#that global issues and population statistics elective I took in college was eye opening

[ranwithscissors]

Nuclear is more or less limitless clean energy, which is great!

My only beef with it is that the byproducts produced by nuclear plants are often recycled into weapons. That’s the only reason the US government pushed so hard for the construction of nuclear plants nationwide post WWII, because they needed bomb juice for their Cold War militarization efforts. The fossil fuel industry has historically been some of the biggest and richest lobbyists in American politics- so the only thing that could convince the government to tell the biggest industry ever to go fuck themselves was the promise of one upping the Soviet Union with bigger and more devastating weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear power doesn’t exist because the government cares about the environment or efficiency- that’s just a bonus.

its so fucking funny that nuclear waste is such a contentious topic. like yeah those damn nuclear advocates need to figure out somewhere reasonable to put that nuclear waste. for now we will  be sticking with coal power because it puts its waste products safe and sound In Our Lungs, where they cannot hurt anybody,

[zipgrowth]

Channeling Students’ Passion for Sports Into Social Awareness and Bringing Change

How do you turn a student’s passion into a purpose that serves our global community?

That was the challenge that confronted me when I took over the Sports and Society Class at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, Calif. As part of our mission statement, we are committed to preparing our students through academic, social and spiritual learning experiences that form and transform them into responsible citizens of our global community.

I wanted to refocus the elective class from one that was known for having a relaxed atmosphere, where students watched “ESPN 30 for 30” documentaries, to one that more closely aligned with our mission.

While many students in the class loved sports, I wanted them to channel their passion to enact change. They were already aware of some athletes and headlines at the intersection of sports and society, such as Colin Kaepernick, Jemele Hill and the World Cup.

Don’t get me wrong, I love sports as much as anyone else. (I was a basketball coach at the high school and collegiate levels for many years.) But sports are a microcosm of our society, and issues like race, gender, sexual orientation and assault transcend both spheres of our lives. Once students realize that, then they can understand how sports can shape and change issues that plague society.

I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to get 30 students to change their mentality about this class, so they would take on a challenge as opposed to coasting through. I needed to create an environment that would allow students to figure out what was important to them, how to communicate their perspectives, how to conduct research—and most importantly—how to tackle issues that shape society.

...sports are a microcosm of our society, and issues like race, gender, sexual orientation and assault transcend both spheres of our lives.

Respect and Critical Thinking

As in sports’ matches, the opening quarter is about setting the tone and helping players figure out how they can best communicate. For this class, it was essential to create a space where students could feel open enough to share their perspectives, learn how to research facts to support their opinions and communicate in a respectful manner.

But in order to do that, we needed to establish baseline expectations for critical thinking, communication and civil discourse. After all, in order to practice open-mindedness, students need to be able to speak, debate and disagree in such a way that no one feels intimidated about expressing opinions. I challenged them to go beyond mere tolerance, and to respect and encourage different points of views. This meant students needed to be careful about using loaded words and expressions and, most of all, to avoid verbal put-downs and derisive laughter.

After establishing those norms, students were asked to analyze their own ability to think critically about statements like:

I do not simply accept conclusions; I evaluate and critique the underlying reasons.

I recognize irrelevant facts and false assumptions, and I discount them.

I am able to consider the strengths and weaknesses of my own point of view and that of opposing positions.

Understanding how to reason and debate critically allowed students to dive deeper into social issues in a way where they did not feel attacked, or felt like they had to attack someone else. These norms are key to fostering meaningful conversations where their worldviews would expand, but not necessarily change. That was an important piece to this class if we were going to tackle difficult subjects.

Exploring Tough Issues

Before learning what social issue in which they were most passionate about making a difference, they needed to learn about the facts and underlying context behind each problem. As students established a baseline for critical thinking and communication, they watched videos and led discussions about current events.

I still showed documentaries in class, but with more of a purpose. Early in the semester, we watched “Kicking It,” which follows the lives of five people from different countries who were selected to play in the Homeless World Cup. Throughout the film, there were statistics about a country’s homeless population, and students would learn the myriad reasons why someone became homeless. Another documentary, Sports Illustrated’s “Young, Gifted and Homeless” about homeless high school student-athletes, showed students how to weave facts into storylines to tell compelling stories that encouraged understanding and empathy.

Informed by documentaries, students then held debates that ranged from lighter discussions (like “What is the best sport?”) to more serious issues. We explored unequal pay between male and female athletes, rules around NCAA eligibility for student-athletes and how colleges have engaged in illegal activities to keep students eligible for team sports. (Many of the student-athletes were learning about NCAA rules for the first time in my class, and were struck by how this topic personally affected them.)

