Both for how well-written it is and for what you write about.
I love it when you say you grew up with laughter. I grew up in a house were laughter was rare, precious, and momentary, so I learned to treasure it. Today I try to fill the house of my chosen family with as much laughter as I manage, no matter if we laugh about stupid puns or trivial things, as long as I hear us laughing, I feel safe.
Another peculiar thing is how raw and real the reciprocal mistrust (is hate too strong of a word?) between Protestants and Catholics used to be (or still is?). I live in Italy, here everybody's Catholic on paper, almost no one in real life, and no one really cares. Isn't it weird?
Thank you, Federica. I find myself wondering how many readers might have similar memories of the Kennedy years or how controversial it was for a Catholic to potentially become the President of the U.S.
And that Protestant-Catholic divide has not disappeared but, in the U.S., it has certainly evolved. My mother reminded her children a number of times of the prejudice in parts of America against Catholics; she explained that "KKK" was often said to mean "Kikes, Koons and Katholics." Indeed, at university I knew a fellow from Tennessee who was proud of his KKK belt buckle. It depicted a Klansman on horseback with a lance, impaling a large mitre-wearing serpent on which was written the word "Romanism."
Thanks again for reading, and for letting me know your thoughts about it !
I am glad people take it easy here, but I also struggle with the hypocrisy. I am an atheist and that makes me look like the devil whenever I mention it. Yet, I still had a white wedding in a Church because my husband wanted a traditional ceremony. I am not sure I'll ever make peace with that! I'd like our nation to be less conditioned by religion and people to be more open and questioning. But I get what you say, if you don't take everything so seriously, it's surely better than other places with real fanatism. Ours is mostly just formal.
American Catholics and Protestant fundamentalist are fanatics and hypocritical at one and the same time. Count your blessings and pick your fights with care. This is a long term struggle to change peoples attitudes about the patriarchy, while leaving the food just as it is....
You are right. I didn't mean to treat different battles as if they were on the same level, It was just a personal example. Here I am free to live the way I want, much more than in other supposedly secular countries. I'll keep doing my best to show the people around me that not being a believer doesn't mean you're bad or immoral, and talking about how much taxes the Church doesn't pay to our country and how much it interferes with our policies. But I also appreciate all the ways in which my country doesn't really care about it too much.
I grew up in a University community on the South Side of Chicago. Chicago was dominated for a long time by the Irish-Catholic Daily family politically, who was said to have helped to put Kennedy into the White House. I grew up thinking of Kennedy as a good guy, and he was greatly mourned as was Martin Luther King Jr. when they were murdered. It was not just a Catholic city, but the Democratic machine included the Black South and West sides of the city, and Kennedy was respected by most of the Black community regardless of their religion.
I agree that the destruction of Humanities education is a worrying thing. As a former teacher I made sure to teach history, culture, and civics. A lot of this was done through simulations. We would have a class mayor, governor or president, and then a legislative body, who would meet with me to make the rules. Typically our executives would always have an environmental platform. In later years I developed a curriculum with classmates that included an election simulation with made up candidates, but we would focus on the platform planks of the winning candidate, which would have been developed by the students in teams. This we did in 3-5 grades.
We also held a Veterans Day assembly where students would teach about the different branches of the military, and heroes of different genders and ethnic backgrounds. This included inviting families and vets, and interviewing vets in our community and putting up their pictures, with their details and then inviting them to be guests of honor at the assembly. We also went to the VA hospital and sang to them and brought cards made from our entire school. A drive I would organize each year. When there were disasters we would make crafts to sell and fundraise for them. There is so much to civic involvement. We would study the part of the world affected. By getting children involved in helping one teaches them agency in the face of tragedy, and to be good neighbors and good citizens of the world.
I taught in a school founded by the educational philosopher John Dewey, and he believed in learning by doing. The literature we chose to read we used to help us understand ourselves and the human condition. I used literature to address culture and teach all sorts of complex aspects of life in our society. Divorce, loss of a family member, two same gendered parents, adoption, poverty, racism, sexism, being gay, and just different lived experiences. Many of the books mixed in humor as well as other emotions.
I cannot imagine life without the humanities, but I have been hearing from my daughter studying linguistics and literature in Germany, her classes according to her are 90% female. That is concerning. She still has male professors so that is encouraging. Still, I am not sure how to get more males involved in the humanties. It also means that the women who study humanities do not meet many men who are not in their classes. So, the devaluing of the humanities has bigger social implications as well.
Linda, I think your comment is an essay worth charing in its own right. Thanks for sharing your experience, and your continued commitment to learning in all its forms.
You sound like you were a wonderful teacher. Your students--and community--clearly benefitted in numerous ways from such a hands-on approach to learning.
At the moment, it seems like laughter is our lifeboat. It's a good thing that the Trump administration is so ridiculous and therefore worthy of contemptuous laughter. If they just evil and competent things would be much harder.
