The Producer and founder of Legacy Works.

This is not the time to enter the field of education as a teacher or principal. The politicians, school boards, unions, foundations, private industry, career central office administrators, state, and federal education agencies have made it clear that education, the art and science of guiding, assisting, and inspiring young people to learn is finished. Education, teaching, learning, and so many ideas associated with schooling in this country are dead. The death has been slow and excruciatingly painful: subjecting families and their school aged children to intolerable acts of persecution, condemnation and instiutionalized thievery.

When historians reflect, review, and write about these times they’ll come to realize that as the nation grew into a world power, it failed to fully enact its founding principles. The current tension between the words of independence and the actual implementation of reasonable laws, policies and practices is so volatile that it is destroying the institutions needed to maintain an intellectually engaged and informed body politic. Unlike the recent minister who predicted that the world would end on a certain day in May, the death of this great nation is occurring in “deliberate speed” time.

As public school systems around the nation close for summer vacation, many well educated and dedicated classroom teachers are retiring, being riffed, or just leaving public schools in large numbers. They are being pushed out by the scurrilous indictments of elected officials, business people, and others who don’t have a clue about how to effectively manage schools. These decisions have so negatively impacted the image of public education in America that it is doubtful it will ever rebound.

These powerful detractors fail to understand that schools are people centered institutions that require teams of people with distinctive behaviors and sensibilities who can humanely manage the day to day social, intellectual, and physical development of students. Instead of supporting, developing, and providing professional development that was aligned with the knowledge demands of students, these external influences selected curricula, strategies, and materials that represented their particular interests. Their choices often reflected the rather manic behavior of the society at large rather than what students and families needed from local schools.

No, this is not the time to enter education as a teacher or principal. It is not the time to enter a profession that has been torn asunder by the politicians, teachers’ unions, school boards, central office bureaucrats, higher education, and credentialing boards. No, this is not the time to enter a profession that has no way to measure or honor those who have engaged, inspired, and educated countless numbers of young people. No, as long as the nation continues to work against our best interest, this is not the time to become a professional educator.

Sylvia L. Peters

New Movie Recommendations for The Visitor, The Patriot, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and more…

Read them here at The Cheetah Chronicles

The Movie Recommendations are here for the week of June 15. Check The Cheetah Chronicles for the latest recommendations including Dan in Real Life, In Bruges, and more…

And read Kendall’s new book recommendations while you’re there.

“The Plain Truth” is a blog where Sylvia Peters shares her thoughts about our nation, Legacy Works, education, and various other topics.

Against Ourselves June 10, 2011

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses

yearning to be free. The wretched refuse of your teeming

shores. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I

lift my golden lamp beside your shores.”

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

These words grace the base of the Statue of Liberty at the entrance of the harbor to the port of New York. Thousands and thousands of immigrants have flooded past this magnificent statue to enter the United States of America. It was given to America by France, and has inspired many people to come to America and plant themselves in the land of liberty, justice, and freedom.

But lately, what has happened?! Those who are one or two generations removed from the New York harbor or other ports of entry are opposed to immigrant brethren from south of the border “coming to America.” Citizens can be heard calling them “lazy chicanos” even though many of these people come from countries beyond Mexico. The debate started with Arizona’s regressive and sad reaction to people whose ancestors probably owned the land upon which the state is located. Some of these viewpoints, and local legislative reactions have spread across the nation and formed a vicious “backlash” against people coming to America.

Oh how desperate and misinformed we are as a body politic. Here in Knoxville, Tennessee a part of the great tornado that leveled sections of Tuscaloosa, Alabama also damaged a number homes. The sub-division where we live was repeatedly lashed by the whip of the weakened tornado’s tail and our homes, gardens, and automobiles were pelted with what seemed to be an unlimited supply of golf and baseball sized hail. The next morning everyone awoke to roofs that leaked, blasted gutters, cracked stucco, pelted brick exteriors, and everything else that could be destroyed by winds, hail, and rain.

Water ran through the cracks of our roof, destroying dry walls, computers, and whatever else was in the way. The look outside our home was shocking, and made us feel grateful to be alive. Our next task was to inform the insurer about the damage to our home. We were lucky because forty-five minutes before the storm, doors, part of the deck, and roof were restored and painted to maintain the exterior of the property, so when the storm from Tuscaloosa came the repairs lessened the damage to the interior of the house, and we also had the attention of a reputable contracter.

So here it is…early June. The local temperature for the last eleven days has been more than 90 degrees. It’s only rained once in that time and water ran down the walls of our home. It was obvious to us that we had to have our roof repaired.

Yesterday morning, a gentleman from Honduras showed up with a rope coiled around his shoulders, and climbed up a ladder. He started removing the rotting shingles and went down to the sheets of wood covering the rafters. He looked like a man in his fifties He started on the highest peak of the structure, a place where insurance folks and others refused to travel because of the height and steepness of the roof. It was scary to watch him move around the roof like a person naturally designed to climb steep places. The temperature rose to 95 plus and he, with one helper, continued to work. Finally at noon, they took a break. Upon returning around two o’clock, he continued to work until the last glimmer of light dropped behind the mountains. He removed all of the shingles and roof paper from one of a series of small houses that are connected together to make the house.

