loving art, science and creative kids
10/24/2026 11:24:26 AM
MYSTERY
Democracy Under Pressure: Lessons from America's Past
This election cycle feels like one of the tensest I’ve experienced. I worry that the democracy I know is under attack as leaders challenge democratic norms and concentrate power.It is difficult to accept policies that threaten health care and food assistance for struggling families. It is equally troubling when access to information is restricted and public statements conflict with established facts. I fear a future in which wealthy industrialists wield disproportionate influence over our government. At least, that’s how I see it. But America has weathered bitter political battles before. How do today's divisions compare with some of the most contentious presidential elections in our history?
1800: A Constitutional Deadlock: Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both Democratic-Republicans, tied with 73 electoral votes each. The House of Representatives had to break the deadlock, taking 36 ballots before Jefferson prevailed. The crisis led to the Twelfth Amendment, which required electors to cast separate votes for president and vice president. Political rivalries can turn deadly. In 1804, Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. No matter how deeply divided we are today, I don't believe violence is the answer to our nation's problems.
1824: The “Corrupt Bargain”: Andrew Jackson won more popular and electoral votes than any other candidate, but no one secured an electoral majority. The House chose John Quincy Adams. When Adams subsequently appointed Henry Clay secretary of state, Jackson's supporters accused the men of making a corrupt bargain. Jackson ran again in 1828—and won.
1860: An Election That Tore the Nation Apart: Abraham Lincoln won the presidency with about 40 percent of the popular vote. His opposition to the expansion of slavery made him unacceptable to many Southern leaders. South Carolina seceded weeks after his victory, followed by other Southern states. The Civil War began in April 1861. The election also led to his untimely death. This election reminds us that when political divisions become irreconcilable, the consequences can extend far beyond the ballot box.
1876: A Compromise with Lasting Consequences: A special commission settled the disputed election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden in Hayes's favor after awarding him the contested electoral votes. Political negotiations produced the Compromise of 1877, which included the withdrawal of remaining federal troops from the South. The end of Reconstruction weakened federal protection for formerly enslaved people and helped pave the way for decades of segregation and disenfranchisement. A political compromise may resolve an immediate crisis, but we must also consider who pays the price.
2000: Five Weeks of Uncertainty: The contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush came down to Florida, where a narrow margin triggered recounts and lawsuits. The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore effectively ended the recount. Bush won the Electoral College, although Gore received more than 500,000 additional popular votes nationwide. The election demonstrated how a small number of disputed ballots in one state can determine the outcome of a national contest.
2020: A Challenge to the Peaceful Transfer of Power: Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump amid a pandemic and deep national divisions. Trump disputed the results, alleging widespread election fraud. Courts rejected numerous legal challenges, and election officials certified the results in their jurisdictions. On January 6, 2021, as Congress counted the electoral votes, a mob of Trump supporters, with his encouragement, stormed the Capitol and interrupted the proceedings. Congress later reconvened and certified Biden's victory. The attack was a sobering reminder that democracy depends not only on election laws but also on a willingness to accept lawful outcomes and resolve disputes without violence.
Midterm Elections also Changed America
The 1866 midterm became a referendum on Reconstruction and on Johnson, who had alienated many Republicans. Anti-Johnson Republicans won overwhelmingly in both chambers of Congress, giving them the two-thirds majorities needed to override the president’s vetoes. Over the next two years, Congress ratified the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing equal protection under the law. The 15th Amendment protected voting rights for all men regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
The 1934 midterms were a win for the New Deal. Democrats in both houses of Congress gained seats, allowing the Social Security Act, the Wagner Act (which guaranteed collective bargaining), and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) to pass. Four years later, there was a conservative backlash over his attempt to purge his own party of anti-New Democrats.
Though Lyndon B. Johnson won a landslide victory in 1964 over conservative Barry Goldwater, the Democratic Party suffered a stinging midterm reversal. The civil rights acts Johnson touted fueled a Republican surge among Southern Democrats that lasted decades.
The midterms in 1994 marked a major shift in American politics, giving Republicans control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 40 years. This was primarily due to President Bill Clinton’s unsuccessful push for healthcare reform and his “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy,” allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve in the military.
The 2010 midterms,s another big win for Republicans, were fueled by a grassroots conservative movement called the Tea Party. In the wake of the Great Recession, anger over government bailouts of large financial firms fueled a protest against government spending, the national debt, and President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The House losses were huge, though the Senate held its majority. Though the Tea party faded as a political movement, its anti-establishment politics influenced the Republican Party during Donald Trump’s rise to power.
Why History Matters Now
As we approach the November 2026 midterm elections, we are not choosing a president, but we are choosing the representatives who will shape our laws and help determine how our government operates. The stakes are significant.
Our history shows that democracy is neither automatic nor guaranteed. It depends on institutions that protect our rights, leaders who respect the law, a free press, and citizens willing to participate even when the political climate is discouraging.
This is one reason I write the Rightfully Mine series. My novels explore what happens when powerful interests put profit and control ahead of people's rights—to clean water, unpolluted air, safe food, and a voice in decisions that affect their lives. Although the stories are fiction, the underlying questions are real: Who holds power? Who is held accountable? And what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept injustice?
I don't expect everyone to agree on every issue. Disagreement is part of democracy. But protecting our right to disagree peacefully—and ensuring that our government remains accountable to the people—is essential.
Learn about the candidates. Question what you read. Check claims against reliable sources. Listen to people whose experiences differ from your own. And vote. Democracy isn't something we inherit once and can then take for granted. It is something we must work to preserve, election after election.
References:
Pruitt, S. (2016). Most Contentious US Presidential Elections.HIstory. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/articles/most-contentious-u-s-presidential-elections
Roots, D. (2026) 5 Misdterm elections That Changed America. History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/articles/5-midterm-elections-that-changed-america
I look forward to your thoughts in the comment section below.
Mystery is available for sale through my website, If interested go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/3288831/mystery#/
Purchase the Rightfully Mine Novels to understand why access to clean water and unpolluted air should be considered a right notraded on wall street. purchase books go to https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Books+by+Marilynne+Eichinger
10/13/2026 9:36:52 AM
Floating in Space.
Am I successful in portraying a sense of wonder and mystery in outer space with this painting? Is that enough, or is it only successful if someone purchases it?
Success Is Finding a Reason to Move Forward
How do you measure success? Winston Churchill is thought to have said, “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm,” and that “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” These quotes capture an important truth: success can depend less on our achievements than on our willingness to keep going.Resilience and mindset are at the heart of these messages. Rather than an uninterrupted string of victories., success is the ability to recover from setbacks, learn from mistakes, and find the determination to try again. Ongoing enthusiasm bridges the gap between failure and eventual achievement.
Many of the goals I achieved were met simply because I persisted, pursuing my dream despite adversity and the nay sayers encouraging me to stop. Most of those were well-meaning friends and family concerned that I would fail, lose money, or become distraught. Instead of listening to them, I learned how to deal with failure.
The inability to cope with failure is an obstacle that keeps many people from trying. From childhood, we're taught to avoid failure and we rarely analyze the causes and discuss it openly, fearing embarrassment or humiliation. It's easier to hide our disappointments and not try than admit that something we tried didn't work.
I think that approach is misguided and a sad way to go through life. Failure happens to all of us. Why push it into our subconscious and pretend it never happened? Our failures are stepping stones that can teach us lessons. The challenge is to enjoy the process, use what we learned and move forward.
A famous Thomas Edison quote says, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Whether or not those were his exact words, his experimental approach to invention illustrates the point. He conducted thousands of experiments and worked on many inventions before developing a commercially practical incandescent lighting system. What others might have considered wasted effort, he treated as part of the process.
People sometimes stop trying because they're exhausted or discouraged, not necessarily because their goal is out of reach. When the going gets tough it’s time to double down or decide if your goal needs to be altered.
Building my first museum was a minefield of rejection, setbacks, and failed attempts. At times, I wondered whether it would ever succeed, especially given Lansing’s political climate at the time. But circumstances change. Politicians change. People gradually begin to understand what I was trying to accomplish, and some become my strongest supporters. That doesn't mean the road got easier. As the museum developed, new obstacles appeared involving permits, financing, and staffing. Just when one problem seemed resolved, another emerged. I remember when a winter storm deposited so much snow, the roof collapsed.
What kept me going were the small victories: the smiles on children's faces when they experienced an “aha!” moment while using one of our hands-on exhibits, and the encouragement of friends who volunteered their time. Those moments made the struggle worthwhile. Eventually, I stopped dwelling on the months when my efforts seemed to accomplish nothing. What I loved most about museum work was making displays that made visitors think. Yet, I soon realized that developing interactive exhibits wasn't the hardest part. It was persuading the public to embrace the idea of a hands-on science museum and getting them to support it.
Years later, I encountered a similar challenge when I began a writing career after retirement. People sometimes asked, “Why bother trying to get published? Write for your own enjoyment. Sure, improve your writing if you like, but don't worry if your books don't sell.” The more I heard this advice, the more determined I became to ignore it. I wasn't writing simply to keep busy and improve my writing skills, yet that was important. I had something to say about the right to clean air, water, and safe food, and wanted people to look at these human rights with fresh eyes.
Environmental concerns are easy to ignore when they compete with the demands of everyday life. Still, I believe our planet needs us to become better caretakers. I’ve read dozens of nonfiction books filled with facts and figures about the problems the earth faces. But facts alone don't necessarily change minds. The question in my mind that keeps me going is much the same as it was when I started a museum: How do I reach people who aren't already interested in the environment or science and persuade them to pay attention?
That’s a puzzle that continues to challenge me. I've learned a great deal about climate change and continue to hone my writing skills, but marketing still drives me crazy. Some independent authors spend tens of thousands of dollars promoting their books. I don't have that kind of money, so I keep looking for other ways to reach readers.
Am I a successful writer? I've won national and international awards, yet I'm still largely unknown. I hear from plenty of people who promise to make my books famous, provided I hire them. Unfortunately, many of these offers come from people more interested in my money than what I'm writing.
I continue to improve my craft and enjoy speaking to reading clubs. But I'll admit that I no longer have the enthusiasm for marketing that I once did. I want to write books that make people think, not spend my days trying to convince them to buy those books. If I don't overcome that reluctance, I can't succeed—or can I? If hundreds of people are enlightened by what they read, is that enough to say I’m successful? Do I need thousands?
That's my story. What's yours?
What have you tried to accomplish that required perseverance in the face of repeated setbacks? Did you pursue a sport when you were younger, only to give up when progress became difficult? Did you start a career believing you would reach the top of the organization, then abandon that ambition halfway through because the sacrifices seemed too great? Or perhaps you pursued a personal dream that others didn't understand.
Did persistence pay off in ways you never anticipated? During the process did your goals change? Did you discover that a different direction made more sense? Perseverance doesn't mean stubbornly pursuing every ambition forever. Sometimes success means recognizing that the path you were on isn’t viable and it’s time to change course.
So what is success? Thomas Edison became a celebrated inventor and businessman whose work helped transform modern life. Winston Churchill, after a long and often turbulent political career, became Britain's wartime prime minister and won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical and biographical writing. Their achievements were monumental. Both men left lasting marks on the world.
Most of us will never receive that level of recognition. We may never become famous, change the course of history, or see our names celebrated in books. But we still set goals, overcome obstacles, learn new skills, and find ways to contribute to the world around us. Those pursuits give meaning to our days. Small victories bring satisfaction. The people we meet on the way, the ideas we share, those we help, and the challenges we overcome can provide more satisfaction than public recognition.
My advice? Don't spend too much time worrying about whether the world considers you successful. Decide what matters to you, pursue it with determination, and take pleasure in the progress you make along the way. Perhaps success isn't reaching a final destination. Perhaps it's having a reason to keep moving forward.
I look forward to your comments below.
Art is always for sale through my web site. Interested in Floating in Space? Go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6696813/floating-in-space#/
References:
Wie.J. (2026). Many Of Life’s Failures Are People Who Did Not Realize How Close They Were to Success When They Gave Up – Thomas A. Edison. DUE. Retrieved from
9/4/2026 3:26:41 PM
THE GREATEST OF MYSTERIES
Where do we come from? What are we?
Where are we going?
Life is a riddle and a mystery.
Mystery, mystery.
The congregation I belong to occasionally sings this song as a round during services. Whenever we do it, the lyrics start me wondering about the universe and my place in it. The questions are as old as humanity itself. Where did we come from? Why are we here? What are we? Where are we going? Does what we do—and the way we live—matter in the greater scheme of things?
