Everyone Go to College?

Some people seem to think every high school graduate in America should go to college. I disagree. Every one of them should have the right; some will have the opportunity; but some may need to make their own opportunity. Government should not give them a free higher education. If everyone went to college, standards would drop to levels incomparable with those of other countries. They are already overtaking us, so why make the score worse? Many graduates never learn to do real study in high school. Most of those would likely soon drop out of college. Money wasted. Some prefer not to mix with what they might call “the elite,” if they knew that word. They already feel inferior; why play it up on a level field? Even if they stuck it out, many would barely make it through.

Many think a C grade is satisfactory. I do not. Colleges need the A students for our country to compete and lead the world. Yes, for us to lead the world. Some country has to lead, and the USA, as I said before, is the only benevolent country with the means to do so. But if only one person prefers catching butterflies for a scientific lab he knows nothing about, that is what he should do, and he need not read Greek to accomplish that dream. Let us not push people into college; let them walk in on their own volition and with pride in their ability to handle it.

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One Idea from "State of the Union"

Yes, our students should be achieving higher ratings in science and math, but President Obama left out the key to such success: READING. To understand the science textbook and those paragraph problems in algebra, a student needs to read well, to be in full command of his language, with knowledge too of using a dictionary. He might even learn something from a poorly written history book. And confidence in his good reading ability will give him self-confidence and help him stay out of trouble with the law.

What a chance the president missed.

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One for the FBI

A friend said to me she wondered if there would have been as much hullabaloo over one of us ordinary citizens if we had been shot in the head and survived as Gabrielle Giffords has had. The answer is easy. Of course not. Most of us aren’t Federal officers, as she is. When any member of Congress is attacked (and many other Federal workers), the case becomes a Federal one. Ergo, the publicity. Perhaps local officials are grateful that now the investigation is out of their hands.

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Suggestion from a Reader

One of my readers suggested I explain the uses of the apostrophe, but it is not my aim to teach any aspects of grammar and punctuation per se, for readers generally don’t want that. However, I will recommend once again that exceptionally excellent little book called Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. The error in the title is about commas, but the book is more about apostrophes. And it’s funny. It was a huge best seller in this country and the British author came here to talk about her book (and sell it, of course). It’s a book writers (and everybody else) ought to embrace with appreciation. Do you like pandas? Read here about their eating, shooting & leaving.

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What’s Cooking Now

Currently I am reading five books in the evenings, each a different type form the others. I want to talk a bit about one of them, one for writers. This book has been on my shelves for a few years, waiting its turn. How I wish it had been number one in the line-up, for it is one of the best books on writing that I’ve run across. It’s not for the beginning writer, one that still needs work on dialogue, paragraphing, other mechanics, etc., but for one who has mastered all those elements of writing. This author, Philip Gerard, takes up such topics as aesthetic distance, didacticism, and persuasion of continuity. And they make all the difference. I most strongly recommend this source: Writing a Book that Makes a Difference. I don’t intend to lend my copy or donate it to anyone, but reread it for inspiration.

While reading the chapter that explained this material, I kept thinking of the novel I was also reading, A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carré. Without any question here is an author who knows all about aesthetic distance and the other eighteen “rules” governing literary art. My previously mentioning Le Carré is a genius with words now rests more firmly on that pedestal, for his work embodies all these topics Gerard’s book proclaims. I wonder which came first, these rules or Le Carré. He wasn’t the first to write with such skill, of course, but whoever originated the eighteen rules did so by observing what made written words a masterpiece.

Here are three gems from Le Carré’s TMWM: “. . . a beggar with attitude;” “. . . throes of refurbishing [an apartment]; “. . . made herself lists about the lists she was going to make.” And this cleverness is just the whipped cream to the delight of the eighteen rules.

I strongly recommend both these books for writers. Read them together for good illustration of what the one is saying about the other—in both directions.

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Debate of the Time

Several years ago a small debate about teaching raged across the land. On television we heard different comments to the effect that teachers aren’t teaching subject matter—say algebra—but are teaching students. Even some teachers were saying this. I wondered if any English teachers were guilty of this notion. If so, it proved they did not know the subject they taught.

The statement should read: Teachers teach the students algebra. A little knowledge of grammar lets one know “algebra” is the Direct Object, in this case, the subject taught. “Students” is the Indirect Object indicating who receive the instruction.

