America: Freedom to Fascism

I recently watched a movie, and then I proceeded to host that movie here on campus. The movie was very informative and educational. America:Freedom to Fascism taught me a lot of things i did not know about the government. The movie started out by grabbing the viewers attention. Of course, who isn't gonna be intrigued by the statement, "There is no law that requires you to pay your income tax." What the movie then went on to do was to prove, conclusively, the statement they had made. By interviewing Jurors, Tax Law Experts, former IRS Commissioners, and other experts on the subject, they definitely show the unconstitutionality of the Federal Income Tax. Once they had established that first truth of the illegality of the income tax, they continue to other points to show the process of the transformation from a country with freedoms to a Police State. They included such things as the Federal Reserve System, which is not federal but is rather a collection of privatized banks. This organization has the ability to print and issue money, when the constitution plainly states that only the government has that right. In a sense the government has allowed this illegal act to continue ever since 1913. To continue their argument the Federal Reserve System lacks any oversight from congress.

It was amazing to see this argument unfold, and as it did things made much more sense in terms of biblical prophecy to me. As I opened up my mind to this possibility of the USA as a Police State, I discovered new things that really challenged my prior beliefs in this country. Because of my open mindedness, I was able to learn something that I had never known before. If I, as a future educator, can apply this same technique to my teaching, I will become a great teacher.

Peace in the Middle East???

A topic like this one always catches my attention, because biblical prophecy has been a huge part of my life. The Middle East and, more importantly, the goal of peace in that region is a key cornerstone in the prophecies that are to come. The presenter/lecturer man was very teacher-like in the way that he spoke.

One of the most important thing in a lecture is to get people's attention. Because of the title and the topic that he was discussing, most of the audience was already interested and ready to learn. However, continuing from that point requires a little more. He then proceeded to inform us about the background of the current situation in the Middle East. To me, this was more of a review, because I have studied this on my own in more detail. I bought a few books, especially Six Days of War. This book was very informative and detailed, not only about the Six Day War, but as a quick summary of the whole Israel-Palestinian Conflict. The speaker set many preconceptions straight and informed us of the actuality of the situation.

Over all this was a great lecture to go out and learn about the world around me. Also, get a tighter grasp on the knowledge I already have on the situation. I know that in the future, I will be able to inform many of this situation, and what the Bible says about it.

Inter-Religious Dialogue

This discussion was very very verry interesting. I went in with a high amount of skepticism. I have personal reasons for disliking interfaithism type activities. Organizations like the United Religions Initiative and the Parliament of the World's Religions ring very true of a prophesied World Religion prophesied in the Bible. I realize that many people do not believe it possible for there to be one, single, worldwide religion, but what they don't see is a worldwide religion as a common set of beliefs that everybody adheres to. No one condemns anyone else, and all roads lead to heaven or paradise or whatever you want to call it. I see a religion of intolerance disguised as tolerance. Needless to say, I was very skeptical going into this lecture.

As the speaker began and continued speaking about inter-religious dialogue. Instead of the topic being about all religions, it was specifically about Christian-Buddhist dialogue. The whole lecture was very sketchy and hard to follow, but most of it led to key similarities and key differences between the two religions. He spoke about these two religions, because he had experienced these two firsthand. I found the most interesting comparison to be his comparisons between the death of Jesus and the death of Buddha. While Buddha died lying on his side (horizontal), Jesus laying upward (vertical). This fundamental difference is a cornerstone to the misunderstandings between the two religions. The horizontal is a representation of oneness with the earth and peace and tranquility, while the vertical is a sign of struggle and pain. That idea of struggle and pain to achieve "perfection" is very difficult for Buddhists to comprehend. The speaker's main point, as he was closing was to suggest that we lay down our walls that we have built in order to understand each other's religions.

School Tech 101

Is technology in the public school system a bad thing, or can it be a good thing for students? This question is asked constantly in the public school system, especially with the ever-growing technology industry. With cellphones getting smaller and smaller, computers becoming ever-present in everyday life, and the enlarging use and dependance upon the internet, the society in which we presently live in needs technology to survive. The question that many teachers are facing today is, "How can technology help my students learn the things they need to learn?" It is an important question that, indeed, should be answered, and with all good things the answer is a combination of "yes" and "no."

