Teaching is more difficult than learning because what teaching calls for is this: to let learn. The real teacher, in fact, lets nothing else be learned than learning. His conduct, therefore, often produces the impression that we properly learn nothing from him, if by “learning” we now suddenly understand merely the procurement of useful information.
Martin Heidegger - Was heisst Denken
When I was in college, I attended a government class and the teacher, one who had taught at my little directional school long enough to earn tenure, told the class that conservatives were suspicious of the people and used government to control them and liberals were more trusting of individuals. At the time, I was a bit of a political neophyte but I was learned enough to know this man was horribly mistaken and likely purposefully so. Therefore, to the groan of some of my classmates (it is so cool to make an entire class moan or hush). I suggested he had it backwards. Conservative political philosophy demands that government back off the individual – as Thomas Jefferson said, the government which governs best, governs least. The teacher maintained his position and I was left with two prevailing thoughts; one, this man offered a disservice to government education and two, I would never project my own political opinions in my classroom.
I’ve taught for sixteen years and I’ve been quite proud of the fact that I’ve never projected a personal opinion that would allow students to ascertain my political beliefs. Upon the graduation of one student whom I taught three years in a row, she came by my room to thank me and said, “You know, in three years, I cannot figure you out politically.” I told her if she wanted to know badly enough, in a couple of years, I would buy her a beer and tell her all about it. Sadly, many in my profession see the lectern as a bully pulpit. I find it outrageous and distasteful anytime I hear a teacher express political viewpoints as facts in front of students still developing their own ideas. As a conservative, I’m particularly annoyed that many tend to be liberals (though there are a number from my side of the political spectrum just as guilty).
I teach history and government – two subjects that are probably the most susceptible to the opining of biased professors and teachers. My role in both classes is to allow the students to pontificate, elaborate, explore their ideas and solidify their belief system. I play the role of devil’s advocate. Whether a student agrees or disagrees with my own personal system, I challenge everything they say and push them to develop their rationale. As the adult in the room, I should not need my opinions validated by how many of my students agree with me. I’m not that insecure.
In my government class, I use Supreme Court cases to engender arguments among my students, prodded along by me. I require, in addition to their personal point of view on a particular subject, that they provide constitutional proof for their argument. One might suggest this is leading the students in one direction or another but in our society, its laws governed as they are by the Constitution, my students need to know how to express their thoughts from a constitutional point of view. In history, I challenge my students to consider divergent view points on historical issues. There are some great books that provide primary sources that allow students to consider more than one perspective. Again, the goal is to have the students explore learning and not to learn information through me.
In the classroom, the teacher’s role is to allow the student to pursue knowledge, not to have it filtered through the opinions of the instructor. This year, my seniors will continue to ask me, “Can we know now your political opinion?” I will continue to resist and in doing so, perhaps my students will be allowed to learn.
Friday, February 24, 2012
The Reading List - The I's and J's
Brand, Henrik Ibsen
The Seven Letters, St. Ignatius of Antioch
The Refutation and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So-Called, St. Irenaeus
On the Orthodox Faith, St. John of Damascus
The Jewish War, Josephus
Dubliners, James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
Guide for the Perplexed, Joseph ben Judah
Revelations of Divine Love, Juliana of Norwich
Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, St. Justin Martyr
First Apology, St. Justin Martyr
Satires, Juvenal
The Seven Letters, St. Ignatius of Antioch
The Refutation and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So-Called, St. Irenaeus
On the Orthodox Faith, St. John of Damascus
The Jewish War, Josephus
Dubliners, James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
Guide for the Perplexed, Joseph ben Judah
Revelations of Divine Love, Juliana of Norwich
Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, St. Justin Martyr
First Apology, St. Justin Martyr
Satires, Juvenal
Friday, February 17, 2012
No Need for Gog and Magog
I’m beginning to question the usefulness and legitimacy of the United Nations. While one UN report after another speaks to the rise in violence in Syria and its direct correlation with the inactivity of the international organization, the Security Council remains deadlocked thanks to the perpetual and illogical obdurateness of the Russians and the Chinese. Yesterday, the UN called for an end to the violence but in real terms, the condemnation is meaningless. Meanwhile, Middle East “experts” suggest the world community should do nothing overt. On Fareed Zakaria’s GPS program on CNN, regional expert Fawaz Gerges suggested that any arming of the citizens or outside military action could result in a civil war. What exists now as the regime fires its weapons upon its own people?
