(Name-mce) ListServ Future NAME Conference sites
Makara, Maria
MMakara at adl.org
Thu Jul 20 15:48:42 EDT 2006
1. Des Moines, IA
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Jackson, MS
5. Charlotte, NC
Maria Makara
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From: Name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org [mailto:Name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org]
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 3:32 PM
To: Name-mce at nameorg.org
Subject: Name-mce Digest, Vol 267, Issue 4
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Future NAME Conference sites (Julie Gorlewski)
2. Florida's Lawmakers Puts Historians On Notice (KispokoT at aol.com)
3. Re: Ruby Payne, Continued (CARLI R. KYLES)
4. Re: Future NAME Conference sites (Dr. Dana Christman)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:39:54 -0400
From: "Julie Gorlewski" <gorlewski at maryvale.wnyric.org>
Subject: Re: (Name-mce) ListServ Future NAME Conference sites
To: <Name-mce at nameorg.org>
Message-ID: <44BF95BA0200005F00004C15 at MVS_EMAIL>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Buffalo, NY offers a rich cultural history, very affordable
accommodations (and excellent local restaurants), and proximity to
Niagara Falls as well as an international airport.
>>> bill at billhowe.org 07/19/06 1:14 PM >>>
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:55:46 EDT
From: KispokoT at aol.com
Subject: (Name-mce) ListServ Florida's Lawmakers Puts Historians On
Notice
To: Name-mce at nameorg.org
Message-ID: <417.665d42c.31f12bb2 at aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Perhaps this is of interest to some NAME members.
Florida's Lawmakers Puts Historians On Notice
"Nothing But The Facts"
By ROBERT JENSEN
http://www.counterpunch.com/Jensen07202006.html
One way to measure the fears of people in power is by the intensity of
their
quest for control over knowledge.
By that standard, the members of the Florida Legislature marked
themselves
as the folks most terrified of history in the United States when last
month
they took bold action to become the first state to outlaw historical
interpretation in public schools. In other words, Florida has
officially replaced the
study of history with the imposition of dogma and effectively outlawed
critical thinking.
Although U.S. students are typically taught a sanitized version of
history
in which the inherent superiority and benevolence of the United States
is
rarely challenged, the social and political changes unleashed in the
1960s have
opened up some space for a more honest accounting of our past. But even
these
few small steps taken by some teachers toward collective critical
self-reflection are too much for many Americans to bear.
So, as part of an education bill signed into law by Gov. Jeb Bush,
Florida
has declared that ?American history shall be viewed as factual, not as
constructed.? That factual history, the law states, shall be viewed as
?knowable,
teachable and testable.?
Florida?s lawmakers are not only prescribing a specific view of U.S.
history
that must be taught (my favorite among the specific commands in the law
is
the one about instructing students on ?the nature and importance of
free
enterprise to the United States economy?), but are trying to legislate
out of
existence any ideas to the contrary. They are not just saying that
their history
is the best history, but that it is beyond interpretation. In fact, the
law
attempts to suppress discussion of the very idea that history is
interpretation.
The fundamental fallacy of the law is in the underlying assumption that
?
factual? and ?constructed? are mutually exclusive in the study of
history.
There certainly are many facts about history that are widely, and
sometimes even
unanimously, agreed upon. But how we arrange those facts into a
narrative to
describe and explain history is clearly a construction, an
interpretation.
That?s the task of historians -- to assess factual assertions about the
past,
weave them together in a coherent narrative, and construct an
explanation of
how and why things happened.
For example, it?s a fact that Europeans began coming in significant
numbers
to North America in the 17th century. Were they peaceful settlers or
aggressive invaders? That?s interpretation, a construction of the facts
into a
narrative with an argument for one particular way to understand those
facts.
It?s also a fact that once those Europeans came, the indigenous people
died
in large numbers. Was that an act of genocide? Whatever one?s answer,
it will
be an interpretation, a construction of the facts to support or reject
that
conclusion. In contemporary history, has U.S. intervention in the
Middle
East been aimed at supporting democracy or controlling the region?s
crucial
energy resources? Would anyone in a free society want students to be
taught that
there is only one way to construct an answer to that question?
