A Bad Boy, a Good Man – Another Must-Read English Teacher Blog

Friday, 11 January 2008 Clay Burell Print This Post

I want to make a cool badge a la Scott McLeod’s “Blogs that Deserve a Bigger Audience” (DABA) for bloggers who deserve to be called Writers, and know the difference between prose and cons.

You know, bloggers who get you off for their ideas and style.

Until I come up with a name and a badge for this, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, may I present:

A Taste of Stop Trying to Inspire Me, by “Tom“

Here, Tom sounds off on mandatory moments of silence, pledges of allegiance, and other forms of schooly propaganda in this snippet from his latest post, “‘Tis of Thee“:

I’ve heard a number of people say that the country [ie, the USA] wouldn’t be the way it is nowadays if we had prayer in schools. Personally, I think that’s crap. I mean, do you really think that pausing for a led prayer to a God that not everyone in your population worships (and let’s be honest, that’s what supporters of school prayer want) will teach children not to beat the crap out of each other and to do their homework and to read better and to master the concepts of physics? Furthermore, do you think that forcing children to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance will have any effect on this country’s future? . . . .

It seems that you can never open a debate about this issue, either. Make a point about how mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence at the beginning of school actually contradicts the “freedom” they’re honoring and you’re given the “She’s a witch, burn her!” treatment. But I just can’t see it, or any simply blind patriotism that we’re forced to endure in our society as useful. Discussion, exploration, even questioning of history, government, and our culture–that’s freedom.

This doesn’t do Tom justice. For a really wicked read, check out his take on PTSA – pure cantankerous goodness. H.L. Mencken would buy this writer a drink.

What I like about “Tom” is this, seriously: when I read him, I read a smart guy who just wants to (passionately) teach, and is utterly pissed at the fear, hypocrisy and stupidity around him that keeps him from doing so. So while Tom doesn’t come off as a toothy “good boy,” that’s all right with me. Many bad boys are very good men.

(Tom, we’ve never talked. And if you’re out there, I hope I’ve done you right with what can always only be a caricature. I do enjoy your stuff.)

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5 Responses to “A Bad Boy, a Good Man – Another Must-Read English Teacher Blog”

Tom writes:
No. 1 — January 15th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Wow, thanks. While I do have to say that I think that’s the first time anyone’s ever called me a “bad boy,” I do appreciate the post. Very cool!

Now, hopefully I’ll get around to posting again instead of spending all my time concentrating on stuff like grading papers and writing midterm exams. You know, stuff that gets in the way of blogging

Tom’s last blog post..‘Tis of Thee

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Clay Burell writes:
No. 2 — January 19th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Tom,

Sorry for the late reply. It _is_ cool. Cooler still, somebody in my Twitter network tweeted to tell me you teach in the room next to her.

Keep up the great writing, man. It’s a cold winter breeze that knocks the dead leaves off the trees.

Clay Burell’s last blog post..“Quick In, Quick Out” Podcast: PLN Class Design Discussion with Cleveland, Maryland, NYC, Qatar, and Seoul

Reply
A Day in the Life » Blog Archive » I read the news today oh, boy writes:
No. 3 — February 22nd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
[...] – I’d add, primarily for the purpose of college application bullets (I blog about him here. He’s wicked funny and smart too. Check him out for a hilariously honest view of teaching [...]
Of Little Pricks and April Fools | Beyond School writes:
No. 4 — April 2nd, 2008 at 8:32 am
[...] like radicals, rebels, and bad boys – but only if they’re “good men.”* My definition of “good”? We could boil it down to the absence of resentment [...]
“Uninspired” Tom’s Laugh-Out-Loud End-of-School Year Post | Beyond School writes:
No. 5 — July 10th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
[...] propped Tom, writer of “Stop Trying to Inspire Me,” on these pages before, and this comment I left on his post today is true: My wife yelled from the other room on five [...]