Catholic Teacher Man

NCEA 2013: Prezi, Prezi, Prezi

2013-04-01T14:41:00.002-05:00

Google document with handout information.

Prezi, Prezi, Prezi:

Using Technology Effectively

With a Collaborative Learning Pedagogy

Mr. Adam Thompson, M.Ed., M.A.

5th Grade Homeroom Teacher at Western Academy

Forensics Coach, Editor of Western Word, Wrestling Coach

Email: adam.thompson@westernacademy.net

1. Start by identifying curricular goals.

a. What is the core concept(s) for your class project?

i. Interpretive paradigms for literature (12th)

ii. Birth of American nation state (5th)

b. What are your primary learning objectives?

i. Identify, differentiate, analyze, evaluate, and

apply different ideological approaches to the

meanings of texts (12th)

ii. Investigate, contextualize, illustrate, narrate,

critique, and above all, remember, humanity

amidst the complex nature of warfare (5th)

2. Consider your audience.

a. What is the best way to group your students?

i. 60 students divided across 3 classes (12th);

3 sets of pairings per interpretive model

ii. 20 students divided into 4 houses (5th);

5 students per battle

b. What visual metaphor or Prezi template will appeal most

to your audience?

i. Visual metaphor of key(s) to texts (12th)

ii. Prezi template suited to WA House system (5th)

c. What can you do to incentivize the project?

i. Group capstone to senior year to complement the

individual Senior Thesis project; cloud-based

reference tool for students to utilize from college

(12th) = intrinsic motivation

ii. House competition for pride and prizes (snake

skin wallet, PS3 game, donut party) (5th)

= extrinsic motivation

3. Scaffold the project.

a. Build foregrounded title frame and individual frames with

titles and central picture for each literary model+ MLA

citation examples (12th).

b. Supply annotated central image of 13 colonies, as well as

a completed template with original YouTube video and

maps of the Battle of Bunker Hill + MLA citation examples

(5th).

c. Showcase examples of other great Prezis online.

d. Review the rubric with the students.

4. Monitor the project.

a. Regularly save copies of the Prezi.

b. Demonstrate Prezi techniques with the students.

c. Celebrate achievements and provide constructive

criticism as the Prezi evolves.

d. Provide basic or advanced paths for group work to create

a smooth flowing Prezi.

5. Assess the project.

a. Students showcase their work in class.

b. Grade the collaborative projects following the rubric you

distributed at the beginning.

c. Return assessments with suggestions for improvement.

d. Allow time for revision and improvement.

e. Publish/publicize students' final product.

Literary Theory Overview Prezi Rubric

Content: 50 pts

1. 3 characteristics of assigned literary theory

2. 2 quotes from intellectuals associated with the movement that

support or comment on characteristics mentioned

3. An impact statement about the significance of this movement OR a

critique of its legitimacy and/or value

4. 1 video or image of import

Creativity/Style: 20 pts

1. Utilization of various Prezi functions

2. Aesthetics in terms of design, proportion, color, symmetry

Grammar: 15 pts

1. Correct spelling and proper use of punctuation

2. Consistency with approach within partnership

Format: 15 pts

1. Correct citations for images and videos in MLA format

5 Key Battles of American Revolutionary War Rubric

Style/Formatting of Prezi 15 / 15

3 Images with Notes/Captions 15 / 15

Student Map of Battle 20 / 20

YouTube Videos 40 / 40

· Student (35)

· Additional Resource (5)

MLA Citation 10 / 10

Final Grade: 100/100

Drink Texas, Eat Texas

2011-08-02T20:38:00.000-05:00

When the heat becomes just about unbearable, as it has in Texas over the last couple of months or so, there are really only two ways to beat back the inferno—beer and ice cream—and there is really nothing better in the whole wide world than a cold St. Arnold’s or Shiner in a frosty mug followed by an even colder scoop, or three, of Blue Bell’s Homemade Vanilla.

In addition to the sheer satisfaction of delighting my taste buds, a downright indulgence from on high if I do say so myself (and I do), purchasing each of these products allows me to support the local economy. I like to buy local goods whenever possible, being reasonably priced and of high quality, as in the case of these two products, makes the decision an easy one. Thus, not only have I satiated my appetite without busting my wallet, but I have also supported the craftsmanship of Houston and Shiner brewmasters and Brenham ice cream artisans.

Finally, I take a keen satisfaction in supporting the environment in this small way. Why buy products that require shipping from hundreds or even thousands of miles away if you can get something just as good or even better locally? I know it may not seem like much for an individual to make a conscious choice to buy local goods, but imagine for just a moment if everyone started to do the same thing. The environmental benefit would probably amount to something meaningful in the long term. In short, I encourage you to buy local products, too. For those living in Texas, I personally recommend beginning your entry into local industry with a cold brew followed by an even colder scoop of heaven. God bless Texas!

Cross-Curricular Initiatives PPT Presentation

2011-08-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

I put together a PPT today on cross-curricular initiatives for a STH faculty in-service. I'm not sure if I will even be presenting it yet, but it is definitely a subject that interests me greatly. I wrote my Master's Thesis on interdisciplinarity and its application in Catholic schools, so, yeah, I dig it. Let me know what you think! I realize that one or two of the slides got a bit blurred when I uploaded it to Google Docs. I apologize for that. You can access the PPT here or below.

Jesus' Fortitude Before the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes

2011-07-31T22:18:00.000-05:00

Jesus’ altruism never fails to astonish me. Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew recounts the famous miracle of Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fishes. I have heard this story many times in my life, and it always strikes a chord and resonates with me. Usually the narrative focuses my attention on the Eucharistic mystery and its sacramental foreshadowing in Christ’s feeding of the five thousand. I have also wondered with exceeding wonder at the generous and gracious heart of our Lord and Savior. The perpetual kid in me sometimes dwells on the miraculous omnipotence of God to do so much with so little. This time, though, what caught my attention is Jesus’ fortitude and stark humanity.

At the outset of the reading, Jesus has just found out that John the Baptist has been executed, clearly an ominous portent of what is to come in his own life, and he withdraws to be by himself in the comfort of solitude. Jesus’ prayer and isolation are interrupted, no disrupted really, however, when the masses pursue him ravenous for his teaching. Can you imagine the emotional turmoil and inner conflict that Jesus must have felt? The reality of his terrible destiny at the cross is beginning to dawn on him with the death of the prophet. He must be feeling real fear and struggling to get a handle on it before he continues with his mission. Instead of rest and convalescence, Jesus finds a mob at his feet testing his mettle even further. And how does he respond? The only way he knows how to: with love and the breaking of the bread. You just gotta love this man! It is a real test of courage to put aside his own personal angst to shepherd his needy people and to satiate their spiritual and physical hunger. Jesus does so without complaint in the true spirit of charity. It is easy to put my faith in such a warm and hospitable savior.

