A Southwestern Fable

It's been a while, but here's something from Casa Grande, Arizona (maybe you'll recognize the original in this adaptation--no it's not Aesop's "The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk"):

A little desert mouse scurried across the desert floor, moving from tumbleweed to tumbleweed, one at a time, hiding in the shadows. Eventually the mouse found himself out in the open desert where there was no vegetation, not even a cactus.

"Oh no," said the mouse. "I was so comfortable when I was surrounded by plants and could only see the next one to run to. The world was simpler. Here, I don't know where to run."

A hawk swooped down and scooped up the mouse. "What's the matter?," the hawk asked. "Out here, you can see everything that lies ahead," said the hawk just before it snapped the mouse's back in its talon.

A Sense of Humor

For a friend recovering after having her wisdom teeth removed.

To cut teeth, or gain one's permanent teeth, measures aging and implies the gaining of knowledge. With the removal of wisdom teeth as one continues to grow, knowledge is not lost with the teeth but indeed something else may be gained from the experience...

"In Heaven," from David Lynch's Eraserhead

After Having Thoroughly Reflected on Student Evaluations and the Past School Year: My Hypothetical Plan for Day 1, Next Year's School Term

I think one of the most frustrating things about teaching high school is the limitations on frankness that one encounters. This isn't to say that one cannot be sincere, but one can rarely be as blunt as perhaps one ought. Having only been on earth for little more than twenty years, I am not qualified to say whether or not pedagogical expectations and practices have actually changed a great deal in this regard over the last several decades, but I do believe that much of the expectation surrounding the classroom and schools today is that teachers handle students with the proverbial kid gloves, which isn't to say that teachers shouldn't be sensitive and caring but shouldn't also be expected to shy away from breaking down the walls and the building insulation that keeps one warm, cozy, and deaf to the world outside of presumption and limited experience.

Part of this insulation stems from the entitlement to opinion. I am entitled to my opinion. Since when did we put such a premium on the value of opinion. Of course you're entitled to it. If you breathe, oxygen is supplied to the brain, synapses fire, and typically some thought is produced...even it's something as banal as I should probably keep breathing--that's opinion of course. Another natural product of the daily course of life is human waste--carbon dioxide, dead skin cells shed, urine...stool. Like thought, these byproducts too have some value. Our breathe assists plants and algae in the process of photosynthesis. Dead skin cells may assist in reducing ozone and, at the very least, reminds us that it is time to clean and organize things every once in a while. Urine and stool can be utilized as effective plant fertilizers. Though we would hardly examine the waste in our toilet and see much value there--crap and all its other forms has a decidedly negative connotation in the public lexicon--it seems more often that of the two human products, opinion and dung, the latter is the more substantive and inherently valuable.

Opinion is only given meaning and value through the evidence presented in support. That is one thing that I tried to drive home in classes this year, not only to reinforce the extrinsic motivation and mechanical skills of producing "good" schoolwork and papers for a grade but to also produce that most basic of human products--thought, rooted in experience and evidence, watered with consideration.

In considering the hypothetical beginning of next term, set in a hypothetical universe in which I would not be immediately fired or berated with phone calls and emails, I would begin my classes in the following manner--each with a blunt, straightforward assessment of things from the particular perspective and worldview of George Carlin. Opinion independent of all else is inherently worthless but that is not to say that certain opinions do not hold value in certain cases, such as this, being used to challenge thought, create discussion about opinion and seemingly extremist views, and remove the kiddy gloves that are doing little service to young people in this country who are becoming increasingly disconnected and disengaged from the people and world around them.

In this hypothetical, alternative universe, which finds itself still rooted in some reality in the fact that the state has continued to cut school financing, I find that I have received an email from my principal informing me that due to cuts in the budget this summer, I will be returning in late August to teach 8 periods (my two preparation periods have been eliminated) and a homeroom. To ease students back into the school rhythm after summer, before we take off at break neck speed for the following nine months, I am beginning each class with a short video. Here goes.

