Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead, Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell And the profit and loss. A current under sea Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell He passed the stages of his age and youth Entering the whirlpool.
Zombies: The consciousness of Phlebas is unsettling as he has already been dead for two weeks, yet he experiences age and youth in his passing. This level of awareness is what zombifies Phlebas as he is picked apart by the ocean currents.
two lives,
Zombies: The idea of being between lives reflects the idea of the zombie. Something between lives is unnatural; living yet dead.
“That corpse you planted last year in your garden, “Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? “Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
Zombies: Elliot likens the regrowth of a corpse to a plant sprouting in spring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone, Tell her I bring the horoscope myself: One must be so careful these days. Unreal City, Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many. Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, And each man fixed his eyes before his feet. Flowed up the hill and down King William Street, To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine. There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying: “Stetson! “You who were with me in the ships at Mylae! “That corpse you planted last year in your garden, “Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? “Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed? “Oh keep the Dog far hence, that’s friend to men, “Or with his nails he’ll dig it up again! “You! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!” II. A Game of Chess The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne, Glowed on the marble, where the glass Held up by standards wrought with fruited vines From which a golden Cupidon peeped out (Another hid his eyes behind his wing) Doubled the flames of sevenbranched candelabra Reflecting light upon the table as The glitter of her jewels rose to meet it, From satin cases poured in rich profusion; In vials of ivory and coloured glass Unstoppered, lurked her strange synthetic perfumes, Unguent, powdered, or liquid—troubled, confused And drowned the sense in odours; stirred by the air That freshened from the window, these ascended In fattening the prolonged candle-flames, Flung their smoke into the laquearia, Stirring the pattern on the coffered ceiling. Huge sea-wood fed with copper Burned green and orange, framed by the coloured stone, In which sad light a carvéd dolphin swam. Above the antique mantel was displayed As though a window gave upon the sylvan scene The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale Filled all the desert with inviolable voice And still she cried, and still the world pursues, “Jug Jug” to dirty ears. And other withered stumps of time Were told upon the walls; staring forms Leaned out, leaning, hushing the room enclosed. Footsteps shuffled on the stair. Under the firelight, under the brush, her hair Spread out in fiery points Glowed into words, then would be savagely still. “My nerves are bad tonight. Yes, bad. Stay with me. “Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak. “What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? “I never know what you are thinking. Think.” I think we are in rats’ alley Where the dead men lost their bones. “What is that noise?” The wind under the door. “What is that noise now? What is the wind doing?” Nothing again nothing. “Do “You know nothing? Do you see nothing? Do you remember “Nothing?” I remember Those are pearls that were his eyes. “Are you alive, or not? Is there nothing in your head?” But O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag— It’s so elegant So intelligent “What shall I do now? What shall I do?” “I shall rush out as I am, and walk the street “With my hair down, so. What shall we do tomorrow? “What shall we ever do?” The hot water at ten. And if it rains, a closed car at four. And we shall play a game of chess, Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door. When Lil’s husband got demobbed, I said— I didn’t mince my words, I said to her myself, HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME Now Albert’s coming back, make yourself a bit smart. He’ll want to know what you done with that money he gave you To get yourself some teeth. He did, I was there. You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set, He said, I swear, I can’t bear to look at you. And no more can’t I, I said, and think of poor Albert, He’s been in the army four years, he wants a good time, And if you don’t give it him, there’s others will, I said. Oh is there, she said. Something o’ that, I said. Then I’ll know who to thank, she said, and give me a straight look. HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME If you don’t like it you can get on with it, I said. Others can pick and choose if you can’t. But if Albert makes off, it won’t be for lack of telling. You ought to be ashamed, I said, to look so antique. (And her only thirty-one.) I can’t help it, she said, pulling a long face, It’s them pills I took, to bring it off, she said. (She’s had five already, and nearly died of young George.) The chemist said it would be all right, but I’ve never been the same. You are a proper fool, I said. Well, if Albert won’t leave you alone, there it is, I said, What you get married for if you don’t want children? HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME Well, that Sunday Albert was home, they had a hot gammon, And they asked me in to dinner, to get the beauty of it hot— HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME Goonight Bill. Goonight Lou. Goonight May. Goonight. Ta ta. Goonight. Goonight. Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night. III. The Fire Sermon The river’s tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed. Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song. The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers, Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends Or other testimony of summer nights. The nymphs are departed. And their friends, the loitering heirs of city directors; Departed, have left no addresses. By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept . . . Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song, Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long. But at my back in a cold blast I hear The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear. A rat crept softly through the vegetation Dragging its slimy belly on the bank While I was fishing in the dull canal On a winter evening round behind the gashouse Musing upon the king my brother’s wreck And on the king my father’s death before him. White bodies naked on the low damp ground And bones cast in a little low dry garret, Rattled by the rat’s foot only, year to year. But at my back from time to time I hear The sound of horns and motors, which shall bring Sweeney to Mrs. Porter in the spring. O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter And on her daughter They wash their feet in soda water Et O ces voix d’enfants, chantant dans la coupole! Twit twit twit Jug jug jug jug jug jug So rudely forc’d. Tereu Unreal City Under the brown fog of a winter noon Mr. Eugenides, the Smyrna merchant Unshaven, with a pocket full of currants C.i.f. London: documents at sight, Asked me in demotic French To luncheon at the Cannon Street Hotel Followed by a weekend at the Metropole. At the violet hour, when the eyes and back Turn upward from the desk, when the human engine waits Like a taxi throbbing waiting, I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives, Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see At the violet hour, the evening hour that strives Homeward, and brings the sailor home from sea, The typist home at teatime, clears her breakfast, lights Her stove, and lays out food in tins. Out of the window perilously spread Her drying combinations touched by the sun’s last rays, On the divan are piled (at night her bed) Stockings, slippers, camisoles, and stays. I Tiresias, old man with wrinkled dugs Perceived the scene, and foretold the rest— I too awaited the expected guest. He, the young man carbuncular, arrives, A small house agent’s clerk, with one bold stare, One of the low on whom assurance sits As a silk hat on a Bradford millionaire. The time is now propitious, as he guesses, The meal is ended, she is bored and tired, Endeavours to engage her in caresses Which still are unreproved, if undesired. Flushed and decided, he assaults at once; Exploring hands encounter no defence; His vanity requires no response, And makes a welcome of indifference. (And I Tiresias have foresuffered all Enacted on this same divan or bed; I who have sat by Thebes below the wall And walked among the lowest of the dead.) Bestows one final patronising kiss, And gropes his way, finding the stairs unlit . . . She turns and looks a moment in the glass, Hardly aware of her departed lover; Her brain allows one half-formed thought to pass: “Well now that’s done: and I’m glad it’s over.” When lovely woman stoops to folly and Paces about her room again, alone, She smoothes her hair with automatic hand, And puts a record on the gramophone. “This music crept by me upon the waters” And along the Strand, up Queen Victoria Street. O City city, I can sometimes hear Beside a public bar in Lower Thames Street, The pleasant whining of a mandoline And a clatter and a chatter from within Where fishmen lounge at noon: where the walls Of Magnus Martyr hold Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold. The river sweats Oil and tar The barges drift With the turning tide Red sails Wide To leeward, swing on the heavy spar. The barges wash Drifting logs Down Greenwich reach Past the Isle of Dogs. Weialala leia Wallala leialala Elizabeth and Leicester Beating oars The stern was formed A gilded shell Red and gold The brisk swell Rippled both shores Southwest wind Carried down stream The peal of bells White towers Weialala leia Wallala leialala “Trams and dusty trees. Highbury bore me. Richmond and Kew Undid me. By Richmond I raised my knees Supine on the floor of a narrow canoe.” “My feet are at Moorgate, and my heart Under my feet. After the event He wept. He promised a ‘new start.’ I made no comment. What should I resent?” “On Margate Sands. I can connect Nothing with nothing. The broken fingernails of dirty hands. My people humble people who expect Nothing.” la la To Carthage then I came Burning burning burning burning O Lord Thou pluckest me out O Lord Thou pluckest burning IV. Death by Water Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead, Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell And the profit and loss. A current under sea Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell He passed the stages of his age and youth Entering the whirlpool. Gentile or Jew O you who turn the wheel and look to windward, Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you. V. What the Thunder Said After the torchlight red on sweaty faces After the frosty silence in the gardens After the agony in stony places The shouting and the crying Prison and palace and reverberation Of thunder of spring over distant mountains He who was living is now dead We who were living are now dying With a little patience Here is no water but only rock Rock and no water and the sandy road The road winding above among the mountains Which are mountains of rock without water If there were water we should stop and drink Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think Sweat is dry and feet are in the sand If there were only water amongst the rock Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit Here one can neither stand nor lie nor sit There is not even silence in the mountains But dry sterile thunder without rain There is not even solitude in the mountains But red sullen faces sneer and snarl From doors of mudcracked houses If there were water And no rock If there were rock And also water And water A spring A pool among the rock If there were the sound of water only Not the cicada And dry grass singing But sound of water over a rock Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pine trees Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop But there is no water Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together But when I look ahead up the white road There is always another one walking beside you Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded I do not know whether a man or a woman —But who is that on the other side of you? What is that sound high in the air Murmur of maternal lamentation Who are those hooded hordes swarming Over endless plains, stumbling in cracked earth Ringed by the flat horizon only What is the city over the mountains Cracks and reforms and bursts in the violet air Falling towers Jerusalem Athens Alexandria Vienna London Unreal A woman drew her long black hair out tight And fiddled whisper music on those strings And bats with baby faces in the violet light Whistled, and beat their wings And crawled head downward down a blackened wall And upside down in air were towers Tolling reminiscent bells, that kept the hours And voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhausted wells. In this decayed hole among the mountains In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing Over the tumbled graves, about the chapel There is the empty chapel, only the wind’s home. It has no windows, and the door swings, Dry bones can harm no one. Only a cock stood on the rooftree Co co rico co co rico In a flash of lightning. Then a damp gust Bringing rain Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves Waited for rain, while the black clouds Gathered far distant, over Himavant. The jungle crouched, humped in silence. Then spoke the thunder DA Datta: what have we given? My friend, blood shaking my heart The awful daring of a moment’s surrender Which an age of prudence can never retract By this, and this only, we have existed Which is not to be found in our obituaries Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor In our empty rooms DA Dayadhvam: I have heard the key Turn in the door once and turn once only We think of the key, each in his prison Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison Only at nightfall, aethereal rumours Revive for a moment a broken Coriolanus DA Damyata: The boat responded Gaily, to the hand expert with sail and oar The sea was calm, your heart would have responded Gaily, when invited, beating obedient To controlling hands I sat upon the shore Fishing, with the arid plain behind me Shall I at least set my lands in order? London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down Poi s’ascose nel foco che gli affina Quando fiam uti chelidon—O swallow swallow Le Prince d’Aquitaine à la tour abolie These fragments I have shored against my ruins Why then Ile fit you. Hieronymo’s mad againe. Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata. Shantih shantih shantih Archives October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 Categories Uncategorized Course Info Mystery Text Assignment (Due: 9/26) Syllabus General Info How to annotate Texts Texts Alain Locke Alice Dunbar-Nelson Allen Ginsberg, “Howl” (1956) Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892) Claude McKay Edgar Lee Masters Edna St. Vincent Millay Edwin Arlington Robinson Ernest Hemingway, In Our Time Ezra Pound Georgia Douglas Johnson Gertrude Stein Gwendolyn B. Bennett Helene Johnson Henry Adams, “The Dynamo and the Virgin” John Dos Passos, “The Body of an American” Langston Hughes Langston Hughes, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (1926) Lawrence Ferlinghetti Paul Laurence Dunbar Philip Levine, “They Feed They Lion” (1972) Radical Poetry Robert Frost Sterling Brown T.S. Eliot “The Waste Land” (1922) W.E.B. Du Bois, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” William Carlos Williams
Has this entire poem been the conversation of the speaker receiving a taro card reading?
Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water. Only There is shadow under this red rock, (Come in under the shadow of this red rock), And I will show you something different from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
Who is the speaker showing this to?
