The Educated Imagination

A War Veteran's Return

Sometimes I think every classroom teacher needs a free subscription to the New York Times simply because there's so much helpful material published by her writers. Article after article, I discover writers who are making connections between great books, great ideas, and our times. The articles are one reliable source which help me to continue to capture the relevancy of classic literature for my students' lives. The Times, to say the least, has been helpful to this educator. And here's another example. 

As Veterans Day approaches and my class is set to begin The Odyssey this week (we just wrapped up The Iliad), I found author Caroline Alexander's piece "Back from War, but Not Really Home" an invigorating read. I definitely plan to make copies, share and read it with the students, and use it to spark preliminary discussion. 

Here's an excerpt: But it is “The Odyssey” that most directly probes the theme of the war veteran’s return. Threaded through this fairytale saga, amid its historic touchstones, are remarkable scenes addressing aspects of the war veteran’s experience that are disconcertingly familiar to our own age. Odysseus returns home to a place he does not recognize, and then finds his homestead overrun with young men who have no experience of war. Throughout his long voyage back, he has reacted to each stranger with elaborate caginess, concocting stories about who he is and what he has seen and done — the real war he keeps to himself. You can read it in its entirety here.

Run Eagles Run!

This weekend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama the Providence Eagles Cross Country team (from Dothan, Alabama) produced three runners who qualified for the state finals! Congratulations to the team and to Coach Ireland. The finals are next weekend in Moulton, Alabama. Go Eagles!

Turning Two Today

The Educated Imagination turns two years old today. 

After exactly 1,400 posts and 730 comments, I remain interested in and excited by the opportunity to share what informs and inspires me as an educator. Thanks so much to everyone who takes the time to stop by, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future. 

In honor of the occasion, I thought I would share the text of my first post. Father Schmemann's words remain a strong charge for this classroom teacher, and, still, a pretty appropriate first post.

"It is a common mistake to think that education is on the level of ideas. No! It is always a transmission of experience. How much sadness, emptiness, and banality there is in the game of academia and footnotes. People are not convinced by reasoning; either they catch fire or they do not."

A Halloween Poem

Another fall. Another Halloween. Another opportunity for make-believe and free candy.

When I was a little boy, I remember being Batman for several Halloweens. Nothing could beat the Bat suit, complete with a plastic mask topped with pointy ears.

This year, my two-year-old son will inherit my mantle for October crime-fighting. William is going to be the Batman. All you Jokers beware. My youngest daughter, Lydia, plans to be Little Red Riding Hood. And my second-grader, Evelyn, will be "a belle at the ball." The anticipation of Trick-or-Treating has been building the last few weeks. 

I do love this time of year; and when it rolls around, I always remember this wonderful, powerful poem by Gjertrude Schnackenberg. She brilliantly captures the season . . and more. Through the poem's imagery it captures our riddled and haunting knowledge of good and evil in this world.  

It's from Schnackenberg's masterful collection Supernatural Love. 

Enjoy.

Halloween

The children's room glows radiantly by
The light of pumpkins on the windowsill
That fiercely grin on sleeping boy and girl.
She stirs and mutters in her sleep, Goodbye,

Who scared herself a little in a sheet
And walked the streets with devils and dinosaurs
And bleeping green men flown from distant stars.
We sit up late, and smoke, and talked about

Our awkward, loving Frankenstein in bed
Who told his sister that it isn't true,
That real men in real boxes never do
Haunt houses. But the King of the Dead

Has taken off his mask tonight, and twirled
His cape and vanished, and we are his
Who know beyond all doubt how real he is:
Out of his bag of sweets he plucks the world.

If Kierkegaard Were On Facebook

"If Kierkegaard were on Facebook or could post a You Tube video, he would certainly complain that we, who have listened to Prozac, have become deaf to the ancient distinction between psychological and spiritual disorders, between depression and despair." 

Continue reading a fascinating article here from the New York Times, regarding our malaise and the enlightening work of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.

