Some of you may have already heard about the controversies surrounding the 2008 Wash U Commencement. A few weeks ago, Wash U announced that it would give alumnus Phyllis Schlafly an honorary degree. Schafly is an 80+ year old outspoken leader of the social conservative movement. Over the past few weeks, Wash U students and faculty organized a protest of the Schlafly degree. Two Facebook groups that were created in response to the University's decision garnered over 4,000 members in only a couple of weeks. The result? Over half of the student body turned their backs to Mrs. Schlafly when she was awarded the degree at the commencement ceremony. Furthermore, several faculty members walked off the stage in protest. The controversy was featured on CNN and created quite a buzz in St. Louis.
I am all for political and social engagement. I am all for the right to protest. I think it's great that young people seem to be getting more interested in politics. However, Wash U students, for all their strengths, are not politically active on the whole. Rarely is politics discussed on the way to class or in a campus coffee shop. Obama stickers cover many student's mac laptops because it's the cool thing to do. If you were to ask those same students to name on legislative accomplishment of Senator Obama, you would get a blank stare. This is why I had a problem with the protests. The drill is the same every year: once or twice a year, students will get organized to protest some conservative that comes to campus or some incident that they see as a grave injustice to liberal thought. The whole show will last about two weeks, and then Wash U will go back to the same apathetic place that it was before. Wash U students are among the greatest in the world; however, it has always been disappointing to me that there isn't more REAL political discourse on a daily basis at one of the elite institutions in America. Instead, many Wash U students fool themselves into believing that they are actually politically and socially aware because they periodically join a Facebook group devoted to some en vogue liberal cause.
HOWEVER, commecement was terrific in every other way. Mom, Dad, Brittany, Brady, Bryce, and Brooklyn came, as well as both sets of grandparents. The weather was beautiful, and Chris Matthews gave a really good commencement address. It still hasn't really hit me that I am an alum of Wash U, with a bachelor's degree in hand.
The highlight of the weekend came an hour after commencement when I visited Carnahan High School with my family. Mr. Green (the assistant principal) took us on a tour of the school. The technology at these kids' disposal is amazing. Every student has access to a laptop, the rooms are equipped with SmartBoards, there are multiple computer labs, video-making technology, etc, etc. The school is beautiful. I was able to visit several classrooms, which made the wait to actually start up my own classroom almost unbearable. The students that I talked to were all respectful, and some of them said they couldn't wait to have me as a teacher next year. I CANNOT WAIT TO BEGIN IMPACTING THE LIVES OF THESE STUDENTS. Carnahan has great resources and a very supportive administration. The students just need teachers who will invest in them, teachers who will set high standards, teachers who believe in them.
I visited the classroom of a fellow TFA teacher, Greg Laposa. Having him as a colleague will immensely help with my transition to the classroom. He has already been very helpful, and I'm excited to learn from him. My principal, Dr. Roach, is receiving an award on Wednesday for her work at Carnahan. She is one of 25 principals across the country to receive this service/leadership award -- the prize is $5,000. Dr. Roach has decided to donate the money back to the school. This fact tells me everything I need to know about her committment to her students.
Have I said that I can't wait to get started??
I am all for political and social engagement. I am all for the right to protest. I think it's great that young people seem to be getting more interested in politics. However, Wash U students, for all their strengths, are not politically active on the whole. Rarely is politics discussed on the way to class or in a campus coffee shop. Obama stickers cover many student's mac laptops because it's the cool thing to do. If you were to ask those same students to name on legislative accomplishment of Senator Obama, you would get a blank stare. This is why I had a problem with the protests. The drill is the same every year: once or twice a year, students will get organized to protest some conservative that comes to campus or some incident that they see as a grave injustice to liberal thought. The whole show will last about two weeks, and then Wash U will go back to the same apathetic place that it was before. Wash U students are among the greatest in the world; however, it has always been disappointing to me that there isn't more REAL political discourse on a daily basis at one of the elite institutions in America. Instead, many Wash U students fool themselves into believing that they are actually politically and socially aware because they periodically join a Facebook group devoted to some en vogue liberal cause.
HOWEVER, commecement was terrific in every other way. Mom, Dad, Brittany, Brady, Bryce, and Brooklyn came, as well as both sets of grandparents. The weather was beautiful, and Chris Matthews gave a really good commencement address. It still hasn't really hit me that I am an alum of Wash U, with a bachelor's degree in hand.
The highlight of the weekend came an hour after commencement when I visited Carnahan High School with my family. Mr. Green (the assistant principal) took us on a tour of the school. The technology at these kids' disposal is amazing. Every student has access to a laptop, the rooms are equipped with SmartBoards, there are multiple computer labs, video-making technology, etc, etc. The school is beautiful. I was able to visit several classrooms, which made the wait to actually start up my own classroom almost unbearable. The students that I talked to were all respectful, and some of them said they couldn't wait to have me as a teacher next year. I CANNOT WAIT TO BEGIN IMPACTING THE LIVES OF THESE STUDENTS. Carnahan has great resources and a very supportive administration. The students just need teachers who will invest in them, teachers who will set high standards, teachers who believe in them.
I visited the classroom of a fellow TFA teacher, Greg Laposa. Having him as a colleague will immensely help with my transition to the classroom. He has already been very helpful, and I'm excited to learn from him. My principal, Dr. Roach, is receiving an award on Wednesday for her work at Carnahan. She is one of 25 principals across the country to receive this service/leadership award -- the prize is $5,000. Dr. Roach has decided to donate the money back to the school. This fact tells me everything I need to know about her committment to her students.
Have I said that I can't wait to get started??
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