A1 American History

A2 English

A3 Consumer Education

A4 Homeroom

A5 Journalism

B1 Social Issues

B2 Driver's Education

B3 Health

B4 Homeroom

B5 Civics

Of course, at the end of each video, as good pedagogical theory and general, good practice dictates, we will have a discussion of opinion, theory, evidence, perspective, context, and most importantly values.

Time for Celebration

Because I am leaving town on Saturday and will be away for a week with limited computer access, I would like to wish a happy first wedding anniversary to two great friends and wonderful people, Hank Chinaski and Baker Baby. It is hard to believe that in only four days it will have been one year since y'all got hitched. And now, a baby might pop out at any second.

In addition to simply wishing them the best and thanking them for wonderful years of friendship in words, I would like to offer the following as a sort of commemoration of all the good times.

"A history of a life friendship, in pictures"

'Hank, before meeting me'

(Tagged: Hank Chinaski, his immense ignorance)

'Me, listening to that little voice before meeting Hank'

(Tagged: Hairy Asscot, that little voice)

'Us, in college'

(Tagged: Baker Baby, Hairy Asscot, Hank Chinaski)

'Us, when Baker Baby wasn't around'

(Tagged: Hank C and me)

'Baker B and Hank C, now'

(Tagged: Baker Baby's adulthood, Hank C's continued adolescence)

'Baker B and Hank C, when I'm not around'
(Tagged: Baker Baby, Hank C, Stink'ems the cat)

'Hank and Baker B, after I've visited and left'

(Tagged: Hank C, Baker B)

'Me, upon visiting a second time, meeting Boy Chinaski and finding he's literate'

(Tagged: Boy Chinaski, Uncle Hairy)

'Hank and boy, as overbearing father and indignant son'

(Tagged: Little Sport Chinaski, Henry Chinaski)

'Mother and Son'
(Tagged: Sport, Mama BB, 2+2=5 lesson from 1984 (on board), Sport's only male example in the home (also on chalkboard))

'Sport, when we're not around'

(Tagged: Little Hellraiser Hank, Boy Chinaski, the evidence)

'Us, when Hank realizes it's time for Sport to go off to college'

(Tagged: Old Pal Hairy, That SOB Hank, Hank's humility, the extent of my talents (hanging on the wall), Sport's college fund (the patches on Hank C's pants))

'Me, when Hank C and BB aren't around'

(Tagged: Me, BB (in the photo), Hank's correspondence thanking me for contributions to the college fund (in the waste basket))

'Us, in twenty years'

(Tagged: Hank, Me, Hank's pretentions, Sport's thesis titled On my homelife as a youth for his BFA in finger painting)

'Us, in forty years'

(Tagged: Hairy Asscot, Hank Chinaski, The Chair (Sport's first piece that's sold, which I bought))

'Us, upon retirement'

(Tagged: Hank C, Hairy, Hank's plan to quit smoking cigarettes (pipe in hand), Hank's lifelong impact on me (cigarette in hand), Hank's bullshit (floating above our heads), My shit (in gaseous form, emanating from and wafting above my ass))

'Us, in hell'

(Tagged: Hank C, Me, our only friend at this point)

To Hank C and Baker Baby, Happy Anniversary. You guys are going to make great parents.

Being relevant

Most film reviews are published several days before the reviewed film is released, and many people do not care to read a review if it refers to the thing projected onto the screen as a "film" rather than a "movie"--some consider that pretentious.

While I do not have access to films prior to theatrical release, prefer to use the term "film" when discussing a "movie," and usually wait to see "new" movies weeks after their releases at the discounted drive-in or smaller art theaters, I think I can offer some relevant and practical advice to those who wish to learn something about film/movies in general and possibly Ridley Scott's new film Prometheus in particular (I plan to see Prometheus in the undefined "near future.").

