Is Last Place So Bad?
“When some loud braggart tries to put me down,
And says his school is great.
I tell him right away,
Now whats the matter buddy…
Ain't you heard of my school?
Its number one in the state.
So be true to your school now…
So be true to your school now…
Just like you would to your girl or guy.
Be true to your school now…
And let your colors fly…
Be true to your school.
(Push ‘em back, Push ‘em back—WAAAYYYY BACK)
So be true to your school now…
(Push ‘em back, Push ‘em back—WAAAYYYY BACK)
So be true to your school now…
Just like you would to your girl or guy.
Be true to your school now…
And let your colors fly…
Be true to your school.”
--Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
Well actually, my school is not number one in the state. Its number two in the state as far as public colleges and number one hundred on Kiplinger’s Top 100 Public Colleges And Universities In The Nation.
It dropped from 83 to 100; but still, we made the list.
In Illinois, the University of Illinois is Number One. Big deal, how did that Rose Bowl work out for you guys?
Go Illinois State University! Go Redbirds. You can see that Reggie on the picture is kinda pissed about being number 100 out of 100, but Reggie needs to grab a beer (something we always did at ISU—Keith a frequent blog reader, closest friend, and college roommate will confirm my once divine love of all things Strohs).
In an interesting twist today, I received a letter from the Education Division of the History Department of ISU thanking me for my work with the student teachers I have worked with over the years. The letter included some interesting data.
Five out of every six teachers in the state are Illinois State University Graduates. That’s pretty good.
ISU graduates more Social Science/History teachers than any other institution in Illinois.
The Normal University is also the largest teaching college in the United States.
ISU also offers a graduate degree program in History, unlike University of Illinois. Many of my teaching friends from the Midwest who rside and teach in the Urbana area had to come to Normal for classes. Oh sure, U of I flaunts their Engineering Department and their Sciences, but do those degrees have their own channel on TV like history? Yeah, I thought not.
So why are we dropping.
Well, here’s a thought—PEOPLE HATE TEACHERS.
Ok, not really but I had to say it.
I think the drop has to do with costs and with specialization. I mean, ISU is a teaching mecca, as the town of “Normal” is named such because ISU is a Normal College (normal college meaning “Teacher College” way back when). In fact, in its early history, ISU was named ISNU (Illinois State Normal University). ISU emphasizes business marketing, teaching, and fine arts (no, really).
So, we may not be #83 anymore, we still crank out excellent teachers, our football team is much improved, our women’s athletics are top notch, and we are gonna kick the crap out of Bradley, not once, but twice this year in basketball. My brother Mark is a Bradley grad.
So GO ISU! Take that #100 out of 100 rating and in the words of Argent, “hold your head up high.”
--Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
Well actually, my school is not number one in the state. Its number two in the state as far as public colleges and number one hundred on Kiplinger’s Top 100 Public Colleges And Universities In The Nation.
It dropped from 83 to 100; but still, we made the list.
In Illinois, the University of Illinois is Number One. Big deal, how did that Rose Bowl work out for you guys?
Go Illinois State University! Go Redbirds. You can see that Reggie on the picture is kinda pissed about being number 100 out of 100, but Reggie needs to grab a beer (something we always did at ISU—Keith a frequent blog reader, closest friend, and college roommate will confirm my once divine love of all things Strohs).
In an interesting twist today, I received a letter from the Education Division of the History Department of ISU thanking me for my work with the student teachers I have worked with over the years. The letter included some interesting data.
Five out of every six teachers in the state are Illinois State University Graduates. That’s pretty good.
ISU graduates more Social Science/History teachers than any other institution in Illinois.
The Normal University is also the largest teaching college in the United States.
ISU also offers a graduate degree program in History, unlike University of Illinois. Many of my teaching friends from the Midwest who rside and teach in the Urbana area had to come to Normal for classes. Oh sure, U of I flaunts their Engineering Department and their Sciences, but do those degrees have their own channel on TV like history? Yeah, I thought not.
So why are we dropping.
Well, here’s a thought—PEOPLE HATE TEACHERS.
Ok, not really but I had to say it.
I think the drop has to do with costs and with specialization. I mean, ISU is a teaching mecca, as the town of “Normal” is named such because ISU is a Normal College (normal college meaning “Teacher College” way back when). In fact, in its early history, ISU was named ISNU (Illinois State Normal University). ISU emphasizes business marketing, teaching, and fine arts (no, really).
So, we may not be #83 anymore, we still crank out excellent teachers, our football team is much improved, our women’s athletics are top notch, and we are gonna kick the crap out of Bradley, not once, but twice this year in basketball. My brother Mark is a Bradley grad.
So GO ISU! Take that #100 out of 100 rating and in the words of Argent, “hold your head up high.”
posted by Eric Sweetwood at 4:28 PM
2 Comments:
When we were there it was "Reggie". He was all happy-go-lucky-thumbs-up. It's now the 21st century. It is a time of war and uncertainty. "Reggie" now prefers to be called "Reginald" and he is pissed-off. Pissed because his school in #100 out of 100. Pissed because the Arena is not having all of the awesome concerts that the People who "contributed" to the building of it were promised. "Reginald" is me. He is you. He is America. A very pissed-off America.
Keith
I was all sorts of sad when they made Reggie look like he's ready to peck people's eyes out... but sometimes I feel that way, too, so I guess it's ok. I mean, it was kind of nice to see Reggie glaring at all the Bradley fans and players when we beat them Saturday night...
Today is Founders Day, marking the end of the 150th anniversary celebration. The choir I'm in (Belle Voix) got to sing at the ceremony (a bunch of people walking across the stage and ringing a little bell). Afterwards anyone who wanted to could go out on the quad and ring the Old Main bell... Sooo I got to ring the bell!!! That's my little piece of ISU history in the making.
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