1. I'm generally not very fond of the lesson plans I'm given, or the readings. That is, a lot of the readings are fine in themselves, but odd choices for the subject. In US History and Literature class, for instance, my students are reading a book about the Carmelite martyrs of Compiegne, written by a … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Teaching Stuff and a Couple Federalist Papers
Friday Flotsam
Friday Flotsam: O’Connor, FNAF, and History
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
Friday Flotsam: Mostly Gun Control and Melancholy
1. Doing a little better than last week, though still struggling with melancholy and difficulty making myself be productive. 2. The shooting in Maine yesterday actually happened close to where my sister lives. She and all her friends are safe, thank God, but please pray for everyone involved and everyone in the area, who are … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly Gun Control and Melancholy
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
Friday Flotsam: No History this Time
1. Had a break from schooling this week, tried to use it to get a clearer idea of how to proceed. Sort of worked; I still feel disorganized and like little is getting done, but I have a bit of a better idea of what I'm doing. 2. It occurs to me that the main … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: No History this Time
Friday Flotsam: School and ‘One Piece’
1. At school I've more or less defaulted to lecturing, as trying to get the kids to engage hasn't been too profitable for most of the classes. Though oddly enough, turning to lecturing interspersed with questions has gotten a lot more interaction going, so perhaps it works out. 2. I ended up correcting the history … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: School and ‘One Piece’
Friday Flotsam: Mostly School and Language Matters
1. School still going okay. Started getting into the weeds of the Revolution with my Government class; they were surprised to learn of some of my clarifications (i.e. that the amount of taxes weren't the issue, but rather the question of jurisdiction). Actually, the idea that the British government had a case at all seemed … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly School and Language Matters
Friday Flotsam: Corniness and ‘Shadows on the Rock’
1. Thinking of 50s-era educational shorts this week made me wonder: they're usually described as 'cheesy' or 'corny'. What does this mean? What constitutes corn? The heirs of Webster define it as "mawkishly old-fashioned : tiresomely simple and sentimental". Fair enough, but what is the positive contrary? Up-to-date, sophisticated, and rational, I suppose. Though that … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Corniness and ‘Shadows on the Rock’
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
Friday Flotsam: On Republics and Anime Girls
1. The purpose of government is to promote the common good. The great danger of any Republic is the loss of the sense of commonality between different parts of the populace. This, of course, can happen under any form of government, but it is a particular danger for Republics, because elected governments incentivize animosity and … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: On Republics and Anime Girls
Serpent's Den 