I just finished listening on audio cassettes the book "Standing for Something" by Gordon B. Hinckley. It was read by George Grizzard. It was an uplifting book to hear. It ran for about 6 hours on 3 separate tapes. My attention span shorts out at about 15 minutes, so it took about 3 to 4 weeks time to hear the entire thing.
Nevertheless, his words and counsel and observations didn't come as a news flash to me. I've heard him speak on several occasions. He was the revered prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which I'm a member, from middle of 1995 until his death in early 2008.
As I listened, I couldn't help but think, although his counsel and observations sound like good sense to me, that much of the reading population may not think about the virtues and principles of which he speaks. It may even be an eye-opening experience for some (i.e."I've never considered that before!")
Check it out literally. I'd almost be there is a copy of it at your local library. I've always enjoyed non-fiction books anyway, a little more than the novels and fictional accounts.
After you read (or listen to) it, you're welcome to comment and share what you thought about it or what particulary found application in your own circumstances.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Cricket in Times Square
My professional field is Special Education. I teach in an elementary school. This morning before students arrived, I read a bit of The Cricket in Times Square. Some of you may remember that book. It dawned on me again why I enjoy teaching elementary. For the majority of the books, there isn't profanity spewing across the pages. There are even guidelines on what published books can not contain for some ages of children, one of which is something like the details of how someone died.
Admittedly in college, I skipped reading some assigned novels because of the content. It usually was 2 pages or so into it when I ran across something I did not appreciate, in the name of being true to the culture or era or situation, and so on. I remember not reading entire books in high school for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't like being told what to read, and 2) Some of the books' content left me feeling not very good. Being true to a story is more than just having it contain themes of "realism". What about bringing to the forefront optimism?
On a positive note, there have been books I was assigned to read that I have enjoyed. In 5th grade my class read Huckleberry Finn. In 9th Grade, my class read To Kill a Mockingbird. (Yes, I know I don't appear to be following my own standards because both of these books use a common derogatory term referring to an African-American, at least in Huckleberry Finn that term is used. What I am talking more about are crass references to body parts and immoral situations, in essence, objectifying people.)
One book I was able to choose in a history class--we each had to read up to 700 pages per quarter-- was The Frontiersmen. It was very well documented, researched and accurate. It was a historical narrative. Practically the only thing made up in the entire book were some of the dialogues between characters. The author noted that where journals or other records didn't record actual dialogue, he had inserted dialogue that would have fit the situation. In college I enjoyed reading some of the classics--Moby Dick (which I also enjoyed reading in high school), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
I feelit is my moral obligation, even a necessity to quietly turn down books that had compromising content. It is not in my personality to make it a point to be vocal about those decisions (i.e. "I'm not reading this book because..." announcement to the teacher and entire class).
There is so much good reading. One comment I have heard on this topic before any content is presented as good or bad is something like this: "It had such a great message."
My response is that you can teach those same messages without having to
muscle through deep murky cold swamps of demoralizing language, negative imagery, and the like.
Back to being true to the story: Another aspect of being true to a story is showing people acting civilized and respectful, that things aren't always going wrong, that in fact, good things happen and compassion and selfless acts and actions without ulterior motives (expecting something in return). I sum up the observations of some wise men and women more seasoned in years and with more of life's experiences--Much of the world is filled with negative comments, cynical remarks and sarcastic expressions; still there is much good in the world that needs to be reported on, heralded, and spoken of.
I conclude with a couple of thoughts.
How encouraging, how edifying it is for one wandering in the desert who comes upon a beautifully colored flower or shrub in the middle of an otherwise wasteland!
Conversely, how discouraging, how demoralizing it is for one wandering through a thicket of green-leafed trees in early summer to come upon spent cans, plates, bottles and ash in an otherwise land of bounty.
Admittedly in college, I skipped reading some assigned novels because of the content. It usually was 2 pages or so into it when I ran across something I did not appreciate, in the name of being true to the culture or era or situation, and so on. I remember not reading entire books in high school for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't like being told what to read, and 2) Some of the books' content left me feeling not very good. Being true to a story is more than just having it contain themes of "realism". What about bringing to the forefront optimism?
