A Rant on Education

To discuss education in New Mexico, first I gotta rant about education.

I start from two premises: kids desperately want, above all, to learn; and the substance of the first six years of public school could be picked up in six months by a motivated, fairly clever adolescent.

Kids want to learn. They’re in this huge, confusing world, clueless, and they’re “alert as a Hawkshaw” for any clue how to be here. They’re born learning machines.

Parents and schools often beat that out of them. Not with physical beatings (we hope) but with disapproval, judgments, and insistence that we know what they should do or be interested in.

My second premise comes from A.S. Neill. His school, Summerhill, was a great experiment that’s been followed to good effect. What he did couldn’t be replicated in a public school because of budget, community politics, and other factors; but what he learned and said shouldn’t be dismissed. (We don’t dismiss the words of Jesus or John Muir because the world doesn’t run that way. We listen to their wisdom, assess it critically, and try to harmonize what we learn with life in a world of greed and self-absorption. Follow them as best we can.)

At Summerhill, classes were optional. Some kids attended, others mostly explored the woods or made things. Teachers were there, to teach or answer questions; but if multiplication or algebra seemed less essential than watching the bees or taking apart clocks or engines, so what? If you developed your brain and judgment and powers of concentration doing whatever appealed to you, you’d figure out how to apply that basic brainpower and focus to math, grammar, and chemistry – when the time came.

Neill had one kid who spent all his time in the woods. At 16, he decided he wanted to take the examination required for further schooling. He learned what he needed to learn in six months.

Schools don’t work that way. I get that. But what if they could bend a little. Make chess or bridge available as games that develop certain important aspects of one’s intellect, such as problem-solving? Perhaps have a class with no syllabus, or an optional one: kids could discuss things that matter to them, that pique their curiosity, sans grades or judgment, trying to figure stuff out together?

Everything a child does, from watching adults intently, through pushing or breaking things, to putting everything in her mouth is an experiment. “If I do thus or so, what will happen?” And while we need to protect children from some serious potential errors, we also need to let them do their job. Their job is doing every experiment they can think up to figure out this crazy world, and only they can see what they need to learn. We can guide them, offer them tools and toys to learn from, and pull a hand away from a hot stove; but “controlling” kids completely doesn’t facilitate real learning.

Schools’ first principle should be, “Kids desperately want to learn.” Educators should see themselves as facilitating kids’ gathering of skills, knowledge, strategies, and ideas that can help one survive and prosper. Schools should not see their role as ensuring each kid learns the specific material in a specific syllabus. Kids arrive excited, energetic, cheerful, and curious, then many leave sullen and resentful.

We must all nourish that curiosity, helping it flower into knowledge and critical thinking.

                                                       – 30 --

 

[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 28 August 2022, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website. A related radio commentary will air during the week on KRWG (90.7 FM) and on KTAL (101.5 FM / http://www.lccommunityradio.org/) and be available on both station’s websites.]

[I wanted to write about New Mexico’s education problems. One friend was saying that we’d solve those when we recognized that education for a majority of our kids had been more like an occupation than a learning experience. Another was pooh-poohing that. Me, I’ve always wondered, watching generations of politicians promise to improve the situation, and inventive national slogans infiltrate the conversation, yet nothing changes. And I’m working on that column. Asking a diverse group of smart people with different experiences of our education system, and thinking. So expect me to take a shot at that one in a few weeks.

[But first I had to rant. The basic point, that kids arrive curious and eager to learn and leave our schools somewhat sullen and chastened, and we think we’ll solve that by throwing more money into what we’re doing, listening to national pundits who’ve never seen a New Mexico sunset, or cracking the moral/religious whip harder . . . nutty. Everyone, of varying political persuasions.

To put it another way, I don’t understand, and have no expertise, but something is wrong that’s a lot more fundamental than we like to admit.]

[A friend emailed me this morning: “I am a volunteer Reading Buddy in LCPS, working with 2nd graders. Teachers in my school and another elementary school here in town have advised that 50 percent of 2nd graders cannot, repeat can NOT, read, due to pandemic school closures. Textbooks can't be used because these children can NOT read. Two of my kids who will soon be 8 years old, do not know their ABCs.

Just so you know....perhaps your wonderful dream is for another state.” ]

[P.S. The newspaper didn't ask mere columnists to contribute photos for National Dog Day, but Foxy wanted to play too:]

 

 

 

Radio "Que Tal" Turns 5!

KTAL-LP is five!

More than seven years ago, Kevin Bixby learned that the FCC would grant a “low-power” radio license in Las Cruces. Meanwhile, experienced journalist and community radio guru Nan Rubin had moved here. A small group of us applied for the license, spread the word, found and trained folks who wanted to do radio shows, studied rules, bought equipment, and rented studio and radio tower space – all to become a real radio station.

I’d hosted a daily radio show for six months on commercial radio here; in Taiwan in 1986-88, I gabbed (in English) on radio; and in the mid-1970s I hosted a weekly news-discussion show on KRWG-TV.