Why I Love Zombie Fiction

2011-07-30T17:33:00.000-05:00

For some, it’s vampires. For others, it’s witches. For still others, it’s ghosts. But for me, it’s all about the zombies. In the last few years, I have been ravenously gobbling up these stories like one of the living dead greedily slurping up a still bloody strip of man flesh. I cannot quite place my finger on exactly why I have such an uncanny interest in these spine-tingling narratives, but maybe it has something to do with their exploration of the dark side of humanity, like all occult subjects; or perhaps, it is, ironically, their curious spotlighting of man’s fundamental goodness that can never quite be snuffed out no matter how hopeless a post-apocalyptical world may seem; however, maybe it is the versatility of the zombie flick aesthetic or its seemingly universal applicability to the germane social issues of the time; finally, I wonder it if it is just one of those pesky “all of the above” answers that test-makers plant at the end of a sequence of multiple-choice questions to make test-takers question their gut instincts and ponder if this is a trick question or not. No trick questions here. It’s definitely all of the above.

Zombie comics, graphic novels, films, and television shows all investigate man’s darkest yearnings and nightmares. I mean who hasn’t wanted to smash something or someone at one time or another? If you claim not to, shame on you for lying! Think, “Hulk smash!” bellowed at the topic of your lungs without any fear of regret or possibility of guilt or culpability because the thing you are annihilating is no longer a person, nor does it possesses a soul. It is merely target practice for whatever sharp-edged blade, projectile, or whatever object happens to be handy or available at that particular moment and which is commandeered to level a bone-crunching or flesh-ripping wound with a devil’s delight. Zombie stories are the real fight clubs, ones that welcome both male and especially attractive female leads, like the “Resident Evil” films (2002, 2004, 2007, 2010). Zombie narratives are equal opportunity stories that can be chauvinist or racist or feminist and egalitarian depending on the director’s purpose.

Zombie stories also frighten us out of our wits because we all worry about or are anxious of suffering a lethal blow (or with zombies a bite or scrape) that we have no way of anticipating. Some people probably live their wholes in suspense waiting for those terrible moments, held in suspension expecting those instances in a movie where some terrible creature makes us just about leap out of our seats and skins with a sudden fear-inducing shadow, blood-curdling scream, or knife-wielding hand. Zombies symbolize the horrifying specter of an unknown danger lurking in the darkness waiting and biding its time before it begins to feast on our flesh. Films like “28 Days Later” and “Crazies” just give me the shivers!

The real terror for me, though, with zombies is that they, like their occult siblings, feature a perversion of some basic tenet of Christianity. With vampires, drinking blood and living forever is a distortion of the Precious Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist that does bring about eternal life. With witches, the incantations and spells are a corruption of the holy words of prayers and the sacraments that are efficacious invocations of grace with the substituted dabbling in and babblings of the diabolic. With ghosts, you have the souls of those who cannot pass on to the next world because of unsettled scores or actions in their lives, but this is really an area typically reserved for Purgatory, not some haunted place. So, with zombies, you have an upending of the bodily resurrection that will occur with the Parousia. Rather than having the dead rise from the dead at the end times to join Christ in Heaven body and soul, you have reanimated bodies without a soul. This literally visualizes a corporeal hell that considers the body without a soul, which is perhaps a grotesque image of what awaits those cast down for their iniquity. I guess you could say zombies are the ultimate memento mori figures who shock us out of our spiritual languor and sloth and encourage us to be sanctified persons through a negative theology.

Zombie stories also underscore man’s core goodness. When the world is on fire, people can and do bind themselves together for the common good, frequently bringing out the best in our race. Sometimes the best takes the form of the love for a father-son or husband-wife storyline or both as in the recent “Walking Dead” (2010) television series, though in other situations it may feature complete strangers looking out for one another and even sacrificing themselves in a kind of wonderful Good Samaritan fashion. While zombie films encourage intimacy and human connection, they are also especially conducive to humor. Consider the recent “Zombieland” (2009) or “Shaun of the Dead” (2004) films which traffic in parodying and spoofing the zombie genre.

You might be surprised to know that the zombie sub-genre of the Gothic/horror film genre has a rich history of satire. Just go check out any of the films in George A. Romero’s “Dead” series, starting with the granddaddy of them all, the cult classic, “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), and you will quickly detect a director with a keen nose for sniffing out some of the salient social issues at the time of each film’s production, ranging from fears of a nuclear holocaust or viral outbreak as a result of Cold War politics or corporate greed to issues associated with prejudice of all stripes to consumerism to the Internet and even metacognitive art with more recent films like “Diary of the Dead” (2007). Two other examples of successful zombie parody and satire are undoubtedly Max Brooks’s Zombie Survival Guide (2003) and World War Z (2006). The latter details a series of pseudo-documentary first-person anecdotes recounting episodes from various parts of the globe in the horrible war of attrition during the zombie outbreak. Brooks employs the zombie background to comment critically on a whole range of contemporary political issues, like the Jewish/Palestinian conflict currently embroiling the Middle East, thus further demonstrating the satirical power of zombie literature.

One of the more curious twists of late in this exciting sub-genre is Seth Grahame-Smith’s innovative parody of classism by combining zombie literature with Jane Austen’s quintessential novel of manners in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009). Who would have thought of such a bizarre juxtaposition of nineteenth-century fiction and contemporary aesthetics, and yet it works, much to the chagrin (or delight in my case) of teachers everywhere. I actually showcased the work alongside our reading of Pride and Prejudice with my AP kids last year. Needless to say, my students loved the comparisons and really did make meaningful connections between the texts. Sadly, some of them actually like the revised version better than the original, but at least the neurons were firing, so you are not going to hear me complaining too much about it.

Whether a straight-up, run-of-the-mill horror story, an gun-slinging adventure story, a cathartic drama of humanity’s last stand, a social satire of zombie conformity within the walking dead or the human survivors, or a clever reimagining of classical literature, zombie literature has something for everyone and is here to stay. I hope after reading this blog post you will re-consider the value of what seems on the surface to be just B- film material. Zombie fiction serves a vital and needed function as form of aesthetic critical self-examination, and as Socrates so eloquently reminds us, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

Frakking & Fracking: Best Homophones Ever!

2011-07-29T13:45:00.000-05:00

Growing up in a house with four brothers and then teaching at an all-boys high school, the crass culture of cussing has been with me all my life, but now that I am a teacher I have to watch my language. Enter Battlestar Galactica to save the day. By substituting frakking, frakked, or frak in place of that other very familiar four-letter word beginning with the letter f, I have been able to avoid blurting out a word that might jeopardize my job security or taint my character.

So, I will always have a special place in my heart for Battlestar Galactica because it is just so frakking good! You can’t tell me you don’t feel the same way. If you have ever seen the show, then you now how wildly addictive and entertaining it is, and if you haven’t, well, there is still a little bit of summer left and the entire series is available on Netflix Watch Instantly! Just be sure to watch the version from the 2000s, not the original from the 1970s.

My father has worked for Exxon and then Exxon Mobil for over 30 years. He steadily moved up the ranks, and my family benefited monetarily from his advancement and promotions. In fact, I would not have been able to attend Sewanee were it not for the $24,000 in scholarships that Exxon’s Teagle Foundation awarded me at the end of my senior year. My other brothers also benefited from the Teagle award. Even to this day, Exxon Mobil continues to support me by providing grant money to St. Thomas when my family volunteered to work the St. Thomas Wrestling Invitational in the past, and more recently, the annual St. Thomas Junior High Speech Tournament. So, needless to say, I am very grateful to the oil industry for its generous support of my education and work.

