The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle features his most famous character, Serlock Holmes. Holmes takes a case involving a family who was supposed to be haunted by a supernatural black hound. The recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville which appears to be caused by the haunting hound means that Sir Henry Baskerville has inherited the manor. As he settles into his new home, what dangers await him? Will they be able to solve the mystery before the curse of the Hound of the Baskervilles claims his life too?

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

Although it is a short essay and not a book, I am still including a review of "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.

The full title of Swift's satirical essay is "A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to their Parents or Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Public." He writes this in response to the poverty that was becoming more rampant in the wake of a surging population in Ireland in the 1720s.

In the essay, Swift begins by describing the plight of his country. He goes into detail about the conditions for the starving beggars and how they are negatively affecting the country as a whole. Once he has set all of this up, he shocks the reader by suggesting that, "a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragoust." He then goes on to detail the possibilities for rearing children for eating and the prices they might fetch on the market.

What is so fascinating about Swift's essay is the sustained irony. He never once blinks in the essay to suggest that he might be joking. He is so straightforward in his economic calculations that it is easy to forget that the subject of his transactions were to be human children. This essay is a great way to teach students about irony and satire.

My Poetry

I know I've shared these poems with some of you, but I'll go ahead and post them on here. While my own writing doesn't necessarily apply to my classroom (as per the blog instructions), at least it applies to my content area. Enjoy!

"A Storm Sneaks In"

A storm sneaks in,
Suddenly, slyly,
Controlling Time,
The tempting tempest.
Always changing,
Champion charm;
Immutable,
My menace Muse.

Like a deluge,
Devastating
Flash flood flowing,
Fading just as fast.
The void she leaves
Is less of a longing;
Her presence lingers,
Looming like clouds.

Sunny days induce
A dread of rain,
Of wild winds,
Violent and wet.
But sunny skies
Are so sedate,
Empty of emotion,
Eternally dull.

She's like the rain,
Reviving me,
Healing in me,
Hope, humanity.
Curing old scars
To cut me anew.
Magnificent,
My menace Muse.

"Memories of Memories Unspecific"

I feel nostalgia for

a life I have not had,

desire for experiences

I have not lived.

I remember colors,

smells, in vignettes of

foreign non-adventures

and places I've not been.

As my perception skews,

reality ripples.

Lines on a placid puddle,

my own ocean of thought.

Tilting at windmills

the size of a blade of grass,

overwhelming stature,

my own giants to conquer.

Memories that are mine,

alien in appearance.

Barrels of orange and white

illuminated

on the pitch-black highway

beckon, brighten into

white clouds on a moonlit sky.

Looking up,

behold the stars;

clouds under foot.

Memories of distant

worlds at my fingertips.

Cold blue light,

but not fluorescent.

Winter sunlight,

indirect through the window.

Sterile suburban scenery

of off-white walls, dimly lit

by an overhead light

and a late-night television.

Memories with no context,

inexplicably recalled.

Ivy League romance,

fallen leaves strewn

in reds and orange and browns

carpet the earth:

her winter blanket

insulating from the snow.

A beautiful campus

with an ornate concrete bench.

Memories that aren't mine,

oddly more familiar.

Music creates worlds,

generating new images,

or infiltrates old ones

to make them my own,

assimilating my thoughts,

my existence into them.

A soundtrack for an event

that never happened.

Infinite centrifuge,

separating perception from reality.

Memories of memories unspecific.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Ò Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and at Magdalen College, Oxford, and settled in London, where he married Constance Lloyd in 1884. In the literary world of Victorian London, Wilde fell in with an artistic crowd that included W. B. Yeats, the great Irish poet, and Lillie Langtry, mistress to the Prince of Wales. A great conversationalist and a famous wit, Wilde began by publishing mediocre poetry but soon achieved widespread fame for his comic plays. The first, Vera; or, The Nihilists, was published in 1880. Wilde followed this work with Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and his most famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Although these plays relied upon relatively simple and familiar plots, they rose well above convention with their brilliant dialogue and biting satire.

Ò Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before he reached the height of his fame. Devoted to a school of thought and a mode of sensibility known as aestheticism, Wilde believed that art possesses an intrinsic value—that it is beautiful and therefore has worth, and thus needs serve no other purpose, be it moral or political. This attitude was revolutionary in Victorian England, where popular belief held that art was not only a function of morality but also a means of enforcing it.