The discussion that became an eye opener for the students involved the topic of rape. Students were broken into groups and given different roles, including head football coach, women’s basketball coach, athletic director, college president and booster club president. Within their groups, they had to research their job title and how they may respond in a scenario where a women basketball player accused a football player of raping her at a college party. In those different roles, students had to think about how they might act differently to protect their jobs, or project those who they are supposed to protect. This exercise required them to research actual cases and statistics concerning rape on campus.

...it is important for students to understand that powerful catalysts for social change often come from issues that have personal connections to their own lives.

Many students realized that they felt more comfortable in roles that aligned with their existing beliefs. They learned how a job can shape an individual and can influence how one is “supposed” to respond that may not align with their values and beliefs.

Entrepreneurial Inspirations

Before the students started working on their projects, I invited The Young Vets, a nonprofit organization that aims to help student-athletes become prepared for successful careers outside of sports, to speak to the class. They shared how they created the organization to change the trajectory of young students’ lives, support their efforts to become social change agents and prepare them for college. I believe it is important for students to understand that powerful catalysts for social change often come from issues that have personal connections to their own lives.

In order for any social-impact organization to succeed—no matter how noble the goal—it needs to be sustainable. To that point, The Young Vets walked our students through its budgeting, marketing strategies, and sponsorship outreach tactics along with how the team aligns all these efforts to the organization’s mission and values.

After this visit, students were introduced to their final project: creating a new organization that focuses on fixing an issue that is important to them. Whether it involved using sports to raise money, or creating an organization to help athletes, or using athletes to raise social awareness, students were tasked to channel sports into a positive force for society.

From Ideas to Social Change

From creating a mission statement, to finding potential sponsors, to creating detailed itemized budgets and business plans, students had to apply the critical thinking and research skills they had learned.

One student wanted to create a nonprofit organization for student-athletes coming from a single-parent home, as he was raised by his mom and knew the struggles his mother went through. While doing his research, he found out that many professional athletes were raised in single-parent households, and how outside support was crucial in improving their outcomes. It helped my student understand who his target demographic was, and where he should start his nonprofit in order to have the desired impact.

Another student’s proposal involved holding a basketball tournament to raise money for breast cancer. During his research, he realized how many people were affected by breast cancer, which posed more questions including: Why isn’t there a cure yet? Why aren’t there more screenings in minority communities? Why do women in poorer neighborhoods have higher rates of dying? Would that change if they were diagnosed or treated earlier?

The passion with which he asked these questions touched his classmates. It opened their eyes to the impact that a simple basketball tournament could have in neighborhoods where early breast-cancer screenings are low and where death rates are high. What I found most inspirational was that this young man was transformed from someone who had been content hanging in the back of the class with his friends, to now sitting in the front and being fully engaged.

Another student talked about what it was like growing up with a father who suffered from alcoholism, and that he didn’t have a place to do homework nor internal access due to financial strains at home. While he shared his personal struggles, he never made himself seem like a victim, and made sure that his classmates understood that people who suffer from addiction are not bad, but rather in need of help.

The details with which he described how how he would create a safe place to support student-athletes truly made me take inventory on what students need that we, as teachers and adults, rarely think about. His presentation was the first time I had seen other students cry while someone shared his story and the why behind his organization.

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to see how a school’s purpose could be implemented in the classroom, no matter the subject. Besides my desire for students to look at how sports can shape and transform our society, it also was important that students learn how to think, research and present information.

After hearing all the ideas the students presented, I felt inspired that they will use all that they learned—not only in this class, not only at Moreau, but also in their lives as they pursue their purpose and feel confident that they have the tools needed to become responsible citizens of our global community.

Channeling Students’ Passion for Sports Into Social Awareness and Bringing Change published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness

[scoutshonor56]

Viva La Trump!

Here you go America, a bloated, vainglorious, dumpy-assed, absolutely clueless orange-skinned buffoon, with more plugs in his head than a third-rate, high school football field with cheap, second-hand Astroturf (donated by one of the nicer schools after they converted to natural grass)... and YOU elected him!

