Sunday, April 10, 2005
The Hydrangea Scene
While cleaning up the old Invisible Penthouse, I stumbled upon a note scribbled to me by a colleague during professional development in February. I had always intended to post this, but there never seemed to be time.
Well here it is, in its entirety. I think you will agree that it is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful pair of critiques on professional development you could ever have the pleasure to read:
Did you ever see The Manchurian Candidate (original 1962)? There's a scene where a group of captured U.S. soldiers (Korean war) believe they are guests at a womens tea party in the south. In fact, they have been brainwashed. They're really in a sterile auditorium, filled with Communist representatives from around the world. The lead speaker is trying to demonstrate that the brainwashed puppets can be made to say or do anything.
When I attend a meeting like this I actually relate to the speaker. I see myself in front of the class trying to force something that they are not interested [in] yet I must drone on and try to fill up the class period. It is amusing to see the speaker get frustrated when the group will not cooperate.
(The other side of the paper also has a note...I'm working to verify the authenticity of the names, otherwise the history seems valid. I should note beforehand that the following is not intended to make light of the Holocaust, but rather serve as a pointed critique of district-run professional development sessions.)
In 1941, Yohan Streussel (sp.?) submitted to Adolf Hitler his plan for 'the final solution'. He proposed that prisoners in all concentration camps be systematically herded into cramped spaces. Each group would be 'showered' with ehe latest rhetoric churned out of Berlin. When each prisoner was at the point of death, the large groups woudl be subdivided into smaller sets, who would work on pre-written questions and concerns facing the Jewish state. A speaker from each sub-group would related their committee's comments to the larger group. This process was called 'political development.'
One heroic prisoner was able to smuggle out a report of this torture. The Geneva Convention got wind of this horrible practice. Under pressure fromt he world, the Third Reich was forced to resort to the more accepted practice of death by gas, overwork, and starvation.
In some settings, this form of cruel and unusual punishment still exists.
And now back to work cleaning up.
While cleaning up the old Invisible Penthouse, I stumbled upon a note scribbled to me by a colleague during professional development in February. I had always intended to post this, but there never seemed to be time.
Well here it is, in its entirety. I think you will agree that it is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful pair of critiques on professional development you could ever have the pleasure to read:
Did you ever see The Manchurian Candidate (original 1962)? There's a scene where a group of captured U.S. soldiers (Korean war) believe they are guests at a womens tea party in the south. In fact, they have been brainwashed. They're really in a sterile auditorium, filled with Communist representatives from around the world. The lead speaker is trying to demonstrate that the brainwashed puppets can be made to say or do anything.
When I attend a meeting like this I actually relate to the speaker. I see myself in front of the class trying to force something that they are not interested [in] yet I must drone on and try to fill up the class period. It is amusing to see the speaker get frustrated when the group will not cooperate.
(The other side of the paper also has a note...I'm working to verify the authenticity of the names, otherwise the history seems valid. I should note beforehand that the following is not intended to make light of the Holocaust, but rather serve as a pointed critique of district-run professional development sessions.)
In 1941, Yohan Streussel (sp.?) submitted to Adolf Hitler his plan for 'the final solution'. He proposed that prisoners in all concentration camps be systematically herded into cramped spaces. Each group would be 'showered' with ehe latest rhetoric churned out of Berlin. When each prisoner was at the point of death, the large groups woudl be subdivided into smaller sets, who would work on pre-written questions and concerns facing the Jewish state. A speaker from each sub-group would related their committee's comments to the larger group. This process was called 'political development.'
One heroic prisoner was able to smuggle out a report of this torture. The Geneva Convention got wind of this horrible practice. Under pressure fromt he world, the Third Reich was forced to resort to the more accepted practice of death by gas, overwork, and starvation.
In some settings, this form of cruel and unusual punishment still exists.
And now back to work cleaning up.
