Just a short little blurb today about the crushing student loan debt I suffer under daily.
The skyrocketing cost of college is simply out of control, but this isn't news. What bothers me is that I'm going to be in debt for the rest of my life because my parents didn't make plans for me to attend college, or weren't rich enough to afford tuition out of pocket. And people have the brass balls to say that higher education isn't elitist? My loan bills are proof of the contrary.
Now, I'm someone who received greater than 90% scholarships, and I STILL owe more than $20,000 in loans, due to book prices, lab fees, "the dean needs a new Mercedes" tax, etc. Furthermore, I needed loans to finance my graduate education, and guess what? More than half of those loans are unsubsidized. If you don't know what that means, you're one of millions.
What an "unsubsidized loan" means, in a nutshell, is that while you are not required to make payments while you are enrolled in school, you accrue interest. So if you borrow $5000, and go to school for 2 years, you'll end up paying back roughly $6250 at roughly 9% interest. The best part? I say "roughly" because the interest is added to the total amount of the loan, so after 1 year you are no longer paying interest on $5000, but on $5450. After year 2, you're paying interest on $5900. Did we go to college in order to not recognize a scam when we see one?
Something has to give in order for Americans to pursue higher education, especially with the job market in ruins. I've heard the argument that higher education is a privilege, not a right, and I couldn't disagree more. We continually wonder why the EU and the UK and Japan and China and Korea consistently outrank us in nearly all educational categories. The answer is as plain as the "Property of Sallie Mae" tattooed across my forehead.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Twin Tragedies: Thoughts on 9/11
The 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is right around the corner, and, as some of my friends have accused me of being grossly insensitive regarding the issue, I feel the need to clarify precisely how I feel about it (also I love semi-publishing my opinions). While the attacks were a national tragedy the likes of which I hope to never see again, the use of those attacks as an excuse is an even larger tragedy that began on 9/12/01 and continues to this day.
Like pretty much everyone who lives in the tri-state area, I remember precisely where I was nine years ago. It was a Tuesday morning, and I was a freshman at Wagner College, sitting in Music Theory class. The professor heard what had happened, and informed us that he would not be ending his class early but anyone who wanted to leave was free to go with no penalty. I stayed for two reasons: first, I'm a music nerd. Secondly, I was unable to grasp the enormity of what happened because I didn't see the images on television like many, many others had.
When the class ended, I made my way to the parking lot. People were literally running to the highest point of the campus (which I had to walk through to get to the parking lot) to see what they could see. When I looked and saw the massive plumes of smoke rising from downtown Manhattan, it still didn't hit that something very bad had happened. I made my way home to find my mother and close friend glued to the television, saying a second plane had just crashed into the towers, another hit the pentagon, a fourth crashed in PA, and that this was obviously some sort of attack that rivaled Pearl Harbor.
The next few hours sort of went by in a blur, but I imagine it's a similar story to thousands, if not millions, of others.
We eventually found out a close family friend, who I called Uncle, was killed (he was a firefighter, part of the very first company to arrive at the towers). I add this line just as a buffer to what I'm about to say.
Nine years, two wars, two presidents, 5696 dead and 50k+ wounded soldiers later, I look and listen to find that the national character has been seemingly irreversibly damaged by this event. Politicians use 9/11 as fodder for false patriotism while religious leaders use it to call for contemporary crusades. The attacks have been cited to support institutional racism, they've been used by con-artists to prey upon the good will of our neighbors, and they were used by the federal government to justify espionage against its own citizens.
George W. Bush allowed the FBI to quite literally spy on whomever they wanted, and Barack Obama spends the first year of his presidency further ruining healthcare while 9/11 aid workers suffer and die from a myriad of lung ailments because they are not entitled to proper care under either the current healthcare system OR Obama's version of the same thing.
George W. Bush sends our nation into an unnecessary war based on non-existent WMDs then prematurelyejaculates all over an aircraft carrier declares mission accomplished. Barack Obama announces the end of combat operations while leaving 50000 troops in harm's way in Iraq. Furthermore, Obama gives our troops a deadline in Afghanistan, which is closer to the source of the problem than Iraq, but doesn't give them any better equipment to reach their goals because he's too busy spending money on anything other than our soldiers.
