Naturalized Nature
I must admit that as I prepare for my trip to Alaska, the current immigration debate echoes in my mind’s ear. As a nation of immigrant descent, we embrace moves of assimilation. When we speak of naturalized citizens, images of immigrant families who have begun to fold themselves into the population come to mind. Yet how natural is it to allow one's self to be assimilated by another culture? Is not the natural state of every individual to be true to her or his identity? How natural is it for dogs to be "man's best friend"? How natural is it for my beloved cat, Moonshadow, to curl up in a human's lap -- even if it is my own? I have made Moonshadow a naturalized citizen of my home -- he does not step foot outside -- just as waves of immigrant populations have been naturalized since the founding of our country. Were I to release Moonshadow to the wilds of my suburban neighborhood, he would surely perish.
Behind my townhouse, I maintain a modest specimen garden, befitting my status as a young teacher. My fiancee and her mother introduced me to gardening as an alternative to sculpture which I've found too messy without a proper studio. For the past two years, my studio has been the great outdoors ten feet from my back door. I get to work with my hands to cultivate living visual art. At first I felt a connection to the land through working the earth. Yet I have begun to question my garden’s claim as "natural," for by definition, cultivation requires the manipulation of nature by a green thumb.
We who inhabit urban or suburban zones exist denatured -- even while some of us get dirty after work before stepping back indoors. My students and I have been realizing this through discussions of Chris McCandless's story as told by Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild. We find ourselves longing to take the pulse of the "raw throb of existence."* This summer I have the opportunity to venture in search of wildness. While attending graduate school in Juneau, Alaska, I hope to become a truly naturalized citizen. I invite you to join the experience.
*Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, 1996, New York: Anchor, 1997. 22.
Behind my townhouse, I maintain a modest specimen garden, befitting my status as a young teacher. My fiancee and her mother introduced me to gardening as an alternative to sculpture which I've found too messy without a proper studio. For the past two years, my studio has been the great outdoors ten feet from my back door. I get to work with my hands to cultivate living visual art. At first I felt a connection to the land through working the earth. Yet I have begun to question my garden’s claim as "natural," for by definition, cultivation requires the manipulation of nature by a green thumb.
We who inhabit urban or suburban zones exist denatured -- even while some of us get dirty after work before stepping back indoors. My students and I have been realizing this through discussions of Chris McCandless's story as told by Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild. We find ourselves longing to take the pulse of the "raw throb of existence."* This summer I have the opportunity to venture in search of wildness. While attending graduate school in Juneau, Alaska, I hope to become a truly naturalized citizen. I invite you to join the experience.
*Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, 1996, New York: Anchor, 1997. 22.
posted by Palmer Seeley | 9:38 AM
44 Comments:
Mr. Seeley, I hope you enjoy your trip to Alaska and that it is a great experience for you. It has been a great year. Thanks.
Well, have fun! I've always wanted to go to Alaska and play with the cute little sled dogs. HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!!!
Thanks for being an amazing teacher, Mr. Seeley. I really feel that I learned a lot this year. Have fun in Alaska...
Mr Seeley,
What an awesome summer that will be. As I spend my summer behind a desk at SAS, you will be out in the open air in Alaska. Have a great trip!
It has been a wonderful year learning from your teaching. I feel I have grown as a writer and as a person from your lessons; the comfortable format of the classes has inspired great discussions. I have really enjoyed your class, and I hope you have a great summer in Alaska.
Hey Mr. Seeley
Thanks for teaching us this year, it has certainly been very interesting. Hope you have a good time in Alaska and find whatever you are looking for there.
Amy
Hey,
I hope you find yourself while you are in Alaska. Thanks for an insightful year.
- Nicole
p.s. tell Moonshadow hi from me :)
Mr. Seeley,
Your trip sounds like an amazing opportunity and I hope you enjoy your trip. The wilds of Alaska are places I too would like experience one day. I really enjoyed your class this year and feel I have learned much in your class. Do enjoy and have a safe trip and I hope the freshmen will be able to profit off your experience next year. Bon voyage!
Mr.Seeley do you. I hope the alaska trip does something for you and it is a learning experience. I have enjoyed you and I hope you have enjoyed me. I wish you the best of luck in Alaska. Stay Fresh and be you.
Hey, Alaska! That's a bit different from my cozy indoors desk job at SAS this summer... Have fun!
