Lesson Plan: Dobie and the Longhorns

Lesson Plan 11/18- Dobie: The Longhorns

Objectives: To extend our sympathetic imaginations to allow us to further understand what role the longhorn plays in our lives. Create a greater sense of pride in our state, city, and school.

Goals: Survey the different aspects of longhorns and how they connect to our lives: address the subjects of Texas pride, querencia and animal treatment, discuss cows in India

Longhorn statue is located on the Heman Sweatt Campus between the Arno Nowotny Building and Hargis Hall?

Samantha’s Video: Texas, Our Texas
A lot of us grew up doing this.



The Myth of Texas
Jenny: “These are also the friends who have come to associate Texans with chewing reeds, playing banjos, and wearing boots with spurs.”

Kristen: “We all have friends and/or family that live outside of this great state (for reasons I do not understand...) that ask us the cliché things about riding to school on horses and living on ranches with cows.”

Samantha: “Northerners seem to hold this belief that Texans ride horses to school and keep cows in their backyard. For a family friend this actually appeared true as she was driving into Houston from Chicago with her brother and happened to get stuck on I-10 behind the trail riders.”

Kajal: “One of my new friends gasped in glee when I told her I was from Texas. “What does your horse that you ride to school look like?!?” she asked excitedly.”

What is the Texas Spirit and how does it affect you? What makes you most proud to be a Texan?
Samantha: “That spirit embodies all of the conquests Texans have accomplished—from the fight at the Alamo, to Sam Houston’s conquest of Santa Anna & Texas Independence from Mexico, to the annexation and the Mexican-American war, to NASA and its many successes. It also captures the soul of the West—the cattle drives and ranches that this state was founded upon.”

Jenny: “I have lived in other states before moving to Texas, and I can say that Texas is a state that I’m proud of. I have never felt a greater sense of pride and camaraderie here…”

Kristen: “We are all proud of our state, for better or for worse. We think we are the biggest and best (because we are…sorry Dana and Russell). And we are generally laid back and easy going people; where else in the world can you smile at everyone you meet on the street for no particular reason and be sure that they will smile right back?”

Kajal: “Texas is its own land. It has its own language, clothing style, legends – Texas has its own culture.”

Longhorns and what they represent as a symbol of Texas:
“The cattle I am thinking of made their reputations in fierce, hardy, persistent, resourceful, daring efforts to maintain freedom.” (829X)

Kristen: “There is something about the longhorn that brings out a certain amount of emotion in Texans. Their power, pride, yet usually gentle ways say a lot about Texans in general.”

Jenny: “The longhorn represents independence, fortitude, and adaptability, for “he moved elementally with drouth, grass, blizzards, out of the Arctic and the wind from the south” (X819).”

Longhorns: Mascot/querencia
Kristen: “For the University of Texas, there could be not be a better fitting mascot than the mighty longhorn. As a symbol of the state of Texas for many years, it only made sense for the first public university, funded by the state of Texas, to have the longhorn as its mascot.”

Jenny: “I believe that the University of Texas tries to keep the independent Texas spirit alive with the idea of the longhorn. “The Longhorn comes to connote courage, fighting ability, nerve, lust of combat, efficiency in deadly encounters, and the holy spirit of never-say-die.” (X886)

Jenny: “Another connotation of the longhorn is his love for the places he came from, something that UT takes great pride in. Not only does this school hope to educate and mold its students into freethinking, passionate, and successful individuals, but it also wishes to instill the love and pride of home, of the university.”

Dobie’s story of Sancho the Longhorn

Querencias and the quest to find them:
Austyn: “Like the Texas Longhorn I am “a home lover” (820). However, unlike the Longhorn, I don’t know where home is.”

Jennifer: “I've lived in my current house the longest so it may the closest thing I have to a querencia, but I could not equate my relationship to this house to that of a longhorn and its “home range,”[1] to which it remains a “persistent returner,”[2] regardless of the obstacles along the way.”

Jennifer: “Like Sancho who “chewed his cud peacefully and slept soundly, but” often found himself looking toward home, raising “his head as if memory and expectation were stirring,” I too would think back to Seoul[4] I associate Korea with my childhood: filled with innocence and playfulness.”

Samantha: “When it really came down to it though, I was drawn to my querencia, to Texas. I did not want to be far away from my family, from the land I grew up in.”