It appears that Prometheus occupies the same world as Scott's early sci-fi hit, Alien (1979), though Roger Ebert doesn't go so far as to deem the film a prequel, something that Scott has denied. Regardless of the technical definitions, the film seems to be very close to Alien in its design, themes, and even storyline.

If you plan on going to see Prometheus or any other movie for that matter, here's a tip for reading the film through the mise en scene, which means "putting into the scene," or everything that appears within the frame (and on the screen). Each scene in a movie typically begins with (an) "establishing shot(s)" or the uninterrupted running of the camera ("shot") in which the place, characters, and spatial relationship among the characters, objects and setting is made clear--this is often times done through distant framing, i.e. the sweeping landscape in a Western, or in Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the multiple shots of Phoenix, Arizona that take the viewer from an aerial view of the city, into the city between the building, to an apartment window, and finally into the protagonist's apartment bedroom and an intimate scene with her lover.

The very beginning of a film also has its establishing shots, which may or may not be part of the film's narrative (warning SPOILERS for Alien and Blade Runner). In the opening of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), another popular sci fi, Scott begins the film with a series of shots that cut between futuristic Los Angeles and the close-up of an eye. In this sequence, Scott physically locates the viewer in the city of Los Angeles but also psychologically prepares the viewer for the rest of the film. In addition to establishing the setting in the establishing shots at the opening of the film, the director will often establish a context for viewing and understanding the film. Of course, the eye in Blade Runner can be interpreted to mean many different things, but it, at the very least, signifies the importance that eyes will play in the film, i.e. the fact that replicants are tested by examining pupil dilation and other physical responses to the Voight-Kampff machine. It also possibly suggests that the presentation of the film is coming from a particular viewpoint as the film follows Deckard (Harrison Ford) and includes his narrating of events. In the end, one questions if Deckard is a reliable narrator as the chance of his being a replicant, unaware of this himself, seems more and more likely.

In the case of Scott's Alien, even the title sequence, which slowly reveals the word "ALIEN" is telling and establishes a certain context in which to view the film. At first, each letter appears on the screen as a single bold line. Little by little, additional lines materialize on the screen and connect with the originals to form each individual letter in non sequential order until the complete word is finally spelled out. This is perhaps a simple analysis but, interestingly enough, Scott has indicated to a savvy viewer several of the film's important themes before anything has actually taken place on screen or in the story's narrative--the superficiality of initial, surface appearances; the constantly shifting and changing shape of things; and reversals of order.

These conclusions are based on the numerous exterior shots of the Nostromo ship, which appears different at almost every angle, especially since there is only one brief shot in which the entire ship is shown in a single frame, and the altered purpose of the ship and its mission--originally, hauling mineral ore; later, exploring a planet and securing an alien organism; and finally battling the alien. The revelation that Ash (Ian Holm) is a robot upon his dismemberment and the famous scene with the alien bursting from Kane's (John Hurt) chest--the alien will also appear different in multiple scenes as it continually grows and more of its body is shown in the frame--illustrate the inadequacies of our initial perceptions and external perspectives. Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) ability to survive, combat, and ultimately defeat the alien while all others parish places a female character in the position of a historically Hollywood male role is compounded by the alien's seemingly reversed anatomies with the initial alien organism (appearing more vaginal) impregnating Kane (who is later shot out of the ship into space, his all white suit and body flying through black space and resembling sperm) and the birthed organism appearing phallic as it bursts out of Kane's chest. The evidence here is brief as there is more to say, but the point is that the establishing shots (even the title sequence in this case) has provided the viewer a road map for watching the rest of the film.

Although, I have not seen Prometheus yet, I suspect Scott directs viewers to watch the film in a certain way by giving them a road map to follow early on.

If you go to see Prometheus or any other movie in the near future, keep these things in mind and see if the director is trying to show us something other than a sci-fi horror with special effects and things that jump out of the shadows and through people's chests. Chances are, he or she is, if he or she is a worthwhile director.

