer anymore. Click above to be impressed.

A Beautiful Revolution
So simple and intriguing, why didn't you think of it?

Animated Graffiti
South American Artist creates a video that animates his work on a city wall. I don't know how he did it, but I was spellbound.

It Takes a Village

2009-06-24T11:55:00.004-04:00

A Child's Bath. Mary Cassatt. 1891.

Several years ago a psychologist named Laurie Miller Brotman studied preschool-age siblings of older children who were already acquainted with the criminal-justice system. These children were from low income, inner city, and often minority families.

Brotman's team tested levels of cortisol, a hormone that spikes when human beings are under stress. When these children were exposed to stressful situations, instead of observing a spike, their cortisol levels remained flattened.

Parents that were raised in homes where yelling, multiple verbal and physical threats were imposed, are going to repeat the same behaviors raising their own children. We learn what we live. When children are subjected to repeated verbal and physical threats from their caregivers, over time these stimuli no longer create escalated stress/cortisol levels. Children learn to adapt to their environment.

Brotman and a team of Family Pyschologists divided the children and parents into Control and Test Groups. The provided the Test Group with Family Interventions and Counseling. They modeled forms of consistent discipline, rewards for good behavior, even things as simple as getting down on the floor to play. And the children's cortisol levels returned to normal. By the time these children were 11, they had significantly lower levels of aggression and obesity than their peers in the Control Group.

"Parenting is a much more separate, solitary activity than it used to be," says Harold S. Koplewicz, the director of the NYU Child Study Center. And he's right... for the most part. There are still places in the world (decreasing rapidly) where child-rearing is not the pursuit of mothers and fathers alone. Indigenous tribes in areas of Africa, New Guinea, and other Pacific Islands still participate in the age old mantra: "It takes a Village."

These tribes know something that we seem to have lost in our modern world. Women and men in their teens and twenties are still in many ways, children themselves, however their bodies are young and strong to handle the rigor of child birth. In these tribes, young people are "child-bearers," but the elders are the "child-rearers." Children are not taken away from their biological parents, but they are not left with them to fend for themselves either. Children in these situations, grow up viewing dozens of people as intimately as their mother and father.

Brotman brings up a good point in her study: Parents in the modern world are sitting at home reading parenting books and wondering "Why is this so hard for me?" Isn't raising children supposed to be glorious, magical and above all... shouldn't I just "get this?"

This is a huge misconception, although you're probably guilty of it even if you agree with everything I'm saying here. Imagine you're standing in the checkout line and you see a mother struggling to put groceries on the conveyor belt. Her 5 year old asks for a candy bar and she says "no." The child begins to shriek: "I want a candy bar!" The Mother tries to stand firm at first, but as the child's screams draw more attention the Mother begins to plead: "Mommy will give you a snack at home if you are quiet." Bystanders are awkwardly trying not to stare, and she grabs a Snickers and throws it in with the rest of her items. Screaming ceases instantly. I've seen this, and inwardly wanted to scream: "Helloooo, this isn't rocket science lady!"

But I'm not a parent. And assuming that I would handle my children any better is part of another bigger problem: separatism and lack of compassion in modern society. I was the result of an amazing upbringing. My mother was an Early Childhood Education major that went to Seminary to become a Minister. She was the daughter of two teachers herself. Even my insanely prepared mother who I love immensely has shared with me, huge regrets from my years as a child. If SHE can struggle, we must show compassion to those who were not as fortunate in life. When we read stories about mothers who dump their babies off in a park, or shake them until it results in brain damage we must stop saying things like:

"I just don't understand that woman."

Brotman is saying: "We should understand it." If you want to read about her Parent Corps program that she started in New York City Preschools, Click HERE. This has fascinating implications for Education.

I Love Onions

2009-06-23T14:05:00.002-04:00

Why are all the good journalists disguised as humorists?

http://www.theonion.com
/content/news/6_year_old_stares_down_bottomless

Dots

2009-06-20T18:11:00.005-04:00

The Starry Night. Vincent Van Gogh. 1889.

Once upon a time there were fireflies, a bike, and drinking alcohol. Oh, and a children's picture book. While not necessarily in that order- like all good stories, seemingly unrelated things appear in the present as a quagmire of moments- and connect in later chapters. At least that's the idea. Steve Jobs said to Stanford's 2005 Graduating class:

"you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

This post is about my recent dots. I'm not sure if it will make a speck of sense. But here's to being advantageous.

Dot 1
There are two places in the world that fireflies glow in synchronicity... one is in East Asia... the other is East Tennessee. My aunt suggested we go see them a few weeks ago when my sister and I visited her in Knoxville. We ended up shopping and eating Veggie Burgers downtown instead. I would like to say that rare moments of natural beauty would trump consumerist decadence... but alas we fell victim to trendy free trade jewelry shops, live music, and people watching. As I surfed Facebook at her house that night a friend had posted: "It sure seems like there aren't as many fireflies anymore."

In fact she's not imagining it. There are fewer fireflies... and scientists have been investigating why. You can read about it HERE if you feel inspired. I stumbled upon the site a few weeks back... 3 firefly signs in 3 weeks. For real though... how "new-age-hippie" is it to start pondering the meaning of this. So I didn't. Just a coincidence.

Dot 2
Last week I posted a story I read to graduating Fourth Graders about signs... life road signs that point the way if you look for them. In order to resist the temptation to appear tormented and depressive in the last six months, I've kept most personal dilemmas off these pages. However this blog- this creative outlet- is because I'm very much like the little boy in the story who followed signs others told him to take. I have found myself in a swamp. I will probably look back and remember 2009 as the year the universe forced me into action... but right now 2009 has been a fucking struggle. Forgive me.

