Burke's Parlor Metaphor, and being "People on Whom Nothing is Lost"

As my students prepare for the AP Lang & Comp exam, here are some thoughts:

Like many teachers - especially English teachers - I do far more than teach my content. So much of my class, my students like to claim, is "not about English, but about life." Some people call that character education, others may call it shameless digressions into whatever I want to talk about. Either way, there is a method - and purpose to my madness - and it was best encapsulated by two great American writers and thinkers. Henry James once wrote about the need for a writer to be "a person on whom nothing is lost." That is a mantra in my classroom - especially AP Language and Composition where the ability to write open arguments is one of the class's raison d'etre. Basically, I am looking to guide and craft well-informed and astute young men and women who think a lot about a great deal of things ... and know what they "think about what they think." This is the essence of what Kenneth Burke in his Philosophy of the Literary From described in what has become known as "the parlor metaphor."

Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.

I was introduced to this via the College Board and former chief reader David Jolliffe who included the metaphor in publications for the yearly conferences. Jolliffe developed his ideas astutely in the helpful textbook Everyday Use.  The idea has been so helpful in getting my mind around AP Language because it perfectly encapsulates the Lang exam. There is, truly, a "discussion" going on in the pages in front of the students, and they must be able to "put in their oar" and then gracefully bow out. Of course, beyond the Lang exam, don't we always want our students to be well informed? Especially now, in a world saturated with content, isn't it appropriate for the education system to create "people on whom nothing is lost."

The Problem with "Studying" the Humanities

So, my students are getting ready for the AP Lang & Comp exam, and that reminded me of a piece of commentary on the problem with "studying literature." Certainly, Shakespeare and Dickens and Fitzgerald  and Steinbeck and Updike and Delillo and others did not create masterpieces of literature and great narratives so teenagers and college students would be "forced" to read them and answer mind-numbing questions of analysis. Yet, that's what the study of literature can actually do to the great works. It's a complaint of my students that I can certainly understand, and it can give me pause when I think about what I ask students to do. Lee Seigel asks a similar question is his piece "Who Ruined the Humanities" in the Saturday review section of the Wall Street Journal.  

Here's a sample of the kind absurdity in the study of humanities that he challenges:

Question: "Compare Homer's prolepsis to Shakespeare's ghosts and to Dante's premonitions, then contrast these with Ibsen's reversals, Chekhov's irresolution, and Kafka's absurdity in light of omniscient narrators in Jane Austen, narrative delay in Henry James, and free indirect speech in James Joyce." [time limit: one hour]

Thoughts?

13 Reasons to read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirty Reasons Why, the New York Times bestseller and young adult novel by Jay Asher, uniquely addresses the issue of teen suicide through a suspenseful story of a young man who receives a mysterious set of tapes following the death of a classmate. Clay Jensen listens to the tapes to discover the voice of Hannah Baker, a girl he knew from school who had passed away. Hannah begins to narrate the story of her downward spiral into a state of depression and ultimately suicide. However, there is a twist. Hannah is exposing the story and the thirteen people who in some way "played a role" in her demise. This revelation shocks Clay - and of course the reader - and propels the action of the novel. Thirteen Reasons Why is an infinitely readable young adult novel that takes on the issue of suicide in a meaningful way.

Thirteen Reasons Why has resonated with both teen and adult readers because:

1. The issue of teen suicide - and the social pressures that can often instigate it - is as prominent as ever, and one of the best ways to treat the issue is to initiate difficult conversations about the topic.
2. Jay Asher writes with a readable and believable teen voice that engages the issue of teen angst and the confusion that both leads to and follows the suicide of a young person.
3. The book is being made into a movie starring Selena Gomez
4. The novel is written in a unique format with basically two narrators - the actual one and the girl on the tape whose story is being told.
5. The suspenseful nature of the story - notably the reasons for Hannah's action, the gradual revealing of people and their roles, and Clay's unease over "his role - drive the story forward in a way that's difficult to put down.
6. It doesn't descend (too much) into cliches about teen life - or teen voices
7. There are layers of meaning and events that culminate in Hannah's death - a structure that lends understanding to the hardest thing to understand.
8. It's not a flawless novel, and there is plenty to criticize as you discuss the novel.
9. It doesn't trivialize its subject as far too many books and movies can.
10. It's a heck of an achievement for a first novel.
11. It's thoughtful without being preachy or pretentious
12. I kind of wish I'd written it - and you probably will, too.
13. Many of your students have read or are reading it, and you should, too.

