Everyone has a dream.
I'm not even that big a fan of Monty Python, but this thing is one of the best examples of musical humor. He's just so earnest and his back-up singers are in such disbelief. One of my goals in life are to perform this song with a group of guys. I'm not sure if I'd rather be the lead singer who is proud of who he is or one of the back-up singers. . . hmm
. . . still dreaming . . .
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Bella Swan: Feminist Role Model?: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
After six years, the penultimate Twilight film has hit the theaters and I’m more into this series then ever. (My views on Twilight are based 100% on the films, as I haven’t read a word of the books).
In this earlier blog post I defended Twilight. I discussed how people being critical of Twilight without experiencing the art are silly, the double standard of female-centric art being viewed as inferior, and why we should all be sensitive to art that we don’t like that others love.
While I thought that this was enough after searching “why Twilight sucks,” and reading through about twenty websites with articles and list of complaints about Twilight I feel it necessary to once again defend Twilight. (btw Twilight Haters, you have to really step up your game, complaining about Twilight fans themselves has nothing to do with the book or the film).
The two most coherent complaints have to do with the character of Bella being a bad role model and being anti-feminist.
No, Bella is not a great role model, but is she suppose to be? No one complains the Hamlet, Juliet or Othello are bad role models. They are tragic heroes with a flaw and so is Bella, her flaw being her obsession with Edward. One of the more interesting and maybe more apt comparisons is the idea that Bella is not as good a role model as Buffy Summer, the vampire slayer.
While I agree whole-heartedly that Buffy is a far better character, she shares the same flaw as Bella with her quasi-abusive relationship with Spike. If you don’t believe ne all you have to do is watch episode 19, season 6, “Seeing Red.” Yes, Spike is totally at fault but, Buffy saw the signs and didn’t exactly distance herself from him the way she should have. . . not the greatest role model to girls in this situations, but that’s okay. That’s not what this is about.
Tragic heroes don’t serve us as role models but as reflections not of who we want to be but who we are. And if you don’t think that there are some teenage girls out there resembles Bella Swan at all, then you need to go hang out at a high school.
Stephanie Meyers defended Bella as feminist because she chooses her circumstances in life. Yes, Meyers is right. Feminism by its strictest definition is not the idea that all women should be working moms and go against traditional gender roles. It’s about equality of opportunity. If a woman chooses to be a businesswoman they should be able to do that without limitations put on by society and with social pressures to the contrary. Also if a woman chooses to be a housewife they should enjoy that same freedom to do that without discrimination. Equality isn’t about everyone doing the same thing but equal opportunities of choice.
Bella’s choice to be with Edward is her choice. Many of the things that Bella decides for herself go against Edward’s wishes and you may not like her choices like many people in the films do but she makes them anyways fighting for her right to self-determine her life. Isn’t that really what feminism is all about? I'm not arguing that Bella is the paragon of feminism but to say she is anti-feministic because she makes choices you don't agree with well is kind of . . . anti-feminist.
By the way, I totally think Bella should have chosen Jacob, but the fact she chose Edward is far a more dramatic meditation on Bella’s heroic flaw.
I really enjoyed watching Breaking Dawn-Part 1. When you walk into a Twilight film you know you’re going to get some stiff lines, some fun actions, some more badly acted lines and some ridiculousness. Within all of this there is something highly entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
One of my friends commented on facebook that I must be “one of the most open-minded male I know” for enjoying Breaking Dawn. While I do like to think I’m open-minded and I appreciate the compliment I don’t think understanding and enjoying Twilight is about being open-minded. It’s about enjoying art for what it is, not complaining about it for what it’s not, putting aside expectations and to the guys out there it's about being a true feminist and not only watching but enjoying something that she wants to watch.
In this earlier blog post I defended Twilight. I discussed how people being critical of Twilight without experiencing the art are silly, the double standard of female-centric art being viewed as inferior, and why we should all be sensitive to art that we don’t like that others love.While I thought that this was enough after searching “why Twilight sucks,” and reading through about twenty websites with articles and list of complaints about Twilight I feel it necessary to once again defend Twilight. (btw Twilight Haters, you have to really step up your game, complaining about Twilight fans themselves has nothing to do with the book or the film).
