After eleven years of teaching, I came into this school year with much anticipation about meeting new students and teaching a subject I enjoy teaching. I never would have guessed that a 50 point project would have led me to have second row seats at the CNN/You Tube Republican Presidential Debate in St. Petersburg, Florida.
I have this belief that, as a teacher, it is important to try different methods of reaching students. I believe it really keeps me fresh in my teaching. Sometimes these methods don't pan out exactly the way I would like and other times, well...you end up in St. Pete.
I said to my wife many times throughout the debate, "Why are we here?" It seemed so unbelievable. I still truly don't understand why it happened. However, I can, without hesitation, say the odds of a teacher in Papillion, NE attending were not good. Isn't that so American?
The odds can be stacked against you and because of the great opportunity in this country great things can happen to anyone. I am not saying it is easy and often it requires a little fortune or luck, but it is possible! In some countries in the world and for a lot of the population in the world, hopelessness describes everyday life. As I was sitting in the Mahaffey Theatre chatting with Chuck (Norris) and Janet(Huckabee), we're on a first name basis, I was really struck with the thought that in America everyone is equal. No person is better than another, regardless of his or her station in life. Although the feeling of power was emanating throughout the arena, I felt just as important, if not more, than the many senators and representatives in attendance. Why?
Well, simply put two words...Chuck Norris! As these high powered big wigs sent their programs down the aisle to get Walker Texas Ranger's autograph, I was getting a video shout out for the Titans and a slap on the back from Chuck Norris. Not to mention, Mrs. Huckabee is videoing the whole thing and I was scared I was going to be tackled by the secret service. It truly was a special event.
I think we need a leader of this country that truly understands what it means to be real. Someone who can connect with average people. This person needs to be intelligent and well versed in many issues. That is why it is so important to start the process of choosing our next president in the Midwest. Iowa voters will have an opportunity to once again apply Midwestern values to the process of choosing a new president. I am not saying this should result in front runners Mike Huckabee or Barack Obama (both leading in Iowa at the time of this post) being selected per say, but I do believe we need to contemplate carefully the selection of the next president and what better place to start than in Iowa. Some say the process to become president takes too long and is too drawn out. I say the process should be difficult and lengthy. Too much is riding on the selection of this very important position and the Iowa Caucuses provides a very neighborly way of selecting this person. Let the fun begin!
So, do the You Tube debates lessen the seriousness of this process? Do snowmen and cartoon questions demean the Presidency? My answer is absolutely not. In my opinion, it gets our citizens interested again in the process. If it can get my students interested, with as busy of lives as many of them lead, it can get America interested again. If the young of our country fight our wars and grow our economy, it makes perfect sense that they should shape, in some small way, the process in which we select the leader of this nation. The only thing that would be demeaning about the You Tube Debate process would be if candidates refused to answer the questions of the people (most of them submitted by young Americans) of this great country. Let's not alienate the young because we aren't used to communicating this way. Let's allow them to get excited about the process, by letting them be able to shape the process. Isn't that why many of my students got together to watch this debate and posted over 7oo comments about it? It is not because it was assigned for them to watch, it is because it has become interesting to them and there was free Chex Mix at the party (never underestimate the power of food).
Finally, let's always remember that America is the land of opportunity and You Tube makes that opportunity available for all citizens to express themselves and have an impact, even people like my high school students living in little Ol' Papillion, Nebraska. Thank you, my students, for making this possible for me. I will never forget it. You all are the best.
By Mr. Keller
9 comments:
I really appreciate all you do. It is truly an honor to be one of your students. The time and effort you put into teaching inspires me to be a better student and you disserve the best. You did truly earn to go to the debate through you great teaching style. You have somehow incorporated modern day technology to old fashion learning. The time you spend in teaching makes an impact.
Although it has been said time and time again, I feel it is worth being repeated. Clearly you(Mr.Keller) have figured out a way to get students engaged in such an important topic. Many teachers today don't care enough to even try to make learning interesting or worthwhile. You made the class something to look forward to in my day. I hope I speak for many students when I say thank you.
To get so many students to drive out on a school night to some school building and watch an educational debate just goes to show that we actually care about government in some form. That is a refreshing thing to see in America's youth.
It was an awesome experience to watch that debate and know that our very own Mr. Keller was there sitting in the audience. It also was a great way to get each of us more involved in the early political processes of becoming president. It's amazing how a small project escalated into a big story. What technology can help us achieve.. Thanks Mr. Keller!!
I think this year has been awesome in AP Government. I am usually very terrible in social studies subjects but blogging and youtube videos have really made it more interesting. Instead of reading from a boring book and taking notes, watching videos has made me more apt to absorb so much more information. And Mr. Keller is hilarious so it keeps me paying attention during class.
To be honest, when I first heard of the project, I wasn't that excited. For me it was just another thing I had to do, but I must commend you for what you have done. With one project you opened the doors to more media use in the classroom and shown other teachers in our school, and dare I say, across the nation, another way to teach. Technology is being more and more importunate, and school has been one of the last places for it to take a form and stay.
Kudos to you Mr. Keller for opening the door to other interesting and exciting projects, existing outside the realms of books.
I'm pretty sure you're the only teacher to make me want to watch a Presidential Debate, I think I watched CNN more in this semester than I did in my entire life!!! And that's pretty big for a high school student.
You are truly an amazing teacher Mr. Keller and I think that if we had more teachers like you in different fields of study, school would be a lot different for some.
And I bet that it's moments like this that make teaching worth while.
So Mr. Keller, thank you and God Bless. *T's it up*
Mr. Keller is awesome. I'm so happy that you got to go to the debate. You deserve it. I NEVER thought anyone could get me interested in government...I was wrong. Although it's still not my favorite thing, I enjoy it a lot more now and I feel like I know more about what's going on in the world. The technology you use is really helpful and I enjoy listening to you in class. Your humor is brilliant and I very much appreciate it.
Thank you! :)
Im not going to lie Mr. Keller, when i entered your class on the first day of school i thought learning of politics would be a disaster waiting to happen for me, and i would be bored without then minutes of hearing about politics and past presidents. But through your unique teaching style for example, you have truly showed how much a single person such as myself can make a difference in our government and country whereas other areas do not have that opportunity. For example, my groups youtube debate project was a kid jumping a fence, big deal right? we thought of it as a joke, but in all reality, it went so fare as to be on the news and possibly in the actual youtube debate! and i would also like to add that once in my lifetime have i been able to truly say i am interested in politics, and that couldn't have been done without you as a teacher. Thank You.
"America is the land of opportunity and You Tube makes that opportunity available for all citizens to express themselves and have an impact"
Nicely stated, and so true. But isn't it kind of sad that the land of the free is so openly represented by a video hosting site?
Ah, we should be so proud.
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