Having a father in the oil business, I am always interested to hear about developments in the field. Fracking is one of the buzz words these days and refers to an innovative way of extracting gas or oil through hydro-fracturing. Environmentalists worry that this new method might contaminate the drinking water or require too much water to get the oil out of the ground. I am not really concerned with such green anxieties; rather, I marvel at the ingenuity of the oil companies to think of new ways of recovering natural resources in our own country that might decrease our dependence on foreign oil in the long term. Plus, fracking is such a cool word. One company even came up with a kid’s coloring book featuring Talisman Terry the lovable Fracosaurus to explain the new technique. Unfortunately, political correctness and the liberal media squashed that pretty quickly.

So, there you have it. The coolest homophones in the English language: frakking and fracking!

Playing Chicken With Our Economy

2011-07-28T15:34:00.003-05:00

Playing chicken with our economic security is probably not the best or surest method of problem solving in a national crisis, nor is it a particularly exemplary model of leadership. Frankly, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and leads me to wonder if there is anyone out there not disillusioned with the political process yet. I’m sure there are a few idealists left, but there numbers are surely dwindling as representatives on both sides of the aisle prove obstinate in their unwillingness to budge on the issue and break the current partisan quagmire.

Democrats and Republicans alike seem more concerned with spewing out vitriol and hyperbolic rhetoric to gain headlines and improve their poll numbers than rolling up their sleeves and doing what is necessary to solve the financial debacle. The whole sorry drama bespeaks the weakened state of the American political experiment and its increasingly apparent fragility.

Mudslinging has always been a national pastime since the foundation of our great republic, but there always arose high-minded individuals of sterling integrity who were willing to set aside their self-interest for the greater good of the nation; those halcyon days seem to have fallen into the dustbin of history and oblivion. Perhaps the character of our people, the sinew of our strength, the fiber of our morality, the heart of our virtue, and the light of prudence that sustained us for countless generations has finally given out.

I hope and pray that a Washington, or a Lincoln, or a Wilson, or a FDR, or a Reagan will step forward to lead our people once again to the greatness that is our historical legacy and mantle. I hope and pray that we may once again be a city upon a hill to which the whole world turns with hope for a better future. May God bless America for many years to come! Amen.

Are Graphic Novels Literature?

2011-07-27T20:28:00.000-05:00

Incisive, germane, and avant-garde, graphic novels have hit full stride in the last two decades and deserve recognition as a fecund and vibrant art form, an art form at least occasionally worthy of the appellation of literature. The best examples of the graphic novel genre possess the key hallmarks of great works of literature: original plot lines, potent conflict, rich characterization, refined detail, meaningful dialogue, and complex themes that tackle the sophisticated concerns and sensibilities of the postmodern zeitgeist.

Alan Moore’s The Watchmen, an anti-hero novel; Jeff Smith’s Bone, a LOTR-style saga; Frank Miller’s 300, a neo-conservative meditation on liberty; Bill Willingham’s Fables series, a creative re-imagining of class literary figures; and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis books, insightful memoirs about daily life for progressives in a theocratic Iran, are five illustrations of graphic novels that merit the distinction of being classified as literature. Charged with nuance, irony, and ambiguity, these works convey deep and abiding truths about the human experience that can be as inspiring and cathartic as the classic short stories, novels, and plays of the canon. The combination of word and text in these selections enhance, magnify, and crystallize their insights in memorable configurations. Additionally, the subject matter and artistic style of the graphic novels range from the epic to the comedic to the tragic and everything in between, thus demonstrating the full impact and relevance of the genre for contemporary American culture.

Alan Moore’s The Watchmen features a classic comic approach to artwork, but its subject matter taps the postmodern vein and vibe with a terrifying focus and precision. Anyone familiar with the work will tell you that Moore’s characterization of Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan deals a well-aimed head shot, a death blow really, to the hero archetype. You come away from the novel and the film adaptation reeling against the magnitude of what you have just witnessed. Moore’s iconoclastic storytelling reaches its crescendo in this work, and its influence on the comic industry can still be felt to this day.

In contrast, the eponymous characters of Jeff Smith’s Bone saga are drawn in a delightfully iconic style and possess individual personalities that converge and diverge in a sprawling epic adventure story that features both high-minded humor about Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, for example, and low-minded, crass bathroom humor. Smith’s magnum opus may come up short of Tolkien’s LOTR, but any story that features a few stooge-like villains obsessed with quiche is worth a read! And I have not even mentioned that this story also depicts the most Amazonian grandma in all of literature, an octogenarian warrior that is not to be trifled with.

The phenomenal success of the faithful movie adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300 underscores the political climate in America following the attacks on the twin towers on 9-11. The Spartans’ valiant stand against the invading Persians at Thermopylae is recounted in vivid gory detail. Their heroic fight to the death for freedom appeals to the patriotic fervor of Americans willing to do whatever is necessary, risking even martyrdom, to sustain the freedoms that they enjoy. Miller’s graphic novel and its movie counterpart touched a sensitive nerve because of the environment in which it was written, the content of the storyline, and the brilliant artistry of the work.

Also focusing on the dramatic, Bill Willingham’s Fables series came out synchronously with the “Shrek” movies; however, where that series tickled the funny bone, Willingham’s narrative is much more dramatic in tone and subject matter. Willingham envisions an alternate fable universe that positions classic fable characters in radically different lights. Prince Charming is a foppish dandy who excels at womanizing but fails miserably at everything else. Snow White falls for the Big Bad Wolf (in a human form). Cinderella acts the part of a CIA-style agent. And all of the fables are embroiled in a climactic struggle to regain their homelands from the Emperor (Gepetto) whose forces expelled them from their beloved lands. This is heady stuff indeed, not for the faint-hearted!

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis memoirs are worth their weight in gold. Every American should read them to get a different perspective on Iran. Too often, Americans have xenophobic preconceived notions about Iranians, not to mention a whole host of other nations and peoples whose cultures and sensibilities are alien to our own. Reading Persepolis or watching the award-winning film based upon the series would be an eye opening and enlightening experience for most Americans. Imagine the shock that not every citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a fire-breathing theocrat! I highly recommend this graphic memoir, not because I agree with much, if any, of Satrapi’s political views, but because of the dialectic that encountering such a work engenders in a reader or audience with a previously myopic opinion on another part of the world.

While most graphic novels certainly do not merit the appellation of literature, neither do most standard novels. For every gem, there are literally thousands of bad eggs that stink to high heaven. Let me be clear. I am certainly not arguing that every comic or graphic novel deserves acclaim or an encomium. I am merely asserting that some are worthy of the distinction. I hope you will re-evaluate your own position on this emergent genre and keep an open mind. You might even consider checking out one of the titles that I have mentioned in this piece in order to come to a decision based upon an actual experience of the genre. You will thank me for it!

On "Of Gods and Men"

2011-07-26T14:37:00.000-05:00

Exploring the very heart of fortitude, “Of Gods and Men,” a stunning film by Xavier Beauvois that garnered the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, examines the internal turmoil and spiritual angst of a group of Trappist monks in Algeria in the mid- 1990s who are torn between their commitment to serve as shepherds to the local community that depends upon them and their palpable fear of death at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists.

Dedicated to their faith, the seven monks lead a simple life of prayer and service that offers a compelling witness to the potency and vibrancy of a Christian faith, hope, and charity authentically lived. The movie captures the beauty and rhythm of the Trappists’ spirituality with meticulous attention to detail in the performance of the Liturgy of the Hours and the celebration of the Holy Mass. The camera also highlights the work of the monks as they labor with the local villagers to produce crops and other goods to sustain their way of life and that of the thriving community around their institution.

