A Culture of Fear.

At this current moment I am watching CNN Live. Why? Because I walked in the room and saw "Economic Doomsday" on my TV. If this didn't seem depressing enough, "Fire Rages Near Los Alamos Nuclear Lab" promptly followed. So in the following weeks we may be living in a jobless world that is set on fire...and everyone has cancer. Uplifting, isn't it?

I find this greatly ironic considering I had just come from reading Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. I'm sure you all have read this in your Freshman English class, but I decided to reread it. I was looking for "Their Eyes Were Watching God" when I stumbled upon this dusty paperback among my collection of books. I forgot just how great it was. The characters in this novel, as well as our society, live in a culture of fear. This fear manifests itself within our very souls, causing us to consume everything, not unlike the fire that burns the books we have banned. The information we forbid to pass on to the younger generations, rendering them ignorant of art and culture. The flames of fear and ignorance consume our humanity, leaving us as lifeless robots. But even some robots are more clever than the average American citizen.

We are a culture of convenience and consumerism. Are you going bald? No problem, just spray some mystery liquid on your head in order to insure your wife stays faithful. At least until she discovers how boring you are. Overweight? Obviously taking poisonous pills while still eating your greasy McDonalds (also poison) is a much easier solution than quitting processed and pre-packaged food. Congratulations. You are digesting a deadly cocktail of chemicals and fat. Of course America's longing for unattainable perfection drives our consumerism. We are afraid to appear less than what I we want to be, so we spend and we spend until we fit. Television commercials, advertisements, and the news are feeding us all of our insecurities. 

If we were only literate enough to look back at the teachings of the Romantic poets. We would then see perfection is a creation of the industrial age. An invention of mass-produced items which are cheaply sold for convenience. We do not comprehend that imperfection is a gift from nature and from God. That we are not God and can never be. We need to learn not to submit to this culture of fear around us. To stand brave and admit we are beautiful.

The Patio Theater

The Patio Theater. A place you need to visit in Chicago. This theater is located near Irving Park and Austin, in the neighborhood of Portage Park. I used to frequent this theater as a child with my good friends who are pictured above. It has been closed for the past 10 years, but recently reopened after renovation. The inside of the theater beats any Showplace 8. When you walk in, there is a single person attending a ticket booth. The walls are made of marble and stone, with beautiful decorations everywhere. It smells like cleaning supplies, which is the same way it smelled when I was kid. It's oddly comforting. Instead of hearing commercials upon entering the theatre, you will hear 30's-esq piano music while the ceiling glows with stars and passing clouds. This theatre is straight out of the past and holds a great amount of history.

Although they only play one film at a time, I highly suggest The Patio Theater. If you are nostalgic, into vintage or old things, or a ghost hunter, this is perfect for you.

pin-up fashion.

My latest outfit choice. 

The Fallen Woman

I was browsing through Gilbert and Gubar's "The Madwoman in the Attic".  Essentially it analyzes the crazy lady thrown in the upstairs attic in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre". Apparently her husband decided he didn't want her anymore, and the easiest way to get rid of her was declaring her mentally unstable. This is an interesting topic.  It can not only be a topic of concern for literary critics, but for women in general.  What sets up the dichotomy of the pure, angelic woman versus the fallen, dirty woman? Why is there no in between? I haven't read far enough into "The Madwoman in the Attic" for the authors to answer my questions, but I have a few suggestions of my own.

A woman cannot be seen as both sane and sexual.  Once a woman displays any ounce of insanity, no matter the level of her attractiveness, she becomes an unfit partner. One example the book gives is from the story "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."  The authors compare Snow White and her wicked step-mother to reveal their levels of attractiveness against their personalities.  Snow White is the sweet and naive girl who enjoys cooking and cleaning for seven dirty, incompetent men.  She is perceived as beautiful, while her step-mother (who is the fairest in all the land, by the way) is portrayed as wicked, evil, and threatening.  True, this step-mother may have been a tad vain, but is that what makes her so undesirable? No. The reason she is threatening is because she is assertive, proactive, and makes her own decisions.  Is this considered insanity, or progress? Perhaps our society thinks of women who display traditionally masculine qualities as "insane" or "out of line". This type of woman is someone to be censored, muted, and locked away in a closet.

What is it that we as a society are teaching our children about gender roles?

(dis)ability

The word disability is defined as "the condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness".  The word disability implies the inability to do something; to learn, to comprehend, to be seen as fully human.  Something about this prefix deeply bothers me. The words disconnected, dissatisfied, and disoriented all share the same prefix.  Not connected, not satisfied, not oriented. Then we come to disability. Essentially translating to "not able".

Are students with disabilities "not able"? Not able to do what? Depending on the disability, students may not be able to read at level, move around in a conventional manner, or function the same cognitively.  Even so, people often solely concentrate on the prefix “dis” rather than the word “ability”.  It is important to recognize that all of our students have abilities, even if they are different from the standard.

For example, a student who may not be able to read or write may be able to translate pictures and symbols wonderfully.  Students who find the English language difficult may be fluent in mathematics.  It is no secret that everyone’s brain is wired differently.  Depending on how you define “different”, some students deviate further away from the norm than others.  As educators, it is important to recognize the way in which these students learn.  The educator must modify their lessons to fit a student's particular strengths and abilities. 

Rather than concentrating heavily on what a student cannot do, I think it is time to allow them to bloom into who they can become.

K.J.S.

My first blog.

 This is my first blog. Ever. I'm not quite sure what to write about or how to write it.  Someone suggested I use it to record my experiences in the world of education.  I suppose I will be sharing stories (both good and bad), tips, and lesson plans, and things of that nature.

 I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to tell you about myself. Well here it goes. My name is Kate and I am a recent college graduate.  I majored in Secondary English Education with a minor in community service studies.  After years of working with students both in and out of Chicago's projects and public schools, no job was awaiting me after graduation.  After 5 months of searching, I managed to land a TA position in a suburban school district.  Although this was not initially my "dream job", I am learning many valuable lessons of my own along the way.

This is the part where I let you into my head.