Welcome to the jungle…

Tags

education, humor, music, teaching

It’s that time again– school starts tomorrow.  I spent the past week sitting through in-service and frantically cleaning, organizing, and decorating my classroom.  Needless to say, my reading pace has suffered.  I am part of the way through two books, and hope to finish them soon.  After a week or so things should settle down and my reading should get back on track.  As I return to the jungle that is teaching high school (Speech and Debate this year instead of English), I offer you this video.  It features a then-unknown Jim Carrey lip synching Guns’n’Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” in the movie “Dead Pool”.  Enjoy!

#10: The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

Tags

100 books, books, classics, education, writing

After a very funkadelic week, I completed my tenth book of the year on Thursday.  The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White is a rare thing– an enjoyable grammar book.  The book was created by college professor Strunk as a guide for his writing students.  E.B. White (of Charlotte’s Web fame) was one of those students.  He later added to the book, contributing a guide to style.  Throughout the book, both Strunk and White are charming and amusing.  The guidelines are presented in a way that makes sense and are not overly academic.  The section on commonly misused words and phrases should be required reading for college freshmen.  The entire book should be required reading for high school freshmen (I teach sophomores and they could use a grammatical refresher before they get to me).  I have used the book in a patchwork manner for several years, and am now teaching writing skills tutorials based on it.  After reading it in its entirety for the first time, I have no doubt that this is the ideal grammar and style guide.  If you write at all, you need to read this book.

The Current Count:

10 Read, 90 To Go

#5: Of the Conduct of the Understanding by John Locke

Tags

100 books, book review, books, classics, education, John Locke, philosophy

I made my first venture into philosophy of the year with my fifth book, John Locke’s Of the Conduct of the Understanding.  This book is essentially Locke’s assessment of what prevents most men from using their understanding to its full potential and how to remedy that problem.  Locke can be a bit tough to get through at times, but is always worth the effort.  So many of his writings, whether political, moral, or educational, contain observations that seem fundamental to those of us that have grown up in a liberal democracy but were revolutionary in Locke’s time.  Of the Conduct is one of those works.  Locke points out that the educational system of his day was flawed, stressing dependence on showy argumentation and the unquestioned acceptance of orthodox principles in all areas of study.  This particular work is aimed at grown men who want to free themselves from ignorance imposed either by themselves or by instructors.  A man must, according to Locke, maintain an absolute neutrality on all topics until he has examined them with his own understanding and discerned the underlying principle of truth that should direct his view.  No tenet should be accepted without examination, whether out of party loyalty or religious devotion.  He also offers advice to the man who wants to train his understanding to be better equipped for such examinations.  Reading is important, but disciplined and detailed examination is paramount.  This book is not one to be picked up for a quick read (despite its relative brevity).  If you are serious about intellectual improvement, this book is a must.

The Current Count:

5 Read, 95 To Go