The Monastery of Notre-Dame de l'Atlas provides a successful model of a respectful and mutually beneficial religious ecumenism that our world so desperately needs in these times of terror and uncertainty. The monks openly discuss their religion with the townspeople and offer their advice when it is asked of them, but they also participate in the cultural and religious practices of Islam; for example, they are invited and agree to attend what looks like some sort of coming-of-age ceremony and party for a young Islamic boy of the village. All in all, the degree of peaceful even fecund coexistence between the monastery and the surrounding population is inspiring.

Tragically, this halcyon utopia is shattered by acts of violence and terror throughout Algeria. The monks do have an opportunity to leave the monastery safely, but they choose to remain despite the risks to their safety, though this decision pains each of them for different reasons. Demonstrating his profound sensitivity for the monks’ situation, Beauvois skillfully spotlights each monk’s personal struggle with a delicacy rarely seen in movie making. Whether it be through the wrinkles of stress, a shocking curse word from a religious, or the glimmer of fear in aged eyes, the monks suffer the walk to Calvary with Christ throughout the film. It is a marvel to behold the courage of these men knowing their tragic destiny, their tragic role in God’s providential design. Perhaps the most lasting image of the film finds the monks sharing one last meal and a glass of wine as a heart-stirring song plays hauntingly in the background; this is their last supper, a fitting reenactment of that of their Lord and Savior.

It is my prayer that I may face my own death with the grace and fortitude of those holy and sanctified men of the Monastery of Notre Dame de l’Atlas. I also pray that the Prince of Peace welcomes these stalwart champions of faith into his fold with open and welcoming arms. Amen.

Proud of STH!

2011-03-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

Well, this is shaping up to be a banner year for St. Thomas across the board. Let me just give you a rundown so far. We won state titles in wrestling and basketball and came in runner-up in cross country. We had a football team with a winning record by the end of the season. Baseball is still undefeated besting Strake at their place. The rugby team knocked off Dallas Jesuit, the defending state champions. We won the TAPPS Academic District competition for the second year running. We set a new record for Round-Up with $379,603 raised for students on financial assistance. We qualified our first debate team for the TFA State Tournament in years AND our first team in school history for the NFL National Tournament in Dallas this June. Concert Band, Jazz Combo, and String Ensemble have all advanced to the state music competition. The Drama Department is preparing what will surely be a memorable performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth. We have nearly completed work on a new parking garage, and money is coming in to build a new athletic center and science classrooms and lab space. The crazy thing is there are probably a number of accolades that I have forgotten. There is a great vibe at STH these days. Magic seems to be in the air! Eagle Fight Never Dies!

An Elegy for Karol Wojtyla

2011-03-04T09:59:00.000-06:00

My English I students were required to write an elegy after reading and reviewing Al-Khansa's moving tribute to her sibling in "On Her Brother." I promised to participate as well. Here is the simple poem that I wrote this morning for Pope John Paul II who played no small part in my faith life as a young man.

On Karol Wojtyla

Who would have thought that manliness
And gentleness could live in bliss?

Who would have thought that manliness
And tenderness could coexist?

Who would have thought that manliness
And holiness would be so missed?

His boundless energy bounded
And rebounded beyond the bounds

Of life. He smiled much from the Sun's rays
And much joy and much hope filled his days.

His zeal for the commonweal
Bespoke the love within the seal

Of his heart’s nature, and the flame
Of Nature’s heart would brook no blame,

Nor besmirch his kindly soul with
Ill thoughts or sinful deeds forthwith.

Truly, this was a saintly man,
A man who loved to serve in God’s plan.

University Resources at our Fingertips

2011-03-03T10:21:00.000-06:00

I am rather curious how many educators out there are taking advantage of the increasing range, diversity, and quality of university resources available to us in our classrooms free of charge. For many years, I have referenced and incorporated Harvard's Chaucer page when covering The Canterbury Tales and Princeton's Dante Project and UT's Danteworlds when reading The Divine Comedy. I have also availed myself of one OU professor's materials on mythology.

Recently, however, I have stumbled upon a veritable treasure trove of resources in the form of complete courses through some of the most prestigious universities in America. For example, Yale and Harvard both offer entire courses from their English Departments gratis here and here. Additionally, Stanford has provided extremely valuable podcasts through iTunes as well, again at no charge; you can find those resources here. UC Berkeley provides videos of various poets reading their works during their Lunch Poems program here.

Feel free to provide any links to additional online resources that you have come across in your navigation of the Internet. These multimedia sites offer incredible possibilities for both veteran teachers and newbies as they draft syllabi, prepare notes, assign supplementary materials, or craft innovative and inventive assessments.

Augustine's Political and Theological Realism

2011-03-02T15:32:00.000-06:00

One of my colleagues at work, Judy Granberry, is making her way through selections from St. Augustine’s magnum opus, The City of God, with her Adv. English I students. She sent me the following question and what follows is my response to her inquiry:

Adam - What is Augustine suggesting about free will when he asserts that one community of men is "predestined to reign eternally with God, and the other to suffer eternal punishment with the devil"? Is this contrary to his argument that by living rightly we may obtain the supreme good and escape the supreme evil?

Judy,

You asked some excellent questions. Here is my hopefully thorough and clear response.

And these we also mystically call the two cities, or the two communities of men, of which the one is predestined to reign eternally with God, and the other to suffer eternal punishment with the devil. (Book XV, Chapter 1)

Augustine's conception of the two cities is derived from synthesizing biblical exegesis and a philosophical and religious reading of history. Put simply, the Bible teaches and Augustine affirms that some souls choose the righteous path and attempt to follow God obediently by conforming their wills to His will, while other persons are hard of heart and refuse the grace that God freely offers, opting instead to assert the primacy of their own wills over and against His will. The former are received into Heaven by the grace of God; the latter are condemned to Hell for their pride and obduracy.

The proclivity to stray from God’s will originated with the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and will continue until the end of time. As I often tell my students, read literally the Genesis account seems antiquated and remote from modern consciousness to say the least; however, when read allegorically as Augustine himself most assuredly did (See On Christian Doctrine), the second creation account offers profound and luminous insights about human nature and why people, including ourselves, act the way they do again and again and again in every age and epoch.

Augustine extrapolates from these twin revelatory truths—original sin (man’s fallen nature) and the two possible eternal destinies of man— an allegorical interpretation of history foreshadowed by scripture and affirmed by philosophical and rational investigation. This is why, for example, he links the City of Man with Cain and Hell and the City of God with Abel and Heaven.

Every man and woman possesses dual citizenship in a City of Man and the City of God in this life; in the hereafter, however, an individual pledges his or her allegiance to only one of these cities by virtue of how he or she conducted him or herself in this life and whether or not he or she accepted the gift of grace and forgiveness from the loving triune God.

The Two Cities, then, possess at least two primary significations for Augustine (secular and eternal). A City of Man is a secular polity and its respective laws and particular order and ethos to which a man or woman may claim with a clean conscience a measure of earthly fidelity and loyalty. This is good and right to the extent that its laws, ethos, and order do not compel or coerce the pilgrim citizen of the City of God to compromise his or her faith. The City of God is, of course, the heavenly city to which the Christian owes absolute faith, but how he or she achieves this is complicated by the fact that he or she lives in the secular and temporal order with its attendant temptations and ever present potential for condemnation. Grace is needed daily in this realm, hence the ubiquity of the sacraments.

