An Apple Pie Education

This semester, I've had the privilege of taking a course about social issues in Education. As the final creative project, my friend Sabrina and I created an Apple Pie Education Music Video in order to address some issues within the education system while presenting a fun way to spur on dialogue about the subject.

In the music video, we used the metaphor of baking an apple pie as our canvas to address topics such as...

•  overpopulated classroom sizes
•  lack of recognition for a child's individuality, learning needs and cultural background 
• The lack of wiggle room for new teachers who are restrained by specific learning objectives and the resources they are given. Are teachers expected to adopt styles and ideologies that are different than they might naturally bring to the classroom? Are new ideas for improvement put aside in favour of more traditional teaching methods?
• Whether the labels students are given, such as ADHD, ESL, Conduct Disorder, Learning Disability, etc., provide students with extra help or merely lead to stigmatization and segregation from their peers.
• Whether the ingredients or subjects that students are taught are 1) the areas of most importance for students to know and 2) whether students are equally able to understand those subject areas. 
• The system itself and whether it offers the best way for students to reach their potential. Is it just an old recipe or could it become something far greater than it is now? If so, how?

In the music video, We had a lot of fun creating a "recipe" for the apple pie. Here's what we put:

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Ingredients:

v  However many apples that you need to accommodate

v ½ cup of brown sugar.

v 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

v a dash of nutmeg

v 2 tablespoons of flour

v 2 pastry shells that has been sitting in your freezer for a while.

Directions:

v Begin promptly at 8:30 am. Do not be tardy.

v Wear apron and put up your hair.

v Twirl around three times and throw flour over your shoulder.

v Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

v Peel and dice all the apples. Discard damaged ones. Focus on the perfect apples as they will make the pie taste the best. Make sure there is no identifying feature from the apples.

v Thou shalt toss the apples with thine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour. Shove the apples into one of the pastry shells and force the second of the shells over them to shut them in. Poke a few breathing holes so they mightest glimpse freedom from where they sit.

v Make pie look aesthetically pleasing so no one questions it.

v Bake for 12-20 years, or rather, one hour until the crust is golden brown.

  

  Just in case you were wondering, this does actually make a pretty decent apple pie.

  And a whole lot of apple sauce. 

   Our goal is to get people talking, so here is your chance. What do you see as the greatest issues in education today? Was there anything in the music video that struck a chord with you? How do you think that the education system could be improved?

   Some valuable information for further reading can be found in Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" and the book "Rethinking Multicultural Education".

  

We are so small

     The other day, I was watching a show on youtube about a man who survived 24 hours floating on the open ocean without a life jacket or boat after his plane crashed. As he struggled through the night, fear struck him in the most profound way. He expresses how vulnerable and small he felt as he floated on the dark expanse. He was scared of the unknown, of sharks lurking to attack or of drowning if he fell asleep. He didn't know if he would be rescued or see his friends and family again as he struggled to get somewhere stable, somewhere safe. It seemed like the odds were all against him. Eventually, he was rescued after enduring numerous jellyfish stings, immense dehydration and major exhaustion. The others involved in the accident were not so fortunate. He was found to be the only survivor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxSN-Ijqohg

     There are several things that the show made me think about. They are kind of random, but I figured I'd share them anyway.

1) It's amazing what people can survive through. Life is fragile. We're so vulnerable. Yet people can be strong and brave even when things get really bad. We're resilient. If we don't panic and are determined enough; if we have a degree of common sense and God's blessing, then we have a chance to make it out ok.

2) People are so much smaller than we sometimes think. Sometimes we get caught up in life and forget the big stuff. When that man was floating in the ocean, he wasn't concerned about his figure or how much money or stuff he had. He just wanted to survive, to tell his family that he loved them and to be safe. Size is such a big thing where we live, yet I can feel my toes and the top of my head. I can see the space that I fill. It isn't that big. Compared to the room I'm in, I'm small. Compared to this building, I'm smaller yet. When you get in a plane, people are some of the first objects that disappear out of sight. Why? Because we are small. Are we then insignificant? No, I believe that God made us immensely valuable and he was willing to die to show us that. I'm not saying that you shouldn't try to be healthy either, but be real. In the ocean, you are small. In this life you are small. Just as ants seem small to us. Yet they don't ever go on extreme diets as they compare themselves to other ants... at least not so far as we know. Appreciate yourself. Live beyond your size, let it humble you and challenge you to seek something greater than the temporary and confined.

3) Life is short. We never know when we are going to die. His friends didn't make it, but he did. We should use our time and lives well because we never know when we'll need to say goodbye. Be smart, be safe, be loving, be kind.

Young girls, why?

Young girl, beautiful girl
Why do you do what you do?
Why do you take those pictures
bent over just slightly to show your breasts,
showing your bikini body all over Facebook
using your "sexy" poses and "sexy" face
While your eyes look so sad, so uncertain?
What are you looking for?
The likes and comments pile up,
but do you feel beautiful now?

Young girl, beautiful girl
Why do you do what you do?
idolizing boys because they are pleasing to the eye?
What can they do?
Whether famous or up close
They aren't the answer to life's problems or questions.
They cannot fulfill you.
I know your heart yearns for love
to be cherished
      told you are beautiful
            desired
But taking boys into you heart again and again
is a bandaid on a deeper issue
Leaving you empty and wounded and hurting again

Young girl, beautiful girl
why do you doubt yourself so much?
The worries of insignificance
the struggles of worth
the heartache of shape
the hunger, the hurting, the tears
it's scary what you do, what others do
and what you do to become them.

Be wise my darling
There are some things that cannot be reclaimed
There are some battles that will never be over
There are some scars that don't disappear
not in this lifetime
Protect yourself
Know yourself
Know your value.

You are beautiful
You are significant
You don't need to do these things
I hope you learn, before you regret

My house is cold

My house is cold right now.

The first indications of this are always in my feet. I wear slippers and fuzzy socks to try and combat this problem, yet here they are, being cold. Why feet, why do you do this? Stop that. The worst problem is if the feet stay cold when trying to sleep. If my feet are cold, there will be no sleep until this is remedied. So, then the fuzzy socks are essential. Sometimes a heating device speeds up the process. And loads of blankets. The socks are usually kicked off some time in the night, which takes a certain amount of skill while remaining somewhat asleep.

My windows in my room have a bit of a draft that comes though... right on my head. I could sleep the other way, but the feet problem would not be helped that way. Sleeping completely under the blankets is futile. Breathing is typically important. Then it becomes the task of covering all of my head but my mouth and noes (but not the tip of my nose, because that gets cold and who likes a cold nose?)

Sweaters are great. I should put one on.

Tea is also great. It's not so good to only be drinking tea and not water, I've found out. Dehydration is not the most pleasant feeling. I just got some new looseleaf teas. So excited to try them.

This is a random post. Short and sweet. I figure you might be cold and that's why you're reading this. Go put on a sweater and get a cup of tea. It makes me appreciate having a home and sweaters and tea and fuzzy socks... there are so many people out there who have to face being cold all the time. Sleeping bags and night. Every night when I'm trying to warm up my feet, I'm grateful that I can.