I read this article in The New Yorker called Show and Tell: Should Creative Writing Be Taught? (read it here) and it was interesting stuff. Old news stuff, mostly, like academia is a closed circle full of inbreeding (they produce the critics and the literature) and blah blah blah, but still, maybe you should check it out. I enjoyed it.
Today I ate chocolate cookies baked by "the Bishop's personal chef" (we're talking the Bishop of Oakland I think) and, honestly, I thought they'd taste better than they did. Maybe the Bishop has particular tastes.
Last night I touched sand for the first time since coming to California. I felt salt water on my face though I still haven't touched the bay or the ocean.
Last night I thought the stars were falling, every single one of them. Rather, low wispy clouds were moving north and the stars were staying put. Still lovely, but not as lovely.
Two days ago I saw a homeless man standing on a street corner. He moved as though he was shooting the sun into the sky over and over; swish--straight net, every time.
I heard on the radio that Arnold Swarzschenaguare has decided to replace all the California public school textbooks with online textbooks, because "the Internet is the most effective way to learn in the classroom." Really?
I read another interesting bit on education in the opinion section of the San Fran Chronicle (read it here), which quoted G.K. Chesterson saying education "is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another." I agree. I also agree with the sentiment, "In a famine, you do not eat your seed corn. It might fill your belly for a day, but it will ensure a horizon of barren harvests." Education is the seed corn. The argument as a whole might be a little underbaked, but I do like seeing people sticking up for education (even if they do come from the UC board of regents.)
Just some thoughts.
3 comments:
Interesting article. I think I'm in the Iowa boat: find good writing and encourage it. Can you teach talent? Can you teach imagination? Can you teach desire and determination? Probably not. But this boils down to the education system: can you teach a person to think? Not really, but you can put people in situations that inspire and challenge thought. Circumstances that push students and teachers alike. In my (still limited) experience, individual workshops either succeed or they don't. Drop the ones that don't.
All online textbooks! Because I'm overly romantic (and overly pregnant) this idea makes me nauseous. I embrace new media, but there is something about holding and smelling a book, turning pages, devouring it page by page that isn't quite achieved by scrolling. Does this mean all the desks in the classrooms will have wireless computers connected to the textbooks? I'm just asking for balance. And some reason. Who wants to bring a laptop to a park bench, really? Come on. (Granted, if someone decided to curl up with my electronic book, I probably wouldn't oppose them).
Salt water and stars--sounds like the beginnings of a poem.
maybe you should get a job as the "bishop's personal chef" - I bet you could make better cookies. I made some this week (it's been a while), and the one batch that wasn't crispified beyond saving were really delicious. but it wasn't your recipe, because I don't have your recipe, but I'd like your recipe, so will you please send me your recipe? maybe you should start including that on your resume. cookie samples available, upon request.
We missed you at the BBQ!! Next time??
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