Oh my, there is so much information here on the Internet. I just don’t know where to go from here. Everything is so confusing. So many conflicting ideas. How can I even begin to answer this question. Google brings back so many links. I can’t navigate the library’s website. I am most surely not a Bing-man, man.
My daughter is about to start school, and I’m really worried about where to send her. I mean, we have options - public or private schools, but I just don’t know which one is the best. I need to make a decision, but looking at all this information is overwhelming. I’ve combed through message boards and have found nothing but vitriol. I get side-tracked by memes of cats hasing cheezeburgers.
Besides, this issue is much more complicated than just getting the right school for my daughter. For this little girl has to face the big wide world as. a. vampire.
Think about the consequences this decision could have for her and me. It’s an important philosophical subject, is it not? Help a father out. Any ideas out there?
- Dad without a plan
The world is filled with many problems. Yours is not the only one. Before responding, I want to make a preliminary remark, on the completely artificial character of this situation. I don’t know who’s going to be reading this, but I want to underline rather than efface our surrounding technical conditions, and not feign a naturality that does not exist. Next, what you speak is unknowable to both you and me. I do not understand. You said you had a problem. I have nothing to say about vampires. I cannot examine vampires just like that. I am not capable of writing in generalities about vampires. But maybe that’s what you want me to say, that I have nothing to say about vampires at all. As for public versus private, well I suppose, it goes to the genesis of our education, of our country... No, no. It’s not possible. I have an empty head on this matter. And as for the reason people have often spoken of public versus private, I either have nothing to say or I would just be reciting clichés.
ReplyDelete-Eric
OK, then perhaps we can deconstruct it a bit more in detail. Certainly you must think that my daughter being a vampire is something important. I love her and I do not want to see her get hurt. But she is a vampire! Maybe you could help me deconstruct the problem, so my choice can be informed. You do know this concept – deconstruct – do you not?
Delete- Johnathan
I’ve already in a way started to respond to your question about deconstruction because one of the gestures of deconstruction is to not naturalize what isn’t natural – to not assume that what is conditioned by history, institutions, or society is natural. When you deconstruct something, you simply do not destroy, or dissolve, or cancel the legitimacy of what you’re deconstructing. Deconstructing the subject – your daughter is a vampire - would mean first to analyze historically, in a genealogical way, the formation and the different layers, which have built the concept. Every concept has its own history, and the concept of vampire has a very long, heavy, and complex history. You must first perform a genealogical trajectory through which the concept has been built, used, and legitimized. You must analyze the hidden assumptions which are implied in the philosophical, or the ethical, or the political use of the concept of vampire.
Delete- Eric
So I should reconstruct what it means to be a vampire? And then with this reconstruction, determine if my daughter is better off in public school or private school? But certainly you must know of the lore of the vampire? These are beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures! I vant to suck your blood? Dracula? Any of this ring a bell?
Delete- Johnathan
First, I would not simply replace deconstruction with reconstruction because reconstruction would simply stay within a given space in which we’re supposed to know what has to be done, which is the foundation on which we need to build. You may not be able to know the answer, Jonathan. Second, it is necessary, I would say, not to rely on slogans. Deconstruction is mainly affirmation. Yes, I speak to you, I address you, I listen to you. It’s a thinking of the affirmation. It’s a matter of going further, of displacing, of changing the world, changing society, changing the state of things. You must construct something else, something other.
Delete- Eric
But your words give me more questions than answers? So I must first embrace the concept of the vampire? Is there a chance that she is not a vampire, that she is something other? And whatever that other is, it will help me choose? And what if I try this – deconstruction – and I still don’t know what to do?