Battles of Attrition, Pyrrhic Victories & the Confusion of War: Student Evaluations After a First Year Attempt at Teaching Part IV

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing/Rhetoric as well as History and a minor in Secondary Education, which certified me to teach fifth through twelfth grade in the state of Illinois. These "papers" translated into teaching classes in American History, Social Issues in History, a Juniors' English class, and Journalism.

At the awards ceremony that our school held in late April, I stood at the podium and introduced myself before I announced recipients of awards for "Outstanding Editor" in Journalism and "Outstanding Student in Journalism." As I was introducing myself and explaining the class and awards, I mentioned how I had never taught a Journalism class before this year and had never taken a Journalism class in high school or college. I paused and turned to look at my principal, forgot to mention that I had majored in Rhetoric, and proceeded to present the awards. At the end of the night, my principal thanked me for that.

However, I did mention how this year was the first that The Pigeonhole student newspaper became available online and the paper copy layout was updated for the first time in at least ten or more years. I imagine a fair estimate of student writing in Journalism this year would be between one hundred and two hundred original pages per student--the number grows exponentially when considering editing, revising, and redrafting articles, stories, essays, stream of consciousness prompts, journals, etc.

At the beginning of the year, a Journalism student attempted to popularize "The Resurrection" as my nickname because I apparently resembled the Resurrected Christ to this young man. About midway through the year and until the end, the B5 Journalism was consistently referring to me as the Devil and my classroom as Hell. I laughingly related a version of "The Devil and Tom Walker" in which I sat at my desk and whittled down pencils with student names embossed upon them in an electric pencil sharpener.

Journalism I/II:

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Overall Comments: W--- thinks Mr. S was a good instructor and very knowledgeable. Though the classes were fun, I think Mr. S would make a better archaeologist kind of like Indiana Jones, only Mr. S's biggest fear would be mice/rats instead of snakes.

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: FUN! EXCITING!
Course Weaknesses: NONE!
Instructor Strengths: AWESOME!
Instructor Weaknesses: Devil! JK
Overall Comments: Thanks for this class! I enjoyed it! YOLO ;)

-Student expecting B with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: help with reading & writing skills
Course Weaknesses: off topic at times
Instructor Strengths: could relate any thing to class
Instructor Weaknesses: off topic

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Course Weaknesses: Learned a great deal about writing and reading, not so much on the actual Journalism subject.
Instructor Weaknesses: Gets off subject, but always finds a way to get back on track.
Overall Comments: Having Mr. S as my teacher made my senior year a lot easier to deal with. He taught me to view situations and things from other perspectives.

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: helped improve: reading, writing, cognitive skills; related to life & made us think about alot
Overall Comments: I enjoyed this class compared to all my others. I feel I'll take a lot away from it, and I'm glad I took it. The instructor was one of the best teachers I've ever had and I think the class helped the majority of students both inside the classroom & in life.

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Instructor Weaknesses: Does not know how to write someone up.
Overall Comments: I did not leave early, That write up was bull shit (Just kidding). Other than that were boys.

-Student expecting A+ with "Some" interest in subject
Course Weaknesses: not the most interesting
Instructor Strengths: smart, ability to mind-fuck
Instructor Weaknesses: overanalyzed a lot
Overall Comments: fun class, good time to relax and write

-Student expecting A- (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Instructor Weaknesses: not to good at telling time

-Student expecting A (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Instructor Weaknesses: new teacher
Overall Comments: I liked that it was a very open class and students were able to express themselves

-Student expecting A (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: improved writing skills
Course Weaknesses: somewhat unorganized
Instructor Strengths: gives creative projects
Instructor Weaknesses: Unexperienced
Overall Comments: I really liked being apart of this class. I had fun doing some of the projects, and I was able to freely express my opinion.