And for a couple of other well written young adult novels that deal impressively with tough situations and do so in a voice and style that can even engage adults, you will definitely want to read:

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

It's Kind of a Funny Thing - Ned Vizinni

Affluenza in the English Classroom

"Through tatter'd clothes small vices do appear;
Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold,
And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks;
Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it."

Teachers of AP Lang & Comp certainly recognize this tidbit of wisdom from King Lear which appeared as an argumentative prompt years ago. The disparity between "wealth and justice" is a topic ripe for criticism, and it forms the heart of many literary works. It is significant in one of the great American novels, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  The essence of the theme and conflict is the misguided belief that money can buy anything, even the past. In the novel, Daisy basically gets away with murder because of her wealth, and Fitzgerald reminds us that the Buchanans and wealthy elite are "were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."

These days, that gap between wealth and justice is getting attention again with the story of Ethan Couch, a teenager who killed four people in a drunk driving accident, yet was inexplicably released from jail time after his high priced attorneys successfully argued the "Affluenza Defense." If there is anyone who "smashed things up," it's Ethan Couch, who was driving drunk at nearly three times the legal limit when he slammed into a group of people who were stopped by the side f the road. After his high priced attorney successfully argued that he needed rehabilitation, rather than jail time, and that he couldn't be held responsible because his privilege had shielded him from any responsibility in life. In essence, Couch's parents spoiled him so terribly that he never learned consequences for his actions and shouldn't be held accountable.

Scholarly Study of John Grisham

As an English teacher, I like to tell my students there are great writers and there are great storytellers. The work of a great writer will generally be considered literature and is worthy of study in the classroom. It's writing that matters, and it has more to it than character, setting, plot, and theme. There is generally a sophistication to the language and structure and layers of depth to the meaning. The work of a great storyteller may be immensely popular, and it will sell widely while engaging its audience. But it may never be worthy of study, it won't stick around for long, and it ultimately doesn't really matter. In this way I tell my students that Dickens and Austen and Fitzgerald and Salinger and Updike and even Franzen are great writers producing literature, while King and Clancy and Crichton and Dan Brown and Stephanie Meyer are popular storytellers. In fact, I wrote more extensively years ago about the conundrum of the quality of Stephanie Meyer's writing.

So, what to do with John Grisham?

Clearly, John Grisham is a hugely popular writer of thrillers and crime fiction, and he would be the first to concede he is not a writer of great literature. Writing is a business for him, and he writes engaging stories to make money - and he makes lots of it. Grisham has been known to pull in $25-$30 million a year, and his net worth is approaching a quarter of a billion dollars. However, I once read an essay in a study of popular culture that identified John Grisham is the "Dickens of our time," for the richness of his characters and the portrayal of unique sub-strata of society. That certainly challenges the conventional wisdom of the time. However, there may be something to an elevated status for popular writers like Grisham, and that is the focus of John Grisham: A Critical Companion. The book is one in a series about popular fiction edited by Kathleen Gregory Klein of Southern Connecticut State University. Each book in the series begins with a biographical sketch, and then assembles a series of critical essays about the author and body of work. The Grisham series, written by Mary Beth Pringle of Wright State University just might convince you to re-evaluate the complexity and worthiness of John Grisham's work.

Certainly, if you are an English teacher who assigns research projects, you might want to check out the Critical Companion series from Greenwood Press.

Does Reading Fiction Make Us Better People

I was in the bookstore the other day, and I noticed my tendency to gravitate toward the non-fiction section. That would seem pretty typical for the average man, as most studies indicate men tend to read more  non-fiction, while women are more likely to prefer novels. That's certainly true between my wife and me. And, of course, I try to balance my habits with both genres - currently, I am reading an Elmore Leonard novel Road Dogs (always a pleasure) and Ed Burns' new (sort of) memoir Independent Ed. That said, I just naturally gravitate toward Burns' easygoing story of his film career over the raucous crime drama of Leonard. Go figure.

However, I am a high school English teacher with a Master of Arts degree in English Language and Literature. Teaching literary fiction is a way of life for me. Granted, I now only teach a section of "AP English Language & Comp," which is primarily focused on rhetoric and argumentation. Still, the class maintains a pretty heavy component of lit with works such as favorites like O'Brien's The Things They Carried and Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Of course, I have also added in some non-fiction with Lewis' Next: the Future Just Happened and Krakauer's Into the Wild.  But does it even matter?