Delete- Johnathan
Of course, Johnathan. The concept of a vampire is a just a creation. A Manifestation of power. The question of Being, to discuss philosophy, is to ask what is it ‘to be’? What is being? The question of being is itself always already divided between who and what. Is being someone or something? I speak of it abstractly, but I think everyone is caught between this division of the who or the what. If you love your daughter, yet you believe that she does not possess the qualities, the properties, the images, that you thought you knew, then perhaps she is neither X nor Y. Don’t you see - your love for her is threatened by the who and the what. Public, private, vampire, human. It is never one or the other. Your must embrace this messiness. Your answer will become clearer when you recognize what is missing. And whatever you decide, you must be attentive to the otherness, something new and other. The openness to the other means you don’t simply reconstruct. Left with a choice, between this and this, between vampire and human, between public and private, I would always suggest deconstruction to reconstruction. You will know what to do, because your choice is not really a choice, but instead is really the freedom that comes with understanding her difference, understanding her absence, understanding her fragmented self.
Delete- Eric
What?! A vampire kid? How is that even possible? You’re right there is so much information on the internet, and some of it is getting more and more ridiculous these days. I’m still curious tho, how could you convince everyone that your daughter is a vampire?
ReplyDelete- Rulan
Yes. She was born with two sharp teeth; she sleeps when the sun comes out, and stays up all night; she drinks 8 glasses of blood every day.
Delete- Johnathan
That’s quite impressive! With these facts I have to say I’m buying it. Let me ask you a question first. What did you find so far about the potential benefits that private and public schools would offer your vampire daughter?
Delete- Rulan
Well, let’s talk about public schools first. Cheaper, certified teachers, help build community relationships between other students and parents.
Delete- Johnathan
Are these things so important to make your daughter a successful person/vampire?
Delete- Rulan
Well, I’d say they’re worth considering...
Delete- Johnathan
But not crucial to your daughter’s success! I mean there’re no direct correlations between those conditions and a student’s achievement. And I guess you’re expecting more rather than the “achievements”, you want your daughter to be special, right? Although she is special already given the fact that she’s a vampire kid.
Delete- Rulan
Yeah...we’re trying to normalize her so she won’t feel isolated in this society and can better fit in our human world when she grows up. That’s why we don’t plan to send her to the Vampire Institute.
Delete- Johnathan
In that case, you’ve made the right decision in the first place. I’m sure your daughter will learn the essentials of the real world in any schools but the Vampire Institute. No studies have ever shown how effective Vampire Institute’s education is. But many schools are proved to offering quality education. Back to what we were just saying, everyone knows what a public school can give us and it’s guaranteed by the government’s policy.
Delete- Rulan
I know! That was my formal plan, until some of my rich friends told me how splendid the schools where their children went were. My determination became pretty shaky by their great words about private schools then. And yes, with smaller class size, better supplies, more challenging curriculum, and specially the flexibility for unique students like my daughter, I believe it can do so much better for her development.
Delete- Johnathan
I see what you concerns are. Now think about this: how did you get the knowledge about privates schools? - Hearing from your “rich” friends. Did you actually visit one of those schools they claimed so “good”? They probably get this point of view as rich people, so how valid their comments are to general people? No one knows.
Delete- Rulan
But their kids went to those schools, so I guess they spoke with authority on this topic.
Delete- Johnathan
You’re right, but let’s not forget this: they don’t the experience with public schools. So what they see is only part of the fact, not the whole reality. A source is only valid when you experience it yourself; and it must have appeared under different circumstances for us to say it’s reliable. In your case, private schools is not such a good choice for people who are not “wealthy”.
Delete- Rulan
You got a point. So can I translate what you said to “public schools are better”?
Delete- Johnathan
Hmm, I didn’t say it. The same reason, I don’t have any experience with private school, because I’m a poor person. I can’t make the conclusion here. Now my suggestion for you at this point, is to look for some reliable sources to gather information about each school. It will be best if you can talk to other vampires about their previous schooling experience and current status. Also, if you have any doubts about the school’s website information, you should probably visit the school and check it out yourself. Make a pros and cons list of the schools based on your social practice, and you can even score them with 1 point for a pro and -1 point for a con. You don’t have to depend on the score, but it should be a reasonable criterion for your decision making.