Dot 3
After a night drinking with teachers fresh out of college... at college bars... until last call... I woke up feeling BLEH. Still in the swamp eh Brazen? You big loser. I needed to do something lest I end up in pajamas at 7 pm... watching movies and surfing the internet. Most people think of Yosemite, or the Everglades when they hear of National Parks... not Akron, Ohio. But indeed I live 15 minutes from the beautiful Cuyahoga National Park. The heart of the park is Szalay's Corn Farm and Market. Kids schlup soft serve, old men rock in wooden chairs, and white-bred types feel authentic and hip as they peruse organic produce. Truly, I can make fun of them- I am one.

Dot 4
I stretched out in the sun. After fruitfulish snacks I snapped into my pedals and forced the cement truck in my brain to shove off... 20 miles melted away... the sun was dappling, the flowers were exhuming, and I even got to see a snapping turtle angrily protecting the bike lane.
When I arrived back to the car my brain was quiet. As I took the front wheel off my bike and lifted it to the rack on my car I thought that perhaps... "being in the moment" was the only "place to be" anyway. As I slid the fork into the latch I saw a firefly crawling up the blue aluminum of the bike.

"Aw, hi buddy," I squealed with delight. As he flew upwards off of my bike I raised my head to watch him, and caught eyes with a very amused man exiting his car... who had witnessed my one-sided conversation with the firefly. He he.

The Connect
This is a benefit of being artsy fartsy. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure a lot of people think my line of reasoning is insane. It's a firefly dear. Not a universal sign sent just for you to re-grip the entire meaning of life. And I suppose that I'm ending with this disclaimer because "I don't care." These are my dots, and I'll connect them how I want. Do you have any dots?

Ignore Everybody

2009-06-19T13:31:00.003-04:00

Go here and watch this 8 minute book summary on Hugh McLeod's book:

Ignore Everybody

Because I said so that's why.

PS- thank you to Education Innovation for leading the way.

"Artist, Genius, Depression, Oh My"

2009-06-16T22:35:00.010-04:00

Number 1A. Jackson Pollock. 1948.

David Foster Wallace- talented contemporary writer/ thinker extraordinaire said in a commencement speech to Kenyon Graduates:

"Think of the old cliché about the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master. This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth. It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in: the head. They shoot the terrible master. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger."

He went on to speak about "watching the mind, and creating one's existence, lest it create you." As an Artist who thinks crazy thoughts, as well as a Teacher who must keep that craziness in check... this resonates with me. Being "mindful of one's mind" can be trickier for the more creative thinkers out there and I've always been envious of those who seem to have mastered a healthy way of thinking.

Elizabeth Gilbert- the author of Eat, Pray, Love makes an interesting connection between Artist, Genius, and Depression- and weaves an eloquent and relevant talk about it at Ted.com. Intensely creative individuals and "genius" minds (a highly subjective term to begin with)... tend to also be a bit tormented. She says we quite literally are "killing our geniuses." Gilbert's contention is that: "It doesn't have to be this way."

Her ideas have huge implications for the way that Artists and Teachers alike work and educate young people. You know the types- brilliant kiddos who have a haunted look in their eyes... the ones you secretly pine for as they struggle socially, academically, and emotionally... unable to manage the storms in their head. In contrast are the chipper socialites- who might think "like the rest" but struggle far less- gliding through school with social grace. Broad generalizations aside- schools and society at large would do well to examine why being highly creative, and intensely unique, comes at such a cost to children and adults alike. Must Artistry always = Anguish?

David Lipsky a writer from Rolling Stone wrote in the September 2008 issue: "I think depression is examination you can't turn off." It was from an article in memory of David Foster Wallace, who committed suicide last Fall at his home in California.

Carpet Time with Brazen

2009-06-09T11:07:00.005-04:00

I read this to Fourth Grade on the last day of school, although in my opinion, every adult could benefit from this read. Click HERE to read the online version.

"You're never too old to grow young"--- Mae West

Dear Fourth Grade... A clarification

2009-06-08T13:18:00.005-04:00

Kleines Madchen im blauen Fauteill. Mary Cassatt. 1878.

Last week I posted a satirical letter to the Fourth Grade graduating class. Just to clarify... since Brazen egos can't endure false assumption... that letter was fake. I would never send such a letter to 10 year olds- which I thought was clear- but am beginning to realize perhaps wasn't the case.

The letter was parody off an Iyanla Vanzant quote that I did indeed, naively try to send to Fourth Grade a few years back as a graduation gift. My principal had (quite kindly) pointed out it was "over their heads..." which was the fodder for last week's post. Below is the actual quote... there are parallels in my rewritten version that you can see HERE... albeit a lot of brazen reworking.

The stress began the day you learned you were expected to please other people. Parents wanted you to stay clean and be quiet. Neighbors wanted you to be respectful and helpful. Teachers wanted you to be attentive and alert. Friends wanted you to share and hang out. Whenever you failed to do exactly what someone expected of you, you weren’t good, or good enough. You were bad, weak or dumb. Unfortunately, you began to believe it. Giving in to the demands day by day, you lost a little more of yourself and your understanding of the truth. The truth is you are fine just the way you are! Perfect in your imperfection! You are divine! Growing brighter and more brilliant each day, you can accept the truth of who you are. The next time you want to know who you are, what you are, or if something is the right thing to do, don’t ask your neighbor- ask the power within… and pay attention to the response.