On a positive note, there have been books I was assigned to read that I have enjoyed. In 5th grade my class read Huckleberry Finn. In 9th Grade, my class read To Kill a Mockingbird. (Yes, I know I don't appear to be following my own standards because both of these books use a common derogatory term referring to an African-American, at least in Huckleberry Finn that term is used. What I am talking more about are crass references to body parts and immoral situations, in essence, objectifying people.)
One book I was able to choose in a history class--we each had to read up to 700 pages per quarter-- was The Frontiersmen. It was very well documented, researched and accurate. It was a historical narrative. Practically the only thing made up in the entire book were some of the dialogues between characters. The author noted that where journals or other records didn't record actual dialogue, he had inserted dialogue that would have fit the situation. In college I enjoyed reading some of the classics--Moby Dick (which I also enjoyed reading in high school), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
I feelit is my moral obligation, even a necessity to quietly turn down books that had compromising content. It is not in my personality to make it a point to be vocal about those decisions (i.e. "I'm not reading this book because..." announcement to the teacher and entire class).
There is so much good reading. One comment I have heard on this topic before any content is presented as good or bad is something like this: "It had such a great message."
My response is that you can teach those same messages without having to
muscle through deep murky cold swamps of demoralizing language, negative imagery, and the like.
Back to being true to the story: Another aspect of being true to a story is showing people acting civilized and respectful, that things aren't always going wrong, that in fact, good things happen and compassion and selfless acts and actions without ulterior motives (expecting something in return). I sum up the observations of some wise men and women more seasoned in years and with more of life's experiences--Much of the world is filled with negative comments, cynical remarks and sarcastic expressions; still there is much good in the world that needs to be reported on, heralded, and spoken of.
I conclude with a couple of thoughts.
How encouraging, how edifying it is for one wandering in the desert who comes upon a beautifully colored flower or shrub in the middle of an otherwise wasteland!
Conversely, how discouraging, how demoralizing it is for one wandering through a thicket of green-leafed trees in early summer to come upon spent cans, plates, bottles and ash in an otherwise land of bounty.
Friday, April 10, 2009
TV and TV shows
I went without watching all day up to this point, and I've had the day off work today. It is interesting to go without watching TV. It made me think of taking care of my baby boy more and interacting with him more. I went to the grocery store. I think there exists some national NO TV week or day. If not, maybe there should be one. I generally do not watch TV any day of the week, excepting the 5:00 or 6:00 o'clock news every other day. When I do watch more popular shows, there seems to be immorally suggestive situations even if it is only being talked about. Then I remind myself why I don't watch TV very much. There are shows that I do enjoy watching. I enjoy watching an NBA basketball game once in awhile or even Little House on the Prairie every now and then. I like home improvement shows and especially abc's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. These are the kinds of shows that inspire and educate. I like to watch old black and white movies on one of those cable channels just to laugh at the "special" effects and the horrible acting. Funny stuff appeals to me as long as it avoids resorting to crudeness and immoral suggestion. I've seen a fairly broad range of TV shows in my life. I heard a man once when I was a clerk at a grocery store say, "I used to watch TV all the time. Then, I realized I wasted 20 years of my life." That was so profound to hear that from someone looking back over their life. I would suggest to me as well as others to be selective about what, when, how long, and with whom to watch television. I would also suggest that TV is not watched during special family times with the parents and children, such as dinner time, breakfast time, lunch time, study time. One of my favorite activities when extended family comes over about my age (I'm in my 30's) is to play a card or board game or just to talk, eat popcorn and laugh together. I am promoting more interactive activities that build relationships rather than watching the relationships in TV shows. I am not preaching to go without TV for the rest of all time or watching a movie together once in a while. I'm suggesting that we invest more time in people and less time in things (like TV shows).
Thursday, April 9, 2009
News Broadcasts
It seems to me that positive news items are nothing more than a good brief mention at the end of a newscast. What a big difference it would make if every newscast began with a positive news item. Would that help increase the viewership?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Welcome, Friends
Welcome to this site. It is the hope that all who read here
will find something worthwhile that has long-term benefits for them.
will find something worthwhile that has long-term benefits for them.
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