Should Michael Brown Be A Classroom Topic?

Yesterday I posted a Huffington Post article on Facebook. The article, titled "Five Ways To Teach About Michael Brown And Ferguson In The New School Year," was one person's opinion on how the story of Michael Brown can and should be taught in our schools. The article, written by Christopher Emdin, a professor of science and education, was written before all of the facts were known and well before the grand jury exonerated Darren Wilson in the shooting. It talked about different ways teachers should bring up the subject and proceed in teaching students about the incident.

The Five suggested teaching points were as follows:

1. Ask students what they know, and what they want to know.
2. Help students make connections.
3. Ask students to write letters.
4. Create a classroom memorial.
5. Carry the theme for the rest of the year.

Remember - this article was written just weeks after the shooting and well before the facts of the case were known.

The five teaching points on their own are somewhat controversial but it's the narrative that comes after each listed point that is the real problem. I'll break it down one by one.

1. Ask students what they know, and what they want to know.

It is suggested that teachers ask their students what they know (or what they have heard) about the Michael Brown case. 

"Once this question has been posed and students begin to respond, they can fill out a simple chart. On this chart students can write down what they know about Michael Brown and Ferguson, and what they want to know. The teacher can then utilize the information on the chart to assess what students have gathered over the last few weeks and plan a future lesson that helps students unearth the facts, fiction, and mistruths in media coverage of the events in Ferguson. The teacher can bring in news stories from different media outlets and work with students on understanding how and why there are so many different angles to how the story is being covered."

OK, that's fair enough - if you really thing talking about an ongoing investigation of which your knowledge is only what you have heard on TV. Asking them what they want to know is good - as long as they get honest information and not speculation.

2. Help students make connections.

The article says teachers should help students connect the Michael Brown shooting to "similar cases that have emerged in recent history." Gee, I wonder which cases those can be?

"It is important for young people to learn how to make connections between the Michael Brown shooting and similar cases that have emerged in recent history. While a discussion of the Michael Brown shooting and the current events in Ferguson are powerful, conversations about Michael Brown with a consideration of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Renisha Mcbride, and other cases that involve similar scenarios place the events in Ferguson in proper context. After introducing these cases, the teacher can ask students what connections, if any, exist across these cases and allow students to discuss the connections that they make."

Since two of those three people were shot by civilians and not police, and the third was not shot at all, the only possible connection the teacher could help the students make is that the dead people were all black. That's not a difficult connection to make but in doing so would not the teacher be turning the case into a racial issue without all of the facts?

3. Ask students to write letters.

"One of the chief ways to engage youth in the first few weeks of school and also develop their sociopolitical awareness is to give them an assignment to write letters to all those who are involved in the shooting. This includes politicians, police officers, the families of victims of the violence, and even the deceased. Having students write letters early in the school year gives them a task that helps them engage as soon as school begins. The teacher can ask students to write different letters to different people involved in the shooting and riots and frame the letters differently based on the person they are writing to."

Once again not a bad idea... except what will the the content of the letters? Will they be asking questions to learn the truth about what happened or will they be asking what's going to be done to prevent white cops from killing innocent, unarmed black men? The content and context of each letter is important so the students can learn the truth about what happened. And the main stream media has distorted the facts of the case from day one. Notice the instructions to the teacher say nothing about obtaining the truth.

4. Create a classroom memorial.

Of all the suggestions, this one is the most disturbing. 

"During the first few weeks of classes, students can create a memorial to Michael Brown on a classroom bulletin board. This activity involves having students use whatever they feel skilled in to create something that would honor Michael Brown and other people who have been victims of police and other violence. ... Students can use this opportunity to create a counternarrative to negative stories and images about Ferguson and Michael Brown..."

The facts about the shooting had not been made public when this article was written. We knew very little about Michael Brown - his criminal history, the details of the actual incident, or the officer's side of the story. All we knew was what a few witnesses had said on TV and those witnesses were completely discredited later in the grand jury hearing. The article wants students to turn Michael Brown into some kind of hero when the truth about the case proved he was not only no hero but a criminal and a victim of his own bad choices. 