John I really love this deeply reflective piece you have written. In my grandparents house in Ireland there was a picture of the Pope and John Kennedy and I don't know which they revered more! I would have a more jaundiced view. I totally agree with you regarding the issue of teaching humanities in education and how it's being eroded in the drive to produce productive human beings. It is also under attack in Irish higher education. I studied humanities as a mature student and it was the best three years of my life.
Ah yes, many Irish household displayed those photos. You might know I worked at UCD before retiring, as University Librarian. UCD's strong suit is the humanities, but the university leadership is focused on engineering and science, partly because university rankings also focus there, partly because the leadership is generally drawn from the sciences. I was a more than a bit horrified when the government declared that history would no long be part of the second-level curriculum ... a big red flag, generally speaking. Glad that did not go through ...
I am glad that it wasn't approved for removal too. But it's a sign of possible times to come. I did my professional 1 year course in UCD end of 1990's. Have to say I preferred ICC for my undergrad degree, it is a more historic setting. Small world John.
What a thoughtful and beautifully written essay, John! As an American of a similar age, I relate--on so many levels--with what you have said. I also agree that laughter is critically important to our mental, emotional and social lives. Especially in these times of conflict, division and change in which we are living.
Thanks so much, Clarice. I suppose that being of a certain age our remembrance of the Kennedy years is perhaps different from those of more recent generations. And as for laughter: I do sometimes feel oppressed by the news and the endless repetition and amplification of every detail and just want to shut down. So... I'll try to share a few more light-hearted essays over the course of the lazy auld summertime.
I grew up in a Waspy family. My folks very much disliked the Kennedys. But their best friends were Irish Catholics. And when JFK was killed we were all in tears. Horrified. He was OUR president. Religious and political differences in my little world were similar to car choices. We had a Ford. They had a Chevy. So what?
I evolved to agnosticism because I think it is folly to think we can know that there are no gods - or are.
My Congregational parents would play bridge with their Catholic buddies. No talk of politics and religion - just the important stuff. Food, kids, beer, gossip, card game strategies, books, music, jobs and jokes. I would fall asleep to their laughter.
Wow, this story really impressed me.
Both for how well-written it is and for what you write about.
I love it when you say you grew up with laughter. I grew up in a house were laughter was rare, precious, and momentary, so I learned to treasure it. Today I try to fill the house of my chosen family with as much laughter as I manage, no matter if we laugh about stupid puns or trivial things, as long as I hear us laughing, I feel safe.
Another peculiar thing is how raw and real the reciprocal mistrust (is hate too strong of a word?) between Protestants and Catholics used to be (or still is?). I live in Italy, here everybody's Catholic on paper, almost no one in real life, and no one really cares. Isn't it weird?
Great story, I really enjoyed it.
Thank you, Federica. I find myself wondering how many readers might have similar memories of the Kennedy years or how controversial it was for a Catholic to potentially become the President of the U.S.
And that Protestant-Catholic divide has not disappeared but, in the U.S., it has certainly evolved. My mother reminded her children a number of times of the prejudice in parts of America against Catholics; she explained that "KKK" was often said to mean "Kikes, Koons and Katholics." Indeed, at university I knew a fellow from Tennessee who was proud of his KKK belt buckle. It depicted a Klansman on horseback with a lance, impaling a large mitre-wearing serpent on which was written the word "Romanism."
Thanks again for reading, and for letting me know your thoughts about it !
That's impressive. I didn't expect hate to run so deep, but humans are really good at finding reasons to despise each other anyway. Unfortunately.
The Italian way of being Catholic is one of the reasons why I love Italian culture and Italian humor.
I am glad people take it easy here, but I also struggle with the hypocrisy. I am an atheist and that makes me look like the devil whenever I mention it. Yet, I still had a white wedding in a Church because my husband wanted a traditional ceremony. I am not sure I'll ever make peace with that! I'd like our nation to be less conditioned by religion and people to be more open and questioning. But I get what you say, if you don't take everything so seriously, it's surely better than other places with real fanatism. Ours is mostly just formal.
American Catholics and Protestant fundamentalist are fanatics and hypocritical at one and the same time. Count your blessings and pick your fights with care. This is a long term struggle to change peoples attitudes about the patriarchy, while leaving the food just as it is....
You are right. I didn't mean to treat different battles as if they were on the same level, It was just a personal example. Here I am free to live the way I want, much more than in other supposedly secular countries. I'll keep doing my best to show the people around me that not being a believer doesn't mean you're bad or immoral, and talking about how much taxes the Church doesn't pay to our country and how much it interferes with our policies. But I also appreciate all the ways in which my country doesn't really care about it too much.