 Clueless?  Come on Bob, you’re being a little harsh aren’t you?  I mean, after all, this guy is a billionaire and successful businessman, surely he knows something… ah, no he isn’t a successful businessman - see continuing lawsuits over questionable business practices (mostly stiffing contractors), multiple bankruptcies, and a failed “University” that was sued, resulting in a quietly and conveniently settled lawsuit (coughing up $25 million) just after he became “president” - and no, he does not “know something”, other than the fact that every time he signs a piece of paper at a White House desk he comes a little in his pants, but that’s a whole other blog.  

 Go ahead, take the Pepsi challenge: I dare you to watch this 8 minute clip from Thursday night’s “The Daily Show” and not want to run out of your house screaming with a large can of gasoline to then set yourself on fire like a Buddhist monk.  Not want to rummage around in that kitchen drawer that contains all the crappy gadgets that you thought you just had to have but never use, looking for that “Home Lobotomy” kit.  Go ahead!    

 Yes America, you elected this imposter – you let it happen. Oh, “but Clinton won the popular vote…”; “if it wasn’t for our antiquated Electoral College system…”  Please – just stop.  The fact that this clown wasn’t exposed and vetted out within the first 4 months of the primaries, let alone won, is all the evidence this court requires.  Let me be perfectly clear: my issue isn’t just with Donald J. Trump; my issue is equally with an irresponsible media that traded in its journalistic integrity for ratings; my issue is equally with the millions of Americans who are SO STUPID, and SO GULLIBLE that they bought what this pompous, preening asshole was selling like a cure for baldness.  My issue is equally with a voting populous who now are able to selectively shop for their “news” like they do for a box of cereal or a set of new tires.  “Oh, I only buy Bridgestone!”  Well, get ready for a lot of flats all you Gomers and Thelma Lu’s, and hopefully a recall.

 Even ultra-conservative editorialist Charles Krauthammer, who regularly wrote about our last president like he was the illegitimate love child of Angela Davis and Karl Marx, has of late been harshly critiquing Trump as dangerously ill-informed, with grandiose, self-driven motives that will ultimately bring this country and our international standing down to an unprecedented level.  

 When Chuck starts slamming a GOP president, we’ve clearly got a red flag the size of my bed sheet.

 But let’s focus this story a little bit; let’s take a look today at one of Donny’s biggest campaign banner issues: the building of a border wall. Odd that so many in the GOP party are standing behind this, as Ronald Reagan, the man who they adore with the fervor and intensity equal only to the Catholic church’s deification of saints, once famously stood at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany (June 12, 1987), and delivered probably his most famous line, "Mr.Gorbachev, tear down  this  wall!"  As the world approached the end of the 20th century, even Ronnie knew that from both a political and economic standpoint, fences and walls were a thing of the past; holdovers from a different era, when nationalism and isolationism held sway.  Any politician today under the age of 50 knows that in this 21st century, openness and cooperation – even with your enemies – is the heart of a relationship that greases the wheels of true world powers and their economy.  

 Even stripped down to an ideological core, walls represent one thing and one thing alone – division.  KEEP OUT! says the sign on either side.  In today’s world, those few still left who think they can go it alone, with only their self interest as a primary motivator and negotiation tool, are doomed to stagnate and wither on the vine as they watch their competitors race by.  Today the world is interconnected in ways never seen before; sorry all you Trumpsters with your eyes nostalgically glued to a past never to return, it is now more than ever a techno-global community, and everybody gets to play.  You don’t play smart and you will all too soon be sitting out the game.  May as well get yourself a beer and some snacks, go into the living room, and binge watch re-runs of “The Apprentice” on Netflix.  

 Speaking of which, only Donny could come up with a show that climaxes every week with him yelling at some poor bastard, “You’re fired!!”  Oh, the gleeful sentiment!

  Latest estimated cost of Donny’s version of the Great Wall of China, complete with 10ft. tall DJT gold letters on both sides every other mile? Upwards of $25 billion.  And once again the core of my anger with this current GOP party lies in its hypocrisy. For eight years we were treated to their hair-pulling hysterics about Obama “shoving things down our throat”, and “big government interference”, yet they are now ready to back a massive folly that is not only antiquated and self-destructive, but THAT NO ONE WANTS!  I’ve lived here in Texas for forty years now, and I read a lot – every day.  Nor is this the first time the ridiculous idea of a border wall been brought up. Every administration change since the year 2000 this rancid proposal floats to the surface like a bloated corpse, filled with noxious, conservative Republican gases.  But trust me when I say you would be hard-pressed to find a single politician or local law enforcement agency in favor of a nearly 2,000 mile long wall running through their state, be they in California, Arizona, New Mexico, OR Texas.  