Ò In 1891, Wilde began a homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, an aspiring but rather untalented poet. The affair caused a good deal of scandal, and Douglas’s father, the marquess of Queensberry, eventually criticized it publicly. When Wilde sued the marquess for libel, he himself was convicted under English sodomy laws for acts of “gross indecency.”

Ò In 1891, the same year that the second edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray was published, Wilde began a homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, an aspiring but rather untalented poet. The affair caused a good deal of scandal, and Douglas’s father, the marquess of Queensberry, eventually criticized it publicly. When Wilde sued the marquess for libel, he himself was convicted under English sodomy laws for acts of “gross indecency.” In 1895, Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor, during which time he wrote a long, heartbreaking letter to Lord Alfred titled De Profundis (Latin for “Out of the Depths”). After his release, Wilde left England and divided his time between France and Italy, living in poverty. He never published under his own name again, but, in 1898, he did publish under a pseudonym The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a lengthy poem about a prisoner’s feelings toward another prisoner about to be executed. Wilde died in Paris on November 30, 1900, having converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed.

Ò This book is my favorite novel. The plot is fascinating because it is so personal. Anyone who reads the book can identify with the questionable desirability of immortality.

Ò The themes addressed in the story – among which are the purpose of art, the supremacy of youth and beauty, the superficial nature of society, and the negative consequences of influence—which are cross-curricular, are as applicable to today’s society as they were 120 years ago.

Ò Wilde’s exploration of unabashed hedonism is a great look at a lifestyle that was not widely broadcast in the waning Victorian society.

Ò Wilde’s writing style is whimsical and filled with aphorisms; this contrasts nicely to writers like Dostoevsky, who were long-winded and self-important. The book is an enjoyable change of pace from much of the other literature of this time period.

Ò The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian (whimsically) expresses a desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than himself. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging.

Ò The novel presents a fascinating dynamic among the three main characters. While Dorian is the most important character, it is his interactions with Basil and Lord Henry that define him. Basil is smitten with Dorian’s beauty. He views Dorian as the epitome of purity, as aesthetic perfection. His desire to preserve that perfection is the inspiration for this painting. Lord Henry sees Dorian more for his potential. With his influence, he guides Dorian to engage in unfettered hedonism. Basil and Lord Henry are the angel and demon on Dorian’s shoulders; while Basil preserves Dorian’s physical beauty, Lord Henry contributes to the degradation of his soul.

Ò As you read the book, consider who Dorian represents.

Ò Is he the author?

Ò Is he the reader?

Ò Is he a metaphor for human nature?

Censorship

Community & Junior College Libraries, v15 n2 2009.

“To Read or Not to Read: Understanding Book Censorship.” pp. 83-90.

Connelly, Deborah S.

Summary:

In her article, “To Read or Not to Read: Understanding Book Censorship,” Deborah S. Connelly discusses the issue of book censorship as it applies to students. Book censorship, she says, citing Carol Mullally’s article “Banned Books: Overview” in the January 2007 issue of Libraries and First Amendment Issues, has been going for as long as people have been writing books. In fact, in 360 BCE Plato encouraged the discarding of books that promoted ideas divergent from his own. When the invention of the printing press made the suppression of literature more difficult in the 1500s, committees were formed to determine which works ought to be avoided. Censorship began in the United States before we were even a country; in 1650, a religious pamphlet was banned by the English settlers.

In order to combat the practice of censorship, the Office for Intellectual Freedom created a policy based on the First Amendment for the American Library Association in 1967 to mirror the Bill of Rights. The Freedom to Read policy contains the following propositions:

• It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.

• Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.

• It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.

• There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.

• It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.

• It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people’s freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information.

The remainder of Connelly’s article focuses on the librarian’s role in promoting intellectual freedom. She argues that librarians must use their own abilities to consider the diversity of their patrons as they purchase books for their libraries and their own voices to communicate the importance of diversity and open-mindedness to their patrons.

Reflection:

Censorship is a topic about which I am very passionate. I consider myself to be a strong libertarian in most aspects of my life, and so censorship is very contrary to my nature. I am especially resistant to intellectual censorship, as I feel it is a most sinister form of oppression.