--- Iyanla Vanzant

To Grade or Not to Grade...

2009-06-05T12:20:00.012-04:00

High Tech Child. Nam June Paik. 1990.

Yesterday a student cried about her last project's grade... It was 23/25 points... an "A minus."

If this were a rare occurrence I wouldn't be angrily dedicating a blog post to it. Indeed, it happens every time grades are returned... in every class... with every grade level.

Never mind that she experienced tapping the feelings of Beethoven's 9th Symphony to create Abstract Design. Never mind that she had been given tools how to visualize her innermost feelings... implementing overlapping, detail, gradients, pattern, geometric and organic shapes. Never mind the pieces of her being forever changed from working side by side with 25 other children for 4 hours... filling the classroom with their quiet, creative energy.

Never mind because this eight year old was going to argue with me until I relented and gave her the 2 points back. Couldn't she do some extra credit?

I am against formal evaluation. Show me stats citing how competition for a grade fosters motivation to work harder and smarter... and I'll show you an equally compelling argument** that connects competition to everything we hate about Public Education.

**Click the first link of the list to download the pdf document.

Dear Fourth Grade

2009-06-03T21:48:00.007-04:00

Deaf To You. This Brazen Teacher. 2007

Two years ago... I sent an Iyanla Vanzant excerpt to the copy room as a farewell gift for the fourth grade graduating class. My principal asked me to pick something else... it was too "over their heads."

I love my principal. She was right... as well as being dreadfully nervous to point out my naivety... so I was quick to apologize. I think I settled on a Crayola Marker tied to their name in silver pen. I couldn't help but wonder however, if "inappropriate and over their heads" really just meant...

"Too Honest."

In the spirit of being truly inappropriate, I post today:

Dear Fourth Graders,

You are graduating. Wow! I am so proud of you. Welcome to pre-teen-hood. It's going to be a blast. You are entering a phase of your life that can at best, be described as harrowing. When you were little everyone expected you to just, well... live... to eat, breath, play and laugh... stuff like that. You will notice with each passing year, adults will expect more from you in order to maintain 'good standing.' Your teachers will expect responsibility, good citizenship, and of course good grades. Indeed your grades directly affect their job status these days. Your parents will expect you to be clean, orderly, well-dressed, intelligent, kind to the elderly, as well as talented in some liberal arts pursuit such as poetry or chess. Friends will want you to conform to certain styles and behaviors, and the opposite sex will expect you to know exactly what they are thinking. Sadly by the end of junior-high, you will be swimming, aka floundering, in a sea of expectations.

But don't start panicking yet. You know how to paddle... That's the first bit of advice:

1. Question everything. This one will be tricky at first. You've navigated the first 5 years of school being taught to "follow directions." Once you learn to question things... the joints in your brain will crank like you are 5 years old all over again! Question things you never thought about before. Question television, the news, your teachers, your friends, even your parents... but especially question yourself. You are on a quest to create who you are. You will do some things right and screw many more things up... but if you ask more questions now... you will question yourself much less later I promise. Which brings me to number...

2. Respect all beings. Questioning others can coexist quite peacefully within respectful constrains. Respect your teachers, your friends, your parents... and especially yourself. You all deserve it.

3. You are all beautiful. Perfect in your imperfection. Embrace your "flaws" because indeed they will lead you to many of the most fascinating discoveries of your life. Share your strengths! Never hide them...speak your truth even when your voice shakes. "Ugly people" only exist because they believe when others tell them they are ugly. Be rest assured people will try to make you feel ugly... but they are simply mistaken. Beautiful people do the ugliest of things- and you will too... yet you will still be beautiful. Say it to yourself every morning in the mirror. Say it in the cafeteria line, on the bus, and before all pop quizzes.

Indeed I am aware you will only grasp this in the most 2-dimensional way. Yet I am reassured that you are not too young to receive this knowledge. Let me tell you something to help illustrate my point. As a former Asst. Preschool Teacher, many of the students in our class practiced writing their letters. They had no idea why they were doing it... But write they did. Over time the letters turned into an alphabet... and the alphabet turned into words... and soon the words turned into paragraphs... and by the time they will be writing essays for some godawful standardized test... they will have forgotten when they were 4 years old, and first started scribbling long rows of letter "A's."

I can't promise you much- but if you practice numbers 1, 2, and 3 each day... even without understanding it... you will wake up as an adult, and find yourself living them. You will have long forgotten the afternoons on the way home from soccer practice... while your mother was on the phone... and you looked at yourself in the rear view mirror and thought... "Yeah... I'm frickin' beautiful! And f#*! the cookie sheets!

I love you more than you could ever know,

This Brazen Teacher

Constructing Dreams

2009-05-29T10:20:00.011-04:00

Construction Materials I. Steven Perris. 2008.

When the old medical building was demolished to build a new bank, they put up a construction fence spanning the driveway between the school parking lot and the building site. The school teachers would take the 4 year olds out for morning recess at 10:30 once the weather started to get warmer. As the foundation for the new bank was poured, Cat Trucks, large planks of wood, and stone brick arrived. The students would crane young necks around the edge of the school to watch the modern miracle in action.

After recess, the teachers lined them along the fence to get a closer look. For 15 minutes the high pitched chatter ceased completely... "More so than nap time," remarked a teacher. "Indeed," said the other, "we should make this a daily stop." So each day before lunch the little ones would line up and peer through holes of the orange plastic fence to watch the neon vested workers toil in the sun.

