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Someone Wasn’t Paying Attention In School
Townhall’s newest sage, Henry Edmondson, has heard that many wordsmiths recommend using an amusing anecdote to begin a speech or column.
52 Card Pick-up
By Henry EdmondsonAs kids we used to play “52 Card Pick-Up.� It starts by asking an unsuspecting friend, “Do you want to play 52 Card Pickup?!� “Well, I’ve never played before, but sure,� he says.
You then throw the deck in the air, let the cards separate and fly around the room, and say, “Okay, your turn. Pick-up!�
That’s not how the joke goes at all! It starts by asking an unsuspecting friend, “Hey Henry, do you want to play You Will Pick Up 52 Cards That I Throw In The Air?”
And he says, “Well, I’ve never played before, but sure.”
And then you run him over with one of these!!!
Above: This joke only works once
Something like that is going on in education. It has to do with the movement to discard the academic disciplines in favor of teaching students “what they really need to know� or introducing them to “the real world.�
The disciplines, however imperfect they may be, provide—well, discipline. They bring organization and accountability to the curriculum. A college education is not like “52 Card Pick-Up”, whereby you throw up the deck of cards and let them land where they will. The curriculum must be organized in some reasonable fashion. It’s a practical matter.
You can sense where this is going, right? Toward resentment of ‘liberalism!’ Let’s skip ahead.
Removing the disciplines, however, also removes accountability. Who is minding the store? We may not like the standards applied but at least we know whom to blame.
But how do we assess the merit of a recent interdisciplinary program “Sex and Sexuality in Contemporary Hip Hopâ€?? Who are the experts? Howard Stern? 2Pac? And from which department is assessment made? Music? Philosophy? Dance?
Gads, if only there were some way to tell.
[Zeerp] “Hello, dum-dums.”
Oh Great Gazoogle, how do we assess the merit of a recent interdisciplinary program, “Sex and Sexuality in Contemporary…” Wait, what’s this?
Vanderbilt University Philosophy Department
Kathryn T. Gines
Assistant ProfessorRecent Courses
African American Philosophy
Existentialism (Existence in Black)
Introduction to African American and Diaspora Studies
Race and Sex in Contemporary Hip Hop
Hip Hop and Black Sexual PoliticsPublications
“Sex and Sexuality in Contemporary Hip Hop,” in Hip Hop and Philosophy. Chicago: Open Court, 2005.
“Sartre and Fanon: Fifty Years Later” in Sartre Studies International. Volume 9, Issue 2, 2003.
“Sonia Kruks’ Retrieving Experience: A Review” in Sartre Studies International. Volume 8, No. 2, 2002.
Ah-so. Edmondson seems not to know that ‘an interdisciplinary program’ is something with a number of courses in different departments, as distinct from ‘one course on a similar, yet distinct subject in the Philosophy Department.’ More to the point, ‘an essay in a book’ is something with no courses in it at all. Add to this the prospect that he can’t manage a simple Google search (there are three results for ‘Sex and Sexuality in Contemporary Hip Hop,’ including his column), and it looks like someone might need instruction on ‘what students really need to know.’
[Zeerp] “Hello, dum-dums.”
Oops, strike that; Professor Edmonson, Ph.D., is apparently making stuff up like a big ol’ honking tuba of factual disregard. Accountability! Who is minding the store?!
Observation: His course on Black American Political Thought is a bit choppy.
WEEK OF 11/27: Other Contemporary Black Leaders: Jesse Jackson, Tiger Woods, Colin Powell, Condelezza Rice, etc.
Tiger Woods, definitely. But where’s Alan Keyes?
NobodySpecial said,
February 28, 2007 at 20:47
He also forgot Strom Thurmond!
Mike Nilsen said,
February 28, 2007 at 20:51
Major slam on tubas outta nowhere!
Oregon Guy said,
February 28, 2007 at 20:53
Yer not saying he’s FAT, are ya?
Cos’ I’d hate like hell for that to happen.
Whatever you do, don’t Photoshop him with a sandwich.
Oregon Guy said,
February 28, 2007 at 20:55
Because, you see, tubas are the LARGEST brass instruments, and they’re ROUND…
[hits self, runs away]
fardels bear said,
February 28, 2007 at 20:58
I think y’all are confusing tubas with Sousaphones.
the_millionaire_lebowski said,
February 28, 2007 at 20:58
I would like to commend Sen. Mark Foley on his interdisicplenary course, “I Like Steamroom.”
forked tongue said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:06
What an idiot. It’s “52 Pickup.” What prospective victim wouldn’t be tipped off by the name “52 Card Pickup”?