Our nation, a nation "conceived in liberty", is mired in partisan politics and feelings of anti-Islam and xenophobia (I hate the word Islamophobia, because it implies fear instead of hatred). The partisan politics are a direct cause of Islamic hatred, and that's where the damage to our national character is most pronounced. I'm of the opinion that people desperately want to move on from 9/11. They want to remember their loved ones, and they have the right to be angry when remembering that those loved ones were cruelly taken away far too early. But they also want to keep on keeping on, to remember the events in their own ways and do the best they can to honor those who perished by living full, productive lives. Yet how can we move on when both of the major political parties in the country use 9/11 to justify whatever asinine policies they're introducing at the moment? How can we move on when the media constantly reminds us that Muslims are the THEM to our US?
The most relevant issue that reflects this obsession right now is the community center being built blocks away from the WTC site. Dozens upon dozens of stories about the imam in charge are being printed in countless newspapers across the country and documented by several tv news shows. There is no fine line between camps either, no one espousing moderate solutions. All sorts of politicians are weighing in, even those who ruined their careers by driving drunk from their mistress' house in Virginia where they saw the child they fathered with that mistress, and those who make more money by breathing than most of us do by working 90 hours per week. All sorts of pundits are weighing in, even those who have been busted for outright lying on several occasions and those who compare themselves to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. even though they base their oratory in fear-mongering instead of brotherhood. And we all watch, and listen, and agree with one side or the other because they say that these are the only two opinions we can logically have. After all, it's much easier to live when other people think for us.
Why is an interfaith community center that will be built blocks away from ground zero even in the news? Why aren't we concerned that a democratic congress GOT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING DONE WITH A FILIBUSTER-PROOF MAJORITY? Why aren't we concerned that OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS ALMOST 10%? Why aren't we concerned that CEOs who run companies into the ground RECEIVE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR SEVERANCE PACKAGES WHILE ELDERLY PEOPLE WHO WORKED THEIR WHOLE LIVES LOSE THEIR HOMES?? Why are we supporting a religious leader WHO WANTS TO BURN BOOKS?? WHY AM I SHOUTING SO MUCH?
It's because I remember how I felt on 9/10/01, and it's largely the same as I feel on 9/9/10. And more pertinent to what I'm really railing against, I'm shouting because in being sensitive to the survivors of 9/11 victims, we are forgetting that on 9/10/01 we were a more inclusive, tolerant society.
It seems to me that this country learned absolutely nothing from these attacks except how to more efficiently hate a culture that's different from ours because a bunch of people on tv and another bunch on Capitol Hill say that it's the American way of thinking. Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann, Nancy Pelosi, Mitt Romney, Mike Bloomberg, Sarah Palin, John McCain, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama should not be allowed to make up your mind for you. We are on the verge of tolerating institutional racism again.
It's not un-American to think it's ok for Muslims to worship where they want. It's not un-American to think that it's not ok for the FBI to wiretap you because they got a tip that there was a sleeper cell operation within a 1200 mile radius of your home.
And it's certainly not un-American to believe that 9/11, as enormous a tragedy as it was, has run its course as an excuse for the federal government and the media to tell you how to think and how to behave, to tell you which policies to support and which to dislike, to tell you which religion to support and which religion to hate.
"Before you seek revenge, dig two graves." -- Confucius
Like pretty much everyone who lives in the tri-state area, I remember precisely where I was nine years ago. It was a Tuesday morning, and I was a freshman at Wagner College, sitting in Music Theory class. The professor heard what had happened, and informed us that he would not be ending his class early but anyone who wanted to leave was free to go with no penalty. I stayed for two reasons: first, I'm a music nerd. Secondly, I was unable to grasp the enormity of what happened because I didn't see the images on television like many, many others had.
When the class ended, I made my way to the parking lot. People were literally running to the highest point of the campus (which I had to walk through to get to the parking lot) to see what they could see. When I looked and saw the massive plumes of smoke rising from downtown Manhattan, it still didn't hit that something very bad had happened. I made my way home to find my mother and close friend glued to the television, saying a second plane had just crashed into the towers, another hit the pentagon, a fourth crashed in PA, and that this was obviously some sort of attack that rivaled Pearl Harbor.
The next few hours sort of went by in a blur, but I imagine it's a similar story to thousands, if not millions, of others.
We eventually found out a close family friend, who I called Uncle, was killed (he was a firefighter, part of the very first company to arrive at the towers). I add this line just as a buffer to what I'm about to say.
Nine years, two wars, two presidents, 5696 dead and 50k+ wounded soldiers later, I look and listen to find that the national character has been seemingly irreversibly damaged by this event. Politicians use 9/11 as fodder for false patriotism while religious leaders use it to call for contemporary crusades. The attacks have been cited to support institutional racism, they've been used by con-artists to prey upon the good will of our neighbors, and they were used by the federal government to justify espionage against its own citizens.