-Student expecting 89.48% (Does not indicate level of interest in subject and is probably annoyed that I did not round is 89.48% from 4th quarter up to an A to make him exempt from the Semester Exam)
Course Strengths: learn how to write better
Course Weaknesses: Didn't do to hot on placement test
Instructor Strengths: A Great speaking voice, I payed attention
Overall Comments: I learned more about english and writing in this one class then all four years of hs

-Student expecting A+++++ with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Overall I enjoyed the class. The assignments and reading was interesting.
Course Weaknesses: The Final is 4 pages too long.

-Student who does not indicate expected grade or level of interest in subject
Course Strengths: Writing a lot helped expand writing skills. Opened up to different types of different techniques.
Course Weaknesses: Hard to concentrate, disiplinary actions seemed to be based of favortism.
Instructor Strengths: Knowledgable, caring, helping, new ideas
Instructor Weaknesses: ranting, favortism towards D-Bags
Overall Comments: Great class, very interesting, never knew what to expect when entering class, learned more than I thought I would though--Have a good life!

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: -made us have critical thinking when it comes to reading & writing
Course Weaknesses: -learned very little about journalism--focused more on creative writing, which isn't the course I signed up for
Instructor Strengths: -can relate to the students through conversation & by which projects he chose to assign
Instructor Weaknesses: -was a 1st yr teacher (seemed unprepared & didn't know much about journalism)
Overall Comments: -I'm disappointed in how little I was taught about journalism
                                -would have liked to open the book more
                                -Almost feel like it was a class wasted b/c of the little work I did/learned

-Student expecting A (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: Utilized unique content through original stories
Course Weaknesses: not enough time to learn everything
Instructor Strengths: knew a lot and cared about the students heavily
Overall Comments: I learned a lot and saw a teacher who truly cared about his students and did not let censorship hinder course

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: I believe this class did a good job enhancing people's writing skills and literature analysis skills.
Instructor Strengths: Found a unique way to present meaningful concepts of both literature and real life.
Overall Comments: I ended up enjoying this class a lot and I think you did a great job making your lessons meaningful & applicable to life, instead of just going through a superficial lesson plan like a lot of teachers do.

-Student expecting A++ (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: lots of group activities & participation
Course Weaknesses: actual writing
Instructor Strengths: knew material and tried to make activities interesting
Instructor Weaknesses: DEVIL

Overall Comments: I enjoyed annoying you and calling you the devil.

Battles of Atrittion, Pyrrhic Victories & the Confusion of War: Student Evaluations at the End of a First Year Attempt at Teaching Part III

Below is the course description for the Social Issues I/II class at my high school:

SOCIAL ISSUES IN HISTORY I & II Credit: ½ unit per semester Weight: 4/4 Course Open To: Grade 11 & 12; This course will be offered every other year. Students may register for this course in the 2011-2012 school year. Social Issues Course Description: Social Issues is a performance-based class. Students will learn research skills, and critical evaluation of evidence. Students will be required to produce projects, write papers, and give presentations. We will engage in an intensive study of local, national, and global issues.

Objectives:

1. Students will develop research skills and learn to evaluate sources.

2. Students will develop critical thinking skills, as they learn to collect and evaluate
evidence for accuracy and bias.

3. Students will build their reading, writing, evaluation, and discussion skills.


When I was hired in late July to teach this class, the above is all that I was given--no materials, no book(s) of any kind--in addition to some verbal suggestions from my principal. Over the course of the year, in which some students dropped the class after the first semester, others remained for both semesters, and several picked up the class second semester, we studied a number of different issues, beginning with the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a definition of a "social issue." This proved important as many students entering the class believed it was simply "Current Events" or a sort of self-help, talk-therapy class dealing with their "social issues" at school.