From an American perspective, President Obama’s condemnation of the Syrian regime is infrequent and ultimately, toothless. The president has shown his reluctance to engage directly where matters of resistance are at play. The Syrian government is likely uninterested in President Obama’s rhetoric as it has not presented a threat in the past. In Egypt, the president’s words were not what removed Mr. Mubarak but rather the persistent efforts of the Egyptian protestors. In Libya, it was not the president’s words that removed the long-time dictator but NATO and again, persistent rebel activity. Mr. Obama’s words did not change the governments in Tunisia or Yemen and it does nothing to the (so far) fledgling uprisings and concerns of the Iranians or the Bahrainians. Mr. Gerges suggested that the Assad regime is under pressure on multiple levels. At the moment, it does not show.
The president and his representatives need to force the issue in the United Nations. We should be attempting to move that archaic and reticent organization into action. In the 1960s, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson, forced the issue with the Russians over nuclear missiles in Cuba. The former Illinois governor pressured, cornered and embarrassed the Soviet ambassador until he was forced to concede. This is what the United States, in conjunction with the Arab League, should be doing at the United Nations. The Arab League, an organization made up of largely Sunni states, has no love for the notion of the Assad regime with backing from the Iranians. There are enough states throughout the world outraged over the events in Syria that such pressure upon the Syrians, not to mention their perpetual protectors, the Russians and Chinese, should force the issue.
In an earlier blog about a month ago, I worried about the unchecked nature of the Iranians and the need to work with Arab states to do just that. The Iranians are no doubt playing a part in the current crisis within their satellite state, Syria. Yet, the United States have vacated their responsibilities internationally and have left many of its allies and those in peril to the risk and hopes of others. This is a chance to reassert our principles and stand by them. Whether it is through action in the United Nations or an embargo (as suggested by many commentators) or even finding some way to assist the populace, we must abandon our peripheral stance and show the courage and leadership from which millions of people over the last century have benefitted. We are dangerously close to repeating our moral failings in Rwanda. Jews often say, with reference to the Holocaust, “never again.” Well, it happened again in east Africa and now, it’s on the verge of happening in Syria.
From an American perspective, President Obama’s condemnation of the Syrian regime is infrequent and ultimately, toothless. The president has shown his reluctance to engage directly where matters of resistance are at play. The Syrian government is likely uninterested in President Obama’s rhetoric as it has not presented a threat in the past. In Egypt, the president’s words were not what removed Mr. Mubarak but rather the persistent efforts of the Egyptian protestors. In Libya, it was not the president’s words that removed the long-time dictator but NATO and again, persistent rebel activity. Mr. Obama’s words did not change the governments in Tunisia or Yemen and it does nothing to the (so far) fledgling uprisings and concerns of the Iranians or the Bahrainians. Mr. Gerges suggested that the Assad regime is under pressure on multiple levels. At the moment, it does not show.
The president and his representatives need to force the issue in the United Nations. We should be attempting to move that archaic and reticent organization into action. In the 1960s, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson, forced the issue with the Russians over nuclear missiles in Cuba. The former Illinois governor pressured, cornered and embarrassed the Soviet ambassador until he was forced to concede. This is what the United States, in conjunction with the Arab League, should be doing at the United Nations. The Arab League, an organization made up of largely Sunni states, has no love for the notion of the Assad regime with backing from the Iranians. There are enough states throughout the world outraged over the events in Syria that such pressure upon the Syrians, not to mention their perpetual protectors, the Russians and Chinese, should force the issue.
In an earlier blog about a month ago, I worried about the unchecked nature of the Iranians and the need to work with Arab states to do just that. The Iranians are no doubt playing a part in the current crisis within their satellite state, Syria. Yet, the United States have vacated their responsibilities internationally and have left many of its allies and those in peril to the risk and hopes of others. This is a chance to reassert our principles and stand by them. Whether it is through action in the United Nations or an embargo (as suggested by many commentators) or even finding some way to assist the populace, we must abandon our peripheral stance and show the courage and leadership from which millions of people over the last century have benefitted. We are dangerously close to repeating our moral failings in Rwanda. Jews often say, with reference to the Holocaust, “never again.” Well, it happened again in east Africa and now, it’s on the verge of happening in Syria.
Reading List - The H's
Please examine the list and if you have an addition that should be made, please comment.
