We see an increasing need for generalists. What is your vision on schools/education to meet that need? I got this question from Arnold Beekes of the Society of Creative Generalists after posting something on their webpage (http://creativegeneralist.org/), and interestingly it jives in some ways with […]
September 11: I could not stop watching because I could not begin to understand
View of Mt. Pisgah from Asheville School (Photo: AdmissionsQuest) I read the following comments during the September 11th Commemoration Assembly at The Westminster Schools today. On September 11, 2001, I was teaching at a boarding school in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and I remember that I had a […]
From the South Asheville Cemetery to Thurburbo Maius
Vintage Postcard depiction of Asheville, North Carolina from Beaucatcher Ridge Just east of downtown Asheville, North Carolina the land rises steeply toward Beaucatcher Ridge and on its other side, as it falls away further east, is the Kenilworth neighborhood where my wife and I lived in the late nineties. It is a lovely shaded place that, […]
Death to the “Arguable” Thesis, Part 2: Before We Believe, Let It Be Up-Side Down
In an earlier post, I called for the death of the arguable thesis (http://jrosspeters.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/death-to-the-arguable-thesis-before-we-argue-lets-believe/). In short, I asserted that we should teach our students to discover a belief before we allow them to worry about whether their claim is arguable. Several of the responses to the piece echoed a similar […]
Finding Folk Art: A Communion of Meaning
The ghosts of folk art cast a long shadow at “Folk Fest” (http://www.slotinfolkart.com/folk_fest/folk_fest.html ) made longer by the lack of a deep bench of compelling new work. The artists with the most distinctive newer works, Missionary Mary Proctor and Cornbread, have works around virtually every corner, and like them as I do (I own nice examples from […]
Death to the “Arguable” Thesis: Before We Argue, Let’s Believe
“Have you come up with a thesis yet?” “No, I haven’t even started. I’ll get to it tonight or early tomorrow morning.” “Yeah, I am great under the gun. I write so much better when the pressure is on!” “I can make up something in time.” […]