After determining that the class was not exclusively current events and most definitely was not a talk-therapy session, we proceeded from the UN and human rights to studies on globalization, consumerism, and production by examining the country of origin for our clothes ("What's In Your Closet?") and the history of colonization and labor practices in those manufacturing countries--we also watched the film What Would Jesus Buy?, which was difficult for many students to swallow due to Reverend Billy's antics. We examined the decades of the 1950s and 1960s in American History, studying issues of race, gender, class, politics, war, and various protest and social movements. We also briefly considered the memorialization of the Holocaust and its history of remembrance in those immediately succeeding decades by watching Nuit et brouillard (Night and Fog) and reading Sherman Alexie's "Somebody Else's Genocide." Much of the final quarter of the year was devoted to students selecting their own issues of interest and researching their topics.

In the course of the year, students gave presentations on the UN's human rights; wrote a research paper on two countries and two companies that produced their clothing and presented findings; completed a number of mini-projects on the "Radical Sixties," which included illustrating a LIFE magazine cover, composing lyrics or a poem, graffiti-ing a mock Berlin Wall, creating a political cartoon, and filming and editing a short movie; developed several research projects, which led to academic papers and physical products; and more (largely a project-based class with occasional daily work).

Here are student evaluations from Social Issues in History I/II

 Social Issues in History I/II:

-Student expecting B (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: interesting
Course Weaknesses: some stuff wasn't interesting
Instructor Strengths: knows a lot
Instructor Weaknesses: talks a lot
Overall Comments: n/a

-Student who does not indicate an expected grade or a level of interest in the subject
Course Strengths: Lots of reading & writing
Course Weaknesses: alot of online prompts.
Instructor Strengths: Good speaker
Instructor Weaknesses: Spekes too much

-Student expecting A+ with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Unique class/curriculum. Interesting topics, Great freedom in projects, not locked down
Course Weaknesses: Sporatic assignments earlier in the year, online prompts are sometimes hard to remember. Deadlines were hard to meet .
Instructor Strengths: quite profluent in social issues and topics, knows how classes function in college and applies it to this class.
Instructor Weaknesses: Not enough interesting attire. mellowed down the outfits towards the end of the year. I really liked the sweaters and I think you need more variety.
Overall Comments: I liked the class, its like a college humanities class. Pretty solid class. I think you're a good teacher.

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject (signs evaluation With you always, The Earl of Springfield)
Course Strengths: The course was pretty enjoyable, and, although it was was engaging, it was not too difficult.
Course Weaknesses: Sometimes there was not really a sufficient amount of time to finish a project or just not enough class time.
Instructor Strengths: The Professor appeared to put effort into the class to teach us something.
Instructor Weaknesses: The instructor, you, failed to establish a consistent wardrobe.

-Student expecting B with "Much" interest in subject (signs evaluation The Serf)
Course Strengths: Instructer seemed dedicated to the course
Course Weaknesses: Sometimes the curriculum could meander (sp?) off in different directions
Instructor Strengths: Extremely educated in wide variety of topics
Instructor Weaknesses: Poor at putting together outfits and/or ensamble
Overall Comments: I thought it was a pretty solid class. Instructor seemed to know what he was talking about

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: It was fun and easy to understand
Course Weaknesses: It was boring and unorganised
Instructor Strengths: Fun and lax
Instructor Weaknesses: Unorganized & confusing
Overall Comments: I didn't really learn anything I didnt already know

-Student expecting 100% with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Interesting material/extra material
Course Weaknesses: Lectures could be better explained sometimes--ex. "sexy holocaust"
Instructor Strengths: you really want to engage students
Instructor Weaknesses: Ability to explain opinions
Overall Comments: I learned a lot from you and this course--I wish you were continuing with teaching--you're good at it. (even though I don't always agree with you)

-Student expecting A++++++++ (JK. Just an "A") with "Much" interest in subject*
Course Strengths: Always prepared, Different materials used (books, videos, etc.)
Course Weaknesses: Research papers--could have had some different types of projects.
Instructor Strengths: Recomending books/movies if the student is interested in a certain topic. Relaxed in the classroom. Knowledge, perspective on topics
Instructor Weaknesses: A little confusing--goes off into a few rants
Overall Comments: 



*This evaluation was also turned in folded into a cootie catcher