A Moment Of Beholding

"Even Aristotle admitted that this moment of beholding was not 'serious,' but he knew it to be free, for its own sake. Good games and sporting events are the normal and symbolic experiences most people have that might teach them to understand something of God, to understand how something could be for its own sake. This experience teaches us how it is possible that something we might contemplate is something we might contemplate forever if it were fascinating forever." James Schall

An Incredible, Super Time

Here's some of the 2011 class after the Homecoming pep rally: Super girls and incredible guys. 

The pep rally last Friday was a massive event, with great participation by faculty and students. A whole lot of fun. The seniors executed a great Star Wars theme and there were guest appearances by Dr. Charles Lewis, The Word Fairy, and Super Latta. Alumni from the 2009 class were on hand to judge the competition.

I have been so impressed with all the students' spirit and creativity. Go Eagles!

(As other pictures come in, I'll be sharing them.)

Journalism Has To Get Smarter

Columnist, psychologist, sociologist, anthropologist, author, essayist, economist, historian, artist . . . well, all-around generalist Malcolm Gladwell has this to say about writing good journalism pieces (it's from a Time article): 

Question: If you had a single piece of advice to offer young journalists, what would it be? 

Answer: The issue is not writing. It's what you write about. One of my favorite columnists is Jonathan Weil, who writes for Bloomberg. He broke the Enron story, and he broke it because he's one of the very few mainstream journalists in America who really knows how to read a balance sheet. That means Jonathan Weil will always have a job, and will always be read, and will always have something interesting to say. He's unique. Most accountants don't write articles, and most journalists don't know anything about accounting. Aspiring journalists should stop going to journalism programs and go to some other kind of grad school. If I was studying today, I would go get a master's in statistics, and maybe do a bunch of accounting courses and then write from that perspective. I think that's the way to survive. The role of the generalist is diminishing. Journalism has to get smarter.

Who Was That Masked Class?

Again, the juniors celebrate "superhero homecoming week" by masquerading today. There was even a bespectacled Harry Potter complete with lightning-bolt scar . . . And, by the way, who's so serious in the background? 

(Click the pic to enlarge.)

The First Ever . . .

National Day of Writing is today! Go here for information and resources. Go here to catch a live broadcast featuring lectures and discussions about writing with writers.

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's The Juniors!

To kickoff homecoming week: The junior class rocks their superhero T's in a group picture. 

There's a little bit of everything here, store-bought and homemade. Spidey, Batman, Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Hulk. There's even a nod to super-center Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. It was a really fun change of pace to dress-up for the day. Tomorrow: masks. 

(BTW: Is there a more classic, iconic, aesthetically pleasing superhero symbol than Batman's black and yellow call sign?)

Super-ior School Week

It's homecoming week at Providence Christian School. The theme? Superheroes.

We kicked off the festivities with everyone wearing their Superhero T's. Tamara took this pic before Evelyn and I made it out the door this morning. She's sporting an "I Love Superheroes!" shirt.

I landed my "superhero-gallery T" at the Wal-mart in Brent, Alabama. $7.95 baby! And can you believe that one of my students knew every superhero on this shirt, his or her (or its) powers, and their relationship to each other? 

A "Marvel" display of comic-book knowledge.

What Video Gaming Teaches Teachers

 

Educator James Paul Gee, in a lecture entitled Handheld Learning (above), provides a thoughtful and provocative look at what video gaming has to teach teachers about learning. His work is definitely worth your time. 

After watching/listening to the lecture, I feel especially challenged to marry my words and the words we read in class to situations in the external world. Classic works of literature are sometimes a hard sell to today's teen; and the longer I teach the more open I am to creative presentations of the text. (I know, "Duh.") I hope I am learning to rely less and less on explaining more words with more words. (Which is my default mode of teaching because I am an auditory learner.) Professor Gee makes the point that students have to be invited to cognitively master the language of certain disciplines by providing them with clear motivation, goals, and action which are obviously connected to the vocabulary of that discipline. (See? I am addicted to words for teaching.) Otherwise, they are just hearing noise. Gee's story at the end about the importance of learning communities with tools, sharing, and passion -- well, wow. I hope I can help my school be such a place. 

