The secret key to teaching.

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Books, conferences, and every tool imaginable have been used to teach teaching. I have even expounded and pontificated on education for years. Yes, you must master your subject matter, and yes, you have to know your way around a classroom, and so on. But there is really only one secret, one measure of your success.

Are you instilling a sense of wonder? Are you creating lifelong learners?

The first step, the first question might be: are you instilled with a sense of wonder? Are you a lifelong learner?

The road to this Shangri-La is not a straight one, and because we all have different approaches, different stories, and backgrounds, the road is different for every one of us.

There was an experiment at the University of Kansas in the 70s. The Integrated Humanities Program (IHP), also known as the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program, was a program at the University of Kansas in the 1970s. The program was dedicated to the instilling of wonder in and pursuit of truth with underclassmen. It was led by three faculty: Dr. Dennis Quinn, Dr. John Senior, and Dr. Frank Nelick. (According to Wikipedia)

This experiment did not last long, as apparently a large number of students converted to Catholicism, which seems interesting.

At any rate, one tool I love to bring a sense of wonder is to take students outside the sterile classroom walls. We recently had the opportunity to see and hear the Palm Beach Symphony and cellist Alisa Weilerstein play Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and Richard Strauss’ sweeping Alpine Symphony. We also celebrated Taco Tuesday before the concert at the amazing Taqueria Guerrero!

We will never know if we are succeeding in our mission of bringing a sense of wonder to our students, if we are making lifelong learners, but I know I took my students one step closer with this experience.

Follow up on the Humanism (and post and trans Humanism) post; Luis Correa-Diaz and Rosalía.

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One of the fun things of running an eclectic blog like this one is that you never know what the response is going to be like to each post. Surprisingly, my recent post on Humanism got a lively riposte.

One of the more remarkable reactions came from poet and friend Luis Correa-Diaz, who actually wrote a poem inspired by the blog post (attached), wow! And thanks!

At about the same time, Rosalía released her last album. What is the connection? You ask. Well, Rosalia has made it a point to explain that there is no AI in this work; it is all real instruments, which has led to the expression of Hyper Humanism. Which leads me to ask, isn’t all Humanism Hyper Humanism?

Oh and to connect all these dots Luis Correa-Diaz also wrote a poem about Rosalia’s work! (Check it out here)

Oh, my opinion? Good for Rosalía, but I think it is easy to overrate someone in the 21st Century…

Classic Rock & Roll; have I become a groupie?

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Call me a relic, call me what you will.

Say I’m old-fashioned, say I’m over the hill.

Today’s music ain’t got the same soul.

I like that old-time rock and roll.

There is a reason Classic Rock has that name. At this point, there is a canon for pop and rock music: songs that everybody knows by heart and that are played constantly on the radio. In South Florida, with its large population of retired baby boomers, many cover and tribute bands play classic rock. The husband of one of my colleagues is a drummer with one of those bands: 3sixty. Every time they play locally, I enjoy seeing them. This means that I have seen them play many times over the last five years. By now, I am friends with all the musicians.

Every guild, job, and hobby has its own lingo, vocabulary, and labels. The world of Rock and Roll is no different. According to AI, here is some Rock & Roll vocab:

Gig: A job or performance engagement.

Demo: A sample recording sent to producers.

Groupie: A fan who follows a band around.

Hook: A catchy, memorable melody.

Jam session: Musicians playing together spontaneously.

Roadie: Folks who help set up the concerts

Set list: The list of songs a band will perform.

So, although I do not follow 3Sixty around outside of my area, I am afraid I have become a bit of a groupie. I know the set list fairly well, the musicians’ quirks on stage, even their “inside” communications!

Let me tell you, although these guys have day jobs (one of them is a doctor!), they have a very professional approach to their band and their playing. This is not some drunken hobby band; these guys take their music seriously, and it shows!

So, if you are in South Florida and you get a chance to see 3Sixty, see them. You are welcome.

Celebrating a quinquennium of Film Club; Paul Thomas Anderson.

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PTA collage

When my dear friend (and old student) Guille invited me to join Film Club, I would never have guessed we would have made it to five years, and now, here we are! Happy 5th birthday, Film Club!

Film Club works by having the four members rotate in choosing a theme for the month. We then select four films within that genre/theme/director/actor, etc., and, after viewing the films, we meet to discuss them.

We recently spent a month exploring the work of Paul Thomas Anderson, watching Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, and the recent One Battle After Another. Although every month is special and enriching, this month was mind-blowing!

Boogie Nights (1997), in my opinion, was the weakest one of the lot, maybe because it is the oldest. Still, an amazing cast that works beautifully together —Burt Reynolds, are you kidding me? Here you see the seeds of what will become PTA’s signature moves.

I remember seeing Magnolia (1999) alone in a long-ago-lost movie theatre in Madrid (Cine Bogart) and being amazed at the cris-crossing narrative, Tom Cruise’s performance, Julianne Moore (who also nailed it (metaphorically, and literally, if you know what I mean) in Boogie Nights), and Philip Seymour Hoffman, among others.