Since cities are constituted of fallen men, they possess a fallen nature, too. They will rise and fall for the same reasons that individuals do, weakness and concupiscence. Cities of Men cannot supply salvation to their citizens nor could they ever. This explains why any and all utopian political ideologies are doomed to failure and why even the mighty Roman Empire, and our own American hegemony, will not stand the test of time. It is the very belief that a City of Man could be enough for its citizens in and of itself that makes the citizen of the City of God wary and cautious in placing any trust in the state. This is also why Augustine associates it with Cain and Hell. The Christian must always be on guard and skeptical against the real and potential injustices of the state because they may endanger his or her soul. Also, the Christian pilgrim must resist the temptation to forget God and to posit too much faith in the self-sufficiency of the state or him or herself.

On the other hand, we should not look for chimeras either. We must live in the world even if we are not ultimately of the world. This is what Augustine is trying to do with his masterful treatise after all. He wants us to engage the City of Man but to remain faithful to Heaven. Augustine’s allegorical interpretation of history grounded in biblical exegesis is extremely pragmatic and realistic. It keeps the pilgrim believer sojourning in this alien land from growing too comfortable and confusing earth for his true homeland, Heaven. It explains why the rise and fall of nation states has nothing to do with any perceived inadequacies or contradictions of Christianity and everything to do with man’s fallen nature on a macro-scale. It encourages the Christian to be an active participant in his or her society but always with a level head, a prudent mind, a charitable heart, and a Christian hope founded on Christ. At the end of the day, it is only Abel’s city that can provide the needed succor and safe harbor during the storms of life and which can deliver salvation in the next world.

I hope this helps!

Adam

Oscar Wilde: Harbinger of Matrimony's Decline

2011-03-01T23:18:00.001-06:00

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

Jesus’ words ring especially true of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, for this memorable play is most definitely a wolf masquerading in sheep’s clothing. The mood of the work is light, witty, satirical, even playful, yet it engages in the most deliberate and determined subversion of traditional mores and values of the Victorian age and our own. It is no wonder that George Bernard Shaw penned a scathing review denigrating Wilde’s work as “real degeneracy.”

Throughout the dark comedy, Wilde’s twin dandies, Algernon and Jack, act as flippant false prophets of self-indulgent behavior whose aphoristic repartees and banter openly mock the most cherished of institutions, marriage. There is a certain discomfort in laughing at Wilde’s jokes because the message between the lines is that most, if not all, marriages -- or at least Wilde’s for that matter-- are shams propped up by social strictures, Bunburying, or self-delusion. Perhaps this is true for some, but certainly not for all… right?

The comedy’s ironic inversions, wordplay with earnestness, and emphasis on nonsense all serve to underscore the hypocrisies and absurdities of Victorian society. This is not all bad of course. Rigid social structures based upon artificial class distinctions are certainly not impervious to critique. I do not take umbrage with this particular aspect of the work; in fact, quite to the contrary, I share Wilde’s sentiment.

Wilde’s play continues to enjoy great popularity and an enduring appeal for modern audiences because his aesthetic preferences and disregard for ethics and truth, while progressive, even radical, for his day, are much more mainstream and normative today. Sadly, the state of marriage has only worsened since the nineteenth century, and it does not show any signs of recovery in the immediate future. Most audiences probably miss the iconoclastic nature of Wilde’s humor; this is just a testament to the fact that we are so jaded and accustomed to sin that we enjoy living in the ruins and shambles of broken homes.

At the end of the day, Wilde is a false prophet of the sort that Jesus described because he would have us believe that marriage is a joke, worthy of a laugh but not much more consideration than that. Marriage certainly has its ludicrous moments that warrant a hearty chuckle, but the last laugh, or perhaps cry is a better word for it, is on Wilde and others like him who settle for mediocrity disguised as self-satisfaction rather than the striving for something greater than oneself that marriage ultimately represents. It is in this sense that marriage is a foretaste of Heaven.

In Honor of the Devil...

2011-02-28T21:07:00.000-06:00

My Speech students have started working on their Devil’s advocate speeches. For those trivia diehards out there, the popular expression comes from the Advocatus Diaboli, a canon lawyer whose purpose was to seek out evidence and make a case against the canonization of any candidate for elevation. Pope Sixtus V established the office in 1587 and Pope John Paul II abolished it in 1983, paving the way for a dramatic increase in the number of canonizations. At any rate, my students will not be attempting to demonstrate the sanctity or lack thereof of any individual; instead, they will have to articulate a position on a divisive political issue from a vantage point with which they would normally disagree.

I selected both domestic (public unions in WI, Proposition 18 in CA, vouchers in DC, pro-life sonogram legislation in TX, DOMA, Obamacare) and international topics (Turkish membership in the EU, American foreign policy in the Middle East, the dollar as the global currency) in order expand their horizons through the widest range of subject matter. Playing the Devil’s advocate is an excellent introduction to dialectical thinking, which will equip the students with the skill set necessary to battle one another successfully in the Public Forum debate on the next syllabus.

This assignment always leads me back to Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters and Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary. These are excellent literary works with drastically different styles and themes, yet what unites them is a learned and witty approach to life with a wry and perhaps even sardonic voice. I leave you with a brief sampling of these men’s dabbling with the diabolic and “diabolical” perspectives. The former is Lewis; the latter, Bierce:

Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn't think of doctrines as primarily "true" of "false", but as "academic" or "practical", "outworn" or "contemporary", "conventional" or "ruthless". Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. Don't waste time trying to make him think that materialism is true! Make him think it is strong, or stark, or courageous—that it is the philosophy of the future. That's the sort of thing he cares about.

AND

EVANGELIST, n. A bearer of good tidings, particularly (in a religious sense) such as assure us of our own salvation and the damnation of our neighbors.

FAITH, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.

PRAY, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.

Waiting for "Superman," Protests in Wisconsin, and Personal Reflections

2011-02-26T10:01:00.000-06:00

Davis Guggenheim’s “Waiting for ‘Superman’” is a trenchant and timely documentary on the myriad problems plaguing the U.S. public school system. The film’s investigation of the deleterious effects of teachers’ unions struck me as especially poignant in light of the recent protests in Madison, Wisconsin. Teachers there shutdown several school districts as they marched on the capital to protest Governor Scott Walker’s plan to limit the powers of the unions.

The proposed legislation would require teachers in Wisconsin to pay their fair share for the generous health care and pension plans they receive from the state. Is this so unreasonable in a time of state and federal budget shortfalls and deficits? Private sector workers, including private school teachers such as myself, live with this financial hardship already so why should public school teachers be exempt, especially when their salaries are derived from taxpayers’ money?!

The plan would also remove the unions’ ability to bargain collectively for benefits and work rules beyond wage considerations. This is important because without this measure the unions would merely negotiate away any temporary fixes the governor and legislature might implement to constrain costs in the short term. Also, as I already mentioned, this would not affect teachers’ power to bargain for wages, the real purpose for unions in the first place.

