I have a small whiteboard outside my office door. Being the inspirational do-gooder that I am, I change out the quote at least once a week. Sometimes the quotes are fun, sometimes more meaningful.
I though this was an appropriate quote for our first week back to class.
“I’m gonna go grab a Coke or something caffeinated, because it’s gonna be a long night.”
-Will Byers
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In 1930, renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell shared his personal “Ten Commandments” for virtuous living, offering timeless guidance on personal integrity and ethical conduct. Originally published in the magazine Everyman, these principles reflect Russell’s deep contemplation on human behavior and morality.
Here are Russell’s ten commandments:
Do not lie to yourself.
Do not lie to other people unless they are exercising tyranny.
When you think it is your duty to inflict pain, scrutinize your reasons closely.
When you desire power, examine yourself closely as to why you deserve it.
When you have power, use it to build up people, not to constrict them.
Do not attempt to live without vanity, since this is impossible, but choose the right audience from which to seek admiration.
Do not think of yourself as a wholly self-contained unit.
Be reliable.
Be just.
Be good-natured.
Russell elaborated on these commandments, emphasizing the importance of self-honesty, the ethical use of power, and the value of reliability and justice in personal conduct. He believed that virtues like punctuality, keeping promises, and refraining from treachery are essential for social obligations. His insights continue to resonate, offering a framework for ethical living in contemporary society.
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There is no substitute for doing the work, whatever your work may be. Put in the time, mastery will come.
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By our nature, humans were designed to create. It is the high cognitive portion of our mind, that 1% that stirs imagination and inquiry, that distinguishes us from our biological cousins on this planet.
When we don’t participate in the creative process, or, as happens so often in our schools, when we are prevented from participating in the creative process to conform to a preconceived notion of what we should do and how we should do it, we lose our humanity and become mere machines.
Do not waste the creative process. Do not float through your days and add nothing to the world around you.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
“But in the last analysis, it is the people themselves who are filed away through the lack of creativity, transformation, and knowledge in this (at best) misguided system. For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.”
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
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As educators, we can choose to ignore this truth or embrace it.
One choice will further alienate our students, leaving them only wanting more from school. The other choice, to embrace, will bring dramatic change and new life to schools.
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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.
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.
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.
Photo of the Day
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.
Final Thoughts
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.”
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!
“Out of the nursery into the college and back to the nursery; there’s your intellectual pattern for the past five centuries or more.” (Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451)