For thousands of years, human beings could see only a tiny portion of the universe with their own eyes. They watched the sun cross the sky, the moon change shape, and the stars appear each night. They could not know that the stars were distant suns or that many of those stars were orbited by planets of their own. Today, astronomers have confirmed thousands of planets beyond our solar system, and the Milky Way is thought to contain billions of planets. Yet we still have no evidence that life exists anywhere beyond Earth.
The mystery has changed, but it has not disappeared. Where did we come from? It is a question humans have always struggled with because we seem to have an almost irresistible desire for certainty. Creation myths may have helped people make sense of a world they could not explain. Archaeological discoveries give us glimpses into ancient civilizations and the ways they understood their existence. The details differ enormously, but many creation stories ask the same fundamental questions that science asks today: How did the world begin? What existed before it? And how did we come to be part of it?
The ancient world: In ancient Mesopotamia, the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish begins with primordial waters. The freshwater god Apsu and the saltwater goddess Tiamat give rise to other gods. Eventually, conflict erupts, and the storm god Marduk defeats Tiamat. He divides her body to form the heavens and the earth. Humanity is later created from clay mixed with the blood of a defeated god, with humans given the task of serving the gods.
The story is striking not because it resembles modern cosmology, but because it reflects an ancient attempt to explain how order emerged from chaos.
Hindu traditions offer a very different vision. Rather than describing a single creation followed by a single ending, many Hindu cosmological traditions envision an immense cycle of creation, preservation, destruction, and renewal. Brahma is associated with creation, Vishnu with preservation, and Shiva with destruction and transformation. The universe passes through enormous cycles of time rather than moving along a single, irreversible timeline. One of the most fascinating ideas in Hindu cosmology is that this universe is not necessarily the first—or the last. Creation and destruction are part of a continuing cosmic cycle. That concept has influenced Hindu thought about life, death, and reincarnation, although it would be an oversimplification to say that one creation story alone explains practices such as vegetarianism.
Raven and the creation of the world: The creation stories of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest are many and varied, and they should not be treated as though all tribes share a single mythology. One story that has always fascinated me comes from the Haida tradition.
Raven is a powerful and complicated figure—trickster, transformer, and creator. In one well-known story, Raven discovers the first humans inside a giant clamshell on a beach and coaxes them out into the world. The story was famously interpreted by Haida artist Bill Reid in his sculpture The Raven and the First Men. Other Northwest Coast traditions tell stories of Raven bringing light into a world that was once dark. In Tlingit tradition, for example, Raven releases the sun, moon, and stars that have been kept hidden away.
I include the Raven story for another reason. My partner, a totem-pole and mask carver and I used to tell this particular story when we performed at public gatherings. For me, it is more than an ancient creation myth. It is part of a living cultural tradition that I have had the privilege of encountering personally.
The Abrahamic traditions: The creation stories of Judaism and Christianity are found in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis, over seven days, God creates the heavens and the earth, separates light from darkness, creates the land and seas, vegetation, celestial bodies, animals, and finally human beings. The first humans, Adam and Eve, live in the Garden of Eden until they eat from the forbidden tree and are expelled. Islam also teaches that God created the heavens and the earth six days, but the Islamic creation account as found in the Qur'an varies slightly from the Genesis narrative. There is no day of rest. Creation occurred during six distinct cosmic phases or stages of development. The Qur'an states that time is relative to God and that a 'day" can equal 50,000 years or more. He chose to unfold the universe slowly to establish the laws of nature, cause and effect, and to serve as a lesson in patience for humankind.
A world born from eggs: The creation story in Finland's national epic, The Kalevala, could hardly be more different. Ilmatar, a spirit or maiden associated with the air, descends into the primordial waters. A water bird, often identified as a duck or goldeneye, mistakes her raised knee for a piece of land and builds a nest there. It lays seven eggs—six golden and one of iron. When the heat of the nesting eggs becomes unbearable, Ilmatar moves, and the eggs fall into the sea and break apart. Their fragments become the earth, sky, sun, and moon.
It is a beautiful image: the universe emerging from the broken pieces of eggs. And perhaps that is part of what creation myths do so well. They take something unimaginably large and mysterious and give it a form the human mind can grasp. Despite their differences, these traditions share a profound conviction: the universe is not meaningless. It has an origin, and human beings have a place within a larger order.
The mystery remains: Every culture seems to have wrestled with the same fundamental questions. Today, scientists are approaching those questions from a very different direction. Telescopes allow us to look billions of years into the past. We know that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, and we have compelling evidence that it has been expanding from an extremely hot, dense early state. But the Big Bang theory does not provide a simple answer to the question, "What happened before?” In fact, scientists do not yet know whether that is even a meaningful question in the way we normally understand it. Our current theories can take us astonishingly close to the beginning, but they do not tell us what caused the initial expansion or what, if anything, preceded it. NASA notes that scientists are still unsure what came before cosmic inflation or what powered it.
The mysteries do not stop there. How did the first living organisms arise from nonliving matter? Why did life emerge on Earth? Is life common throughout the universe, or are we extraordinarily rare? We have discovered thousands of planets beyond our solar system, but so far Earth remains the only place where life is known to exist. And then there is perhaps the most intimate mystery of all: How did matter become conscious? We can look outward through increasingly powerful telescopes. We can look backward through the fossil record and the geological history of our planet. We can examine cells, genes, atoms, and galaxies. Yet after all we have learned, we still cannot answer the simplest questions with certainty; Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Does what we do matter?
Perhaps science will answer some of these questions. Perhaps new discoveries will reveal mysteries we cannot yet imagine. Or perhaps the mystery itself is part of what it means to be human.
Where do we come from? What are we?
Where are we going?
Life is a riddle and a mystery.
Mystery, mystery.
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I look forward to knowing what you think about the universe and your place in it. Comment below.
Art is always for sale through my website. https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6655778/the-greatest-of-mysteries#/
Questions? Contact me at [email protected]
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Resources:
Website (2026) Creation Myths Indept.Timeless Myths. https://www.creationmyths.org/#myths
Website (2026) Hindu Creation Story. Holy Cross College. Retrieved from https://college.holycross.edu/projects/himalayan_cultures/2006_plans/sswift/Hinducreationstory.htm
Website. Creation story as told by Charlie Depoe in 1900. Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington. Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/
Website. Spirits of the West Coast Gallery. Retrieved by https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/en-au/blogs/news/the-many-stories-of-raven
Website (2026) Creation, cosmogaphy, and cosmology. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Finno-Ugric-religion/Mythology#ref533361
Website (2026) Can We Find Life? NASA Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/can-we-find-life/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Website (2026) Big Bang. NASA. Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/science-behind-the-discoveries/hubble-big-bang/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Website (2026) Early Universe. NASA. Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/early-universe/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
The breakdown of the six periods comes directly from the Qur'an.
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Why would a God create such a beautiful planet that puts people on it who pollute and deplete its resources? It doesn't make sense. To read about the impact of greed on the lives of ordinary people delve into the Rightfully Mine Series. My books bring to life what happens when people don’t act honestly with compassion, creating a world of suspicion and crime. Is that how you want to live. Like my characters, you can do something about it. Would you like me to give a book talk to your group? Book topics cover water, air and ocean pollution, logging, youth homelessness, and science museums?
To purchase books go to https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Books+by+Marilynne+Eichinger
12/6/2025 10:53:33 AM
AMERICAN BEAUTY. She may be a convincing speaker and attractive to look at, but it doesn't mean she'll be a good leader.
Leadership Is Not About You
Last week, I was invited to speak at an international leadership conference in London. As I considered what to say, I realized how often leadership is presented as a toolkit—team-building frameworks, efficiency metrics, time-management hacks. Useful, yes, but rarely the heart of the matter. What most conversations skip is the simplest, hardest question: How do you make people actually want to follow you?
Mission helps, but it isn’t enough: Managing a nonprofit may seem easier than managing a commercial business because staff usually arrive with a built-in sense of purpose. They want to contribute to the public good. A leader’s job is not to ignite that flame but to keep it burning brightly, ensuring every team member understands the mission well enough to explain it to their family, their friends, and themselves on difficult days.
Founding a nonprofit and growing it by leaps rather than inches is just as challenging as starting a for-profit business. When I started Impression Five Science Museum in Michigan, and later while serving as president of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the obstacles were the same: raising visibility, attracting funding, and navigating a thicket of competition and regulations. Older organizations sometimes feared we would siphon their support when we decided to move and expand. Government rules shifted like sand, forcing us to develop a riverfront walkway that added millions to the cost. To survive, founders need passion deep enough to outlast rejection and skepticism. They must communicate clearly, not just with wealthy donors but with people from every background, and stay open to feedback that reshapes their ideas.
Leadership sets the tone with immediate results: When I first went to city hall in Michigan seeking support for my fledgling museum, the mayor’s executive assistant dismissed me with a curt instruction to “get in a five-year line.” Her posture, her tone, even the set of her face said, Don’t bother. The man at the top was budget-driven and allergic to new ideas. The negativity I felt when entering city hall shifted when a new mayor was elected with a can-do mindset. He listened to constituents’ ideas to improve the community and his energy changed the entire staff’s attitude.
That lesson stayed with me: the person at the top creates the emotional climate for everyone else.
The best leaders don’t stand above, they stand with: After 25 years of running museums, I left to start a national educational products catalog. That’s where I learned that leadership has little to do with hierarchy and everything to do with the daily emotional reality of the workplace. A president may sit at the “head” of an organization, but the real movement comes from the arms, legs, and hands. A good leader keeps the whole system healthy.
For me, that meant helping every person—from janitors to call-center staff—understand why their work mattered. We weren’t shipping toys; we were helping children learn and grow. In December, warehouse staff joked that they were “Santa’s helpers,” and they meant it. Call-center employees took pride in matching products to children’s learning styles. Having a purpose made the work feel meaningful.
Everyone has ideas : Suggestions were welcomed from every corner of the building. Receptionists and warehouse workers are often underemployed but full of insight. When someone brought me an idea, I often asked them to explore it further and report back. More than once, a temporary employee became permanent because they showed initiative and creativity. An assistant bookkeeper asked to organize a safety committee did a fantastic job, perhaps better than asking a manager. It gave her a chance to shine.
We also recognized contributions through PRIDE (People Rising In Doing Excellence) awards. Recipients received a stuffed pride animal on their desk for a week. Colleagues would stop by, curious to hear the story behind it. Anyone could nominate someone else—for helping move boxes, sharing lunch, supporting a colleague who was overwhelmed, or pitching in during a tight deadline. We announced the nominations at executive meetings, with applause, ensuring the quiet acts of kindness and effort were recognized.
Leadership at its core, is about worth: Last year, I visited Santa Fe and met with one of the first people I ever hired—an educator from my Michigan museum fifty years ago. She now owns and operates two art galleries, including one in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Over lunch, she told me a story I had long forgotten. Early in her career, she hesitantly came to my office with an idea for a new program. She expected to be dismissed. Instead, she said, I encouraged her to develop it—and promised to help her find the funds to make it happen.
“That moment changed my life,” she told me. It gave her the courage to pursue her dreams when she moved to New Mexico. When employees feel their work contributes to society, life becomes more meaningful. When they feel respected, heard, and included, they bring their full selves to the task. Leadership is not about the leader’s ego or vision. It’s about creating an environment where others feel valued and purposeful.
Please share your leadership experiences, both good and bad. Both are enlightening and lead to personal growth. Share at
Art is always for sale. AMERICAN BEAUTY's price was reduced for the holiday season. Price includes shipping in continental U.S. Painting is a 40" by 24 " acrylic painting. Purchased online at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1650119/american-beauty#/
Don't know what to give for this holiday. Buy a book. The Water Factor is a thriller based on fact, offering hours of pleasureable reading. The Water Factor is available through Powells Books, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble.
10/18/2025 6:21:02 PM
The Power of Hobbies to Keep You Sane and Why Schools Should Teach More Than Career Skills
During COVID, I took out my frustrations on canvas. Replanting the Garden was painted in May, when people were using their gardens as an escape from isolation with hopes that the pandemic would be short-lived. Flying High was painted in June, when kites were flying, as was the disease. We knew then that an ending wasn't in sight. Painting is one of the activities I use to relieve stress.
Most public schools today focus on preparing students for college, while a few trade schools prepare their students for careers.
While those goals are important, they overlook something equally vital to lifelong well-being: the development of hobbies. When I was a child, hobbies weren’t an afterthought — they were part of daily life. My parents and grandparents set the example. My mother and grandmother taught me sewing, knitting, crocheting, and art. My father took me fishing, played catch during baseball season, and spent weekends golfing. My grandfather, an accomplished photographer, had a darkroom in his basement where magic seemed to happen under the red glow of the safelight.
