First of all, I would first like to dissuade any sort of pre-conceived notion that perhaps I still am in high school; such an idea is far from the truth. I should know; I have checked all the signs upon campus and they all state that this is a “college,” and I think I do not believe a high school is able de jure to deem itself an institution of higher learning. So, what is high school still doing lurking around here? Maybe it followed me here in lieu of the shampoo bottle and pictures that I seem to be missing. I doubt that this is truly the case, however, because it seemed to have been here before I arrived. I have another idea that supports my data: high school has crept into college learning through the student expectations.

Stories such as “Good Country People” by Flannery O’ Connor and “Channelled Whelk” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh teach us simplistic notions about life that many of us are just now perceiving to be the stepping stones toward philosophy. Discussions about subjective perspectives or alternative realities are finally trying to break through to the minds of eager college freshmen. The whole that we observe from Lindbergh’s “Channelled Whelk” sums up to a woman understanding and relating the fact that perhaps it is nice to get away from societal constrictions. As for “Good Country People” by O’ Connor, well, as my classmate Ed says, “[The bible salesman] stole [Hulga’s] leg!” Let me not end it there, however. To be fair to O’ Connor, let me state there are deeper themes within the text, but nevertheless their complexity is not beyond that of a middle school student, and surely not a high school one. Perhaps it is therefore best to leave such ecritures there; we all came to college to be challenged, not to restate the fact that we went to public school.

It is a beautiful thing that our text gives us little hints, such as to “take notes in the margins” (10) when we have ideas, or that “the word corpse does not mean Eiffel Tower” (9). When my brain interprets such words on paper, I can feel my mind swelling with so much information my cranium almost wants to explode (figuratively speaking, of course. A cranium doesn’t have a mind of it’s own…. oh wait, yes it does). Further beyond these revelations, we are encouraged to engage in public exploration, private exploration, and additional to excessive readings of the text. It is the goal of this constant textual investigation to aid us in understanding those intricate deep meanings, which we as college students might have problems delving into upon perhaps only the first or second analysis. These repetitive lessons still drill the monotony of “learning” into us. Where is the passion and emotion that I’m supposed to be feeling? Certainly not in the “PASSIONATE ATTENTION” (168) section.

The one portion of this book that I have encountered and with which I have no qualms is the grammatical section. I have never been a wizard at grammar, but nor have my teachers been masters themselves. I would like to relate the fact that I learned more about grammar in my encounters with foreign language than perhaps in all my years studying grammar. The problem here is that this is not a grammar book: it in fact solely relates the bare necessities of grammar to the reader. So, it seems, we are now the slaves to this passive element of simplistic learning. Windows does open a window for us, but into the world of a 7th grader. The text seems reminiscent of a middle school English class, but without the tyrannical overlord of a teacher. I believe it is not only a falsity, but also an atrocity to suggest the idea that perhaps I am learning something new and innovative. Do not think me to be overanxious in merely trying to degrade this book, but I believe there are far better resources of learning than perhaps something that could be mass distributed amongst those aged twelve to sixteen. I do not think we should take our quest for knowledge lightly and this book seems to be a bit counterintuitive to the challenge that I believe we should be stressing upon our persons. Perhaps I am a fool in my ideas, or perhaps I am functioning in regards to another time or place. Either way, it is apparent that something is not right, and I must inquire what is to be done?