The two most coherent complaints have to do with the character of Bella being a bad role model and being anti-feminist.
No, Bella is not a great role model, but is she suppose to be? No one complains the Hamlet, Juliet or Othello are bad role models. They are tragic heroes with a flaw and so is Bella, her flaw being her obsession with Edward. One of the more interesting and maybe more apt comparisons is the idea that Bella is not as good a role model as Buffy Summer, the vampire slayer.
While I agree whole-heartedly that Buffy is a far better character, she shares the same flaw as Bella with her quasi-abusive relationship with Spike. If you don’t believe ne all you have to do is watch episode 19, season 6, “Seeing Red.” Yes, Spike is totally at fault but, Buffy saw the signs and didn’t exactly distance herself from him the way she should have. . . not the greatest role model to girls in this situations, but that’s okay. That’s not what this is about.
Tragic heroes don’t serve us as role models but as reflections not of who we want to be but who we are. And if you don’t think that there are some teenage girls out there resembles Bella Swan at all, then you need to go hang out at a high school.
Stephanie Meyers defended Bella as feminist because she chooses her circumstances in life. Yes, Meyers is right. Feminism by its strictest definition is not the idea that all women should be working moms and go against traditional gender roles. It’s about equality of opportunity. If a woman chooses to be a businesswoman they should be able to do that without limitations put on by society and with social pressures to the contrary. Also if a woman chooses to be a housewife they should enjoy that same freedom to do that without discrimination. Equality isn’t about everyone doing the same thing but equal opportunities of choice. Bella’s choice to be with Edward is her choice. Many of the things that Bella decides for herself go against Edward’s wishes and you may not like her choices like many people in the films do but she makes them anyways fighting for her right to self-determine her life. Isn’t that really what feminism is all about? I'm not arguing that Bella is the paragon of feminism but to say she is anti-feministic because she makes choices you don't agree with well is kind of . . . anti-feminist.
By the way, I totally think Bella should have chosen Jacob, but the fact she chose Edward is far a more dramatic meditation on Bella’s heroic flaw.
I really enjoyed watching Breaking Dawn-Part 1. When you walk into a Twilight film you know you’re going to get some stiff lines, some fun actions, some more badly acted lines and some ridiculousness. Within all of this there is something highly entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Year 2: Week 12 – Performance Nerves
Last week, a fellow teacher asked after an orchestra performance if I get nervous. I confidently told him no, which was totally a lie.
Before my students perform I have normal symptoms of nervousness but I work very hard to channel that into calm and positive energy. If you talked to me right before a performance you might think that I don’t care but it’s more that I don’t want my kids to freak out and well, I don’t want to freak out either.
I can’t remember the first time I went up on stage to perform. For as long as I can remember I’ve been on stage first playing violin, then piano, then in school ensembles, marching band and well now I spend a good part of my life up in front of people as a teacher.
Yes, there are things that make me nervous. Anyone who doesn’t feel a twinge of apprehension getting up in front of a full auditorium of about nine hundred people to lead the singing of “America The Beautiful” doesn’t understand the importance of what they are doing.
Part of being chill before a performance is perspective. If one of my students makes a mistake on stage, or sings a wrong lyric, it’s not a big deal. No one died, it’s just music. Yes, we should try to do the best we can and concentrate but we shouldn’t fear mistakes so much that if they accidently happen we can’t roll with it.
The other part of performing is remembering that the performance isn’t only part of what we do. I’m not in the business of producing polished musical performances, I’m in the business of helping students have meaningful experiences with music and while performance is a big part of it, the process of learning the song and exploring the music beforehand is also important.
I often tell my students before performances that I’m already proud of them and that the performance will not change the pride that I have in all the hard work they put in. You may disagree with this lack of pressured focus on a specific event but I don’t like living that way and making my students freak out never brings the best in them, probably because it never brings out the best in me.
I made a decision a couple years ago that my students would never seem me loose my temper of stress out especially in relation to performance. Expression of these feelings leads to kids being screamed at, feelings being hurt and missing the point of being a music teacher.
If you prepare a group of students for a performance and they are making significant mistakes the day before the performance that’s your fault as a teacher for not picking appropriate music and/or not teaching in a way that they can be successful. So the only person you can really get mad at is, well yourself.