The noise over the air finally abated. Perhaps some English teacher got to the source of the roar and set things right. Perhaps, too, journalists might have shared the responsibility for this atrocity, you know, anything for a story. It pays to know good English in any profession and in any job.

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Catching Up

It’s been awhile since I wrote about my own reading to any degree. I can’t remember what book I mentioned last, but I’ll give each one a grade in the interest and quality-writing categories as I list the latest read. James Swanson’s Bloody Crimes (A); Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life (B+); Bobby Jindal’s Leadership and Crisis (B+); Andy Andrews’s The Heart Mender (B); Turgenev’s First Love (C, perhaps A in the original); George Bush’s Decision Points (A); Daniel Silva’s Moscow Rules (B+); and Robin Cook’s Cure (A+). If one didn’t learn something from each book read, it no doubt was a waste of time. I want to mention here something I learned from Cure. It may come in handy if you’re ever a contestant on Jeopardy. First, an introduction.

In my first novel is a reference to castor bean plants and their poisonous seeds. I mentioned they might have been the beans shown in the movie version of the book My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier. I can’t remember them clearly from the book, but do recall them from the film. Anyway, they looked exactly like castor bean seeds. From Cure, I learned the poison in those beans is ricin and learned also the reaction if one has this is his system. [This is for crime fiction writers, of course.]

Much of what we learn is tucked away in our little gray cells, and forgotten till the right moment comes along when, voila! There it is.

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One Value of Memorization

When I was teaching accelerated senior English in high school, my students had to memorize several passages from Shakespeare, both the plays and lyric poetry. Of course, several, especially the boys, questioned why, since it had never been demanded of them before. I told them, if I answered that question they wouldn’t believe me, that they would find the answer for themselves someday.

One year the Baccalaureate speaker quoted some of the exact passages they had memorized. After the program, several graduates (girls, of course) came to me with a great deal of excitement, for they knew what the speaker was talking about and what he meant.

Then many years later one girl from my humanities class reached me finally with a note. Among other welcomed statements, she said Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 was read aloud at her wedding. How lovely! After a bit of correspondence, she even came to see me in my home. She was, of course, visiting others here, family, I suppose. How worthwhile it is to teach Shakespeare!

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The Importance of Memory

The study of memory has fascinated me for many years, for it varies from person to person. It seems to be basically a selective trait in numerous people, perhaps much to their detriment. Memorization in elementary school has proved over and over again to be a good exercise, and I had plenty of that. Not just the multiplication table in math, and the rudiments of grammar, but also facts in geography. I recall learning the boundaries of countries with such wording as, “On the east, Asia,” in giving the boundaries of Europe. And I remember, “The most important weapon in Australia is the booomerang.” I wonder if boomerangs still exist today. I must ask one of my sons, who’s headed there in a few days.

But the memory item I want to mention here is one sentence from my geography book in fifth grade. On the first page of chapter one was a tiny photograph right in the center, surrounded by two columns of text. The picture showed laborers in a field. In the left column, a little south of the picture was a sentence in italics. I can see it now. Geography is the study of the earth and of the way men work and live. We were told to memorize that. Big deal! Read it once and you have memorized it.

Many years later, when I met with a group organizing a private high school in my town, we got onto subject matter and for some reason I quoted this definition of geography. The chairman of the session thought it worthy of remembering, and asked me to mail her a copy of it! I did, but I wondered why she thought she couldn’t remember it.

My father had a remarkable memory (but he wasn’t a good speller though a genius at math). I have a good memory and all of my children and some of my grandchildren have remarkable memories too. But I don’t cloud my brain with the dates of people’s birthdays, graduations, weddings, and deaths. Those dates, if one wishes them, can be preserved somewhere else for reference. But for intelligent conversation, one needs to know some dates, places, and events of history, including today’s history. By many indications, current high school graduates lack this ability, a sad mark against us. Innovation isn’t always a good thing. We need to embrace the proofs of past learning techniques to move ahead.

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Much Ado About Something

In the news recently, some journalists have been too eager to comment on Speaker of the House John Boehner’s couple of tears in public at touching moments. I admired him for that. It meant he can be interested. And real men do occasionally cry. They wouldn’t be human otherwise.