The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison
Largo Desolato, Vaclav Havel
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Philosophy of History, Georg Hegel
Being and Time, Martin Heidegger
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
De Religione Gentilium, Edward Herbert
The Temple, George Herbert
The Histories, Herodotus
Selected Poems, Robert Herrick
Theogony, Hesiod
Narcissus and Goldmund, Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse
Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse
Commentaries, Hillel
The Ladder of Perfection, Walter Hilton
Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes
The Iliad, Homer
The Odyssey, Homer
Complete Poems, Gerard Hopkins
Selected Poems, A.E. Housman
Selected Poems, Langston Hughes
The Distance, the Shadows: Selected Poems, Victor Hugo
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison
Largo Desolato, Vaclav Havel
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Philosophy of History, Georg Hegel
Being and Time, Martin Heidegger
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
De Religione Gentilium, Edward Herbert
The Temple, George Herbert
The Histories, Herodotus
Selected Poems, Robert Herrick
Theogony, Hesiod
Narcissus and Goldmund, Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse
Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse
Commentaries, Hillel
The Ladder of Perfection, Walter Hilton
Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes
The Iliad, Homer
The Odyssey, Homer
Complete Poems, Gerard Hopkins
Selected Poems, A.E. Housman
Selected Poems, Langston Hughes
The Distance, the Shadows: Selected Poems, Victor Hugo
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Friday, February 10, 2012
To Cleanse or Not to Cleanse
This article will be a bit of a departure from my normal articles and I hope you take it in the spirit it is intended – it is a bit about me. When I was in the military, I was in pretty good shape, as one might imagine. However, since leaving the nurturing bosom of the U.S. Marine Corps, I’ve put on a pound here or there. Well…it is more than a few pounds. My entire life I’ve enjoyed the best that life has to offer when it comes to food. Pork being my particular weakness, I follow the dictates of Anthony Bourdain in that little in life can trump crispy pork skin or succulent pork sausage. However, as I methodically and mercilessly enter my mid-40s, I’ve smacked into a couple of realities. That is where the cleanse comes in.
A couple of years ago, some Aussie friends of ours suggested this two week plan where we eat only what was grown in the ground or, occasionally, swam in the sea. Now, to borrow a Bourdainian phrase, I’ve always seen the vegans as a “Hezbollah-like splinter faction” of the vegetarian class. However, my wife was very excited about the possibilities and, as it is well known among married couples or partners, one spouse entering this type of adventure pretty much ensures the other will follow suit. For two weeks, I’ve followed an eating regime that man was not meant to endure and at the end, my eyes were opened.
I feel better, I move quicker, I wake up more energetically, my workouts are more productive and in general, my health improves. As I felt the change begin to come over me, I was amazed and somewhat saddened by the fact that my typical eating habits were so impactful – in ways I’ve never considered. Because I’m doing this with my wife, my culinary consciousness is more fine-tuned and I consider every gastronomical impulse with more thought as I go through my day. At the end of the two weeks, I’m a few pounds lighter and generally, in peak form. I remember those feelings when I bite into my first sausage link post-cleanse. I’m a pork-aholic and like the worst of drug addicts, I savor that first taste of and surrender to swine euphoria.
The cleanse has taught me that I must make a choice – avoid some foods all together or try moderation. I'm attempting the moderation method. Hoping that I don’t sound preachy, I think men my age need to see something like this as a preventative health measure. It certainly can’t hurt.
A couple of years ago, some Aussie friends of ours suggested this two week plan where we eat only what was grown in the ground or, occasionally, swam in the sea. Now, to borrow a Bourdainian phrase, I’ve always seen the vegans as a “Hezbollah-like splinter faction” of the vegetarian class. However, my wife was very excited about the possibilities and, as it is well known among married couples or partners, one spouse entering this type of adventure pretty much ensures the other will follow suit. For two weeks, I’ve followed an eating regime that man was not meant to endure and at the end, my eyes were opened.
I feel better, I move quicker, I wake up more energetically, my workouts are more productive and in general, my health improves. As I felt the change begin to come over me, I was amazed and somewhat saddened by the fact that my typical eating habits were so impactful – in ways I’ve never considered. Because I’m doing this with my wife, my culinary consciousness is more fine-tuned and I consider every gastronomical impulse with more thought as I go through my day. At the end of the two weeks, I’m a few pounds lighter and generally, in peak form. I remember those feelings when I bite into my first sausage link post-cleanse. I’m a pork-aholic and like the worst of drug addicts, I savor that first taste of and surrender to swine euphoria.
