I Write to...

I write to entertain. I love to entertain. I love to engage and enthrall and immerse people in what I have to say. I prefer doing this by speaking, but writing is definitely one of my favourite mediums. At the moment I'm writing a speech for a public speaking competition. Writing it makes me anticipate the moment I get to step on stage and share my thoughts with people. I think of ways I'll say it, and the way I write it dictates that. Putting a word all in capitals suddenly has so much more meaning to me when I'm reading it. It won't mean the same thing to anyone else unless I read it. I write to express. I write to say the things I can't say on my own.

My Definition of Education

The act of preparing an individual for something, in life, a job, or in any other given situation. Someone with experience shares and passes on that experience to someone who is inexperienced. Anyone can educate.

What Makes a Good Teacher?

This is my response to the Rhode Island Teacher Resignation video. I'll post the link at the bottom.

Honestly, good on this guy. He's got morals, and he's not willing to compromise them for a paycheck. This is what a teacher is. A teacher is so much more than someone who sits at the front of the class during the school day. A teacher has to want to teach, and has to enjoy it. It makes me really happy to know there's still plenty of teachers out there who love to teach. I'm not saying that there's not a lot of them. In my school, more often the not, the teacher is phenomenal and much more than a text book reader and talking head. But often, their creativity for lesson plans and new ideas for teaching are repressed by old rules and regulations. I believe that teachers should be given a little more leeway when teaching, as it's not black and white. There's is no right way to teach every single kid, because every single kid is different. Everyone learns differently, so you can't teach them all the same way. Most teachers understand this, but have difficulty catering to each students needs because of a restrictive system. I applaud Stephen for taking a stand for what he believes in.

If you'd like to see Stephen's resignation and message to teachers and kids, click here.

Don't Take Away the Books!

This is my response to an article on the Telegraph entitled, "Catcher in the Rye dropped from US school curriculum."As the article puts it, "Schools in America are to drop classic books such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye from their curriculum in favour of 'informational texts'."

English class is not the place to learn about how to insulate buildings. English class is the chance to learn how to express yourself, and learn how others express themselves. For as long as I can remember, reading novels has been my favourite part of English class. As a student who loves reading, but barely finds the time to go out and get a book, English was a fantastic excuse to immerse myself into another world for a few minutes a day. The emotions and feelings that came along with the brilliant mental images still stay with me, and affect me today. I can remember all sorts of small passages from books like Catcher in the Rye and Death of a Salesman. Although many may consider fiction a waste of time, it’s actually a very beneficial tool to our development as people. While reading, we take on another person’s life, and experiences.

If you'd like to read the article, click here.

            

What They've Left Me

Thank you Andrew Miller, for the pipe in the basement. 

Thank you J.D. Salinger for the carousel in the park and watching his sister go round and round, 

Holden's hunting cap and sitting in the dorm room, and the diner with the nuns. 

Thank you Cormac McCarthy for sitting on the beach with the sky all dark, the basement and the people chained to the walls and the man without legs, and hiding and watching the truck.

Thank you Mitch Albom for the Vietnam war vet and the Blue Man.

Thank you Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee for the politicians arrival in a small town.

Thank you Harper Lee for running in the dark with a ham costume. 

Why Fiction in English Class is Important

We tend to get pretty wrapped up in our own lives sometimes. This can make our views and opinions pretty one-dimensional. Characters in books have this awesome ability to show us something else, something new. They help us achieve a new perspective, or a new feeling on a topic. Reading removes us from ourselves, and that is the value of an English course, and mandatory readings. It reinforces the idea that reading is important, and doesn’t just have to be done in an English class. It helps us see things we could never see on our own. 

Grade Eleven - Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman is also always going to stick out of in my mind. I remember sitting around the Harkness table, and everyone getting a chance to read a part. Mr.Leach loved to read out Willy, and made it really enjoyable. Because of some things I was going through in my own life, reading the play was sometimes a bit of a struggle on my own. With Mr.Leach’s hilarious accent, and the enthusiasm of the class as a whole, however, it was a great experience. 

Grade Ten - Catcher in the Rye

One of my favourite books that was introduced to me in class was probably not one I would have picked up on my own. I can distinctly remember gradually discovering the character of Holden Caulfield, and the way his school could relate to Ridley. It didn’t matter where we were supposed to read up to in that book, I was always chapters ahead. I couldn’t put it down. The story was fantastic. I remember learning about the controversy surrounding the book, and it being removed from schools. Supposedly it was the book that motivated John Lennon’s killer. While reading it, fifteen year old me was waiting for this vulgar awful truth or horrible thing Holden would do that would just mess a person up. It turns out there was just a hooker, and some bad language. It was cool how just as Holden was discovering this abundance of independence, I was going through the same sort of stage. I wasn’t running around New York, per say, but I was dealing with a lot more independence than I was used to. In that way, Holden became so much more real to me. 

Good Bye Mr.Gatsby

            Dear Mr.Gatsby

I’m sure you’ve heard by now. I’m really sorry. I just don’t think they understand. They don’t understand what it’s like, to live as someone else for 300 some odd pages. They don’t understand what it’s like to love someone unconditionally for decades. They don’t understand the true loneliness of having a house full of people, and feeling truly alone. And I didn’t understand it either until you came along.

You know, it’s kind of funny. I’ve never spoke a word to you. I’ve never had a real life interaction with you, and barely know what your face looks like. But I feel like we’ve sat in the same room for hours on end, and just talked. We’ve talked about cars and women and war and life. I know you inside and out.

            I guess the house is leaving with you. I’ll miss it too. Its descriptions will live on in my mind. Although I never got the chance to physically attend your parties, I was in awe at their portrayals. The lights, the music, and the perfectly kept gardens. It’s all going with you.

            You will be very much missed, Gatsby. Although you’re being replaced, insulation manuals just aren’t as… colourful. You’ve taught me a lot. You may be disappearing, but the impressions you made on me are everlasting. They cannot be taken away. They are mine to keep. It’s all I’ll have left of you. And I guess it’ll have to do. It’s been a pleasure knowing you, old chap.

Your Friend,

Eric Gordon