So prepare your students and yourself, keep some perspective and embrace that nervous energy. All being nervous means is that there is something exciting about to happen and at least with a well-prepared school music performances, the potential for a great experience far outweighs the potential for a bad performance.
Before my students perform I have normal symptoms of nervousness but I work very hard to channel that into calm and positive energy. If you talked to me right before a performance you might think that I don’t care but it’s more that I don’t want my kids to freak out and well, I don’t want to freak out either.
I can’t remember the first time I went up on stage to perform. For as long as I can remember I’ve been on stage first playing violin, then piano, then in school ensembles, marching band and well now I spend a good part of my life up in front of people as a teacher.
Yes, there are things that make me nervous. Anyone who doesn’t feel a twinge of apprehension getting up in front of a full auditorium of about nine hundred people to lead the singing of “America The Beautiful” doesn’t understand the importance of what they are doing.
Part of being chill before a performance is perspective. If one of my students makes a mistake on stage, or sings a wrong lyric, it’s not a big deal. No one died, it’s just music. Yes, we should try to do the best we can and concentrate but we shouldn’t fear mistakes so much that if they accidently happen we can’t roll with it.
The other part of performing is remembering that the performance isn’t only part of what we do. I’m not in the business of producing polished musical performances, I’m in the business of helping students have meaningful experiences with music and while performance is a big part of it, the process of learning the song and exploring the music beforehand is also important.
I often tell my students before performances that I’m already proud of them and that the performance will not change the pride that I have in all the hard work they put in. You may disagree with this lack of pressured focus on a specific event but I don’t like living that way and making my students freak out never brings the best in them, probably because it never brings out the best in me.
I made a decision a couple years ago that my students would never seem me loose my temper of stress out especially in relation to performance. Expression of these feelings leads to kids being screamed at, feelings being hurt and missing the point of being a music teacher.
If you prepare a group of students for a performance and they are making significant mistakes the day before the performance that’s your fault as a teacher for not picking appropriate music and/or not teaching in a way that they can be successful. So the only person you can really get mad at is, well yourself.
So prepare your students and yourself, keep some perspective and embrace that nervous energy. All being nervous means is that there is something exciting about to happen and at least with a well-prepared school music performances, the potential for a great experience far outweighs the potential for a bad performance.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Turkey Tango
Anyone know any Thanksgiving songs? This song is really underrepresented in popular music, but luckily the general music teachers have this covered: THE TURKEY TANGO!!!
Those kids were good but these ones are REALLY moving:
OMG, girls doing this in pairs!!
I'm not sure if they know who is leading.
The best part of this one is the fact that there is a dad who sings along with the song. I hope those kids are dressed up as turkeys, but I'm not sure, those skirts are kind of weird.
And yes, I have done this with my student and they love it.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!
Those kids were good but these ones are REALLY moving:
OMG, girls doing this in pairs!!
I'm not sure if they know who is leading.
The best part of this one is the fact that there is a dad who sings along with the song. I hope those kids are dressed up as turkeys, but I'm not sure, those skirts are kind of weird.
And yes, I have done this with my student and they love it.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Take Me Or Leave Me (from Rent)
To have a character in a popular film who is a homosexual or transgender is no longer shocking. But once upon a time it was. In 1993, when Rent made it’s premiere off-Broadway, this show about young adults struggling to survive in the Manhattan’s Lower East Side brought important issues out into open.
Like the Jonathan Demme’s film Philadelphia that came out the same year, Rent has characters that are challenged the ideas of the America’s traditional views of sexuality and face head-on the effect of AIDs.
Both Rent and Philadelphia were monumentally important for portraying these characters not as stereotypes but giving these people souls that challenge people’s idea of what it meant to be a homosexual and how serious and devastating AIDs was to all of us.
What is left though when you take away what made Rent “important”? Watching Rent at Northwestern University I wasn’t shocked by the main character Roger dealing with the fact that his ex was now a lesbian. The prevalence of AIDs in the characters honestly made me think:
If you pull away the social issues what you are left with is a musical that is very much like the characters in the film who are full of energy, passion, immaturity, and focus more on the moment than the bigger picture. There are too many songs, many of which are too long, and too many plot threads, but there are also moments of musical and dramatic brilliance that leave you breathless.