George W. Bush allowed the FBI to quite literally spy on whomever they wanted, and Barack Obama spends the first year of his presidency further ruining healthcare while 9/11 aid workers suffer and die from a myriad of lung ailments because they are not entitled to proper care under either the current healthcare system OR Obama's version of the same thing.
George W. Bush sends our nation into an unnecessary war based on non-existent WMDs then prematurely
Our nation, a nation "conceived in liberty", is mired in partisan politics and feelings of anti-Islam and xenophobia (I hate the word Islamophobia, because it implies fear instead of hatred). The partisan politics are a direct cause of Islamic hatred, and that's where the damage to our national character is most pronounced. I'm of the opinion that people desperately want to move on from 9/11. They want to remember their loved ones, and they have the right to be angry when remembering that those loved ones were cruelly taken away far too early. But they also want to keep on keeping on, to remember the events in their own ways and do the best they can to honor those who perished by living full, productive lives. Yet how can we move on when both of the major political parties in the country use 9/11 to justify whatever asinine policies they're introducing at the moment? How can we move on when the media constantly reminds us that Muslims are the THEM to our US?
The most relevant issue that reflects this obsession right now is the community center being built blocks away from the WTC site. Dozens upon dozens of stories about the imam in charge are being printed in countless newspapers across the country and documented by several tv news shows. There is no fine line between camps either, no one espousing moderate solutions. All sorts of politicians are weighing in, even those who ruined their careers by driving drunk from their mistress' house in Virginia where they saw the child they fathered with that mistress, and those who make more money by breathing than most of us do by working 90 hours per week. All sorts of pundits are weighing in, even those who have been busted for outright lying on several occasions and those who compare themselves to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. even though they base their oratory in fear-mongering instead of brotherhood. And we all watch, and listen, and agree with one side or the other because they say that these are the only two opinions we can logically have. After all, it's much easier to live when other people think for us.
Why is an interfaith community center that will be built blocks away from ground zero even in the news? Why aren't we concerned that a democratic congress GOT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING DONE WITH A FILIBUSTER-PROOF MAJORITY? Why aren't we concerned that OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS ALMOST 10%? Why aren't we concerned that CEOs who run companies into the ground RECEIVE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR SEVERANCE PACKAGES WHILE ELDERLY PEOPLE WHO WORKED THEIR WHOLE LIVES LOSE THEIR HOMES?? Why are we supporting a religious leader WHO WANTS TO BURN BOOKS?? WHY AM I SHOUTING SO MUCH?
It's because I remember how I felt on 9/10/01, and it's largely the same as I feel on 9/9/10. And more pertinent to what I'm really railing against, I'm shouting because in being sensitive to the survivors of 9/11 victims, we are forgetting that on 9/10/01 we were a more inclusive, tolerant society.
It seems to me that this country learned absolutely nothing from these attacks except how to more efficiently hate a culture that's different from ours because a bunch of people on tv and another bunch on Capitol Hill say that it's the American way of thinking. Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann, Nancy Pelosi, Mitt Romney, Mike Bloomberg, Sarah Palin, John McCain, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama should not be allowed to make up your mind for you. We are on the verge of tolerating institutional racism again.
It's not un-American to think it's ok for Muslims to worship where they want. It's not un-American to think that it's not ok for the FBI to wiretap you because they got a tip that there was a sleeper cell operation within a 1200 mile radius of your home.
And it's certainly not un-American to believe that 9/11, as enormous a tragedy as it was, has run its course as an excuse for the federal government and the media to tell you how to think and how to behave, to tell you which policies to support and which to dislike, to tell you which religion to support and which religion to hate.
"Before you seek revenge, dig two graves." -- Confucius
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
And So It Begins
Aside from the fact that my two-way commute turned out to be longer than both of my classes combined, I would say my first week at Hunter was a resounding success (prophetically speaking, anyway).
First, some background of the past month: right after the band camp debacle, something snapped in my brain and reminded me why I used to love psychology. So I spent the remainder of August reading every book I had on the topic. Since most of them are text books, I got through two (a survey book for an intro course and Cozby's Methods in Behavioral Research, if you must know). In addition to that I spent a rather large amount of time trolling PsycINFO and JSTOR for any research articles I felt I could grasp (not many, but enough).
Furthermore, I'm in the process of starting up a new agency-level band while maintaining my gigs with the 3 Staten Island-based bands with which I'm currently involved (Roundhouse Kick, The Bad Mouth Betties, and Weird Science). This means I needed to find time to learn tons of new material, maintain my chops, put together set lists, perform, teach, and deal with bar owners. Even still, as Homer (Simpson) would say, "I still managed to fit in 8 hours of TV a day."