Throughout my childhood, I took ballet and piano lessons, attended art and craft classes, and went to children’s symphony concerts and plays. I ice skated, played tennis, skied, and rode horses. Some activities stuck; others didn’t. But each experience helped me discover what truly brought me joy.
Today, in retirement, I still write, paint, and stay physically active every day — habits rooted in those early experiences.
Schools also played a role back then. Home economics, shop, and music were required courses, teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing, woodworking, and metalworking. Summer programs kept us busy with crafts and sports. These opportunities weren’t expensive — many were free — and every child I knew participated in something. We weren’t glued to screens or gaming with strangers; we were building skills, confidence, and lifelong passions.
Research backs up what many of us intuitively know. A 2023 study in Nature Medicine found that among 93,000 adults over age 65, those with hobbies reported better health, greater happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher life satisfaction. Another study from Drexel University revealed that just 45 minutes of art-making significantly reduced cortisol levels, a key stress hormone.
Hobbies aren’t mere pastimes — they’re lifelines. Physical pursuits like hiking or dancing improve lung capacity, reduce inflammation, and lift mood. Creative hobbies like painting or woodworking enhance focus, dexterity, and emotional well-being. Above all, they give us purpose — a reason to look forward to each day.
Professionally, hobbies connect us with like-minded people, often easing loneliness and sometimes even leading to career opportunities. They make us more interesting, more balanced, and better equipped to handle stress.
So, how can you find time for hobbies in an already packed life?
- Start small. You don’t need to commit daily — even a few hours a week can make a difference.
- Take mindful breaks. Replace mindless scrolling or TV time with something creative or active.
- Explore. Try something new every few months — a class, a sport, or a craft — and see what resonates.
As the modern workweek continues to shrink and more people work remotely, the need for meaningful engagement outside of work will only grow. Schools, governments, parents, and grandparents can all help by modeling balanced living and ensuring that hobby programs remain affordable and accessible. A society that values both productivity and personal fulfillment is a happier, healthier one. And it begins by teaching children ,not just how to make a living, but how to make a life.
References
Venkat, S.R.(2025) Health Benefits of Hobbies. WebMD.Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/balance/health-benefits-of-hobbies
Wogan, H. (2024) Why having a hobby is good for your brain and body. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/hobby-health-benefits-exercise-art-outdoors
Mak, H. and associates (2023). Hobby engagement and mental well-being among people aged 65 years and older in 16 countries.Nature Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02506-1
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Please start a discussion and share your hobbies below. Have you passed your passion on to the next generation?
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Enjoy my writing. Read the Water Factor available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells Books and aat Annie Blooms Books.
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3/22/2025 3:13:32 PM
MAO
In 1949, Mao Tse-tung proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. He launched his Great Leap Forward campaign that destroyed the agricultural system, causing a famine in which 27 million people starved to death. In 1966, he manufactured a cultural revolution that ordered the closure of schools and sent young intellectuals to the countryside to be re-educated through manual labor. The revolution destroyed much of China’s traditional cultural heritage including books and musical instruments, as well as created economic and social chaos. During this era, Mao’s cult of personality grew to immense proportions.
Love the Uneducated?
During his 2020 victory speech in Nevada, then-president-elect Donald Trump was quoted as saying, “Don’t you just love the poorly educated?” The quote went viral, appearing on t-shirts and bumper stickers. This statement highlights a concerning reality about the relationship between education levels and political manipulation. An NBC opinion poll sheds light on the subject:
- 41% of white men without a college degree supported Trump.
- 1% of white men with a college degree favored him.
- 14% of white women without a degree favored him.
- 28% of white women with a degree opposed him.
- Similar statistics hold for figures like J.D. Vance and Elon Musk.
The reason Trump and others court the uneducated is that they are more susceptible to manipulation and often lack the resources to challenge misinformation. Many of them did not complete high school. As of 2024, 79% of the U.S. population is literate, with 43 million adults considered functionally illiterate. The skill level of 54% of the population is below a 6th-grade level; 20% are below a 5th-grade level. Massachusetts has the highest rate of child literacy, while New Mexico has the lowest. New Hampshire has the highest percentage of literate adults, and California the lowest. The U.S. ranks 36th among nations in literacy—a troubling statistic for a global superpower.
Project 2025 has targeted the Department of Education for elimination, along with cuts to research funding and programs promoting scientific and critical thinking. Historically, dismantling educational institutions and intellectual hubs is a common tactic of authoritarian regimes to consolidate power.
The Department of Education accounts for approximately 4% of the federal budget. Its elimination would negatively impact millions of students, colleges, and universities. Though efforts have been made to weaken the department, it has not yet been entirely dismantled. Federal education funding supports Pell Grants, work-study programs, and student loans. Roughly 28% of its budget is allocated to states, while the remainder supports programs for disadvantaged children from low-income families, students with disabilities, after-school improvement programs, and classroom technology. Contrary to some beliefs, this funding would not simply be transferred to states to use as they see fit. Instead, underfunded schools would suffer even more significant setbacks.
The Republican push to shift education to church-run schools and private equity firms would further exacerbate economic disparities. It would reduce diversity in K-12 classrooms and college dorms while increasing the cost of education, as private entities prioritize profit over equitable access to learning.
Totalitarian governments have historically promoted anti-intellectualism to suppress political dissent. This allows authoritarian leaders to manipulate patriotic fervor, foster intolerance, and spread misinformation unchecked. In communist dictatorships such as Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union and Mao Zedong’s China, intellectualism was seen as a threat to agrarian communism. Hitler’s Third Reich took anti-intellectualism to a sinister level, banning books, controlling artistic expression, and persecuting intellectual dissenters. General Francisco Franco's White Terror from 1936-1939 led to the execution of 200,000 critical and creative thinkers. The Cambodian genocide (1975-1979) under Pol Pot nearly eradicated the country's educated population. Under Trump’s presidency, terms like "fake news" and "alternative facts" became central tools for eroding trust in education and expertise.
Does anyone besides a politician genuinely value the uneducated? While many people without formal education are kind, hardworking, and loving, they are also more vulnerable to misinformation, fear-mongering, and manipulation. Limited access to education often leads to economic hardship, low-paying jobs, and fewer opportunities for upward mobility.
I serve as an "education grandma" to a family whose adults left school after the eighth grade. Their days are spent in low-paying jobs to provide food, clothing, and shelter for the family. Though they love their children, they don't read to them, assist with homework, review report cards, engage with teachers, or discuss personal or current events. The children have little exposure to cultural or community events and rarely spend time in nature. Because their vocabulary is limited, so is their children's. And while love is essential, it alone cannot prepare a child for economic independence and success in America.
I admire this family's courage in fleeing a repressive regime and their work ethic, yet I also struggle with frustration at their reliance on magical thinking. Their situation fills me with sadness, anger, and determination. My goal is to help the children access the opportunities that will lead to fulfilling lives.
Any government that does not make education a top priority is failing its people. Eliminating the Department of Education would only deepen these struggles, leaving millions more vulnerable to systemic disadvantage. Education is not just a pathway to success—it is a safeguard against exploitation.
References:
The Nevada victory speech video at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154493986991509
Schueler, B., Lyon, M., Beiberg, J. (2023) Do state takeovers of school districts work? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/do-state-takeovers-of-school-districts-work/
Website of National Literacy Institute Literacy Statistics 2024-2025. ( Where awe are now) Retrieved from https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-statistics-2024-2025-where-we-are-now
Wise, ALana ( 2020) Trump announces Patriotic Education Commission A largely Political Move, NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2020/09/17/914127266/trump-announces-patriotic-education-commission-a-largely-political-moveSteves, R.\
Steves, R. ( 2019) The story of Fascism: Hitler’s Anti-Intellectualism. Retrieved from YouTube
Butler, D, Thadani., and others. (2025) Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/elon-musk-business-government-contracts-funding/
I look forward to your comments on below.
Art is always for sale. Mao in a 16" x20" mixed media painting on canvas. Available for $595, including shipping. Order on my website ot contact me at [email protected]
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Educate yourself. Stay informed.
Access to clean water cuts to the core of democracy. Access to clean water cuts to the core of democracy. It is being weaponized, pilfered, polluted, traded, and sold at astronomical prices. We need to return water to being a human right and not a commodity.
The Water Factor is a Firebird International Award winner for best dystopian novel and a Literary Titan recipient for best thriller. Though fun to read, it carries a severe message about water scarcity. It is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, and as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Ask your bookstore to order a copy from Ingram. Please leave a review on Amazon after reading.
3/14/2025 6:45:48 PM
The photo is of me drumming during the installation of one of Ray Losey’s Totem Poles. The beat was slow and steady, reverberating throughout the neighborhood.
Entitled Youth? Another Way
I often hear elders say that parents are raising entitled children. They speak of the “me” generation with youth who don’t feel obligated to family, friends, or community. In The Water Factor, I write of a North West Coast Native ceremony that inspires gratitude, generosity, and a sense of community. Though it is an excerpt from my novel, and the setting and names are fictitious, it is a fair representation of how some families integrate children into their tribes. I believe we can learn something from how their children are taught.
NINTH BIRTHDAY
"James was given a tribal name on his ninth birthday. The ceremony became burned in his soul, though its significance changed over the years.
“Why do I need a new name?” he asked his mother. “I already have one.”
“To know your destiny and be connected with your ancestors,” she replied. James had no idea what she meant but was excited when the day came. He hardly touched his oatmeal. He watched his family put towels, bowls, pots, and Hot Wheel cars on green tarps covering the floor of the adjoining room. Sixty white paper bags with food gifts for
their guests were in a row behind the tarps.
“Grab your coat; it’s time to go,” his mother said.
When she called, James was in the middle of the tarp, inspecting toys. He crawled to the other side, shouting, “I don’t want to. You go without me. I promise not to break anything.”
“The gifts are for you to give away.” Without hesitation, his mother picked him up and helped him with his coat.
The longhouse served as a ceremonial gathering place for special events. The cedar logs framed the walls, making the room warm and inviting. The chairs were arranged in a semicircle facing a podium. A man in his thirties sat off to the side behind a large drum.
After their guests had settled, Tahoma-Kiche nodded to the drumbeater, who struck the drum nine times, one beat for each year of James’s life. By the time the shaman joined in, it was quiet. To the cadence of the drum, he uttered chants to purify the proceedings and drive away unclean thoughts. He was followed by elders praying in Sahaprin, their people’s language. Mary Townsend, a teacher at the high school, translated them into English.
The three-hour ceremony was challenging to endure without wiggling. James sat on a high stool up front, draped over his shoulders with an azure blue, hand-made ceremonial blanket. He wondered when his grandfather, Chief Tahoma-Kiche White Bird, would give him his name.
After fidgeting for over an hour, he sat straighter when his grandfather finally said, “Your name shall be the Hokama—the guide. You are a son of the Chekesuwand, a people who will look to you as you grow older. A good name is better to have than anything else in the world. It will let you get into heaven to reunite with your family. When that
happens, Hokama is the name the Creator will ask for.”
James was then escorted around the circle as his Indian name was announced to
the twelve levels of creation and the Creator. From that day on, he was called Hokama when visiting his grandparents.
They returned to his grandparents’ house, where James greeted their guests flanked by his parents. They introduced themselves using their traditional names before giving him their presents.
“Thank you,” he said, accepting the offering. He then scampered to an open spot on the tarp, making sure not to drop it as he set the gift down. Some families gave cash that he turned over to his father, but most carried household items like microwaves, fancy dishes, glasses, beads, fishing rods, and blankets. A few adults brought gifts for the children. Legos, science kits, building blocks, slingshots, and dolls filled half a tarp beside him. His eyes grew wider as the pile continued to grow. It wasn’t long before they ran out of space. The special homemade items included a child-size ribbon shirt, moccasins, and chaps for ceremonial dances.
“It’s time to thank the women who helped organize your birthday celebration, Hokama,” Nani said. She placed a large wa’paas—a traditional cylindrical basket—and a kopek—a long root-digging tool—in his hands to give to the first of four elders.
After they had thanked him, he gave gifts to the five women who cooked for the feast.
“I, too, thank these lmamatúma for their help,” Nani said to those gathered. “Please honor them by eating the fine food they prepared.”
After the meal, Hokama walked gingerly to the middle of the gift pile, careful not to damage anything.
“It’s time to show what a generous boy you are by giving everything away,” his mother whispered. Her eyes twinkled as she spoke to him.