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke’s, My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled, And I was frightened. He said, Marie, Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
Are these all things the speaker is talking about during the hour drinking coffee in the courtyard?
Jane. Aiming. Not in description. Day way. A blow is delighted.
This poem feels much more modern in comparison to the other poetry we have read, dissecting words into parts that create other words and thoroughly messing with the traditional structure of a more lyrical poem. I didn't particularly enjoy it for this reason--it was more difficult for me to create meaning out of the poem because I was distracted by its structure.
Wearing head.
The poem seems like it is a list of the ways wives perform perfection. This line reminds me of the essence of the phrase coined by RuPaul "you're born naked and the rest is drag" as if wearing a head as a mask.
Push sea push sea push sea push sea push sea push sea push sea push sea.
The repetitive rhythm of this line reminds me of the literal push and pull of the sea.
But now the stark dignity of entrance—Still, the profound change has come upon them: rooted they grip down and begin to awaken
This reminds me of what it is like to experience a metaphorical winter in one's life--to grit your teeth and get along with things.
Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold
I am unsure what to think of this poem. Is it a metaphor? Or is it just communicate a simple trespass and request for forgiveness?
nd we degraded prisoners destined to hunger until we eat filth while the imagination strains after deer going by fields of goldenrod in the stifling heat of September Somehow it seems to destroy us
These lines seem to reflect on the human condition in opposition to Lucinda Matlock by Masters, who says that age gives us an appreciation for life. These lines made me a feel a lot more bleak--is life just feeding an insatiable hunger for more?
“For auld lang syne.” The weary throat gave out, The last word wavered, and the song was done. He raised again the jug regretfully And shook his head, and was again alone. There was not much that was ahead of him, And there was nothing in the town below– Where strangers would have shut the many doors That many friends had opened long ago.
The selections from Masters and Robinson all communicate something about the changes that come with age with a before (youth) and after (old age). Although I can appreciate their meaning now, I wonder how I will respond to these poems in old age.
And you that feed yourselves with your descent
The idea of "feeding yourself with your descent" or otherwise eating your young is a very powerful metaphor to me because it feels so accurate to the modern American experience. Robinson seems to criticize the consumption of youth out of the elders' fear. When he frames youthfulness as something to be consumed, I am reminded of Adams' take on femininity in the Dynamo and the Virgin and how he compares different culture's value of femininity. I think our culture claims the celebration of youth as a means to capitalize on it and also notice extreme generational gaps. I wonder how community might look differently if age differences were more integrated.
What is this I hear of sorrow and weariness, Anger, discontent and drooping hopes? Degenerate sons and daughters, Life is too strong for you– It takes life to love Life.
This somewhat resembles Du Bois' take on the Black American experience as a double consciousness. Here, Masters seems to be saying that there is a dramatic shift in consciousness toward the end of one's life to one of appreciation (for life).
But I can write when she is out, and see her a long way off from these windows.
I wonder if the creeping women she sees from the window are simply John's sister. As the narrator's condition worsens, it seems she has also been tasked with keeping an eye on her as she later offers to sleep with her in her room. If this is true though, why does the narrator claim she can only see her from one window? Is she misleading as a false narrator or is there something else going on?
The color is hideous enough, and unreliable enough, and infuriating enough, but the pattern is torturing.
Part of the narrator's condition seems to be that her depression causes her to find the most negative in her circumstances--because she cannot directly confront what is most bothering her. She is bothered by her relationship with her husband and how he does not take her seriously, so takes it out on the room: another bother. I wonder if it influences her perception of social interaction with the family as well, causing her to come away from gatherings feeling exhausted.
I kept on creeping just the same, but I looked at him over my shoulder. “I’ve got out at last,” said I, “in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!
I am very confused by what she has actually been attempting with the rope. It seems like she has been driven mad by confinement. Are the fungus part of the wallpaper design or a literal fungus that could have contributed to her condition? I also have been curious about the women she sees. Are these real women or simply a figment of her imagination combined with her "creeping" reflection? I wonder if she would recognize herself if she looked in a mirror. The ending feels very abrupt, but this makes sense if she committed some kind of dramatic action or simply if John found her writing--he would put a stop to it. I wonder what happens after she stops writing,
This waste of double aims, this seeking to satisfy two unreconciled ideals, has wrought sad havoc with the courage and faith and deeds of ten thousand thousand people,—has sent them often wooing false gods and invoking false means of salvation, and at times has even seemed about to make them ashamed of themselves.
