"The bad: I work at a school where I witnessed and participated in the freedom of speech being quashed by a small group of vocal and powerful parents. I teach Elie Wiesel’s “Night,” Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” and George Orwell’s “1984” and guide students to connect literature to current events. Last year, it was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. This year, Israel and what continues to happen in Gaza. I asked: What qualifies as genocide? I said: Consider your tax dollars and your parents’ tax dollars and your teacher’s tax dollars that contribute to bombs falling from the sky on women and children and babies in Gaza. Not to think about that, I said, was bad." 

Adam Patric Miller: Looking at the good, the bad and the ugly of last school year 

A man wears a keffiyeh near the U.S. Capitol during a pro-Palestinian rally May 18, 2024, on the National Mall in Washington.(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

July 19, 2024

This is the part of summer break when I check my blood pressure at the community center and find out it has dropped enough so the machine no longer recommends that I consult my doctor Immediately. I have space and time to reflect. This last school year has provided me with three things to consider: the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good: My students showed up to classes with energy; they worked to achieve, with some joy, what their teacher required of them; and, by year’s end, each demonstrated they can read and write better, whether the topic is a boating accident that almost killed a person or a graphic novel about a girl growing up during the time of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. One of my students, a boy with dark curly hair and an offbeat sense of humor, stopped by my office to say, “Hey, Mr. Miller. I just want you to know I’m sorry about what’s been happening.” That relates to the ugly but is still part of the good — he showed care for his teacher and thought about complicated events for himself.... READ MORE  https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/19/opinion-school-break-teaching-gaza-war/

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]