Little Rock Central High Fishing Team

We went on our first fishing team outing Sunday afternoon after church.  I'd say it was a successful trip.  We launched our boats at the Sleepy Hollow boat ramp right off of Highway 10 on the Maumelle River and fished upstream and down to Lake Maumelle, which was swelling with white-cap waves from the gale-force winds.

Junior Andrew Ingram won the first fishing tournament catching the largest (and only!) fish of the day, a nice keeper-sized largemouth bass.  My picture of Andrew and the fish didn't come out cause the sun was so beautiful and bright, but I snapped this one of Hunter's boat.

Notice chick talking on cell phone.  J/K, she fished as hard as the boys!

Quarterback Hayden Wynne took more hits on Friday night against Conway than he got fishing Sunday afternoon.  (Ouch.)  And Brandon won the award for catching the most stick fish.  Hard to catch a fish in a tree lol.  Here's a pic of my boy, Rome, showing the big kids how it is done:

Alex's grandfather from Augusta came up and joined us so it was definitely a full, multi-generational, family affair.  We ended up with 9 guys, a gal, and 4 boats out there tooling around, and a good time was had by all, with or without a ton of fish in the boat.

This Is Epic

In the four scenes from Beowulf that you are reading, you should observe all the characteristics and qualities of an epic hero. Beowulf, you should notice, is favored by God. He is proud and boastful. Often times, his most valuable weapons are his bare hands, and when he does need a weapon, God provides it for him in a miraculous fashion. He acts for causes greater than himself. And he is a leader of men. Pay close attention as you read to selection of detail. What do the details describing Beowulf's life, deeds, and death suggest and symbolize? Why should we still admire him today? Is he Superman? Or Luke? Or Harry Potter (gag me)? Could it be that simple? (See quote at top of page haha.)

This week, you will be taking reading checks on all of the material from the unit. Make sure you've read carefully. Make sure you've read the elegiac poems, Bede's excerpt from his An Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and the A-S riddles. And always review your notes and pay close attention to your syllabus. We're doing a fairly good job of staying on schedule so far. If I can just keep up with the grading, we're gonna be alright if you READ, READ, READ. I expect some good grades and epic class discussions.

In housekeeping news, I've begun to grade the essays and plan to have them back to you, scored, at your next class meeting. I've put them on top of the grading stack so you can get immediate feedback on your writing. We will spend some time looking at a few sample essays--the good, the bad, and the ugly--between now and the next scheduled timed writing/close reading activity. Let me know if you'd be willing to type up your essay and email it to me when you get it back. I've been known to give some "incentive points" for your effort. Your anonymity will always be protected if I use your essay.

Also, hope you've enjoyed working on your college application essays. As I said, you can get individual feedback on those by appointment during 1st block, 2nd lunch, and sometimes (maybe) after school. Easy grade, so don't miss the dern deadline!

I love Sundays. Takin' son Rome and dog Chipper Jones fishin' on the boat with Hunter, Hayden, and some other members of the new, Central High fishing team! Gonna teach 'dem boys a few things about wettin' a line. (And hopefully learn a few things too!)

Hey, and how bout a few comments?! It's lonely in here all by myself. You guys can use the comment button to ask me (and even better each other) questions about the reading, to give your own commentary and analysis, to get clarification on assignments, or just to talk a little "smack." Take more ownership of the class people! I will listen to your suggestions and concerns and work that stuff into my lessons. Like any good A-S bard, I take requests :-). Speaking of that remind me sometime to spin ya a li'l yarn 'bout the time I was loaded for bear.

You Might Say I'm a Dreamer

The underlying motivations of the Romantic Period poets in England are the same ideas that have convinced me that I need to be the kind of teacher that I am. Some of us have to be out here in la la land ranting against the standardization of your souls. Make no mistake about it: the world is trying to eat you. You will be corrupted if you don't mindfully and actively resist the luxurious placations of modern society . We each have to make conscious decisions each day to recognize beauty before wealth, personal intuition before mass media, and Nature before human progress.

I hope you pay close attention to these poems. They have the potential to save your life.

I would like for some of you to write some comments on the poems that I have linked in previous posts. Let's hear what you have to say.

Malcolm X: Oxford Union Debate

Nineteen

Proud Tigers

Mario Martinez and I attended the Arkansas Tennis Association's annual awards banquet last night. My tennis team was recognized for winning the Southern Sectional Championship and finishing second in the nation. Mario won the Herschel Friday Outstanding Junior Award, in recognition of "ability and excellence in junior tennis, and achievements in sportsmanship, character and citizenship."

When asked about his most memorable match (at the podium in front of like 300 people) Mario said, "My most memorable match was the finals of the high school state championships. It was an honor to carry on the 11 year winning tradition at Central High." Can you say dynasty?

Good job Mario. We're all very proud of you. Way to represent.

Natural Burial

I started 17th Century Metaphysical Poetry this week with my classes, and yesterday one of the poems we discussed was "Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne. It goes like this:

Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,

For, those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then;

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

The poem is one of Donne's Holy Sonnets. He had unenthusiastically entered the ministry at the insistence of King James, and his quick wit, his flair for the dramatic, and his rolling intellect had established him as the mega-rock star preacher of his era. In the poem, the speaker condescendingly confronts Death and personifies him as a tool, a cocksure pawn of Fate, Chance, and desperate men. For the believer, death is really a peaceful little nap at the start of eternal life. Yet he runs around like a bluffing bully. The cacophonous couplet at the end reveals that the joke is on Death. While we wake eternally, death dies.

I'm not sure about all that, but what I do know is that I dig the gist.

So naturally, I had a dream last night about my death. It wasn't a morbid or a disturbing dream. It was one of those dreams where I was thinking, sort of awake. I was contemplating my own little nap and how I hope it goes down. Here's what I dreamt:

When I die, dig a hole in the woods about two meters deep in Newton County, Arkansas or in the Blue Ridge somewhere, 20 or 30 yards away from a waterfall or a bluff or a big, old tree where woodpeckers hang out. Wrap my body in a linen shroud and place it in the hole. No embalming fluids, no incineration, no concrete vault. Cover me up with some soil and relocate a dogwood, a wild blueberry bush, blackberries and raspberries for the bears, some dwarf lilies, mayapples, and ferns. I love ferns. Or just spread some rich duff and fallen leaves; it doesn't matter. One short sleep past, I'll wake eternally and death shall be no more. Visit the waterfall, the bluff, the tree and see what I become.

I'll send you off with a tune in your head if you know the Dave Matthews Band:

Gravedigger,

When you dig my grave,

Could you make it shallow

So that I can feel the rain?

--David John Matthews

Rome and Me

MLK Jr Day Family Picnic