Following from these snippets of my mental and musical activities recently, English literature was quite possibly the furthest thing from my mind as I got off the bus a full ten city blocks from Hunter and began the trek.
Monday's class was "The Comic Alternative", featuring Professor Persky (hope I spelled that right). It was really, truly interesting how he chose to run his class, and quite different from anything I've ever experienced. He does not want to give any exams, and would prefer to NOT have us write a paper. He wants to base our entire grade on class participation alone, which is perfect for someone who loves the sound of their own voice (i.e. me). Of course, if no one participates, he is going to give multiple exams and include a paper in order to see where we stand on the topics raised.
More importantly, though, is that he seems to be interested in finding comedy elements in non-traditional comedies, including (but not limited to) "The Iliad", "The Odyssey", and the New Testament. Yes, friends, Professor Persky considers the New Testament to contain elements of classical comedy...I like him already. He's also rather noticeably brilliant, able to recall passages of Aristotle (in Greek) without notes. And speaking of Aristotle, I'm going to run into him and good ol' Plato again this semester. Somewhere, Dr. Danisi is smiling (forgive the inside joke).
Today's class was far more traditional...three short papers, one medium, one long blah blah Milton blah Paradise Lost blah blah sonnets blah England. Or so it might have been, had not Professor Greenberg been more excited to teach this course than anyone I've ever seen anywhere for any reason (keeping in mind I've been to both Disneyland AND Disney World). Her enthusiasm literally shocked me, because a good 90% of people I've met in graduate school (professors and students) are some combination of jaded, miserable, and holier-than-thou. She actually made me WANT to read Paradise Lost (now seems as good a time as any to say that I never made it past Book IV this summer), just to see if maybe I can share in a bit of that happiness. We engaged in a bit of discussion on Sonnet XIX, which she considers a "mini- Paradise Lost", a judgment I share thanks to her rather convincing explanation. Overall, a second class that interests me greatly.
So Hunter in week one is 2/2. Both professors actually have me interested in their material, and, above all, THEY ARE INTERESTED IN OUR INTEREST. There's still a long way to go, but hey, we're off to a good start.
First, some background of the past month: right after the band camp debacle, something snapped in my brain and reminded me why I used to love psychology. So I spent the remainder of August reading every book I had on the topic. Since most of them are text books, I got through two (a survey book for an intro course and Cozby's Methods in Behavioral Research, if you must know). In addition to that I spent a rather large amount of time trolling PsycINFO and JSTOR for any research articles I felt I could grasp (not many, but enough).
Furthermore, I'm in the process of starting up a new agency-level band while maintaining my gigs with the 3 Staten Island-based bands with which I'm currently involved (Roundhouse Kick, The Bad Mouth Betties, and Weird Science). This means I needed to find time to learn tons of new material, maintain my chops, put together set lists, perform, teach, and deal with bar owners. Even still, as Homer (Simpson) would say, "I still managed to fit in 8 hours of TV a day."
Following from these snippets of my mental and musical activities recently, English literature was quite possibly the furthest thing from my mind as I got off the bus a full ten city blocks from Hunter and began the trek.
Monday's class was "The Comic Alternative", featuring Professor Persky (hope I spelled that right). It was really, truly interesting how he chose to run his class, and quite different from anything I've ever experienced. He does not want to give any exams, and would prefer to NOT have us write a paper. He wants to base our entire grade on class participation alone, which is perfect for someone who loves the sound of their own voice (i.e. me). Of course, if no one participates, he is going to give multiple exams and include a paper in order to see where we stand on the topics raised.
More importantly, though, is that he seems to be interested in finding comedy elements in non-traditional comedies, including (but not limited to) "The Iliad", "The Odyssey", and the New Testament. Yes, friends, Professor Persky considers the New Testament to contain elements of classical comedy...I like him already. He's also rather noticeably brilliant, able to recall passages of Aristotle (in Greek) without notes. And speaking of Aristotle, I'm going to run into him and good ol' Plato again this semester. Somewhere, Dr. Danisi is smiling (forgive the inside joke).