Gavin M. said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:08
What an idiot. It’s “52 Pickup.� What prospective victim wouldn’t be tipped off by the name “52 Card Pickup�?
He probably fell for Tic-Tac-Ow more than once too.
Tim said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:08
I like the one where you ask the person:
“Want to be a member of the idiot’s club ? OK, hold up your finger”
but what you REALLY do is hold up your thumb !
it just gets better from there..
Incontinentia Buttocks said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:09
What an idiot. It’s “52 Pickup.� What prospective victim wouldn’t be tipped off by the name “52 Card Pickup�?
Apparently Henry Edmondson.
steve_e said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:09
“It has to do with the movement to discard the academic disciplines in favor of teaching students “what they really need to knowâ€? or introducing them to “the real world.â€?”
Those are not contradictory objectives. I favor teaching students what they really need to know and introducing them to the real world (Is he using scare quotes or quoting someone?) while following academic disciplines.
And what movement is he talking about? I don’t see anything new there. Is it like the gay movement, the secular movement, the feminist movement, the liberal nazi commie satanist movement? I only know about the conservative movement. It’s the one that has spent 30 years trying to turn the United States into a fuedal theocratic state.
mikey said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:10
Hey! How about a nice Hawaiian Punch?
mikey
mikey said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:12
And what movement is he talking about?
Umm, based on the quality of his output, I’d say he’s talking about a bowell movement…
mikey
gordonsowner said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:15
Good Lord!
I think you could do wonders helping him on his website, like you did for ‘Ace of Spades.’ Who, on a light pink background, spells out ‘Spain’ with ‘Spa’ in red, and ‘in’ in yellow?
I’m surprised i didn’t see half of the text encompassed by the ‘blink’ tag…
prozacula said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:18
if you’re 8, and your 13 year-old brother asks you ‘do you want to play 52-card pickup’, you fall for it.
I’ve never, in 32 years, heard it called ‘52-pickup’, except when describing a truck by year and model.
not that pablo said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:24
I’m with forked tongue. Always heard it as “52 Pick-up”.
mikey said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:29
I’ve never, in 32 years, heard it called ‘52-pickup’, except when describing a truck by year and model.
Hate to point it out, but none other than the great Elmore Leonard would disagree with you…
Just sayin…
mikey
Michael said,
February 28, 2007 at 21:51
Ooh! Check out the CV! Clearly, classes on race and sex need to be shoved aside, to make room for “Tolkien and Political Philosophy”.
And what’s a poli sci prof doing writing “The Resounding Silence”: An Introduction to the Poetry of St. John of the Cross? That sounds like something for an English prof, or maybe one o’ them sneaky comparative religionists! Oh, it’s from a crackpot press at avemaria.edu. Never mind.
MCH said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:04
I’ve always heard it as 52 Pick-Up.
At my brother’s school, the assistant principal would wander around the lunchroom, as hardass assistant principals everywhere are wont to do. He’d ask the troublemakers if they wanted to play 53 Pick-Up. As in, “How ’bout we play 53 Pick-Up–the cards and you?”
At my school, the AP would just carry a handful of those interfolding paper towels, writing a detention list on the top one, and whacking troublemakers in the head with the rest of them. All while breathily announcing that it was ice-cream sale time in a creepy, pedophilesque, overtrilled manner.
“Ice cr-r-r-r-eam, ice cr-r-r-ream *thwhack!* Ice cr-r-r-ream, ice cr-r-r-ream *thwhack* Ice cr-r-r-ream…”
Point? Er, what?
javaphil said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:13
To be fair it’s nice that the right has finally given up and just admitted that their entire political/life philosophy is derived from resentment over not getting teh same sex as liberals do.
a different brad said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:13
Does this mean my graduate program on Exposed Breasts in 80s College Comedy Flicks isn’t going to be accredited by the wingnut authority?
Goddamnit
Why didn’t he write that column before I’d spent 30k on tuition?
Robert Green said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:18
so i read edmondson’s piece, and i only have one thing to ask him, really fast:
A sphincter says what?
Herr Doktor Bimler said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:20
A college education is not like “52 Card Pick-Upâ€?…
It’s a pity we can’t read the earlier drafts of his column, where he started by explaining the rules of Monopoly… Then he tried Snakes & Ladders…
Let’s face it, a college education is a long-drawn-out drinking game.
