Hello, friends!
As April draws to a close I felt the duty to write you all. Checking in, you see, giving you a couple thoughts and updates about what’s going on in my life. This is partly due to when I began accepting patronage here at The Partisan, where I committed to at least 1-2 essays per month. Last month I got three out, this month we get this. There’s Notes, of course, which will always be the Roman Coliseum with audience participation (my favorite kind of thing), but that stuff will happen always and forever amen.
Ultimately, accountability in our age is both deeply rare or cheaply claimed. To my paying subscribers, I hope you’re still satisfied with my work here on Substack. For the free folks, absolutely fabulous to have you along. Even in a slow month like April, subscriber count go up.
On to the good news. April as been quiet here because I’ve been extremely busy in real life. We’re approaching the end of the school year, which is always a busy time for a teacher. My AP World History class is preparing for their exam while my main classes continue studying the Spanish Civil War. As I teach mostly freshman (only one senior and a few sophomores in my AP class) let me tell you this is the best time of year.
You see, dear reader, they start to get it. The questions are better. The attitudes are better. The interest is increased. They’re more forceful with their arguments and more open to scathing criticism. When I tell people I teach freshman they usually say, “Bless you” and laugh. The blessing is joy, especially during April and May, where the flowers of critical thought, skepticism, and wonder sprout.
Beyond that I’ve taken up two new projects. One is assistant director to the theatre program. We’re starting from zero with nothing but spit and duct tape (I’m barely kidding, you should our lighting setup). The first show is in two weeks, so please wish many broken legs.
More exciting personally is the debate club, which I’ll be running with two other colleagues. We’ve piloted the program here with the social studies classes and have a in-house championship debate scheduled for tomorrow. When it’s all over, I’ll get 30 seconds to make an elevator pitch to all the students and teachers in attendance. Can’t wait for my swing at that. I’ll shoot for brief and erudite, as the gods intended.
All of this comes together with my larger goal of moving the STEM club towards space related projects. The exploration and colonization of space is the most important endeavor of Man. With luck, my school will help drag our species to glory whether it likes it or not.
Here’s where I need your help! Once school wraps up I’ll be turning my attention wholly to my own studies and writing for The Partisan. In our doom soaked demoralized world inspiration and wonder are paramount, so I’ll be reading a lot to fuel the mind forge.
Here’s the list thus far. What else should I add? Let me know in the comments!
Foundation series, by Issac Asimov
Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlen
The Space Odyssey series, by Arthur C. Clarke
For those keeping score at home, those three authors are the Big Three of science fiction. Others like Orson Scott Card, Frank Herbert, Philip K. Dick, and Rad Bradbury are on the docket too, time permitting. The Expanse is already in the bag, as many of you probably know, and will feature in a major piece this summer.
My goal is a cohesive vision for humanity in space. Not just a vision, but an irresistible synthesis of wonder, skepticism, and most of all action.
Join me, would you kindly?
Hello all!
I pressed the wrong button originally and made the comments for paid subscribers only. Fixed now!
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller -- published in 1959.
Quoting Wikipedia: "...The monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz preserve the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the world is again ready for it."