Monday Update

Unbelievably, as I arrived at the building to start my walk up four flights to our classroom for the dreaded test mentioned in my previous post, sirens sounded and emergency vehicles surrounded the building as enthusiastic first responders cleared the building of students, faculty, and other staff. A fire alarm! A false alarm, of course, but the delay causes our professor to reschedule for Wednesday so that we have a full hour to disgorge our knowledge. Are you kidding me? On the one hand, relief that an opportunity for more learning/review is presented; on the other, I was ready, dammit!

Is it fate? Am I destined to earn an A in this class despite my weakness in will? Stay tuned.

The Sunday Before A Monday Test

Halfway through the first semester of what should be a 5 semester ride and I already hate tests on Monday! You know the test is coming, and you know that you should start the review process a week before the test. You know that you have certain other obligations (like a wife, and parents, and those True Friends that everyone has to have), but a mature, responsible adult should be able to handle this. You get out of class at Noon on Friday, so you have plenty of time to get going. But, first, just a quick read of that best-seller that's been sitting on the coffee table for two weeks, followed by a truly delicious supper with the Wife, who's been such a trooper about this whole school thing and the pinching of pennies. Can't deny her a little quality time. Then, there's all day Saturday...but wait, the yard looks like a prairie, and the weeds in the flower beds are the size of small pines, and the neighbors are starting to look at you a little funny. Then, before you know it, it's lunch time, and, gosh I'm tired after all that mowing and weeding and raking. Maybe a short nap. What, it's time to go to that very nice cocktail party for our Dear Friend's niece's engagement? Well, then, we'll get at it good and hard early on Sunday.......right after going to the grocery store for breakfast supplies, and a leisurely read of the paper, and a few cups of that good coffee. What's that......CBS Sunday morning has a nice piece on? Oh well, just a few minutes. Hey....look at this....the race is on. Just watch a few laps and then get cracking.

10:00 PM.....eyes itching from the giant nuggets of sand, I'm sure the blood vessels are broken in both eyeballs. Yes, I'm very confused about the difference between Confucianism and Daoism, and I can't seem to memorize those damn Chinese words for sacred duty, and nothingless nothing, and polished jade, or the block of wood. Tranquility and Harmony? Not for me this dreadful night. I wonder if Gilgamesh felt the same fear as I do contemplating the termination of my academic career? Was Moses as nervous as I am when The Lord spoke to him from the burning bush? How will I ever keep this stuff straight, much less write anything that will please my very discerning professor? Make sure the alarm is set for 4:50 AM.....got to try to jam it all in.

Don't do this again.

To Former Bosses I Have Known

This week, our English class is reading Antigone, by Sophocles. Before now, all I knew about Antigone was that Starbucks sold a CD by an all female band called Antigone Rising. So, I was familiar with the name, if not the concept.

As seems to be the case with everything that we read in this class, the words resonate deeply with me and remind me, again and again, of the life lessons that I have learned, sometimes the hard way. Our professor and the preface in the textbook tell us that the heroine, Antigone, represents Natural Law, and that Sophocles used the story to remind the Greeks of the inherent conflict between Natural Law and Man's Law; that, perhaps, those who would impose Man's Law in opposition to Natural Law will inevitably lose that battle. Indeed, the introduction in the textbook says: "In the 1960's, the story of Antigone was especially meaningful to those Americans who engaged in civil disobedience in struggles for civil rights and against the war in Vietnam." Well, I will concede the first part of that bit of philosophy, but will quibble with the validity of the second part.

For me, the most interesting character is Creon, the king. Newly crowned, unsure of his hold on power, he is portrayed as unreasonable in his exercise of authority. He appears willing to sacrifice his family in order to maintain his authority. Unwilling to listen to the reasoned arguments of his son and advisers, he holds to a position that ultimately leads to his undoing.

Perhaps Antigone is the exemplar of adherence to a principle higher than any mortal rule. I also think that Sophocles is also trying to teach the Greeks about leadership and management. Who among us with experience in the corporate world has not worked for a person that would not listen, could not be wrong, and should never be challenged? Creon is the perfect example of the worst kind of bosses I have had. Here's one piece of the play that really is a teachable moment:

I beg you, do not be unchangeable:
Do not believe that you alone can be right.
The man who thinks that,
The man who maintains that only he has the power
To reason correctly, when you know him, turns out empty.
It is not reason never to yield to reason.

To listen to your people, to trust what they say, to understand that it is not a sign of weakness to not have the only solution to every problem.....these are the lessons of Antigone. To all you bosses out there.......read this and try to learn from it.

Dreaming in Redneck

Loitering in class and talking about the spring break soon to commence, I asked my classmates about their plans for the vacation. Unlike apparently everyone else at my college, none of us had any plans other than going home. V..., who is a second generation Greek (in the real sense), told me that she would be working in her family's restaurant. I asked about her family, their business, and their "Greekness", and, being more curious than discrete, asked if she ever dreamed in Greek. For some reason, my question elicited much response from the others, mostly about the ridiculous nature of the question. The class wit, L.....B......, who is much more intelligent than her reticence would indicate, promptly declared that she, being from a small town in our state and speaking no language other than her native tongue, dreams in "redneck". Her glance in my direction seemed to challenge my opinion of that notion, but this old codger is too old and wise to take that bait....and I made no response. Since that moment, I have been unable to think of any dream without having imposed upon the characters the lovely lilt of a soft South Carolina accent. Dreaming in redneck.........

Primary and Secondary Sources

Today's perambulation through the blogosphere brings this morsel to the plate:

Students in history classes at Middlebury College this spring may have to change the way they do research for papers or tests. Although they can consult the online encyclopedia Wikipedia for background, they are not allowed to cite it as a source...

