In the second installment of blogs that I wanted to highlight (the first one can be found here), I have a non-communication focused blog for you - The Displaced Plainsman.
The Displaced Plainsman is an educator who has some great insight on a lot of things: Books, movies, education, philosophy, religion, etc. I am usually forced to think while reading his blog - which is a good thing!
His latest post is a great example:
Using Christianity as an example, religion seems to illustrate that agreement on large goals produces unity or accord. Christians believe that a Jewish man who lived and was crucified a little over 2000 years ago rose from the dead and provides salvation for the whole human race. It's unclear, however, if a Russian Orthodox bishop and a pentecostal snake handling clergyman can agree on any implications of that statement. They certainly don't agree on what constitutes proper practices to illustrate their shared belief. I won't even bother to try to go through the history of great and small religious wars that illustrate that these differences can have disastrous consequences.
In the same manner, educators, politicians, business leaders, parents, and students all agree on a large goal: students need to be prepared to succeed in an ever changing and increasingly complex world. No one, however, agrees how to achieve that goal. Although no one may be going to war over NCLB or a liberal arts curriculum, the debate's vitriol rivals that of the arguments over proper communion or baptism practices.
I couldn't agree with him more on this aspect of education. We all seem to want the same goal - how we get there is another matter. This post and others are reasons for me to keep coming back. The only thing he needs is some style on his blog - its a little plain - but then again, I don't go there for the design, I go there for the writing. Besides, he reminded me of how funny Monty Python's Flying Circus can be when it comes to communication and debate
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