Please read this post linearly. Watch the video below before proceeding to text.

1. One of my mantras in the classroom when dealing with global issues has always been that the problems we are trying to solve: poverty, human rights abuses, global warming, social equity etcetera are not symptoms of a system in crisis, but it can be better understood that the problems we face are the repercussions of a system working as it should. Or even better said, the global issues we face are the results of several systems working together, as they should. The systems are working as they should that is why we have problems. The issues, with which you are most concerned, will most likely have their source in one of the following systems. Can you think of other systems that affect people throughout the world?

Economic systems- free market capitalism, globalization, and trade
Political systems- Electoral policies, foreign policy, and war
Media- dissemination of information, free speech, rise of Internet activism
Educational systems- Public school systems, curricula, and what is taught and how and by whom.

The questions to ask are: Who benefits from these systems? Who established them and for what reasons? Are they working as they should? Why or why not? Are they interconnected?

Return to video.

Now, please watch Money and Debt below. You can watch it in full screen here. Remember to take notes and write down any questions you may have about what is being presented.

Now that you have watched the video, what do you think? Have you ever thought that money could be so complicated? What does the message tell you about the financial crisis in the world today? Are any of the candidates talking about money reform? Why not? Have you ever heard of Local Exchange Trading Systems? Could you start one amongst your friends?

I have also created a page on the wiki, where we can collectively start to build a resource that illustrates our understanding of money. If after watching the movie you further investigate this topic please add your finding here. If you need an invite to the wiki just request one and I will approve it shortly.

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon’s every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit, and timeless message.

I think this video is pure genius. Both the content and execution are sublime. What are your thoughts? Can we do something like this? Don’t think about the skill required or the craft, but rather the creativity, the intent, and effect.

I first discovered Franti after being impressed by his powerful, insightful, and hard-hitting lyrics in the song Light Up Ya Lighter off the Body of War soundtrack. I urge you to listen to the album, watch the film, and read more at the website.

It was lyrics like…

The war for oil is a war for the beast
the War on terror is a war on peace
Telling you they’re gona protect you
Telling you that they support the troops and
Don’t let ‘em fool you with their milk and honey
No, they only want your money
One step forward and 2 step back
One step forward and 2 step back
Why do veterans get no respect
PTSD and a broken back
Take a look at where you money’s gone (seen)
Take a look at what they spent it on
No excuses, no illusions
Light up your lighter, bring ‘em home

…that first attracted me to Franti. Here was someone singing a vital social studies lesson in a feel good anthem. After some research, I found myself awash in the many great projects that make up Franti orbit. First there was the album Yell Fire that featured Light Up Ya Lighter and thirteen other hard hitting lessons. Yell Fire was the soundtrack to the film that Franti had produced himself: I Know I Am Not Alone, is a low budget documentary that follows Franti and his guitar into the streets of Baghdad and the Israeli/Palestinian territories. The film is a perfectly poignant glimpse into the realities of war zones and the power of the human spirit and music to survive despite the worst of out human traits. This is a much watch film for any music lover interested in the peace movement.

The more I waded through Franti’s work, the more I realized what a truly important artist he is. In addition to his rebellious, intelligent, sociological stance on a broad range of topics such as war, racism, and poverty, Franti likes to have a good time. He is a loving, peaceful man determined to unite people through his music. He focuses on what humanity has in common, not on what separates us.

His latest album All Rebel Rockers is a perfect blend of feel good summer jams, tender pleas for peace, as well as vintage Franti calls to rebellion. I think I can best describe this multifaceted artist best by mentioning that my two-year old daughter asks for his songs by name. His blend of rock, reggae, and hip-hop strike a chord that is innate in the human spirit. He makes us feel good, dance, all the while educating the listener to the state of the world.

I have embedded a video from the Yell Fire album, but you can find many more of his videos on his youtube channel FrantiTV and listen to more of his song on our ning. While he has several albums, I would recommend starting with Yell Fire and All Rebel Rockers.

In addition to being a musician, film-maker, children’s book writer, Franti also runs an annual music festival in San Francisco called Power to the Peaceful. in addition to the festival this year, he has orchestrated a video contest. I would love for members of IntrepidClassroom to get involved and submit a few videos. Don’t worry about winning the prizes. It is not important whether you will be able to attend the show or not, what is important is for you to think about his intentions and to create some truly powerful videos. I think this contest is a perfect match for us here at IntrepidClassroom and a great way to kick off the year. We have been given clear instructions and a quickly approaching deadline. So waste no more time. Read the instructions and get started. I will leave you with a feel good jam to get you motivated.

Here are the instructions:

CALL FOR ENTRIES:
Power to the Peaceful Online Film Festival 08

WHAT EMPOWERS YOU TO BE PEACEFUL?
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CREATE CHANGE?
WHAT DOES PEACE MEAN TO YOU?

Got something to say?
Enter a short film, animation, music video, web works or just film yourself expressing how you feel. Winners will be announced on September 6 2008 at this year’s Power to the Peaceful Festival and featured on our website on FrantiV for the whole world to see!
Watch the entries as they come in and comment!

http://www.youtube.com/pttpfilmfest

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
September 3, 2008

WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:
2 Backstage VIP passes to PTTP Festival*
2 After Party VIP passes*
10th Anniversary PTTP T Shirt
Signed PTTP poster*

Winners residing outside the country or state of California will receive 2 tickets/backstage passes for a headline MFSH show (festivals not included) in the city nearest you

HOW TO SUBMIT:
Quicktime file under 100 mgs
Length not to exceed 5 minutes

UPLOAD INSTRUCTIONS

MAKING VIDEOS
You’ll need to have a device that can capture digital movies—this could be a camcorder, digital camera, or even your cell phone! You copy the movies to your computer, and then you can either upload them as-is or edit them with software such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker to add titles and special effects.

