If there’s anything that grates on my nerves it’s constantly having to proselytize that, yes, not only are the arts and humanities useful, but they are simultaneously vital to individuals and a functioning society.
Many of your Substack posts have mentioned your daughters and the parental pride demonstrated at those moments is so touching it is inspiring. (One finds oneself thinking: Man, I kinda wish I had daughters like Chuck has. They seem really cool.)
In other earlier posts, you were disappointed in adults but thought that the kids were all right. I commented that if the kids were all right, it was likely because they had parents that modeled and cultivated that all-rightness. A post like this just proves my point. Thanks: saves me some effort.
So true. I don't understand people saying..."AI could write novels and movies!" How would that help connect me with a human vision and voice? It's like saying "You can marry the automatic checkout at the grocery store. Amazing!"
I occasionally have people send me links to this or that haiku writing robot/AI. It's a fun novelty. But I want to read poetry from someone who feels something about what they've seen, not just a word salad.
My daughter has an insatiable appetite for Greek Mythology. She lectures me about it constantly. She is eleven years old. It is a lasting grief to me that the avenues for studying her first love are rapidly diminishing. The enduring power of these stories is not valued by public schools or even by universities any longer.
My former dean once challenged my department to draft a mission statement with that year's third-graders in mind. My daughter was a third-grader then. I had no idea she would fall in love with Greek mythology, but as she's grown, I've seen her as a living refutation of everything my former employer has chosen to prioritize. She loves musical theatre and writing her own fantasy novel every bit as much as she loves wildlife conservation (she is a big advocate for wolves). Maybe she could maintain these side passions for art as a Biology student, but why should she have to choose? There's room for both in the life of the mind and in professional life and in civic life. Or there ought to be.
I love your daughter. Perhaps she can become a fan of Greek tragedies as well? From Ted Gioia’s Substack post on How to Read Greek Tragedy in a Netflix world, I discovered The Gospel of Colonus, a new version of the ancient play but sung by famous gospel choir. It is brilliant theatre realization. I so wish I had seen it live. At least we have a recording.
Absolutely. In every discussion I have had about "the future!" in education, especially higher ed, the most deprioritized factor is what an individual student actually wants and hopes for themselves. I've literally heard industry people talk about forcing people into certain professions because that's the "need," just not the actual student's need. And major props to your daughter--I swear, Joshua, our connections are uncanny--my first poetry manuscript was a lot of Greek myth set in the contemporary world. I hope she keeps those stories with her forever. I mean, geez, how might a figure like Argus connect to say, contemporary surveillance and tracking culture?
Ah yes, transcendence. This is why I was always unhappy in English class with all those printed words. Ha! But back in drama class I was frustrated by the superficiality and lack of good material (for women) and wanted to write my own. Only performance of good drama or a good musical would transcend it all. That is perhaps why Homer inevitably led to Aeschylus.
Many of your Substack posts have mentioned your daughters and the parental pride demonstrated at those moments is so touching it is inspiring. (One finds oneself thinking: Man, I kinda wish I had daughters like Chuck has. They seem really cool.)
In other earlier posts, you were disappointed in adults but thought that the kids were all right. I commented that if the kids were all right, it was likely because they had parents that modeled and cultivated that all-rightness. A post like this just proves my point. Thanks: saves me some effort.
This is it! What need in our world is more transcendence--something which cannot ever be automated.
So true. I don't understand people saying..."AI could write novels and movies!" How would that help connect me with a human vision and voice? It's like saying "You can marry the automatic checkout at the grocery store. Amazing!"
I occasionally have people send me links to this or that haiku writing robot/AI. It's a fun novelty. But I want to read poetry from someone who feels something about what they've seen, not just a word salad.
My daughter has an insatiable appetite for Greek Mythology. She lectures me about it constantly. She is eleven years old. It is a lasting grief to me that the avenues for studying her first love are rapidly diminishing. The enduring power of these stories is not valued by public schools or even by universities any longer.
My former dean once challenged my department to draft a mission statement with that year's third-graders in mind. My daughter was a third-grader then. I had no idea she would fall in love with Greek mythology, but as she's grown, I've seen her as a living refutation of everything my former employer has chosen to prioritize. She loves musical theatre and writing her own fantasy novel every bit as much as she loves wildlife conservation (she is a big advocate for wolves). Maybe she could maintain these side passions for art as a Biology student, but why should she have to choose? There's room for both in the life of the mind and in professional life and in civic life. Or there ought to be.
I love your daughter. Perhaps she can become a fan of Greek tragedies as well? From Ted Gioia’s Substack post on How to Read Greek Tragedy in a Netflix world, I discovered The Gospel of Colonus, a new version of the ancient play but sung by famous gospel choir. It is brilliant theatre realization. I so wish I had seen it live. At least we have a recording.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZyQP_zrD2U
I can't wait to check this out. Thanks!
Absolutely. In every discussion I have had about "the future!" in education, especially higher ed, the most deprioritized factor is what an individual student actually wants and hopes for themselves. I've literally heard industry people talk about forcing people into certain professions because that's the "need," just not the actual student's need. And major props to your daughter--I swear, Joshua, our connections are uncanny--my first poetry manuscript was a lot of Greek myth set in the contemporary world. I hope she keeps those stories with her forever. I mean, geez, how might a figure like Argus connect to say, contemporary surveillance and tracking culture?
PREACH
Also: it's not Terminator, but a the kids at North Bergen HS (NJ) wrote and put on an original musical adaptation of Alien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLhD2awoh4c
I saw clips of this when it happened and it was AMAZING.
Ah yes, transcendence. This is why I was always unhappy in English class with all those printed words. Ha! But back in drama class I was frustrated by the superficiality and lack of good material (for women) and wanted to write my own. Only performance of good drama or a good musical would transcend it all. That is perhaps why Homer inevitably led to Aeschylus.