Today's class was far more traditional...three short papers, one medium, one long blah blah Milton blah Paradise Lost blah blah sonnets blah England. Or so it might have been, had not Professor Greenberg been more excited to teach this course than anyone I've ever seen anywhere for any reason (keeping in mind I've been to both Disneyland AND Disney World). Her enthusiasm literally shocked me, because a good 90% of people I've met in graduate school (professors and students) are some combination of jaded, miserable, and holier-than-thou. She actually made me WANT to read Paradise Lost (now seems as good a time as any to say that I never made it past Book IV this summer), just to see if maybe I can share in a bit of that happiness. We engaged in a bit of discussion on Sonnet XIX, which she considers a "mini- Paradise Lost", a judgment I share thanks to her rather convincing explanation. Overall, a second class that interests me greatly.
So Hunter in week one is 2/2. Both professors actually have me interested in their material, and, above all, THEY ARE INTERESTED IN OUR INTEREST. There's still a long way to go, but hey, we're off to a good start.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Jim Morrison Is Dead, Long Live Jim Morrison
I am officially less than a month away from the start of the semester, and couldn't be more excited. Sure, there's a tinge of nervousness in there, but overall, I'm very much looking forward to beginning classes at Hunter (not to mention FINALLY being able to have an opinion on commuting)!
Most of my July was spent teaching the summer band camp, which is approximately 100% more fun than it sounds. This isn't your typical marching band camp. Our students are thrown together in rock and roll bands and have three weeks to prepare for a gig. Awesome, huh? A sampling of my students' band's set list: Holy Diver, Heart-Shaed Box, Evenflow, Footloose, and Chop Suey. I defy you to find me a summer band camp with a more bad-ass list of tunes. I'll wait.
........
........
........
That's what I thought. You can't do it.
The kids were amazing, wonderful, impressive, and other such adjectives. They were dedicated and spent a good deal of their free summer vacation time rehearsing and practicing. It was all worth it in the end when they put on a rocking, controversy-free show.
Just kidding!!!!
The kids chose a song called American Idiot, by Green Day, released at the height of George W. Bush's administration (and I stress that the KIDS CHOSE THE SONGS). The song contains two lines that could be considered controversial:
1) "Subliminal mindfuck America"
2) "Maybe I'm the faggot America"
Should I have allowed the kids to even do that song, knowing it might offend listeners? Yes. I am NOT in the business of censoring art in any way, shape, or form. Furthermore, the history of rock and roll's involvement in activism can't and shouldn't be ignored. My politics aside, I have zero problem with the message of any song, unless that song incites violence or bigotry. There is nothing bigoted or violent about "mindfuck", and the word "faggot" in this context is used as a counterpoint to the later line "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda".
That being said, I asked the singer (who is 14) to alter the words, since there would be children in the audience and I would rather not have them running around screaming "mindfuck" or "faggot". Having done the song in the past with kids of that age who had no issue altering the words, I left well enough alone and went on with my rehearsals.
Long story longer, at the gig, the singer did not alter the words, and, from what I understand, two elderly people were upset and complained to the person in charge (not me). Now, here's the kicker. The woman who complained was not upset by "mindfuck", or even the fact that the singer altered the emphasis so it became "mind- FUCK AMERICA" instead of "mindfuck America". The elderly people were upset by the concept of a 14 year old using such language, which, though I disagree, is a completely rational position.
Quote from the sweet elderly woman with whom I spoke: "I understand I'm not a part of this generation, and that these kids have a different worldview than I had and have! I don't have a problem with the message, I just think it's a bit inappropriate for a 14 year old to use such language with kids around!"
She was also smiling when she said that, and thanked me for the great job I did with all the kids. I apologized that she was offended (but NOT for what the singer said), she told me not to worry about it, and we both went on our merry way, elated that the kids had such a great time playing music.
You see, dear readers, structuring an argument in that manner allows for both sides to feel that their opinions are valid. When I saw her waiting for me I fully expected to be blasted again (having already been blasted moments before by the person whose name was attached to the camp), and she completely disarmed me by appreciating where the kids were coming from, even though she disagreed. I thought I was going to need to explain that art shouldn't be censored, that kids have minds and opinions of their own, etc., and she anticipated and answered all of my arguments before I even made them with one sentence of wisdom that only a lifetime of experiences can provide.
What could have turned into a second shouting match instead reinforced what the band camp was all about: kids exploring their own musical ideas, studying the musical ideas of others, and understanding that music, even when it's controversial, provides a way for people to come together and appreciate each others' points of view. I learned just as much from this scenario as the kids learned during the 3 weeks of camp (at least I hope they learned something).
Now all I have to do is understand why no one had a problem with the word "faggot", which, to me, is FAR more offensive than "mindfuck America" or "mind FUCK AMERICA".
