Peabloggy

Today is the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the compact disc. I wonder how much longer we’ll have CDs, particularly in consideration of the fact that flash memory is highly reliable, scratch-proof, and getting really cheap. Most Vandy students seem to have some kind of iPod, many of which use flash memory (the iPod Nano and Shuffle) and with the iTunes Music Store, CDs appear to be on their way out. Now that John Lennon’s solo collection is available online, it’s only a matter of time before the Beatles find their way there as well. After John, Paul, George and Ringo go digital, what else is there to wait for? Touchable media is out, man…

What was the first CD you bought? Mine was the Phantom of the Opera Original Broadway Soundtrack (1986), when I was going into 7th grade.

Hat tip: Gizmodo

- Peter Beddow

Bindi Irwin, Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin’s precocious little daughter, just turned 9, and she remains a most remarkable young lady. I had wondered prior to her father’s death whether his arguably loony behavior with wild animals would have unhealthy effects on his daughter, and when he passed away last year, I was interested to learn how she would fare. An ordinary little girl would probably retreat into her mother’s arms and it would be a long time before things were “normal” again. To the contrary, Bindi has stunned the world with her charisma, innocence, and drive to continue her father’s legacy. Recently, she made the decision to continue with a television series that had been planned prior to her father’s passing.

According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, an estimated 24.7 million children (36.3% of the U.S. population) live absent their biological father. U.S. Census information reported that 57.7 percent of all black children, 31.8 percent of all Hispanic children, and 20.9 percent of all white children live in homes with only one parent. A literature review by Denton and Kampfe (1994) reported that children from single-parent households are at significantly increased risk of teen drug abuse. Another study reported 75 percent of teenage suicides occur in homes where at least one parent is absent (Elshtain & Bethke, 1993). McLanahan and Sandfeur (1994) reported that children growing up in single-parent homes had lower GPAs, decreased educational aspirations, poor attendance, and higher dropout rates than children living with two parents. Dafoe (1995) reported that a white adolescent girl growing up in an advantaged household is five times more likely to become a teen mother if her father is absent.

Bindi’s story should be an inspiration to anyone who is forced to grow up without a father.

Credit and sources: Father’s Love Letter and fathers.com.

By the way, as I alluded to in the title of this post, what is the definition of precocious? It’s embedded in this video:

-Peter Beddow

This Swedish lady has developed the fastest internet connection in the world. She is able to download a full-length movie in less than 2 seconds - from her house. Of course, the lady for whom she built the connection (her mother) only uses it to read internet newspapers, but it’s a terrific demonstration of what we, being the technologically advanced creatures we are, can already do (but don’t).

In her lightning-fast travels through the world of internet newspapers, I wonder if our lady hero ever heard about this story.

How long will it be until the morning comes when some smart-aleck kid says to his mom, “Sheesh, in all the time it takes me to get up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, ride the bus to school, and walk down the hall to get to my class, I could be downloading terrabytes of knowledge-laden data directly into my bedroom! School is just a tax on my time as a kid!”

Where is Bill Waterson when you need him?

With a little digging, I learned that the following essay was written by a man named Hugh Gallagher, who has insisted that he really sent it to numerous colleges and universities as part of his applications. It wound up being published in Harper’s, and it won first prize in Scholastic’s high school writing contest in 1990. The piece has travelled several hundred thousand times around the world through “viral” e-mail and is available on hundreds of websites.

Not surprisingly, following his graduation from NYU, Mr. Gallagher published a book, Teeth which has met with generally favorable reviews. A website about Hugh can be found here.

Gallagher’s infamous college essay:
—–

QUESTION 3A: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT HAVE HELPED DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing. I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook 30-minute brownies in 20 minutes.

I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello. I was scouted by the Mets. I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire.

I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life, but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But, I have not yet gone to college.

—–

- Peter Beddow

Hat tip: http://ming.tv/flemming2.php/__show_article/_a000010-001020.htm

At one point in Mr. Robert Hill’s Poetry class at Middlebury, we studied Frost’s poem For Once, Then, Something. Hill engaged our class in a lively debate about the title and last phrase of the poem. What did it mean? How does it relate to the totality of the poem? And most important: How should it be read?

As wise college students, we had so many ideas about how to read that line:
“For once, then, SOMEthing.”
“For once, then…something.”
“For ONCE, THEN, SOMETHING!’

After an hour or so of discussion, Mr. Hill informed us that he had in fact heard Frost himself read the poem at the Breadloaf Writer’s Conference one summer. The class was hushed as he described leaning in to hear how Frost would finish the poem, aware that he was about to learn the answer from the master himself.

According to Hill, Frost read the poem beautifully, adding brilliantly musical inflection to every line - that is, until the end of the poem. When he came to the final line, he deepened his voice, paused and said robotically, “For. Once. Then. Something.” He never looked up, giving no tell whatsoever.

I do not know whether Robert Frost the man actually was how Hill characterized him, or if Hill just liked to characterize him that way. What I do know is that I’ve never thought of Frost the same way since. I wish ol’ R.F. were here to defend himself…

The point of my including college anecdotes such as these in the context of a weblog post by a Special Education major is simply to demonstrate how important it is for us to recall our own learning experiences as we endeavor into teaching students ourselves. I fear that too often academics become so schooled in their own fields that they forget where all of their students have come from, and - worse yet - where they may be going. In my view, our own collective love of learning is essential if we’re to teach students who may come into our classrooms with little or none for themselves.

- Peter Beddow

Previous: Robert, we hardly knew ye (link fixed)

Comedian Ron White, overheard on the TV while studying last night:

Don’t tell me vocabulary ain’t important. If I’d known the difference between “anecdote” and “antidote,” my friend Bob would still be alive today.

- Peter Beddow