But I could never pass muster for politics, for I’d cry too much. Just today, in seeing and hearing about the horrendous shooting in Tucson, I cried several times, but not exactly where you might expect me to. I cried the biggest when some anchor said someone in the House of Representatives stated she could hardly wait till Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords got back to the House so that they could all salute her. That was touching. And I’ll add an invisible salute for the surgeon who saved her life.

I've learned I cry more often over happy situations and statements than sad ones. I pity the person who can’t cry, man or woman.

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Sweets for the Sweet

Speaking of food, let me add, every child deserves to have at least once in his childhood two special desserts. Children need to watch their being made (but not help in the process), one of them, days before its being served and the other immediately after it comes out of the oven. One is baked on a wooden cutting board in the range oven; the other is shaped in a terra cotta flower pot in the fridge. You can locate the recipes on the Net. The one for the oven is Baked Alaska. [Some people think this is a fish, but it isn’t.] The one for the fridge is Paskha, the traditional Russian Easter dessert. The latter is quite rich and should be sliced thin, like cheesecake. Invite friends in for the Baked Alaska, for it all needs to be eaten. Oven-baked ice cream isn’t a good left-over.

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A Different Way to Lose Weight

During these twilight years of my life, I am in the process of giving away possessions I really like and sometimes cherish. Things I don’t have any particular fondness for usually go to a thrift store of some sort for tax deductions. Among the liked items are, of course, books. [Given to family members already is all my real jewelry, which was just a few items. My hands full of rings and bracelets would be a distraction from my keyboard work. I look at the keys, for I don’t touch type.]

Many times I’ve searched for a book, not to find it, but vaguely recall I gave it to someone, who, I thought at the moment, would appreciate it. I hope the donees are still enjoying them. One granddaughter-in-law took off my hands several cookbooks and my loose recipes. This was twenty years or so after I gave several boxes of cookbooks to my daughter when I was still cooking. That was when I owned about 200 cookbooks and used them. A few were coffee table books of great beauty.

I recall many years ago getting home from school to find the post had delivered a big package. It was a gorgeous cookbook specializing in desserts, loaded with color photos, one tempting picture sometimes taking up a whole page. I distinctly remember a chocolate jewel with pink twirled frosting. Each delight graced a different pattern of china or crystal. It was a dream book.

So, I began at the beginning and studied every photo, reading its fascinating name and glancing at the list of ingredients. This took awhile. When I finished, I felt as if I had eaten from the book. I was not even hungry and it was time to get supper on the table. This might have been one of the few cookbooks I never cooked from.

Sounds like a great enjoyable way to lose weight, doesn’t it? Just spend an hour studying exceptionally well photographed dishes of delightful, even decadent, desserts long enough and you will be filled! I don’t guarantee it will work the second time with the same pictures, for I never tried it again. You’d better buy another cookbook.

Now I know what you’re saying. It wouldn’t happen that way with you, for you’d find something you’d just have to cook right then. Well, my guess is that would happen only if you did not spend a long time with the pictures. Saturate your eyes long enough and feast.

This is wild, of course. I know about the conditions in other countries. We need to help them rather than feast so gluttonously ourselves, even if not in actuality. And who, these days, has an hour to spend that way? I hadn’t planned to. It sneaked up on me. It didn’t happen again and I gained back that pound.

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There’s Money Out There Somewhere

There were exciting programs on C-SPAN over the weekend, but I’ll mention only two here. When I tuned in, Gov. Bobby Jindal was in the middle of talking about his new book Leadership and Crisis. He spoke from the Reagan Ranch Center in California and received much applause for statements he made. Later in the day, I tuned in again and got the first half of his speech, minus the introduction. He is a dynamic speaker and needs no teleprompter. How refreshing.

On another program a woman answering questions from callers said George Bush’s Decision Points has sold two million copies. That’s a runaway best seller.

The last time I checked, authors were getting, for their own pockets, about one dollar per copy. If that is still the rate, then George has already made two million dollars on the book. If two dollars a copy, then he’s made four million. It could also become a selection for book club distribution and net him another tidy sum. I don’t think Hollywood will pick it up, but you never know.

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A Look at Farming

In Brian Lamb’s rerun interview with author Frank McCourt last night on C-SPAN, the author told of his once being referred to as “just a teacher,” while others around him had high-powered jobs or successful writing careers, whatever. Doors were closed to him everywhere, he said, for he was just a teacher.