 You know, what the hell, just a suggestion, but before we let another bloated gasbag talk about a border wall, maybe we should check in with the people who actually live there and would be affected; you know, the folks who live, work, and raise family’s along the southern border of these four states.

 Nope - not our new fearless leader.  He rolls with whatever stirs the fears of his rabid followers.  So let’s begin this issue by debunking one of Donny’s biggest lies that he is effectively selling only to the bitter and racist xenophobes who lead their lives looking for someone other than themselves to explain their personal and professional failures.  

“Illegal border crossing is rampant!  They’re stealing our jobs!!”  And of course, according to Trump’s fear-mongering campaign rhetoric, also raping our women, flooding the country with drugs, and murdering our innocent citizens.  Oh Donny, Donny, Donny… unfortunately, another one of those inconvenient truths, or “facts”, that you habitually refuse to acknowledge or accept, is the FACT that illegal border crossing has been declining since our economy went bust in 2008.  I cite a 2016 article from “The Atlantic” here, but if you don’t like that one, feel free to refer to “FACTANK”, a feature of the Pew Research Center.  As a matter of FACT, according to the Washington Post, fewer “illegals” crossed our southern border during Obama’s tenure than during the Bush administration.  

 But the crime!  THE CRIME!!  Our border towns are a bloody battle zone filled with hoards of violent, fence-jumping, pillaging miscreants!  Actually, contrary to the fearful rhetoric of Donny’s Inauguration speech, which portrayed not just our border, but our entire nation as a gutted out, crime-ridden, dystopian hell-hole, violent crime across the country has been steadily dropping for the last twenty years, and the statistics prove it out.  These same statistics hold true in our southern border town communities: according to a recent Texas Tribune, people there are much safer when compared to their larger, urban brother cities of Texas.  

 But hey, this is the age of “don’t let facts get in your way”, so if you prefer, go ahead – be afraid. Live in fear.  “They” are out there, and they’re coming for you, your women, and your possessions!  Quick, better pack the kids in the car and get down to the local gun store.  

 Speaking of His Highness’s Inauguration speech – ah, so uplifting, so hopeful - did you hear the good news?  One of King Assclown’s first actions in office was to whip out his pen and declare his Inauguration Day as an official “National Day of Patriotic Devotion”!  Jesus fucking Christ, sit down Kim Jung-un you amateur you!  

 But back to Assclown’s wall.  I just can’t help but be amazed at the fact that when talking about a wall along our southern border, ANYONE would even entertain the opinions or thoughts of a pampered billionaire blow-hard who lives in a penthouse occupying the top three floors of a 58 story tower in downtown Manhattan, overlooking Central Park, and pimped out in 24K gold and imported marble.  Well, other than to admit he certainly knows something about seclusion… By the way, I took the liberty of including this link, just so you could take a peek at “this man of the people” and his urban crib; after checking it out I’m sure you’ll agree that he obviously interacts on a daily basis with plenty of working class folks and Hispanics!  Come on, remember his tweet on last year’s Cinco de Mayo day?  “The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!”  See?  He’s obviously sort of a modern day melding of Che Guevara and Robin Hood, adored by the common masses.

 OK, let’s back up a little and focus even further on the home turf - Texas: I read somewhere that back in the 1800’s, folks fleeing to Texas in search of a better life would leave their homes and chalk GTT on their doors, letting friends and neighbors know that they had “Gone To Texas”.  Well, back in the late ‘70’s and throughout the ‘80’s, Texas was again being seen as the new land of opportunity and a fresh start to thousands of people fleeing the Northeast and Midwest for greener (and warmer) pastures.  Back in those heady times a similar sentiment was expressed: “Not from Texas, but I got here as soon as I could!”, and it was soon popularly seen on bumper stickers and T-shirts that you would see around town.  No, I never owned or displayed one, but one of those “carpet-bagging Yankees” was me, back in the winter of 1976/77 and at the ripe and blissfully optimistic age of 20.  My point being, I know Texas as well as any Texan; I’ve lived here my entire adult life, even marrying a local who was born and raised right here in Houston.

 Upon my arrival, it didn’t take me long, even back then, to observe that my newly adapted home, like all Texas cities, exercised what I would call a “soft” view, or attitude, toward our Hispanic neighbors and the workforce they provided; it’s just the way it was and will continue to be, and any true and honest Texan will admit it.  It’s called reality.  According to a recent article in the Houston Chronicle, the Hispanic demographic will continue to drive the majority of growth in our Texas' population, which is expected to double to 50 million by 2050; and all projections point to a state that will be three fifths Hispanic by then.