For me the most polished and memorable song is “Take Me Or Leave Me.”
This song works far beyond the shock it once had of “Oh My God, it’s two Lesbians singing!!” It’s a great relationship exchange. There’s plenty examples in broadway of this kind of duet but most of the time it’s one sided like “Sue Me” from Guys and Dolls.”
This song is fun and quirky. The characterizations come clear through the song and while the song is fight at its heart, there's a joy and pride in these characters who embracing there flaws with pride. That is exactly what has made Rent one of the most popular musicals of all time. If all this show was about was AIDs, it's influence would be limited. What this show really is about is people embracing who they are and who they want to be. There's a brilliant innocence in this show in the face of life's most serious trials and it's in this we find not only the dreams of these characters but our own.
Like the Jonathan Demme’s film Philadelphia that came out the same year, Rent has characters that are challenged the ideas of the America’s traditional views of sexuality and face head-on the effect of AIDs.
Both Rent and Philadelphia were monumentally important for portraying these characters not as stereotypes but giving these people souls that challenge people’s idea of what it meant to be a homosexual and how serious and devastating AIDs was to all of us.
What is left though when you take away what made Rent “important”? Watching Rent at Northwestern University I wasn’t shocked by the main character Roger dealing with the fact that his ex was now a lesbian. The prevalence of AIDs in the characters honestly made me think:
If you pull away the social issues what you are left with is a musical that is very much like the characters in the film who are full of energy, passion, immaturity, and focus more on the moment than the bigger picture. There are too many songs, many of which are too long, and too many plot threads, but there are also moments of musical and dramatic brilliance that leave you breathless.
For me the most polished and memorable song is “Take Me Or Leave Me.”
This song works far beyond the shock it once had of “Oh My God, it’s two Lesbians singing!!” It’s a great relationship exchange. There’s plenty examples in broadway of this kind of duet but most of the time it’s one sided like “Sue Me” from Guys and Dolls.”
This song is fun and quirky. The characterizations come clear through the song and while the song is fight at its heart, there's a joy and pride in these characters who embracing there flaws with pride. That is exactly what has made Rent one of the most popular musicals of all time. If all this show was about was AIDs, it's influence would be limited. What this show really is about is people embracing who they are and who they want to be. There's a brilliant innocence in this show in the face of life's most serious trials and it's in this we find not only the dreams of these characters but our own.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Year 2: Week 11 - Recognition
What motivates you at your job? Money? Climbing the ladder? Prestige?
I once told my wife that I didn’t become a teacher to become famous or be in the newspaper. Then she pointed out the hundreds of students I taught who know me and my feature in the Chicago Tribune.
Maybe it's about recognition. There's three levels of recognition I remember learning about in high school:
Level 1: When you do something for someone you need them to acknoledge you for what you did directly and give you credit in order for you to feel satisfied.
Level 2: When you do something for someone you don't need them to acknowledge your gesture, you simply want to see their happiness due to your actions.
Level 3: When you do something you are satisfied with you actions without them knowing it came from you. Also you don't need to witness the joy your actions engendered.
I would say that most of the time I'm in level 2, sometimes I lean into level 1 and every so often I feel level 3.
I'm not going to claim that I don't do things in my job to get recognition. This is only my second year here and I feel it's important for me to let people know what I do. At the same time I do consider myself a humble person.
My job is one of service. I do what I can for my students so that they can be successful. My greatest joys in teaching come not from me leading a group of students in performing a song but being able to sit back and watch a group work independently. While I care about what people think, what outweighs that more often than not is the experiences my students have.
My motivation to do things around the school is about wanting a challenge, having pride in what I do and knowing at the end of the day I'm a good teacher. I'm not in the business of "Kingsley Tang," which I guess is an ironic statement as I'm writing this on my blog.
I think anyone who says they don't care about what people think is lying. I care, but I guess, I don't care enough to let it rule my decisions on a daily basis. I never think, "wow, I if I do this, people will think I'm awesome." I think "wow, this would be a lot of fun for my students," and I guess that's really where it's all at: service.
I have not found a greater joy in life then in serving and taking care of others and while I like recognition, but I don't need. I feel squarely in level 2 the more I think about it. I just want to see others enjoy life on a deeper level and if I can help them get there, just a little bit, that makes all of the hard work worth it.