"Everything in moderation, except the Word of God." That's what my mother has told me, and I agree with her whole-heartedly. Too much technology in the class will not prepare students for real-life experiences, and likewise, no technology in the class will not prepare students for future real-life experiences. A balance between the two works best, but that goes without saying. In my opinion, whatever it may be worth, the "old style" of teaching is still very much effective and should be kept and maintained. Assignment should still be carried out with paper and pencils, maybe a calculator allowed once in a while, and lectures should still be an exciting part of the classroom. When the good ole styles are used too often or all the time, it creates a mundane and much-too repetitive classroom setting. YOU GOT TO SPICE IT UP A LITTLE BIT. If you wanna make the steak taste a little better, add a little "Famous Dave's Steak Seasonings." It adds that kick that makes you come back for more. The classroom should have that little technology every now and then. The classroom should have that real-life experience now and then. The classroom should have that spunk, pizzaz, and kazzam that will keep the students coming back for more (learning). AHHH yes.

3 parts information
1 part technology
5 parts excitement
1 part calculator
10 parts students
mix together with a crazy teacher that knows what he's doing
cook for 45 to 60 min in a classroom.
Serving size = classroom full of students excited to learn.

Video Post about Cameras in school

Safe Sex in School

One of the main problems that society talks about in today's world is the rising problem of AIDS/HIV and STD's, especially the rising teen pregnancy rates. How do we solve such problems? If we could stop teen pregnancy children could focus more on schoolwork and and be forced into an early life of poverty. One of the main reasons for a household being driven into poverty is teen pregnancy. This causes single mothers in many cases, because the father is unwilling to face the consequences of their actions. In world that we live in today, many people don't want to hear what they should or should not do. They would much rather to continue doing what makes them feel best and hurts others least. This problem of teen pregnancy could be solved or at least greatly diminished if the public school system would focus less on safe sex and focus more on abstinence.
One main argument for the teaching of safe sex in schools reasons that kids are goig to have sex anyways, so we might as well teach them things that will prevent pregnancies. What has been the result of this? Teen pregnancies have risen in the past few decades and more pregnant teenagers and more fatherless children are born into this world. By giving up hope on the students and just telling them, "just be safe about it," the public school system has promoted sex and inflammed the problem to a greater degree. I mean not to push religious beliefs in this argument, because if I did, many pay no mind. If the school systems truly want to prevent teen pregnancies, they should promote abstinence. After all it is the safest sex--no sex. There is 0% rate of teen pregnancy, and it is 100% effective in preventing STD's and AIDS/HIV virus. In my opinion this teaching of abstinence would teach a greater respect for women amongst the boys. This greater respect for women would result in less abuse towards women, because the men are not always thinking of who the next girl should be.
Some may say, "This is far fetched." Some may say, "Just let them do what they want to do." Some many even say, "It's their right to do what they want with their bodies." These opinions do reflect many of the sentiments and feelings about this subject in the world today. Although I will point to how the promotion of safe sex has led to greater promiscuity and greater teen pregnancy. Public Schools have a power of influence that they may or may not realize. After all, with the promotion of safe sex they have taught the students to believe they can do what they want as long as they keep it "safe." Maybe if they promoted abstinence and wait for marriage, they could teach students greater respect for women and higher set of standards. We can solve the problems of high teen pregnancies by teaching abstinence in the schools. We can slow the spread of poverty by giving the kids not only knowledge, but also values. We can lower the STD's and AIDS/HIV virus by teaching abstinence in the schools.

Why we teach?

The society in which we live thrives around the atmosphere of learning to become better. There is a common strive amongst most people to be the very best, to better themselves, and to make a name for themselves. In order to establish a thriving community where competition and equality can be achieved is very difficult. We teach in order to give the people of the community a solid base on which to build themselves upon. With this base of tenants people can become the very best, they can better themselves, and they can make a name for themselves. Once people have their foundation and begin building their tower to make a name for themselves, then they begin to participate in society in a competitive environment. This is done in hopes that each person will help to build a equitable society and improve the society.

What makes for good teaching? Just like we covered in class on Wed, Feb 14, love is an essential part of good teaching. The teacher must first and foremost have a love and desire for the content material in which he is teaching. When a student sees a teachers passion for teaching, that student sees the enthusiasm and gets "infected" with the same enthusiasm. As my 9th grade English teacher Mrs. Clott would say, "ENTHUSIASM IS CONTAGIOUS."