Du Bois seems to criticize the pursuit of double aims--of appeasing two separate audiences. I wonder if he believes in any crossover or solution.
The double-aimed struggle of the black artisan—on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde—could only result in making him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart in either cause.
Socially it feels irresponsible to compare the disparities of American women to Black Americans, however textually the comparison of the "black artisan" to a jack-of-all-trades, master of none idea in reference to a black and white "double consciousness" is strikingly similar to the comparison Adams makes between America's ideals of maternity and purity versus sexuality and power.
the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world
This reminds me of the way Henry Adams describes America's aversion to feminine power and sexuality compared to the power of the Venus in Europe. Alternatively, Du Bois describes how American culture splits "the American... Negro [into] two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings..."
In such labyrinths, the staff is a force almost more necessary than the legs; the pen becomes a sort of blind-man’s dog, to keep him from falling into the gutters. The pen works for itself, and acts like a hand, modelling the plastic material over and over again to the form that suits it best. The form is never arbitrary, but is a sort of growth like crystallization, as any artist knows too well; for often the pencil or pen runs into side-paths and shapelessness, loses its relations, stops or is bogged. Then it has to return on its trail, and recover, if it can, its line of force.
It is curious to me that after exploring such ideas as virginity, femininity, sexual purity, and power, that Adams returns to writing as a final metaphor. I wonder if he considers this to be the most important.
They felt a railway train as power, yet they, and all other artists, constantly complained that the power embodied in a railway train could never be embodied in art.
Why can't the power of train mechanics be embodied in art? Is it because there is no visual representation of humanity? I think about the steampunk aesthetic and how that style of art resonates with audiences. I think the mechanics in and of itself could be considered artful, but I also appreciate the mixture of organics with machinery--I saw a really beautiful taxidermy beetle which an artist had added metal gears to give the appearance of a mechanical insect. I think that the power of a train can be embodied in art.
American art, like the American language and American education, was as far as possible sexless. Society regarded this victory over sex as its greatest triumph, and the historian readily admitted it, since the moral issue, for the moment, did not concern one who was studying the relations of unmoral force.
I wonder what Adams would think about modern society's (and women's) reclamation of sex in art. For example, what might he think of songs like WAP by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion? Would he find them crass and vulgar as some or bold in the face of America's puritanical view of sex?
From all my white sins forgiven
Could a white sin be like a white lie? In the way a lie might be told not out of malice but for some other reason, perhaps Levine sees sin as something that can and should be forgiven out of circumstance. A meager example, but could the sin of thievery be forgiven to feed the starving?
Mothers hardening like pounded stumps, out of stumps, Out of the bones’ need to sharpen and the muscles’ to stretch, They Lion grow.
Is Levine saying that mothers grow into the "mother bear" because they must? Because of the specific hardships afflicted to a mother? I like the imagery of the lion growing as to protect its young from danger, showing its ferocity by first increasing the space it takes up before lashing out.
the candor of tar,
What does Levine mean by the "candor" of tar? Perhaps that It (like all inanimate objects) cannot be anything but its true nature? What makes the tar have more candor than something else?
We believe we can teach and support students in educationally purposeful ways when we collaborate with each other and the larger community
I think this can be taught in more ways than group homework projects! Nobody enjoys or learns from these regardless of the way its set up or the good intentions involved. If group projects have to exist, they can be done during class time. On the other hand, they could be eliminated and work on homework on our own.
SF State’s academic mission advances a distinct commitment to critical and collaborative thought, intellectual pluralism and action. SF State’s faculty are both dedicated teachers and engaged professional practi
I cannot help but wonder if the school is actually dedicated to critical thinking, or if it is an extension of learning the material and earning good grades as in high school prior.
SF State equips its students to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
I certainly hope that this phrase is true, because nothing in my life so far (high school, family, etc.) has left me feeling prepared for life in adulthood or college, much less the challenges presented in the 21st century. The only preparation I have received is the experiences I have managed to get through, and while that is satisfying to a degree, it does not feel like the most productive way to learn.
