I haven’t commented for a while, simply because I haven’t found the time to read your entries (you write A LOT, man)

But to this last entry; I’m sure you’re familiar with Tolkiens work. His work is largely influenced by old myhts and pre-christian religious stories.

Now to the point: The old Numenorean (and Gondorean) kings freely chose to give up their lives, before they became witless, while they still had some strength and dignity left.

I think this is a notion that was deeply founded in ancient times, but something we have lost. This is not because we have grown more respectful of life, but because doctors are afraid of lawsuits if they don’t try their utmost to keep patients alive.

So it was with the later Numenorean kings, they envied the elven immortality, and refused to give up their lives, actually sending them into decline. Isn’t that an analogy to today’s medical practice/ ethics?

…it made me think of the Mohawk sweetgrass ceremony (I’ve been to a few, sadly one was for a student of mine), where tobacco is burnt at the site of a death in order to facilitate the spirit to be released and do what it has to do, combine with that of the creator.

So much better than ‘going to sleep’. How freaking scary is that? I’d be afraid to ever go to sleep again, I may never wake up! Saying ‘going to sleep’ is an outright lie, while saying ‘going to the sky’ is rooted in belief (if that is your belief). Unless, of course, you truly believe that one is sleeping when one dies…

Tracy Rosens last blog post..how do you still love teaching?

What do you like about “going to the sky”? (Besides the poetry, which would be beautiful if the parents of these kids told them it was poetry, instead of telling them it’s fact.)

Call me crazy, but I see a connection between America’s horrible science scores and teachings like this before kids have all their teeth. “Oh, so we put people in the ground and they go into the sky? Okay, Mom, if you say so.”

When the Earth was flat, this made a little sense. But now, the sky is centrifugal instead of “up.”

Ach. I’ll stop now

Tracy Rosens last blog post..how do you still love teaching?

Andrea Hernandezs last blog post..Edublogosphere –Part of the Problem?

Andrea Hernandezs last blog post..Edublogosphere –Part of the Problem?