...Just this month a dark cloud fell over Wikipedia's credibility after it was revealed that a trusted contributor who claimed to be a tenured professor of religion was actually a 24-year-old college dropout. He was also one of the appointed "arbiters" who settled disputes between contributors.

I find that decision very interesting, for several reasons.

First, it has been made very clear to me by my professors at this fine college that Wikipedia is not a valid source for references. What took the esteemed faculty at Middlebury so long to arrive at the same decision?

Second, on the first day of my history class, Dr. P....... explained to us, in great detail, the meaning of primary sources and secondary sources. He made it very clear that, as a trained historian teaching us to think like historians, he would not accept references, in any paper or test, that used the internet as a secondary source. My notes indicate that he used the word "dilettante" to describe those who, among others, seek to furnish knowledge to the great universe of students via the World-Wide Web. In checking Merriam's online dictionary (not Wikipedia!), it is obvious that Dr. P....... was using the secondary meaning of the word, to wit, "a person having a superficial interest in an art of a branch of knowledge". Synonyms listed included "dabbler" and "amateur".

Looks like Dr. P....... was exactly right. The power of a trained mind exerting discipline and training to establish, in context, the validity of his thesis.

Can I have some of that?

Lollygagging

The Spring Break enters its 6th day, with 3 to go until the Gates of Academe re-open. I'll confess to being ready to begin anew the assault on higher education. I've read some fiction, cleaned up my school files, watched some late night television, been to the gym a time or two, and generally lollygagged around the manse. Frankly, I miss the slight edge of tension that comes from knowing that certain tasks have to be accomplished in a timely manner; texts read, notes reviewed, study notes readied for the tests coming soon, and so forth. This idleness scene is for the young. I got things to do..........

Through The Lens of Time

Professor Bainbridge provides a link and expresses his opinion on young students and their educational choices by noting:

I'm reminded of a saying: students are one of the fewer consumer groups that derive more utility by consuming less of the good they've purchased.

I'm not an economist, yet,......but I will posit that The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility does not apply to adult students. We are returning to college for a specific goal, as all students are, but, at our age, we know what we don't know, and we want to learn as much as we can. Looking through the lens of time, we KNOW that the questions of life can be, partially at least, answered in the halls of academe. But, it takes a few adventures on the path of life to fully comprehend that the ignored questions of our youth do not go away if ignored. They simply recede, or do not present themselves to us until much, much later. We can argue that a narrow exposure to education may help in terms of gaining admission to law school, or medical school, but it fails to give us the perspective needed for the really big questions that will come to us all.

I'm going to get the questions right this time.

Spring Break

Ahhhhh......spring break is upon us!

All week, the chatter overheard in the hallways of academe has been about the long awaited, much needed break from the demands of academic life. Paris, Rome, London, Nassau (we don't think they meant New York, either), Florida.....scattered to the four corners of the globe will be the young students with the money to travel. Even the old students with some extra cash seem to be heading out of town. Some of us will stay near the campus, get some exercise, re-stock the sleep bank, catch up on school work, where necessary, and begin to review for the upcoming tests that professors have scheduled for the first week of our return.

Mainly, though, the break will provide an opportunity for this student to reflect on the first semester of the new adventure. Has it been what I expected? It's been so much more than I expected that it almost defeats my ability to express it in words. The developing relationships with students and professors, the exposure to subjects long forgotten, the re-acquired thirst for knowledge, and the just plain excitement of being on campus.......it's been an exhilirating 6 weeks that only serves to whet the appetite for more....more....more. I'm beginning to understand why professors teach, and what young, fresh perspectives can bring any subject, no matter how dusty and tired.

No, no vacation needed for this student...I'm already on the trip of a lifetime.

The Singularity Is Near

This is why they decided to invent Discovery Informatics ....


Neat Video....

Barriers, Redemption, & Karma

Following in the vein of the liberal arts as a tool for critical thinking, another tale for the reader.

Barriers are built for the purpose of keeping people/things from gaining access to something, whether it be a village, an economic opportunity, or University. Self-defense, self-interest, or self-improvement, all require effort to achieve. The return to school was no different. Given my documented history (recorded for posterity in the Office of the Registrar), I had to overcome institutional resistance to the notion of my return. Having overcome this obstacle.....

Redemption is the price one must pay for overcoming the Barrier of Re-Admission. As noted in Wikipedia's discussion on Christian redemption: "After one's sins are forgiven, the individual's suffering can reduce the penalty due for sin." I am re-admitted, but I must pay for my past sins. Here, the penalty is not the absence of educational opportunity, but acknowledgement, during the present, that my previous acts were worthy of punishment. Having re-gained the opportunity for education, I must pay for my omissive acts of earlier decades. This penance comes, in part, through my mandatory enrollment in a class designed to help students who are currently adrift in the Bermudic Triangle of academic confusion, lost motivation, and social distractions.....

Karma is the Buddhist/Hindu concept which says, if I may be brief, that our past acts have future consequences. As I sit in my "penance" class, I am forced to listen to excuses, snores, the chatter of text-messaging, insolence, and the pearls of wisdom that drop from the professor's mouth. That she speaks the Truth is lost on the class. That I know she speaks the Truth, and that I am the manifestation of that Truth, is also lost on the class. That I am forced to observe, closely, the kind of behavior that was a hallmark of my earlier college experience, is perfect Karmic justice.

It may be that I have been put on Earth to teach someone else this valuable lesson, only they're not listening.

Perfect......