Computer, Papers, and a Pen

            Learning “blogging style” is more suited to my way of life, than using a text book and writing information on paper. Growing up with a computer is like growing up with a car.  You can still live without it now, but not very easily.  Typing to me is just as easy as script writing is to my mother.  I can be quick and efficient, assessing useful information and discarding the rest in a moment.  Having instant access to ideas, images, and research increases the probability of me learning more about one particular subject, or allowing me to follow a tangent off in a totally different direction.  I can also communicate my ideas with others easily.  It is fast-paced, just like my life.
            There are times when learning “pen and paper style” is more beneficial for me.  Sitting alone, without distraction, I am able to concentrate deeply.  Mathematics, in particular, is a subject that I need to use a pen and paper.  Writing ideas on paper helps me think logically, and I make fewer mistakes.  I am less willing to move, though, to look for more information.  Being exposed to a library to research homework actually brings a sense of concreteness to words.  I know the words have been written and stored; I can visually record that sense of “it is still all there” as opposed to accidentally hitting a wrong key and having work disappear into nothingness or having the internet connection lost.  If I didn’t have access to a computer, I would know where to find the information I needed.
            An optimal learning assignment would allow me to choose which style I find most valuable, whether it would be a learning from a computer, a pen, paper and a book,  or sometimes audibly, through voice or song.  It is extremely important I recognize that all methods can enhance knowledge.

Topics

Writing about “Song of the Shirt” was my favorite assignment.  Reading information in the form of lyrics and then trying to relate to that type of life allowed me to understand the plight of those women on different personal levels.  First, I thought how thankful I was that my life is so much different than the mill workers.  The song’s message put complaining about my homework into perspective.  Secondly, I thought about women in other countries during this same time period.  From past research I know that Europe’s history of industrial labor abuses is just as dismal as our own.  Then I finally asked myself if the history of yesterday had changed anything about today.  “Sweat shops” do still exist in many countries.  “Sweat shops” operate illegally in this country, as well, with unscrupulous shop owners taking advantage of a labor pool of illegal immigrants.  I realized that “Song of the Shirt” may always be sung.

The Good, the Bad and the Question

            Honesty is the best policy.
            There are several positive sides to blogging as homework.  The basic fact that so many students like this format is that it is quick.  Access to interesting websites and information is almost instantaneous.  Keeping track of Facebook drama and doing homework is a multi-tasking student’s dream come true.  This format allows for flexibility in scheduling assignments and is a refreshing change from the usual sit, read and write.
            The informality of blogging allows students to type their ideas as they come to mind.  Several of the questions were emotional in nature, such as the stereotype assignment, and students were able to relay first-hand experiences along with a review of stereotypes found in history.  Also, reading other people’s thoughts and ideas, through shared access, gives students an inside glimpse of the history of the writer’s own background.  It was interesting to read all viewpoints, whether conservative or liberal, religious or secular, or determine if the student was actually interested in the topic, or not.
            As for the environmental greenness of blogging, that is debatable and difficult to answer definitively.  On the surface, it would seem that not using paper would be the best choice.  But, it is important to keep in mind that the computer manufacturing process is incredibly destructive to the environment, computers are almost obsolete the moment they hit the store shelves, and recycling is hazardous and not cost-efficient at this time.  Paper, on the other hand, if used sparingly, can be made of recycled material, optimally come from a sustainable tree farm, and can be recycled easily and cost effectively.  Another question to ponder…
            Apparent immediately are a few negative sides to blogging.  Although some students have incredible ideas to share, the misspelled words and incomplete sentences make it almost impossible to understand what they are trying to communicate.  It seems a waste of time to share the incomprehensible.
            Understanding that this is a US History class and that certain major events shaped our country is important, but it would be refreshing to have questions that are not so basic.  Most students have been writing about slavery, the Oregon Trail and the Civil Rights Movement since first grade.  Researching more obscure, but important topics might provide students with a new insight.  Or, asking students to put themselves in the shoes of a Confederate soldier, or the owner of a textile mill, would give them a new perspective.  There are two sides to every story, whether they are good or bad.
            Overall, the blogging assessment system has been a unique experience that has the potential to expose students to information that might otherwise have gone unread in a text book.  It also allows students to add their own opinions and to share those opinions with others.  It has been an enjoyable experience.

