Commentators

Meet the 2013 guest contributors who evaluate and comment to student blog entries.

Trisha Tesmer

• What you do: Attorney
• Where you call home: Chicago, IL
• Why this project interests you:  Other than supporting my sister, this project is interesting in that the students have an opportunity to take the theories and lessons from what they learn at school and apply them to real world situations in which their voice can be heard.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: Instead of preaching tolerance, students receive a practical opportunity to understand why it is so important.

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Bob Cohn

• What you do: I work with business people and non-profit organizations on things like interpersonal skills and planning
• Where you call home: I live in Cross River, NY, about one hour north of Manhattan with a wife, a stepson and 2 wonderful dogs.
• Why this project interests you: Because people in the eighth grade interest me, and if I can help, or even just contribute, I get a lot of satisfaction out of it.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: I bet your teachers can tell you that talking isn’t teaching and listening isn’t learning. We learn best by doing (doing includes teaching). Not only is this a good way to learn, but a great way to interact with others, which I think is somewhere near the heart and value of tolerance and appreciation of diversity.

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Mike Echlin

• What you do: Entrepreneur/Musician
• Where you call home: West Dundee, IL
• Why this project interests you: Human rights and interactions are the most fundamental concepts that students can explore as it relates to the real world.  By exploring their own understanding and beliefs at this age, they should be able to form a balanced opinion and gain a better worldview as they mature.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: There is so much prejudice out there that can easily influence young minds (especially in this part of the country) that a project like this is fantastic to provide a balanced outlook.

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Diana Koc

• What you do: Banker
• Where you call home: Aurora, IL
• Why this project interests you: As a new mom, I am interested to see how present eighth grade students think. I hope to gain some insight into the differences from my  pre-teen and early teen years.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: I think it is important for us as human beings to constantly question and learn from our experiences and others. Literature is a great way to connect and challenge ourselves to grow.

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Melissa Murphy Thompson

• What you do: Besides listening to live music, I am a social worker and a professor of social work at Loyola University in Chicago.
• Where you call home: Batavia, IL 
• Why this project interests you: I like to do all I can to plant seeds of tolerance. I work towards a world filled with it and you never know where that seed will grow. In addition, as a teacher of diverse and oppressed populations, I think I can learn much about the topics you listed below from the students.  
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: Young people are often dismissed as change leaders and I don't think this is appropriate. They are creative and often see things adults miss as we have grown to accept societal roles and rules while they are still sorting through this. Providing tools and participating in dialogues via the blog with them will allow them to learn and grow from the interaction with peers and others. 

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Stephen Grabo

• What I do:  Live life the best I can; also, United States Air Force
• Where I call home:  Chicagoland, IL
• Why this project matters to me:  Tolerance is an exceptionally important tool for young Americans to learn early in their lives.  Many children are often not presented with an abundance of cultures, religions, backgrounds, and ethnicities near where they grow up.  There is very little doubt that they will encounter it at some point in their life.  It is important for them to develop the understanding of differences now, and generate the knowledge that acceptance of people as one in the same is a purely essential human element.  
• Why I believe students should do a project like this:  They will develop a high sense of moral character early in life that will represent the baseline they can carry with them.  This baseline character will extend to those around them and spread tolerance for years to come.  Making the world a better place is a bit of a leap, but they will definitely make those around them more aware of what it means to be tolerant and accepting toward others.  

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Terry Tesmer

• What you do: I am a retired teacher.
• Where you call home: I live in Naperville, Illinois. 
• Why this project interests you: My past students studied and read some of the same material.  I have taken part in some of the past students projects from your teacher and enjoy reading your comments and thoughts about the past and how it relates and effects things you do now.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: Hopefully, some of my thoughts and comments will help your studies, beliefs, and attitudes towards others and how others treat you.

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Joan Arnold

• What you do:  Educator
• Where you call home: La Grange, Illinois
• Why this project interests you: It's important for the students to get feedback from adults.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this:  They get to construct their own learning, learn from others, etc.

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Eric Dobson

• What you do: 

1. Dedicated father of 3 awesome kids
2. Assistant Vice President / Project Manager of HVAC Engineering Company
3. Drummer / Singer in a really cool band

• Where you call home: Naperville, IL
• Why this project interests you: To study the dynamics of human behavior is a key step in understanding why we are who we are as people.  In everyday life, you can apply the many principles of social psychology, and how people ultimately relate to one another.  If through my own life experience and contributing to this project, I can positively affect at least one student to think more openly and positively on the treatment of others, it will be a success for us both.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: See above...And by using the power of social media and multimedia as tools, students will become more engaged and take ownership of their opinions and attitudes toward the subject.  Also, its something different that they can have fun with!

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Mara Alvarez

• What you do: Junior at Downers Grove South High School
• Where you call home: Woodridge, my hometown, is where I call home because of it's small yet close community.
• Why this project interests you: This project interests me because I greatly enjoyed the holocaust unit and how you constructed the unit to engage all the students in taking on different perspectives.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: This is a project students should do because it opens their eyes to hardships and tougher times in history. The subject of the Holocaust and such controversial topics prepares teenagers for problems in society they may face as adults and the project helps them to also learn to understand or simply view a situation or scenario from a different/unknown perspective.