“Everything? Can’t I keep a few?”
“It all has to go—the toys, fishing poles, even the tarps. When you’re older, you’ll understand that you get more back than you give away.”
James had a hard time watching children rush in to grab the money his father scattered. Some of it was fun, however. He laughed at seeing his best friend Freddie’s disappointment as he gave him the ribbon shirt and thanked him for coming. For years, Hokama remembered being upset at giving away the drone he coveted.
The one gift he was allowed to keep was a quarter horse, given to him by his grandparents. It stayed in their barn for him to ride whenever he visited.
His mother tucked him into bed after the guests were gone. “This day is a new time in your life,” she said. “You have a long road to travel before you are a man, but it is important to remember that you are not alone. Many people will help you walk the right road. The people who came to the house today are friends you can depend on.”
From The Water Factor: A Rightfully Mine Novel,
Copyright © 2024 by Marilynne Eichinger
All Rights Reserved.
Access to clean water cuts to the core of democracy. Access to clean water cuts to the core of democracy. It is being weaponized, pilfered, polluted, traded, and sold at astronomical prices. We need to return water to being a human right and not a commodity.
The Water Factor is a Firebird International Award winner for best dystopian novel and a Literary Titan recipient for best thriller. Though fun to read, it carries a severe message about water scarcity. It is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, and as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Ask your bookstore to order a copy from Ingram. Please leave a review on Amazon after reading.
8/12/2023 6:52:46 PM
The Other Oppenheimer
The film Oppenheimer brings back memories of Robert Oppenheimer's brother Frank, a colleague from my days as a museum director. I knew him years after he worked on the nuclear bomb with Robert. Frank started the Exploratorium three years before I incorporated Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing, Michigan in 1972. I met him that summer while my husband worked at Stanford and I toured museums. During our stay, a friend and I went to see the Exploratorium in San Fransico with five children in tow.
I was overwhelmed by the size of the Palace of Fine Arts, the building the science center occupied, but was underwhelmed by the number of exhibits. The building was poorly lit, with interactive displays covering one-third of the floor, with the rest filled with airplanes. As I walked through the hall, I waved my hand through a rock hovering in space above a barrel. The illusion of a floating object became one of the early exhibits I added to my Lansing Museum.
Frank greeted me in a trailer office in the center of the building. It was the only place that was heated and air-conditioned. He was perched like a bullfrog on the seat of his chair, squatting the whole time we talked. Our conversation was animated as we discussed interactive teaching methods and lamented the difficulty of raising money for our ventures.
After spending a pleasant morning, I was horrified to find I had locked my keys inside my car. Frank saved the day by inserting a wire under the rubber at the top of the window and pulling up the lock, a feat impossible today. Over the next eighteen years, until his death, our paths crossed often at conferences, meetings, and workshops.
Frank Oppenheimer was a nuclear physicist who became a science center director by chance after being blacklisted for belonging to the communist party. Banned from university positions, he sold an inherited Van Gogh painting to purchase a ranch in Colorado. He was an angry, confused, unhappy man until McCarthyism ended and a local school lost its physics teacher. The administration begged him to take the position, and a new life took off.
Frank turned their poorly attended science class into a top contender at the Colorado State Fair. His teaching methods ensured that pedantic material came alive, making the bored children of ranchers into student scientists. From teaching high school, he went to the University of Colorado, where he returned to particle physics research and taught, but his interest in science education never wavered. It led to his developing a "Library of Experiments" for educators. With new these new methods in hand, he made his dream of starting a science center a reality by founding the Exploratorium in 1969.
Three years later, when I became involved, there were fewer than twenty science centers sprinkled across the U.S. Only sixty-five of us attended the first Association of Science and Technology Center (ASTC) gathering. With National Science Foundation funding, the fledgling group started when the American Association of Museums (now the Alliance) wouldn't recognize our centers as worthy of membership. The snub disappeared a few years later as the number of science centers, natural history museums, children's museums, and nature centers with interactive displays grew into the thousands.
Our group of newbies looked up to Frank, who played an important leadership role in the development of hands-on learning in museums. We were a heady group of quasi-fanatics who attended workshops organized by the Exploratorium. There we complained about public school teaching, about how children were required to memorize science from textbooks. And, we weren't happy with the push-button, copy-heavy commercialism of the twelve major science museums, including those in Philadelphia, Chicago, and L.A.
Frank was a Renaissance man promoting art and science and touting aesthetics, engineering, and technology as necessary elements for creative outcomes. Exploratorium displays weren't in fancy cabinets. Yet they were sophisticated and built solidly. Their construction shop was open to the public to peer inside. If you ever played with a pin screen and made the pins pop up in the shape of your hand, you participated in a display by an artist funded by the Exploratorium. A few years later, a toy company illegally flooded the market with copies of the artist's creation.
We shared ideas with Exploratorium staff and discussed ways of making thought-provoking problem-solving exhibits that wouldn't fall apart when thousands of hands played with them. Frank never pushed ideas on us but rather opened opportunities for discussion. With my psychology background, I shared that children approached exhibits fearlessly, without reading instructions, while their timid parents read every word we put out. Our goal was to make the instructions more intuitive than lengthy while providing in-depth information to adults who didn't mind reading.
Frank's struggles were many, and his perseverance was admirable. His journey is one of twelve biographies included in Lives of Museum Junkies, a book I wrote about the trendsetters of the science museum movement. Frank was among us not knowing how to run a public institution. We learned the hard way how to attract volunteers, assure public safety, make dispids on the cheap, and manage our boards.
Building a museum from the ground up is expensive. We were poor and had to become handshaking fundraisers. Impression 5's museum suffered by not having air-conditioning during boiling hot summers. Visitors to the Exploratorium needed hand warmers and overcoats during winter excursions.
Before the pandemic, the science centers and museums that were part of ASTC reported an annual attendance of over 62 million visits, with another 10.1 million people served in off-site events and programs such as school outreach. Those numbers plummeted during COVID and still haven't grown to pre-pandemic levels.
Lives of Museum Junkies candidly addresses the mistakes we made and gives a behind the scene look at the challenges of running a public institution. Passionate and naive, we plodded along, working long hours to ensure our institution's success. I say "naively" because many of us might not have started our projects if we knew what lay ahead.
I updated Lives of Museum Junkies to cover the trials brought about by COVID-19. It was a terrible time of closures when centers had to be inventive to survive. Every museum director included in the book tells a unique story. Though I'm definitely biased, I think you'll find the stories inspiring. If you purchase from Amazon, please write a review. Though the first edition had dozens of positive reviews, they didn't transfer to the second edition's sale page. I need at least twenty-five more to ensure that these stories will inspire future generations to follow their passions.
Questions about museums? Contact me at [email protected].
Please share your science center experiences below.
6/24/2023 10:37:51 AM
SHOCKED
I Don’t Understand You!
Though language is constantly evolving, I don't always like it. But to understand what young people are saying, I’m forced to stay up with the times. I'm not talking about slang. I'm talking about losing the good old common words I grew up with.
Adapting to change, whether language, fashion, or climate, creates problems in every generation. A cheater was originally an officer who looked after the king's escheats-the land that returned to the Crown when an owner died without heirs. Today, a cheater refers to a gamester, swindler, or unfaithful spouse. In the 1300s, naughty people had naught (nothing). They were needy and poor. It was in the 1400s that the meaning shifted to being morally wrong or wicked, indicating that the person was worth nothing. My grandmother used to ask if I fell off the roof when she wanted to know if I was menstruating. I didn’t understand her when she asked me that question. To her, cool was the temperature desired for a hot summer’s drink and had nothing to do with her having a risk-taking son you thought of as cool.
I wasn't happy when the homosexual community took over gay. I like that word. There was a time the word was used to express a sparkling sense of happiness and joy. Today it's only uttered when speaking of same-sex partners. I was concerned when the LGBTQ+ community repurposed the use of rainbow by putting it on their flag in 1994. I'm glad it's still acceptable to use rainbow when the ark of the color spectrum mystifies our sky.
The English language evolved slowly in the past, but in our generation, technology spurred a dash to change meanings. Canceled once meant to disregard or terminate, as in "I canceled my subscription." The word now refers to people who have lost popular support, especially for having done something racist, sexist, manipulative, or violent. Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey are examples of people referred to as canceled.
As a writer, I find using pronouns such as they and them to describe non-binary people confusing. Who decided it was okay to use them to describe an individual when they have historically been used to describe a group? "They (the individual) stood out when they (the group) walked into the concert hall together." I wish someone with imagination would coin a new word.
In the 1960s, during the woman’s movement, safe space was used to imply physical distance from men and patriarchal thought. In the 2010s, safe spaces became places where individuals could express themselves without fear of being challenged because of sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, cultural background, age, or physical or mental ability. The University of Chicago told 2016's incoming first-year students that they don't "condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from thoughts and ideas at odds with their own.” Critics consider safe spaces on campuses a way of retreating from differing opinions.
I grew up with fairy tales about trolls under bridges waiting to pounce on unsuspecting travelers. Today's internet trolls start arguments or try to upset people online to sow discord. Trolls use inflammatory messaging for personal amusement or political gain. Trolls are now known to swarm websites to put an end to honest discussions and to outnumber those who disagree with them.
Woke became popular in the Black Lives Matter movement following the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Social media posts initially used #StayWoke regarding police brutality and racism. Though people still say, She woke me up, and I woke up coughing, the word has more facetious meanings. "I drank lots of coffee to stay woke.” For the left, Woke is a good word that describes someone politically savvy, especially regarding racism, sexism, and classism. On the right (and to some on the far left), it’s used negatively to describe ideas, viewpoints, and policy changes they believe would radically and negatively alter society. They see it as a power play that removes their rights, freedoms, and autonomy. Intellectuals see people who are not “work” as true critical thinkers.
I am an avid cloud watcher, especially when driving through high deserts or prairie lands that provide a more incredible view of the sky. I keep a chart in my car to identify the different types of clouds. These masses of condensed vapor suspended in the atmosphere tell me whether or not to carry an umbrella. To my grandchildren, growing up in cities, the cloud is a place on the internet for processing and storing documents and data. I doubt they go outside in the morning to see if rain clouds are on the horizon.
Yesterday, I picked up a pot by its handle, nearly spilling its contents because it was hot. Today's handle is my screen name, the moniker I use on the internet. I often follow people by subscribing to their updates on social media. Sometimes I give a bump to their post by adding a new comment to their thread. There was a time when I followed behind my husband when hiking. I was careful not to bump into him, fall, or rip my jeans since I didn't pack a needle and thread.
Many young people aren't concerned about word usage. Rather than text their thoughts, they rely on images that portray emotions. I happen to like written responses to my writings. They are fun to reply to and often the start of a stimulating discussion. More frequently, however, my inbox is filled with shortcut emojis that aren't intellectually challenging.
References:
Barrow, J (2019) 10 Words Transformed by the 2010s. ALTA Language Services. retrieved from https://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/10-words-transformed-by-the-2010s/
Law. W. (2022)English words That Have Completely Changed Meaning, Culture Try. Retrieved from
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/articles/10-english-words-that-have-completely-changed-meaning/
Dewey, C. (2015) 24 words that mean totally different things now than they did pre-Internet. Washington Post. retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/10/15/24-words-that-mean-totally-different-things-now-than-they-did-pre-internet/
Art is always for sale. SHOCKED is a mixed-media framed painting on canvas. It is 23" x 18" and available shipped to your home for $650. For questions, contact me at [email protected]I
Do comment on my blog site below It is great to hear your reasons for liking or not liking a particular blog.
1/7/2023 11:21:46 AM
Eastern Oregon Contemplative
Traveling east from Portland reminds me that nothing stays the same. Seasons change along with the landscape. The city gives way to fields and the cliffs turn into mountains. As I ride east, I question my preference for open quiet spaces as opposed to high-rise apartments, shops, museums, and honking cars. Where should I live the rest of my life? I'm bothered by housing encroaching on nature and homeless tents cluttering city streets. Swimming through the thorny issues of the century is not easy.
Today's Educated Person
Happy New Year Folks! I am sorry not to have wished you good tidings last week, but I've been in bed with the flu. Gratuitously, it gave me time to think.
The Times They Are A-Changin' were words written by Bob Dylan in a song released in 1964. The first and third stanzas follow:
1.
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin
3.
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'
There is a lot of wisdom in Dylan's lyrics. He warns that parents who don't keep up with the times should get out of the way of their children. He tells prophets not to speak too soon, for the losers of today may be winners in the future.