A week passed, and the class came out one morning to discover the workers had used a "miracle machine" to relocate the entire trunk of tree along the fence for them to sit on. As fond as the men were of these little admirers, the hard hats never ventured over to talk... always opting to wave from afar... never breaking from work until noon.

The preschoolers watched them, starry-eyed every afternoon... a highly anticipated event. Davey- the endearing joker of the mix commented- "I wish I could do that..." fading off as he dreamed of operating bulldozers and dump trucks. "Yeah..." echoed a few others. Children began to look at each other and nod. Boys and Girls alike agreed, this was the most magnificent job they had seen in 4 years on the planet. As the days continued, the children began to mimic steering steamrollers, spreading asphalt, hoisting 2x4's... the teachers clucked happily... "how innocent they are."

Finally one day Davey stood up and looked one of the construction workers dead in the eye. Davey knew how to work the twinkle... the big grin... even 50 year old hard hats couldn't resist the dimply grin. The worker strode over in his tall work boots. Davey shuffled his feet nervously. "That is so cool!" he giggled. "Yeah?" said the worker. "Yes! So Cool! Awesome!" echoed 20 kids. "I want to be like you when I grow up," said Davey with a hopeful expression.

"Aw kid..." said the worker kicking some dirt with his boot... "trust me, don't do this."

Davey's smile remained plastered on his face as he turned to his friend Andy with excitement... as if to say- "What a crazy guy that is." And the kids continued to watch in wonderment, as the worker laughed under his breath... and walked away shaking his head.

Skill Not Talent

2009-05-27T19:18:00.012-04:00

Art is a talent... indeed. But it is no more a talent than those put in the "bluebird" reading group in 1st grade... over the "cardinals." Some kids excel at reading. Some kids flounder a bit.... some a lot. Yet all children learn to read don't they? Each year the 8 year olds and I prove that every. single. one. of them.... can draw more than a stick figure.

I challenge every person who has an inkling to learn to draw... to find a good teacher and take a course. You can learn it. I swear times infinity.

"Every child is born an artist. The problem is remaining an artist as they grow up."-- Pablo Picasso

What Do We Need?

2009-05-20T20:20:00.006-04:00

Lithographie. Jean Dubuffet. 1961.

"It is my bizarre theory that the people of your culture are destroying the world not because they're vicious or stupid, as Mother Culture teaches, but because they're terribly, terribly deprived- of things that humans absolutely must have, simply cannot go on living without year after year, generation after generation. It's my bizarre theory that, given a choice between destroying the world and having the things they really, deeply want, they'll choose the latter. But before they can make that choice, they must see that choice."--- Daniel Quinn, My Ishmael.

My attention was drawn to an article on CNN.com a few weeks ago, about the higher than ever before number of urban youth being killed in Chicago... 36 kids so far this school year. The author references a comment Arne Duncan made during his term as CEO of Chicago Public Schools:

"If that happened to one of Chicago's wealthiest suburbs -- and God forbid it ever did -- if it was a child being shot dead every two weeks in Hinsdale or Winnetka or Barrington, do you think the status quo would remain? There's no way it would," he said.

Which reminded me a lot of Mr. Daniel Quinn as referenced above- who wrote the Ishmael Trilogy.

"What I'm looking at is something the people of your culture feel sure doesn't need to be looked at. These are drug addicts, losers, gangsters, trash. The adult attitude toward them is, "If they want to live like animals, let them live like animals. If they want to kill themselves off, let them kill themselves off. They're defectives, sociopaths, and misfits, and we're well rid of them."--- Daniel Quinn.

Quinn asks the quintessential question in his books... What do these children need?

I'm curious to know what people think... because to me... Ishamael, and My Ishmael are the only books I've ever read, that get to the core of human struggle on planet earth. When I read them I wept. I've always felt that something was wrong with me. Why can't I be happy? Why can't I appreciate my life? I've tried Zen. I've tried meditation. I've tried therapy. I've tried laughing for no reason. I write a journal. I read. I teach. I love. I learn. Even still... something isn't right with the world.

I felt like a freak until I read these books.

What is it that children need... that humans need that they are not getting? Why is depression rising? Mental Illness in young children? Crime? Violence? Let's hear from the trenches now.

If you have read the books... go ahead and cheat. You'll still get full credit.

Critically Speaking

2009-05-15T11:07:00.016-04:00

"She made me put these shapes in the background!" J groaned, the week after I returned from a planned absence.

The "she" being my substitute... the bemoaned shapes an assignment requirement for the Fourth grade Cubist rough draft planned the week prior.

"She was following the lesson's directions," I told J.

"But you give us a choice to take your advice," interjected C- a spicy 10 year old with a head for right and wrong, and a brave voice to speak her mind.

The quandary:

One of the building blocks of a good Art Education: Students are asked to select between qualitative relationships, rather than rely on set rules and standards. I work with young children, who must learn to work "freely within restraint" i.e.- learn to follow the rules before they can learn to break, mix and match them. J had begun putting orderly, wavy stripes in her background. Very safe. Also, very "not Cubist". The sub's mistake was not her advice to make changes, it was that she was unable to explain "why" in a way that made J understand it's importance.

"Overlapping and adding variety creates interest. Your stripes are carefully drawn," I tell J, "and I can tell you took time filling the whole composition. But what would happen if you ate cake 3 meals a day for a year?"

J knows what I'm getting at, I use this metaphor to illustrate the importance of variety often. "Well I DID use variety, Miss B" she drawled. "I was going to do different color stripes..."