Mr. Seeley,
The year in your class has been a journey in itself, and I hope that this new odyssey of yours works out. However I must ask, are you truly going to experience Alaska to its fullest as Chris McCandless had intended? I think that this journey is a good idea and you will have a good time; however you are sort of cheating the experience by still being 'naturalized' (computer, blogs, 'civilization', etc.)
Hope you have fun!
Thanks again for a great year of discovery,
Marina
Hey, I hope you have a great trip to Alaska. I hope your journey helps you find what you're looking for in the coming days. I think everyone should do something like that.
It was fun having World Lit 2 with you as my teacher, I hope you have a great summer, take care.
I find your question about denaturalizing being natural very interesting. I think its important to understand that there is a difference between "Nature" and "One's Nature". While humans do manipulate and change nature, it is within human nature to do so. Through out the history of man kind, man has come together as a part of survival. The saying goes that there is always strength in numbers. As Rousseau states in the Social Contract, man comes together into society in order to find mutual benefit. This allows mankind to come together, to manipulate nature, because it's what allows man to survive. As we remember with Chris McCandless, those who regress back to the basic state of man, we find that it is often hard to survive without making nature adapt to man.
Overall, I would like to thank you for a wonderful year. Though in the beginning, I didn't think that our personalities clicked, over the year, I think that we have come to a mutual understanding. I wish you luck in Alaska and in the coming years.
Until Next Time,
- John
Mr. Seeley,
This year was tough for me at first but over the second and third trimester I had caught a grip of this amazing class. I appreciate all the help you have given me. I hope that your trip to Alaska is a good expierience. I have never been there but herd it is really nice. But have a safe trip.
Thanks,
Kunal
mr seeley
I hope you have a wonderful time in Alaska . . . I know at times we had friction in class but i think it was a great place to learn and grow, i wish you all the best on your journey in alaska . . . just don't go and starve to death,
charlotte
Hey, I've always wanted to go to Alaska. It was a fun year. Please do one thing for me and join the Polar Bear club where they jump in the freezing water and go for a swim. Later
Mr Seeley,
This year was a lot of fun, especially in your class. I really learned how to look at text and read between the lines more than ever. My writing also really strenghtened. I hope you have fun on your trip, and make sure you don't get eaten by many grizzly bears. Alaska should be beautiful this time of year, so I hope you take in everything you see while you are there. Best of luck.-Hunter
Mr Seeley,
Thanks for a great year. We could always count on this class to be, well, very interesting. We hope you have a good time in Alaska and find what you are looking for. We wish you the best of luck this summer. See you in August.
Sincerely,
Jackie and Jordan
Mr. Seeley,
Your class have been very interesting and amusing at the same time. I hope you have a great time in Alaska.
Good luck in Alaska it has been an interesting year. Good luck next year.
Hope you enjoy your trip. Thanks for being our teacher.
Brad
Mr. Seeley,
I definitely agree with what John Nelson said. Enjoy your trip, and thanks for everything this year. It was a great class.
Thanks,
Arjun
Mr. Seeley, this year has been great in both class and advisory. Have tons of fun on your trip to Alaska and be safe. I'll stop and see you at the beginning of next year. You were a great teacher! See ya.
Mr. Seeley,
This was an interesting year. Im not used to your type of teaching but as the year progressed it became easier to understand and grasp things. I like your way of discussing to teach. I hope you have fun in Alaska. I hear its very interesting and beautiful.
Have a Great Time,
Anirudh
I hope you enjoy your trip to alaska, its been a really fun year...thanks
Dennis
Well I wish you the best of luck on your Alaskan venture this summer. Personally, I plan to do next to nothing constructive but to each his own.
This has been an interesting year. Your class has been very similar to finding a time capsule in the attic. I've been able to explore my own thoughts and viewpoints with your guidance and then see just how it compared to others.
Have a great trip and I'll see you in August,
~Ben
Mr. Seeley, it has been has been a fun english class this year. I hope you enjoy yourself in Alaska and you achieve what you are trying to do. Hope to see you next year. Thank you!
Ramy
hey mr. seeley. thanks for being an interesting teacher! i wrote end of year notes to all my teachers, so I'll just give you the note instead of re-typing everything on this blog.
have fun in Alaska though! seriously, enjoy it...
are you ever coming back to cary academy?
have a great summer!
