Being Human

I recently started watching Being Human, a TV series on the SciFi channel. It has (you guessed it) vampires, as well as a werewolf and ghost, trying to share an apartment. It’s not bad. However, one of the more gory scenes (which I couldn’t find a picture of, or it would be up here, it is so striking) is that of the vampire Aidan with another vampire Rebecca. They are in the bathroom after a “romp” and the white bathroom is covered in blood, while they hold each other. It’s a celebration of gluttony and trying to add shock value to the show, but I also think it’s something more. Life is messy, and try as we might to “clean it up” and put flowers on it, it wonderfully and beautifully messy. It’s also a comment on trying to control the uncontrollable. Freud noted (much to his chagrin) that sexuality and desire are some of the only things that cannot be controlled by society or society’s rules. It’s nice to know that we aren’t entirely drones. But it’s also terrifying. Hence, the blood-spattered walls. It IS in your face, but I think that’s also the truth of humanity. The chaotic and unorganized truth. Not that we are ruled by instinct or that we are little more than animals, but rather that we have a whole lot of potential that is hindered by society’s “control.” And, again, it’s nice to see when those controls slip and prove that we are uncontrollable. That word, uncontrollable, has such negative connotations as well. I teach my students about really old experiments that have been done about obedience and disobedience, and they are surprised when (even if the experiment is repeated today) the results indicate people are obedient (for the most part). Teachers and parents fear that their children will be disobedient (in such a sense that it will hurt them and others) and so don’t ever teach them critical thinking or that there is any way of disobeying that will not result in their destruction (excuse the hyperbole). This is not to say that kids don’t disobey their parents/teachers. They do, and ALL the time. And, perhaps, even if they were taught critical thinking skills this still would happen. Kids need experiences to learn. However, I think many make these bad decisions because they aren’t taught how to think. They are taught to obey mindlessly. Obey parents. Obey the Church. Obey the government. You can’t disagree or that means that you are a horrible person. Might makes Right. Apathy is preferred to thinking. I know some rules are there because many great minds have seen that this as the right way to go, and it truly is the right way to go. But to demonize dissenting thoughts simply leads to sheeple (sheep + people). Question everything, so you can be sure of all your beliefs. Not just cause mom, dad, the church, the government, my friends, told me so. Why must I be controlled? Because I might do something dangerous. Or courageous. It’s high time that we start acknowledging—and celebrating!—our messiness. The more we try to control it, the more we suffocate our potential as human beings. And that’s what I took from Being Human

Teaching

Teaching. I’ve wanted to post something about teaching for a while now. Perhaps a list of my “words of wisdom?” Sure.

1.       At night, in your head, imagine all of the really mean things that you are going to say to the student: God, you’re stupid. You will never get anywhere. You’re kidding, right? However, the next day, when you have to teach, put all of these out of your mind. The kids are already half-terrified of your (which is a good thing), but if you really do become a wicked witch you lose a vital relationship between student and teacher.

2.       As much as you want to pass on “words of wisdom” I don’t think they ever get it. They WILL go out and get drunk. They WON’T start early on their papers. They WON’T take the assignment seriously until crunch time. They DO think they are good writers, even though they wouldn’t know a grammatically correct sentence if it hit them in the head. Although this doesn’t stop me from trying. Maybe one kid out of 20 will realize that they need to take school seriously, or really, what’s the point?

3.       There are a couple of students that you really can help. Those are the ones that come to your office and really try. Although you may be annoyed by their “dumb” questions, remember that you were young and dumb once too. You don’t know what type of ignorant background they have to overcome to become decent human beings.

4.        Your students really think that you don’t know when they are: on Facebook during class time, texting their friends, not listening, or plagiarizing. Occasionally (every time when it comes to plagiarism), let them know that you know.

5.       Although it’s in your nature, don’t be a control freak. The students have to be active in their own learning and if you try to rewrite their paper for them it won’t help anyone.

6.       In addition to #5, DO teach self-reliance. The old adage applies here, “If you give a man a fish he will have a single meal. If you teach him how to fish, he will eat for a lifetime.” This can mean little things, like explaining how to look up an answer rather than giving it to them. This can annoy your students, because they enjoy the easy way out, but it’s better for them.