Here's a few quotes that grabbed me: 

"So we have a paradox today: Our schools don't use the best principles we know about learning but our popular culture does." 

And, "If you don't understand it, then what I am going to offer you in a verbal way, in a school way, is just to give you more text, more [textbook], and I'll explain every word with lots more words and you'll be bored. And you won't understand it anyway and you won't retain it for more than 3 minutes."

Dual-Enrollment Thoughts

Here is an article listing some of the positives of a current educational trend: dual enrollment. Through dual enrollment high school students continue their high school work while taking classes at a local community college. Students receive high school credit for their college course work, while simultaneously obtaining a head start on their undergraduate class load. As the article suggests, a strength of dual enrollment may be that it helps some students, who wouldn't normally 'see themselves' as college material, begin to grab a vision for continuing their education after high school. 

From the article: 

Bobby Schmid saved more than $7,200 in Iowa State University tuition — and that was before he enrolled there this fall. 

Schmid graduated last spring from Papillion-La Vista South High School with more than 20 college credits. He had taken dual-enrollment classes, where students earn high school and college credit at the same time. 

High schools increasingly are partnering with local colleges to offer dual-credit classes or even full-blown degree programs. At least four metro-area districts, for example, are planning programs in which high school seniors graduate with an associate's degree. 

At Omaha Northwest, students will be able to earn an associate's degree in criminal justice or related fields. The courses appeal to students and parents because, as in Schmid's case, they usually pay a reduced tuition rate. The course work also might help students prove themselves to top universities or to more quickly earn a post-secondary degree. 

Colleges benefit because they receive tuition dollars but don't pay for the instructor — high school teachers with master's degrees typically teach the courses. And the courses are another recruiting tool.

While there are positives, dual enrollment raises interesting concerns as well. For example, at Providence, our junior and senior classes serve as a capstone to an education that began several years in advance. Hopefully, what we are accomplishing (if we are executing the mission) is unique and not too easily paired with just any educational program. For the culmination of a classical Christian education to occur in the eleventh and twelfth grades, PCS must ensure that the classes a student takes not only fits our curriculum but also continues and expands upon our course's biblical integration. (And then there is the matter of the instructor possessing a Christian worldview as well, for the importance of the instructor in Christian education see The Pattern of God's Truth by Frank E. Gaebelein.) 

I can also see, however, how dual enrollment might permit students at a classical and Christian high school to begin implementing many facets of their unique education by participating in other educational settings.

The Challenges Of Reading Vooks And Other Digital Texts

A New York Times opinion piece has gathered five interesting perspectives on the trend towards reading more and more digital text. Evidently, reading a screen requires different mental and physical habits and can even be a greater test of character. (I don't know about that last assertion; but I do find it interesting.) 

From former editor-in-chief of Nature Neuroscience Sandra Aamodt: 

To a great extent, the computer’s usefulness for serious reading depends on the user’s strength of character. Distractions abound on most people’s computer screens. The reading speed reported in academic studies does not include delays induced by clicking away from the text to see the new email that just arrived or check out what’s new on your favorite blog. In one study, workers switched tasks about every three minutes and took over 23 minutes on average to return to a task. Frequent task switching costs time and interferes with the concentration needed to think deeply about what you read. 

See what other experts have to say about the ever evolving skill of reading in a digital age.

100 Best Professors Who Blog

Here.

American Idol Worship

Seattle Pastor Mark Driscoll takes on the American idols of consumerism, entertainment, fashion, sports, sex, leisure, and career. Pretty interesting interview from ABC's Nightline.

