Here is a VERY interesting angle...or so I think...
Have you ever heard of the Church of Stop Shop?
I love watching documentaries. Tonight, I watched, The War on Kids. Loved it. I'm pretty much pro anything that has an anti-public school slant. Having been a quiet kid who struggled with inattention, I fell through the cracks. Raised by a single dyslexic mother who worked all the time and didn't pay attention to my education, I never had a good teacher who noticed either. My first good teacher was in college. I made my FIRST A in a math class in Business Calculus! It was LITERALLY the FIRST time math EVER made sense. So, yeah, I think public school is the absolutely most cruel form of torture we put our children through. In my mind, it is worse than water boarding--it's like 13 SLOW years of water boarding!
Fyi, fave movies about school or learning (not necessarily anti-school though) include:
Waiting for Superman
The Lottery
Lean on Me
Goodwill Hunting
Akeelah and the Bee
Won't Back Down (a 2012 film in which a mother of a dyslexic girl becomes an empowered advocate)- btw, a quote from this movie is SO appropriate for my blog, "Have you heard about those mothers that lift 1-ton trucks off their babies? They're nothing compared to me."
Anything by the brilliant, Sir Ken Robinson
A Touch of Greatness
and another currently inspirational documentary is about to come out---book will be released in April (already pre-ordered!) World Peace and Other 4th-grade Achievements, about a teacher from VA who taught outside-the-box, developed a complicated game in which 4th-graders are able to solve most of the world's problems. He's been teaching it for over 20 years. John Hunter is his name. A neat foundation, I emailed them to see how we can bring this to Arkansas. I am hoping to send one of my dyslexics to the Nashville summer camp.
Now, I'm watching, What Would Jesus Buy?, and so far, it may prove to be my favorite christmas movie!
If you are a Morgan Spurlock fan--check it out...(it's about anti-consumerism)
The moral of this post, I guess, if I had to pretend there was one, would be that a lot of writing involves visual persuasion. Is there advocacy without it? Though advocacy seems so pure, so altruistic, so noble...there is a HUGE need to persuade.
What is the balance between fighting for a good cause and tugging on heart strings...or purse straps...or...
Here is a story (I've not read it yet) by a friend of mine.
I thought I'd post it here because many of you all are doing something related to advocacy for victims of sexual violence or domestic violence or some sort of women's advocacy. It's called, Ripple: A Tale of Hope and Redemption; it's worth checking out.
p.s. here's what education SHOULD look like...maybe all kids should just sit at home eating Cheetos and watch Vi Hart videos! (especially those on Hexaflexagons and Fibonacci numbers)
I just found another reason not to do homework. Definitely going to be keeping up with your blog so I have something to...model after. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Sarah, you are too nice (go on). Thank you for your kind words (I wish you'd have said more). I'm not sure it's THAT great (please do elaborate next time with bulleted points, examples--even charts are welcome). ;)
ReplyDeleteJust kidding! (except for the thank you part!)
Blogging is ridiculously fun--PRETENDING to be all narcissistic like everyone in the world cares about what you have to say and getting to have the final say and always getting to say things with such authority...it's SO fun! ;) I'm glad to hear that at least one person thinks that reading my blog is more fun than licking carpet! ;)
Thanks again. Now, do your homework, because I'm not going to pay for your class if you fail! ;)
Ha! Ha! Yes, do your homework. :). Nicolle, I agree with your point about advocacy being so much about persuasion. Visuals do often help with our cause, but we must remember how numb we are as a society to media. In hurricane Katrina coverage, people were admitting to "media burnout" which caused them to become almost indifferent to the horrible situations they saw. So, what's the answer? Well-timed impact?
ReplyDeleteMedia burnout is a great point! I think the constant challenge of writers, among, all the multitasking mentioned in my latest post, is competing for our audience's attention. Either they are distracted, not in the mood, burnt out, or incapable of paying attention a lot of the time at not much fault of their own.
ReplyDeleteI think as writers, we have to create those opportune moments. Easier said than done. Making things relevant even when maybe they're not...really. Or relating things that aren't really related...really.
Coming up with some angle that's new or uninvented so as to catch some attention from the audience...that's the challenge...even if that message be ethical and noble...
Sadly, I just found myself last week, surprised to hear on the news that we were STILL talking about Sandy victims. Your Katrina/media burnout illustration just exposes my own callousness toward tragedy. :(
I don't know what the answer is, frankly. The more I learn about writing, the more impossible it seems. The more impossible it seems, the more I love it, for somehow and to my surprise people still manage to pull it off everyday.
Does anyone else feel that way??