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| Roundtable |
| Book Club |
| Third Sunday Roundtable |
| Reflections |
| Other |
Driving Directions
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Join our list to get occasional updates about meetings and important events. You can be removed from the list at any time without hassle.
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CITY LIGHTS
Charlie Chaplin and the Making of a Classic: CITY LIGHTS
And now for something completely different . . . a treat for movie buffs!
U.T. Professor Charles Maland, Head of the English Department, teaches cinema
studies and other aspects of American cultural and intellectual history.
A leading expert on Charlie Chaplin, his most recent book is CITY LIGHTS,
one of the British Film Institute's Film Classics series. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
and MODERN TIMES (1936) are often considered to be Chaplins finest work.
Aug. 15, 2010
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Education (K-12)
The Decline, Fall, and Potential Resurrection of American Education (K-12).
Many failures of the American Education system have been detailed by numerous authors, including: Failure to Impose Discipline, Failure to Demand Respect (for Teachers & for Students), Failure to Teach Essential Subjects, Failure to Inspire Creativity & Innovation, Failure to Teach Independent and Critical Thinking Skills, etc.
Whether we accept all of these charges or not, I think most of us would agree that the educational system of this nation is not performing as it did historically, nor as well on an international comparative basis as it did previously. One wonders why and how this decline has occurred?
How did we become a "Nation at Risk" as we were labeled by numerous academic reports and authorities, including the National Commission on Educational Excellence in 1982?
How have modern practices of mainstreaming and inclusion impacted the classrooms? Why does there seem to be ever-increasing centralization of school districts' control, and always escalating costs per student? Did the "No Child Left Behind" policies impact students' performance positively or negatively?
Is the culture of virtual learning, computers, and new technology moving faster than the average teacher can keep up with? Does the existence and success of the Florida Virtual School, which began modestly in 1997 with only 77 students and served more than 71,000 students in 2008-09, light the path for a virtual future in American education, avoiding the burden of buildings and buses, desks and textbooks, teachers' unions and school boards?
We'll mull over the complex issues of how education has declined, and wonder aloud about some "what-if scenarios" that we think might make a difference. Join us at the home of Carol and Stephen Tokay at 8905 Garrison Drive, Knoxville, TN 37931. Phone them at 865.691.6816 for directions.
Aug. 22, 2010, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
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Community TV- FreeThought Program
The website for Community TV is www.ctvknox.org. And they have this to say about channels...
Programming on CTV can only be seen on cable TV in Knox County, Tennessee.
•All of the programs on CTV can be seen on Comcast Channel 12 and Charter Channel 6.
•Recorded gavel to gavel coverage of local government meetings can be seen on Knology Channel 6.
•Live gavel to gavel coverage of local government meetings can be seen on AT&T U-verse TV Channel 99.
We're hoping that all RET members and friends will be watching and wishing us success on this new outreach venture with ASK (the Atheist Society of Knoxville).
Aug. 31, 2010, 5:30 pm
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Open Roundtable
Open roundtable. Members can present any items which they want to discuss. Possible topics may include Billy Graham question and answer articles, Is America Sliding into Fascism, jeremiads of Chris Hedges, or anything else that people would like to discuss in a free-wheeling, free-thought forum. A soap box will be provided.
Time/location: 10:30 - 12:30, Pellissippi State, Goins Bldg., Cafeteria Annex
Sept. 05, 2010, 10:30 to 12:30
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Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free
The RET Skeptic Book Club will meet at 4:00 on Sunday, September 12th, at Barnes and Noble Booksellers, 8029 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, to discuss: "Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free", by Charles P. Pierce.
Sept. 12, 2010, 4-6pm
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PICNIC IN North Carolina
The Third Annual Regional Atheists Picnic
Sunday September 19th 2010
starts at NOON
at Lake Julian Park
Picnic shelter #2
The success of this picnic depends on you. Sign-up on-line for what you will bring (food and supplies, alcohol not pernmitted ). Examples (Sodas, chips, cups, plates, prepared foods). Remember, we have a variety of people coming with a variety of tastes/dietary requirements (everything from Junk-food Junkie to Vegan). The list is started in a sub-forum on the WNCAtheists Forum and can be accessed directly here: Regional Collaboration
This list is only accessible through the direct link above, unless you are logged-in as a registered user, so use the link above if you are not registered and do not wish to be.
If you have any ideas for activities to include this year, just let me know, or post the ideas to the Regional Collaboration forum.
Darrell
Darrell@wncatheists.com
Sept. 19, 2010, Noon
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On Violence and Human Nature
REFLECTIONS On Violence & Human Nature September 26th, 2010
Are we rationalists and "free thinkers" able to consider peace, war and violence in radically new ways?
Let us reflect on the following questions calmly, seriously, and with absolute freedom of thought:
• Are human beings naturally violent?
• What is hatred? What are its sources?
• How can love overcome the power of hatred?
• How does nonviolence overcome the power of violence?
• How can we prove that unconditional love makes us psychologically healthy
& that hatred, just like an illness, occurs when something has gone wrong?
• How does violence against the natural world relate to violence between human
beings?
Join us at Aleta & Carl Ledendecker's home, 2123 Stonybrook Road, Louisville, TN 37777, for this lively dialogue. Call 982.8687 for directions.
Sept. 26, 2010, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
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Thinking Rationally about Climate Change
Thinking Rationally about Climate Change
A Survey of the Capabilities and Limitations of Climate Science, Modeling and
Prediction. Presented by Melissa Allen.
An RET member and climate researcher, Melissa Allen, will present an overview of the history and development of climate science along with highlights of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report.
With these tools, we look at what observational data and computer models can tell us and where predictive uncertainties lie.
Join us for a stimulating discussion on one of our age's most popular scientific controversies.
Oct. 03, 2010, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
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