A Bunch of Thoughts….

I apologize for missing meetings this semester and I apologize for having to leave very early tomorrow because of EPC.  Here are some thoughts:

• I have not read the Lehrer book, but it seems like a great choice given the election next year and our role in messing up the VP debates.  A quick look through reputable online reviews seems to indicate it would be a good choice.
• I read The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt.  It is an excellent book: popular and readable yet academic and germane to an election year.  It is, however, very long (~370 pages before end notes) and episodic.  I doubt our students would read it.
• I tried to read What is the What by Dave Eggers and ended up skipping around.  It is a first person story of one of the Lost Boys which unfortunately makes it a bad choice for me.  First person, based on reality, and a bit depressing.  I ended up skipping around and found anecdotes and sections I enjoyed.  I expect that with a good running start I could read it through.   We all know that our student enjoy this sort of thing much more than I do, so it might be great for our students except that it is over 500 pages long.
• I was wondering about T.H. White’s (not that one, the other one) Making of a President 1960.  It has been years but I loved that book.  And it was the first race in which a televised debate played a part.  But Amazon says that it is over 400 pages.  (Also note that T.H. White’s (yes, that one this time) Once and Future King would also be a great book to read although it is not at all relevant to the election.   It is over 600 pages.
• And last but not least it has been suggested to me that we stick with Wes Moore for one more year so that we can pick a new book at the same time we talk about how this new book will be used in the new  general education program or in fact if the new book will be used in the general education program.  I think this is a great idea UNLESS we pick a book that ties in with the election.

Yr. hmbl and obt svt,

Bill

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