(no subject)
To Whom it may concern:
It is with great distress that I begin this notation two days shy of Thanksgiving. I am college freshman and with classes winding down for the long weekend I have spent much of my new found free time pondering just what indeed I am thankful for. Aside from the obvious and the cosmetic I find myself fixated on one particular aspect of my life thus far; my mentors.
Now to review, one must remember that a mentor -as defined by our dear friend Webster- is “an experienced and trusted advisor” and, in my humble opinion, a student should never be without one. My senior year in High School was categorised by a pair of newly divorced parents who were far too busy one-upping each other to pay a great deal of attention to me, and it was at this time that turned to my mentor, Daniel J. Bonnett. He was a shoulder upon which a nearly grown man could cry and a master of witty word play that served not only as a means of cheering me up, but also as a method of enriching minds within the classroom setting. With this in mind, I beseech you to imagine my initial reaction when I discovered that the content of this man’s character had been brought into question.
My personal anecdote aside, I would like to continue by bringing to mind certain elements that lie -indisputably- in the realm of fact. Daniel Bonnett’s arrival at Western High School in mid 2004 brought with it an unheard of ammount of success. By way of his distinct direction and his method of allowing student actors to explore their characters as though they were real people, Daniel Bonnett led Western High School to three consecutive superior ratings (one a year) at the district 13 one act festival and subsequent showcasing at the sate festival in Tampa. This is a feat that had never before been accomplished in the history of the district, and there is speculation as to whether anyone else will ever be able to do it again. Why the success? The success exists because the characters were real. Human beings are not limited to one branch of emotion and our vocabularies are not stunted in the least. Why should the characters we play on stage be? In fact, such a principle is frighteningly reminiscent of the distopia within George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. All of these are books which contain scenes or themes of graphic sexual intercourse as well as questionable language, and all of which -I might add- are books that I was required to read at Western High School.
But on that note, why then is it acceptable to make “vulgar” novels (such as these) into course requirements when it is unacceptable for students to peruse material with the intent of removing the majority of offensive lettering? While that question might be better left as rhetorical, I fear the point is not yet driven home, and as such I must declare the answer to be that it is UNacceptable. The age of book banning and burning is an age we seem to have learned little from, and the mark of the black pen of censorship leaves little to be seen but much to be imagined. As for those who claim that such vulgarity has never crossed their paths, I fear for them greatly in that at any moment they may flip to to the wrong channel (the majority of them -it’s 2007), speak to the wrong peer (the majority of them -it’s 2007), or become too deeply involved in the work of their other courses or paying jobs (the majority of them -it’s 2007), and (as a result) be seriosuly offended.
What Daniel Bonnett chose to present his students with was High School material, and his students are indeed in High School. Daniel Bonnett is a unique and successful individual with whom anyone should be proud to associate, and it is in my stern opinion (take note that it is no longer humble) that he did nothing but make use of the already tried and true keys to success, and success is -by no means- grounds for punishment.
-Johnny Moniz
It is with great distress that I begin this notation two days shy of Thanksgiving. I am college freshman and with classes winding down for the long weekend I have spent much of my new found free time pondering just what indeed I am thankful for. Aside from the obvious and the cosmetic I find myself fixated on one particular aspect of my life thus far; my mentors.
Now to review, one must remember that a mentor -as defined by our dear friend Webster- is “an experienced and trusted advisor” and, in my humble opinion, a student should never be without one. My senior year in High School was categorised by a pair of newly divorced parents who were far too busy one-upping each other to pay a great deal of attention to me, and it was at this time that turned to my mentor, Daniel J. Bonnett. He was a shoulder upon which a nearly grown man could cry and a master of witty word play that served not only as a means of cheering me up, but also as a method of enriching minds within the classroom setting. With this in mind, I beseech you to imagine my initial reaction when I discovered that the content of this man’s character had been brought into question.
My personal anecdote aside, I would like to continue by bringing to mind certain elements that lie -indisputably- in the realm of fact. Daniel Bonnett’s arrival at Western High School in mid 2004 brought with it an unheard of ammount of success. By way of his distinct direction and his method of allowing student actors to explore their characters as though they were real people, Daniel Bonnett led Western High School to three consecutive superior ratings (one a year) at the district 13 one act festival and subsequent showcasing at the sate festival in Tampa. This is a feat that had never before been accomplished in the history of the district, and there is speculation as to whether anyone else will ever be able to do it again. Why the success? The success exists because the characters were real. Human beings are not limited to one branch of emotion and our vocabularies are not stunted in the least. Why should the characters we play on stage be? In fact, such a principle is frighteningly reminiscent of the distopia within George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. All of these are books which contain scenes or themes of graphic sexual intercourse as well as questionable language, and all of which -I might add- are books that I was required to read at Western High School.
But on that note, why then is it acceptable to make “vulgar” novels (such as these) into course requirements when it is unacceptable for students to peruse material with the intent of removing the majority of offensive lettering? While that question might be better left as rhetorical, I fear the point is not yet driven home, and as such I must declare the answer to be that it is UNacceptable. The age of book banning and burning is an age we seem to have learned little from, and the mark of the black pen of censorship leaves little to be seen but much to be imagined. As for those who claim that such vulgarity has never crossed their paths, I fear for them greatly in that at any moment they may flip to to the wrong channel (the majority of them -it’s 2007), speak to the wrong peer (the majority of them -it’s 2007), or become too deeply involved in the work of their other courses or paying jobs (the majority of them -it’s 2007), and (as a result) be seriosuly offended.
What Daniel Bonnett chose to present his students with was High School material, and his students are indeed in High School. Daniel Bonnett is a unique and successful individual with whom anyone should be proud to associate, and it is in my stern opinion (take note that it is no longer humble) that he did nothing but make use of the already tried and true keys to success, and success is -by no means- grounds for punishment.
-Johnny Moniz