Delete- Rulan
Hmm, I didn’t say it. The same reason, I don’t have any experience with private school, because I’m a poor person. I can’t make the conclusion here. Now my suggestion for you at this point, is to look for some reliable sources to gather information about each school. It will be best if you can talk to other vampires about their previous schooling experience and current status. Also, if you have any doubts about the school’s website information, you should probably visit the school and check it out yourself. Make a pros and cons list of the schools based on your social practice, and you can even score them with 1 point for a pro and -1 point for a con. You don’t have to depend on the score, but it should be a reasonable criterion for your decision making.
Delete- Rulan
In deciding between public or private school for your vampire daughter, have you thought about how they will accept and interpret who she is within the schools? The way the schools view your vampire daughter in their world will construct her identity? Do you want your daughter to be in a safe and comfortable learning environment where she will not be judged or ridiculed as vampire but viewed and interpreted as a normal student in the school?
ReplyDelete- Nicole
I guess what is important is that she doesn’t see much of a difference - or one at all - about being different. I want a place where teachers don’t focus on differences as disabilities or liabilities, but rather are thoughtful in how they respond to differences. That’s what makes for good communication. But people judge because of what they think they know about vampires - did you see the story about the neighborhood father, dragging his leg and slapping his chest, telling his son to “walk like a retard,” talking about the girl on the bus with cerebral palsy? That’s what I’m worried about.
Delete- Johnathan
The prior knowledge that people have about vampires will automatically stir feelings within the community. Now, what about your daughter…how will she see herself in either a private or public school? Would the private school provide more structure and a safe environment for her to learn than the public school? Would a public school leave her out there to construct her own understanding of how the system works and how the world reacts and interprets people of different backgrounds?
Delete- Nicole
I take my role as protector rather seriously. I’m wondering if a private school, especially one with nuns might take to brandishing crosses at my daughter. Is it worth more being faced with her living every day in opposition to the system or the hard-heartedness of kids? I guess I don’t want to be the one dictating her life, but rather letting her experience it and come back to me to help with interpretation of it.
Delete- Johnathan
Dear Count, I find your dilemma intriguing. Public or private? Your kid is a vampire for crying out loud! Do you know what most people think about vampires? What they DO to vampires? It may be the 21st century, but ignorance and discrimination didn’t go out of style with hearse wagons. Instead of concerning yourself with public or private, you should be looking for a school that embraces vampire children, with educators that know how to mine the intellectual strengths of your vampire child and have a relevant vampiric pedagogy. Is she a frugivore, insectivore, or just down-right bloodsucker? Do you want your daughter reading some history textbook that glorifies the acts of Van Helsing? Or worse, a school that romanticizes the sparkly powers of the undead? What was your schooling experience like Count?
ReplyDelete- Brenda
I learned a lot on the streets - from some bird brains, caring adults, and some just plain grouches. JK! I guess I never really stopped to think about that. Now that you mention it, yeah, most of my teachers were usually confused about what to do with me. My kindergarten teacher use to make me nap in the janitor’s closet because it was the only place dark enough :( , during lunch there was always a vegetarian option but no blood bags. I had to sneak into the teachers’ lounge to get the next best thing: Bloody Marys - not as good as the real stuff. My memories of school...well...were all about being left out.
Delete- Johnathan
See what I mean. You want to find a school that has vampire teachers who know what it means to grow up a vampire in America. This will help your daughter develop a positive identity and become a strong, healthy vampirist that won’t let some no good werewolf imprint on her.
Delete- Brenda
Okay, you all. Great responses, and I’ve really learned a lot. Here is an update on where we are now and what we will do moving forward.
ReplyDeleteI did make a pro and con list; I questioned everything I ever knew and then did it again because I couldn’t trust that; I thought deeply about who is gaining from and what narratives are being sold to my daughter in different systems; and, well, I just asked my daughter what she wanted out of all of this...
She said she wanted to go to Hogwarts - boarding school it is!
- Johnathan
Cast, Crew, Writers, and Producers
ReplyDeleteIn order of appearance:
Johnathan Bonner
Eric Weisman
Rulan Shangguan
Brenda Rubio
Nicole Arnsmeyer
To all the lycanthropes that have "imprinted" on vampire babies.