I thought we could fill an important need that would soon grow more important: helping Las Cruces talk to itself. Politically, culturally, socially, musically, artistically, and more. As other media died, or their local programming dried up like desert puddles, we’d need an independent, non-partisan community radio station.

So we busted butt. Not to compete with KRWG Radio, to which most of us listen regularly, but to supplement KRWG’s local programming. With award-winning national NPR shows, great classical music, plus some local shows, KRWG had limited resources for local news, let alone an eclectic mix of music shows hosted by radio rookies.

Five years ago, we finally seemed ready to go on air. Some felt we should raise more money, to ensure that once we went on air we could survive; others felt we should jump right in, and new listeners would contribute enough to keep us going. (I was in the “Jump right in” camp.) We jumped.

“Speak Up, Las Cruces!” was the first regular program we aired, and the only two-hour news-oriented show. Walt Rubel quickly joined me as co-host; Minerva Rivera volunteered as our engineer, so that I didn’t have to try to run the board while talking to guests and callers. Weekly, she saves us from madness and idiocy. More recently, Shirley Baca became a third co-host, bringing her unique local perspective and knowledge.

How do I feel about “Que Tal!” turning 5? Delighted – and determined to make us better! We quickly developed a set of shows that were generally pretty good, each with its own style and focus. Some show-hosts were experienced and skillful; others had always wanted to try radio, and quickly made the best of this opportunity to do so. People listened. Some contributed money. We kept on keeping on, all of us volunteers until we finally hired a part-time station manager early this year.

We survived COVID, although mask arguments cost us one excellent show, and COVID precautions kept us from gathering in person for a long time, let alone holding another spectacular Rio Grande Theater fund-raiser. People joined us, and others left. Space doesn’t permit me to rave about the many wonderful KTAL folks who’ve impressed me, on-air and behind-the-scenes.

We’re a community resource. If you have a show idea or something to ask or tell us, you can visit our website, http://www.lccommunityradio.org/. Or, better yet, join us Sunday, (which is TODAY, since this column appears in Sunday’s Sun-News), between 5 and 8 pm at 121Wyatt Drive, Space #9, for KTAL’s 5^th birthday party, with live music, eats, and drinks. See the studio, tell us how we’re doing, make suggestions, or just hang.

Thanks for joining us on this challenging journey, and here’s to many “Que Tal” celebrations!

                                               – 30 –

 

[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 21 August 2022, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website. A related radio commentary will air during the week. on KRWG (90.7 FM) and on KTAL (101.5 FM / http://www.lccommunityradio.org/) and be available on both station’s websites.]

[Theoretically, it won’t rain during the party, although one weather site suggests we might see rain earlier in the afternoon. Hope to see you! Again, we’re at 121 Wyatt Drive, Space #9.  More information available at http://www.lccommunityradio.org/), where you can also check our schedule, donate money, volunteer, or propose a show!]

"Icons and Symbols of the Borderland"

 A vast sky covers a magnificent landscape marked by awe-inspiring sculptures left by wind and water, and remote rocks where ancient peoples left petroglyphs. The very idea of a fence or wall dividing the world from itself is absurd. Against Nature’s dignity.

Those walls are species-threatening for animals who assumed they had some right to live as they always have, and tragic for peoples who have lived centuries in this land, where families gathered freely, trading and talking, making music and love, honoring ancestors and welcoming visitors. Now walls and armed men prevent families from visiting Abuelita.

Entering the Las Cruces Museum of Art for “Icons and Symbols of the Borderland,” I see first a dry, cracked riverbed littered with bullet casings, where an agave is giving birth to a wailing infant, while dark clouds in the background send down lightning. It’s not a subtle painting, but I couldn’t cram into words what it says to me. Maybe, “Our borderland is a wonderfully eclectic mix of harsh beauty and startling magic, as vivid as some dreams – a beautiful landscape full of fine people suffering too much.” The painting is Antonio Castro’s Renacimiento. He suggests that the border can be a mother, repeatedly giving birth to hope, despite the violence.

Añorando - Oscar Moya

In the book on this traveling exhibit, a young girl stares through a chain-link fence, her fingers grasping the metal. On her left hand sits a monarch butterfly (a fellow migrant). It’s Oscar Moya’s Añorando. Señor Moya, I think, you have made something magnificent! Simple, direct, and eloquent.

Another Moya painting in the show could be from the north valley: two pickups loaded with avocados, fruits, and vegetables for sale in a dry, sun-soaked land. Again, simple, direct, eloquent. Born in Mexico City, Moya came to the U.S. at 15 with his family, working in the fields. I want to shout, “Hey, border patrol, a kid you’re herding around contemptuously will make things of unimaginable beauty!”

