1. This week's personal reading was largely Flannery O'Connor, in all her dense, opaquely-grotesque images of grace. She operates on a high, inaccessible plateau of authorship in which the reader is required to make a firm commitment to not only follow her often intense prose and plots, but also to take the time afterwards to … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: O’Connor, FNAF, and History
America
Friday Flotsam: Teaching, Grammar, and Historical Tangents
1. Teaching's still going pretty well. I don't like grading papers at all, since it's hard to gauge how much of high school papers I should correct and how much I should let slide since they're high schoolers. But I got a very positive evaluation from a visiting administrator, who was impressed that I actually … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Teaching, Grammar, and Historical Tangents
Historical Thought: Rhode Island Contra Mundi
I find it intensely amusing that Rhode Island, of all states, was the most intransigent against the Constitution. There were reasons for that, of course, but I can't help picturing the other States at the Convention: "Oh, no; we've lost Rhode Island!" "Well, I suppose, if we really must, we can find a way to … Continue reading Historical Thought: Rhode Island Contra Mundi
Thought of the Day: ‘Don’t Blame the Constitution’
My history textbook - Christ and the Americas - has many virtues, but it's at its worst when the authoress tries to pontificate. Take the following passage (which comes out of a kind of mini-essay on the subject in the section on the Constitutional Convention): "If our Constitution has failed in any way, it is … Continue reading Thought of the Day: ‘Don’t Blame the Constitution’
Musical Interlude: ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’
Here's a jolly old song that was quite popular in its day. You may or may not recognize the title, and probably don't know the lyrics, but I'm almost sure you'll recognize the tune: it was adopted for another little song, which has enjoyed a broader popularity. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PUFUCTXwfc
Friday Flotsam: Mostly Political History
1. We're still reading Thomas Paine in my American Government course (I'm going to be looking ahead this weekend, but I may have to go off-script because there doesn't seem much else being discussed in the coming weeks), along with his chosen opponent, Rev. Charles Inglis (later the first Anglican Bishop in the New World). … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly Political History
Quote of the Day: President Fillmore
“May God save the country, for it is evident the people will not.”-Millard Fillmore
“You’re Not Talking to the Founding Fathers Again, Are You?”
With the course of study I'm teaching, this short came to mind, as riffed by Mike and the Bots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmjegYYYlUE&t=342s "What money?""Don't smart-mouth me, boy." Like most '50s educational shorts, this one's a stagey, stolid affair, but with some pretty solid information and a point that's hard to argue with: about keeping a budget and … Continue reading “You’re Not Talking to the Founding Fathers Again, Are You?”
Revolution Analogies
Sorry; again, it just keeps coming up! Today I happened to come across the following in an old comments section: “Imagine that a father gave his teenage son every liberty, so that the son was accustomed to making all his decisions for himself and living his life as he chose. Then suddenly one day the … Continue reading Revolution Analogies
Friday Flotsam: School, Carrolls, and Sword Fight
1. Made it through my second week of teaching. I'm still finding it extremely draining, and it's a struggle to get the kids to start discussing stuff in most of the classes (my one 12th grade class is the best in that regard, but alas is the shortest one). But it's something, and I've at … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: School, Carrolls, and Sword Fight
Serpent's Den 