Mr. Seeley,
Had a fun time in your class. I think some of the conversations we had as a class caused me to laugh more in a class than I ever have. I won't be here next year, unfortunately, but I'll be sure to come back and visit whenever I have time off and CA doesn't. Have fun in Alaska...my parents have taken a "cruise" (fairy) up there from Seattle and they said it was the experience of a lifetime...I'd really like to do it at some point in my life. Thanks for everything this year...
Later,
Mark Forest
Mr. Seeley,
I definately agree with what Arjun said about agreeing with John (I hope I haven't lost you yet), because John put it better than I ever could. Have a great Summer and enjoy your trip.
David
Mr. Seeley-
Your trip sounds amazing! I hope that you find what you are looking for, and maybe even some things that you aren't looking for. This class has always been insightfull and interesting; it was a great forum for discussion, and I really enjoyed it. Thank you for everything, and best of luck on your journey. stay safe!
Hey Mr. Seeley,
Sounds like you'll have a blast on that trip and i hope you learn a lot and find whatever your looking for. I've been to Alaska for a few weeks before and it was amazing! You'll love it.
I had such a good time in class this year, i really learned to analyze things and really sort out my opinions a lot this year.
We always had an interesting time in class- I hope you enjoyed having us too! Thanks for putting up with us!
See you next year,
Natalie
Hey Mr. Seeley,
I hope you have fun in Alaska, I've always wanted to go there.
I won't see you next year, but I hope it's a good one for you.
Once again, congratulations on your engagement...
bye,
Lindsey McLaurin
Mr. Seeley,
You are my idol. I sincerely thank you for putting up with me in your class. You are a brilliant teacher. I hope you discover much in Alaska. You will have to share your wisdom with us when you return. Good Luck. Thanks again.
Mr. Seeley
Since i joined your class you have always been friendly and fair. I hope your trip to alaska is fun for you and safe.
Thanks for a great Literature experiece.
Hey Mr.Seeley your class has been very interesting this year. All of our random conversations really had a point and it was cool how we could go off on a tangent then relate it to the book. Well, have fun in Alaska!
Enjoy your trip to Alaska Mr. Seeley. Watch out for bears, and keep a map on you; its been a good year in your World Literature II class and if you got lost out in the wilderness it would be a real loss. Again have a good summer!
Mr. Seeley
It has been a great year and your class has been very insightfull, expecially the section about Into the Wild.
Have a great trip,
Erik
It's been a good year and I've gotta say that I've enjoyed your class. It has always managed to be interesting, no matter what the topic. I hope your Alaska trip is a good experience. It sounds to me like it will be.
Well Señor, I have enjoyed this year. I must admit that the first day of class, I was a little turned off with the "book discussion circle" and stuff. But I soon realized that it was interesting and at times, a little fun! Your Alaskan trip sounds very cool and I hope you don't get eaten by a bear or some wild beast. :) I will definately miss this English class next year. (and I will, from now on, turn off my phone in class)
Thanks for two great years in advisory!
Vann
have fun in Alaska
Have fun in Alaska. I hear it's absolutely gorgeous, and the nature is phenomenal, and you'll have lots of fun. This class was very fun. I learned a lot about literature and myself. Thanks, and enjoy Alaska.
Hi Mr. Seeley,
You trip sounds so exciting and somewhat scary! I hope you stay closer to civilization than Chris McCandless did. Don't go too naturalistic :) Well thanks for a great year - I have learned so much about how to think and write thanks to you. I wish you the best of luck in Alaska! Be careful !!
Rachel
potatoes!
that's exactly what comes in mind when i sitt in the class and my mind starts to wonder. no worries, i like the class nonetheless. so um yams are cool (i learned that from things fall apart). ok so alaska. you should like idk do something cool. be like tarzan and make wild noises as you swing from branch to branch. okies. yea. u hope you have fun. take loads of pictures. enjoy life. see you after the whole ordeal! happy summer
JESUS WALKS!!!!!
anne
Mr. Seeley, I hope that you have a fun trip to Alaska. PLease don't make the mistakes that Chris did and die. Otherwise, have a good summer. Your class was fun, even if I did often end up on the otherside of an argument with two debate studesnts. Advisory was a blast. You are a great teacher.
Again, have fun,
Lanie
Post a Comment
<< Home