The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter Essay -- Lewis Tolkien Charles Will

The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter C.S. Lewis heard the bells of one of the colleges strike noon as he hurried purposefully along the narrow cobblestone streets of Oxford. He disliked giving the tutorials required of his position of Tutor in English Language and Literature at Magdalen College and usually kept the sessions to the minimum required time. However, this tutorial had given rise to a particularly enjoyable debate, and he never liked to cut off a good hydebate, although he now wished he had. He was late. Lewis hastily acknowledged the barkeep as he ducked into the Eagle and Child, or Bird and Baby as the pub was better known, and hurried towards the sound of his friends’ laughter coming from the back room and to join in the conversation he had been looking forward to all morning. The group was a usual fixture in the pub on Tuesday mornings, and he was swiftly served his drink as ordering was no longer necessary. As he settled back into his chair, listening to the conversation, he surveyed this group of men, collectively known as the Inklings, which had come to mean so much to him over the years. Present today were Lewis’s brother Warnie Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Hugo Dyson. Lewis briefly wondered what the rest of the members (Nevill Coghill, Owen Barfield, R.E. Havard, and Adam Fox) were doing as he began to reminisce. The impact this literary group had on the world, with books like The Screwtape Letters, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and War in Heaven written by brilliant Inklings as evidence, is tremendous. At the same time, no one was more influenced by the Inklings than Lewis himself. Each of the Inklings might have known one or two others before the formation of the group, thr... ...endship, centered around Lewis, which rose above the diversity. The group rose and began to gather hats and coats to ready themselves for the crisp spring afternoon. It had been a good Inklings and had produced some rather stimulating conversation. It occasionally reached such a fevered pitch that some other patrons of the Bird and Baby, not the regulars who regarded the Inklings as somewhat of a fixture, to raise an eyebrow. Lewis once remarked they â€Å"probably think we’re talking bawdy when in fact we’re very likely talking theology† (185). As this diverse group of friends separated to go back to their jobs at various colleges, Lewis smiled to himself. He was already looking forward to Thursday. Work Cited Carpenter, Humphrey. The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and their friends. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1979.

