As an American who received a public school education, I certainly learned about the atrocities of American slavery and the violence committed against black Americans during the Jim Crow era. However, in recent years, as I read more about America’s racial history, I am often amazed by the lengths to which white Americans are willing to go to keep blacks from having equal rights, oftentimes hurting themselves in the process. Below are some of the most striking events in American history where whites went out of their way to harm blacks. Some of them I learned in high school; some of them I only learned about recently. Before the United States was formed, the Virginia House of Burgesses passed laws which elevated the status of whites in the colony and diminished the rights of blacks in the colony. In one such law, white men who killed a slave during “discipline” would not be held responsible. Some have argued that the aim of these laws was purely political – by stoking divisions among whites and blacks, the politicians in power would be able to retain that power more easily. In crafting the Constitution of the United States, the founding fathers saw it fit to count each black person in America as 0.60 of a person for purposes of allocation of political representation. In the years leading up to the Civil War, the economy of New York City was so tied to the cotton industry of the South that the then mayor of New York, Fernando Wood, suggested that New York City, apart from New York State, would secede from the Union along with the Southern states. During the Civil War there was a military draft in order to provide enough troops to fight in the Union Army. However, many whites resented being asked to risk their lives for the freedom of enslaved blacks. White people protested this draft in many Northern cities. In New York City, the violence lasted five days. Black individuals and black institutions were targeted. More than one hundred victims lost their lives, and an orphanage for black children was burned to the ground. In 1868, President Andrew Johnson issued a pardon for all members of the Confederacy. It was easier for him to seek camaraderie with whites who betrayed their own government than with blacks who had fought to support the government in the Union Army. With the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, black men were given the de jure right to vote. However, blacks attempting to vote often faced violent opposition from armed white groups. An estimated 5,000 black Americans were killed in violence from whites in the ten years after emancipation. In 1898, Charles Aycock, a white man, organized a violent attack on the city of Wilmington, North Carolina. The aim of this attack was to remove the white and black politicians of the city belonging to an opposing political party. Rather than being punished for organizing this violence, Mr. Aycock was subsequently rewarded by being elected governor of the state. In the middle of the 20th century, the Supreme Court declared that it was unconstitutional to prohibit blacks from studying with whites in public schools. In response, Prince Edward County, Virginia closed its public schools entirely, rather than allow black students into what had been white-only schools. In the America of today, the circumstances have changed, but the sentiment is the same. Whites continue to keep blacks from enjoying full and equal freedom in America. Black Americans face elevated violence from law enforcement (think George Floyd). Black Americans are made to live in environments with elevated health risks (think Flint, Michigan). Black Americans regularly have the value of their lives called into question (think of the opposition to the phrase “Black Lives Matter”). This does not have to be the reality of life in America. We are capable of making a change to elevate black lives. I believe that working towards this end is a worthwhile and compelling task. | Mỹ là nước giàu nhất chẳng có nghĩa Mỹ là nước tình cảm nhất. Mỗi đất nước trên thế giới đều có cả điểm tích cực và điểm tiêu cực. Gần đây số lượng điểm tiêu cực của nước Mỹ khá là nhiều. Ở nước Mỹ mọi người dân có quyền sở hữu súng, thậm chí súng trường. Phần lớn người Mỹ dùng súng để bảo vệ nhà mình hoặc đi săn hươu. Tuy nhiên, hàng năm một số người dùng súng để bắn người khác. Trong năm 2017 một người Mỹ đã bắn ra hơn một nghìn viên đạn vào nhóm người tham gia lễ hội âm nhạc. Hơn 400 người bị thương và 60 người đã chết. Dù vậy người dân Mỹ vẫn được phép mua súng. Tại nước Mỹ, như ở mỗi đất nước trên thế giới, dịch bệnh CoViD 19 bùng phát rất nặng nề. Khi vi-rút mới được phát hiện ở Mỹ nhiều người phản đối những biện pháp phòng chống dịch bệnh. Một số bang thậm chí không cho phép những thành phố trong bang đó ra luật đeo khẩu trang. Nhiều người Mỹ cũng chưa đi tiêm vắc-xin, mặc dù vắc-xin miễn phí và hiệu quả. Kết luận là hơn 700,000 người dân Mỹ đã tử vong do CoViD 19. Nước Mỹ là một nước dân chủ. Chính khách Mỹ thường khuyến khích những nước khác rằng nước đó cũng nên biến thành nước dân chủ. Đại diện Mỹ đưa lý do rằng dân chủ là hệ thống chính phủ hòa bình nhất. Nhưng Mỹ không phải là nước dân chủ gương mẫu. Sau cuộc bầu cử năm 2020 vài trăm người không thích kết quả đã tấn công Điện Capitol ở thủ đô Washington. Mặc dù trận đó đã kết thúc rồi, Mỹ vẫn chưa an lành. Theo ý của mình tình cảm có giá trị cao hơn tiền tài, vì có tiền, mà không thể xử lý bạo hành và lo cho sức khỏe của người dân thì chẳng có gì cả. |
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Imagine you want to analyze the relationship between two quantities. These quantities could be taken from almost any area of life:
This fall, my Mathematical Modeling students will be analyzing all these situations and more using the following method. Here is an incomplete list of topics I plan to assign my students. Additional suggestions are welcome.
I am continually surprised and amazed to see how well students know their own needs. When I ask them, they have a clear sense of which types of homework assignments and classroom teaching methods help them learn best. Today, I was witness when a student's self-awareness extended outside content-knowledge into the realm of discipline. One student, Patrick (not his real name), has been disrupting my Geometry class. He is frequently talking when I am talking, calling to a friend across the room, and speaking outside the classroom language, which is English. In the back of my room there is a sofa that students like to sit on during class. This provided me with leverage to change these behaviors. At the beginning of the week, I spoke with Patrick about his use of the couch and some of the disruptive behaviors he was displaying. We agreed that he would not use the couch this week, but could use it next week if he showed that he was only speaking English and not talking out of turn this week. Throughout the week, I observed his behavior and provided regular comments about how his behavior was fitting into expectations. Friday came around, and his disruptive behaviors continued. However, I was anxious about telling him that he could not use the couch, anticipating a negative response. I considered allowing him to use the couch, even though he had not earned it through improved behavior. As I thought about the conversation about my verdict about his use of the couch, I had an idea of how to approach the conversation differently. I started the conversation by summarizing the behaviors that I had observed during the week: speaking Korean, talking when I was talking, and calling to his friend across the room. Patrick agreed that he had done all those things. Then, instead of telling Patrick my decision, I asked him what he thought the decision should be. He responded, "I don't really think I've earned it." With this sentence, Patrick showed that he and I had a common understanding of the events in the classroom. Discipline became a cooperative practice where both parties could contribute to improving the class. By changing my approach, I gave this student space to be just such a partner.
How many pairs of vertical angles are in the diagram below? Spoiler Alert! Some students answered "three pairs," while others said "six." I asked students to justify their answers by listing the pairs of vertical angles. Students quickly found the three pairs below. I asked, "Did anyone find a fourth pair?" An intrepid student raised his hand. "Angles C X F and D X E." These vertical angles are harder to see, because of the extra line that runs through them. Students responded to his discovery with "ohhhh!!!" and a well-deserved round of applause. The final two pairs of vertical angles were then easy to find, bringing the total to six pairs of vertical angles in the diagram.
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About Me
I started this blog to share my transformation from math nerd to math nerd who loves to share math with young people. I teach high school in Hanoi, Vietnam. Your comments are always welcome. Archives
May 2021
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