(In all fairness to Mr. Emdin, President Obama did the very same thing when he sent a White House delegation to the funeral of Michael Brown before knowing the facts of the case. President Obama turned Brown into a heroic victim instead of waiting for the truth. That truth turned out be that Michael Brown was a criminal and assaulted a police officer - possibly with the intent to kill him.)

5. Carry the theme for the rest of the year.

"Once the teacher has engaged in the activities identified above, a theme has been established, and expectations have been set. Students realize early in the school year that this class goes beyond meaningless assignments like writing and talking about what they did over the summer. Without you mentioning your expectations or giving rules, students begin to see the classroom as a space where the teaching affects real life, and where assignments have meaning. At this point the teacher has to continue to maintain a high level of rigor and support students as they become more active learners."

OK - I'm good with continuing the discussion as things develop. But I can't help but wonder what Mr. Emdin will suggest the teachers talk about now that the facts are out and the grand jury has made its decision. Does he want the truth to be told - that Darren Wilson did what he had to do to protect his own life and that Michael Brown was not a hero to be memorialized? Or, since he made all of these suggestions before the facts were known, will he want teachers to decry the grand jury decision and maintain Brown's hero status - basically siding with the protesters against the truth? 

I'm waiting on his article about where to proceed from here...

Will The Damage Of Ferguson Be Permanent?

In the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting and the grand jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for it, have race relations in the United States been permanently damaged? From all outward appearances it would seem so.

In my opinion, the Michael Brown shooting has been the most racially divisive incident in America since the Rodney King incident. People are divided, mostly (but not completely) along racial lines, about the shooting and about the grand jury decision. Those who see the shooting as either a racist incident (of which there is absolutely no evidence other than the victim being black and the police officer white) or an excessive use of force by a police officer completely disregard the evidence and facts that have been presented. Those who see only the criminal activity of Michael Brown and feel that he deserved to die ignore the human side of the incident - the fact that an 18 year old kid is now dead because of the poor choices he made. And of course there are the racists on the white side that believe Brown deserved to die simply because he was black.

Many black people see only the racial aspect of the case. Prominent black Americans from the President of the United States and the Attorney General, to black celebrities, to black activist leaders (which now includes the Attorney General), and now even pro football players are making this about race rather than fact. The now-well-known "hands up, don't shoot" mantra that has been the core of the protest in Ferguson has been proved by forensic evidence to be a complete fabrication. Indeed, Michael Brown was proved, by forensic evidence and eyewitness testimony, to have been "charging the officer like a football player," which explains why Officer Wilson shot him as well as explaining perfectly the injuries sustained by Brown.

Still, those who want to make this a racial issue refuse to accept the evidence because it doesn't fit their agenda. The protests aren't about Michael Brown but about anger, racial hatred and division. How can they be about Brown? Everything the protesters said about the incident turned out to be untrue. And burning down businesses doesn't exactly honor Michael Brown's memory.

In a rather distasteful show of ignorance "solidarity with the protesters," five black players on the Saint Louis Rams yesterday came out of the locker room and paused with their hands up in honor of a man who would most likely have killed Darren Wilson if Wilson had not killed him first. Their display clearly shows either a lack of understanding of the facts (translated as ignorance) or a deliberate disregard for the facts in order to push a racist agenda, which is worse.

President Obama is meeting today with "young civil rights leaders to discuss the challenges posed by by mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color."

Several weeks ago he met with the protest organizers to encourage them to continue what they were doing. I wonder if the "young civil rights leaders" he's meeting with today are those very ones?

Eric Holder went to Ferguson to meet with the Brown family, the black police captain who was in charge of allowing the protests to go unchecked scaling down the police response to the protests, and to meet with protest organizers and with race baiters Jackson and Sharpton. I'm honestly surprised Holder and Obama haven't held a press conference and started it out by holding their hands up.