One of my co-worked told me that I need to think less about "me" and the more I think about it, the more I disagree. So much of what I do, most of what I do does not bring me recognition. No one is going to give me a medal for correcting homework or cleaning up the band room. No one is going to throw me a parade for me for answering my e-mails every morning. But I do these things every day, because I care about my students. I love it when they thank me, but I don't need that to get through my day, I know I'm making a difference.
If you don't believe me and you think I'm full of it, that's ok, because your thinking that isn't going to change a thing that I do.
I'm Kingsley Tang. I'm a teacher. As a teacher I'm proud to serve my students every day. My job is not take the spotlight, but to help my students shine. All I need to keep going every day is to feel a little bit of the light that comes from my students through my service.
Maybe it's about recognition. There's three levels of recognition I remember learning about in high school:
Level 1: When you do something for someone you need them to acknoledge you for what you did directly and give you credit in order for you to feel satisfied.
Level 2: When you do something for someone you don't need them to acknowledge your gesture, you simply want to see their happiness due to your actions.
Level 3: When you do something you are satisfied with you actions without them knowing it came from you. Also you don't need to witness the joy your actions engendered.
I would say that most of the time I'm in level 2, sometimes I lean into level 1 and every so often I feel level 3.
I'm not going to claim that I don't do things in my job to get recognition. This is only my second year here and I feel it's important for me to let people know what I do. At the same time I do consider myself a humble person.
My job is one of service. I do what I can for my students so that they can be successful. My greatest joys in teaching come not from me leading a group of students in performing a song but being able to sit back and watch a group work independently. While I care about what people think, what outweighs that more often than not is the experiences my students have.
My motivation to do things around the school is about wanting a challenge, having pride in what I do and knowing at the end of the day I'm a good teacher. I'm not in the business of "Kingsley Tang," which I guess is an ironic statement as I'm writing this on my blog.
I think anyone who says they don't care about what people think is lying. I care, but I guess, I don't care enough to let it rule my decisions on a daily basis. I never think, "wow, I if I do this, people will think I'm awesome." I think "wow, this would be a lot of fun for my students," and I guess that's really where it's all at: service.
I have not found a greater joy in life then in serving and taking care of others and while I like recognition, but I don't need. I feel squarely in level 2 the more I think about it. I just want to see others enjoy life on a deeper level and if I can help them get there, just a little bit, that makes all of the hard work worth it.
One of my co-worked told me that I need to think less about "me" and the more I think about it, the more I disagree. So much of what I do, most of what I do does not bring me recognition. No one is going to give me a medal for correcting homework or cleaning up the band room. No one is going to throw me a parade for me for answering my e-mails every morning. But I do these things every day, because I care about my students. I love it when they thank me, but I don't need that to get through my day, I know I'm making a difference.
If you don't believe me and you think I'm full of it, that's ok, because your thinking that isn't going to change a thing that I do.
I'm Kingsley Tang. I'm a teacher. As a teacher I'm proud to serve my students every day. My job is not take the spotlight, but to help my students shine. All I need to keep going every day is to feel a little bit of the light that comes from my students through my service.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Things I Learned At School Today
1. 54 fifth graders crammed in a classroom are in fact capable of having a constructive discussion.
2. 3rd graders find making "sound effects" far more exciting then playing songs.
3. Apparently I'm an "agressive teacher" because I would like my 8th grade band to play an arrangement of "Also Sprach Zarathustra."
4. Making a label that says "poo" and encouraging a 6th grade girl to put it on a classmates back will come back to you.
5. Just because you put a lot of work into planning a lessons doesn't mean the lesson will go well. However sometimes kid sense how hard you are trying and give you a break.
2. 3rd graders find making "sound effects" far more exciting then playing songs.
3. Apparently I'm an "agressive teacher" because I would like my 8th grade band to play an arrangement of "Also Sprach Zarathustra."
4. Making a label that says "poo" and encouraging a 6th grade girl to put it on a classmates back will come back to you.
5. Just because you put a lot of work into planning a lessons doesn't mean the lesson will go well. However sometimes kid sense how hard you are trying and give you a break.
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