Acceptable video file formats include .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, and .MPG transferred from most digital cameras, camcorders, and cell phones.

UPLOAD INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Go to www.yousendit.com

2. Login as
user: carla@powertothepeaceful.org
password: peace

3. To: carla@powertothepeaceful.org
Subject: PTTP ONLINE FESTIVAL
Enter Message: YOUR NAME AND CITY HERE + brief description
Select a file: Click ‘browse’ and choose your file

4. Click ‘Send it’

QUESTIONS?
carla@powertothepeaceful.org
aenoch@aenoch.com

Good luck and let’s see what you can come up with. Please also post your videos on our wiki page.

Do a bit of research about DIY and the punk ethics and see what you can produce to show you understand the concept of punk as it relates to your learning and education. Use any tools you have at your disposable both digital and old school, then present your work on the Ning, the wiki, youtube, or your own blog. Don’s ask for clarification, don’t ask for what is acceptable; don’t ask anything just do it. Create!

I set June 26th as a deadline in hopes of forcing people get on task. Guilty of procrastination like everyone else, it is now 11:36pm the night of the 25th, and I am finishing up my project. I have a feeling mine will be the only presentation, but I hope to be surprised.The deadline was arbitrary, so I hope that others will begin to post their work on one of our many platforms.

The term Edupunk has gone through the ringer, but this is all I found it to mean:

inventive teaching and inventive learning. As for DYI, it is a term used by various communities that focus on people creating or repairing things for themselves without the aid of paid professionals.

In short: communities creating and using inventive teaching and inventive learning for themselves without the aid of paid professionals. Education Everywhere.

I wanted to create several video stickers. With the proliferation of video and the ease of embedding video on social networking sites, I wanted to create short video Public Service Announcements (PSA) My hope being that people will “stick” these videos on as many cyber-walls as possible. I want people to share them with as many people as they know on Facebook, embed them on their blogs, stamp them on their Nings. I think of the PSAs as video graffiti.

I have only created one as of now, but I hope to churn these out more often. We will begin the lessons on the subject matter in the  video soon. In the meantime, take a look and raise some questions.

Now I leave you with two assignments, distribute this video to as many people as you can and create a project of your own.

I wanted to write a deep, profound, meaningful intro for the next video, but I think Severin Suzuki’s words say it all. I have also embedded this clip on the Ning, so feel free to comment in either place. I encourage you to share the video widely with as many people as you can, and have whoever you send it to come and join our conversation about it here at Intrepid Classroom. I am curious what you think. Sixteen years have gone by, and not only have things not gotten any better, they have gotten worse.

The entire speech can be found here. Some questions to entertain:

What is our next immediate action?
What are the reasons why nothing has changed?
What can we do about that?
Is she just an idealistic child? Is it that simple?

Please write, discuss, share ideas… I challenge you, please, make your actions reflect your words.

I am in the process of exploring WizIQ. It seems to be a great platform for allowing us to have some real time live classroom sessions. I know timezones will prove challenging, but this way we can meet and have class hopefully once a month if not more often to discuss ideas, projects, and other points of information.

Watch this video and think of ways we can use this great new tool. I will sign up soon and send all members whatever you need to participate. In the meantime, there a few new discussion on the Ning that could use some input and the story has been on hold for a few days. Let’s not lose momentum.

Here is some information on WizIQ:

Please embed and share with as many people as you can. Get it out there!

From the New York Times:

The term “globalization” is so tinged with rosy one-world optimism that it’s easy to assume the essential benignity of an economic philosophy whose name vaguely connotes unity, equality and freedom. But as Stephanie Black’s powerful documentary “Life and Debt” illustrates with an impressive (and depressing) acuity, globalization can have a devastating impact on third world countries. The movie offers the clearest analysis of globalization and its negative effects that I’ve ever seen on a movie or television screen. Read more here

Read more reviews at the official web site here or track info on IMDB. If you can rent this film, please do so. If not start building your video library here. If you do watch the film, please come back and tell us what you think! Take a look at the trailer:

This is a good time, however, to start to think about what we want to do with Intrepid Classroom. It is one thing to simply get together and argue, discuss, and share our ideas, but then what? I see this experiment as way to bring students together from around the world, to not only exchange ideas, but also to try and offer solutions and create products to help create a more just, sustainable, and peaceful planet.

I have always taught that process is more important than product, but I would love to create small teams of students who can design and implement their own creations. Perhaps you can make a video for or against capital punishment, or a poem about the war in Iraq, or maybe a podcast about the affects of globalization on the developing world. We want to use art and technology to raise awareness and instigate change. You are the next generation of activist; this is your school. Tell us what you need to learn. Let us show you.

I understand that May is the worst time to even think about any of this, with end of year exams and anxieties, but please store these ideas in the back of you brain and let’s see what we can do over the summer and next year.

I have created a YouTube page for our class. I will send you the password via the Ning, so if you want to post your work, please contact me here for details. I am currently working on a video trailer for this class. I would love to get some video from you on what Intrepid Classroom, as a concept and as a reality, means to you. If you are not comfortable enough technically to create a video and post it on Youtube, contact people at the Ning for some help, and if that doesn’t work I can help you.

I have also added a tab at the top of the page for books and films. There are only a few hyper-linked items, but I hope to fill these spaces in the coming months with more in-depth explanations.

Please use Intrepid Classroom as a resource for music, films, and books that will help you in your quest for peace and justice. Thanks for stopping by. Do not be a lurker! Leave a comment. Let us know you were here. Tell your friends, let’s change the world.