As the protests continue and spread to other cities across the nation, many people of all ethnicities are getting fed up. Blacks and whites alike are condemning the destruction of property and the violence as not only unjustified but only making things worse. Blacks are threatening violence against whites in record numbers. Louis Farrakhan has threatened that the Nation of Islam will tear the nation apart over this incident.

So can the damage be reversed? It seems not - at least not right away. In the black community there is so much anger and hatred over the Brown case and such animosity toward white/black relations in general that I fear it will take decades to subside. The majority of whites in this country want peaceful and constructive relationships with their black American brothers and sisters. They also want justice for all. But they want that justice to be meted out by truth and evidence rather than emotion. And sadly, it seems we have a long way to go before everyone in the country feels the same way.

Ferguson Redux...

America and the world are once again watching racist agitators destroy the town of Ferguson, Missouri. None of us were really surprised by this - well...  except for the Ferguson Chief of Police who said he didn't expect the violence and destruction to be on such a grand scale. Really? They burned businesses in August following the shooting of Michael Brown, they kept the embers glowing, had three months for their anger to fester and grow, had three months to make plans should the grand jury decision not go their way, and the police chief didn't think the protests would be bad? Even the governor knew. He activated the Missouri National Guard - then refused to deploy them Monday night when they were most needed. (Some say that was due to pressure from the Obama administration. While I absolutely believe that to be the truth, I cannot verify it at this time.)

The protesters hold signs that say "Black Lives Matter," and "Stop Killing Our Children." And while I completely agree that black lives matter - all lives matter - the signs that say "Stop Killing Our Children" should be directed at the black community instead of the police. The truth is that 93% of all black people killed each year, including "young black males," are killed by other black people. That leaves 7% that are killed by others - to include homeowners defending their property, business owners defending their businesses, people being robbed or assaulted on the streets, and police.

Blacks make up just over 13% of America's population yet they account for over 50% of homicides nationally. And 93% of those homicides are committed by other blacks. Some will argue that the 93% number isn't that significant since 84% of whites murdered are murdered by other whites. And while that may be true - the significance is the sheer numbers. Whites make up 37% of the population - nearly three times that of blacks. Yet blacks lead the nation in homicides and murder their own at a rate higher than whites.

These aren't my numbers. They are compiled by federal authorities. My point is - if you want black children to stop being killed start with your own community.

Interestingly, very few in the media will talk about these facts and the discussion is non-existent among the outspoken black leaders. You don't hear Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Eric Holder or even President Obama talking about the huge numbers of blacks killing other blacks. President Obama is familiar with the numbers, I'm sure. He lived in Chicago where the black murder rate by other blacks is the highest in the nation. Yet the only thing he ever talks about is when a black kid gets killed by a white person.

In prepared remarks on the violence in Ferguson President Obama yesterday said "I think you'll find a lot of separate and apart from the particular circumstances in Ferguson, which I am careful not to speak to because it's... it's not my job as President to comment on ongoing investigations and specific cases."

Really, Mr. President?

I actually agree with his statement that it's not his job to comment on ongoing investigations (one of the few things he has ever said with which I agree) - that doesn't seem to stop him from commenting.

"I don’t know – not having been there and not seeing all the facts – what role race played in that, but I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two that he Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home." - Barack Obama, July 22, 2009

"My main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said. "All of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves." - Barack Obama, 3-23-12

"The death of Michael Brown is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family and his community at this very difficult time. As Attorney General Holder has indicated, the Department of Justice is investigating the situation along with local officials, and they will continue to direct resources to the case as needed. I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding. We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. Along with our prayers, that’s what Michael and his family, and our broader American community, deserve." - Barack Obama, 8-12-14

President Obama also sent three White House representatives to Michael Brown's funeral. As it turns out, the grand jury believes that Michael Brown was indeed intending to injure or kill Darren Wilson and Wilson was justified in shooting him. So the President, with my tax dollars, sent his representatives to the funeral of a potential cop killer. I'm not happy about that.

Yes, it sure is a good thing that it's not the President's job to comment or involve himself (or his representatives) in local investigations. Otherwise he'd be doing it on a regular basis. Oh, wait...