The cleanse has taught me that I must make a choice – avoid some foods all together or try moderation. I'm attempting the moderation method. Hoping that I don’t sound preachy, I think men my age need to see something like this as a preventative health measure. It certainly can’t hurt.
The Reading List – the G’s
Please comment with an addition that should be included along with your thoughts on it.
Gilgamesh,
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon
The Arts of the Beautiful, Etienne Gilson
The Unity of Philosophical Experience, Etienne Gilson
Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Sorrows of Young Worthers, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
Collected Stories, Caroline Gordon
The Women on the Porch, Caroline Gordon
Brighton Rock, Graham Greene
Fairy Tales, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm
The Spirit of Liturgy, Romano Guardini
Gilgamesh,
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon
The Arts of the Beautiful, Etienne Gilson
The Unity of Philosophical Experience, Etienne Gilson
Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Sorrows of Young Worthers, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
Collected Stories, Caroline Gordon
The Women on the Porch, Caroline Gordon
Brighton Rock, Graham Greene
Fairy Tales, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm
The Spirit of Liturgy, Romano Guardini
Friday, February 3, 2012
These Are the Times That Try Men’s Souls
Earlier this week, an article appeared in the Ottawa Citizen about the beginnings of masters’ studies in masculinity and male-oriented studies at Concordia University in Montréal. The professors quoted often in the article suggest that the traditional power and social structure of masculinity needs to be studied with regards to its impact on men and that impact can be quite negative.
When I attended a local community college, I took a class called Psychology of Women. I’m not entirely certain as to why – I think I needed an additional humanities class or I was curious. I was just out of the military and the only women I really knew prior to that were my mother and my sisters. Sitting in the class, I was surrounded by a room full of women and three other guys. One was there to pick up women, one said nothing the entire semester and the third just agreed with what the women said. My expectation was that the class would explain why women act and think the way they do but much of the class conversation centered on the faults of men. Being young and cocky and right out of the military, I took to defending men. My teacher liked me, I passed the class but reached no closer understanding of women. Remember, I was young and unaware that such knowledge was beyond mere mortals.
Concordia seeks to show the impact on men of societal roles. As one professor said, “(masculinity) as a structure, as a lived experience, can also be fundamentally disempowering to men.” As I read the article, I wondered if the purpose of the study was to expose the flaws of masculinity or the current manifestation of it. I don’t see anything malevolent in the school’s efforts but the article made me consider the state of masculinity today. Perhaps, there is something to teach but I consider the impact of women’s studies. As a man, I was taught to respect women, not as women but as equals. They are not to be fretted over, worried about or analyzed into weakness or victimhood by academics. If it can be said that women’s studies does not empower females but rather make them dependent, what will a new focus on masculine studies produce?
Worse yet, what is the impact of teaching people to look at things through a single prism? In the same way that ethno-studies rob students of an ability to see the whole picture of history, so would gender studies perhaps prevent a broader look at who we are and what our strengths and weaknesses are. It has been said that nature is blind to inequities but tasks people with working within themselves. Perhaps the focus of a masculinity class (and a feminine one as well) undermines our ability to cope with and work within our gender traits.
Jews have a concept of boys growing up to be a “mensch” or the ideal of a Jewish male. A mensch is one who represents the best of a male – responsibility, protection, honesty, devotion, commitment among many other attributes. Previously, parents, ministers and teachers taught these traits and they were instilled in young men. Not all took to the path but all were aware. My parents insisted on teaching me, not just what it took to be a man but how to handle those responsibilities. The professors at Concordia bemoan the impact the pressures of masculinity and being a male as damaging but that is true only so far as one is prepared.
So, I turn my attention to the boys in my high school classroom. Many of them lack the wherewithal, the work ethic or the integrity that can define a man. They seem weak, easily surrendering to the amusing vapid nature of the internet or other entertainment rather than embracing the nature of work and study to improve themselves. They have no ability to endure the expectations. Perhaps, this is a product of the age rather than gender. At the risk of sounding like a male Phyllis Schlafly, I feel I should be a vanguard against the trends I see. Then again, as a man, perhaps I should not overthink it.