Speaking of contemporary history, what about the fact that before the
2000
presidential election, Florida?s Republican secretary of state removed
57,700
names from the voter rolls, supposedly because they were convicted
felons
and not eligible to vote. It?s a fact that at least 90 percent were not
criminals -- but were African American. It?s a fact that black people
vote
overwhelmingly Democratic. What conclusion will historians construct
from those facts
about how and why that happened?
In other words, history is always constructed, no matter how much
Florida?s
elected representatives might resist the notion. The real question is:
How
effectively can one defend one?s construction? If Florida legislators
felt the
need to write a law to eliminate the possibility of that question even
being
asked, perhaps it says something about their faith in their own view
and
ability to defend it. One of the bedrock claims of the scientific
revolution and
the Enlightenment -- two movements that, to date, have not been
repealed by
the Florida Legislature -- is that no interpretation or theory is
beyond
challenge. The evidence and logic on which all knowledge claims are
based must be
transparent, open to examination. We must be able to understand and
critique
the basis for any particular construction of knowledge, which requires
that
we understand how knowledge is constructed.
Except in Florida.
But as tempting as it is to ridicule, we should not spend too much time
poking fun at this one state, because the law represents a yearning one
can find
across the United States. Americans look out at a wider world in which
more
and more people reject the idea of the United States as always right,
always
better, always moral. As the gap between how Americans see themselves
and how
the world sees us grows, the instinct for many is to eliminate
intellectual
challenges at home: ?We can?t control what the rest of the world thinks,
but
we can make sure our kids aren?t exposed to such nonsense.?
The irony is that such a law is precisely what one would expect in a
totalitarian society, where governments claim the right to declare
certain things to
be true, no matter what the debates over evidence and interpretation.
The
preferred adjective in the United States for this is ?Stalinist,? a
system to
which U.S. policymakers were opposed during the Cold War. At least,
that?s
what I learned in history class.
People assume that these kinds of buffoonish actions are rooted in the
arrogance and ignorance of Americans, and there certainly are excesses
of both in
the United States.
But the Florida law -- and the more widespread political mindset it
reflects
-- also has its roots in fear. A track record of relatively successful
domination around the world seems to have produced in Americans a fear
of any
lessening of that dominance. Although U.S. military power is
unparalleled in
world history, we can?t completely dictate the shape of the world or
the course
of events. Rather than examining the complexity of the world and
expanding the
scope of one?s inquiry, the instinct of some is to narrow the inquiry
and
assert as much control as possible to avoid difficult and potentially
painful
challenges to orthodoxy.
Is history ?knowable, teachable and testable?? Certainly people can
work
hard to know -- to develop interpretations of processes and events in
history
and to understand competing interpretations. We can teach about those
views.
And students can be tested on their understanding of conflicting
constructions
of history.
But the real test is whether Americans can come to terms with not only
the
grand triumphs but also the profound failures of our history. At stake
in that
test is not just a grade in a class, but our collective future.
Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at
Austin
and board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center
<http://thirdcoastactivist.org/>http://thirdcoastactivist.org/. He is
the author of The
Heart of Whiteness: Race, Racism, and White Privilege and Citizens of
the
Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity (both from City Lights
Books). He can be
reached at <mailto:rjensen at uts.cc.utexas.edu>rjensen at uts.cc.utexas.edu.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:55:51 -0700
From: "CARLI R. KYLES" <kylesc at unlv.nevada.edu>
Subject: Re: (Name-mce) ListServ Ruby Payne, Continued
To: gorski at edchange.org, NAME-MCE - National Association for
Multicultural Education Email Discussion Group
<Name-mce at nameorg.org>
Message-ID: <1153418151.44bfc3a787b2e at webmail.scsv.nevada.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Are you kidding me, is that all she had to say? Three paragraphs that
state
she's the polar opposite of what we stand for, but yet she's
transformative
too? Her "transformative" is not MY "transformative"! It's frightening
that
she's making gazillions "transforming" teachers to fight poverty.
hhhmmm???
Paul- I couldn't access your response to her brief and superficial
response.
Clearly she's not into academic critique.
CRK
Quoting "Paul C. Gorski" <gorski at edchange.org>:
>
>
>
> Hello, all.