7.       You can’t be friends with your students, while they’re your students. It just gets weird. You can be friendly though. It is your job to teach them, not to be their buddy. Remember, these are skills they will use (even if they don’t know it).

8.       Even if the student never plans on writing anything for their “real” job, they still need to be able to communicate clearly and think logically/critically.

9.       Award good behavior, and be quick to praise.

10.   Punish bad behavior, but in a constructive way. This is difficult and it’s easy to be vindictive. However, never punishing bad behavior also teaches them that they can get away with it.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list and would love your additions!

Hello World!

So, I'm jumping on the bandwagon of blogging. I come to this for a few reasons. One, I often have more to say that what a Facebook post will allow and two, I find writing therapeutic. I guess that’s why I am getting my master’s in English. Also, it’s an excellent way of procrastinating on doing my real work, and if there is a way to do this, I will. I am slowly coming to terms with the idea that I probably won’t graduate in May. Wow. Just to write that down is pretty cathartic. Unlike my wiser friends who already planned for this (hi, guys!), I was under the assumption that I could get everything done by the oh, so early deadline of March 21^st. Now that it is February, and I only have about have written (yeah…about that procrastinating), I need to face reality. Which for me, is somewhat hard. Not to say that I’m foolishly optimistic—although this is possible as well, but I do have confidence is my abilities. And I guess it’s true, that procrastination is a sign that you are afraid of eventually failing so you don’t try. I suppose that is true. And I’m lazy. And incredibly busy with teaching and being a student, not to mention this “extra” project we call a master’s thesis (which needs to be around 50-70 pages, and I have about 30 pages done). I think it’s also hard to write about what you love, which is what I’m doing. I’m writing about vampires and romance! I know what you are thinking. Eeck, Twilight. But, not true. I tried to read it, but couldn’t get through it. I know romance has its problems with feminism, but that series REALLY has problems with feminism. And, as a self-proclaimed feminist, I can’t go there. However, I also refuse to lambast the girls and women that do like it and refuse to consider them as “little girls or ignorant women.” So, this is where my thesis is taking me: female masochism that we see in these contemporary gothic-y texts (and I’m talking about masochism as a structure of power, not the whips and chains sort—at least not always) and why many women love ‘em. I see it as an avenue of attaining female agency, identity and working through misogyny as a cultural trauma (this is all done through a close reading of the characters in the text, so I’m not really studying the reader, but more the text). So, generally, a way to be a feminist in a patriarchal world (cause as much as we would like to think sexism is dead, it sure is hell isn’t). It’s edgy and I deal with some trash books, but I love it. It definitely isn’t what one would think of when they think “literature” but I think that may be the point.

I sometimes think of how I came by these interests. Was it when my mom gave me a copy of Jane Eyre and said this is “real” literature? Was it my love for Anne Rice and the Vampire Chronicles as an adolescent? That I love Wuthering Heights (hence the URL, Wuthering Bite), and the messed up relationship (tragically beautiful) between the original Catherine and Heathcliff? That I read The Vampire Diaries probably a decade before it became a show on the CW? What drew me to these books? I guess that is my own, personal reason for exploring these ideas, although I don’t think I will find a sufficient answer. I suppose the question and the exploration is what is so tantalizing, and scary. However, what is interesting to me is not necessarily my own pathology (cause I will admit my slight obsessiveness), but the fact that I am not alone. There are reasons that, at this point in time, vampires are “booming” and this is an interesting question as well. Why have we, as a culture, called them into being? Nina Auerbach (the go-to theorist for original vampire-as-metaphor in culture) says that we call into being the vampire that our time needs. Why does the girl always choose the wickedly handsome, death-bringing vampire? Especially when she is always offered another, less deadly, choice. Why are we, as women, choosing death, choosing metamorphosis? I think this says a lot about women’s fantasies and about what is still wrong with “our society today.” Not that the woman is making a dangerous choice, but rather that she has to, to attain a sense of identity, freedom and power. All right. That’s it for now. Hope you enjoy, please comment if you would like. J