There Will Be Blood (2007), I also saw when it came out, and I remember being amazed at Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance, but then again, who wouldn’t be? This is a masterpiece of cinema. With Daniel Day-Lewis, you do not need the clutter of layering narratives; he takes care of the film, based on a Upton Sinclair novel.

Finally, the very recent —I only missed it in theaters by a few days— One Battle After Another, with a flawless performance by Leo DiCaprio, although (sorry, spoiler alert) Sean Penn unexpectedly ends up stealing the film. This film beautifully encapsulates PTA’s evolution, masterfully blending drama with subtle comedic hits. The film shows a more mature, minimalist approach, ditching the multiple story lines to focus on the protagonist and antagonist (you figure out which one is which!)

There is a driving thread in all those films; they all deal with family, particularly messed-up families (Which I would dare say is most of them!): surrogate families, broken families, children adopted for profit (literally), etc. Paul Thomas Anderson, if you are reading this, I have a therapist who is probably cheaper than making all those films….

Here is to another five years of Film Club!

The old cine Bogart in Madrid

Book neutrality program

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In my first full-time job at a fund manager in Boston, brilliant people surrounded me. One of those individuals was a portfolio manager named Forrest Berkley, who was brilliant and, fortunately for me, very patient. One of his adages, which he personally did not keep, was that of paper neutrality. The idea is that for every paper that came into his office, another one had to leave. This was easier said than done; his office was full of stacks of research reports from stock markets around the world! But I liked the idea, and I would occasionally mention it as a joke when I threw away some paper.

Now that I am older, I have realized that I need less and less to be happy. I have become a bit of a minimalist. While having lots and lots of books might make you look smart, you really do not need them. Once you read a book, you are rarely going to return to it for reference or to re-read it. Let’s face it, how many books have you re-read? In my case, in over 40 years of reading, I have only re-read a handful of books.* So once you read a book, give it away, donate it, sell it, you do not need it.

In that spirit, I have evoked Forrest Berkley’s old adage, and I now have a self-imposed 100-book neutrality program at home. This means that I can only have 100 books at home at any given time. This requires a lot of reading and a lot of donating and giving away books. Does it work? Yes, more, or less, sometimes I might be a bit lenient, but then I remember, and I carefully go over my shelf. Picking out books that I know I shall never get around to reading, cleaning out doubles (I just gave away a Thomas Merton repeat to my yoga teacher, Paritosh), and getting rid of books I have read.

So, unless you like collecting stuff as a hobby, implement a neutrality program. For each blank that comes into your home/office/whatever, another item has to go. You are welcome…

  • Voltaire, Candide
  • Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea.
  • Gabriel Gárcia Márquez, Crónica de una muerte anunciada
  • Omar Khayam, Rubaiat
  • Unamumo, San Manuel Bueno, mártir
  • Federico Gárcia Lorca, La casa de Bernarda Alba
  • Cervantes, Don Quijote

Justice League of America: Los 7 originales, and Latino Book Review

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Once you find something that you are passionate about, go all in; get involved, make friends who share your passion, and join a club or association. This will make your projects much more rewarding. You are welcome. My main hobby, which is also partly my job, is literature, words, and everything related to that: books, poetry, narrative, etc., etc.

If you follow this blog at all you know that I enjoy writing book and film reviews when I find something interesting to say about them. Since my job is also scholarly and academic, I also occasionally write book reviews for academic journals (see here).

Luis Correa-Díaz is a professor, a corresponding member of the Real Academia de la Lengua both in Chile and in the US, and a great poet and friend whom I follow. If you have a good memory and you read this blog, you might remember that I have reviewed some of his latest books (La Valparadisea, El escudo de Chile, and Valparaiso puerto principal).

Because I enjoy everything Luis Correa-Díaz writes, I recently bought his most recent project: Justice League of America: Los 7 originales, a bilingual compilation of Hispanic and Latino poetry. I liked it so much, I not only wrote a review, but sent it to the influential Latino Book Review for publishing, which they miraculously did!

You can read my review here.

Hope you like it.

A trio of lectures on linguistics.

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Clarification: I am not a linguist. I did have to take a linguistics course as part of my PhD coursework, and, of course, it is difficult not to become a linguistics aficionado when studying literature, or when teaching the Spanish language.

Taking advantage of the cultural powerhouse that is Madrid, I recently attended three different lectures (at two different venues) on Spanish linguistics.

The first one at the Fundación Juan March was a general but excellent introduction to the Indo-European origins of European languages: ¿Qué es el indoeuropeo? La familia de lenguas indoeuropeas, by Complutense University Professor Juan Antonio Álvarez-Pedrosa. In his conference, Álvarez-Pedrosa explained the history of the study of Indo-European languages, dating back to Sir William Jones in 1786, and how he discovered connections between Sanskrit and ancient Greek, the methodology used to track the origins of languages, and how linguists have historically worked. It was a surprisingly enlightening session.

The second lecture in that series, La religion de los indoeuropeos: entre el mito y la historia, was given by Álvarez-Pedrosa’s colleague at the Complutense, Eugenio Luján. Luján explained the collaboration needed between archeologists and linguists to understand the cultures of different ancient tribes, mostly based on Adolphe Pictet’s theory. I did learn that the wheel was used for making ceramics before it was used for transportation! Stuff one learns in lectures on linguistics!