Finding our personal querencia – Should we already know where that is?

Jennifer: “I think we are more adaptable and can embrace many places within our lifetime, rather than just one.”

Austyn: “My sense of home wasn’t grounded in a physical location- I wasn’t like Sancho who’s “bed ground was near a certain mesquite tree just outside the gate” (823)- it was established in relationships I had built.”

Obstacles from returning to our personal querencias?
Jennifer: “Although I think about these times and the place in which they took place, I'm afraid of going back. Because I've been away from Korea for ten years now, I want to preserve the place in my memory and prevent tainting it by going back and rewriting what it means for me.”

Longhorns as Totem animals:
Does anyone feel a strong connection with the longhorn?
Eating Bevo?!? – “On January 20, 1920, Bevo I attained immortality when he was barbequed and served to more than 100 guests..”
Is that how we show respect?
Cows as totem animals in India

Totem Animal:
Jenny: “My personal “totem animal”, with which I feel “the psychological…kinship” (X901), is the wolf. It inspires in me both awe and fright, for it is mysterious and savage, harkening back to the old secrets of the world.”

Kajal: “However, as much longhorn pride as I have, I cannot help but feel an affinity for an adorable creature which has recently captured my heart: the squirrel!”

Kristen: “As the Encyclopedia Americana states a totem animal is “an animal… with which a social or religious group feels a special affinity and which is often considered to be the mythical ancestor of the group.”

How to find your totem animal:
1.Since we are drawn to that which resonates with us, what animal, bird, or insect are you drawn to?
2.When you go to the park, forest, or zoo what animal are you most interested in seeing?
3.What animal do you most frequently see when you're out in nature or in the city?
4.What animals are you currently interested in learning about?
5.Which animal do you find most frightening or intriguing?
6.Have you ever been bitten or attacked by an animal?
7.Is there a recurring animal in your dreams or do you have one you have never forgotten?
From: http://www.animaltotem.com/find-your-totem.html

Go around the room and name our totem animals…

Boots, longhorns and squirrels

To get into the Texas spirit...




I remember one time, while at a wedding in Chicago, one of my new friends gasped in glee when I told her I was from Texas. “What does your horse that you ride to school look like?!?” she asked excitedly.
I hear the Europeans also have a fascination with our land –apparently they have “[grown] to be especially fond of” [1] Texas.

Texas is its own land. It has its own language, clothing style, legends – Texas has its own culture. Of course, now in the bustling modern age, I’m pretty sure none of us could really be classified as Texans by our appearance. I haven’t really noticed anyone who wears a cowboy hat and boots every day, or talks with a particularly strong Southern accent. But even as a native Texan who has never ridden in an Oregon Trail-esque wagon to school, when I think of all things ‘Texas’ I immediately picture the cliché wide open prairies, tough cowboys, their infamous hat and boots, and “the tales of…free spirits.” [2] Texas has this indescribable feel about it, in all its “picturesqueness and romantic realism.” [3] The paradox of romantic realism can make sense only about a place like this. I reflect warmly about those who “followed the law of the wild” [4] and made Texas the place that it is.

The totem – the symbol— that represents Texas and our dear alma mater could not be a more perfect choice. “The cattle I am thinking of made their reputations in fierce, hardy, persistent, resourceful, daring efforts to maintain freedom.” [5] The description of our fearless longhorns sounds very well like it could be reminiscing about our legendary leaders: Stephen F. Austin, Davy Crockett, William B. Travis, Sam Houston, James Bowie...the list goes on. The cries of “Remember the Alamo!” ring through my head. The longhorn represents the determination of the people of Texas. Parallel to the longhorn’s persistence in returning to their querencia, the land they love, the heroes of Texas fought with equally insistent perseverance to free their home. The dauntless longhorn spirit similarly represents THE University of Texas and how “it is full of the pride and energy of life.” [6] As students here, we are meant to acquire the noble traits of the longhorn as we set out to initiate the change in the world.