Immigrant Soup:

serves hundreds of thousands!

Mix together in large bowl of water:

-        anxiety                                                 - filth

-        hunger                                                 - suffering

-        sadness                                                - over-whelmed

-        love                                                     - defeated

-        itchy                                                    - cold

-        rushed                                                 - smelly

-        weary                                                  - elation

-        thankful                                              - relief

-        sweaty                                                 - anticipation

-        hot                                                       - sick

-        puzzled                                               - exhaustion

-        pain                                                     - loneliness

-        fright

 Add sea salt, and then pour into Ellis Island.

New Song or Old Song?

When buying that next inexpensive shirt at your local discount store, please keep in mind the Song of the Shirt.
Factory conditions for women, at the time this song was written, were horrendous.  Women’s minds were tortured by the monotonous job of sewing shirts.  Singing helped relieve their boredom, their loneliness, their suffering and communicated their shared plight.  Sewing from sun-up to sun-down, women were only set free by their death; a perfectly sewn “shroud” would be their only legacy.  The religious rationalization of this drudgery as “Christian” work gave these women no right to complain.  Their souls were going to heaven.
These factory conditions still exist in many countries today where government organizations, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and worker’s unions, such as the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union are not available for worker protection.  That cheap shirt, imported from another country, may be sewn by a woman singing this song.

Portraits of Reality

The old saying: “one picture is worth 1000 words” would directly apply to the showcase of work by Erwin E. Smith.  Smith’s camera caught in pictures a reality that was in direct opposition to the stereotype afforded by Hollywood of the life lead by the Western cowboy in the 1800s.   This particular photograph of a cowboy injured on the ground was especially moving.  Seldom did Hollywood show the real physical or emotional impacts of the cowboy lifestyle.


Although cowboys would show up with white, perfect teeth, ruggedly handsome faces, dusty, but un-tattered clothing and a perfect physique with no missing limbs or digits on the Hollywood set, the actual reality of the physical health of a cowboy was quite different.  As Smith’s picture depicts, the environment played a huge role in the health of a cowboy.  In a stark desert or on boggy ground surrounded by cliffs the cowboy was constantly at odds with his physical surroundings.  Being thrown from a horse while negotiating a steep hillside or drowning while fording a river were always possibilities.  Romantic starry nights were rarely the case in an environment where temperatures could vary by 60 degrees or more.  Tornadoes, snowstorms, hail, thunderstorms, flooding rains and the burning rays of the sun without adequate protection were also causes for a shortened lifespan.


The actual physical costs of being a cowboy were enormous.  In 1875 a Wyoming newspaper described them as “rough men with shaggy hair and wild staring eyes in butternut trousers stuffed into great rough boots”, cowboys were seen as the epitome of toughness.  Under those trousers was a body that was abused.  Moving from town to town these men were subject to contact with disease, the most feared being cholera.  Lack of education, proper nutrition and clean water made them even more vulnerable to their lifestyle. 

Medical care was scarce for the cowboy.  Injuries were left to heal awkwardly or led to amputation or death.  One famous gunfighter, Doc Holliday, was an actual doctor of dental surgery and had a practice in Dodge City in 1878.  Obviously, dentistry was just not exciting enough for this man.  Medicine came in the form of a whiskey bottle or a “patent” medicine that had extremely high alcohol content.  Tobacco was ever present and either chewed or smoked.  Many cowboys called tobacco plugs “brain tablets” because it gave them “time to think.”  Health consequences of smoking, also romanticized by the movie and marketing industries are now public knowledge.