 And now, along comes Trump.  So why does he obsess so over Mexico?  Well, Houston Chronicle’s business section columnist, Chris Tomlinson, had a few thoughts on that yesterday:

 “President Trump’s proposal to levy a 20% tariff on imports from Mexico is geopolitical bullying of the worst kind and could have dramatic consequences. When it comes to our foreign trade deficit, Mexico is not even close to our biggest problem.  But Trump doesn’t have the guts to go after more powerful countries, so he leverages American prejudices to kick around Mexico, our much smaller and less wealthy neighbor.”  

Hmmm - ends out our trade deficit with Mexico is only $60.6 billion, while that of China is a whopping $367B.  Germany - $74.9B.  Japan – 68.6B.  Out of our five largest trade partners, only Canada has a smaller deficit than Mexico ($15.5B).  And who wants to fuck with Canada, am I right Donny?  I mean, they’re, well… white.

 Tomlinson goes on: “Trump’s proposed tariff would destroy the largest free trade agreement in the world, trigger a trade war, and drive up the prices of everything we buy from Mexico by at least 20%.  This would also force Mexico to build stronger trade ties with China, while ruining our alliance with our southern neighbor.”  

 “So what”, you say – “who buys shit from Mexico anyways?”  Texas does.  In 2015 we bought $84B in goods while exporting $92B worth.  That’s right, Texas has an $8B trade surplus with Mexico.  And in regards to Trump’s other targeted international agreements, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership)?  To paraphrase Chris Wallace, president of the Texas Association of Business, and quoted in Tomlinson’s editorial, “Texas is the largest exporting state and one of the largest importing states, and by dismantling these trade agreements Texas could suffer severe repercussions.  There is no question that Texas has benefitted more than any other state from NAFTA and will be hurt the most if it is killed.”

 Now imagine Houston’s dismay when our ship channel, America’s busiest seaport, heard the news that President Assclown has already backed out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP). In the last five years or so we spent millions on widening and deepening the channel and installing a new, huge, state of the art multiple crane system to accommodate today’s larger ships and growing shipping industry.  Now, all for naught.  It’s like spending years preparing an Olympic team for competition, then only to see the games get cancelled.  This will greatly affect Texas jobs and will add up to millions and millions in lost revenue.  Briefly back to Krauthammer and his editorial yesterday:

 “We are embarking upon insularity and smallness.  Nor is this just theory.  Trump’s long-promised but nonetheless  abrupt withdrawal  from the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the momentous first fruit of his foreign policy doctrine.  Last year the prime minister of Singapore  told John McCain  that if we pulled out of the TPP ‘you’ll be finished in Asia.’  He knows the region.”

 Are you getting a sense yet, of the brilliance of Donny’s business acumen?  A man who through decades of “in the trenches”, high-level corporate boardroom experience seems to intuitively know his customer and how best to maximize their profit?  I know I am!

 So Bravo Mexican President  Enrique Peña Nieto, who this week chose to back out of his visit with Trump and the White House.  Let’s face it, what would be the point?  Way to go Donny, barely a week in office and already getting cancellations from world leaders!  I think Nieto mentioned there was a scheduling conflict, apparently that was the day he usually straightens out his sock drawer…

 In closing, last night, as I was writing this very blog, around 9:00 I heard quite a continuing festive clamor coming from my open front window up here on the third floor of my apartment building, so I decided it would be a good time to take my ever-faithful companion, Bear, out for a walk and investigate.  It was a nice, clear and cool evening, and as we turned around the block and headed toward the main thoroughfare in my neighborhood, Yale St., I was taken back when I saw a veritable parade of brightly (even gaudily) lit, bicycles and riders of all ages filling the street and spilling out onto the sidewalks, many bearing speakers that were blaring out Hispanic music - awesome!  Curious as to the nature of the celebration, I stopped and chatted with one of the celebrants who was taking a break on the sidewalk.  He told me there’s a group that does this every last Friday of the month, and they start downtown (about 5 miles east of here) before riding out into the surrounding neighborhoods.  Moms, dads, kids, flags and music and smiles – FUCK YOU Trumpasita, that’s the true heart of American spirit and patriotism today, and it’s alive and free, and will not be contained or held back by your false and divisive proclamations issued from your new palace in Washington. My advice to Melania?  Ahh, might want to hold off for 3 or 4 months before ordering all the new furniture and drapery – just sayin’…