Finally, the bill also empowers teachers not to be beholden to union bosses because it gives them the power to choose not to pay union dues if they opt out. If you can believe it, currently even non-union members pay union dues, incredible! It also requires there to be an annual vote from all union members about the continued existence of the union. If unions serve such a vital function, why should the union bosses fear such a vote?

Guggenheim’s film draws attention to the vast pile of money that public school bureaucracies and administrations around the country waste each year. It also highlights the near impossibility of firing unionized teachers. These two problems obstruct any meaningful solution to the failure of public schools. If you cannot get rid of bad teachers who continue to draw away critical resources, how can you ever have better schools? Also, once a corrupt and moribund culture takes root it proves exceedingly difficult to deracinate it.

The film’s biggest flaw is probably its promotion of charter schools as some kind of panacea or nostrum for the problem. While it is true that some charter schools have shown phenomenal improvement in their students, most do no better than their traditional public school counterparts, and some even do worse. There is abundant empirical evidence of this fact on the web and in educational journals.

Another weakness of the movie is its failure to address the value of school vouchers. Private and parochial schools have done better than their public school counterparts for a long time now, but many are having to shutter their doors because of rising costs. Previously, religious priests, brothers, and nuns artificially kept the tuition down for many years by not earning a standard income, but their numbers have been drastically reduced over the last few decades. These schools are now out of the price range for many, and as their enrollments slowly or precipitously drop, administrators are faced with no other option than to close. School vouchers would give parents saddled with “dropout factories” another choice. It would not cover the full cost of private or parochial school, but it may be enough to close the financial sufficiently for them to be able to afford an education for their child that otherwise would be an impossibility.

Lastly, the movie does not tackle the elephant in the room, the breakdown of the family in America. I would argue that this more than anything else is the crisis of our time. Master teachers and exemplary school systems can do much for students of all shapes and sizes from all kinds of backgrounds, but they will always be a poor substitute for broken homes. Until we as a society do something to combat the dilapidated institution of marriage in this country, students will continue to suffer and to underperform because parents are the primary teachers. If the primary teachers abdicate their responsibility for whatever reason, then the odds are so stacked against a student from the outset that it is a miracle for him or her to rise beyond his or her situation to achieve success in school and life.

Clickers for AP MC Practice

2011-02-24T21:22:00.000-06:00

I tested out the Clickers technology with my AP English IV class today. The results were a huge improvement over my previous approach to AP MC practice questions.

I provided each student with an AP prose passage that he read and annotated individually. Students were then provided with the AP MC questions via a PPT imported into the Clickers software. Each PPT slide featured one question with five possible answers, and the students had one minute to enter an answer with their clickers.

The Clickers software provided immediate feedback after each question as to how many students got a question correct and what those who missed the question thought was the correct answer. We went over each question together for the benefit of those who incorrectly answered the question as well as to review the different types of answers the AP exam typically features. We then moved on to the next question and slowly progressed through the entire section.

Overall, I thought the experiment a tremendous success, and I think from here on out I will use Clickers with AP MC practice questions. It took about an hour and some change to install the software, create the two classes, plug in the students, put together the PPT with the AP MC questions, and figure out how to get the PPT to sync into the Clickers software. It was a great investment of time with a huge payoff. The Clickers approach received rave reviews from the boys who unanimously found it more productive and beneficial than what we were doing previously.

The trickiest part of the whole process was learning to navigate the user interface in a fluid and seamless way. With a little bit of trial and error, however, you can get the hang of it pretty quickly. I highly recommend the Clickers software/hardware strategy to other teachers! You will have to convince your administration to invest in the hardware end of it, but I think there are myriad applications for this neat technology.

Autonomous Islands or Constellations of Meaning?

2011-02-23T12:10:00.002-06:00

There have been some discussions over the last few years about the possibility of interdisciplinary projects at St. Thomas. Sadly, most attempts at cross-curricular work have fallen flat because curricula do not sync up perfectly across disciplines, assessments are notoriously difficult to craft collaboratively due to divergent methodologies and rubrics, and the school culture seems ambivalent towards interdisciplinarity in general at times.

It is not difficult to understand the source of teachers’ misgivings. The educational world is remarkably adroit at repackaging common sense in esoteric terminology which teachers must re-learn (insert sigh) every few years much to their righteous indignation. The wheel can only be reinvented so many times before everyone realizes ad nauseum that it is still the same wheel with a new name and a new salesperson banking on his or her so-called AHA discovery.

Interdisciplinarity is a fine example of the verbal magic I just described. The very utterance of this polysyllabic word seems to get under people’s skins. I sympathize with that feeling, and it is not necessarily interdisciplinarity that I would trumpet or insist upon so much as the liberal arts, its true and genuine predecessor. The liberal arts were traditionally understood to be the seven disciplines (grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, astronomy, music, and geometry) so intimately and integrally linked together as to liberate their pupils. Truth and freedom went hand in hand in the old ancient and medieval mind. Contemporary interdisciplinarity is just a modern iteration of this age old classical and deeply Catholic concept.

I think we can use this Ning interface to overcome the surmountable obstacles that I mentioned at the beginning of this post. We must work on building a new twenty-first century approach to the liberal arts. We need to begin moving toward an epistemic harmony that molds our students into liberal persons capable of self-mastery in the light of a fully integrated truth as our forebears did before us. I think we are far too compartmentalized within our disciplines and sometimes even islands unto ourselves within our departments. We need to reclaim the boldness and ambition to step outside our comfort zones and work with one another in our respective departments and also to link the disciplines for our students. We should strive to unify our disciplines and diverse instructional souls into constellations of light, or patterns of meaning, that are capable of guiding our wayfaring students to the true destination of education, freedom. For at the end of the day, if we don’t connect the dots ourselves and illustrate intellectual and spiritual freedom, how can we ever expect them to do so? Let's start the discussion and move this concept out of the ether and into the classroom.

Living Hamlet

2010-09-29T10:19:00.001-05:00

My sweet, auburn-haired, four-year-old niece, Emma Catherine Grace Thompson, was sexually abused and beaten to death two summers ago. You probably read about this tragic story in the Houston Chronicle or saw a report about it on one of the local television news networks at the time of its occurrence and again this past summer when Emma’s mother, Abigail Young, was tried and convicted of reckless and serious bodily injury to a child by omission. A jury found her boyfriend, Lucas Coe, guilty of super aggravated sexual assault of a child just last week. Needless to say, it has been a cathartic and emotionally draining experience for my whole family. We found precious little comfort in the convictions of the perpetrators of this heinous crime; it was truly a pyrrhic victory at best, for what could gratify the heart other than the return of that adorable child in the flesh? And for that, we must impatiently wait until the Day of Judgment.

For the most part, I have successfully contained the seething rage lurking in the dark corridors of my heart, but Shakespeare summoned it forth these last few weeks when I revisited Hamlet with my AP English IV class at St. Thomas. The bard’s tale of the brooding, philosophical hero hell bent on revenge profoundly moved me, stirring something long dormant in one of the subterranean rooms of my soul. I can truly say with a greater degree of certainty than ever before that I not only understand Hamlet’s maniacal desire for vengeance, but I absolutely empathize with him. I observed firsthand the deleterious effects that a calm, collected, and unyielding rage can wreak upon the human psyche. Frankly, it’s enough to terrorize the soul because it is to stare into the abyss. Those famous soliloquies were no longer merely poetical speeches but ineffable ponderings of a kindred soul whose heart and mind were so similar to my own. There was a very real temptation among many of the men of my family to act upon our baser instincts for revenge, like Hamlet, rather than letting the justice system mete out the appropriate punishment for those ignominious offenders.