With this in mind, how does one stay abreast of change as we age? As we continue to learn, will we evolve with the times so that we don't become dinosaurs? In an epoch where information is available at the click of a button, one might imagine it would be easy. Unfortunately, the click can lead to misinformation or partial truths that must be sorted through. More than ever, we are required to be actively involved in the learning process. The information we read or listen to has to be sifted through filters before it becomes meaningful. People like you and me may have the skills but lack the fortitude to examine our personal attitudes and values before passing judgment on what is new. It is a way to stay motivated and open to change so we won't wallow in the past.
Most of my readers are lifelong learners. If they miraculously returned to high school, their teachers would help them adapt to a life of change by showing them how to explore connections along with factual information. Today's educators see the physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being of their students as important factors in the search for meaningful relationships with others, ideas, and the environment. They view the education process as an ecosystem composed of complex parts that impact one another.
It begins with having a positive sense of identity that is connected to the land, language, cultures, and values before exploring the impact of technology and the environment on the future. Self-understanding provides context as research and information are evaluated. It empowers the student to examine how they fit into the new world order.
Change in the political climate, brain research, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence won't make sense if you can't understand how it will affect you. and your family. Adaptation requires thinking outside the box. It may mean reevaluating social justice issues and innovative technologies to see if they are in line with your values and perceptions. If they aren't, you will find yourself under a great deal of stress until you change your thinking or move to a community more compatible with your beliefs. Society will not return to the way it was when you were a child. Those who can't change to meet the present are burdened. Their complaints add stress to their days.
My way through turmoil is to embrace the notion of continuous self-exploration. I have values that I hold sacrosanct and use to evaluate the new world order. When they conflict, I shift my thinking a bit left or right and become involved with like-minded people who want change that will work for a burgeoning population with shifting needs due to climate change. An educated person is challenged to return balance to his or her thoughts while living out his or her days. Doing so is like undertaking a jigsaw puzzle. It is fun if there aren't too many pieces to overwhelm you.
Do share your thoughts on my blogsite below.
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Eastern Oregon Contemplative/ 21"by 25" framed acrylic painting/ $485 shipped free in the continental U.S.
References:
The Times They Are A-Changin' I The Official Bob Dylan Site. retrieved from https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/times-they-are-changin/
ECE website, Reasons for Change. Education, Culture and Employment. retrieved from https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/en/services/renouveau-en-education-aux-tno/reasons-change
Teaching for Change website. retrieved from https://www.teachingforchange.org/about/what-we-do
10/14/2022 6:14:42 PM
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
The riverfront museum I opened thirty years ago.
Impression 5, the museum I founded in Michigan celebrated its fiftieth year. Both passages are hard to believe.
Wading Through Complex Thoughts
Analyzing your way through complex situations is not easy. On a rainy day in 1972, I was in Lansing, Michigan with four rowdy children and challenged with keeping them from tearing the house apart. So, I started a science museum in my basement. There were only twelve science centers in the United States. Exhibits were push-button displays that mixed chemicals and asked yes and no questions. Fanciful walk-through hearts on Oregon, descent in into the depths of a coal mine in Chicago, fighter jets, and locomotives in Philadelphia covered the floors. What they lacked were interactive activities that called on visitors to experiment and think. A white paper was written that pointed fingers at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry for being a pawn of corporate Industry.
Public education was also under attack for the way children were held hostage for hours each week. Being pinned to their seats and made to memorize historical facts and formulas was not the way to inspire minds to greatness. John Holt, Howard Gardner, Piaget, and A.S. Neil were among those promoting child-centered ways, age-appropriate ways of teaching.
The table-top exhibits built in the basement of my home with my son recognized that children were not little adults but instead were youngsters with unique ways of learning. Science, engineering, and psychology professors at Michigan State University contributed exhibits and guided me through the learning process. The scientific method became my platform for conceiving interactive displays.
Scientists approach problems through a seven-step process: make an observation, ask a question, from a hypothesis or testable explanation, make a prediction based on the hypothesis, test the prediction, and use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions. It is the way research progresses.
This way of thinking made sense to me and today is embedded in my psyche as a way to tackle life’s problems and idiosyncrasies. When ASTC, the Association of Science and Technology Centers started, there was an explosion of science centers throughout the world. I suddenly had colleagues and reached out to seven small museums, including OMSI and the Pacific Science Center to secure a National Science Foundation grant to study visitor interaction with displays that solved problems. We built exhibits that traveled to each other’s sites. Our staffs met to study hands-on education philosophies and to critique how we tackled interactive construction.
We, and the other science centers introduced visitors to computers, technological innovations, and discoveries in genetics, and bio-engineering. What we learned by experimenting with hands-on learning techniques, was incorporated into teacher education and outreach programs. Our museums became a model for the free school movement. They were places where visitors moved freely through displays, learning in their own way, at their own pace.
You might ask, why I am saying something about this now. I am still involved with the education of young children and am more concerned than ever. Reliance on the computer for teaching has gone ballistic. Children no longer see that moss prefers to grow on North-facing surfaces. They don’t know how to use a hammer and nails to build a birdhouse. Teens don’t know how to change the oil in their car or sew a seam on a dress. They don’t have the patience to build a balloon-powered card using cardboard and bottle caps to see how far it will go. They are too hyper to start a grow box and watch the way seeds turn into plants. They would rather play computer games than construct a solar oven to cook marshmallows, one that introduces them to thermal energy, reflection, and convection.
All museum activities were designed to help young experimenters question and think. They required patience, dexterity, and a willingness to try and at times fail. These are basic requirements that adults as well as children need to have to conduct their lives.
When I moved to Oregon to run a science museum with greater resources, I was more determined than ever to show visitors how the scientific method is useful when tackling everyday problems. We built a new waterfront museum where people could satisfy their curiosity by conducting experiments on the floor of the exhibit halls. When designing Busy Town for young children, for example, we included a component for parents that focused them on observing their children so they could question their preconceived ideas about the way they learned.
As the world grapples with environmental change, economic challenges, and pandemics, we need clear minds, and a citizenry willing to dig into issues and think problems through. Analyzing these issues can be great fun if we put our heads to it. It calls for more feet on the ground stomping through communities and parkland. It means putting more hands on binoculars, hammers, saws, needles, and thread as a complement to eyes on the computer screen. It requires reading, discussing, arguing, and coming to conclusions you are willing to test. The scientific method provides a way to proceed. If you practice solving little problems, the large ones will fall into place.
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Art is always for sale. Check out my new cart-enabled website eichingerfineart.com to purchase the painting of OMSI or any other that tickles your fancy.
Please share your thoughts on below. Do you spend hours on the computer without remembering that there is a physical world outside filled with beauty?
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To read about the development of hands-on science centers and get a glimpse of what goes on behind the staff doors in a museum, you can purchase Lives of Museum Junkies, available online and in stores in paperback and ebook editions. Go to https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Museum-Junkies-Marilynne-Eichinger/dp/0999892223
5/28/2022 1:50:07 PM
Renaissance Woman
She focuses one eye to the world and the other to her thoughts.
The Depth and Breadth of Renaissance Minds
Leonardo da Vinci was not only a painter and sculptor, he was an animal lover who challenged the morality of consuming meat and was probably a vegetarian. When a child, he would purchase caged birds and set them free. He is also described as an accomplished singer and composer who was talented on the lyre. As though that was not enough to fill his plate, da Vinci worked as a military architect and engineer for Cesare Borgia. After moving to France at the age of 60 due to political upheavals in Milan, his days were consumed with scientific projects.
Da Vinci was not a self-promoter, an oligarch, or a politician. He pursued knowledge for its own sake and was a jack of all trades, mastering them all. His accomplishments were incredible for having been born an illegitimate child, though recognized by his father, Se Piero, a wealthy Florentine notary. As a boy, his education was spotty, and though he learned the basics and taught himself Latin, much of his learning occurred after the age of thirty when he devoted himself to mathematics. Da Vinci's busy mind was often occupied with scientific research and engineering to the exclusion of art.
Leonardo da Vinci is considered the first Renaissance Man, a concept that defines a person as being multi-faceted and able to see the world in ways that are beyond the minds of those locked in a single focus. Thinking about him always makes me wonder where his thirst for knowledge came from and who might be compared to him today.
Elon Musk is among those suggested as contemporary renaissance men. As an internet-savvy youth, he co-founded x.com, a company that transitioned into PayPal. But instead of staying with making online innovations, he founded Space-X a privately-funded rocket that put a satellite in orbit and docked the Space-X Dragon with the International Space station. Musk founded Tesla Motors and is credited with the initial idea for SolarCity, the largest solar provider in the U.S. Musk is concerned about three existential threats to humanity; falling global birthrates, artificial intelligence going wrong, and the rise of religious extremism. As an entrepreneur and innovative engineer, he likes to be known as a patron of the arts. He put out a call on Twitter for his new Tesla Factory in Germany. However, since he is not a master of the art himself, I don't consider him and true Renaissance Man.
In my search for Renaissance people, I investigated individuals who look through fractured lenses to see the world in its multi-faceted complexity. These people embraced a lifelong practice of learning that leds to excellence and mastery in a variety of fields. Their special blend of physical, mental, and emotional skills produces extraordinary self-knowledge. They are people who dared to follow their dreams and live life fully.
Following are a few of my favorites.
Albert Einstein remained an individualistic thinker throughout his 80 years. As a brilliant scientist and mathematician, he was responsive to society and the causes of humanity. Einstein transformed our understanding of Nature on every scale, both large and minuscule. The Theory of Relativity, consider his crowning glory, and years of work at Princeton, provided the underpinning for advances in electronics, nuclear power, and space travel. But science wasn't his only interest. He was an accomplished violinist, a philosopher, a poet, and had a strong interest in politics. Einstein is recognized as having been a "true citizen of the world…who reminded us that the teaching of the humanities was more important for the preservation of our culture than just dry specialized knowledge." Einstein wrote, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."
Noam Chomsky, born in 1928 is sometimes called the father of modern linguistics. He is also an analytic philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist who wrote more than 100 books on spacing topics from linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. He says his path started by improvising the sounds of his favorite piano composers. He believes that the arts should be part of everybody's education. He gives an excellent YouTube lecture about Artistic Creativity.
Mae Jemison known as a physician, engineer, entrepreneur, writer, and teacher, is also an artist. In college she choreographed a performing arts piece called Out of the Shadows, bringing attention to the African American experience. Early in her medical career, she worked with the Peace Corps and later started her own practice. She was the first African American woman to travel to space as a Nasa astronaut and later appeared on an episode of Star Trek. After leaving NASA she taught environmental studies at Dartmouth and directed the Jemison Institute for Advanced Technology in Developing Countries. Jamison is a person who learns from everywhere. In 1990, after moving her work to Cornell University, she wrote her first children's book, Find Where the Wind Goes." Jemison gives an inspiring TED talk on YouTube about teaching the arts and sciences together. She stresses the necessity for both creativity and scientific investigation in our lives.
Before his death, Steve Jobs wrote, "You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
I agree with his thoughts. Trust what you love and find the thing or things that make your heart sing. Bring art and science together for a rich life.
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Please share your thoughts on my blog site about those you consider to be Renaissance Men and Women. Renaissance Woman is 43" by 23", three-dimensional mixed media with acrylic paints available for $785.
Art is always for sale. Go to marilynne@eichingerfine art with your questions.
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References:
Stewart, J. & Cole, M. (2022) 14 Facts about the Original Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci, My Modern MET. retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/leonardo-da-vinci-facts/.
Website" Einstein-HyperHistoryretrieved from EINSTEIN
Connolly, M. (2021) 5 Key Values of a Modern Day Renaissance Woman, Is This You? Neways. Women in Leadership. retrieved from WOMAN.
Morgia, L. Mae Jemison: the power of developing multifaceted Skills. Ness Labs. retrieved from JEMISON.
2/12/2022 12:54:11 PM
Elaine Most Pensive
What does she think? Questions around the meaning of life or about a math problem she has yet to solve? Does she crave time at the gym or does she wish she was at home reading a book? Is she wondering what to plant in her garden or is she trying to figure out why her friend is so depressed?
A Ninth Intelligence?
Is there such a thing as an existential, spiritual, moral Intelligence? Harvard Professor of Cognition and Education, Howard Gardner, says it is worth considering. He defines it as “the ability to be sensitive to, or have the capacity for conceptualizing or tackling deeper or larger questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why are we born, why do we die, what is consciousness, or how did we get here.”
It was in 1983 that Gardner coined the concept of Multiple Intelligence in his book Frames of Mind. He wrote of intelligence as “biopsychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture,” —a mouthful, for sure.