American Idol Worship Shared via AddThis

Herta Muller Wins Nobel Literature Prize

Romanian born German writer Herta Muller wins the Nobel prize in literature for 2009. Having grown up under a strong-fisted communist regime, her work, in part, deals with the dictatorial cruelty and common intolerance of an oppressive society. Here's National Public Radio's audio piece on Herta Muller's recognition by the Swedish academy.

Faith, Mystery, And Awe

"Faith begins with awe in the face of mystery. But awe becomes faith only when it takes the next step."

The Future of Faith, Harvey Cox

Edgar Allan Poe Gets Proper Burial

One hundred and sixty years after his death, Poe receives a burial worthy of commemorating his literary accomplishments. 

Read about it here.

Bible Study

J. Mark Betrand, over at Bible Design and Binding, was recently asked about his favorite edition of the bible. Here's his answer: 

My favorite is the one I daydream about in my head. If I could name a perfect edition, I'd probably spend all my time writing about that one. Since I can't, I write about everything. But it's no secret I'm partial to the good stuff -- high end Bibles from R. L. Allan's and Cambridge, for example. I like goatskin covers a lot. 

When it comes to translations, I subscribe to St. Augustine's advice. He said the way to understand the Bible if you don't read the original languages is to compare translations. Some people lament the proliferation of translations in English these days, but I see it as a blessing. As a practical matter, I typically refer to the English Standard Version when writing and teaching. I like the fact that it's on the literal side and appreciate its location in the Authorized Version tradition. Still, no translation is perfect, so I make use of both literal and dynamic versions, everything from the NRSV to the REB, the NASB to the NLT. I've even been known to dip into The Message.

That Made It Officially Sunday

Bedtime reading in the Smith household has been an adventure lately, figuratively and literally. While keeping up with the escapades of runaways Jamie and Claudia, my girls, Evelyn and Lydia, chase after "listening well" while trying to settle down from the day's activities. The whole process always takes us a bit (a couple of pages usually) to find our rhythm, and when William heads to bed, we can really motor through the story. Jim Trelease's classic The Read-Aloud Handbook designates Konigsburg's classic for listeners in grades 4-7, but I have been really pleased to see this peculiar little book grab the imaginations of my kindergarten and second grade girls. 

I've found it really helpful to pause every page and ask a comprehension question or two. 

One passage we recently discussed is the opening of Chapter 6. The setting is Sunday morning, and the children, I suppose from years of family church-going, act on their "feeling" for Sunday. Reverence, prayer, and confession are almost intuitive acts for the vagabond museum squatters. Here’s the passage, it’s quite subtle and beautiful: 

It was still dark when they awoke the next morning, but it was later than usual. The museum wouldn’t open until one. Claudia was up first. She was getting dressed when Jamie opened her eyes. “You know,” he said, “Sunday is still Sunday. It feels like Sunday. Even here.” Claudia answered, “I noticed that. Do you think we ought to try to go to church when we go out?” Jamie thought a minute before answering, “Well, let’s say a prayer in that little room of the Middle Ages. The part with the pretty stained glass window.” They dressed and walked to the little chapel and knelt and said The Lord’s Prayer. Jamie reminded Claudia to say she was sorry for stealing the newspaper. That made it officially Sunday.

The Whole Gang

Clockwise: 

Lydia (6), Evelyn (8), and William (2).

He Ate God's Will

Royalty 

He was a plain man
and learned no latin.

Having left all gold behind
he dealt out peace
to all us wild ones
and the weather.

He ate fish, bread,
country wine and God's will.

Dust sandaled his feet.

He wore purple only once
and that was an irony.

Luci Shaw
Accompanied by Angels: Poems of the Incarnation

Just Another High-Five Nation?

What do athlete Serena Williams, musician Kanye West, politician Joe Wilson, basketball great Michael Jordan, and the Greek warrior Diomedes have in common? Is it possible that their uniting factor is "the culture of the boast?" 

