A Southern Missive

I felt the need to create a study guide to help the many teachers purchasing Stories of the Confederate South. So for my blog entries, I’m going to try to enter one a day–one for each story in the book. Today is devoted to the collection’s opening epigraph and to “Deo Vindici,” a poem.

STUDY GUIDE LESSON 1

OPENING EPIGRAPH:”The real war will never get in the books.”

1) Discuss or research Walt Whitman, America’s Bard of Democracy, author of Leaves of Grass. He wrote several Civil War poems himself. Whitman was a nurse in the Federal Army.

2. Define of epigraph: “A quotation set at the beginning of a book, story, poem or other literary work that suggests a theme or helps set a tone.”

3. Discuss or freewrite about the meaning of this quotation. Why would he say such a thing? Was America ready for the truth about the war then? Is it ready now? What if historical research reveals that we’ve been taught some things incorrectly?

Notes for Deo Vindici

1) PLAN A CLASS ORATORY CONTEST

This is a performance poem, designed to be read aloud, and to be read with fire and feeling. A study could be made of oratory or of famous orators during the Civil War.

2) Vocabulary:  A quiz may be constructed from these words.  The students should definitely know the meanings of the words before they read the poem.  As some variant spellings are used in the poem, this too can be discussed. Many of these words lend themselves to discussion and historical and cultural discovery.  Each of these terms can be developed further in projects.

1. Deo Vindici – Latin for “God will vindicate us.”  This was the official motto of the Confederacy.

2. neocon – an abbreviation for neoconservatives, the new conservatives.

3. Leonard Skynard – A famous Southern Rock Band.

4.  Chivalry – A code of conduct for medieval knights that emphasized qualities such as oyalty to God, king, country, and friends; respect for ladies; courage in battle; truth and honesty in life; and protecting and helping the weak, helpless, innocent, and poor.

5. Civility – Possessing good manners, politeness, courtesy and demonstrating the qualities of being “civilized.”

6. Bonny Blue – Usually spelled, “Bonnie Blue.” It was a very popular flag of the Confederacy, and a very popular song was written about it, “The Bonnie Blue Flag.” Here is an image of the Bonnie Blue.

7.  Sharecropper – a farmer who earns a portion of the crops he works or pays the landlord a share of the crops he raises in lieu of rent.

8. Belles – A Southern lady.

9. Cajun – A descendent of the  French speaking Acadians who were expelled from Canada by the British and settled in the Gulf Coast region, centered around Louisiana.

10. Creole – a descendent of the original French and Spanish colonists of Louisiana.

11. Tejanos – Texans of Mexican or Spanish descent.

12. Isleños – Spanish colonists from the Canary Islands who settled in Louisiana in the late 1700s.

13. Celts – A person of  Irish, Scottish, Welsh descent.

14, Gullah – A member of a group of blacks inhabiting the sea islands and coastal districts of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida.  They do have their own dialect.

15. Geechi – Often spelled “geechee.” Also describes the people along Coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

PROJECT IDEAS:
1) Create a collage that represents this poem.
2) Research in detail one of the groups of people named in the poem.
3) Create a music CD of the different types of music and of the songs or artists mentioned.

After I incubate on this topic, I’ll have a post with a list about what Southern Fathers can teach their daughters. I was fortunate because I raised both a boy and girl. It’s a great thing being raised in the South. I really don’t think I could live anywhere else. I wanted to list here (with a few comments) a dozen things Southern can teach their sons when they’re young.  I know the list changes with age and perhaps regions lived in, and there are many other skills that could have been listed here, but here is a list of what I think is important for a Southern boy to learn:

1. To sharpen a knife: This is a skill he will need all his life, so the younger he learns this the better. Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp ones.

2. To fish or hunt: You know the saying–Give a man a fish and you feed him for a meal. Teach him how to fish and you’ve fed him a lifetime. And I think all methods are important–rod and reel, cane pole, trot-line, nets, box traps. Fishing is great in the South. Same for hunting.

3. To type: This is really not hard to do. Teach him the correct finger positions and call out the letters, numbers, and symbols he should type.  I personally think a manual typewriter is best for this. Work him up to forty words a minute, and he will always be able to find work.

4. Teach him how to play different sports and encourage him to join organizations (Scouts, etc.):  He may not stick with any of them. He may not even like them, but if he knows he can make an intelligent decision about it. Besides, sports are good for a boy in this couch-potato, television numbed age. I really believe there is a physical sport for every and any boy. The more he learns the better. Time and talent will reveal the one(s) he excels in. Look for scholarship trends and opportunities.

5. To read and use a map:  Very practical. Teach him perspective of distance and awake curiosity of new places. (Internet can help you with these matters). You can use a topographical map to teach compass use and about terrain when hunting.

6. To follow written directions to make or do something: A boy who learns to read instructions will be way ahead of the pack.  Too many boys live by, “When all else fails, read the instructions.”

7. To tie knots. We will always need to know how to secure items and accomplish tasks with rope and string.

8. To take photographs: One doesn’t regret taking too many photographs as much as “not” taking them.

9. To keep a scrapbook, diary, or create collections. Collections often teach the boy as he’s making them.

10. To defend himself and others. There’s no reason a boy or those important to him or the innocent about him should be victims. He will thank his father later for such training.

11. To start and build a fire (several different ways), to learn to swim, and other survival skills.

12. To work and to make money from that work.  A boy who doesn’t learn how to work won’t be worth spit.

There are many other skills and needs I could have put on this list, some that relate more to the spiritual and social side of a boy, but perhaps these will get you thinking. This list may be reproduced and used freely as long as you give me and the Southern Missive blog credit.

I’ve been thinking of ghosts a good deal lately. I think it started with my trip to Greenville, MS and staying up late that Friday night 7wapping ghost stories. I heard some doozies!  Enough to make you believe. Also, while in Jefferson, TX last Friday, I went on a ghost tour. The walk through Jefferson lasted about two hours. Evidently Jefferson is the seventh most haunted city in Texas. There were about twenty people strolling along with the tour. Some were really into ghosts.  A few were members of paranormal societies. Most of the ghosts discussed are rather peaceful spirits, but a couple of ghosts were malevolent. I was surprised to see how many people live in haunted houses. I guess they’ve made their peace with the ghosts who live there. I would be afraid that I would tick the ghost off in some way and they would flip out in some macabre manner and take it out on me.

Here is a photo of the ghost tour guide, Jodi. She is quite knowledgeable of Jefferson’s history and ghosts.

Louisiana, like Texas, has its share of ghosts. I am particularly interested in ghosts of the Civil War. That will be my next ghost search.

GRAPEVINE, TX

Tomorrow, I’ll be at the Grapevine Public LIbrary, presenting my Scots-Irish program for about 100 kids. Should be a great day. Hopefully, I return with a pic or two and a good report on it.