Tag: bill of rights

Remembering Dr. King

I’ve visited the National Civil Rights Museum several times recently as we’ve had friends and colleagues come through Memphis. Standing near the place where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated never ceases to move me. Although many will spotlight Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech (which I’ve also done in the past) this MLK Day, I have decided this year to spotlight his final speech referred to as I’ve Been to the Mountaintop (View full text). It was actually given at the Mason Temple here in Memphis the night before his death. I created the below Wordle of this speech to present the major topics from this passionate dream of a new day.

“While the untimely death of Dr. King was the end of an era, it also marked the beginning of a movement – to take the lessons we learned from his vision and transform our future.” (Source)

Suggested Resources

Biography from Nobel Prize

A View from the Mountaintop: MLK in Memphis

MLK Online

Videos and Slide Shows available at YouTube, TeacherTube, and SlideShare

More about Civil Rights

Teachers’ Online Identities

Miguel Guhlin has once again pushed my thinking. This time its about the issue of personal content that K-12 teachers post online. I’ve spent a lot of time researching, thinking about and discussing this topic, but it struck me that this issue is actually a lot hairier than I’ve previously realized. There are a lot of different aspects that need to be considered.

Here are a few points from Miguel’s post. I encourage you to consider each question twice asking yourself Do.. the first time and Should… the second time.

  • Do/Should school districts have any say about what a teacher does after hours?
  • Do/Should school districts have any say about what a teacher posts online?
  • Do/Should teachers represent the district after hours?

Rather than commenting on the discussion at this point, I hope to further it by asking a few more questions.

  • Do/Should schools districts have any say about what staff members (Secretary, custodian, cafeteria staff, bus driver, mechanic, maintenance, etc.) do after hours? Post online?
  • Do/Should parents and the community have any say in these matters?
  • How does this translate to higher education?
  • If the answers to these questions are “yes” then is the same true for individuals in other professions (Nurse, news reporter, radio DJ, police officer, elected official, unelected government employee, or store clerk)?