Benefits of the University Model

In Stephen Joel Tractenberg article, † Education Is Not a Luxury† (p. 211-216) states his argument that our current school calendar does a disservice to both students and teachers. Tractenberg conveys that even though this last century has seen an incredible renovation in our society, there is an agrarian calendar that dominates our education that was complimentary in times of agrarian society when school was only an option part time for most Americans. Our educating the youth is not considered a necessity and in our society today and time of luxury and we take this extra (crucial) time for granted, but we maintain a calendar that reflects up to ten thousand years ago. Tractenberg also states that we will never take school seriously if we operate an ancient agrarian calendar. I agree with the Tractenberg and his promotion of the university model calendar to replace the agrarian calendar. Replacing the agrarian calendar means a fulltime student, will take school more seriously. It will define school as a job and will prepare students for college. With the agrarian calendar removed from the system students can have more time to thoroughly learn everything that is meant to teach to the students and have more time to talk to teachers during office hours. Stephen has a friend who disagrees with sex education â€Å"One of the problems, he said, was that the schools were doing things that they should not be doing teaching sex and drugs and driver’s education, as he put it. These things, he pointed out, should be the business of Maan. 2 the family† Sexual education is very important to learn in school and prepares students for the adult world, and is something that is not taught by all families to the students. I had learned things in sex education that my conservative family had not taught me or ever will. Some schools may not have the time to teach this subject without compromising time for other subjects. He states that we should lengthen the school year to have more time subjects that are academic and afterschool help for students who need it by proposing the extension of time â€Å"I’ve been suggesting, by lengthening the school year, say, to eleven months, and the school day from 9 to 5, or a full shift, whatever the starting and quitting times may be. This, I think, would have a number of benefits. † He goes on and says that teacher are permitted more prep time and students get explore extra-curricular activities in their favor. I agree with his strategy and I believe it makes efficient use of time and students will be able learn everything thoroughly and a 9-5 schedule will make school a first priority. I believe with this new schedule students will be better prepared for college. The type of schedule he proposes gets students ready for the endeavors of college because it is in fact a university model. He goes on by saying, â€Å"What I am proposing may look very much like the university model. That’s exactly what it is. Universities, like schools, are driven by their double missions of learning and service. But universities are also driven by the compelling need to be efficient† He goes on about the cost of an idle school building and how it can be utilized after school hours and I believe it’s a convincing idea. He also supports his University model by saying. â€Å"applying the university model to schools would help to create what university administrators like me spend a lot of time and effort doing—promoting an atmosphere of learning† I agree with his conclusion and he further strengthens this by admitting that school boys and girls do not feel like school is their real occupation. This is true for many high school students, they don’t see the potential in their education and don’t realize how unprepared they are for college with a short schedule. I remember my first full load of college I almost flunked every class because I was almost spoiled with high school schedule I was still adjusted to. Introducing the university model to students not yet in university will greatly prepare them and they go into universities with confidence in their success as new student because they have become accustomed to this schedule. Tractenberg explains further reasoning as to why longer hours will be beneficial to students and teachers and goes into the expanded offerings the much needed extra time can bring. He further goes on by supporting his augment by saying, â€Å"It is dismaying to me that many students come to us without any training in foreign languages, or that only a couple of languages, typically Spanish and French, were offered to them; they were offered no classics, no Russian, no Arabic, no Asian languages. I could say the same about other subjects, including art istory, advanced math, and so on. The result, in any case, is a deficit. † This is a matter of concern and putting the extra time into expanded offerings can help learn these subject thoroughly and not just a brief overview of the subject. In order to learn these subjects thoroughly, time outside of school will be needed with our agrarian schedules. The extra time will also allow student to ask teachers for outside help and in my college classes I found emailing my teachers to be a very useful tool and it has made me a better student. He further goes on and supports the occupation of teaching and conveys to us that creating a full time schedule will create future teachers. He promotes this idea by questioning the readers by asking, â€Å"Are our teachers better at their professions because they work at other jobs during the summer—often menial jobs with trivial pay and befits? Would our youngsters be better off learning from teachers who devote their full effort to teaching rather than scrabbling for a living? † This means the teachers get the chance of full time job and the pay they deserve. I notice when I do very well in a class without much effort, it is because I have a passionate teacher who loves her/his job. Tractenberg concludes his augment by saying, â€Å"education is not a luxury for subsistence farmers but a box full of tools for a lifetime, an endless series of points of departure, and a full-time joy†. With the evolution of our society changing so should our schedules. We are no longer the agrarian society we once were and Tractenberg gives an efficient university model we can use to match the present time needs of students. School is not a luxury , it is a necessity we can afford that prepares us for the future.

Books are dead Essay

It could be said that books are dead which leads to the question, ‘What are people doing instead? ‘ People are buying and using modern technology indeed of reading books because books are tedious. Would you rather read through a whole chapter in a book just to find an answer to a question, or type in key words into a search engine on a computer and the information be found instantly? Other technologies such as; video, internet and DVD, have superseded them. The more advanced technology appeals to a wider audience and society is not pressurised into enjoying it from an early age if they do not want to, as in the case of books. Books are seen as primitive and dated because they have less to offer the next generation in the form of enjoyment. Furthermore, books are not fashionable in the twenty-first century. This is because popularity within the community is directly proportional to whether the individual has the newest technology or not. The most popular individual has the most recent technological development, such as the latest mobile telephone, and the not so popular individual is left behind, still reading books. Technology is a way to ‘show off’ and ‘showing off’ is a way of making new friends and keeping the existing ones. In addition, we would not have moved forward in time without new technology. For example, in the future, we will be able to travel into space and back, which we would not be able achieve using books. Of course, the maths and science would have originated from books but you would need technology to apply it. There is not point in publishing books anymore because no one has the time to sit down and read them. This is because they are boring and it is too much effort. You also have to be in the right mood to read a book, whereas you do not need to be with technology since there are so many alternatives. Books are a waste of paper and ink, and are we not trying to save the environment? Moreover, books are made by technology, for example, the printing press is made up of machines. So why not use technology in other ways that will be appreciated more? On the other hand, books have survived every new technological development, unlike the video recorder being superseded by the DVD recorder, within a few decades. Books have, and will stand the test of time because one can escape into a story in a book and enjoy it without the need for anyone else. Disappearing into a book is an escapist fantasy because you can interpret it in so many different ways. It also makes a nice change from the more advanced technology the world has to offer.