>
> For those of you following the previous strands on Ruby Payne I wanted
to
> point you to where my critique of her work has been officially
published:
>
> http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12322
>
> In a wonderful act of educational opportunity, TCRecord provided Payne
> with an opportunity to respond. Her response is here:
>
> http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12593
>
> TCRecord then offered me a chance to respond to her response:
>
> http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12605
>
> Notice, too, that next week TCRecord will make available a critique
> written by two other folks titled "Poverty and Education: A Critical
> Examination of the Ruby Payne Phenomenon." It's available to
subscribers
> now, but will be available to everyone next Wednesday at this URL:
>
> http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12596
>
> Enjoy,
>
> Paul
>
>
>
> --
> Paul C. Gorski
> EdChange Workshops & Consulting: http://www.EdChange.org
> Multicultural Pavilion: http://www.EdChange.org/multicultural
> Social Justice Store: http://www.cafepress.com/edchange
> Multicultural Poster Store: http://www.EdChange.org/posters
> Social Justice Bookstore: http://www.EdChange.org/transformations
> Personal Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~gorski
>
> _______________________________________________
> This is a mailing of the National Association for Multicultural
Education -
> (NAME) Listserv list - www.nameorg.org. The materials included reflect
> diverse perspectives of NAME Listserv participants and do not
necessarily
> reflect a position of the National Association for Multicultural
Education.
> If you would like to subscribe (or unsubscribe)to this listserv go to
> http://mail.nameorg.org/mailman/listinfo/name-mce_nameorg.org
>
>
>
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>
--
Carli R. Kyles, M.Ed.
Visiting Lecturer & Coordinator-Beauchamp Apprentice Teacher Program at
the
University of Nevada Las Vegas & Andre Agassi College Preparatory
Academy
CEB 366 702-895-5084
kylesc at unlv.nevada.edu
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 13:30:05 -0600
From: "Dr. Dana Christman" <danachri at nmsu.edu>
Subject: Re: (Name-mce) ListServ Future NAME Conference sites
To: "'NAME-MCE - National Association for Multicultural Education
Email Discussion Group'" <Name-mce at nameorg.org>
Message-ID: <20060720193005.B993E3F80ED at ccserver2.nmsu.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
El Paso (which is 45 miles from me) does not have many direct flights to
it.
As well, the downtown area may not have sufficient hotels within walking
distance from each other to accommodate us. I would think San Antonio,
TX
would be a good location. I have been to other large conferences there
and
the diversity and the city is beautiful. Additionally, Phoenix,
Minneapolis,
Seattle, Boston.
Dana Christman
_____
From: Name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org [mailto:Name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org]
On
Behalf Of Dr. GULSUN KURUBACAK
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 12:35 AM
To: Name-mce at nameorg.org
Subject: (Name-mce) ListServ Future NAME Conference sites
Cincinnati
Washington DC
Chicago
Albequerque
El Paso
Gulsun KURUBACAK
_____
We are seeking your opinion.
The NAME Board is working on a schedule of conference sites for the next
five years. You will hear about the 2007 conference site soon. One of
the
suggestions raised was to pick 5 cities and rotate among them. This
would
make it much easier for planning purposes.
What 5 cities would you recommend?
We would like to spread them out geographically - West Coast, East
Coast,
Mid-West, etc. We want to be in diverse cities with rich cultural
backgrounds. We need to keep hotel room costs down ideally to less that
$145.00 a night. There needs to be a major airport in the city, ideally
served by discount airlines.
Please share with us your thoughts on which 5 cities you should choose.
_____
_______________________________________________
This is a mailing of the National Association for Multicultural
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(NAME) Listserv list - www.nameorg.org. The materials included reflect
diverse perspectives of NAME Listserv participants and do not
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reflect a position of the National Association for Multicultural
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_____
_______________________________________________
This is a mailing of the National Association for Multicultural
Education -
(NAME) Listserv list - www.nameorg.org. The materials included reflect
diverse perspectives of NAME Listserv participants and do not
necessarily
reflect a position of the National Association for Multicultural
Education.
If you would like to subscribe (or unsubscribe)to this listserv go to
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This is a mailing of the National Association for Multicultural
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NAME Listserv participants and do not necessarily reflect a position of
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