In the category of "what topic would you like me to write about?" someone posted, "God, ants, and the Constitution." So, I'll take that as a challenge and run with it.

I know the animation isn't fantastic and Woody Allen's voice is a bit like rusty nails on a chalkboard, but I love the movie Ants for the central message. Group conformity is dangerous. Freedom is valuable. Slogans abound and people warn about being "team players" and "respecting the leader." I watched it recently with my sons and shuddered when I thought about the ant-like mentality of school (or society for that matter. I love the Dave Matthews Band song "Ants Marching" for that reason)

One part that I love about the movie is that it breaks with other dystopian works. Unlike Anthem or A Brave New World, the protagonist moves back to society and works toward transforming it. It's subtle, but powerful. When the other ants rush around him and attempt to make him into a messiah, he steps back and lets them lead democratically.

Our students march in lines, listen to orders and generally do what they are told. They wear uniforms and eat in a common mess-hall-style cafeteria. When I taught about modernism and militarism, I mentioned the German model developed by Bismark and how that influenced our own social institutions. A ballsy student asked the principal, "Lining up to be picked up after lunch is a bit militaristic, isn't it?" She wasn't thrilled with his application of content vocabulary.

If I want to transform the system, I find my inspiration in two separate areas: God and the Constitution. If I'm not careful, I merge the two into an ugly form of syncretism. But on a good day, both the Constitution and my own faith help me to avoid the trap of treating kids like a bunch of marching ants.

I've written before about my multimillenial mentors. From Job, I see the need to stand up for social justice and the need to empower the poor. From Daniel and Joseph, I see the need to respectfully work as a sage to change things and from Jeremiah I see value in being a lunatic standing up to corruption. From Jesus, I see the need for metaphor, a new approach to classroom climate (the upside down kingdom approach), the use of love rather than coercion. I get the paradox of humanity - that we are all broken, beautiful stained glass windows.

On the other hand, from the Constitution, I remember the need to allow free speech and free expression even when it is unpopular. I fail often, but I try and run my class with the social contract in mind and remember that they will not respect me if I don't respect the students. I structure it much like a republic, with students voting on decisions and running optional leadership meetings where students can make decisions. From the Constitution, I see the balance of protecting individual rights and still allowing for the majority to make decisions.

Ultimately, my goal in teaching is for students to think well about life. The two sources I go to most often are God and the Constitution. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in having the Bible in school or teachers leading prayer. Nor do I believe in using blanket nationalism to indoctrinate children. I'm sure there are great Eastern ideas and ideas from other constitutions. Yet, for all the times that I criticize the government and rip on formal religion, I keep going back to God and the Constitution.