I agree with Nellie that fear to listen may indeed be harmful, same as not
realizing who our audience/readers, etc may be & how our own backgrounds
model perceptions. But silence (understood as refusal to speak) can be
equally pernicious for then unidirectional monologues replace any
substantial dialogue despite individual impressions. No offence meant, but
can't but try a reading of the discussion:
1. Phil posts one of his great rants (top marks)
2. TALOnian Steven ("Sparks") is well-known for his thought-provoking
posts , leading to enriching discussion whether one agrees or not with his
viewpoints J. If I recall correctly he's rather environmental-conscious.
3. If I was living in the US amidst Creationism odds are I'd have a
similar initial reaction to Edward's; but I'm not, same as I think all the
other people involved with this discussion (?).
4. Thanks Steven (Foerster) for voicing what many WE were likely to be
thinking.
5. Wayne may have appeared as politically correct for
community-building and peace-keeping reasons, was there any other way out?
Does critical thinking involve being "incorrect" 24/7?
6. Then Edward has turned it into a personal thing (or so it
appears). I can't help wondering why, this thread seemed rather promising in
terms of intercultural awareness.
7. I'm not going to discuss pro/con Climate Change discourses for I'm
no expert and when debates are rather heated & receive ample media coverage
I normally become skeptical and focus on the underlying political-economic
interests. Striking that so-called "ecological" fuels such as ethanol are
behind recent further deforestation in Peru & Brazil, as well as wheat
scarcity, price increases and food riots around the world.
I really hope WE all learn something from this & move forward!
Cheers,
Alex P. Real
De: NELLIE DEUTSCH [mailto:[email protected]]
Enviado el: domingo, 29 de noviembre de 2009 8:28
Para: [email protected]
Asunto: Re: Denialism (was Re: [WikiEducator] Phil's Rants)
Just wanted to add that Jerome Bruner takes Wayne's statement that
"Education is humanity and will always be contextually and culturally
bounded" a bit further when he claims that "human beings deliberately teach
each other in settings outside in which the knowledge being taught will be
used". The information that we learn and believe to be true may be offensive
to other cultures and nations. The knowledge that we acquired at home or
school is coming up in online in discussions such as here and in other
online arenas. I would like to imagine what it would be like if we were all
able to listen openly to words that may negate our pasts so that those who
speak against our traditions may listen to us in return. Sharing our
knowledge and histories openly may be the first step to peaceful
coexistence. Stopping people from using loaded words as "denial" may not be
the way. I don't know, but I feel that fearing to listen may do more damage
than good.
Warm wishes,
Nellie Deutsch
Sharing is Caring!
Doctoral Student
Educational Leadership
Curriculum and Instruction
Integrating Technology for Active Life-long Learning (IT4ALL)
http://www.integrating-technology.com/pd
Get ready for CO10 at WiZiQ: http://connecting-online.ning.com/
Free online workshops using WiZiQ: http://www.wikieducator.org/Workshops
On Sat, Nov 28, 2009 at 7:06 PM, Wayne Mackintosh
<[email protected]> wrote:
Steve,
Well said and excellent post!
We have the age of enlightenment to thank for the marvels of nuclear fission
and the atom bomb :-(. Sadly, in a post enlightenment age we are still
struggling between the age old tensions between "science" and "humanity".
What have we learned?
WikiEducator is a project which spans multiple cultures and perspectives of
beliefs. We are not an encyclopaedia striving for an "objective" view of an
article. I trust that our community will not succumb to the traps of value
judgements. I for one don't have the knowledge or experience to exercise
these kinds of judgements but have observed that these are informed by
contexts -- very often contexts that the "opposing" side will have
difficulty to grasp and understand real meaning :-(. However, by being open
-- I have the opportunity to learn how different perspectives can manifest
themselves in educational contexts -- becoming a richer person for the
experience.
I would like to see WikiEducator resources evolve and develop from a
foundation of respect for humanity and an openness to listen and learn. A
community that respects freedom of speech. Education is humanity and will
always be contextually and culturally bounded --- hence the "objective
truth" is of itself an elusive construct.
Cheers
Wayne
2009/11/29 Steve Foerster <[email protected]>
The use of the word "denialism" to describe climate change skeptics is
the most obnoxious tactic in political discourse today, and I would
like to think that in a community like ours it would be entirely
unwelcome. In the highly charged environment we have when it comes to
this issue, where there is so much noise and the truth is so often
hidden by melodramatic rhetoric on both sides, it is not only fools
and liars who are skeptical of global warming, it is entirely possible
to hold that position in good faith.
Edward, if you want to point out how the science behind this works,
and explain why those who are skeptical (1) that climate change is
occurring, and (2) that it's human caused, and (3) that it will be a
very bad thing for humanity, then that's great -- I for one admit that
I could use a better understanding of it. But to repeatedly use such
a term in a transparent attempt to morally equate climate change
skeptics with holocaust deniers is hateful and divisive. Please stop
it.
Sincerely,
-=Steve=-
--
Stephen H. Foerster
http://wikieducator.org/steve
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