A few weeks ago, in English class, we discussed the culture of the boast. While reading The Iliad, we've had an opportunity to observe the importance of self-importance in pre-Christian Greco-Roman culture. Warriors take the battlefield -- not only armed with sword and shield -- but also emboldened by a tongue too ready to take-up for themselves and their cause. 

Repeatedly my students have discovered in classical culture and literature that the ancient hero is someone who often beat their chest, taunted their foe, and called names. (Goliath anyone?) 

Our observations led us to another question: Is it possible, that culturally, we haven't evolved much in our definition of heroic behavior? 

New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks thinks Americans have seen better days. Days when we said less but did more and humility was a virtue exercised in our speech. His column from a few weeks ago, High-Five Nation, fit perfectly in my 11th grade discussion of the Greek and Trojan speeches of intimidation. While reading the following quote from Brooks ask yourself: Couldn't he just as well be writing about Achilles and the Achaians?

Today, immodesty is as ubiquitous as advertising, and for the same reasons. To scoop up just a few examples of self-indulgent expression from the past few days, there is Joe Wilson using the House floor as his own private “Crossfire”; there is Kanye West grabbing the microphone from Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards to give us his opinion that the wrong person won; there is Michael Jordan’s egomaniacal and self-indulgent Hall of Fame speech. Baseball and football games are now so routinely interrupted by self-celebration, you don’t even notice it anymore.

The Hindrance Of My Theology?

Senior Fall Film Festival

As a bit of a reward, and as something I've been really wanting to do, I am conducting a miniature fall film festival with my current seniors. My 12th grade students have patiently navigated the best of Greco-Roman literature (last year) and are now working through the best of British literature. (We recently finished Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.) In addition, they have heard me go on and on and on about possessing and practicing a Christian aesthetic (last year and this year). So, here we are: at the end of their last first-nine-weeks, and I thought it would be fun (and interesting) to watch a thoughtful contemporary film, while examining its Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. 

This year's seniors are helping me inaugurate the first ever PCS Senior Fall Film Festival. Our movie selection is the 2008 Academy Award winning film Doubt, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. What follows are some directions and questions I use to stimulate film-analysis: I tell the students, "While reading the film, consider the following." 

Cinematography. Note camera angles, width of shots, and close-ups. Take note of repeating images and colors. What role does all this play in the story’s affect on you?

Dialogue. Of course, pay special attention to what the characters say and how they say what they say. Jot down memorable lines. 

Costume and set design. What do characters wear? How does what they wear establish who they are? What items on the set are associated with them? What is significant about the choice of time period? 

Imagery and symbolism. What concrete details appear and re-appear and what are their significance to the story? What reoccurring sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and sights are in the film? 

Editing. Take note of how scenes open and end. Notice which scenes are placed next to each other and consider why. Remember: What’s left out is just as important as what’s left in. 

Worldview and themes. What issues (big ideas) is the story wrestling with? From their presentation through this film, what do you think the writer and director want you to feel and think about these themes? What might be the overall worldview of this movie?

Lighting. Pay attention to shadows, darkness, and light. When and where do these lighting choices appear? Why? Do the decisions made about the lighting help the storytelling? Title. How might the title contribute to your understanding of the story? 

Music. Music is a particularly powerful device in film. What does it do in this film? 

Casting. What do you think about the people chosen to play each role? What would change if the actor or actress changed?

Found

More From The Mixed-Up Files

"Both Jamie and Claudia had acquired a talent for being near but never part of a group. (Some people, Saxonberg, never learn to do that all their lives, and some learn it all too well.)"

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
E.L. Konigsburg

Creation Regained In The Classroom

It has been my privilege the last few weeks to lead the grammar school staff (and a portion of the logic school staff) through a discussion of biblical worldview and biblical integration. Providence possesses a super-strong faculty (God has been very good), and my time with my colleagues permits me to learn a whole lot more than I lead. 

A portion of our education about worldview and biblical integration has been precipitated by Albert Wolters' fine book Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview. At times, it is a dense read; however, there are sections (especially when he engages in metaphor) that sing.

