Rants, Raves, and Reading

Rants*

*Since it seems to congenitally in my character to notice, frequently comment on, and often try to redress the failings in human society and systems, I figured I'd share what's been riling me up even in this overwhelmingly pleasant city.

First off, pedestrians cross streets here at their own constant peril! Walk lights, crosswalks, courtesy, and safety all seem trivial distractions to the average driver. For their part, pedestrians cross streets at reckless will, and the result is a dangerous free-for-all! A chaos that transpires in plain view of the ubiquitous public safety forces.

Rather than foment and fulminate further, I'll just mention that recycling awareness and other indications of commitment to sustainability are spotty here. Single-use coffee cups abound (hardly a re-usable mug to be seen), as do styrofoam take-out containers. There are some promising signs - emerging recycling infrastructure, for example. In addition, the federal government does use compostable cups, plates, and cutlery in its cafeterias (although they love bottled water), and a ban on plastic bags goes into effect January 1st in the city of DC.

Raves

The very walkable National Mall and the array of museums and monuments that border it are a treasure, especially at this time of year when the tourist traffic is light. This morning, which was brisk but sunny, I ascended the Washington Monument and then stopped in to tour some exhibits at the National Museum of Natural History: "the Evolution of Evolution," award-winning nature photography, and "Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake." It was great to visit this sprawling museum without crowds and without feeling pressure to "see it all". The best part is that I did all this with nothing in my pocket but a house key. All the national museums and monuments are free, and, while there is security screening at each entrance, entry does not require presenting identification. I think this is something for us to be proud of.

Reading

My research into global education in general has led me in a few directions. For example, last week I finished Kenichi Ohmae's The Next Global Stage, a book about the overall phenomenon of globalization, especially from a business perspective. Most of what I am reading is related to global education in general, including such riveting titles as World Class: Teaching and Learning in Global Times, Globalization and Education: Critical Perspectives, and Going Global: Preparing Our Students for an Interconnected World. I'm actually finding the topic quite interesting, and I have even found some good resources for the state of global education in South Africa. Besides allowing me to mine data bases for articles and reports published in South Africa, the Library of Congress even has its own copies of some material that is proving quite useful and relevant to me (but otherwise seems rather obscure); for example, I was able to peruse the findings of a recent study of "Factors Affecting Teaching and Learning in South Africa."

To supplement this research, I have a couple of current, non-fiction books about South Africa. I have started with For Whites Only (thanks Daniel!), which is a warning to white South Africans not to play into the hands of those who would replace reconciliation with racialization, and I have Bring Me My Machine Gun, a post-apartheid history from Mandela to Zuma, on deck.

(See Comments for a discussion thread on South African fiction.)