I lived as Hamlet for a short while there. When I looked into the mirror, I saw haunted eyes whose piercing glance bore right through me down to the very core of my personhood. I say with utter sincerity that it frightened me to look so deeply into myself. I have felt the sting of “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and have drunk deeply from the well of sorrow that is the “To be or not to be” soliloquy (3.1.56-89). Hamlet’s immortal words have taken on a new significance that they didn’t possess before as I have struggled to cope with the reality of my family’s own tragedy. When I watched Coe and Young in the courtroom, Hamlet’s lament that man is “A beast, no more!” (4.4.35) rang true to my ears, but I was also uplifted by my family’s strength and firm resolve, which are best captured by Hamlet’s delightful epithet for man, the “paragon of animals”(2.2.306).

As Christians we strive to pray and live as Jesus taught us, and usually that is rather easy to do, but there comes a time when it is a tough road to walk and the burden of the cross seems almost too much to bear. The words of Our Lord’s Prayer “As we forgive those who trespass against us,” which I have recited thousands of times in my life without so much as flicker of emotion, have now become exceedingly painful to utter. How can I forgive those monsters and come to see the face of Christ even in them? I say monsters because while I acknowledge the humanity of Coe and Young to be sure, I refuse to paper over their iniquity. To call it anything other than monstrous would be to sugarcoat reality. We must name evil as evil. And yet, the thorny issue of forgiveness continues to gnaw at me.

I suppose the only real answer to this dilemma is grace and the slow passage of time. I am now convinced that forgiveness does not always have to be an all-in (poker reference) decisive moment or choice in the strictest sense. That’s Hollywood, not real life. What I mean by that is that forgiveness may develop in stages rather than all at once. I forgive Young and Coe in a conceptual sense in that I know Christ compels me to love my neighbor and so I conform my will to His, but my heart has certainly not caught up with my mind and will at this point. I know time will not heal the wound altogether, but it may allow my emotions to settle from the boiling point and allow more clarity and charity on the issue. So, to put it succinctly: forgiveness, like most things human, is a work in progress, a process of becoming, rather than a finished work that takes place in the flash of a moment.

It would require a saintly sanctity that I do not possess to be able to forgive those two at the drop of a hat. I’m not sure if I ever will be, but I am going to try because the alternative is to live in Hamlet’s shoes, and that is too cold an existence for me. I would rather strive mightily toward forgiveness and fail repeatedly as Sisyphus does pushing the boulder up the hill than surrender my soul to the frozen depths of Cocytus. May the Lord who died for my sins preserve me and protect me as I slowly trudge alongside him on the road to Golgotha. Amen.

Hijacked Solidarity

2010-06-17T19:54:00.001-05:00

Solidarity and subsidiarity are twin touchstones of Catholic social teaching. In general, these two principles are complementary and mutually enriching. In terms of the American polity, one thinks of the abolitionist cause and women’s suffrage movement of the nineteenth century as successful examples of what can be achieved by solidarity and subsidiarity. More recently, the late Pope John Paul II championed the Polish solidarity movement in the face of the totalitarian Soviet regime. What these nineteenth and twentieth century events share is a grassroots subsidiarity methodology wedded to great dreams of solidarity.

These two social principles of solidarity and subsidiarity tend to operate as a kind of religious counterpart to the secular federal system. Subsidiarity, for example, resembles a religious analogue for resolving thorny issues at the family, local, or state levels. Similarly, solidarity serves as an approximate analogue of the tendency of the national government to use its centralized power to address quandaries incapable of resolution by local authorities. This seemingly amicable relationship, however, hits the rocks when either solidarity or subsidiarity is hijacked by ideological partisans who wield the two principles against each other to advance their own agenda.

In the last ten years, the American republic has witnessed misguided solidarity used as a justification for the most egregious and brazen power grab from areas of civic engagement traditionally under the auspices of local communities. The pearl of the Bush administration’s domestic policy was the No Child Left Behind legislation. What is this other than an usurpation of local and state jurisdiction over the education of our children? More recently, the Obama administration has made forays into banking, the automotive industry, and health care, and it now stands poised to exploit the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf with cap and trade legislation.

The rhetoric employed in defense of these schemes typically is rife with intimations of solidarity: Solidarity with the children, solidarity with our national finances [“too big to fail"], solidarity with the unions, solidarity with the uninsured, solidarity with the environment or local fishermen. Why can’t individual communities decide the education for their children? Why can’t banks be allowed to fail and the market correct itself? Why can’t Michigan diversify its local economy or let the unions finish off their industry (non-unionized car plants are doing reasonably well in the South)? Why can’t states be left to craft their own health care solutions like Massachusetts did? Why can’t local and state governments make arrangements with BP without the federal government imposing a ban on offshore drilling further harming an already reeling Gulf economy? In short, solidarity is often kidnapped by sophistic bureaucrats in a shameless display of power acquisition, thus causing confusion and scandal in the faithful such as myself.

It is difficult enough to make prudential judgments without politicians further complicating affairs by manipulating social justice rhetoric to pursue their own ideological ends irrespective of considerations of subsidiarity. And I have not even addressed the Magisterium’s frequent mishandling of these issues, which only further clouds the waters making comprehension a virtual impossibility. I long for the days when solidarity and subsidiarity were still friends. Now the one seems an alien to the other due to political chicanery and poor guidance from the proper ecclesiastical authorities. Maybe it’s just that I am a ridiculous fool and ignoramus conflating politics and social principles injudiciously, thus confusing myself with this sometimes ambiguous and equivocal social justice jargon. It is certainly within the range of possibility! : )

Surrendering to Love

2010-06-16T22:50:00.002-05:00

Tears stung my eyes tonight as I listened to the cathartic testimony of Ms. Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Rwandan genocide survivor. Ms. Ilibagiza held the Acton University audience spellbound with the harrowing account of her desperate struggle to elude discovery, along with seven other women, for 91 days in the cramped bathroom of a Good Samaritan Hutu pastor. Meanwhile, outside the relative safety of this claustrophobic latrine, machete-wielding death squads butchered a million or more of Ms. Ilibagiza’s Tutsi tribe and family, including her parents and two of her brothers. She described in a poignant and unforgettable way how her fear and terror slowly boiled over into rage, only to grudgingly, and ever so slowly, yield to love and forgiveness through frequent and fervent recitations of the Rosary.

The critical moment in the dark night of Ms. Ilibagiza’s soul occurred when all seemed lost as a search party full of bloodlust ransacked the preacher’s home looking for any “cockroaches” and “snakes” to exterminate. In an episode that can only be accounted for by divine intervention, the mob inexplicably abandoned their efforts on the threshold of the bathroom. Ms. Ilibagiza remarked that her faith in God was restored and her life changed in that epiphanic moment. She determined to spread the message of the Good News in an apostolate of gratitude and forgiveness, which she conveyed through her bestselling memoir, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. She later returned to Rwanda where she visited her family’s murderer in prison and forgave him.