Books serve as a great means for thinkers and writers to present their ideas to the world; they are also a great tool for learners to expand their minds. By censoring books, many people intend to brainwash others into conforming to a certain set of beliefs. Intellectual freedom promotes intellectual diversity, which leads to progress.

I am extremely grateful for the Freedom to Read policy for protecting and encouraging the propagation of a wide range of views and ideas. It is based on the rights implied in the First Amendment, which basically focuses on the right of a person to choose for him or herself. Censorship strips this right from the individual. When censorship is allowed, the rights of everyone are at the mercy of a single person or small group of people. Censorship is the responsibility of the individual, not some higher power.

I understand that many parents do not wish to have their children exposed to controversial materials. But it is the responsibility of the parents, not some legislators, to monitor or restrict the books a child reads. Family values are not universal, and, because they are not, they cannot be strictly legislated.

As a future English teacher, I will spend a lot of time teaching literature in my classroom. Many of the books we consider classics today were on a banned-books list at some point. I hope to have the opportunity to teach controversial material in my own classroom, not because I want to shock my students or make them uncomfortable, but because I want to help them expand their minds.

I was a bit disturbed by a scenario that I encountered as a substitute teacher for a high school English class last year. The class was studying Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Of the approximately 100 students this teacher had, one student was so uncomfortable with the fact that the book included words like “damn” and “bitch,” which were used to express the vernacular of the times and were not intended to be offensive, that he asked the teacher to excuse him from having to read the book. In order to avoid a conflict, this teacher assigned him another book while the class read Of Mice and Men.

The part of this situation that bothered me the most was that the student was so closed-minded that he rejected a great piece of literature without fully understanding what he was rejecting. Connelly discusses a similar situation to this in her article. She tells of how The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is banned from several libraries and school reading lists because of its pervasive use of the “n-word.” While the word may be extremely offensive in today’s society, it simply was not at the time of the book’s writing. In fact, a close reading of the book reveals that through his satire, Twain was sympathetic to people who were adversely affected by racism. Through his writing, he does something that most people are afraid to do: he encourages a frank discussion about race relations, stereotyping, and racial equality.

I think it is extremely important to try to expand students' minds. So often, there is a taboo surrounding any kind of profanity or vulgarity in the classroom. But why should this be? Students are engaging in—or, at the very least, exposed to—these things every day. One of the great things about literature is its use of themes that appeal to a reader's own life. So, if students use profanity or hear it in the hallways, why should they be sheltered from books like Of Mice and Men, which uses profanity not gratuitously but as a means of representing regional dialect? Why should students, many of whom are sexually active, not read books like Madame Bovary that address sexuality? It is when students a pushed beyond their comfort zone, when they are asked to confront issues that affect them directly, that learning truly occurs.

I think high school is a perfect time to expose students to controversial material. It is an extremely important time in a person’s development, as he or she begins to take ownership of his or her own personal beliefs. As they develop this autonomy, many teenagers also have the support of their parents. If a student reads something that challenges his beliefs while he is in high school, he is more likely to have the opportunity to ask for his parents’ help as he works to reconcile the material with his beliefs. Censoring books does not guarantee that a student will not encounter the questionable material, but it does increase the chances that he will be in less safe of an environment when he eventually faces it.

Religious Diversity in the Classroom

I'm posting my article reflections on here because I really enjoyed the articles I found, and I'm interested to share my thoughts with whomever reads this blog.

Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v73 n3 Nov 2007.

"One Nation, Many Gods." p14-20.

Kilman, Carrie

Summary:

Religious diversity in classrooms is significantly more present than it was in the past. Whereas Christianity once was the religion of a vast majority of students, today’s kids live in a much more pluralistic society.

In a post-9/11 society, students may face persecution or harassment for what they believe, especially those practicing Islam. Many educators believe that the best way to combat religious intolerance is to address the issue in the classroom, because schools are one of the most notable places where people of different religions interact on a daily basis.

The Modesto School District, located in the “Bible Belt of California,” started a course on world religions. This course spends an equal time teaching Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. Rather than teaching religion, this course teaches about religion, focusing on the history, basic tenets, and societal significance of each religion.