Most of my July was spent teaching the summer band camp, which is approximately 100% more fun than it sounds. This isn't your typical marching band camp. Our students are thrown together in rock and roll bands and have three weeks to prepare for a gig. Awesome, huh? A sampling of my students' band's set list: Holy Diver, Heart-Shaed Box, Evenflow, Footloose, and Chop Suey. I defy you to find me a summer band camp with a more bad-ass list of tunes. I'll wait.
........
........
........
That's what I thought. You can't do it.
The kids were amazing, wonderful, impressive, and other such adjectives. They were dedicated and spent a good deal of their free summer vacation time rehearsing and practicing. It was all worth it in the end when they put on a rocking, controversy-free show.
Just kidding!!!!
The kids chose a song called American Idiot, by Green Day, released at the height of George W. Bush's administration (and I stress that the KIDS CHOSE THE SONGS). The song contains two lines that could be considered controversial:
1) "Subliminal mindfuck America"
2) "Maybe I'm the faggot America"
Should I have allowed the kids to even do that song, knowing it might offend listeners? Yes. I am NOT in the business of censoring art in any way, shape, or form. Furthermore, the history of rock and roll's involvement in activism can't and shouldn't be ignored. My politics aside, I have zero problem with the message of any song, unless that song incites violence or bigotry. There is nothing bigoted or violent about "mindfuck", and the word "faggot" in this context is used as a counterpoint to the later line "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda".
That being said, I asked the singer (who is 14) to alter the words, since there would be children in the audience and I would rather not have them running around screaming "mindfuck" or "faggot". Having done the song in the past with kids of that age who had no issue altering the words, I left well enough alone and went on with my rehearsals.
Long story longer, at the gig, the singer did not alter the words, and, from what I understand, two elderly people were upset and complained to the person in charge (not me). Now, here's the kicker. The woman who complained was not upset by "mindfuck", or even the fact that the singer altered the emphasis so it became "mind- FUCK AMERICA" instead of "mindfuck America". The elderly people were upset by the concept of a 14 year old using such language, which, though I disagree, is a completely rational position.
Quote from the sweet elderly woman with whom I spoke: "I understand I'm not a part of this generation, and that these kids have a different worldview than I had and have! I don't have a problem with the message, I just think it's a bit inappropriate for a 14 year old to use such language with kids around!"
She was also smiling when she said that, and thanked me for the great job I did with all the kids. I apologized that she was offended (but NOT for what the singer said), she told me not to worry about it, and we both went on our merry way, elated that the kids had such a great time playing music.
You see, dear readers, structuring an argument in that manner allows for both sides to feel that their opinions are valid. When I saw her waiting for me I fully expected to be blasted again (having already been blasted moments before by the person whose name was attached to the camp), and she completely disarmed me by appreciating where the kids were coming from, even though she disagreed. I thought I was going to need to explain that art shouldn't be censored, that kids have minds and opinions of their own, etc., and she anticipated and answered all of my arguments before I even made them with one sentence of wisdom that only a lifetime of experiences can provide.
What could have turned into a second shouting match instead reinforced what the band camp was all about: kids exploring their own musical ideas, studying the musical ideas of others, and understanding that music, even when it's controversial, provides a way for people to come together and appreciate each others' points of view. I learned just as much from this scenario as the kids learned during the 3 weeks of camp (at least I hope they learned something).
Now all I have to do is understand why no one had a problem with the word "faggot", which, to me, is FAR more offensive than "mindfuck America" or "mind FUCK AMERICA".
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Addendum to "State of New York VS. Intelligence
A local newspaper printed a story discussing grade inflation in the NYC Public School system.
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/study_hits_grade_inflation_in.html
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/study_hits_grade_inflation_in.html
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
On Creating the Heavens and the Earth
When I was a child, I was always upset that I couldn't draw well. I had all sorts of incredible pictures in my mind. Vast fantasy landscapes with multicolored, talking trees, monsters, superheroes, and a myriad other crazy concepts floated through my brain (and this was WAY before I even knew what drugs were). Alas, no matter how hard I tried I could never get the pencils to do what I wanted, and so every single thing I ever drew ended up as a wadded up ball of paper in a trash can.
Then, enlightening struck. At some point just before high school, I realized I could use words to draw the scenes I had experienced as a child, and immediately began flirting with creative writing. Before I had a computer, I would spend hours with my mom's old electric typewriter, frantically churning out page after page of my soon-to-be fantasy epic until I ran out of correction tape and had to white everything out by hand. I knew that if I could just get it finished, I would rival Tolkien and Lovecraft as creators, and, like them, be a god in a universe of my design.