"What would happen if you had different flavors of cake three meals a day for a whole year..."

An amused eye roll commenced.

Thus ensued a class discussion that lasted close to 20 minutes. Should students be forced to alter their art- if their perception of that alteration is negative- in order to appease the teacher and secure a better grade?

In my mind, a teacher must explain things in a way that connects with a student's sense of reason. If we can't connect with that, then we're forcing them into the cave without a flashlight. I wonder if this is why C jabbed me about 'letting them choose.' If I can't explain a thing in a way that connects inside them... I feel icky 'forcing it.' Before they are ready, kids are made to [insert correct answer here] by an impatient system... They get the food without the recipe... they learn to perform, but do not comprehend... consume quantities, but not cook their own meal...This is my biggest criticism of modern public education. I think in Art the glaring hypocrisy is much more painful than in other subjects. A horse to beat another day... J was scared and making a candy cane background because she knew it was impossible to screw up. I don't blame her, she could draw some damn sexy stripes...

A good Art Teacher sees when a child takes risks, even if the Art looks... well, bad. They can also see 'nice art' that looks drab and safe. All teachers in the Arts, run into this unique problem, and evaluating accordingly is a toughie. Art is not an expression of simply the mind. It's a song of the heart chords. A child becomes embarrassed when fixing a multiplication error, yet pours bitter tears when asked to fix their drawing. They are attached to it in a way that the Math and Sciences cannot provide. Yes I'm bragging about my subject now, bear with me.

In the end, J had felt slighted. I could tell she was considering these ideas, but she had been stewing all week. Actually this whole class was stewing from the sub's well-intentioned, misplaced advice. Some were ready to come around. But not J... she asked if she could stick with the stripes. I resorted to scare tactics then...

"J, you are a free woman in this class. Yet, I cannot in good conscience give you full points for your understanding of Cubism if you aren't willing to experiment with abstract shape. As long as you're aware of the grade deductions... the choice is yours."

And then it struck me. What the heck choice am I giving if I 'punish' her with a point deduction, when she doesn't come to the knowledge in the time line I have set for her? I found this to be dreadfully depressing. And after all this hullabaloo... I found this on Google:

It is a Picasso Portrait. With stripes in the background.

Ways to Think

2009-05-08T19:07:00.004-04:00

Bonds of Union. M.C. Escher. 1956.

..."Some time ago I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed a perfect score. The instructor and the student agreed to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected. I read the examination question:

"SHOW HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE HEIGHT OF A TALL BUILDING WITH THE AID OF A BAROMETER."

The student had answered, "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring the rope up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."

The student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade in his physics course and to certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this.

I suggested that the student have another try. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said he had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on.

In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula x=0.5*a*t^^2, calculate the height of the building."

At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student almost full credit. While leaving my colleague's office, I recalled that the student had said that he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were.

"Well," said the student, "there are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of simple proportion, determine the height of the building."

"Fine," I said, "and others?"

"Yes," said the student, "there is a very basic measurement method you will like. In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units."

"A very direct method."

"Of course. If you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of g at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of g, the height of the building, in principle, can be calculated."

"On this same tact, you could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to just above the street, and then swing it as a pendulum. You could then calculate the height of the building by the period of the precession".

"Finally," he concluded, "there are many other ways of solving the problem.

Probably the best," he said, "is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: 'Mr. Superintendent, here is a fine barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will give you this barometer."

At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.

The student was Neils Bohr and the arbiter was Ernest Rutherford.

The Art Teacher Island

2009-05-06T04:41:00.007-04:00

The Bedroom. Vincent Van Gogh. 1889.

My eyes are open this morning, and I know that it is far too early to feel this awake. When I say "awake" I mean in the jittery, "a deer just darted in front of my car as I was drifting off to sleep" kind of "awake."

I was briefly hoping that the 4:04 on my cell phone meant I had more hours of sleep... although the truth of the situation... that my tendency to worry at hours I cannot effectively make a scrap of difference... is sealing my fate and I will be getting up now.

I lay in bed for 25 minutes before cracking the laptop on a pillow. I have a tendency towards melodrama at 4:30 in the morning... although my fear is that I have a tendency towards melodrama in my entire life. I am unsure what I hope to accomplish typing in bed at this hour. A shred of honest dialog seems hard to find as my ego desperately tries to pinpoint someone/thing to blame for the stress I feel. Before 5 in the morning, one tends to fall short of finding people/objects to blame... and is left with a nagging realization that responsibility for problems are... well... ours.

In the end, I can't help indulging in the melodrama... wondering if perhaps it's actually NOT my fault I am awake at this hour. When I was educated in college to plan and evaluate at the same level as my counterparts in the Sciences and Language Arts... who have one classroom, with approximately 25 students... every. single. day... it ended up seeming like an absurd daily punishment having 600 children in two schools, across 5 grade levels, once a week... which perpetuates this notion that not only can I not plan and evaluate the way I believe makes a difference... but that I'm not allowed by the system I teach in... that my subject is not worthy enough to receive the kind of consideration that would allow me that pleasure. I find myself entertaining the idea that I would have ended up with a far superior job performance, if I had been schooled in the Organizational/Managerial arts... since evaluating, filing, matting and labeling thousands of artworks seems to be the prime function of my job.

Then of course I am blasted with reality as the hazy sleep fog lifts. And I remember that everyone has problems. And that I am not special. And my problems aren't special. Of course, when I say "not special" I don't mean, 'not special to my Mom and Dad... or not special to Jesus...' I mean no more special than the other teachers freaking out over things not easily controlled. No more special than the teachers in third world countries who make 600 dollars a year to teach kids who live in dirt huts. And then I think,

"what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it-you-big-baby...." and I realize that I should have gotten out of bed a long time ago.

