Thoughts on Education, Leadership, and Life from an Outsider
I haven’t made it to see Dune Part 2 yet, but I discovered this amazing album that came out around the same time as Dune Part 1.
It’s giving tons of Kraftwerk vibes, which is awesome. I also think this should have been the soundtrack for the 1984 version of Dune; it certainly fits the aesthetic.
“Don’t wait until the fourth Thursday in November, to sit with family and friends to give thanks. Make every day a day of Thanksgiving!”
— Charmaine J. Forde
It’s been a week here at the Paul house as we processed the passing of my wife’s grandmother. Most days are great, but some days are sad days.
Anyway, here’s this week’s 10 things:
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I tried to think of a good way to describe this, but I can’t.
Suffice it to say, it’s a great example of pursuing your passion and figuring out how to present it to an authentic audience.
Also, it’s just fun.
“The month of November makes me feel that life is passing more quickly. In an effort to slow it down, I try to fill the hours more meaningfully.” – Henry Rollins
Is it just me, or are the short work weeks the ones filled with craziness? It’s been a crazy busy week around these parts, and it’ll be even crazier as we head toward Thanksgiving.
Anyway, here we go…
This week’s 10 things…
BONUS: I’ve been jamming to this album from Azymuth, a Brazilian jazz-funk band. It’s fantastic and makes for great background music while you work
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“Anyone anywhere could publish to everyone everywhere.” (Lawrence Lessig, Code)
Ah, the dream of a democratized publishing platform. A place where all voices could be heard regardless of background or socioeconomic status.
I’ve often said, “The greatest promise of the Internet is that it gives everyone a voice.”
And I’ve also said, “The greatest problem of the Internet is that it gives everyone a voice.”
It’s a bit of a Stockdale Paradox in that while we realize the great benefits of having a way to connect people around the world, sharing ideas and information in an attempt to make the world a better place, we must also realize that there are people who will take advantage of that system for their own advancement or to spread their horrible, destructive ideals.
The only cure I know is to keep doing good things and hope that others follow suit.
Pegasus by Arlo Parks (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)
Got the red eye
Just to be near, ’cause my head eats me alive
You’re makin’ sure I’m eatin’
I call my mother just to tell her that I’m happy
With the most recent Israeli/Palestinian conflict dominating the news cycle, it’s a good time to remind all of us that there should be a more nuanced approach to the situation. No one side is completely in the right and no one side is completely in the wrong.
However, when calls are made from either side that inflame the situation, no one wins. There must be a measured response.
In schools, we do our best to teach our students empathy. It’s definitely something that can be applied to this—and many other—volatile situations.
What we should guard against is inflammatory language:
Last week, Tlaib circulated a video on X, formerly Twitter, that sharply criticized President Joe Biden for supporting Israel’s military retaliation against Hamas in Gaza. She went on to justify a highly inflammatory Palestinian-resistance slogan. “From the river to the sea,” she wrote, “is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.”
The burden of promoting a more civil discourse shouldn’t fall only on Tlaib and others sympathetic to the Palestinians. Supporters of Israel should not assume that pro-Palestinian means pro-Hamas. Students on many campuses genuinely view Israeli administration of the Palestinian territories as immoral; to portray their activism as mere anti-Semitism is to stifle legitimate inquiry. To defend any and all Israeli military actions by pointing out that Hamas started the war is to deny Israel agency.
Treat yourself to the bewitching sight of barred spiral galaxy M83 — which comes alive with detail in this new image by the Webb telescope’s MIRI instrument.
Kentucky just wrapped the latest gubernatorial election, and, thankfully, the voters have chosen to return Andy Beshear for a second term. While there are a number of issues with the rest of the statewide government, I’m happy to have Andy still in that position.
The alternative would have been a puppet of right-wing extremists and would likely have done little to advance anything of worth in Kentucky.
That is, of course, my informed opinion. Which, as the great Harlan Ellison would say:
“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”
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Yes, I love Daft Punk. I don’t care what you think of me.
Earlier this week, the duo (in retirement) the 10th-anniversary edition of Random Access Memories, their last studio album. The anniversary album includes 35 minutes of previously unreleased music.
Among the tracks is a demo of Infinity Repeating, featuring Julian Casablancas and The Voidz, which a recent interview w/ Casablancas on Daft Punk’s YouTube channel called “the last Daft Punk song, ever”.
All good things must come to an end. I kept hoping Daft Punk would return. I guess not.
We’re wrapping up the 2022-2023 school year, and several teachers in my district are continuing their journeys into deeper learning.
Rather than freaking out and focusing on end-of-year testing that means nothing (you know I’m right), I’m working with several 8th-grade classes on worthwhile projects.
One class is designing tourism resources for Bardstown. If you’re not familiar, the tourism industry is HUGE in this area thanks to two things: history and bourbon. Kentucky tourists spent $5.9 billion in 2020, and many of those dollars can be traced to bourbon tourism.
Students are working in groups to create materials for different tourist destinations in Bardstown. They got to choose the location, the format for their materials, and how they will ultimately present them.
Let’s connect this work back to the 4 Shifts and how we’re using it to foster deeper learning in classrooms:
I could go on, but I’ll save a further discussion for the project completion. Suffice it to say the kids are very interested in these projects and what they are learning about their hometown.
I came in to assist in the combination of technology with content. Students are creating on different platforms and need to tie the information together. Several have made videos that we’ve uploaded to YouTube. We created QR codes and added them to the brochures. We’ve used royalty-free music for the videos. Some students even used AI (yep) to help write the script before recording voiceovers.
My point for sharing this work is this: diving into deeper learning can be fun for you and your students. Will some resist? Yes. Will some still find ways to disengage and not really accomplish anything? Yes.
But it’s all part of the adventure of learning. For them, and for us.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
I know not everyone is a fan of classical music. I get it. But you don’t have to be a fan to recognize the impact that music written hundreds of years ago still has on musicians today.
Composers and songwriters still take inspiration from the melodies created by Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, and many more.
Think of the possibilities with your students if you had one place to access all the available performances of someone like Bach.
Now you do. Enter the “All of Bach” project.
Since the start of this unique project, more than 350 of the total of 1080 works by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed and recorded in special ways. They include some remarkable highlights, such as the St Matthew Passion in the Grote Kerk, in Naarden, the Six Cello Suites at beautiful Amsterdam locations like the Concertgebouw and the Rijksmuseum, and Brandenburg Concerto no. 4 in Felix Meritis, in Amsterdam.
Informative texts, interesting facts and interviews with the performers provide a wealth of background information. All the works are performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and many guest musicians, and you can watch and listen to recordings of the complete works. In personal interviews, the musicians themselves talk about what touches them in the music or why they enjoy playing it so much. In order to keep close to Bach, the recordings are made at suitable venues, but we also look for unusual recording locations. Cantatas are filmed in a church, for instance, and chamber music at the musicians’ homes or at special locations in the Netherlands.
https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/about-allofbach
Of course, these works are available for performance by anyone since they are part of the public domain, allowing new generations to experience the work of a master and be inspired to create their own masterpieces.