Academic Senate Policy
This policy, in general, sounds promising, but unoriginal. After reading this, I am unsure how to feel. It sounds great. My experience so far, and I am sure it is subject to change from semester to semester, has been no different from high school besides larger classes and the fact that I have to pay for it. I hope that my experience is worth the money..
If you can’t explain something simply, it means you don’t fully understand it
I have had teachers who are unable to explain something, and I wish they could learn this motto. As a studying mantra, I do think it has significance. If I can't explain it to a peer, how will I possibly be able to explain a concept to the teacher on the test coming up? If I can give a solid and concise explanation, I should be able to pass with no problem.
Slow learners memorized, while rapid learners made connections between ideas.
This is interesting to point out, because in general, I haven't found it necessary to study for large amounts of times (besides finals) for tests. The only subjects I've only really needed to study for are the subjects that required me to memorize such as a science class in which I was required to memorize terms upwards of 30 words verbatim every week or so.
While my college had done an excellent job recruiting me, I had no road map for what I was supposed to do
I feel this pretty frequently and definitely felt this before taking my gap year. Initially going to attend another college, I felt lost as far as why I was even at orientation, and nobody was there to help me figure out some of those unknowns.
It’s not even knowing what you don’t know.
I don't think that this is completely isolated to first-generation students. I personally have no idea what I don't know. I still need a lot of help discovering my major and career path, but more than that just discovering what my options even really are.
She wants both parental education and income taken into account, limiting the definition to those whose parents never attended college and are eligible for Pell grants. That means an income below $50,000. “Universities must attack disadvantage at its roots,”
This definitely could be a good idea if those who are severely disadvantaged could receive even greater support. On the other hand, there are definitely circumstances were a student with parents who attended college don't really provide support for their child, and this could limit a larger amount of people attending college or affect the drop out rates.
the legislative definition (no parent in the household has a bachelor’s degree)
As a (former) emancipated minor, I wonder if the Department of Education would consider me to be a first-generation college student or not.
There is a real problem with the elite privates and flagship publics in not serving as many low-income students as they should,”
The pricetag of a college degree is a extremely frustrating topic for me, and was one of the many reasons I veered away from the college path entirely. The fact is, after considering inflation, even just a few generations ago, our elders were able to attend college for pennies comparatively to wheat we pay now. To me, it can feel like "for what?" because of incompetent staffing, the price of housing, etc.
was not willing to leave home at age 18 for an unfamiliar world. “I just didn’t feel like I was ready to go out to college on my own,” he said. “So I decided to stay home and save money.”
This is very similar to my own experience, to a degree. Senior year of high school, I was accepted to many of schools that I had applied to, but I didn't feel the passion to attend, have the money, or have the drive to throw myself directly from living with family into a giant school. I think this was a reasonable decision, because I feared burning out after the first year and dropping out after accumulating a year's worth of student debt. Instead, I took a gap year (albeit away from home) to save money and just take some time off. I know that attending college is the important next step to grow and to achieve my success, but the year away gave me the courage to do so.
VARK, which stands for “Visual, Auditory, Reading, and Kinesthetic," sorts students into those who learn best visually, through aural or heard information, through reading, or through “kinesthetic” experiences
Something that did stand out to me about this concept is that I have already encountered professors from my other classes suggesting that I find out what my learning style is, so that I can be prepared to learn. It did irk me, because it isn't something I've thought deeply about or event think was necessary, considering I've always earned good grades in school.
not only did students not study in ways that seemed to reflect their learning style, those who did tailor their studying to suit their style didn’t do any better on their tests.
This is interesting to me, because I have heard frequently about learning styles, but I have never felt truly aligned with any particular "style." In my experience, I feel like I soak up information best in a lecture setting, which could be considered "aural," but I actually agree with this article. Personally, I think I prefer lecture style learning, because I prefer the physical presence and the environment helps me to concentrate. Alternatively, I greatly dislike the audio versions of textbooks, which I think disproves the idea that I could be considered an "aural" learner.