However, right around that time I discovered the guitar, and everything creative that was non-musical went bye-bye for the next eight years.
Flash forward: It's the start of my sophomore year at Wagner College. I'm still playing guitar relentlessly, and reading voraciously. I had just switched majors from Behavioral Psychology to English Literature because I refused to experiment on hermit crabs (I kept them as pets and loved them. Also, I don't need to make animals do what I want them to do to get my rocks off). Throwing myself deep into the bogs of critical theory, I all but forgot about creative writing and focused instead on unwrapping and analyzing other authors' universes.
Here's the kicker: I find the acts of analyzing literature and writing critical pieces to be on par, creatively, with writing fiction, or poetry, or music. It is certainly a different breed of creativity, but it is nevertheless brought about through the creative process. While I might not be creating my own world in which my original characters live and think and act, I am without a doubt composing an original argument consisting of ideas that are completely mine. These new ideas relate to either the literary work itself or an earlier critical piece with which I intend to disagree, and the creativity comes into play when I begin toying with those ideas to see how they fit into the universe created by the author whose work I'm studying.
I've been told quite a few times that being a literary critic is uncreative, and that being a literature professor is mainly a job for failed writers. First of all, I'm a failed musician, get it right. Secondly, the notion that constructing a critical argument using original ideas is somehow uncreative is both asinine and insulting. Third, insinuating that a college professors, who routinely present papers filled with original research at academic conferences around the country and world, lead "uncreative" lives is beyond absurd.
The bottom line is that being able to spot, analyze, discuss, and understand the behavioral patterns of characters in a novel or how a poem's meter reveals different linguistic or literary conventions of a given time period without doubt qualifies as creative. Taking it one step further and writing about your discoveries so others can argue, discuss, and further your arguments is akin to writing the fantasy novel I always dreamed of drawing.
Then, enlightening struck. At some point just before high school, I realized I could use words to draw the scenes I had experienced as a child, and immediately began flirting with creative writing. Before I had a computer, I would spend hours with my mom's old electric typewriter, frantically churning out page after page of my soon-to-be fantasy epic until I ran out of correction tape and had to white everything out by hand. I knew that if I could just get it finished, I would rival Tolkien and Lovecraft as creators, and, like them, be a god in a universe of my design.
However, right around that time I discovered the guitar, and everything creative that was non-musical went bye-bye for the next eight years.
Flash forward: It's the start of my sophomore year at Wagner College. I'm still playing guitar relentlessly, and reading voraciously. I had just switched majors from Behavioral Psychology to English Literature because I refused to experiment on hermit crabs (I kept them as pets and loved them. Also, I don't need to make animals do what I want them to do to get my rocks off). Throwing myself deep into the bogs of critical theory, I all but forgot about creative writing and focused instead on unwrapping and analyzing other authors' universes.
Here's the kicker: I find the acts of analyzing literature and writing critical pieces to be on par, creatively, with writing fiction, or poetry, or music. It is certainly a different breed of creativity, but it is nevertheless brought about through the creative process. While I might not be creating my own world in which my original characters live and think and act, I am without a doubt composing an original argument consisting of ideas that are completely mine. These new ideas relate to either the literary work itself or an earlier critical piece with which I intend to disagree, and the creativity comes into play when I begin toying with those ideas to see how they fit into the universe created by the author whose work I'm studying.
I've been told quite a few times that being a literary critic is uncreative, and that being a literature professor is mainly a job for failed writers. First of all, I'm a failed musician, get it right. Secondly, the notion that constructing a critical argument using original ideas is somehow uncreative is both asinine and insulting. Third, insinuating that a college professors, who routinely present papers filled with original research at academic conferences around the country and world, lead "uncreative" lives is beyond absurd.
The bottom line is that being able to spot, analyze, discuss, and understand the behavioral patterns of characters in a novel or how a poem's meter reveals different linguistic or literary conventions of a given time period without doubt qualifies as creative. Taking it one step further and writing about your discoveries so others can argue, discuss, and further your arguments is akin to writing the fantasy novel I always dreamed of drawing.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Who Do I Think I Am?
It struck me that I've made an introductory post, an anti-government post, and a chocolaty post about Milton without ever mentioning what gives me the balls to do this. So I'll use this post to talk briefly about my favorite subject: myself.
As the little blurb at the top-right of my page indicates, I am a full-time musician, a full-time graduate student, and a part-time teacher (though tutor is probably the better word, it sounds less professional). Musically, I play guitar and bass in a few different bands. But that isn't really relevant to this particular blog.