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Alison Ramsey

• What you do: Stay-at-home mom
• Where you call home: Naperville, IL
• Why this project interests you: Interest in German language/culture/heritage
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: Reading and research allow you to form your own ideas and viewpoints, and it's important to share those ideas in order to be able to defend and confirm your beliefs.

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Chris Stansbury

• What you do: Teacher.
• Where you call home: Woodridge, IL
• Why this project interests you: This projects interests me for I believe that the world would be a better place if everyone could be more understanding, tolerant, and respectful of other people's differences.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this:  I believe that students should participate in this type of project in order to gain insights into the greater global world.  We're all so connected now through technology that we need to know and understand the trials and challenges that others in the world face each day.  Perhaps that will help us understand and respect the people living nearer to us in our own committees, state, and nation.

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Laura Milnichuk

• What you do: Attorney
• Where you call home: Chicago, IL
• Why this project interests you: Education is one of the best ways to curb intolerance. 
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: We need to broaden our youth's minds so that when they lead the world, they can do so with an open mind and a tolerant heart.

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Jim Rawdin

• What you do: Going back to school
• Where you call home: Chicago, IL
• Why this project interests you: Their teacher is cool.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: I believe students do not always have the opportunity to use their creative sides in school and this will help encourage the creative aspects of learning.

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Bob Spielman

• What you do: Take care of Mrs. Stansbury’s mom (Karen)
• Where you call home: Arlington Heights, IL
• Why this project interests you: The similarities between the Holocaust and the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII in terms of a government overriding human rights.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: Events like these should never be forgotten.

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Karen Spielman

• What you do: I am a retired school social worker
• Where you call home: Arlington Heights, IL
• Why this project interests you:  This project interests me because I was once a history teacher and I can hardly fathom how technology has changed how teachers teach and students learn through this medium. It will be interesting for me to interact this way and decide if I like it.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: I believe students need to learn tolerance and empathy because it seems to be lacking in our world/culture today. We, as citizens of the world, need to learn from the lessons of the past and pay attention to what is happening in the present, to avoid repeating cruelty, to make the world a better place for all. We need to accept differences, respect others and educate others to reduce ignorance. Our young people will affect the future, our fate will be in their hands. This project will help them make good decisions about "how to be in the world."

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Rob Marinucci

• What you do: Taught high school history/government/economics for 33 years and current teach college history (US, World, Michigan).
• Where you call home: Detroit, Michigan
• Why this project interests you:  I have a continuing love of history and I've taught it for 42 years.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: It's important for students to grasp history. There are lots of lessons to learn, not the least of which is to "Know Thyself." Socrates, through Plato, said, "The unexamined life isn't worth living." Learning about other people can force students to ask themselves questions about, well, about themselves.

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Maggie Hock

• What you do: Teacher
• Where you call home: Villa Park, Illinois
• Why this project interests you: It is interesting to me to learn about the holocaust and the different aspects of this project bring out so many great thoughts from our students.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: to gain an understanding of other people and learn how to appreciate people and cultures different from themselves.

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Amanda Gregory

• What you do: Marketing Director
• Where you call home: Naperville, IL
• Why this project interests you: I would like to see how kids interpret stories differently than we do as adults.  I would also like to see if I would have thought the same way years ago and how I have changed since then.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this:  I think it is important for students to understand that the choices they make today really can affect the future.

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Abhiram Reddy

• What you do: 9th Grade Student
• Where you call home: Hyderabad, India
• Why this project interests you: This project interests me because throughout recorded history people have fought, but many of these conflicts could have been avoided if people understood each other. Though the world is so different every civilization has the same essential needs, but we all have different methods of acquiring them. People tend to be afraid of what they don't know and can't understand. Once you understand a different point of view it opens up so many possibilities that you wouldn't have seen otherwise.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: Keeping in mind that I have been through this program before, I believe students should participate in it for various reasons. The most important reason, in my opinion, is that it teaches students to not only accept one another but accept the views of groups of people they may have held a grudge against before. The people of the world tend to think that their view is always correct, when looking at an idea from a different viewpoint can change everything. Teaching students to be tolerant of others allows us to see the world in a completely different way.

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Lisa Ripley

 

• What you do: High School Teacher
• Where you call home: Oak Park, Illinois
• Why this project interests you: I am interested in the use of technology to foster education, communication, and agency among young people.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: I believe early introduction to responsible civic education through technology can set patterns of behavior that will last well beyond school and benefit all of us.

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Ripley's Global Studies Classes

• What you do: Students
• Where you call home: Northlake, Melrose Park, unincorporated Cook County, and Franklin Park, Illinois
• Why this project interests you: We want extra credit by practicing some of our digital citizenship engagement.  Some of us have also read the books and want to see what others think.  Some of us are interested in the Holocaust and genocide in general and some of these books deal with these topics.

 

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Juli Moushon

• What you do: Freshman at DGS
• Where you call home: Woodridge, IL
• Why this project interests you: I did the project last year and loved it. It's a great way to teach tolerance! Plus, I really want to hear what the new group has to say.
• Why you believe students should do a project like this: When we did it last year, we no idea what to expect going into it.  But coming out of the project, we had tolerance for those around us and those in our past.  It really opens your mind to every situation, and that is a rare and necessary quality.  We also read great books-that's always a plus.