As a Hindu, I find it most amusing that longhorns are now my new source of pride. All my life, I have been taught that cows are sacred – that they “[are] a gift of the gods to the human race” [7]– and now I worship Bevo. However, as much longhorn pride as I have, I cannot help but feel an affinity for an adorable creature which has recently captured my heart: squirrels! Squirrels are not a new thing for me – there were plenty scampering around right in my backyard. Perhaps the memories and feelings of home they bring are why I am so attached to them. But, that by itself cannot be it. I know I have plenty-a-times had conversations about and adored squirrels with friends. Something about them inspires me. They are constantly moving, darting, running around. Their energy seems to have no bounds. I wish I could share their ability to never tire. But, in their busy daily routines, they also take time to slow down and stop. Slow down and be aware of the present. All the times that I have passed by squirrels, they have been extremely alert and conscious of my passing presence. And what I love the most is how they are not afraid to explore. Even though we big humans potentially portray large threats to them, they will many times still bravely crawl over and say hi with their large unblinking eyes. It all sounds silly and I can’t explain it. They’re just too cute…I can only wish I could be that cute.


Footnotes:

[1] (822X)

[2] (814X)

[3] (819X)

[4] (829X)

[5] (829X)

[6] (832X)
[7] (902B)

"Have you asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?"

Here we go again, on such an exhaustive topic – we start “once again on the subject of animal rights” (Coetzee 61). Many people seem to get fed up
with the controversy. In fact, they feel there is no controversy at all. The activists’ “animal consciousness and ethical relation with animals [seems] jejune and sentimental” (Coetzee 61). True, with all the other problems that rest on humanities shoulders, it seems trivial to bother about an action that is such a cultural norm.

That sense of caring, urgency, and deep feeling of unshakable bond seems to lie in a fundamental culture difference. It reminds me of the Disney classic Pocahontas. Though a majority of Disney movies tend to center around animals or very generously include them as supporting main characters (My theory is because animals are the only ones with the cuteness and innocence appropriate for children. Humans, especially adults, are too corrupt and vile.), in Pocahontas we see the how two different cultures of people interact with the world around them. Pocahontas is the daughter of the Native American tribe’s chief. Therefore, since an early age, she has been very strongly instilled with the Native American culture of deep appreciation of nature. She talks to a tree for advice. Her
best friend is a hummingbird. While completely unrealistic, these aspects very effectively portrays how much respect she has for her natural surroundings. All of nature is treated as equal to humans. They have the same spirit of life which we hold. In the song Colors of the Wind the lines “I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name” can very well be equated to Elizabeth Costello’s declaration that, “to be alive is to be a living soul. An animal – and we are all animals – is an embodied soul” (Coetzee 78).

The Native American’s ability to have sympathetic imagination in the context of nature is very vividly contrasted by the juxtaposition of John Smith and his evil, greedy crew whowish to exploit every profit possible from the land. As they chop up the sacred trees “which scream soundlessly” (Doniger 94, X747), they have no doubt that they are “on the right side” (Singer 86, X743). They only have eyes for their cruel profiteering, and in dominating their surroundings personify the thoughts “that man is godlike, animals thinglike” (Cotezee 67). They do not feel for the nature around them, so they do not see the harm they are bestowing upon their surroundings, besides the obvious intentional deceit of the natives.

I feel as though I am making a comparison as cruel and ruthless as that of that of Elizabeth Costello’s comparison of the animal massacre to the Nazi horrors. I am not saying that anybody is a horrible person for not being vegetarian. I also concede that “Vegetarianism and compassion for animals are not the same thing at all” (Doniger 96, X748). But I feel like that compassion many times comes with vegetarianism – in the house I was raised it, they are directly related. If my mother fails to gently sweep out a rampant insect in the house, she always says God’s name and apologizes to “her poor baby” when she must spray it with insecticide. In that same spirit, we were taught to be thankful for the food on our plates, for dear plants were plucked in order for our bodies to be nourished. Also, the same deduction that Jenny made about her reasoning to eat plants – because the least amount of harm is done – is the same reasoning that was instilled in me at my temple.

I suppose it is a simple matter of culture. It is how we are raised. It is a question of our personal philosophy. There is no way to change the culture of the world – that is what makes it such a beautiful place. However, perhaps we can ask people to look a little more closely at the world around them. Look into the precious eyes of another being. It is scary when you can read the eyes of your dog, cat, or even a squirrel running across the sidewalk. But it happens, because we can. “Language is..the place from which compassion springs” (Doniger 104, X752). Eyes are the windows into beings souls. Thus, if not give up eating meat, I think the world would at least have a little more compassion from learning to understand “the silent language of the eyes. (Doniger 104, X752). A little more compassion is a little more compassion – it rubs off from one aspect of life to another. Maybe reading eyes could be the key to a happier world…




Colors of the Wind Lyrics:

You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places
I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see
If the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know ...