Buying A Stairway To Heaven

The pastor at our church (Dr. Carroll Marr) has been doing a sermon series for the last few weeks called "Classic Rock." It was a three week series with a break in the center for a special guest speaker who was also connected to the classic rock and roll era.

Dr. Marr picked three of the most popular classic rock songs from the 60s and 70s. The first was "American Pie" by Don McLean, about the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in 1959. It was about how each of us can experience something in our lives that stops the music; stops the happiness - and the only way to get it back is through our faith in Christ.

The second song was... get this... "Hotel California" by The Eagles. He played part of each song at the beginning of the sermon and more than once said "Some of you are singing along. Some of you are remembering even if you're not singing, and some of you are thinking "I can't believe he's playing this music in church!"

The Hotel California sermon was about how great things can appear when living a life away from God. So many earthly pleasures and so many things that look so inviting. Then, when you're in too deep and want out it's nearly impossible to go. "You can check out anytime you like - but you can never leave." Not without the power of Christ in your life, anyway.

The third Sunday was a detour but not very far. Our guest speaker was Ken Mansfield, former CEO of Apple Records, USA, and friend of the Beatles. Mr. Mansfield spoke of his relationship with the Beatles and also of his acceptance of Christ as his savior during a time when he was at his lowest. It was a fascinating testimony and one well worth seeing.

The final sermon this past Sunday was based on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven." As you can probably imagine - the sermon was about how a person goes about getting to heaven. You cannot buy your way. Good works don't get you there. Living a good life doesn't work either.

Jesus spelled it out very specifically in John 14:6 when He said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is nothing in His words that say good works, living a good life, or being an all around nice person will get you to heaven. There is only one way and it is documented in the most popular and most read non-fiction book that has ever existed. 

We cannot buy a stairway to heaven. The good thing is - we don't have to because that stairway has already been bought and paid for by the only man who could ever do it. Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, bought that stairway for all who believe in Him. It's still there and open for all to climb if you simply believe in what He said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

By the way - anyone can watch and listen to these sermons at "http://www.southcliff.com/media/". The final one about a stairway has not been posted as of today but should be shortly. Check it out.

Heartfelt Words From A Marine Parent

This is excellent. It's a heartfelt article by the father of a US Marine who discovered that until his own son joined the Marines he took the military and what it does for granted. 

My Heart on the Line 
By Frank Schaeffer 
The Washington Post 

Before my son became a Marine, I never thought much about who was defending me. Now when I read of the war on terrorism or the coming conflict in Iraq, it cuts to my heart. When I see a picture of a member of our military who has been killed, I read his or her name very carefully. Sometimes I cry.

In 1999, when the barrel-chested Marine recruiter showed up in dress blues and bedazzled my son John, I did not stand in the way. John was headstrong, and he seemed to understand these stern, clean men with straight backs and flawless uniforms. I did not. I live in the Volvo-driving, higher education-worshiping North Shore of Boston. I write novels for a living. I have never served in the military.

It had been hard enough sending my two older children off to Georgetown and New York University. John's enlisting was unexpected, so deeply unsettling. I did not relish the prospect of answering the question, "So where is John going to college?" from the parents who were itching to tell me all about how their son or daughter was going to Harvard. At the private
high school John attended, no other students were going into the military.

"But aren't the Marines terribly Southern?" asked one perplexed mother while standing next to me at the brunch following graduation. "What a waste, he was such a good student," said another parent. One parent (a professor at a nearby and rather famous university) spoke up at a school meeting and suggested that the school should "carefully evaluate what went wrong."

When John graduated from three months of boot camp on Parris Island, 3,000 parents and friends were on the parade deck stands. We parents and our Marines not only were of many races but also were representative of many economic classes. Many were poor. Some arrived crammed in the backs of pickups, others by bus. John told me that a lot of parents could not
afford the trip.