I grew up in a University community on the South Side of Chicago. Chicago was dominated for a long time by the Irish-Catholic Daily family politically, who was said to have helped to put Kennedy into the White House. I grew up thinking of Kennedy as a good guy, and he was greatly mourned as was Martin Luther King Jr. when they were murdered. It was not just a Catholic city, but the Democratic machine included the Black South and West sides of the city, and Kennedy was respected by most of the Black community regardless of their religion.
I agree that the destruction of Humanities education is a worrying thing. As a former teacher I made sure to teach history, culture, and civics. A lot of this was done through simulations. We would have a class mayor, governor or president, and then a legislative body, who would meet with me to make the rules. Typically our executives would always have an environmental platform. In later years I developed a curriculum with classmates that included an election simulation with made up candidates, but we would focus on the platform planks of the winning candidate, which would have been developed by the students in teams. This we did in 3-5 grades.
We also held a Veterans Day assembly where students would teach about the different branches of the military, and heroes of different genders and ethnic backgrounds. This included inviting families and vets, and interviewing vets in our community and putting up their pictures, with their details and then inviting them to be guests of honor at the assembly. We also went to the VA hospital and sang to them and brought cards made from our entire school. A drive I would organize each year. When there were disasters we would make crafts to sell and fundraise for them. There is so much to civic involvement. We would study the part of the world affected. By getting children involved in helping one teaches them agency in the face of tragedy, and to be good neighbors and good citizens of the world.
I taught in a school founded by the educational philosopher John Dewey, and he believed in learning by doing. The literature we chose to read we used to help us understand ourselves and the human condition. I used literature to address culture and teach all sorts of complex aspects of life in our society. Divorce, loss of a family member, two same gendered parents, adoption, poverty, racism, sexism, being gay, and just different lived experiences. Many of the books mixed in humor as well as other emotions.
I cannot imagine life without the humanities, but I have been hearing from my daughter studying linguistics and literature in Germany, her classes according to her are 90% female. That is concerning. She still has male professors so that is encouraging. Still, I am not sure how to get more males involved in the humanties. It also means that the women who study humanities do not meet many men who are not in their classes. So, the devaluing of the humanities has bigger social implications as well.
Linda, I think your comment is an essay worth charing in its own right. Thanks for sharing your experience, and your continued commitment to learning in all its forms.
Thanks John!
You sound like you were a wonderful teacher. Your students--and community--clearly benefitted in numerous ways from such a hands-on approach to learning.
Well said, Clarice.
Thanks Clarice. Teaching was so much fun.
At the moment, it seems like laughter is our lifeboat. It's a good thing that the Trump administration is so ridiculous and therefore worthy of contemptuous laughter. If they just evil and competent things would be much harder.
John I really love this deeply reflective piece you have written. In my grandparents house in Ireland there was a picture of the Pope and John Kennedy and I don't know which they revered more! I would have a more jaundiced view. I totally agree with you regarding the issue of teaching humanities in education and how it's being eroded in the drive to produce productive human beings. It is also under attack in Irish higher education. I studied humanities as a mature student and it was the best three years of my life.
Ah yes, many Irish household displayed those photos. You might know I worked at UCD before retiring, as University Librarian. UCD's strong suit is the humanities, but the university leadership is focused on engineering and science, partly because university rankings also focus there, partly because the leadership is generally drawn from the sciences. I was a more than a bit horrified when the government declared that history would no long be part of the second-level curriculum ... a big red flag, generally speaking. Glad that did not go through ...
I am glad that it wasn't approved for removal too. But it's a sign of possible times to come. I did my professional 1 year course in UCD end of 1990's. Have to say I preferred ICC for my undergrad degree, it is a more historic setting. Small world John.
I mean UCC!
I thought so!
There definitely aren't many right-wing comedians, are there?
Interesting observation.
What a thoughtful and beautifully written essay, John! As an American of a similar age, I relate--on so many levels--with what you have said. I also agree that laughter is critically important to our mental, emotional and social lives. Especially in these times of conflict, division and change in which we are living.
Thanks so much, Clarice. I suppose that being of a certain age our remembrance of the Kennedy years is perhaps different from those of more recent generations. And as for laughter: I do sometimes feel oppressed by the news and the endless repetition and amplification of every detail and just want to shut down. So... I'll try to share a few more light-hearted essays over the course of the lazy auld summertime.
I grew up in a Waspy family. My folks very much disliked the Kennedys. But their best friends were Irish Catholics. And when JFK was killed we were all in tears. Horrified. He was OUR president. Religious and political differences in my little world were similar to car choices. We had a Ford. They had a Chevy. So what?
I evolved to agnosticism because I think it is folly to think we can know that there are no gods - or are.
My Congregational parents would play bridge with their Catholic buddies. No talk of politics and religion - just the important stuff. Food, kids, beer, gossip, card game strategies, books, music, jobs and jokes. I would fall asleep to their laughter.
Sounds like a good way to grow up, Bill !