Educational Eating

2009-05-02T17:43:00.016-04:00

Peaceable Kingdom. Edward Hicks. 1834.

Once in awhile I connect dots...

The first dot: Cassy's post at the Reach for More Blog. She wrote about the low nutrition, high-carb foods that her urban/low income students practically inhale each day in her school cafeteria.

The next dot: a normally patient and Zen-like Buddha became incensed over the nation's ignorance concerning Swine Flu, in his post- Swine Flu and Common Sense.

The last dot to complete the line: a heart touching recount of student dialog on eating animals from John Spencer.

I am a vegetarian. Issues of health, food, and well-being are close to my brazen heart- although I'm careful to not become too extremist/PETA-ish in my views. I mean, I get it. I really do. We're carnivores, we have teeth meant for meat. Okay. Fine. But let's face it- When Miss Helen Suburbia leaves her 9-5 job and heads over to the gargantuan Supermart... conveniently placed between Target and Home Depot... I can't help but wonder if she grasps the nature of the white meat breasts wrapped in neon styrofoam... stamped with a cartoon chicken giving her a "thumbs up" as she places it's carcass in her cart.

"If you watch a movie I have on factory farming... the whole 90 minutes... I will never say another word.

No one ever wants to watch my DVD. The response is "Ignorance is bliss" every... single... time... Which makes sense. It's really hard to watch that kind of stuff**. But this isn't just brazen teachers standing on soap boxes about slaughtering cute Bessy for beef... this is about our drinking water... our produce... everything. In a country that prides itself on the acquisition of knowledge... and knowledge equating to power and progression... I find this 'head in the sand mentality' frankly, quite staggering. Therefore, in light of philosophical and ethical contradictions... I bring to you:

FUN WITH CONNECT THE DOTS (courtesy of Ann Cooper; Food Director of Berkeley Unified Public Schools.)

* The way our government commodifies food, insures that low nutrient, unhealthy foods are cheap, and nutrient rich, healthy foods cost a bundle.

* 70% of all antibiotics consumed in the US everyday are by animals.

* Therefore, we are feeding our children (and ourselves) antibiotics every time we eat meat.

* Feeding animals antibiotics leads to disease mutations which create illnesses we don't understand, and can't cure.

* US Agri-Business uses 1.2 billion lbs of pesticides on Produce each year.

* That is the equivalent of 5 lbs of pesticides that each person ingests in a year unless they are buying organic.
* The USDA is not a reliable watchdog. An example: in 1946 they paid for the "DDT is Good For Me" advertisement campaign.

* The Center for Disease Control says that 1 in 3 Caucasian Children born in the year 2000 or after will have diabetes in their lifetime.

* That number is 1 in 2 for African American Children.

* The CDC statistics show that most of these diabetes cases will occur before high school graduation.

* 40-50% of children could be insulin dependent within 10 years.

* For every dollar spent by Big Business on marketing nutrient-rich food to kids... they spend 500 dollars marketing nutrient-poor foods.

* Most schools allocate 20 minutes for children to eat lunch.

* The US School Food Program costs approximately 8 billion dollars. This is the equivalent of 75- 85 cents per child, per week, for food at school.

* One gourmet coffee at Starbucks costs 4 dollars.

* In 2007 Americans spent 110 billion dollars on fast food.

* We spent 100 billion dollars on diet aids.

* We spent 50 billion dollars on vegetables.

* We spent 200 billion dollars on diet-related illness.

* This year: 10 percent of children have Type II Diabetes.

Extra Credit Question for Brazen Students:
"Considering the dots above, please illustrate 3 reasons for public confusion over obesity, dozens of cancer strains, rising health care costs, mental illness, and yes... Swine Flu. Limit your answers to 300 words.

** Viewer discretion: Please disregard sappy music and subtitles meant to invoke guilt.

Why Teach Art: Part 1 of Infinity

2009-04-28T17:58:00.005-04:00

"Lot's Wife" Anselm Kiefer. 1989.

One of the most profound musical compositions of all time is the Quartet for the End of Time written by French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1940. Messiaen was 31 years old when France entered the war against Nazi Germany. He was captured by the Germans in June of 1940, sent across Germany in a cattle car and imprisoned in a concentration camp. He was fortunate to find a sympathetic prison guard who gave him paper and a place to compose. There were three other musicians in the camp, a cellist, a violinist, and a clarinetist, and Messiaen wrote his quartet with these specific players in mind. It was performed in January 1941 for four thousand prisoners and guards in the prison camp. Today it is one of the most famous masterworks in the repertoire.

Given what we have since learned about life in the concentration camps, why would anyone in his right mind waste time and energy writing or playing music? There was barely enough energy on a good day to find food and water, to avoid a beating, to stay warm, to escape torture—why would anyone bother with music? And yet—from the camps, we have poetry, we have music, we have visual art; it wasn’t just this one fanatic Messiaen; many, many people created art. Why? Well, in a place where people are only focused on survival, on the bare necessities, the obvious conclusion is that art must be, somehow, essential for life. The camps were without money, without hope, without commerce, without recreation, without basic respect, but they were not without art. Art is part of survival; art is part of the human spirit, an unquenchable expression of who we are. Art is one of the ways in which we say, “I am alive, and my life has meaning.”

--- Karl Paulnack; Director of Music- Boston Conservatory.