Bloggofascist said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:33
Hell, most people never use what they got their degree in anyway. If they want to take a course on “Theological Symbolism in Modern Pornography”, let them. It will give them pleasant memories at least when their white collar job gets outsourced to India.
Principal Blackman said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:37
He probably fell for Tic-Tac-Ow more than once too.
Not to mention the Hertz Donut and the Soft Punch Contest.
J— said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:43
From the syllabus for Henderson’s course “Power, Politics, & Tolkien: One course to rule them all“:
The syllabus ends with a quote from internationally renowned Tolkien scholars Page and Plant:
I would’ve gone with something from “The Lemon Song,” but here we see why Henderson is teaching at GCSU and I’m futzing about the internets.
Sarcastro said,
February 28, 2007 at 22:55
So, in abandoning the “disciplines” and giving students “what they really need to know” we are discarding a proven method of organization–admittedly arbitrary, imperfect, Western, “logo-centric,” “traditional” etc.–in favor of a new scheme of organization that is arbitrary, unproven, and may vary according to the personalities and prejudices of those involved.
Intelligent Design!?
nick said,
February 28, 2007 at 23:08
He probably fell for Tic-Tac-Ow more than once too.
I’m guessing he also came out on the short end of the “Here, Taste This” stick a few thousand times….
wordyeti said,
February 28, 2007 at 23:19
Dammit! That’s two (2) shout-outs to “Ramble On” in the same week!
Now I gots me an earworm. How to get rid of it … ? Oh yeah.
Calling Dr. Sammich. Dr. Sammich to the mp3 player Plee-yuz.
islmfaoscist said,
February 28, 2007 at 23:24
St. John of the Cross (1542 - 1592) Poet, Mystic
Known as the Mystic Doctor for his poetry and commentary about solitary prayer which entails steadfastly suffering aridity, misery, depression and spiritual abandonment, in addition to normal ascetic practices, in order to purify the soul in preparation for divine union with God.
I simply can’t imagine where the guy got his hangup with sex, sexuality, and hip hop.
Kathy said,
February 28, 2007 at 23:33
in what dicipline would you NOT teach students what they really need to know? Medicine? Law? Oh, I know! I know! Engineering! All they need is Classical Dicipline!
Hysterical Woman said,
March 1, 2007 at 0:48
When I was college searching, I found a book that seemed helpful til I realized it was just a conservative scred. It was complaining about how the core requirment classes are just fluff these days. Now, I’m not say that some college classes are fluff, but I noticed that the classes hated on were usually ones that dealt with women, non-whites, or sex. I forget the title of the book though.
tigrismus said,
March 1, 2007 at 0:50
But how do we assess the merit of a recent interdisciplinary program “Power, Politics, & Tolkien: One course to rule them all“? Who are the experts? Led Zeppelin? Leonard Nimoy? And from which department is assessment made? Philosophy? Ethics? Political Science and Public Administration?
ahem said,
March 1, 2007 at 1:17
What an idiot. It’s “52 Pickup.�
And it’s ‘Pick Up 52′ in countries where that particular form of vehicle is less common.
Hey, Dr Edmonson– how do you keep an idiot in suspense?
isaac said,
March 1, 2007 at 1:30
it’s 52 pick-up and it’s only funny if you say, ‘i’ll deal’ cause then when you spray the cards all over the place; it’s like you’re ‘dealing’ — get it?
Jeremiah said,
March 1, 2007 at 5:04
52 pick-up bit was hilarious!
Left_wing_fox said,
March 1, 2007 at 6:42
We called it “Cowboys”.
P: “You wanna play ‘Cowboys?’”
V: “Um, ok.”
spray cards in victim’s face.
P: “Round ‘em up.”
Mo's Bike Shop said,
March 1, 2007 at 7:11
Jesus, Peanuts did the 52 Card Pick Up joke–back when Snoopy looked like a dog!
He played this game a lot?
Anne Laurie said,
March 1, 2007 at 9:39
He played this game *a lot*?
Yeah, and he’s still bitter at every single one of his opponents. Also the people who stood around laughing while he scrambled around picking up cards. And he’s kinda suspicious of the inventors of playing cards as well…
Dr. BDH said,
March 2, 2007 at 0:37
That is one beautiful truck. Jes’ sayin’…