Profound biblical truths about the importance of worldview are made very accessible. Wolters argues that a thoughtful, biblical worldview has to be built upon the laws of creation. He says Scripture clearly teaches that the Triune God of the universe has built into creation natural and normative laws which lead sinful humankind towards lives that are more true, beautiful, and good. The natural laws are pretty clear (the change of seasons for example). The norms are complex (like the application of stewardship principles). Understanding both requires the revelatory power of God through nature, Scripture, and the Spirit. 

Here's a particularly potent passage from Chapter Two, and one that I will be using as I continue to present on Christian aesthetics: "God's ordinances also extend to the structure of society, to the world of art, to business and commerce. Human civilization is normed throughout. Everywhere we discover limits and proprieties, standards and criteria, in every field of human affairs there are right and wrong ways of doing things." (25)

Book Bans And Challenges

Really cool interactive map pinpointing the locale of book bans and challenges over the last two years. Click on the pin and discover who, what, when, and where. Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are still causing some consternation.

The Architect

"The revelation of God's will in Scripture is like a verbal explanation that an architect gives to an incompetent builder who has forgotten how to read the blueprint."

Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview 

Albert M. Wolters

You Could Even Call It Love

Before bedtime I've been reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler with the girls. Even though its recommended for 4th through 7th grade read-aloud, Evelyn and Lydia's interest has been solidly kept while listening to the story of Claudia and Jamie's adventure. There's been some really interesting passages to discuss, but none have generated as much discussion about what the storyteller means than the following passage covering the themes of siblings and friendship: 

"What happened was: they became a team, a family of two. There had been times before they ran away when they had acted like a team, but those were very different from feeling like a team. Becoming a team didn't mean the end of their arguments. But it did mean that the arguments became a part of the adventure, became discussions not threats. To an outsider the arguments would appear to be the same because feeling like part of a team is something that happens invisibly. You might call it caring. You could even call it love. And it is very rarely, indeed, that it happens to two people at the same time--especially a brother and a sister who had always spent more time with activities than they had with each other." 

Chapter Three

Mystery And Moderns

"Having words and explanations for everything is too modern." 

E.L. Konigsburg
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Meatballs And Self-Worth

"It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success."

Havelock Ellis

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is number one at the box office for the second week in a row. 

I had the opportunity to see it with my girls last weekend. We kicked-in the additional admission price to watch it in 3-D. Visually, it was pretty wild and at times wonderfully weird. The 3-D aspect enhances the impact of the story and doesn't overwhelm. 

I was most impressed, however, with the storytelling. The protagonist, Flint Lockwood, is an eager dreamer who longs to make an impact on the world. His efforts lead to a great invention and the revitalization of his community. But not long after his success, he realizes that his best work is actually having an adverse affect on the community. During one particularly poignant moment, Flint "throws himself away" in a garbage can, denouncing the worth of his life and his contributions to the world. 

Through Flint's story, the movie asks important questions about self-worth and failure, our best achievements and humility. Ultimately, Flint faces a tough decision: Do you hide from your mistakes? Or should you seek the assistance of others and labor to right your wrongs?

Indelible Grace Visit

Indelible Grace, a collection of Christian artists who set classic hymns to new musical arrangements, and frontman Matthew Smith are visiting the Providence Christian School campus tomorrow! Here's where you can listen to their latest work. True, Beautiful, and Good. A pleasing earful of edification. 

Looking forward to experiencing their music with my students.

Our Education Metaphors

"Our [education] metaphors arise from the factory floor and issue from the military manual. Education, apparently, is something someone does to somebody else." 