Is fiction superior in any way to the non-fiction works? And is it necessary for us as human beings to read novels? Certainly, all those questions are extremes, and it's really not a question of necessity. However, as the reading public continues to shrink - at least in the sense of accessing grand literary works (ie. the classic novel), I wonder, as Marc O'Connel recently asks in a piece for Salon, "Does Reading Fiction Make You a Better Person?"

A Cappella Groups - "Rock Stars" on the College Circuit

For me, the fascination started with two amazing performing groups: the classic Christmas mash up from "Straight, No Chaser" and the extremely talented a cappella groups at the high school where I work. And, with the amazing success of a movie - and book - called Pitch Perfect, as well as the run of the Fox show Glee, "a cappella" singing is coming into its own in a whole new way. And, as a recent AP story recently explained, "College A Cappella: [it's] Not your Grandfather's Barbershop Quartet."

These days the a cappella groups on college campuses are competing in increasingly popular competitions, and the top groups are achieving the status "of rock stars." With incredible singing talent, intricate mash-ups of popular songs from the likes of Beyonce, and complicated choreography, the kids singing a cappella are winning over ever larger audiences. And, this development in the arts is very exciting.


The Super Bowl of a cappella competitions was expected to draw about 3,000 people to New York to see eight groups this weekend, a far cry from the paltry crowd of 200 that watched the national finals more than a decade ago. "Now the larger world is seeing that it's awesome," said Amanda Newman, executive director of Varsity Vocals, the event's organizer. "Everyone's just over the moon. It wasn't a secret that we wanted to keep." This isn't your grandfather's barbershop quartet. Covering pop songs like Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" and Hozier's "Take Me to Church," the groups earn the adulation of cheering fans through their complex harmonies and choreography. "People used to think of vocal music as boring choir stuff," said Isaac Hecker, a member of Amazin' Blue at the University of Michigan. "Once you figured out that you can do crazy beat-boxing, awesome bass lines (and) throw everything together, you just have really cool music." This weekend's contest is the 19th International Championship of Collegiate A cappella, or ICCA. In its early years, Newman said, only 35 groups competed in the rounds leading up to the finals. This year, about 320 groups in the U.S. and Britain vied for a spot.


While high school and college are, obviously, for academics and career training, and athletics are a huge multi-billion dollar business, it's the arts that really connect with us on a deep emotional level. For that reason, I love seeing the attention showered on these talented performers.

Say This, Not That - How to Talk to People

In a cult classic from the early 90s, Pump Up the Volume, Christian Slater's character explains to his friend that, despite his voice on the radio, "I can't talk to you." Communication is tough, and it's one of the standards in English instruction that is often underserved in the classroom. Occasionally, I play the game Catch Phrase with students in an activity I call "Communication Skills." I also focus on language choices for the students in all their writing, asking them to combine sentences and think about the concept of le mot juste- the right word.

Communicating comes more naturally for some than others, but it is a skill that can be taught, learned, and refined. These are the thoughts from numerous authors of books around the idea of "Say This, Not That." One of the more interesting and well written approaches comes from California therapist Carl Alasko. Alasko offers great advice when you "have something to say" but don't want to trigger an argument. Many of us can use advice on how to be more tactful. And, we would certainly be more productive in delicate discussions if we were mindful of these few bits of advice:

• Have a plan
• Bite your tongue
• Avoid the unanswerable
• Don't blame, abuse, or punish
• Fend off fights

Gravity CEO Cuts His Pay to Offer $70K Minimum Wage

And, sometimes you get a cool story like this one.

Dan Price, the CEO of Gravity Payments, announced to his 100-person staff that he will establish a new minimum wage of $70,000 per year. Price is funding the huge across-the-board raises for his employees by cutting his own salary from nearly $1 million to $70K, and he will contribute a greater share of the company's profits. Price established the 70K threshold by acknowledging the research on happiness that indicates money "can buy happiness" up to about $70K/year.

Price's move is a significant extrapolation of the actions by other forward thinking, altruistic CEOs of the past few years such as Costco head Craig Jelinek who establishes a ceiling for his earnings that can't exceed an unreasonable multiple of his lowest paid worker. The actions of men like Jelinek and Price counter the ostentatious and disturbing trend of extravagance where income equality has exploded because of the absurd growth among the wealthiest.

Perhaps this move can alter the discussion of the income gap as simply a problem of achievement gaps in schools. These days, the primary motivator of national standards and new standardized testing is the belief that income equality will decrease if more kids go to college. The reality is our societal gaps are more about wages than about education. And, if businesses paid better for skilled work, we'd probably all be happier.

