- Why is this essay called "Old School"?
- Why is it significant that Allen Gee's first submission to McPherson's workshop is about a character who is "virtually white" (122)?
- Why is McPherson's home referred to by its address?
- Is it fair that McPherson established such a close friendship with Gee when he had a bunch of other students whom he kept at arm's distance? Why or why not?
- What is "perfected friendship" according to Aristotle?
- What's the difference between the melting pot and omni-Americanism (137)?
- Why does the essay conclude the way it does?
- What questions do you have about it?
Monday, February 3, 2020
Old School
What is the relationship between Allen Gee and James Alan McPherson like? Other questions I have:
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-The relationship between Allen Gee and James Alan is that James was Allen teacher and also Friend.
ReplyDelete-I think the essay is called old school because it talks about Allen and him going to school when he was Younger and talks about his teacher James and also about his workshop class.
-McPherson home is referred to his address because thats where he lived and also is because the area where he lived.
-I believe that it wasn't fair because what about the other students that you are teaching. I would want all the students to have a close relationship with their teacher and not for the teacher to in only one of the students.
-"Perfected friendship" is when they is a friendship between you and that person but what Aristotle says is that there is no difference between friendship and a perfected friendship.
-As he explains melting plot is when white are holding on to the power when omni americanism will be the mixed people are signs of transcendence which is them experiencing whats going on.
- The essay concludes the way it does because Allen talks about the passing of James which was his teacher and also his friend and that he sees him as a role model on his life
I feel mixed about whether it's fair or not to have a friendship like this w/ one of your students. I'm not sure that it's possible to have this kind of relationship w/ all of your students. So the alternative is to not have this relationship w/ any. And Allen and James' relationship is clearly special and they both benefited from it.
ReplyDelete1- It is called old school, because the setting is based in the college the main character attended.
ReplyDelete2- It is significant because he is new to this kind of writing and does not specify and traits of the character, therefore the style of his writing insinuates that the character is white. Also he was being cautious and didn't want to stand out or be too extra.
3-Honestly speaking sometimes people come into our lives that have a little bit more impact then others, I think this is one of those cases. You can sense someone has something special.
4-Its when a person is there for you, there is no difference between friendship and a perfect friendship.
5- According to him the difference is that white people hold on to the power in a melting pot
Allan and James have the relationship that a teacher and student would, although James treats him a little bit like a son. He looks over him and make sure his work is good.
ReplyDeleteI think the essay is called old school because the author and the teacher have this relationship that shows they are close and the teacher helps him and they are friends and that doesnt usually happen wit teachers and students
It is important that the character is virtually white because of the fact that the character in the story is not defined as anything he is just a person, there for the readers will assume that hes white.
The perfect friendship is two friends that they can be together and enjoy that time, they want the best for each other and they help each other and thats why it is the perfect friendship.
The essay ends the way that it does when allen starts expressing his feelings for james after he passed away and how they were good friends and he was the best mentor as well as a role model.
-The relationship between them went from student and teacher to very close friends.
ReplyDelete-I think this essay is called old school because its about a very old school mentality of having this kind of friendship that after this everyone becomes more self absorbed and doesn't care much for their friends unless they get something out of it.
-Making his character white signifies the importance of labeling your character which should be done because not every character is going to be white.
-His home is labeled by his address to one give it a title but also to signify its importance in literature but in his personal life also.
-Perfected friendship is when you genuinely care for the other person and you want the best for them.
-A melting pot is a bunch of cultures coming together to live together in society where as Omni-Americanism is saying that all cultures are from the same ancestors.
-It ends that way to show that with the end of his life comes with the end of their friendship.
Nice response, Mark. Yes, "Old School" is kind of a pun. He's writing both about the fact that this is his "old" school (his alma mater) and also that James had an "old school" (as in the urban dictionary definition) attitude toward education.
Delete- The essay is called old school because it is based on Allen in college in the late 80's.
ReplyDelete- I think that it's somewhat fair to have a close relationship with a student, just like any other person, if the bond is there, and you have a similar mindset that can result in a long lasting friendship.
- It's significant because he doesn't mention characteristics or traits in this story, readers around this always assumed it was a white man.
- In the essay his address shows significance too the character "711" and he also goes into detail about the house.
- Aristotle doesn't see a perfect friendship, to him it's essentially just having someone who cares for you.
- Melting pot is like everyone being thrown together in one category sharing the same traits, and cultures, and omni americanism is like different people coming from the same ancestor.
- The essay concludes the way it does because it shows how much of a positive impact Allen's teacher had on him, and you can see it in his writing.
-The relationship between them is teacher and student, they were also friend.
ReplyDelete-I believe this essay called old school because it about his pass when he was younger ,talk about his relationships.
-Maybe he remember where he used to pass by.
-I believe that was fair because everyone has the right to choose wrong or right person to have relationship with there is nothing wrong with that, I also believe establishing a relationships with a teacher make a student feel more comfortable and positive.All teacher always open for every student in order to feel safe in a good environment.
-"Perfect Friendship" Is where you and your friend are confident we both can talk for a long time without losing interest.
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-I think the essay is called old school because its talks about to old friends who knew each other for a long time.
ReplyDelete-I think she just want to out up something safe and would less likely be criticize.
-Maybe because she when she first stated going to his house it was privilege to know address, so she always referred to it as 711 Rundell St.
-I believe that it isn't fair but that how things are. He saw something in that student that probably related to him. He thought that he could help and knew they would understand each other. It also stated in the text how students really would not understand him or his thoughts.
-Aristotle believe the friendship is where two love each other and are good with virtue also the need for one another.
-I think it ended that way because he want to shows how it stated to how it ended. he showed us the beautiful friendship that they had and then showed us how he died but the friendship they had never will.