Theodore R. Sizer
Horace's Compromise (1984)

The Monsters We Face

Another beautiful bit of analysis regarding Beowulf by Seamus Heaney. Like the best criticism, it leaves you breathless in its interpretation of the text: 

"Grendel and his mother enter Beowulf's life from the outside, accidentally, challenges which in other circumstances he might not have taken up, enemies from whom he might have been distracted or deflected. The dragon, on the other hand, is a given of his home ground, abiding in his underearth as in his understanding, waiting for the meeting, the watcher at the ford, the questioner who sits so sly, the 'lion-limb,' as Gerard Manley Hopkins might have called him, against whom Beowulf's body and soul must measure themselves. Dragon equals shadow-line, the psalmist's valley of the shadow of death, the embodiment of a knowledge deeply ingrained in the species which is the very knowledge of the price to be paid for physical and spiritual survival."

Reading Beowulf Fresh

I used a new Beowulf translation with my seniors this year. Typically, I teach the Burton Raffel rendition, but we made the switch to Seamus Heaney's powerful verse translation. Besides being a stirring account of the great Christian hero Beowulf in English, there's an added bonus: Mr. Heaney's introduction. It's wonderful, and it has helped me approach the poem with more depth and feeling this year. 

Here's a passage in which Mr. Heaney discusses one of the poem's framing devices, "the archetypal sites of fear."

"What happens in between is what William Butler Yeats would have called a phantasmagoria. Three agons, three struggles in which the preternatural force-for-evil of the hero's enemies comes springing at him in demonic shapes. Three encounters with what the critical literature and the textbook glossaries call 'the monsters.' In three archetypal sites of fear: the barricaded night-house, the infested underwater current, and the reptile-haunted rocks of a wilderness. If we think of the poem in this way, its place in world art becomes clearer and more secure. We can conceive of it re-presented and transformed in performance in a bunraku theatre in Japan, where the puppetry and the poetry are mutually supportive, a mixture of technicolour spectacle and ritual chant. Or we can equally envisage it as an animated cartoon (and there has been at least one shot at this already), full of mutating graphics and minatory stereophonics. We can avoid, at any rate, the slightly cardboard effect which the word 'monster' tends to introduce, and give the poem a fresh chance to sweep 'in off the moors, down through the mist bands' of Anglo-Saxon England, forward into the global village of the third millennium."

The Box

Does Homework Work?

"Most kids hate homework. They dread it, groan about it, put off doing it as long as possible. It may be the single most reliable extinguisher of the flame of curiosity." 

Alfie Kohn 

Here's an interesting post at The Atlantic Monthly about the homework experience, with some helpful links. Parents, teachers, and students seem to weigh in pretty strongly on this issue. 

I don't think our (teachers) position on homework has to be an all or nothing approach. My success with homework is usually tied to the work being meaningful to the students. You know, a reading assignment that extends a topic we enjoyed discussing in class; a writing assignment that permits students to explore a theme from a work we are digesting; and exercises associated with the words we are studying that week. I've found, too, that I have to teach the importance and worth of homework.

Real Work?

Over at a website I tremendously enjoy: The Aesthetic Elevator, which is hosted by Paul Nielson, the question was recently asked and pondered: "Why isn't work in the arts and crafts considered real work?"

Of course there's lots to be said here, and much that reveals the shortcomings and trappings of our culture's approach(es) to the arts. I also find the question (and possible answers) helpful in the discussion of developing a Christian aesthetic. 

So, by way of passing along what's been helpful to me, here are some of the answers to the aforementioned question that were recently shared at The Aesthetic Elevator: 

• I don’t know. Maybe through some false, Puritanical idea that work should be cheerless drudgery? That if you’re enjoying it too much, it’s not really “work”? 

• I think it depends on whom you’re talking to. Great societies need art as well as industry and politics (Actually, do we really need politics?). I, for one, would love to quilt or knit, but I’ll apparently have to wait for Heaven to succeed at those arts. 

• Arts and Crafts aren’t considered “work” because people can do them as hobbies or in their spare time and don’t realize that (perhaps) there is a great amount of craftsmanship and skill in what you do than in (perhaps) what I do, when I’m not punching a clock. The correct answer is, “Paul, we’d all love to do what we love to do but have to punch a clock and it’s more fun to mock you than to say, ‘I’m jealous.’” I’m not jealous of your vocation but I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to do what I loved either. 