In light of the recent budget cuts now arriving on the principal's desks this summer...

... due to the tax payer ills... and the stubborn Ohio legislators who batted eye lashes at an unconstitutional Public School Finance System for two decades...

... Brazen Art Teachers are now facing an irrevocable reality... a drastic slashing... although (hopefully) not an entire gutting of the Elementary Art Program in which we reside...

... albeit a suggestion... an "idea" if you will... that taxpayers have written on dry erase boards at School Admin Meetings...

... among other items such as "investing in Athletic Programs" as marketable/profitable items to consider for creating new money in the district...

... leading me to consider pimping student tempera portraits and clay pottery for cash... when the bottom dollar so blatantly= a higher educational priority...

... and the dark sarcastic undertones are only kept at bay by tiny glimmers of light shining from that Pandora's Box in the deep corners of my mind... that somehow in some distant future people will knock on the Brazen Teacher's door and say....

"... I don't get it... why are the Arts as important as literacy...?"

... and she will smile and say... "I'm so glad you asked."

"I do not want ART for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few."--- William Morris.

April Cool Teacher of the Month: John Spencer

2009-04-24T21:10:00.002-04:00

On the surface John Spencer's blog is unassuming to look at, he doesn't rely on witty catch phrases or glitz and glamour of his counterparts in the blogging world. But those who read his stuff know that he is man with a brain who will use it. John Spencer is a diamond in a beach full of rhinestones.

One word to describe JS: Elegant. I'll often find myself reading what he thinks and say: ha! that is so exactly how it is. Few people have the ability to succinctly pinpoint the truth in the world, and verbalize it in a consumable way for us less fortunate souls. This is why he is a regular stop of mine each week, and why he should be one of your's too. Please treat all guest teachers the way you would like to be treated, and give this deserving blog some class visitation.

What’s your horoscope sign? I’m a Pisces.

What grade/ subject(s) do you teach? I teach seventh and eighth grade social studies.

For bragging rights, please list your degree(s) and certification(s) Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education: Arizona State UniversityMasters of Educational Technology: Northern Arizona University

How many years have you been a teacher? I’m in my fifth year right now. What was the reason you decided to become a teacher? I’m a little different here than many teachers I know. My goal isn’t to change the world or make a difference. If I take that as my motive, I’ll be an imperialist, moving into the ghetto and force-feeding middle class ideology. Instead, I believe I am a teacher – that it’s my identity, my vocation. I used to work for a faith-based inner-city nonprofit. I realized, as I met with kids in their homes, that the best place for me to be myself was in the context of the classroom. At the same time, I hate the whole system of standardization, so there was this whole social justice stream within the decision as well.

What is one thing you love about teaching? I love the dialogue I have with students. Whether it’s walking around to the groups, having a class discussion or reading their writing, I enjoy getting to know them and engaging them in critical thinking. I know you mentioned one, but I’ll add a few more. I love the creativity of it. I love the relative autonomy I have. I love getting up in the morning and believing I’m doing something authentic.

What was one thing you um, don’t. I hate the whole standardized system. I get tired of the data divas and their charts and graphs telling me how poorly a child speaks English when he just moved here from Mexico. I hate the boring staff development meetings and the binders and Word Walls and Blackboard Configurations.

So I’m giving you this magic wand, and you can now transform the state of Public Ed for the better in one paragraph. Ready, Set, Go….I’d begin with the question, “What is the purpose of education?” and then “What does authentic education mean?” For me personally, I’d teach a self-contained class of twenty-five. We’d read Aristotle together, create our own multimedia plays, shoot documentaries, paint murals and do weekly community service. It would be a lot of what I do with students on our spare time, just within the curriculum. I guess what I would want is the freedom to teach without teaching to a test and instead teach to the whole student.

If you could share one thing about your profession with non-teachers, what would it be? I think I would let them see some of the student work or hear some of the conversations. I’d have them read this blog post about our area of town. It’s way too easy for adults to bust on the kids, but I’ve found that each year students seem more mature, more social conscious and more compassionate than before . . . It almost makes me believe in progress.

If you had to pick one student that left an impression on you, good or bad- who would it be and why? There was a girl who was living outside, in the car port. She had been through some tough abuse. I remember that she was a brilliant writer, but she always seemed scared. She stopped by recently to visit my classroom and invite me to graduation and for the first time ever she seemed confident. It was one of those rare moments when a kid says, “your class left an impression.” It reminded me of why I believe in redemption.

Why are you a blogger? I have real mixed motives. I blog out of arrogance and narcissism. On some level, I love the recognition. Other times, it’s because I am passionate about something. Sometimes I blog because teaching can be so lonely and solitary and I fill that void with a community of teachers who want to engage in a dialogue about something more than a popular sitcom.

What is your favorite quote or mantra? One that has certainly shaped how I teach social studies is, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” One that has shaped my overall approach to teaching is, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of Jesus.” I’m not the radical right-wing, Jesus bumper sticker kind of guy. I don’t listen to K-LOVE (the closest I get to Christian music is Sufjan Stevens) or yell curses at homosexuals. However, I can’t deny that my views on just about all of teaching (discipline, paradox, mystery, storytelling, the concept of the upside down kingdom, social justice, the human condition) are shaped by my faith.

Teaching Naked

2009-04-20T19:51:00.014-04:00

The Birth of Venus. Sandro Botticelli. 1485-1486.