Then he wrote Angela’s Ashes, about his mother. It was a best seller, as you know, and now he says doors are opened to him everywhere.

For generations in American society, three vocations rated as being at the top, above all others: religious ministry, medicine, and law. At least one of these rested upon a calling—that’s what vocation means—and perhaps the other two also, depending on the individual. Though today well-sprinkled with felonies and misdemeanors, they still are at the top. But there are two fields of endeavor, usually not called vocations, that hold high standing in my view. They are farming and teaching, but only when done well. A poem exists, written from the point of view of a farmer that begins with “I guess I’ve seen more light than any man alive [sic].” Whenever I think of wide open fields, I recall that line. It figures the light seen is even more than what a pilot sees, for he doesn’t fly every day. The farmer rises daily to look over his fields, and, of course, to look up at the sky for signs of pending rain. He must take in the clouds, and even the stars, when he tucks his land in for the night. That’s one positive way to look at farming. You see more light than anyone else. It is an honorable estate.

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For Writers Only

It’s really getting under my skin to come across repeatedly one particular grammatical error (in addition to those mistakes with lie, lay, rise, raise, sit, and set). It’s the misuse of the word “silently” when it should be “silent.” Last night I found it twice in just a few pages of Moscow Rules, an exciting international intrigue novel by Daniel Silva, author of The Rembrandt Affair. I thoroughly enjoy his work, but he doesn’t know me, and is not likely to read this criticism from me. Maybe one of you will tell him. But hear this:

Many authors write (and publishers publish) “He stood silently.” Yes, we once learned that adverbs tell how. But so do adjectives. Adverbs tell how something does; adjectives tell how something is. There is no action in “He stood silently.” It should be, “He stood silent.” It’s like “Stand straight.” We don’t say, “Stand straightly.” Nor do we say, “Stand tally,” but “Stand tall.” Many other such verbs with adjectives make up this list; for example, “Drop dead.” That’s a sort of action, but what this means is “Drop to be dead.” If the construction can be expressed with a form of to be, rather than the verb given, as in “He was silent,” then it needs the adjective, not an adverb.

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The Latest Book Purchase

I got out of Barnes & Noble this past Thursday with buying only one new book and one from the bargain table. The first one had to be ordered and will arrive at my house on Monday or Tuesday perhaps. When B&N doesn’t yet have a new book in the store, you can order it for less money than you’d pay if it were in the store. If you have a membership in B&N, this order is postage-free for the customer. That membership gives you another 10% off, and Thursday happens to be the day B&N usually offers a percent-off coupon online. Often it’s 25% off, as it was last Thursday. So I ordered Going Home to Glory by David and Julie Eisenhower.

At the bargain table, I found nothing of interest except John Le Carré’s A Man Most Wanted. I picked it up and tried to recall if I had already purchased that one. Not being sure, I concluded two copies would be better than none, and bought it. I do have two copies; someone will get a gift.

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Happy New Year!

It’s cold in Boise but the sun is shining bright at the moment. I started the year by breaking a resolution before I got out of bed. I slept till 8:00 on the dot. But I had gone to sleep at 2:00 a. m., so that’s only six hours of sleep. That’s good; it’s often four hours. The noise on Times Square was too much for me—I’d rather be reading—and I turned off the telly and got back to George.

I finished reading George Bush’s Decision Points around 10:00. In the next to the last chapter, the one on peace and its negotiations, is an amazing little story about a hen turkey that we should all appreciate, for that fowl helped to shape world peace. Don’t miss it.

Decision Points is an excellent work. It tells the other side of some stories, something the news people at the time didn’t tell us straight, if at all. A news man now told us the other day that George Bush’s book sold a million copies within about a month after publication. Then he said Bill Clinton’s book sold 1.2 million, but it took six years.

For 2010 my reading record shows only 40 books finished. Naturally, one of my resolutions for 2011 is to read 50. When I was teaching, I managed to read 100 books a year, but every time my classes and I read Hamlet, I counted every time as a reading, for it was a reading.

One thing I like to do (but failed to do this time) is to have a book almost finished by midnight of New Year’s Eve, and then finish it quickly on January 1. That gives one’s reading list a great start. There’s more to say, but this is enough for this posting. Do note this date may have more than one.

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