Browsing through the many photographs by Erwin E. Smith, another evident difficulty of being a cowboy was emotional stress and the toll it took on their well-being.  Loneliness was the topic of many cowboy ballads, but the movies once again glorified an extremely unhealthy condition.  Loneliness can be depressing and cause extreme anxiety.  Other mental health issues included constantly living in a state of fear.  Fear caused by the unknown.  Indian attacks, gunshots wounds (“death settles all disputes”), cattle stampedes and even fear of coming upon a vigilante group, out for revenge on the first person they find, were all contributors to the actual mental health of a cowboy.   The faces of the men in Smith’s photographs show that stress of everyday life.


 “Anybody with guts and a horse” could be a cowboy.  Those that signed up were generally in their late teens, early twenties and single.  Those who lived past the age of 35 were extremely lucky.


“Yup.  The end of a way of life.  Too bad.  It’s a good way.  Wagons forward! Yo!”  Easy for John Wayne to say, he got to go home to a warm bed every night.  


Image source <http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/smith/images/details/LC-S59-223.jpg>

RIP Stereotypes

The quintessential Hollywood Western story of good vs. evil, Gunsmoke: Gunfighter, R.I.P. provided stereotypes galore.  There were some characteristics that all the cowboys shared in this episode, and then there were differences that were deliberate, in their appearance and intentions, that individually labeled the cowboys either good souls or bad seeds.
Silver screen interpretations of the classic cowboy included a rugged physique, with a face usually adorned with scars received from their last encounter in the harsh environment. Their clothing of leather chaps, hat, kerchief, gun belt and gun, spurs, long sleeve shirt with accompanying vest, and unmistakable pointed-toe boots provided the clues as to their lifestyle, tough and dangerous.  Mysteriously, all cowboys seemed to be able to sustain gunshot wounds without much medical attention, and recover handsomely within days.  The stereotypical cowboy does seem to have a limited education.  They also tend to have a one-track mind set on seeking out their heart’s desire, which can include romance, alcohol, revenge, or robbing banks.  Cowboys do not give much consideration to the consequences of their actions.
“If everything isn’t black and white, I say, ‘why the hell not?’” – John Wayne. 
White, the color of Yang energy, purity, righteousness, and exceptionally chaste morality is the hue of the tall cowboy hat worn by the hero in Dodge City.  The U.S. Marshall, Matt Dillon, wore a large white hat, and was bathed in light colored clothing.  He was exceptionally tall, muscular, with good looks and very white teeth.  His intuitions and eyesight, for exact shooting skills, were as noticeable as his direct connection to God and always making the correct moral decision within seconds.  The gunfighter, who had a good soul hidden under years of a violent lifestyle, was also wearing light colored clothing; his body was muscular, his face handsome and he had very white teeth.  Although initially corrupted by the lure of money, this cowboy recognized the path to happiness was in fighting back moral bankruptcy, and seizing the opportunity to assist the helpless.
Black, the color of Yin energy, evil, and generally all around bad-assness was also the color of the hat worn by the cowboy, set on revenge for time spent in jail courtesy of Marshall Dillon.  His clothing was dusty and disheveled, his face pock-marked, and his breath smelled of the whiskey that was his liquid courage.  Bad cowboy man had a side-kick who was stereotypically portrayed as having a weak character, zero self confidence, no education, but always ready to follow orders even if they came from the devil.  Lurking in saloons, with shifty eyes and fingers on the trigger, these men in black created the ever-present evil always calling to forlorn souls on the trail, in this case the errant gunfighter.
The portrayal of women in this episode of Gunsmoke was classic and can be summed up in two words: pathetic helplessness.  Thank goodness there were cowboys around to tell them what to do every second of their lives or these women would be out aimlessly wandering the hills.  Ethnic women, in this story the Chinese laundry woman, were cast with noticeable American beauty features and singled out as being especially vulnerable, weak and powerless.  At least Miss Kitty, the beautiful saloon pimp with a good heart, had the gumption to order the cowboys around on occasion.
Gunsmoke: Gunfighter R.I.P. was a simple story, filled with the stereotypes popular during that time period.  Unfortunately, the real story of exceptional characters, both male and female, and of all ethnicities rarely got that coveted television time-slot. 

Six Word Story

Trail mix ingredients: heartbreak and glory.