• Probably for a similar reason that being a “homemaker & mother” is not considered “real work” — because it doesn’t bring in the bread.

Battle, Journey, Riddle

I am reading The Iliad with the junior class right now. One of my 5th period students shared this awesome quote with me: 

"The Iliad is only great because all life is a battle, The Odyssey because all life is a journey, the Book of Job because all of life is a riddle." 

G.K. Chesterton

The Wound Of Beauty

At the beginning of the school year, I make my case to the students that worthwhile study in the humanities involves a maturing appreciation for a Christian understanding of the three transcendentals: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. In addition, I propose that we (the Church) often grow in our understanding and appreciation of these in a disproportionate manner. As a result of our Christian education, we're long on Truth and Goodness, but short on our understanding of Beauty. 

Therefore, while I don't propose to know everything about Beauty and the study of beauty (aesthetics), I do attempt to treat this educational vacuum by providing my kids with certain aesthetic principles; principles to guide our interpretation and production of literary art. 

This year, during our discussion of truth, beauty, and goodness, I included a lecture by Professor Gregory Wolfe, entitled "The Wound of Beauty." You can listen to it for free here. It's challenging for sure, and Professor Wolfe engages in a line of argument calling for a Christian appreciation of the beautiful, while rejecting trends towards sentimentalism. His words proved very helpful in framing our discussion of Christian aesthetics. 

Wolfe contends that over the centuries Western civilization has experienced a polarizing tension in the world of art: between the pull of idealism and realism. A Christian understanding of art, he suggests, maintains these two in healthy tension. Good art, then, is hopeful, but always includes a tragic dimension. Like the resurrected Christ, it bears the scars and wounds of this life, but redeemed.

Patty

"Without music life would be a mistake." Frederich Nietzsche 

I think I've mentioned on this blog before my love for the work of singer/songwriter Patty Griffin. I've seen her live on two occasions (Nashville and Birmingham), and both shows were tremendous. Filled with heart, soul, and pluckiness, every album she has put out is worth procuring. I'm looking forward to her new release: Downtown Church. 

Recently, I came across this drawing of Patty and fellow musician Elvis Costello. 

Pretty delightful, huh?

Just a thought: I need to play more music in class.

The Allure of Boring

Dr. George Grant, pastor and teacher, has provided a thoughtful and stirring post on a major theme in Stephen Crane's work, who is pictured at the left. 

Dr. Grant writes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same. Somehow, Stephen Crane realized over a century ago what we are still struggling to come to terms with. He realized it too late to wrench his life away from the precipitous decline of debauchery—though his novel remains a morality tale, a steadfast warning for us."

Read the rest here.

Genuine Repentance

Theologian Randy Alcorn recently shared the following: 

"Genuine repentance is utterly vulnerable. It confesses more than was found out. It never withholds information to preserve image."

(Psalm 51:17)

Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do

 

Interesting talk by the founder of the Tinkering School, Gever Tulley: it's an ode to unconventional learning modes. I love his discussion of "a sense of knowability." What an empowering premise for young learners, and one that I think has application for English teachers tinkering with texts.

The God Of Technology

A colleague shared a very thoughtful article with me, one which fleshes out a Christian stance towards technology. It doesn't answer every related question, but it makes some solid points that help frame the discussion of technology and schools in the context of service, community, and neighbor. The piece is shared by Briarwood Christian School Superintendent, Dr. Barrett Mosbacker (on his blog), and it is written by Cardus contributor Dave Evans. It's entitled, "The God of Technology, or The god of Technology." 

Here's an insightful quotation from the article: "The purpose of technology is to buy us more time to be available to other things, or to makes us more effective in some endeavour (and so allow us a greater avail upon the world). Good technology is all about availability."

Read the rest here.

Be Not Angry

"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." 

Thomas A. Kempis