Bring in the funk…

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100 books, books, literature, reading

George Clinton- Knows a thing or two about the funk.

I apologize for the lack of promised posts over the past week, but I have been deep in a reading funk.  Despite being partway through several different books a week ago, I have only managed to complete one since then.  Instead of finishing my eleventh and twelfth books of the year, I have been staring blankly at pages, dozing with a book on my chest, or trying to force my way through a book only to land on “How I Met Your Mother” instead.  I wanted to read.  I tried to read.  For some reason, I just couldn’t read more than two painful pages before giving up.  The funk only ended yesterday, when I finally finished one book and made good progress on another.  I don’t know why yesterday was different, but it all finally clicked.  The funk now defeated, I should have multiple reviews soon.  If I am going to get to 100 before the end of the year, I need to avoid returning to the funk.  Have you ever gone through a similar funk?  Couldn’t find your reading groove?  What can be done to get over it?  Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

#7: A Boy’s Will by Robert Frost

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100 books, book review, books, literature, poetry, reading, Robert Frost

For book number seven I decided to venture into unknown territory– poetry.  I do not read a lot of poetry.  The poetry I do read is generally of the epic variety (Homer, Milton, Dante).  I now find myself teaching tenth grade English, and the first unit I am required to cover is poetry.  With that in mind, I decided to read A Boy’s Will by Robert Frost.  The only Frost that I had previously read was the poem “The Road Not Taken”.  I was very pleasantly surprised by A Boy’s Will.  Frost’s poetry is rustic and manly, with the added advantage of actually making sense.  A Boy’s Will was his first collection, published in 1915, and reveals a young man seeking his future by firmly establishing his roots.  If you are from rural America, Frost is the poet for you.  I particularly liked “The Tuft of Flowers”.  I look forward to reading more Frost in the near future.

Old Man Practice: Dagnab Newfangled Technology!

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books, rant, reading, technology

I was born to be an old man.  Some people dread getting older, getting wrinkled, and getting cranky.  Not me.  I understand why they are called the golden years.  In order to make the most of my old-manhood, I have decided to practice.  This rant is the result.

Future Me is old and doesn't care what you think. Future My Wife is slightly embarassed.

I recently started in a new teaching position, and on the first day of the new semester (and my first day on the job), my students were required to fill out “Student Data Sheets.”  These were pretty basic, asking for both student and parent contact info.  I couldn’t believe the number of students who asked permission to take out their cell phones to get the necessary data.  I understand not knowing your parent’s cell phone number when you are 15 and have your own phone with your folks programmed into it, but not knowing your own home phone number?!    It seems trivial, but I think this is indicative of a dangerous trend. 

Technology has made the storage and retrieval of information so easy that there is no need for any basic memorization anymore.  Why read a book when there is Wikipedia or Sparknotes online for free?  Why memorize a poem or a passage when you can just search for it on your iPhone?

Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to find just about anything on the internet.  What worries me is that we are producing generations of young people who have no conception of what it means to analyze, memorize, and synthesize information because they simply don’t have to.  These blasted kids absolutely refuse to read assigned literature.  It makes much more sense to them to read a summary that tells them the gist of whatever the assignment is, and finding such a summary is now a piece of cake.  That serves them well for the present.  Someday they will need the ability to think without internet assistance.  What happens then?  I’ll tell you what happens: they will hold me up in line at Luby’s because they won’t have the mental capacity to choose between lemon meringue and key lime pie (the answer is both).

I don’t know how to combat this problem.  I might even be overreacting.  I just can’t help but think that the technologies of convenience in schools today will become the technologies of dependence in all parts of society tomorrow.

Here’s what we’re going to do.  First, you kids get off my lawn.  Then, turn off the devil music.  Next, pull up your pants.  Finally, go read a book.

Rant over.

Anyone who comments gets an imaginary butterscotch.