We in the audience were white and Native American. We were Hispanic, Arab, and African American, and Asian. We were former Marines wearing the scars of battle, or at least baseball caps emblazoned with battles' names. We were Southern whites from Nashville and skinheads from New Jersey, black kids from Cleveland wearing ghetto rags and white ex-cons with ham-hock forearms defaced by jailhouse tattoos. We would not have been mistaken for the educated and well-heeled parents gathered on the lawns of John's private school a half-year before.

After graduation one new Marine told John, "Before I was a Marine, if I had ever seen you on my block I would've probably killed you just because you were standing there." This was a serious statement from one of John's good friends, a black ex-gang member from Detroit who, as John said, "would die for me now, just like I'd die for him."

My son has connected me to my country in a way that I was too selfish and insular to experience before. I feel closer to the waitress at our local diner than to some of my oldest friends. She has two sons in the Corps. They are facing the same dangers as my boy. When the guy who fixes my car asks me how John is doing, I know he means it. His younger brother is in the Navy.

Why were I and the other parents at my son's private school so surprised by his choice? During World War II, the sons and daughters of the most powerful and educated families did their bit. If the idea of the immorality of the Vietnam War was the only reason those lucky enough to go to college dodged the draft, why did we not encourage our children to volunteer for military service once that war was done?

Have we wealthy and educated Americans all become pacifists? Is the world a safe place? Or have we just gotten used to having somebody else defend us? What is the future of our democracy when the sons and daughters of the janitors at our elite universities are far more likely to be put in harm's way than are any of the students whose dorms their parents clean?

I feel shame because it took my son's joining the Marine Corps to make me take notice of who is defending me. I feel hope because perhaps my son is part of a future "greatest generation."  As the storm clouds of war gather, at least I know that I can look the men and women in uniform, in the eye. My son is one of them. He is the best I have to offer. He is my heart. 

Awaiting Tragedy In Ferguson, Missouri....

The best possible thing for the innocent people of Ferguson and Saint Louis, Missouri, right now would be for the grand jury to indict Darren Wilson on some charge for the death of Michael Brown. It would mean the protests would have no real reason to become violent and out of hand and possibly the area would be spared the turmoil that is currently pending.

But would it solve the problem.? My thought is that it wouldn't. It might appease the protesters somewhat but if Darren Wilson is charged for false pretenses; if he's charged simply to maintain peace and order in the community and avoid a full scale riot, then justice has failed and when he goes to trial he will in all likelihood be acquitted. If and when that happens the rioting and violence against the innocents will still occur. Falsely charging Wilson now with a crime will only delay the inevitable.

It could be that the grand jury will find valid reasons to charge him. They've certainly got all of the evidence - or so we've been told. According to written articles, in an unprecedented case the prosecutor has presented all of the facts to to the jury - not just a summary so they can decided if he goes to trial. (Normally the prosecutor presents just enough evidence to convince the jury that there is just cause to indict someone. This case has been different all the way around.)

Wilson himself testified on his own behalf - another unprecedented occurrence.

Information supposedly leaked from the grand jury last week said the jury was leaning toward not charging Wilson because they have come to believe the shooting was done in self defense. No one knows if that leak is genuine but many believe Wilson did what he needed to do.

Not so among the crowds that have invaded Ferguson. They don't want to hear that Wilson may have acted in self defense. The protesters don't care about real truth and justice. They care only about their own truth and their own version of justice. Even if Darren Wilson is tried, if they do not get the verdict they want they won't be satisfied. The Brown's attorney, who claims to only want a trial to gain "justice", will not be satisfied if Wilson is tried and acquitted. Justice in their eyes has only one outcome - Darren Wilson convicted of murder. Facts do not matter in that case.

Some protesters, including members of the New Black Panther Party and other radical black activist groups, have threatened to "kill white people" if they don't get what they want. I believe many of the protesters want violence rather than justice. Some want an all out race war and are poised to set race relations in this country back 150 years. Is that really what they want?