Gardener identified eight intelligences: logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. For example, logical-mathematical intelligence is applied to individuals who are sensitive to logical or numerical patterns and can handle long chains of reasoning. Their ideal career is as scientist, mathematician, computer analyst, or accountant. Linguistic intelligence may lead to being a lawyer, author, speaker, curator, or journalist. Gardener suggests human beings possess all eight of these intelligences to varying degrees of proficiency, and that they are capable of being observed and measured.
His theory had a profound impact on education. It inspired teachers to explore new ways of teaching aimed at the different intelligences, though linguistic and logical-mathematical remained the most valued in school and society. But, it’s wise to consider a variety of mental strengths individuals possess for everyone doesn’t fit into those two categories.
Cognitive psychologists who criticize his theory say the idea of a single general intelligence is supported by years of giving intelligence tests. Gardner doesn't dispute their claims but insists overall intelligence is but one measurement equal in weight to the other intelligences. n other words, some people are generalists while others are not, but a multiple intelligence framework is a fairer test of ability than IQ tests measuring one aptitude.
In 2011, Gardner wrote of other possible categories, among them, spirituality, existential, and moral intelligence. Typically the purview of religious leaders like the Dali Lama, these intelligences ponder questions of human existence. They are wondering, cosmic, and metaphysical smart people who question who we are and what our purpose is.
Though Gardner didn’t add these intelligences to his original eight, he made an interesting observation recently. There was a sudden uptick in the number of inquiries he received about existential intelligence and he wondered why? He writes that the trend started in 2016 when Donald Trump raised worries about the threats to democracy, decency, and other values people hold dear and that spiritual concerns escalated in a world unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.
When long-term plans had to be scuttled and daily routines altered with no end in sight, it sent people into crisis mode. They began asking the big questions, the kind they pondered as children, confronting issues around life and death. Some wondered if contracting COVID was a message sent from heaven.
I too ask questions about the meaning of life but conclude there is no hidden message or reward from having COVID. Like in Camus’ book The Plague, pandemics come and go without reason. The only choice we have is to make meaning out of the time we spend on earth. What type of person do you want to be? How do you want to act towards living things that inhabit the earth with you? With compassion and decency or hatred, destruction, and rudeness?
These are questions that matter a great deal to me. They guide how I use various intelligence strengths to mold me into the person I want to be. ________________________________________________________________________
Would you like to take a Multiple intelligence test? go to https://www.idrlabs.com/multiple-intelligences/test.php. IDRlams.com conducts individual differences research around the world. The test is in the middle of the page. It asks you to rate 45 preferences and scores where you stand with each intelligence.
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Art is always for sale.. Contact me at [email protected].
Elaine Most Pensive— 32” x 32” acrylic painting/ $799.
References:
Cherry, K. (2020) Howard Gardner Biography and Theories. Verywell Mind. retrieved https://www.verywellmind.com/howard-gardner-biography-2795511
Marenus,M. (2020) Gardner’s theory of Mutiplue Intelligences. SimplyPsychology. retrieved from A Ninth Intelligence?https://www.simplypsychology.org/multiple-intelligences.html
Clarken. R. (2012) Howard Gardener on Spiritual, Existential, and Moral Intelligence. the Clarken Chronicles.retrieved from https://rodclarken.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/gardener-on-spiritual-existential-and-moral-intelligence/
Gardner, H. (2020) A Resurgence of Interest in Existential Intelligence: Why Now?
Howard Gardner. https://www.howardgardner.com/howards-blog/a-resurgence-of-interest-in-existential-intelligence-why-now
I look forward to your comments below.
Art is always for sale. contact me at [email protected].
3/6/2020 4:23:17 PM
The Estate (Sold)
While I created homes on my easel, Steve Johnson built structures on his computer. Our hobbies evolved as we sold our creations.
Steve Johnson - Hopscotch in the Age of Bots
He discovered his passion, not once, not twice, but many times over the course of his 62 years. What fascinates me is how Steve Johnson, former NBA All-Star, grabbed on to his dreams and turned his enthusiasm into paying ventures.
Being the third of six children in a family headed by a disabled vet on disability and a school bus driving Mom was not easy. They were poor, and lived in a cinderblock apartment house in Watts, California, with bars on the windows and the sound of gunshots outside the front door. They luckily moved to San Bernardino one year before the Watts riots.
Mom was a Seventh Day Adventist who insisted her children attend private Adventist school and attend prayer meetings several evenings a week. Dad buried himself in their garage practicing for hours in his music studio though according to Steve, he never managed to play one song all the way through. He insisted his children play an instrument and though Steve could play several horned instruments by ear, he never took to it. He had other things on his mind, especially after discovering his first passion.
When fourteen, his father took him to watch his cousin in a practice basketball game in L.A. At the end of the game he was introduced to the man who later become his coach. That evening his cousin joined the family for dinner. The boys went to a playground afterwards to shoot baskets. His cousin showed him a few moves and advised him to learn the hook shot, advice that took. It made him unstoppable on the court. By the end of that eventful day, Steve knew what his future would be.
Academically he was an underachiever. School didn’t interest him so he struggled. But, he was a thinker and a planner capable of developing goals. He challenged himself immediately.
- Get to a public school
- Get noticed in high school and receive a scholarship to college
- Become an All American
- Be a first round NBA draft pick
- Become an All Star.
His first goal was the most difficult to achieve. Since Adventists didn’t play team sports, he had to battle his parents over leaving school for an out of district public education. He ran away several times hoping to establish residency but failed repeatedly. It wasn’t successful until the summer before his senior year when a man recommended by the high school coach let him stay in a condemned house that he used a coat hanger to enter. To eat, he pilfered food and items he could sell, avoided prostitutes and the gambling room at the back of his house, and convinced the board of education to let him transfer in despite a ruling that kept seniors from doing so. That fall, without ever having played on a team, the coach let the 6’10” athlete join his. Half way through the season the starting center was hurt. Steve played in his place, made 25 points, and earned a permanent spot in the game. During the rest of the season he stacked up enough points for six colleges to show interest.
Steve chose Oregon State University and played basketball for four years under Naismith Hall of Fame coach, Ralph Miller. As a record breaking athlete he became All-American and PAC-10 Player of the Year in 1981, eventually being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.
Upon graduation, Steve was the seventh pick in the first draft of the NBA. Over the course of his career he played for Kansas City Kings, The Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics and The Portland Trail Blazers. Ten years later Steve was ready to retire after living with the pain caused by years of wear and tear on his feet.
In retirement he undertook several entrepreneurial ventures, that flourished and sputtered in the recession of 2008. He remained self-confident and driven and stayed focused on the idea of being successful-this time, as a businessman. His present undertaking fascinates me for it shows what a person can do who is willing to take a calculated risk and embrace change. His passion started with a computer came he played for fun. He became as absorbed in this new hobby as he did playing basketball.
Not a strong reader, Steve relies on YouTube Videos to teach him what he wants to know. He sees himself as a self-taught natural problem solver who knows how to mine and analyze social media for data. He is a planner and a goal setter who doesn’t give up.
The Sims is a computer game that allows players to explore a digital world where they buy property, design and build houses, and furnish them to their taste. When the game became internet connected, players could communicate and share information but The Sims had drawbacks. Steve's son introduced him to Second Life, a more sophisticated game offering better tools and a marketplace for players to sell their designs. One day, with the help of his Avatar, Steve took a world tour and discovered a man building virtual boats. Rather than pay $40 to purchase the design, Steve started building his own yacht. When the president of Christensen Yachts discovered similarities to their boats, Steve was given permission to use their name. His virtual yachts sold for $175.
Millions of dollars are spent and made on simulation games. Some players move on to well paying jobs in the real world. Virtual players become racers, drone and robot operators, marketers and fashion designers. Many tech companies are attracted to entry-level job candidates who cite playing or developing video games as a hobby. According to Ashley Deese of the Smithsonian Institution’s science education center in D.C., “They (gamers) tend to be problem solvers, organized, and adaptable.” Law student Aylmer Wang, said gaming taught him “leadership, entrepreneurialism, dedication and organization.” Gamers are motivated and determined says Christopher McKenna, head of a student recruiting for the law firm Bennett Jones LLP.
During the 2008 recession Steve realized that when the economy returned, yachting would not be the same. New customers with money would come from high tech, yet they were unaware of yachting. Rather than purchase boats, Steve imagined them more willing to charter them. The going rate to charter a 100 to 160 foot yacht is between $100,000 and 300,000 a week, plus expenses. There was money to be made and he wondered how to turn his hobby into a lucrative business in the real world.
Under the name of Monaco Yachts, Steve created virtual experiences for potential customers by placing them on yachts and take them to places they might visit on a chartered boat. Final contracts are often signed at yachting conventions taking place around the world. His web site, yachtinglifestyle365 is basically a marketing brochure--a very successful one that writes about the yachting lifestyle.
Steve's story is an example of why our current system of education needs to be improved to help students survive in the age of bots. Workers of the future will need to be flexible, team oriented, determined and confident of their ability to learn on their own. They will skills that enable them to adapt to change and hopscotch across occupations.
A goal of the education system should be to help students find their passion. To do so, vocational options, exercise, crafts, the arts, and computer games need to be blended with academics to insure graduates develop meaningful leisure time activities. High school students should leave with enough self-esteem to enable them to shift confidently as the economy changes. Letting students pursue activities they passionately embrace, teaches them what is involved in setting goals, acquiring skills, and achieving a modicum of success.
Resources:
Needleman S. (2019) When a Passion for Videogames Helps Lad a Job. Wall Street Journal. retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-a-passion-for-videogames-helps-land-that-job-11551888001
Molloy,D.(2019) How playing video games could get you a better job. BBC News. retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49317440
Please share your thoughts about education on my blog site.
2/20/2020 10:03:15 PM
The Firmament
Order out of Chaos
Resilience in the Age of Bots
Last year I ran a booth at Shift Music Festival called “Do you need a Mother?” I was available for counseling and was visited by dozens of distraught party goers. One common theme revolved around employment. Recent college graduates, burdened by debt, found the only jobs offered were as baristas or Amazon drivers. Those in their forties were either being laid off or were burnt out by repetition and six day work weeks. Last newsletter talked about post secondary school training and the curriculums offered as paths to employment. Unfortunately they do not always lead to jobs. Packaged computer programs replace IT staffs, internet selling closes walk-in stores, and the world wide web makes it easy to hire accountants , legal assistants, and call center operators for low wages in distant lands. Automation and robots have replaced manual workers on assembly lines and self driving cars and drones will soon put millions of truck and taxi drivers out of work.
The next generation will need to be resilient and capable of reimagining themselves many times over in order to survive well. Educators and parents will have to rethink their children’s education to help them cope in the age of bots. With resilience the goal, traits, such as curiosity, will need to be encouraged. Insuring that each child finds at least one activity that engages them passionately will help them learn to focus, be persistent in the face of failure, and be willing to learn. It will develop self-confidence and stimulate pleasure endorphins. Passionate engagement stays remembered in children’s psyche so, that as adults, they want to recreated the same feelings. Over the next several weeks, I will share stories of people raised in such a way that they adapted to today’s marketplace by following their passion.
Dan Stueber - Beginnings
Dan, the eldest of three children, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was raised by parents who were attentive to his personality and interests, but were strict in their assumption of how a young boy should act. They expected him to put effort into whatever task he undertook. Though supportive of their child’s interest in learning an instrument (piano at seven), they were not musically inclined. It was his aunt who inspired the fledgling musician with her beautiful voice.
A neighboring family introduced Dan to drumming, the instrument that became his passion. He started playing at the age of ten and continued for sixty years. As a delightful young drummer he was rewarded with solos that helped build self-esteem.
Dan was an adequate student unable to engage in sports due to asthma. As a result, music occupied much of his life. Taking drum lessons and purchasing quality instruments was expensive. His parents said they would pay for the lessons, but he had to earn money for the instruments. That meant, becoming entrepreneurial while in elementary school. With his father’s help, Dan came up with a lucrative solution. He collected eggs from a local farmer, put them in containers, and sold them to housewives who liked having farm fresh eggs delivered to their homes.
The eight to ten dollars Dan earned each week enabled him to acquire the equipment he desired. The organizational skills acquired from running a small business and the experience gained fly talking to farmers and housewives built confidence. He learned early that there are ways to accomplish goals if you are determined to succeed. Having an involved father helped. Dad not only taught him to use his head and hands, but how to fix cars. As a result he became a good mechanic. In high school Dan continued to shine as a musician. His love of history and science fed into his career in later life.