No no friends, what IS relevant is my academic past which will hopefully lead me headlong into my academic future. I received a BA in English Literature from Wagner College, a small liberal arts college in Staten Island, NY. Feel free to ask details, but suffice to say I did very well because my professors nurtured the particular interests I had in literature at the time, and as such allowed me to dive deeply into a couple of research projects of my own choosing.
After graduation I took a couple of years off to achieve my dream of being a rock star. Having met Dave Mustaine of Megadeth at a McDonald's in California, I considered my goal fulfilled and decided to return to school to pursue my slightly less realistic dream of achieving a Ph.D and a career in higher education.
I took the required tests (GRE General and Subject Test in Literature in English) and did extremely well on one and not so extremely well on the other (I'll let you decide which is which), resulting in a hearty chorus of "Thanks but no thanks" from every single Ph.D. to which I applied. I spun into a spiral of depression, drinking nearly three cases of Coca-Cola per week while raiding Illidan the Betrayer repeatedly. I also studied Shaolin Kung Fu, in case Illidan or Kil'Jaeden ever became real. Fortunately for them, they remained in Azeroth. Realizing that my senseless beating of bricks was getting my career nowhere, I once again dove into school.
I decided to start smaller, and began pursuing an MA at CUNY College of Staten Island. Two years and $5000 of debt later, I realized that there was no way I could succeed at a school whose English MA program was geared entirely towards training Department of Education "teachers". That isn't to say I received poor grades. On the contrary, 4.0 for four straight semesters (/backpat). However, I found the material exceedingly easy and out of the seven different professors with whom I took classes, six asked, in varying ways, what the hell I was doing at CSI.
I applied to, and was accepted by, CUNY Hunter, a school of much higher repute whose English program would, in all likelihood, result in my being accepted, finally, to a Ph.D. program, provided I put in the requisite work. And so here I am, beginning this blog to document my journey through CUNY Hunter to wherever my road through life leads me.
Oh yeah, in between all that schooling, gigging, raiding, and Kung Fu-ing, I also am responsible for supporting a household. But that's boring stuff. I know you would all much rather read my thoughts on Milton or whatever other nonsense I plan on flinging at you. Excelsior!
As the little blurb at the top-right of my page indicates, I am a full-time musician, a full-time graduate student, and a part-time teacher (though tutor is probably the better word, it sounds less professional). Musically, I play guitar and bass in a few different bands. But that isn't really relevant to this particular blog.
No no friends, what IS relevant is my academic past which will hopefully lead me headlong into my academic future. I received a BA in English Literature from Wagner College, a small liberal arts college in Staten Island, NY. Feel free to ask details, but suffice to say I did very well because my professors nurtured the particular interests I had in literature at the time, and as such allowed me to dive deeply into a couple of research projects of my own choosing.
After graduation I took a couple of years off to achieve my dream of being a rock star. Having met Dave Mustaine of Megadeth at a McDonald's in California, I considered my goal fulfilled and decided to return to school to pursue my slightly less realistic dream of achieving a Ph.D and a career in higher education.
I took the required tests (GRE General and Subject Test in Literature in English) and did extremely well on one and not so extremely well on the other (I'll let you decide which is which), resulting in a hearty chorus of "Thanks but no thanks" from every single Ph.D. to which I applied. I spun into a spiral of depression, drinking nearly three cases of Coca-Cola per week while raiding Illidan the Betrayer repeatedly. I also studied Shaolin Kung Fu, in case Illidan or Kil'Jaeden ever became real. Fortunately for them, they remained in Azeroth. Realizing that my senseless beating of bricks was getting my career nowhere, I once again dove into school.
I decided to start smaller, and began pursuing an MA at CUNY College of Staten Island. Two years and $5000 of debt later, I realized that there was no way I could succeed at a school whose English MA program was geared entirely towards training Department of Education "teachers". That isn't to say I received poor grades. On the contrary, 4.0 for four straight semesters (/backpat). However, I found the material exceedingly easy and out of the seven different professors with whom I took classes, six asked, in varying ways, what the hell I was doing at CSI.
I applied to, and was accepted by, CUNY Hunter, a school of much higher repute whose English program would, in all likelihood, result in my being accepted, finally, to a Ph.D. program, provided I put in the requisite work. And so here I am, beginning this blog to document my journey through CUNY Hunter to wherever my road through life leads me.
Oh yeah, in between all that schooling, gigging, raiding, and Kung Fu-ing, I also am responsible for supporting a household. But that's boring stuff. I know you would all much rather read my thoughts on Milton or whatever other nonsense I plan on flinging at you. Excelsior!
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