Not Equity or Achievement Gap - Let's Close the Inspiration Gap

Why don't kids succeed at school? Well, a primary reason is because they are disengaged from what they are learning, and they don't like the system, content, structure, goals, etc. Too often they are simply not motivated by or interested in what the education system tells them they "need to know." And, this is particularly problematic lately in a system that is focused on a singular definition of "readiness for college and career," which seems primarily focused on a basic level of competency in algebra II. This "common" approach for all kids is the outcome of a one-size-fits-all system grounded in the belief that if we simply produce more kids ready for bachelor degrees that we will solve the problems of socioeconomic inequity.

A more equitable system that would probably be more effective at meeting kids needs and producing engaged and skilled students who are prepared for the jobs they want and the lives they desire would instead focus on engaging and motivating kids to develop skills in areas that interest them. And, some innovative educators are addressing that issue of "inspiration," notably Andrew Mangino.

Four years ago, Mangino founded The Future Project with the aim of transforming students and schools by looking beyond the familiar measures of success. Instead of focusing only on school performance, graduation rates, college matriculation and job placement, Mangino wanted to get to what he saw as the root of the problem. Students don't have enough motivation, he says, and they lack belief in their own futures.

It’s not that the typical metrics aren’t important, Mangino says. But he strongly believes there's a lot more to success than grades and test scores. It's a conviction he developed while walking the hallways of Woodrow Wilson High School, speaking face-to-face with a young man whose potential couldn’t be fully rendered by numbers alone. The Future Project places mentors in schools -- usually people in their 20s and 30s -- to get students talking and thinking about how to achieve their dreams, big and small, short-term and long-term. The program's mentors refer to themselves as "Dream Directors," a title meant to signal that The Future Project’s ambitions begin in the school building but don't end there.

Moving away from a system of Carnegie units based on basic skills and preparation for "college degrees," and instead focusing on engaging kids in learning and personal growth, is the kind of education reform that can really make a difference.

Kurt Vonnegut & "The Art of the Term Paper"

It would be the English student's dream and nightmare: writing a term paper for Kurt Vonnegut. That's the challenge faced by Suzanne McConnell and other students who studied with Vonnegut at the Iowa Writer's Workshop in his "Form of Fiction" class. McConnell apparently saved one of her assignment sheets from the class - I mean, who wouldn't? - and it's not surprising the piece is a work of art unto itself. This approach to school - where the assignment is more than an assignment - is captured in a new collection of the writer's letters: Kurt Vonnegut: Letters, edited by Dan Wakefield. The actual assignment is featured in Slate.com this week.

As for your term papers, I should like them to be both cynical and religious. I want you to adore the Universe, to be easily delighted, but to be prompt as well with impatience with those artists who offend your own deep notions of what the Universe is or should be. “This above all ...” Do not do so as an academic critic, nor as a person drunk on art, nor as a barbarian in the literary market place. Do so as a sensitive person who has a few practical hunches about how stories can succeed or fail. Praise or damn as you please, but do so rather flatly, pragmatically, with cunning attention to annoying or gratifying details. Be yourself. Be unique. Be a good editor. The Universe needs more good editors, God knows. Since there are eighty of you, and since I do not wish to go blind or kill somebody, about twenty pages from each of you should do neatly. Do not bubble. Do not spin your wheels. Use words I know.

What a joy it would be to be assigned work in such a manner.  And, as a teacher, I occasionally see the assigning as a craft in itself - though not with this type of poetry.  Then again, I'm still learning and growing as a teacher, and this approach seems like a wonderful gift of a new professional goal. Of course, Rodney Dangerfield theorized that Kurt Vonnegut may not know a thing about writing ... or about himself.

Humorous Headlines

Over the years, late night hosts like David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Jimmy Kimmel have made light of silly or absurd signs and newspaper headlines.  Often, these mistakes in use of language have great lessons on syntax, punctuation, and word choice for students.  Occasionally, I will pull out a list of these humorous headlines as a fun class activity to begin or end the day.  Some of my favorites are:

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case

Iraqi Head Seeks Arms

Teachers Strike Idle Kids

Clinton Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead

Miners Refuse to Work After Death

Stolen Painting Found By Tree

2 Sisters Reunited After 18 Years in Checkout Line

Killer Sentenced to Die for 2nd Time in 10 Years

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Arson Suspect Held in Fire

Hospitals Sued by Seven Foot Doctors

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half