AF: We're Midway -- please read

July 18

We are at the halfway point today, with five weeks behind us, and five weeks to go.  We need to all ask ourselves:  are we halfway done with the things we need to do?  The things we want to do?  As I mentioned in the summer homework meeting, I hope you are giving time and energy to your own creative pursuits, whether that is your golf game (Mr. Eastham and I are playing this week), your fitness goals, or your personal masterpiece, whatever that may be.  As Bob Dylan said, "Everything is going to be different when I paint my masterpiece."  So launch yourself into action.  Get something done today.

"Postman is boring"

I love Neil Postman, so when someone bags on him, I mentally leap to his defense.  And every summer, there is someone on the blog who complains about Amusing Ourselves to Death.  

The summer homework is a litmus test.  By that I mean, can you do it?  Can you stick with it? Can you read something without a plot?  You are entering a new phase in your English education.  Posts to the blog that simply say that you did not enjoy Neil Postman at all, that you would rather read "a fiction book that will bring out your imagination" are not helpful, supportive, nor do they reveal the depth of your understanding.  If you finish Amusing Ourselves to Death, and all you can think of to say is that you weren't entertained, I hope at least that you appreciate the irony of that statement.  

My only response is this: read all the fiction you want.  I am!  I'm on my third novel this summer. There is nothing to stop you from reading all that you want.  And if Postman is just too much for you, please remember, you do not need to take an AP English class to get into a good college.  Advanced Placement is an all-volunteer program, so if you hate it, remember you have options.  When I assign reading, and when your college professors assign reading, your entertainment is not on our minds at all.  Reading for classes is really a different project than personal reading.

For and Against

Another bit of friendly advice is to embrace uncertainty, complexity and nuance.  None of the issues we are looking at are "Pro/Con" kinds of issues.  It is useless to say, "So are you for television, or against television?"  Television is.  Technology is.  These things exist.  Imagine for a moment what it would mean to "turn off the internet."  Television, technology -- we don't need to decide whether they are good or bad, because they are both.  Postman reminds us that technology already has plenty of apologists and cheerleaders, and it is not his intention to join the choir of those who sing songs of awe, praise and appreciation.  And as someone pointed out, WE ARE USING TECHNOLOGY TO COMPLETE OUR SUMMER HOMEWORK.  (Thank you, but the way, for pointing that out.  Maybe someone hadn't noticed.) 

Anyway, understanding how these forces shape us -- both personally, and as social beings -- this is what is interesting, and it deserves mindful analysis and discussion.  Let's talk about THAT.  From here on out, we live and work in the grey area between pro and con.

The Rule of 100

This platform -- Blogger -- has a limit of 100 registered users.  We are in the 70s now, and I expect that more people will contact me for blog clearance.  (I've had people ask for blog clearance on the very last day of summer work -- August 19, by the way.)  I'm not at this point yet, but if I get close to the limit,  and more people want to join, I will start to look for users who are registered and have been registered for weeks, but who have not written anything.  I send a "respond within 48-hours" email, and then I remove them to clear space. 

Be productive, and have fun.  Enjoy your summer and let yourself be challenged by your summer reading.