He’s one of many who’ve come to this country in search of the right to work. He’s not one of the countless people who have swarmed through our neighborhood seeking to be paid before doing any work. He’s not a person who asked about our insurers, nor is he a “lazy person” gathering money to purchase drugs. No! He’s a man like my father who was a rat trapper during the Great Depression. He, like my Dad before him, is a man willing to learn how to do. Every time we utter an inflammatory word about our brown neighbors we are working “against ourselves.” It’s easy to fuss about everything, but talk, so to speak, is cheap.

Truth is difficult for us to see, to feel, and to understand. We complain about everything, and believe anything that the huge mass information networks tell us.

This country was built by people of color who labored as less than full class citizens for generations. This country was also builty by immigrants from across the pond that came past the “great lady” seeking freedom and the right to work for a reasonable amount of pay. So why are we allowing so many to speak against the most recent influx of brown immigrants to America? Where are those who are so against these people when the roofs need to be repaired, the crops picked, and the flood damaged homes restored? When will we see people for what they are really doing and to not be afraid of them because they speak, eat, and look differently? When will we learn to value the diversity that has made us a great country? The gentlemen putting a new roof on my house is a vital part of the nation’s workforce, and we must stop speaking against him.

Legacy Works Productions as it continues to grow will look for the stories that tell the truth about us. “We the people.” Legacy is committed to finding the stories of ordinary people and telling them well; people who in spite of it all, continue to make America a great nation.

New movie recommendations on The Cheetah Chronicles, including Easy A, Little Miss Sunshine, and more…

Read them and watch the traliers here on The Cheetah Chronicles page

Watch Legacy Works’ entry into the 24 Hour Film Festival, Amour. Executive Producer: Sylvia Peters. Key Grip: Kendall Templin. Music by Daniel Rhodes.

Check out Legacy Work’s The Cheetah Chronicles for new music recommendations and reviews from Daniel Rhodes including Seether and Incubus. While you’re there, read Trey’s movie recommendations!

New movie recommendations are up on The Cheetah Chronicles page. Read Trey’s recommendations for (500) Days of Summer, Rachel Getting Married, The Ghost Writer, and more…

http://www.legacyworksproduction.org/?page_id=199

And after that click over to Legacy Work’s newly updated Facebook and Twitter pages.

Legacy Works has a new Photo Shoot. Visit our Facebook page to look over the new pictures and give us a like while you are there.

1. Lost in Translation

A near-perfect film driven by Bill Murray’s effortless performance, Lost in Translation is one of the best I have ever seen. Sofia Coppola’s film is the main reason why I much prefer Bill Murray’s dramatic performances than his comedic ones. This is an understated film that entices you by mood. While it is hard to pinpoint what it is about, one could say it’s about the turning points in life, and how comforting it can be to confide in another. Set in Tokyo, Murray and Scarlett Johansson give subtle, yet powerful performances in this bittersweet, funny, and ultimately moving film.

2. Four Lions

Four Lions, a satire on terrorism directed by Chris Morris is one of the smartest films I’ve ever seen. Who could ever think that a film in which the four main characters are terrorists could be funny? But it is funny, sometimes so funny you will find yourself falling over laughing. There are a few scenes in particular, one involving a sheep, that are extremely memorable. While this film will have you laughing, it is ultimately about how naive people are and how if someone tells you something enough, you might begin to believe it.

Note: Four Lions is currently available on Netflix for instant viewing.

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Every once in a while it is comforting to watch a great family movie. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is enjoyable for everyone. Though it is about middle school, I found myself cracking up over and over, then thinking Why am I laughing so hard?. This is a great example of how absurd and ridiculous a family can be, yet reminds you why it’s important. Of course there is a moral story about not trying to fit in and being yourself, but Diary of a Wimpy Kid is clever about how it gets there. One of the main points I took from this film was how glad I am that I’m not in that awkward middle school age anymore.

4. The Tillman Story

The Tillman Story is a documentary focusing on the aftermath of the death of Pat Tillman, a football star and war-hero in Afghanistan. I’m sure you know the story. The documentary raises several important questions: What in the world were Tillman’s fellow soldiers thinking when they fired repeatedly at him? Why did the military and the government see the need to cover the true circumstances of his death? Did they really believe no one would ever find out the truth? Tillman was obviously not your average American and through his mother, father, wife, and brother, we figure this out. He did not enjoy stardom, he was very private, he was possibly atheist, and he definitely did not approve of the wars overseas. I wasn’t sure what to think after watching The Tillman Story, but the fact that I was thinking says something about this documentary.

5. Dans Paris

Some films seem so real that you never even think about the illusion of cinema. Dans Paris, “Inside Paris” in English, is one of those films. Few are as true to life as one. Romain Duris, one of the best actors in the world no one knows, gives a commanding performance as Paul, a man who has just separated from his longtime girlfriend and is staying with his father and brother in their Paris apartment. Dans Paris is certainly not bashful and is heartbreaking, hilarious, and puzzling all at the same time. At the end, you get a fantastic film about depression, falling out of love, and the relationships between brothers.

Note: Dans Paris is currently available on Netflix for instant viewing.

Trey Townsend

P.S. Vist rogerebert.com for the best movie reviews on the web.