You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends

How high will the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon

For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind

Garden of Learning

It is serene. The water sweetly babbles, cascading down the rocks. The vivid aroma is intoxicating – honeysuckle, jasmine, lavender, gardenia. Birds nonchalantly twitter away. A delicate wrought-iron fence borders the picturesque garden and on the far side, a latticed pattern of entwined tree branches shades the pathway leading to a quaint, white gazebo. As the ghost of today tiptoes smoothly down future’s path, it comes across a pair of companions – a healer and a patient. Between murmurs of conversation, they just sit; sit as they listen and breathe in Mother Nature’s enveloping music.

Hold on. Let’s rewind a few decades and come back to present. Right now, this is my dream: to be part of a music therapy clinic which draws upon traditional music and the melody of nature to heal. I hope to draw upon the power of semiotics; I hope to encourage patients to “read the world,”[1] so they can gain a new perspective of their surroundings and learn to better read themselves. I will admit, it all sounds like a song of hippie naïveté from any realistic perspective. Finding a music therapy clinic will be hard enough, but finding one which entirely encompasses the aspects of my dream seems nearly impossible. How to prepare myself for this endeavor is a question in itself. With the picture I have in my mind, I am pretty sure I will need a degree in landscape architecture degree alongside one in music therapy. Yet, here I am at an institution that does not even offer that latter crucial degree. I take every bit of blame, for it was my belated interest in the field which resulted in this conundrum. However, I have no regrets because I now recognize that the education I am getting at the University of Texas is preparing me to be a leader with a vision. As Peter Koestenbaum says, “The visionary leader thinks big, thinks new, thinks ahead.”[2] Thus, I will have no need to search for the clinic which mirrors my dreams; I will create the clinic of my dreams.

As a leader-in-training, it is important to ask myself if I am even readying myself in regards to my chosen passion. It appears as though I am not. As is, music therapy is a rare idea to pursue– it is currently not even recognized as a form of psychology by the American Psychology Association. Accordingly, I must forge a path for myself and for music therapy using the leadership qualities I am mastering at UT. Being a pioneer requires an endless list of characteristics and skills. Leaders are the many faceted gems in the mosaic of society. Like gems—with their differing attributes sparkling in every brilliant shade of a Crayola box – all leaders nonetheless have the same basic structure. I believe one of the most fundamental leadership traits is the ability to fully take advantage of whatever situation circumstance provides. Good leaders have “the power to transform situations.”[3] In that spirit, I plan on absorbing the most I can from the University and the people around me.

While my classes will not ultimately prepare me for my career, they teach me the obvious basic knowledge I need, but also indirectly teach the leadership qualities I hope to acquire. So far I am in classes that I technically chose to be in. Although, truth be told, I would most likely never set foot in a class entitled Punishment in a Liberal Society and especially not one labeled Reading and Composition in World Literature (no offense) were I not required to. But that is the beauty of Plan II. The classes are the hammers[4] which mold our minds with new ways of thinking.

From this eclectic harvest of courses, I feel like I am learning important life lessons. Astronomy, one of my favorite classes, is the least essential to both my majors of Plan II or Psychology. However, it reminds me to always keep my sense of wonder – we never know what is floating around in space, waiting to be discovered. Through astronomy and the mind-blowing discoveries it entails, I learn to keep my mind open to new, unfathomable findings in music therapy’s unchartered terrain. Also, though Punishment in a Liberal Society and World Literature embody what I most fear and despise (i.e. writing), I feel that those two classes push me the most to become a leader. In Punishment, a discussion-based class with occasional ten-page papers, I learn the necessity of cementing my thoughts and opinions: I need to determine my morals and
what I stand for. Additionally, after listening week upon week with my mouth gaping in awe to a student with entrancing oratory skills, I have come to realize the tremendous advantages of superior communication skills. Being able to speak and articulate thoughts clearly commands attention. Similarly, a therapist must be able to communicate their thoughts and convey the correct message to their patients. Last but not least, this World Literature course, obviously forces me to think about my passion, my future and my vision – the basis of being a leader. For me, it is truly difficult because now I cannot get by with concocting some random analysis. We truly have to reach within ourselves and write from the heart. Writing improves my communication skills, and also disciplines my mind by forcing me to become familiar with what I dread. All in all, I know that every class I take at the University, even physics, will be relevant to my future by either teaching necessary skills or by building character.

