very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodat-ing grasp, like a stubborn fact, as it was,-all helped the emphasis. “In this life, we want nothing but Facts, sir; nothing but Facts!” The speaker, and the schoolmaster, and the third grown person present, all backed a little, and swept with their eyes the inclined plane of little vessels then and there arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim. “Bitzer,” said Thomas Gradgrind. “Your definition of a horse.” “Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in the spring; in marshy countries, sheds hoofs, too. Hoofs hard, but requiring to be shod with iron. Age known by marks in mouth.” Thus (and much more) Bitzer. “Now girl number twenty,” said Mr. Gradgrind. “You know what a horse is.” The opposite of Thomas Gradgrind in educational philosophy is Mr. Keating in a film called Dead Poet’s Society www.imdb.com/title/tt0097165/. Here is what he has to say about poetry: KEATING Keep ripping, gentlemen! This is a battle. A war. And the casualties could be your hearts and souls. Thank you, Dalton. Armies of academics going forward, measuring poetry. No! We’ll not have that here. No more Mr. J. Evans Pritchard. Now, my class, you will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. Now I see that look in Mr. Pitts’ eye, like 19th- century literature has nothing to do with going to business school or medical school. Right? Maybe. Mr. Hopkins, you may agree with him, thinking, “Yes, we should simply study our Mr. Pritchard and learn our rhyme and meter and go quietly about the business of achieving other ambitions.” I’ve a little secret for you. Huddle up. Huddle up! KEATING We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering — these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love — these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman O me! O life! of the question of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish… What good amid these O me, O life? Answer That you are here–That life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. Writing Assignment: For your essay, consider what your educational philosophy is. Are you a progressive or a traditionalist? Are you a Mr. Keating savoring words or a Thomas Gradgrind who defines them? (Are you a little of both?) In your essay provide documented research about progressive and traditional styles to education. Examine the look of the various classrooms, the style of teaching, and the types of assignments. Reference proponents of both styles. How do we educate our children to walk through life with open eyes and own their face? How do we inspire true individuality in our children and help them to prosper in society? It is important that you illustrate your answer to this question with a patiently developed, very specific illustration. That illustration will be the focus of my grading for the essay. You might want to consider creatively putting together a detailed lesson plan for an assignment for a particular academic subject. Tell me why it would be a good assignment and then consider whether it reveals if you are an advocate of the traditional approach, progressive, or combination of the two. You could also relate in detail an assignment from a school subject in your past that worked especially well for you. Then consider again if you are a traditional, progressive, or hybrid type of an individual where education is concerned with the ultimate goal of owning your face. For help with your research concerning traditional education, check out Educational Essentialism, the Core Knowledge Foundation, and E.D. Hirsch: Essentialism