gdp's Comments

View from a Farley : The Basics of Getting in Shape

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:16:42 +0000

My apologies. I knew about squash, but I believe I selectively forgot in service to recruitment.

View from a Farley : The Basics of Getting in Shape

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:15:57 +0000

Thirty seconds of typing...starting...now... I'm not sure what your feelings about chess are, but fencing is often referred to as "physical chess." I think that's right on. It's very much a thinking person's game. I would imagine you might pin yourself as a thinking person. Meets, in general, take not much more time than practices, especially in the first year. And, hey, if you don't like it much after that, then so be it. KM

View from a Farley : The Catcher in the Rye

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:12:56 +0000

He's trying to work through some things, not the least of which is the loss of Allie. He's not moving forward -- you're right. Think about why. Also, go back to times he completely freaks out about things...I imagine you'll discover a bit of a pattern. KM

View from a Farley : The Catcher in the Rye

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:09:27 +0000

Hi, Chris,

So, I'll begin by stating that I have "taught" Catcher in summer school for the past seven years. I won't pretend to be an expert in it, but I have certainly read it a few times, at the very least.

I'm struck by two things in your post: the struggling with the conversational nature (and I mean struggle in a sense of it preventing you from enjoying the text more) and the "wandering" nature of the journey Holden is on.

Remember that Holden is relating his journey in the context of psychoanalysis. That colors the way he's approaching telling his tale. His repetition of phrases like "It really can," etc., are him convincing himself of the veracity of his version of the story as much as the reader.

The wandering nature is a large part of it: situate the tale against the prototype of adolescence, a wandering, meandering journey towards adulthood (and his resistance to "growing up" in many ways). There's the central metaphor of the novel, which definitely informs this reading of the text. Essentially, he has no direction, so the story can;t take much of one. He's too grounded in reliving the past (e.g.: Jane Gallagher and the checkers, Phoebe, the Museum of Natural History...) to have a clear goal for moving forward.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share some thoughts. I'm definitely willing to talk about your impressions of the book more!

KM

View from a Farley : Teachers' First Names

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:57:11 +0000

Mr. Farley,

I read your post some time ago, but didn't have a chance to immediately post a comment...but I still wanted to, even at this late date.

I think you correctly question the use of the title as a sign of respect, and whether said respect should hinge on the use of the title. One would certainly hope not. I think that in most schools, though, it is more a matter of school culture, and what the administration feels is acceptable and/or what the majority of the body of the faculty feels is acceptable. You could, of course, continue to challenge just why a name would be acceptable or not. I, like Laurie noted above, began teaching while pursuing my Masters in Teaching as part of a three-teacher team, and the three of us decided to have our students call us by our first name. I saw no discernible difference between that setting and my next setting as teacher, a public high school in RI, where students used "Mr." and my last name.

I don't know if it's as purposeful as I'd like, but I often refer to students in class (I imagine you might have noticed) as Mr. or Ms. so-and-so. While in our setting calling me by my first name would not be viewed as acceptable, I think addressing students in that same "reverential" way can help bridge the gap somewhat. And hopefully, it's just another way to show the respect of a teacher for students and their ideas and the value of their knowledge.

Best,
Kyle

View from a Farley : The Basics of Getting in Shape

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:41:43 +0000

As per the US requirement, may I suggest a one-word winter solution?
Fencing. :-) (Maybe, just maybe, I'll get you...and Mark, too?...to get into a sport I think you'd (both) be good at...)

KM

View from a Farley : Terror

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:34:29 +0000

Interestingly, Chris (and others), I'm currently in the midst of taking a seminar run by Facing History and Ourselves (http://www.facing.org) entitled "Holocaust and Human Behavior". The organization's purpose is probably clear enough just from its name, so I'll leave it at that for the moment.

In reading your post, I was simply brought to a lecture I listened to today by Bard College Professor Emerita Suzanne Vromen. She made many different points along the way, but she noted something interesting in speaking about how "terror" was one of the three means, as she identified them, by which the Nazis meant to rid Germany and German-occupied land of Jews.

She brought up the fact that, prior to 9/11, she struggled with conveying to American students what it meant to live with, be exposed to (or, it could be argued, be manipulated by/with), terror. She noted that she had referenced the KKK and McCarthyism before, but clearly not with the same effect.

While there is no tremendous point I'm making, this was something just on my mind as I read your post. Perhaps it speaks a bit to the idea that, for there to be truly a "terror" it has to be something that many have in common, and that we're reminded of (perhaps simply through its connection to and through terror itself) regularly.

KM

View from a Farley : Vacation!

Tue, 20 May 2008 20:51:53 +0000

As one of the people responsible for making you feel like you need to study inordinate amounts of time, let me be a bit of a voice of reason: go through the review sheets. Pick out only the items that you do not already feel you know and make flash cards for those – and not everything.

Somehow I think you’ll be fine.

Other things:

Mrs. B makes excellent points. Do listen.
DC is great. While good ol’ water is excellent and necessary, I support the DC. It’s the only reason I’m up now.

Mr. M.