Furthermore, there are certain qualities a therapist must impart which I do not think can be taught, but rather must be acquired. They are personality qualities like empathy, motivation and inspiration. One of my role models who embodies these qualities is my high school band director, Mr. Koch. He is essentially a community leader. Literally hundreds of people look up to him; even students from thirty years ago keep in touch and still get advice from him. The man who deals with 350 students, the logistics of six bands, and the ever-ready onslaught of band parents every day, somehow manages to know everybody’s names and remember the important happenings in their lives. He is unbelievably busy, but always has time to talk and to listen – during those four years I knew I could drop by his office at anytime. And while Mr. Koch is extremely personable, he is even better in motivating and inspiring huge groups of students. When it was 105 degrees outside at competition and we were all ready to melt to the ground, he understood us and knew exactly what to say to encourage us to march our best shows [5]. I hope to one day be as inspirational and admired as he is.

Finally, I feel one of the most imperative leadership qualities is spirituality: it is vital for a leader to be in touch with the person inside. On that note, I plan on visiting a therapist at the Student Services Building. It is true one of the paramount reasons which compels me to do so is that I will gain a perspective only gained by experience. In order for my words to make an impact is if I “seek first to understand…then to be understood.[6]” The best way to have empathy is to actually know what it feels like to work up the courage to make a visit, to sit all alone in that chair, to wait for someone to analyze you. I want to observe the therapist to see how they work; I want to gather a general idea of how therapy works. But moreover, I hope therapy will help me grow as a person – teach me to accept who I am and to accept my mistakes. As the saying goes, “A sick doctor cannot heal.” Therefore, before I can even consider diving into the field of therapy, I must also be completely intact. The only way to transfer confidence is to have enough in the first place; the Sun cannot radiate heat if it does not have any inside. So through therapy I will strengthen myself and learn to radiate the qualities I hold inside. Furthermore, I will strengthen myself by putting to practice the meditation techniques I learned at my temple. As Ram Dass prescribes, meditation leads to an intuitive awareness “that links us most intimately to the universe and, in allegiance with the heart, binds us together in generosity and compassion.[7]” Generosity, compassion and confident empathy will help me during this voyage.

By soaking in the lessons I am being taught in my classes, I will continue to discipline myself but stretch my mind. By emulating the leaders around me I will learn how to bring out the best in people. By strengthening my spirituality, I will continue my journey of self-exploration and that of helping those who do not know what pathway they are on.

Down the shaded path in the garden, towards the quaint gazebo, the ghost continues gliding…only it is not the future anymore.

Footnotes:

[1] Jonathan Silverman, The World Is A Text (Prentice Hall, 2003), 9.

[2] Stephen Covey, The 8^th Habit (New York: Freepress, 2004), X47.

[3] Ram Dass, How Can I Help? (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987), 187.

[4] Jerome Bump, “Connect,” E603A, 2008, http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/603A08/603frameset.html.

[5] Quakmofro, “2007 Brazoswood High School Marching Band,” Youtube, 2008, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEqd01kRVrQ.

[6] Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (New York: Free Press, 2004), 255.

[7] Dass, 94.

List of Illustrations
1.“Picturesque garden” http://www.manorbb.co.nz/images-photos-tmbb/garden-02.jpg
2.“UT Seal” http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/seal.gif
•Bump, Jerome. “Seal of the University of Texas At Austin.” In Composition and Reading in World Literature, Vol. 1, 305. Austin: Jenn’s, 2008.
3.“Gems” http://www.crystalpixels.com/gallery/gems.jpg
4.“Planetary Nebula” http://objsam.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/nebula_rcw49_04lrg.jpg
5.“Writing” http://www.xianlandia.com/pix/writing.jpg
6.“Role Model” My personal collection
7.“Meditation” http://boomeran.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/meditation1.jpg
8.“Pathway” http://life-electronic.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/stone-pathway.jpg

Word Count
With Quotes: 1,577
Without Quotes: 1,531

Blogsite URL:
http://kajalm-worldliterature-e603.blogspot.com/2008/10/futures-garden.html

Lyrics:
Coldplay – Fix You

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
"Just what your worth"

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream, down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I...


Tears stream, down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I...


Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.