If I could rethink having a substitute introduce Pop Art Photo/Multi-media Collage to Third Grade I am almost completely certain I would. Last night as I paged through National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and Ladies' Home Journals collected over the years... I began to realize that a simple Third Grade search for "Pop Culture images" with a sub the following day was becoming increasingly daunting. I found myself ripping out page after page of bra ads, half naked models trying to sell razors, bikini articles, and topless African Tribal women. Which was ridiculous... I didn't have time to be doing this at 9 pm on a Sunday. In the end- I scooped up approximately 4 dozen of the tamest mags I could find, dumped them in a neatly labeled box and marched out of school at 10:30. Sorry my dearest substitute. I have faith in you.

"The Birth of Venus" above- is a famous painting reproduced in print many times since it's creation. It also graces the pages of a Children's Art Picture Book in my class library, that was given to me by one of my student's parents two years ago. Mere days after its arrival to my room, I was nabbing it out of the hands of second, third, and fourth grade children... gasping for air and clutching their young chests as they heaved in and out, trying desperately to regain lost composure over... the...

THE BOOB.

And I get it.
I really do.

The following week I showed "The Birth of Venus" to all the grades, preempted only by the question: "What do you think of this?" I was relatively... but not completely shocked to discover that Kindergarten and First Graders... have virtually no reaction at all. Many of the youngest kids made comments such as: "She isn't wearing any clothes," with the same level of embarrassment that one might call "an apple red."

In my Second Grade classes, the students were beginning to blush... the giggles and cupped whispers in hands increased in their severity (by my personal and biased observation only)... so that by the time I showed the image to Fourth Grade, it took approximately 1 minute and 45 seconds* to quiet down ensuing ruckus and implement crowd control. Since all Third Graders take a Field Trip to the local Art Museum each year, where they will be exposed to nudity on a larger scale, I felt compelled to tell the older, chuckling kiddos about the 5 and 6 year old's seemingly ho-hum attitude towards the painting. The response was largely:

"It's because they don't know any better, Miss B."

And I couldn't agree more. Only I am inclined to say that perhaps a better statement would be:

"It's because they don't know any worse."

*Made up fact to invoke feelings of "importance and relevance."

Selling My Soul

2009-04-15T18:52:00.001-04:00

TWEET me

Practical Wisdom: An Ideology (Part 2 of 3)

2009-04-13T14:55:00.019-04:00

Berlin Street Scene. George Grosz. 1930.

"Practical Knowledge is the combination of Moral Will and Moral Skill."
- Aristotle

Last week, I told a tale of woe regarding some personal criminal behaviors of yore. This tale came first- in all it's drama and superfluous detail- so as to explain how I ended up here in the first place. When I say "here" I mean- "this place in life, thinking these 'things'..." And when I say 'things' I mean- my ideas about Practical Wisdom.

I heard this in a TED speech given by Barry Schwartz:

"When things go wrong as they inevitably always do, we reach for two tools...

1. Rules
2. Incentives

More of them, and bigger and better ones."

The problem with reaching for these tools over and over again, Schwartz goes on to say- is that Moral Skill is chipped away by an over reliance on Rules; and Incentives destroy Moral Will- as referenced by Aristotle at the beginning of this post. We are in effect, engaging in a WAR ON WISDOM. The very rules and incentives meant to keep order in our society, are also the reason we are seeing a general lack of personal responsibility for the planet and each other's welfare. Ha!

Here is an example that Schwartz uses regarding "Rules," that many readers of this blog hold close to their hearts:

School Curriculum.

Curricula and Teacher Scripts were put into place because societies don't trust teachers on their own. Historically, before standards mandated that teachers differentiate instruction for multiple levels of ability... it wasn't always happening and children slipped through Public School cracks. Things weren't being consistently taught, and children were not receiving equal access to the best education for their needs. Of course at this time it was appropriate to introduce some professional standards. I'm not advocating complete abolition of order here. The problem is- as humans often do- a teaspoon of sugar turned into 20 pounds. The results of an over reliance on standards, rules, mandates and overly streamlined school curriculum... is that we will prevent disaster, but assure mediocrity.

Schwartz also talks about an over reliance on incentives. Psychologists found that when incentives are offered, instead of asking "what is my responsibility?" people instead ask "what serves my interests?" This is why teachers are crying foul when Obama propositions the public to give "incentive packages for 'excellent' teachers." Teachers know that if we introduce incentive packages, we'll have hoards of teachers who teach to get incentives, even if how they achieve those means is not in the best interest of their students.

We are seeing this EVERYWHERE in the U.S. right now. (Ahem, AIG.) It's not because people don't want to make the highest choice... Indeed, it's the highest choice that naturally makes us feel great about ourselves. Yet we are operating within systems and institutions on a day to day basis (laws, schools, jobs, businesses) that don't trust practical wisdom... and they default to rules and incentives every time.

The only way we can truly help people become personally accountable for the betterment of themselves and the world... is by giving them the freedom to F#!* things up once in awhile. We need to give people breathing space to find out right and wrong for themselves. We will only do this when we believe that humans will naturally, in the end, default to the "highest choice." I don't think we believe that as a society. I think this flawed paradigm has created some crazy, backwards policies for living as well. What were people calling for after the recent economic downfall? More rules! More standards! Greed doesn't regulate itself! All around is a pervasive fear fueling this disjointed notion that because some incentives and rules help problems- millions more must work a million times better. This of course is insane.

After watching Barry speak, I couldn't help but clap my hands in gleefulness. If 1300 dollars in court fees are actually chipping away at my moral fabric, do you think I can sue the Township I was arrested in because my civil liberties were violated? I mean, weirder things have happened.