en loco idiota

Music: The Today Show The Latin and Greek rooting of "idiot" is idios, which means "own," or "private." Idiota thus originally referred to a "private person" or simply one who didn't get out all that much. This is why the word evolved into, first, someone who was mentally handicapped (e.g., s/he could not get out side of him or herself, like being trapped inside one's mind) and then, simply, someone who is ignorant or stupid. An idiot is literally a tragic fool--an individual who does stupid things because they limit themselves or simply haven't been exposed to "the world at large." Hence the title of Green Day's fantastic come-back album, American Idiot, which not only refers to our Commander in Chief, but the way in which ignorance about the world at large leads to supporting state-sponsored violence.

In the airport on Sunday waiting to go home, I spoke to my mother and we talked about Ed Youngblood, a 62-year-old high school teacher who resigned after pressure from an idiotic school board. "I thought you would want to know," said my mother, "since you always spoke so highly of him. Maybe you can write a letter." I wept. Ed is one of my favorite high school teachers and first academic mentors. I had AP English with him as a senior at South Gwinnett High School back in 1991 and 1992. Since that time, Ed and I have stayed in touch, first by writing letters all through college (we both were into stamps), and later in grad school, via email. For many years in a row we drank beer together at Moody Blues concerts at Chastain Park. Until the last few years, I usually had a meal with Ed when I came home. Last holiday break we had lunch in 2002, he had just retired and opened an antiques business with his wife, also a retired teacher. After popular demand he was asked to return to South Gwinnett to teach a half-load of AP classes. He came back because he was so highly regarded as one of the few teachers who actually taught; it was common knowledge that Youngblood taught his classes like college, and that if you took one, you'd be prepared. I have to say along with my Latin teacher, Ed was the best teacher I had at South Gwinnett high school because he taught you how to think outside of the box--how to avoid idiocy.

Last Wednesday Ed was pressured to resign at South Gwinnett after a controversy involving the film Elizabeth, which he showed to his AP British Literature class. Apparently the film "shows nudity" (I don't recall that--Elizabeth I was the Virgin Queen, right?--but I have not seen it since it came out in the theatre). Apparently the parents of a student got upset and raised a stink. Apparently Ed did not follow the proper procedure for getting the film "approved," although Ed had taught for 37 years and never had a problem (he had shown this film before, too). The school board pressured him to resign, they claimed, not because the film is necessarily offensive, but because parents did not have the opportunity to extract their virgin-eyed brood from seeing powdered breasts.

There are so many things I could and want to say about this, but it really reduces to the righteousness of conservative idiocy. Since the ascent of evangelical Christianity to popular consciousness (it has always been there--but it was just beneath the surface in respect to mass awareness), those who would fiercely police the false divide between "public" and "private" have become increasingly righteous in respect to their right-to-idiocy (often defined in terms of "negative liberty," except when it comes to prayer in school, teaching "intelligent design," and other religious imperialist causes). On another blog a self-identified "conservative" said that the firing of Ed had more to do with "liberal pedagogy" and the righteous liberal push to "do away with grades" and remove power from teachers . . . which is ludicrous but, of course, reflects how closely the Righty-Right and Liberalism are aligned. Nevertheless, keeping in mind Ed taught college level classes in a high school setting, we could explain the success of these righteous parents in terms of their failure to recognize the purpose and function of an education in the humanities: to expose the student to the world of ideas, art, and science that exists outside the narrow confines of the private home. The resignation is symptomatic of what public high school has become: a glorified babysitter, idiocy incubator, and hormone containment system.

I feel bad for Ed, and for the students, parents, and especially teachers, who understood what he did and represents. And I worry that, having had parents call my principal and complain about, pretty much, the same thing (although it was my mouth, not imagery, that stirred the ire of college parents; see my post here), this trend is going to continue on up the line: the culture wars are alive with the sound of idiocy. Academic freedom is eroding. And the apocalyptic tone of the humanities continues . . . .

PS: The CEO/Superintendent of South Gwinnett's High School district is J. Alvin Wilbanks (click name for webpage and writing address), and the phone number of the school board is 770-963-8651, should you want to call and write a letter. It is my understanding that the school admin itself largely supported Ed, and that it is the school board who pressured Ed to resign--you know, those elected officials who usually have never taught in a friggin' classroom, the same sorts of people who think more aptitude testing "is the answer."

PPS: An interesting story on junior faculty blogging, its potential threat to one's tenure case, and the possibility of a "peer reviewed" blog (oh, give me a break!). The case is made that blogs are sometimes read as sucking time away from writing for more legitimated forms of publication; it should be mentioned that, since I amped up my blogging, I've spent much less time responding to email (viz., folks find out "how I'm doing" by reading this instead of sending a query).