For the original article, check out:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Beyond+macho+Defining+world/6067776/story.html
When I attended a local community college, I took a class called Psychology of Women. I’m not entirely certain as to why – I think I needed an additional humanities class or I was curious. I was just out of the military and the only women I really knew prior to that were my mother and my sisters. Sitting in the class, I was surrounded by a room full of women and three other guys. One was there to pick up women, one said nothing the entire semester and the third just agreed with what the women said. My expectation was that the class would explain why women act and think the way they do but much of the class conversation centered on the faults of men. Being young and cocky and right out of the military, I took to defending men. My teacher liked me, I passed the class but reached no closer understanding of women. Remember, I was young and unaware that such knowledge was beyond mere mortals.
Concordia seeks to show the impact on men of societal roles. As one professor said, “(masculinity) as a structure, as a lived experience, can also be fundamentally disempowering to men.” As I read the article, I wondered if the purpose of the study was to expose the flaws of masculinity or the current manifestation of it. I don’t see anything malevolent in the school’s efforts but the article made me consider the state of masculinity today. Perhaps, there is something to teach but I consider the impact of women’s studies. As a man, I was taught to respect women, not as women but as equals. They are not to be fretted over, worried about or analyzed into weakness or victimhood by academics. If it can be said that women’s studies does not empower females but rather make them dependent, what will a new focus on masculine studies produce?
Worse yet, what is the impact of teaching people to look at things through a single prism? In the same way that ethno-studies rob students of an ability to see the whole picture of history, so would gender studies perhaps prevent a broader look at who we are and what our strengths and weaknesses are. It has been said that nature is blind to inequities but tasks people with working within themselves. Perhaps the focus of a masculinity class (and a feminine one as well) undermines our ability to cope with and work within our gender traits.
Jews have a concept of boys growing up to be a “mensch” or the ideal of a Jewish male. A mensch is one who represents the best of a male – responsibility, protection, honesty, devotion, commitment among many other attributes. Previously, parents, ministers and teachers taught these traits and they were instilled in young men. Not all took to the path but all were aware. My parents insisted on teaching me, not just what it took to be a man but how to handle those responsibilities. The professors at Concordia bemoan the impact the pressures of masculinity and being a male as damaging but that is true only so far as one is prepared.
So, I turn my attention to the boys in my high school classroom. Many of them lack the wherewithal, the work ethic or the integrity that can define a man. They seem weak, easily surrendering to the amusing vapid nature of the internet or other entertainment rather than embracing the nature of work and study to improve themselves. They have no ability to endure the expectations. Perhaps, this is a product of the age rather than gender. At the risk of sounding like a male Phyllis Schlafly, I feel I should be a vanguard against the trends I see. Then again, as a man, perhaps I should not overthink it.
For the original article, check out:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Beyond+macho+Defining+world/6067776/story.html
Reading List – The E’s and F’s
Please comment on any addition that should be included.
Life of Charlemagne, Einhard of Fulda
Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot
Complete Poems and Plays, T.S. Eliot
Selected Essays, T.S. Eliot
Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Enchiridion, Epictetus
In Praise of Folly, Desiderius Erasmus
On Pilgrimages, Desiderius Erasmus
De Divisione Naturae, Johannes Scotus Erigena
The Elements, Euclid
Church History, Eusebius
Life of Constantine, Eusebius
Absalom, Absalom, William Faulkner
Light in August, William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner
Selected Essays, Robert Fergusson
The Essence of Religion, Ludwig Feuerbach
The Old Faith and the New, Ludwig Feuerbach
Madame Bovary, Gustav Flaubert
Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales
Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Collected Poems, Robert Frost
Life of Charlemagne, Einhard of Fulda
Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot
Complete Poems and Plays, T.S. Eliot
Selected Essays, T.S. Eliot
Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Enchiridion, Epictetus
In Praise of Folly, Desiderius Erasmus
On Pilgrimages, Desiderius Erasmus
De Divisione Naturae, Johannes Scotus Erigena
The Elements, Euclid
Church History, Eusebius
Life of Constantine, Eusebius
Absalom, Absalom, William Faulkner
Light in August, William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner
Selected Essays, Robert Fergusson
The Essence of Religion, Ludwig Feuerbach
The Old Faith and the New, Ludwig Feuerbach
Madame Bovary, Gustav Flaubert
Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales
Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Collected Poems, Robert Frost
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