“Modern man likes to pretend that his
thinking is wide-awake. But this wide-awake
thinking has led us into the maze of a
nightmare in which the torture chambers
are endlessly repeated in the mirrors of
reason.
When we emerge, perhaps we will realize
that we have been dreaming with our eyes
open, and the dreams of reason are intolerable.
And then, perhaps, we will begin to dream
once more with our eyes closed.
Octavio Paz. The Labyrinth of Solitude
We might could try to be a little less logical round
here, not so reasonable: turn up the amateur
standing we used to celebrate; tone down
the professsssionalism. Muddle.
“The dreams of reason are intolerable.”
"When one man has reduced a fact of the
imagination to be a fact to his understanding,
I foresee that all men will at length establish
their lives on that basis." Thoreau
“EPIC,” one of my students said:
“How come we feel we have to be
EPIC in these hand-out responses? “
“Or PROFOUND,” said another:
“Everyone tries too hard to be
profound. What’s with that?”
(Aggressive behavior in the classroom?)
Classroom management problem:
Maintaining Order: Staying
On Task
Not going to get anguish like this in Chemistry,
true? Biology. Environmental Studies. Sociology.
Who gets “epic” & “profound” complaints in
those areas? Taking care of business.
Another student told me to consider this chapter
by Octavio Paz—both epic and profound.
“Read it over the weekend,” she said.
“We’ll talk.”
I bend over backward, turn pretzel to be profound:
kiss sleeping clichés & ugly toads:
scheming with my eyes closed.
Epic.
Keep It Stupid, Simple.
Stunning. Just right for
Study.
Walk on Eggs (WOE)
Walk on Water (WOW)
This dear Reader has come a long way to rejoin a part of this dialectic conversation. Or is it diabolical conversation? Or that of the devil’s advocate? Or truth, a dissolved ego: nothinged, like god talking to god? [Rumi]
ReplyDeleteI woke up and found a bullet in my hand; I remember one of those silent classroom sessions six years ago now, or seven - our hungry grumbling stomachs doing all the talking. In silence we were pillars of perfection although I have to admit it felt like failure. If only I could have pulled my head out of my ass.
Thank you for all the IT you do not do; the things you do not say. My own addictions caused my time at WWC to be cut short. D’s and F’s are apparently not what the deans and faculty were looking for. But know that there are elements of my education I carry with me to this day, and your classroom teachings are a large part of that. It’s good to see your work still available in this forum. Upon reading many of your blogs, I felt compelled to keep it stupid.
Brian
Many of my best successes have been my drop-out "students."
ReplyDeleteI always tried to encourage them that felt so inclined.
It's not easy--dropping out.
"But if you have the least inclination to stay," I'd say--
"some small voice urging you to
slug it out, hang in there...
then go talk with Dr. Bradshaw
down the hall. He'll convince
you to stay."
Bad Cop Good Cop
Happy to hear your recollections,
Brian--when the bullet hits the
bone.
My brother quit his jr year,
never went back--tenured professor at U of Utah now--in the music
& dance dept. Nothing but hs
diploma and experience. Many
many ways to cut the cheese.
Best, Sam