Category Archives: Education

My Favorite Teachers

28 Saturday Jun 2025

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        My high school years were in McLeansboro, Illinois where I had very good teachers and a terrible one. He taught Geography and his method of teaching was for each student to read a paragraph out of the textbook. I counted the number of students before me so I knew which was my paragraph and did something else until my turn. About a week into the quarter the Principal said he had some seats in shop if anyone wanted to change. My hand shot up first. Oddly I have a Master’s of Science in Geography.

            One of my two favorite teachers was Mr. Arnold, the shop teacher. He taught me how to design a house which I did and built it out of Balsa wood. Twelve years later I designed and did much of the work on the house I live in now. I wired it, did the plumbing and hot water heat, painted and paneled it. Without him I wouldn’t have thought about doing it. He moved to Salem a few years later and I often drove by Salem always thinking I should stop off and see him. He made me an officer in our chapter of Shop Clubs which was a starter to be President of Murray State’s professional Geography’s chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon.That gave me the ability to be a Rotary Club President, run many committees and then a District Governor.

                My other favorite was Mr. Hallum who taught American History. It was a real treat each day to listen to him and his enthusiasm. I have a twenty-seven semester hour minor in History. No other history educator had the same effect on me. I have over a hundred History books in my library. I think it was Robert Hallum who inspired my desire to learn about how we got to where we are today. I love documentaries about life’s changes from thousands of years ago to now and how the Earth evolved and continues to do so. I owe a big thank you to Paul and Bob!

Teach the Truth

03 Friday Jun 2022

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            The February issue of the “Scientific American” had an item about an interesting question concerning how to teach the truth when a student’s parents live in an alternate reality. Many parents don’t believe man landed on the moon so their kids don’t either. How did they teach than in science and history classes? Tens of thousands still believe in the grassy knoll conspiracy because their parents did. Imagine trying to teach about the Holocaust and the crimes committed by the Nazis when a student’s parents are Neo-Nazis.

            Even if parents and kids are at odds on many topics, parent’s beliefs filter into their kids’ thoughts concerning subjects taught in school. That is how prejudices from one generation to another are kept going. Studies have shown this is true unless governments force the truth to be taught in schools in spite of what parents believe. Germany is an example of a government trying to stop the generational lies and influences of Nazism. They have strict laws on the subject.

            Racism, religion, and political extremism are passed down from one generation to the next further dividing our country. Now we have people who come up with fake problems like critical theory to divide us. People are told their children are being taught this idea in their grade and high schools when it is an option only in the three graduate schools. Parents want to hide the truth so as to continue the alternate reality many live in today.

Teaching is Tough

19 Tuesday Apr 2022

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            The February issue of Scientific American magazine posed a very interesting question relating to teaching American youth. How does a teacher talk about history and sociology when their parents live in an alternate reality than the truth?

            Image trying to teach about the Holocaust when the parents keep saying it didn’t happen or civics when “The Big Lie” is a constant topic at the dinner table. How does a teacher discuss American History and avoid the subject of slavery or the treatment of the Indians and the Chinese? When parents say other people are sub-human? How does a student learn about what Hitler and the Nazis did during World War II when their parents are Neo-Nazis?

            For decades less than twenty Texans have decided what is put in school text books. Now right wing governors attempting to outdo each other are restricting what can be taught and what must be torn out of textbooks to comply with their political philosophy. Just as Hitler’s Brown Shirts burned books he didn’t like, some places have had book burnings.

            I talked with a newly hired high school science teacher who was anti-climate change because he had graduated from a right wing university. He planned to continue spreading that misinformation.

            Teaching used to be simple as long as you told the truth as it happened. Now it is subject to the demands of misguided parents and politicians demanding their current thoughts are taught in lieu of the truth.

The Library Will Set You Straight.

25 Saturday May 2019

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If Minooka District III Board Member, Lori Lakota, wants to see a science book that agrees with her views on the heating of our planet then she should go see retiring librarian Carolyn Kinsella. She will be happy to show her the science fiction section of the school’s library.

I wonder what today’s graduates are going to say at their twenty year reunion about someone who tried to have them taught that global warming was fake news. By then the world’s carbon footprint will have been greatly reduced. Let’s hope their children and grandchildren will have more responsible people directing their education. Minooka isn’t some backwoods town in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, or Tennessee. What’s next–Evolution in a science class instead of Sunday school?

Faking Science

09 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by in Education, Global Warming, Politics

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I was just reminded of Steven Hawkins’s fear that Americans are not only losing their respect for science, they are actively trying to destroy science and scientific research. Along with this destruction is the downgrading of educating the future scientists.

Two examples of American’s stupidity are Climate Change is a hoax and vaccines are going to give the patient the disease. Even Trump has now said Climate Change is real and may be caused by human activity. He backtracked by saying if it is true he isn’t going to sacrifice American jobs to cut emissions. Reality in other countries and here has shown the reverse is true. There’s more jobs in being green than old polluting technology. The rest of the world is taking two steps forward while some in our country are taking us two steps back for profit.

A European doctor did a “study” with nine people. He managed to get around peer review and get published. His study has been completely refuted by many large and reputable studies. He has lost his license and all respect except for idiots who still believe his philosophy. Thanks to him many American mothers have lost their kids because they were not vaccinated.

Americans believe in greedy reports from those who will benefit instead of real research from peer reviewed studies. The country that excited students into going into science when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon (Yes, he really did), now disdains science. Will we become a second rate science educated nation?