What more can I say about this remarkable woman from Rwanda? It’s not every day you meet a saint! I personally found great solace and comfort in the fortitude and charity of this holy woman. A little more than a year ago, my four-year-old niece, Emma Catherine Grace Thompson, was sexually abused and brutally beaten to death. In the aftermath of this traumatic event, I was left confused and distraught with so many unanswered questions about how or why God could let such a heinous thing happen to one of his precious innocents. I can perfectly relate to the broad range of conflicting emotions that Ms. Ilibagiza described in her lecture tonight. I felt them all sweep forcefully over me, and it has taken all my energies over the past year (not to mention the seemingly boundless love of my wonderful wife) to suppress my instinctual desire for revenge.

Ms. Ilibagiza's powerful Christian witness planted the seed of forgiveness in my heart in a soil that I worried was too desiccated and hardened to accept it. I felt real encouragement and inspiration from her talk; maybe I, too, can learn to forgive and to love as she has by finding, as she did, the meaning of my own suffering in the redemptive value of Christ’s death on the cross. Thank you, Ms. Ilibagiza, you have restored some of the faith and innocence I thought I had irredeemably lost in myself, the world, and God. That is no small feat. God bless you!

Intermittent Blogging

2010-06-07T13:08:00.000-05:00

Ironically, though I have more time to write than during the normal work year, I have been doing less writing of late. I attribute the discrepancy in writing output to time constraints and pressure on the writing end (during school) and quality family time on the leisure end (extended vacation). I will try to be more consistent, but I can't make any promises for the rest of the summer. I will stick to the topics I already mentioned in a previous post when I do find time to write. Thanks for your patience.

On "Lost"

2010-06-03T23:50:00.004-05:00

Plot: Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on an island with mysterious properties. The survivors adapt to their environment with grudging acceptance of their situation, but they never give up hope of returning to their former lives and loved ones.

Conflict: Six seasons of conflict with the “Others,” exiled “Others,” Dharma Initiative folk, and the smoke monster, not to mention one another and themselves from time to time.

Characters: Most redeeming aspect of the show by far. Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Sun and Jin, Hurley, Sayid, Ben, John Locke, Desmond Hume, Richard, Jacob, Charlie and Claire. You really fell in love with these people over the course of half a decade. I cried when many died. It was cathartic. I would be lying if I said otherwise.

Technique: Hybrid frame tale with island as the frame and flashbacks, flashforwards, and sideways [quasi-Purgatory] flashes, of particular characters as the individual short stories.

Allusion: Cultural smorgasbord, a veritable pastiche of religious-philosophical-scientific eclecticism,
postmodern mythology that doesn’t ultimately add up to anything coherent or cogent.

Soundtrack: Evocative in just the right way, at just the right time, in just the right proportion.

Special Effects: J.J. Abrams.

Verdict: Lovable characters played by solid actors made the show enjoyable. Bizarro storyline, however, made for a bait-and-switch mythology that promised so much, yet delivered so little. Note to self: You can’t be all things to all people, or you compromise the integrity of your narrative. Pick something and run with it for God’s sake!

On "Rashomon"

2010-06-02T23:55:00.000-05:00

Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” (1950) is a cinematic gem. There is a lot to chew on and mull over after watching this film. I could devote this post to the moral ambiguities of mankind symbolized by the motifs of darkness and light or rain and sunshine; however, I might also choose to consider the minimalist approach to set design or the riveting performances of the actors. And before I get lost in the minutiae, I better not forget to mention the avant-garde use of flashback and its consequent philosophical import relative to the characters’ conflicting perceptions of reality. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the wonderful allegory of the human condition that Kurosawa crafts into this movie.

What struck me most about the film, surprisingly enough, was the beginning and the end of the story, not the middle with the flashback technique -- that almost seems hackneyed to me today in light of so many subsequent films that have borrowed the technique-- but I know that is through no fault of Kurosawa’s, because for its day “Rashomon” was on the cutting edge of cinematic innovation. Despite the technical achievements and rich symbolism of the film, I found the allegory of the movie both raw in its realistic assessment of our varying and often confused and contradictory perceptions of reality and uplifting in its ultimate affirmation of man’s fundamental value.

Kurosawa’s film begins with the woodcutter espousing to a priest the classic mantra of modern philosophy regarding reality, “I don’t understand. I just don’t understand.” This is a loaded statement, for as we learn over the course of the film, the woodcutter witnessed the whole scene of a bandit raping a wife and killing her samurai husband in the woods. His story does not mesh with the stories told by the bandit, the wife, or the ghost of the slain samurai, told through flashbacks to the scene from each character’s point of view. This leads to a discussion of truth and lies and the difference between the two, not to mention whether an individual can truly know him or herself if he or she cannot perceive reality correctly.

The storytelling builds a compelling case for a skeptical viewpoint based upon the seemingly contradictory narratives posed by the various participants in the crime in the woods. However, a closer examination of the narrative unravels the seeming quality of these contradictions and demonstrates that while the stories do literally conflict they make sense within a psychological paradigm. Each story is a kind of subjective truth through the lens of the participant who is not just observing the events but affected by them and responding to them.

Now, up to this point, the film seems pretty straightforward modernist in its philosophical bent. The end of the film doesn’t quite turn these philosophical reflections on their head per se, but it refuses to acquiesce to a kind of nihilistic quagmire as you might expect. When we learn that the woodcutter who saw everything and purported to tell the whole truth left out the important fact of swiping a dagger for profit, we begin to suspect even his supposedly pure motives. He admits to the theft thus proving himself a hypocrite since he just chastised the bandit for stealing a kimono from a crying infant in the final scene. If the movie ended there, the modernist allegory would be complete. And it nearly comes off that way as the priest almost falls into despair about the human condition.

Kurosawa to his great and enduring credit, though, is not such a pessimist. The flawed woodcutter accepts the forlorn child as his own despite his petty theft or his difficulty in comprehending himself or reality (“I don’t understand my own soul”). The priest is profoundly moved by the woodcutter’s charity as was I, and he rightfully praises the woodcutter for assisting him “I think I can keep my faith in man.” Kurosawa’s greatest achievement, then, with “Rashomon” is giving us a story that captures the deep complexity of man’s heart and mind without compromising either in terms of realism or annihilating either in a maelstrom of pity or existential despair. Bravo, maestro!

The Scars of Istanbul Trilogy

2010-05-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

The premise of my proposed trilogy is two boys’ tragic loss of identity, family, country, and God and their cathartic reclamation through numerous trials and tribulations. My story is set in sixteenth-century Europe, Africa, and Asia Minor and follows two brothers, the sons of one of Emperor Charles V’s personal bodyguards, who are kidnapped during a coastal raid by Islamic corsairs and sold into bondage in the slave markets of Istanbul. One brother becomes an ambitious janissary, the other a submissive eunuch. Both rise through the ranks of the Ottoman power structure through their unique gifts. Their parallel journeys intersect when they encounter a mysterious woman known only as the Bride. She sets into motion a series of events that will ultimately pit the brothers against one another and will determine the fate of Europe at the Battle of Lepanto.

The tentative titles for the films are as follows:

"The Janissary"
"The Eunuch"
"The Bride"

I hope the trilogy will resemble something close to "300" and "Gladiator" meets "The Mission." I basically want to tell an exciting adventure story with substantive political themes and religious allegory for our own times. I am currently conducting heavy research in preparation for writing the scripts.