Luján then explained the connection between religion and linguistics based on the three levels of Hierarchy, War, and Production (of children, that is, basically, Love). I did find this section a midge of a stretch, but that is research and academia for you, pushing the envelope.

The third lecture was not connected. It was at the Ramón Areces Foundation by Real Academia de la Lengua member Pedro Álvarez de Miranda: Los comienzos del español moderno; el siglo XVIII. This lecture was by far the best! Álvarez de Miranda, with apparently endless knowledge, explained the evolution of the Spanish language in the 18th Century, leading us to “modern” Spanish. He referenced the work of Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Américo Castro, and Rafael Lapesa. He also explained the important work of the Jesuits and the missionaries in America, the novatores who were scientists in early 18th-century Spain, and, of course, the work of Benito Jerónimo Feijoo and of the Academy of which he is a member.

All in all, a great trio of lectures. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

On the importance of discipline and practice. Our Fall soccer game

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A couple of times a year, I write about soccer. This coincides with my school team’s games. This year, our game in Miami was cancelled due to lightning, and the Palm Beach Young Adult tournament was also cancelled due to scheduling issues. Fortunately, we finally had a chance to play against a local group, the Amori Christi campus of the Jesus Youth.

After twenty years of coaching, I mostly value two things in soccer nowadays: the discipline you bring to practice and the player’s psychology. Today, let’s focus on discipline.

We have all seen great players who have wasted their careers to partying. While we do not play in any competitive conference, you can still see the players who commit to improving and those who just want to have fun.

At the end of the day, discipline in whatever you decide to do in life will set you free from the slavery of your worst self, the “I don’t feel like studying/practicing/showering/etc, worst self. So start slow, but be mindful and purposeful to develop routines that will improve your soccer game or whatever craft you wish to improve at. You are welcome

The takeaway for me this year is the importance of staying focused, of constant practice, to prepare for a game, the game, every game, is important. The men did not disappoint, earning a resounding win (8-2), but the score is not important; the preparation, the mindset, and showing up are what I appreciate.

Rembrandt and the Dutch Masters at the Norton Museum

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Years ago, I heard that the three most influential artists in history were Velázquez, Goya, and Rembrandt. I am not an artist, so I cannot opine, but it does make a lot of sense. Velázquez and Goya —I am fairly familiar with them, since I spend a lot of time at the Prado Museum (which only has one Rembrandt). Rembrandt and the Dutch Masters are fascinating, but I am less familiar (although I did spend time at the Rijksmuseum back in the Mesozoic era).

The Norton Museum has just opened a phenomenal exhibit on Rembrandt and the Dutch Masters from the largest private collection, The Leiden, and I have already seen it twice and hope to see it a few more times. I have already scheduled a visit for one of my classes!

The exhibit is phenomenal; it includes many Rembrandts, various other Dutch Masters, and, as a bonus, a Vermeer!

The works are mostly from the 17th century, although there are a handful from the 18th. So, Dutch Baroque, which is a bit different from the rest of European Baroque, especially Italian and Spanish, but still plays with the chiaroscuro. Jesus at the Mount of Olives is a great example of that technique.

Yes, the Vermeer is my favorite; it is just a girl, a piano, and a chair, but it does so much more than any of the other paintings. It is tiny, but the girl’s gaze, her hair with its almost transparent bow, her dress, two tiny pearls on her neck, the trademark light pouring from a high window. I have written before about the victory of minimalism, but this might take the cake!

So if you are in South Florida before March 29, reserve your ticket and see this exhibition. You are welcome.

Teaching Hack #429: Get a guest speaker to present in your class.

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Whenever possible, if you find the right person at the right time, get a guest speaker.

Bishop Silvio Báez @silviojosebaez of Managua is a Carmelite who just happens to work at my school. After much discussion and persuasion, I finally convinced him to attend my Spanish Art and Literature class to talk about St. John of the Cross. We arranged, organized, and scheduled, and he exceeded expectations. Bishop Báez brought his old St. John book, tattered and torn, from when he was a seminarian!

We only had time to explore the first 5 stanzas of the Spiritual Canticle, and he showed us how the writing leads directly to spirituality. Of course, St. John is the master of lyric poetry, and Bishop Baez knew exactly how to tease out St. John’s technique, method, and tricks to transport the reader to a deep spiritual realm. Bravo!

Of course, for the students, it is a new, different voice —an authority on the subject— presenting new material.

Over the years, I have managed to get the Spanish Consul in Boston and his Education Attaché to come chat. Poet Daniel Bosch explained how the very structure of Pablo Neruda’s Veinte Poemas de Amor is in itself a poem. At UNC, I met the owner of a local restaurant who spoke excellent Spanish, so I invited her to my Spanish for Business class.

On the other hand, if you can talk about a subject with some authority, then it is only fair for you to give back by being a guest speaker. I have been a guest speaker a couple of times: once on bullfighting, a couple of times on entrepreneurship, and a couple of times on public speaking.

So if the stars align and you can pull it off, get a guest speaker; your students will appreciate it.