Dan graduated from Berkee College of Music in Boston, specializing in classical and jazz percussion and found work immediately. He loved playing gigs and traveling with bands on the road, performing with the Flying Karamazov Brothers on Broadway and traveling extensively with the Hager Brothers and the Ink Spots. He and one other player, the only white musicians in Jim Nabbie’s band, were lovingly referred to as the bleach spots.
Performing the same concert night after night while on the road eventually became stale. Ready to fall in love and settle down, he met Nancy, a biology student and educator. Several years after the couple were married they traveled west and became enchanted by Oregon’s beauty. They moved to Portland where Nancy joined OMIS's staff and Dan, an original member of the Trail Band, performed with them to sell out crowds. Today Dan drums for Jonny Dark and the Wondertones.
A New Passion Grows
A short time before moving to Portland, a friend took Dan on an arrowhead hunting trip in western Pennsylvania. Walking through freshly turned cornfields Dan spotted an arrow point. Retrieving it was a life changing moment for it made him wonder how it was made. He had to find out.
The next day Dan searched for information and tried unsuccessfully to teach himself stone knapping. It was after Nancy accepted a job at OMSI, and the couple moved to Oregon, that he learned of the Archeological Society. There he met the speaker, Dr. John Fagan, who spent the following years mentoring the young enthusiast. Not only was Dan interested in making stone tools, but he was curious about why they were needed. Learning how to understand culture was as important as making tools.
John Fagan, found Archeological Investigations Northwest and employed Dan part time as a Lithic Specialist for twenty-five years. Now independent, Dan is one of the nations’s leading experts in aboriginal tools. He gives workshops, teaches university and recreational classes throughout the country and Canada, and participates in archeological expeditions. Throughout his busy schedule as an archeologist, Dan stays committed to music, performing regularly.
What made Dan successful? He says it was because his parents were always supportive, not pushing their ideas of what he should be. His Mom was strict, but open and honest. He was not distracted by an iPad nor was the television used as a baby sitter, but was instead sent outside to explore the neighborhood. Curiosity was encouraged and his interests turned into passionate pursuits. Various drum teachers also helped him along by serving as mentors (life coaches) as well as music instructors.
Most of all, Dan learned early in life that you get further if you are a nice person. His advice? “Find the things you love to do,” and if that is not possible, “learn to love what you do do.” Pursuing dreams sparked by your interest will make you happy.
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Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
The Firmament - Acrylic on Canvas - 18” 22”- Gold Frame - $ 695
Comments about early education and its impact on career development are most welcome on my blog site.
1/17/2020 6:03:23 PM
CLARITY
To Look, To See, to Envision.
What does it mean to see well, to see the world clearly, as it is, and to envision the future? A newborn discovers her hands and spends hours fascinated by their shape and movement. A mother turns a switch on a mobile above her sons crib so it will rotate to the sound of a lullaby that helps him fall asleep. As the days go by, a fog lifts slowly from the children’s eyes. The mother’s features sharpen as the infants study her closely while held against the warmth of her body.
Several years later, those same infants were thrust into the reality of every day life in a struggling household. They move through their small apartment, admonished not to wake their sleeping father exhausted from a demanding night job. Their mother, absent by day, returns home after spending eight hours on her feet cleaning houses. She too would like to rest and be left alone but she has to make dinner.
These parents love their children and work without complaining, hoping to provide a better life for their offspring. Unfortunately, money is tight and there is little time to show the children wonders of the world. They cope instead by closing the shades and turning off lights, allowing the glow of children’s cartoons to permeate the living area. Television, the third parent in the home, raises their children, keeping them safe though mindlessly occupied and physically passive. Cartoon images flash with high pitched voices twenty-four-seven, maintaining a continuous backdrop that puts them sleep and greets them awake.
I’ve observed numerous families like the one I write of above and have seen how the developing brains of their children are affected by the family’s limited finances. They become visually handicap, looking without really see. They don’t have to process the information they see on TV and have few with opportunities to try, fail, persevere, and succeed at challenging projects. It is easier to give up than to make an effort to learn something new.
Interacting with them made me think about the difference between looking, observing deeply, seeing clearly, and envisioning connections between old and new information. Spending time with children makes me wonder how to inspire them to be curious and to search for truth. What is the best way to help them see and process what they are seeing.
Several wise mentors helped stretch my vision. One interested me in the scientific method and demonstrated how to bring observations into the microcosm of the intellect. Another coached me to recognize edges. I studied a drop of dew on a leaf, learned to visualize rainbow colors in flashes of sunlight, and smelled the perfumes of everyday objects. A third, showed me subtleties of nature. I was taught to search for the movements of animals and birds against a background of camouflage.
These teachers made me aware that learning of evolves with stops, starts, twists and turns and influences how I envision the future. They helped me notice that the rocks we stand on, the homes we build, the air we breathe, and the people we love are an interconnected part of nature.
In thinking about what presents to bestow on youth who cross my path, I decided it is not money or material things they need but rather the gift of curiosity. If I can influence them to look beyond the surface, to search for truth, to see details and nuances, they will never be bored. If they can develop the courage to try, fail, and try again, they will be content, for life is a process, not an end in itself. As they assimilate all that they see and learn, they will be better able to envision a future filled with hope and opportunity.
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Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Clarity - acrylic on canvas / 45” x 36” / silver frame / $699
I look forward to reading your comments below.
4/5/2019 4:07:03 PM
" A powerful glimpse into the trauma and abuse that forces young people to run to the streets.Their stories are a call for action to libraries, government, youth agencies, universities, parents, and volunteers to work together to solve this national problem.”” —Pam Sandlian Smith, Public Library Association
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"Provide a bravo launch for Over the Peanut Fence, a book about scaling barriers for homeless and runaway youth. Currently available on Amazon in paperback ($14.99) and Kindle ($6.99) versions. Over the Peanut Fence will find its way to bookstores and other e-sites internationally in approximately two weeks. By purchasing today and commenting on Amazon's web site, you will build a following of people committed to solving a critical societal problem. Help get the snowball rolling. To purchase go to AMAZON
Over the Peanut Fence is an emotional look at traumatized youth, leaders and volunteers who work diligently to help them overcome barriers that forced them to the streets. It represents a four year search to discover why some adolescents are able to over come abusive childhoods while others can not. Over the Peanut Fence shares the results of my queries. You will,
- Read emotional stories about those who succeeded overcoming trauma caused by childhood abuse.
- Gain an understanding of the causes of youth homelessness.
- Meet Good Samaritans who work diligently to help distressed youth succeed.
- Learn about the adolescents brain and current interventions that are used to help them scale barriers.
- Discover what you and the greater society can do to help.
What others say:
". . . The author's account is lucidly written, both intellectually thorough and emotionally affecting. In addition, this isn't a work of ax-grinding political partisanship-Eichinger prefers cool-headed analysis to grandstanding. Further, at the heart of her "part memoir and part storybook" is a profound reflection on the ailing condition of American society, withering from the widespread disintegration of the family and the grim plague of "lovelessness." Kirkus Reviews
". . . Our country has left a trail of suffering in our well intentioned pursuit of "democracy" in foreign lands; our nation pretends not to see the homelessness on our doorstep, save to complain about it. This stunning book requires you to ask what you can do to help turn trauma into something better. Jack Segal, Consul General of the U.S. (ret.), Chief Political Adviser to NATO's Commander in Afghanistan
". . .Eichinger has woven her personal narrative and research together with her experience as a science center director to make recommendations for those of us who wonder about the people we see with all of their belongings closely held in parks and other public spaces. I share her confidence in the importance of kinesthetic (hands-on) learning as an alternative for those for whom reading is a challenge. " Phyllis Katz, Ph.D. Science Education, Associate University of Maryland, Founder Hands on Science ProgramAssociate at University of Maryland
1/12/2019 6:51:25 PM
On Top of It All
When you’ve worked through life’s pitfalls to achieve most
of your goals, it is time to help someone else do the same.
3 D Mixed media on canvas/ Wood frame/ 23” x 19” / $399
The Mentor
School does not bode well for those who find it difficult to sit still, and, from time-to-time, that’s the case for all students. I’ve listened to kids complain about academic subjects they say are boring and non-essential. They consider homework to be busywork that is irrelevant for their future, yet have no idea what that future might be. Permissive parents go along with their complaints and provide late notes when they sleep in or miss a day of school. According to Patrick Gabriel in an article for school superintendents, this attitude contributes to a poor work ethic. They drop out of school and are lackadaisical in their jobs, wondering why they don’t get the raise they assume they deserve. Many young people are confused and don’t want to put in hours of hard work necessary to meet graduation requirements. For those going for an advanced degree, the six-year graduation rate for full-time undergraduate students at a 4 year degree-granting program is only 60 percent according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Institutions with open admissions policies find that only 32 percent graduate.
For democracy to succeed it’s important for everyone to be educated and hopefully enjoy learning for its own sake. To do so, a variety of teaching approaches are available to address the variety of ways students learn. In the hands of the right teacher, tactile and auditory methods are just as effective as the written word. This method requires individualized education plans which would be extremely expensive if paid instructors were the only resource. There are other ways.
Last week, I received an email from a woman who told me of her mentor, a person extremely important to her professional and personal growth. Her comment reminded me that throughout my student years, I too had advisors to inspire and guide me. In elementary school, Ms. Dorothea, my dancing instructor filled that role. Not only did she show me the benefits to controlling how I moved, but she demonstrated the importance of doing so with purpose and grace. “Pretty fingers” she said to her class of ballerinas as we pranced around the studio acting like we belonged to the New York City Ballet.
Mrs. Lambert, my high school english teacher was the first of many mentors to inspire my love of literature. By letting us read books of our own choosing during class time, we read voraciously tales in every genre. We weren’t pressured to analyze and dissect our readings, but by devouring so many books we absorbed a craving for those that were well written. Classmates and I hovered around her desk after class, occasionally visiting her home, anxious to absorb bits of knowledge flung in our direction.
In college, I enrolled in anthropology classes and fell under the spell a female professor. It was the first time I came into contact with an adventurous woman who traveled fearlessly to out of the way places. My, how I wanted to be like her! She was accepted in primitive villages despite differences in customs and values, and she never imposed personal biases. This professor helped me understand that each person views the world from his or her own center. The way a society operates is complex and should not always be judged by western values.
When starting Impression 5 Science Museum in Lansing, Michigan, I sat next to a successful real estate developer at a luncheon for non-profit organizations. He advised me to not wait for everything to fall into place if I wanted to achieve my goal of starting a museum. He told me to look for cracks in walls and move through them without hesitation. “Grab the moment when it presents itself,” he said, “for it may never occur again. It’s not likely that everyone will be in agreement as you forge a new field. There are times when you have to take action to demonstrate the way forward.”
My mentors were generous with their time. They listened to my concerns and helped me achieve my goals. Now that I’m older, I make myself available to others who might benefit by my experience. I’ve assisted several women with their businesses, helped a boy overcome homelessness and assisted an immigrant adapt to life in the states. It’s challenging to listen to others without letting my biases take over. But, helping people achieve goals they set for themselves is what a good coach does. Mentors help them think through ways to solve their problems. They provide contacts, may open a new line of reasoning but above all help their mentee build self-esteem.
Considering how many youth struggle in traditional classrooms, I suggest a mentor be assigned to every student. All children, but especially those from dysfunctional families, will benefit from individualized attention. No parent can be all things to each of their offspring. There are times when an aunt, uncle or caring tutor is well suited to step in.
If I was the potentate of schools and could wave a magic wand, I’d call on patriotism to establish an army of mentors.
I’d ask retirees and young adults to entice, tantalize and inspire a youth to work hard and take pleasure in learning. Carpenters, plumbers, bakers, electricians, auto mechanics, health professionals, artists, business men and women as well as those with an academic bent can play a role. Let’s rid ourselves of the notion that everyone learns in the same way and discover how each mentee thinks.
Lastly, mentors can not be thrown into the lion’s den and expected to survive. They deserve to receive training. The purpose of mentoring is to build basic life skills, self-confidence, academic success and resiliency and they will need help when there are bumps in the road. Please don’t imagine mentoring a student to be an entirely altruistic activity, for mentors usually receive as much as they give. They make lifetime friends with their students who in turn help them “think young” and stay tuned to the world as it is evolving for the next generation.
References:
Gewertz.K 2019. There are Now More High Schools with Low Graduation Rates. Why? Education Week. retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/high_school_and_beyond/2018/06/there_are_now_more_high_schools_with_low_graduation_rates_why.html?