Emigrante - Antonio Castro

Castro’s The Nutcracker portrays a formidable woman, and his Emigrante a sturdy, determined migrant carrying a nearly empty plastic waterbottle through the stark desert. In Diana Molina’s close-up of a Tarahumaran runner’s foot in a huarache sandal, sand and skin are indistinguishable. Miguel Valenzuela’s work stresses “what we don’t talk about, the migration of our culture and Americana to elsewhere.” (All three are or were  long-time El Paso residents.  Molina lives in southern Dona Ana County, and Castro has moved to the Tucson area.)

Artists fashion art from what they see and feel. There’s much to see and feel in our Borderland, especially if you are of our Borderland, your people artificially divided, your humanity questioned by the eyes and actions of officials. Much to love, to learn, to resent; much to demand must change. And a rich silence vast as our sky, if you truly listen.

The show goes far beyond “immigration issues.” Its four themes are “Environment,” “La Frontera,” “Comida y Bebida,” and “The Sacred and the Profane.” The works don’t shy from our land’s often oppressive, inhospitable nature, but mix in human struggles and astonishing scenery. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a frequent presence, as are the monarchs. And guns. There’s a lot here to think about, some of it edgy, humorous, or both. There’s also much simply to savor, with thinking optional.

I highly recommend this exhibit. Curator Molina has assembled an evocative and relevant collection which will linger in our Museum, at 491North Main Street, until October 15, and in our hearts and minds longer.

                                                  – 30 --

 

[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 14 August 2022, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website. A related radio commentary will air during the week on KRWG (90.7 FM) and on KTAL (101.5 FM / http://www.lccommunityradio.org/) and be available on both station’s websites.]

 

Piedad - photo by Diana Molina

Nican Mapahua - A Castro

 Hombre que le Gustan las Mujeres

 

Cesar Martinez

Desert Fruit Stand - Oscar Moya

"Keep Yer Trap Shut, and 'The Big Guy' Will Take Care of Ya!"

Many a Law and Order episode, or mob film, features a standard scene: an underling is going to prison, not ratting out his boss, and an associate assures him “the Boss will take care of you.”

But this was real. In October 2019, Roger Stone faced trial in three weeks; redacted portions of the Mueller Report suggested that Stone could implicate Donald Trump in criminal activities; prosecutors were pressing him to do so; a Trump lackey said Stone would certainly be convicted, but that “the Boss” would grant Stone clemency, and Stone wouldn’t “do a day” in prison if he declined to implicate “the Big Guy.” Stone promised he wouldn’t fold.

Ironically, the U.S. House of Representatives Judicial Committee was investigating whether Trump had obstructed justice by, among other things, floating promises of pardons to Stone and other pals. Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz was a member of the House Judicial Committee doing the investigating; Gaetz was also the Trump flunky floating the pardon idea with Stone.

Stone and Gaetz talked backstage at an event. In yet another irony, Gaetz even said, “Since there are many, many recording devices around right now, I do not feel in a position to speak freely about the work I’ve already done” to assure Trump would pardon Stone.

By now you’re mumbling, “Ah, c’mon” or “How could you know that?”

Stone was wearing a microphone. Danish filmmakers were recording. You gotta wonder whether Stone forgot he was miked up, or thought the recording would help him. Maybe Stone winked and Gaetz missed it. You also gotta wonder why Gaetz isn’t looking at a jail term.

What causes no wonder at all is how energetically Trump’s underlings, including lawyers and congresspersons, sought advance pardons before he left office. Newly discovered emails document their fear that their activity might be “treason.” (Ya think? Presenting Congress with an “alternate slate of electors” you know is fake, when there’s no colorable challenge?)

You can’t make this stuff up.
We’d laugh our tails off if this were a Marx Brothers comedy about some banana republic. The dictator, played by Groucho, loses an election, but gets a mob to threaten violence to stop the vote-counting, and even struggles unsuccessfully with his bodyguards, trying to go help his mob break up the vote-counting. His followers shout and scream and commit random acts of violence for hours, while he roots for them on TV, saying nothing to stop them until the police have regained control and the coup attempt is clearly failing. (The writers inserted a scene where the dictator hurls his plate of spaghetti against the mantle in the Palace dining room, but Groucho said that made his character look too childish to be believable.)

Stone was convicted on seven felony counts that November and sentenced to 40 months in prison. Trump publicly praised Stone for not “flipping” on him, commuted Stone’s prison sentence before it began, and eventually pardoned him.

Gaetz hasn’t denied the conversation. He merely claims the recording was illegal. His latest hoof-in-mouth outburst involves saying women who disagree with the Supreme Court on abortion are all fat and ugly. (That’s not only sexist and inaccurate, it’s a head-scratcher coming from a guy who had to pay an underage girl for sex.)

I wish I were making this stuff up. But treason, insurrection, and permanent minority government shouldn’t have any of us laughing.

                                                         – 30 --

 

[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 7 August 2022, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website. A related radio commentary will air during the week on KRWG (90.7 FM) and on KTAL (101.5 FM / http://www.lccommunityradio.org/) and be available on both station’s websites.]