ESL etc.

One of the fundamental problems with capitalism as it is currently practiced in many countries around the world is that it relies on continual growth. Obviously, this is not sustainable. The Center for the Advancement of Steady State Economy (CASSE) is an organization that seeks to explore the true costs of growth-based economics, as well [...]

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The RSA Animate series of video clips is an interesting way to present some very sophisticated ideas to learners. The visual nature of the lectures helps comprehension and helps hold student interest. The lecture above looks at how recent developments in cognitive science change our understanding of human nature. Other lectures deal with concepts like [...]

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A few months ago, I had the pleasure of going to a talk on campus by L. M. Bogad. He is a professor at UC Davis and spoke on the topic of performance-based activism. He’s been involved with number of groups, including Billionaires for Bush and The Yes Men. On his website, he has video [...]

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Global Eye is a (now defunct) magazine aiming to bring global issues to primary and secondary schools. Thus, the language is pretty accessible and a lot of it could be used with English language learners. As a magazine, the materials are primarily readings and pictures / graphics, but there are some writing activities in there, [...]

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I just became aware of two documentaries that would fit nicely into a unit on happiness. The first is The Economics of Happiness. This documentary links a number of global issues (climate change, terrorism, etc.) with personal issues (depression, loneliness, etc.). I haven’t seen the whole thing, but the trailer brings up a lot of [...]

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Scholar as Citizen is a new blog launched by UW-Madison professor William Cronon exploring the public practice of history. One of his first posts was about ALEC, a “nonpartisan” group for state legislators working to promote “free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty”. Two of their current objectives are exposing the “trainwreck” of the [...]

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George Monbiot just put together a proposal for an agenda for an upcoming rally in the UK that will include a number of different organizations. He did this in recognition of the fact that it is important to be FOR something, not just AGAINST things. This parallels something that I’ve long wondered: how can politicians [...]

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The Story of Citizens United v. FEC is a new video by Annie Leonard (of the Story of Stuff fame) about how corporations have gained undue influence in American democracy. She looks at it historically and also looks at the 2010 Supreme Court case of the (ironically named) Citizens United v. FEC. As a result [...]

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A recent article in the Guardian reveals some of the changes being made on Capitol Hill by the new Republican House. Among other things, they have reinstituted styrofoam coffee cups. These had been replaced with a biodegradable corn starch alternative four years ago. Next on the Republican agenda of environmental retro moves? Lightbulbs. House Republicans [...]

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Mother Jones has put together a collection of 11 great infographics that look at the distribution of wealth in American from a number of different angles. I particularly like the one headed “Out of Balance” (included here) that compares perceptions, reality and preference. It is really incredible, with the concentration of wealth and power in [...]

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