I've heard the threats from the protesters. I've heard the demands of the protesters. I've also seen the idiot mayor of Ferguson give in to some of the demands, allowing the protesters to set the tone for their demonstrations. If the grand jury decides not to indict Wilson I believe there will be violence in Ferguson that will demand drastic and decisive action from the police, much to the disappointment of the Attorney General, who seems more worried about the protesters' not being impeded than the police protecting themselves and the innocent people of the greater Saint Louis area.

If Darren Wilson is exonerated things in Ferguson and surrounding areas are going to get really ugly really quickly. Despite Eric Holder's demands of the police, tactical units will not only be deployed but will use necessary force to resolve violence caused by the criminals and thugs in the groups. The criminals will get what they want - a fight with police. They'll also use the situation as an excuse to attack innocent people.

People are going to get injured. Some may even die. Residents who want none of the violence should stay indoors and away from the craziness that will ensue. The world is about to see what happens in the United States when an angry mob doesn't get their way and the President and Attorney General side with the mob rather than with the American people. It will be shameful at best - but just one more negative mark on the legacy of President Obama.

Schools Gain Common Core - Lose Common Sense, Part 2

Yesterday morning I read an article about high school kids in Taunton, Massachusetts, who were suspended from school for a Facebook post that showed them dressed up to go to their homecoming dance while holding toy rifles.

The kids, Tito Velez and Jamie Pereira, were suspended indefinitely for posting this picture on Facebook with the caption "Homecoming 2014." I blocked the faces because they are children.

The school found out about the picture on Monday, following the dance, because other kids were talking about it. The kids had the picture taken after their formal pictures because they wanted to have some fun.

"We took them with the airsoft guns because it's our hobby and we wanted to include them in the pictures," Pereira said.

Airsoft guns shoot plastic pellets and with the proper protective equipment are safe and mostly harmless, much like paintball.

The kids say they were taken to separate rooms and questioned by police, without parental consent. Velez said they searched him and his bag.

The school says the problem lies in that they tied the picture to a school function with their caption of "Homecoming 2014." 

"It's not the guns; it's the connecting of that type of posture, that type of thing to a school event," said Richard Gross, the superintendent of the high school. "When you tie that to a school event, that's something to be concerned about."

The school says the dance was uneventful but that on Monday "students were fearful and parents were concerned." I'd like to meet some of those fearful and concerned people. It was a picture on Facebook.

So now what you do in the privacy of your own home can get you suspended from school just because you use the word "Homecoming"with a picture? And why is suspension or expulsion the automatic answer these days? Do teachers and principals talk to kids anymore? Do they try to solve problems with reason and logic?

I'm pretty sure  neither the principal nor school superintendent can point out the rule that says "There will be zero tolerance of students posting pictures on Facebook that show them holding guns while dressed for Homecoming. There will be no exceptions." I would bet a month's pay there is no such rule.

Once again a public school reacts in an absurd manner with punishment for a perceived rule violation far outweighing the act itself.

This morning I read about a 10 year old boy in Massachusetts who was suspended for two days because he pointed his finger and made "ray gun noises." Two female students, age unknown, told the principal they "felt threatened" and the the school decided the boy actions were a threat to their safety.

First of all, the boy is 10 years old with an imagination. Second, it was his finger - how threatening does the principal really believe it is? My guess would be rather than saying they felt threatened the girls were specifically asked "Did you feel threatened by his actions?" and they responded as they were expected to. But I wasn't there.

Schools have a valid right and need to protect their students from violence. I have no disagreement with that. But common sense should dictate what is and isn't violence and/or a threat. A finger gun, like Pop Tart gun, is not dangerous and does not constitute a threat to anyone.

School principals are supposed to be compassionate and wise. They are supposed to exercise sound judgement when dealing with students and disciplinary problems. Suspending a 10 year old for an imaginary ray gun is not exercising sound judgement. It's ridiculous.

We don't need Common Core. We need a return to common sense. We need teachers and administrators who teach honestly, grade fairly, and are genuinely concerned about the education of their students. Sure, there are still some out there. I have family and friends who are teachers. But they're getting fewer and further between. And that development will be harmful to our children.