Despite being situated in a very conservative community with a very vocal evangelical presence, Modesto has suffered almost no backlash for the course. Because the teachers of the course make no attempt to proselytize—in fact, teachers do not even share their own beliefs with the students—the class does not threaten any student’s values.

The positive results from the course were evident almost immediately. During the second year of this course being offered, 9/11 occurred. While reports of schoolyard harassment skyrocketed almost ubiquitously at schools across the country, Modesto reported no incidents of harassment during that school year.

Reflection:

I was drawn to this article and this topic because of my own background. I grew up in a Christian household all of my life. When I went off to college, I began to question the faith that I had held for so long. As I began to step away from those beliefs, I found Philosophy. Freshman year, I changed my major from Computer Science to Philosophy. Because of the type of instruction I was receiving in my classes, I started to take a more speculative look at the beliefs that I had always assumed to be true. As I opened my eyes to acknowledge the beliefs that others held, I realized that I was very naïve.

Growing up, I never really had much opportunity to study other religions. At the high school I attended, religious diversity was at a minimum. A majority of my classmates were Christians; the outliers were primarily categorized as atheists, although there were a very small handful of Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans, etc. For the most part, the students who were atheists were so as a rebellion against Christianity. The other religious minorities were practically invisible. Growing up in such a sheltered environment, I had never really encountered other religions. I was never intolerant of others’ beliefs; I was simply naïve to them.

Having been removed from religious practice for several years, I have been able to identify religions as more than a set of rules to govern actions and thoughts. I have taken the time to focus on the historical narrative each religion tells, the central and auxiliary tenets and their significance, and the cultural and global impact that different religions have had. This perspective has made me realize the two-fold positive impact a world religions class can have.

From a purely academic standpoint, religions have had a significant impact throughout the course of history. The time dedicated to teaching about religions in history classes—at least in my experience—was hardly sufficient to address the intricacies and importance of each religion. Offering a world religions course is a great way to expose students to this material.

Equally important is the affect a world religions class can have on the students’ view toward other students with different beliefs. Offering this material can combat the intolerance, as addressed in the article, and the ignorance, as shared in my own anecdote, that students may have.

I admire the courage and determination of the teachers in the Modesto School District who pushed to start the world religions course. The positive benefits of their efforts were evident almost immediately, and it was extremely beneficial to the students who were able to take the course before the events of September 11, 2001.

I am inspired by their idea to teach a class that focuses on religions from an academic standpoint. Once I have established myself in a job somewhere, I hope to be able to develop and teach a similar course. A subject like world religions gives me the unique opportunity to use my background in Philosophy and interest in religion to promote tolerance and understanding among my students.

Survival Mode

Yesterday, I also got to sit in on a Sophomore English class. The class had nearly thirty students, and it was during 7th hour. When I came into the classroom, the teacher warned me that this was a very unruly class. I initially underestimated what she meant by this.

The teacher was going over study guide questions for Of Mice and Men with the students for a test they were going to have today. She did a good job of encouraging class involvement by having students answer the questions aloud without having to raise their hands. Although it was a bit chaotic, at least she was able to hold their attention.

The thing that shocked me about the way she managed her class is that she allows the students to play on their cell phones or listen to their iPods at any time during class, as long as they do so discretely and non-disruptively. Her one stipulation is that those students or their parents should not come to her at the end of the semester asking how they can improve their grades.

While I was initially skeptical of her for allowing that kind of behavior, I recognized how brilliant the idea was. She had obviously struggled to promote self-efficacy in the students at the beginning of the semester, but the students refused to take charge of their own learning. Instead of babying them every step of the way, which surely would have cost this teacher her sanity, she put things in the hands of the students. She still taught the material in the same way she would have, but she didn't stop to make sure that the distracted students were keeping up. She put the responsibility on the students to either earn the grades they want or accept the consequences of goofing off every day.

Her libertarian styles reminded me almost of a college professor. A professor's job is to present the material; a college student's job is to learn the material. Typically, a high school teacher's job extends far beyond simply presenting the material; she should work every step of the way to facilitate students' learning. However, this only works up to a point. It is possible, as evidenced by this classroom, that some students really are beyond the help of the teacher. No amount of teaching will get these students to learn if they truly don't want to. While I initially diagnosed her teaching methods as a sign of survival mode, I now realize that this teacher was doing the best she could for herself and her students.