Teaching is a profession which is constantly made to sound more glamorous and fulfilling than it ever is in reality. Inspiring young people to learn Great Things seems like a noble vocation, but in practice, too many teachers are left battling the double demons of boredom and disdain in their students. “In time I would learn that language and literature wouldst sucketh forever and that life at home (wherever that was this week) sucked like a veritable vortex… I wanted to engage them in critical thinking, but surely nothing could suck more than that, and this was a shame, because I’d gone back to school as an old bag just to get a credential to teach it.”
Blog
A Rush To The Bargaining Table?
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s contract with its musicians doesn’t expire for another year, but the orchestra’s board chairman wants to reopen negotiations immediately, and to get a new labor deal in place before the start of the season later this month. According to chairman Richard Smoot, the orchestra is pursuing some massive financial gifts, but donors are only willing to lay their money on the line if the organization can bring its financial situation under control. Among the management proposals being floated are plans to reduce the size of the orchestra through attrition, to replace unionized substitute players with students, and to delay scheduled raises for the musicians by a year.
Are American Museums Sanctioning Illegal Archaeology?
“European museum officials and archeologists charge that American museums continue to purchase and to exhibit unprovenanced antiquities and that such practices encourage the destruction by looters of ancient sites. A number of museums in Europe, including the British Museum and the Berlin State Museums, have adopted stringent new standards for antiquities.”
Shakespeare The Librettist
No writer in the history of the English language has had as many operas, ballets, and other musical works written around his words than William Shakespeare. But there are some rather big stumbling blocks in the path of any composer attempting to add his/her imprint to The Bard’s work. Says one director, “It’s almost like trying to choreograph a Beethoven symphony… It’s already there; you don’t need to add an extra level of music onto it.”
Blog Nation: Millions Of Writers With Nothing To Say
Lost in all the breathless coverage of the “blog” phenomenon is the inescapable fact that most blogs are little more than daily lists of mundane personal activities, of interest to no one but the author and the author’s immediate circle of friends, if that. So what’s the point? Maybe that very lack of wide appeal is the point. “The Web is a high-tech gossip network: an entirely public notice board with very private functions. There is something about publishing, even self-publishing, even Web posting, that lends an air of gravity to one’s personal relations; when written, they come to seem more literary, more important.”
Now That’s Education Reform!
Deep Springs College is not your typical outpost of higher education. The all-male school is part college, part working cattle ranch, and, in a unique twist on the usual power dynamic, the 26 students more or less run the whole operation. “From the slaughtering of cows to the hiring of faculty, the day-to-day operations of the school are borne on the backs of 18- and 19-year-olds.”
A Fight Over A Bequest
A battle is brewing over a $1.7 million bequest made to the Victoria State Opera, which was taken over by Opera Australia in 1996. Opera Australia believes it is entitled to the money, but others believe the bequest ought to b e divided among other small Australian opera companies.
Does Gay-Friendly TV = Gay-Friendly Viewers?
2003 is officially the Year of the Gay TV Show. Game shows, sitcoms, reality shows, and makeover shows centered around gay characters have sprung up across the television landscape, and many of them are drawing surprisingly wide audiences. But do a few campy TV shows really make the average American any more tolerant of real-life homosexuals? According to a new study of 200 rural Midwesterns teens, the answer is yes.
Deadly Year For ‘Burning Man’
The ‘Burning Man’ Festival, held each year in the desert north of Reno, Nevada, is a celebration of free spirits as much as it is an art festival, but this year, spirit was trumped by tragedy as a woman attempting to ride a giant “art car” was crushed beneath it. Burning Man’s founder insists that the accident will not cast a pall over future editions of the fest: “Some see photos of people attired in giant rat costumes doing wildly unconventional expressive things and assume this means we’re in some way irresponsible. Nothing could be further from the truth. This isn’t an irresponsible party; it’s a model city. If there are lessons to be learned from this that will improve public safety, we will implement them.”
Guns Don’t Kill People, Short Stories Do
“The case of an Oklahoma teen who was charged with a felony for writing a violent short story about attacking his school has been dismissed by a judge who ruled that prosecutors failed to prove the teen actually intended to commit the act… Now, after tens of thousands of dollars spent fighting the charge, Brian Robertson is free, but the accusation that he broke the law will stay with him. Under Oklahoma law, if a case carries on for more than a year, a felony charge remains on the defendant’s record, even if the case is dismissed. The felony gets expunged from the record only if the defendant is acquitted following a trial.”