Education News (2018) Crisis Point: The State of Literacy in America. Concordia University. retrieved from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/education-news-roundup/illiteracy-in-america/
Wexler, N. (2018) Why American Students Haven’t gotten Better at Reading in 20 Years. The Atlantic. retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/-american-students-reading/557915/
Gabriel Jr. P. ( 2018) Has the Student Work Ethic Lost Its Way? The School Superintendents Association (AASA). retrieved from http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=17494
Selling,J. (2018) Why do So many students drop out of college and what can be done about it? Washington Post. retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2018/06/08/why-do-so-many-students-drop-out-of-college-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e4abb6903db0
National Center for Education Statistics (2018) Fast Facts. retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=40
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
6/2/2018 6:36:06 PM
Oregon City Falls
Acrylic on Canvas / 436” x 49” / $ 1,100
Oregon City is the site of the first electric power transmission line in North America. We have come a long way since then. Miniaturized components enable us to operate devices that were never imagined during the late 1880s.
The 3 R’s plus Electronics?
For over 300,000 years, humans worked with stone and metal handtools. But 150 years ago, with the invention of electronic devices, many of their assistive devices became obsolete. Since 1835, when American scientist, Joseph Henry invented the electric relay, emerging technologies have changed the way we live and conduct business. It is difficult to imagine a home without television, mobile phones, computers or internet connections. We rely on microwaves, remote controls, satellite dishes, keyless automobiles, global positioning devices and even baby monitors. These devices that control homes and keep us secure have created a demand for skilled workers who can design, build, install, test and maintain them. It makes me wonder what schools are doing to prepare students for technological jobs.
Elementary schools concentrate on the 3 Rs - reading writing, ’rithmatic but introducing young children to technology has not been embraced by educators. To most adults, techno-specialists speak a foreign language. Few know what a diode, capacitor or resister does or understand how electrons flow through wires and light traveling through fibers is converted to electricity.
Do you stay abreast of changes in cognitive science, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics and nanotechnology? Most people don’t. These subjects are too foreign—too scary. It is for this reason that we need to introduce young children to these technologies through games and interactive devices. Their minds are adaptive and they have not been programmed against them. Noticing how much easier it is for youths to use computer controlled devices than their parents is proof enough as to why an early introduction to technology is important.
Art, music, sports, cooking and craft programs are recognized as hands-on experiences that stimulate the senses and use the creative side of the brain. Assembling robots, electrical boards or drones do the same thing. But, technology can also be employed for the same purpose. The time I put together a theremin was exhilarating because it was a strange activity for me. Once I overcame my fear of being thought stupid, I discovered success was a matter of learning a few new words (electronic-speak), following directions and being patient. As I assembled the small components, I discovered that eye-hand coordination and my ability to concentrate also improved..
Assembling electronic devices requires organization in the same way a cook organizes ingredients for a favorite recipe. Collecting, measuring, storing ingredients and cleaning are part of the process. They are both problem solving activities that can have satisfying outcomes.
Schools do not think about hardware in the same way they do software, yet workers are needed to repair electric cars, computers and home monitoring devices. Engineers of the future will continue to make devices go faster and more efficient. Those who are technically savvy are the pace setters for tomorrow and our education system must be challenged to teach to them.
Many educational devices have already been developed to make techno-learning fun. They can be purchased in upscale toy stores and are used in forward thinking after school science programs. It is now time to bring them into the public school system. Tinkering and making things stimulates the imagination and makes life exciting. Leonardo da Vinci, knew this well, for he was not only and fine painter but an amazing engineer.
Of course, not everyone is a hands-on learner. Some enjoy reading, learning history, and using their knowledge to analyze change. For these individuals, there will be ethical questions to explore and laws to enact. For instance, should infants be tagged with an electronic device under their skin that will follow them through life? We do that for animals and it helps us find them when they are lost. How will people live if robots continue to replace jobs? I am assured that historians, philosophers, politicians and journalists will have plenty to do.
In conclusion,
In conclusion, hardware and software development have ethical and social consequences. Embracing innovation has ramifications that need our full attention or we will continuously be surprised, as was Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook’s privacy issues. Let’s get out front of technology, learn to use it, but also to be aware of its impact before we are in trouble.
Reference:
World Economic Forum. (2017) Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2017. Scientific American. retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/report/top-10-emerging-technologies-of-20171/
I look forward to hearing you opinion Go to eichingerfineart.com/blog to comment.
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
5/12/2018 7:05:13 PM
Family in a Turkish Village
Acrylic on Canvas/ Black Frame24” x 48” / $690
The Kurds are an ethnic group that spans Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Historically and linguistically they are classified as belonging to the Iranian people. Since the end of the Ottoman Empire they have been separated by boundaries created by foreign interests. During the 20th century the Kurds regained their voice and began instigating a call for Kurdish nationalism. What is the right path for these people? Who is to decide their future? And who should take responsibility for upheaval and displacements caused by foreign powers?
Case for a History Sleuth
In the New Reformers (1844), Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “We are students of words: we are shut up in schools and colleges and recitation rooms for ten or fifteen years and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words and we do not know a thing.”
Emerson’s sentiment rings true to me. I had a difficult time studying history and found the required readings had little relevance to my life. As a teen, anything that occurred before I was born, was unimportant. My focus was on booys and school activities and what I would do with the rest of my life.
This myopic view is not uncommon. What occurred hundreds of years ago doesn’t matter to most children. One of my grandsons is an exception. His interest in history was actually peaked by teachers who did not require him to memorize dates and battles but inspired him to learn through games and play acting. More likely, though, he likes history because he has been fortunate enough to travel abroad with his family and see remnants of the past for himself. Walking grounds where past civilizations tread or reading letters by eye witnesses can make the past come alive.
Yet, despite visiting ruins and reading about the ancient world, I doubt that teens understand how history influences what is going on in the world today. For most children, the past is represented through storybook tales that have nothing to do with computers, YouTube, cell phones or space exploration. They are enthralled by League of Legends, Minecraft, and Tetris.
A grasp of history is imperative for our leaders but also important for the rest of society. It is not the facts, but the values, mistakes, and influences on the direction human civilization that matters most. Past events provide avenues for contemplation that test our values and contribute to our sense of identity.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said philosopher George Santayana. There is truth in his words. Wars in the United Staes and Europe have often served as breeding grounds for more wars. After WWII we carved countries into new entities without understanding the ties that previously stabilized the regions. Distrust and ongoing fights within these new borders continue to plague these politically created entities. Men like Napoleon, Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung used war as opportunity for regime change. Over time their initial good intentions led to dictatorships. When foreign powers intervene in the internal affairs of sovereign states, war becomes protracted. This pattern is repeated time and again throughout the ages.
How can history be made fascinating yet useful? Primitive people used to gather around the fireplace to teach through oral presentations that stimulated emotions. Stories of creation and historical events combined with moral lessons were often animated by dancers and masked actors. Until television, storytellers in were in great demand and commanded respect. Troubadours in the middle ages sang about historical and current events. Abraham Lincoln mastered the art of storytelling and spun tales that captured the imagination of his audiences in order to get his points across. He knew that information is digested more easily when facts are connected to emotions. Stories help people to remember what is said and provide a way for them to relate to one another.
Another way to teach history is to develop cases that challenge students with hidden messages. They are asked to become detectives and look for clues from bygone eras. Facts become illuminated as the past is unravelled and not because it was presented for memorization. Cases can be entertaining and offer opportunities to observe, interact, and understand human nature.
Just as forensic experts are scientists who use sleuth-like strategies to solve crimes, case system participants are similarly immersed in the scientific method. They form hypotheses, collect data, analyze it, and report results. The outcome may shed light on a current societal issue and inspire a new hypothesis to be tested that is relevant today. Using the scientific method as a system for solving problems can help illuminate conflicting and confusing data.
For example, the Supreme Court is often asked to clarify what the signers of the constitution meant when they wrote certain articles. Though it is difficult to put ourselves into a dead person’s mind there are many clues that can be used in an analysis. Were the signers religious? Well educated? Family men? What were their professions? Were they wealthy or poor? And a topic I find most interesting—what happened to the founders after they signe.? Did you know that that some were considered traitors? Several became bankrupt. A few had their homes ransacked?
By studying the American revolution, students learn to question gain insight into the cost of freedom. Change does not happen smoothly as can be seen by many the conflicts plaguing the world today.
As adults, it behooves us to help youth become history sleuths. We have an opportunity during vacations to look behind the surface when we take them on trips to parks and historical places. It is our job to teach the next generation how to think. I do believe we can do a better job showing them how the past relates to the conflicts of today.
References:
Clairmont, N. (2017) “Those Who Do Not Learn History are doomed to repeat it. Really? Big Think. http://bigthink.com/the-proverbial-skeptic/those-who-do-not-learn-history-doomed-to-repeat-it-really
2/3/2018 8:54:55 PM
Janna
Acrylic on canvas/ carved gold frame/ 23” by 27”/ $ 599
When shots were fired in her direction while eattending a rock concert in Las Vegas, Janna learned instantly that the world is not always safe. Fortunately she managed to escape without physical damage but mental scars remain. Survivors of the tragedy have to contend with with fear, nightmares, and depression. She is fortunate to have a loving family and a precious new kitten by her side.
Following is a section about trauma from my soon to be published book, Over the Sticker Bush Fence. Trauma is one of many reasons youth take to the streets. Though I write about homelessness in America, the situation is similar for immigrants escaping from war and famine. The adults are very thankful to countries that take them in. Surprisingly, some of their offspring become radicalized. Immigrant children are traumatized but have the added burden of having to move to an unfriendly land with a strange culture. Their experiences are compounded by lack of acceptance in school and poor job opportunities upon graduation.
Please do not copy without permission.
Childhood Trauma
Abuse, violence, and naturally occurring disasters such as war or accidents are trauma producing events as are painful medical procedures and the loss of a loved one. Neglect, verbal put-downs, being treated like a slave, and starvation can lead to a chain of trauma induced reactions. These situations are debilitating, often leading to dysfunctional behavior patterns that affect the youth’s ability to grow into a balanced thoughtful adult.
Sara was in a horrendous boat accident when she was eleven. On a sunny summer day a waterspout developed that suddenly hit the family’s boat from behind. The small craft was capsized and her mother lost a part of a finger as she floated out to sea. Her father’s leg was partially severed while he held on to his daughter by a poorly secured life jacket. The family was fortunately rescued by a passing stranger and taken to a local hospital. After the accident, the girl’s friends started calling her a jinx. Since she was physically fine, her parents did not realize that she needed psychological counseling to get over the incident. The emotional damage of the event stayed hidden and was one of several traumatic instances that led to a mental breakdown at the age of eighteen.
Negligent caretakers, even if naive as in the above case, keep children from developing into strong, healthy adults. Instead of developing confidence, their children grow up feeling that the world is unsafe. They may lose trust in older people and have problems regulating emotions. As they age, they draw into themselves and find it difficult to connect with other people. their own age. As teens they are likely to have conflicts with authority and create unnecessary problems in school, at work or with law enforcement. Romantic relationships and friendships tend to be sparse and unhealthy.
The stress from growing up in an abusive environment contributes to impaired brain development, chronic or recurrent physical problems such as headaches, stomach aches, rapid breathing, and heart-pounding. It is not unusual for a traumatized child to self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, and overeating. Some children become hypersensitive and act out inappropriately while others are just the opposite and become disassociated from their senses. Constant anxiety and fear, more often than not, lead to severe depression.
In school, a traumatized child tends to space-out by daydreaming and not paying attention to assignments. Childhood trauma and neglect can affect the child’s ability to learn to read. It is hard to pay attention when your home problems are of more immediate concern than schoolwork. Their wandering minds lose track of time and, in many cases, impulsive behavior replaces rational thought, making the youth unpredictable, volatile, and extreme. Believing they are powerless in the face of adversity, traumatized youth compensate by becoming defensive and acting aggressively when feeling blamed or attacked. A great many move towards high-risk behaviors like self-mutilation, unsafe sex, and high-speed auto races.
Since abused children have difficulty thinking and reasoning clearly, they are unable to plan ahead and anticipate their future. Their fight and flight reactions take precedence over rational thought and problem-solving. Without hope or purpose life has little meaning and is without value. Without the ability to influence their lives, they operate in survival mode.
Though it may take years to turn around negative feelings of self-worth, with the right intervention, it can be done. My friend Caroline shared her up-bringing with me. As a child, she was raised in poverty in a small Appalachian community. Though loved, her young life was traumatized by poverty and illness. As the oldest of five children, she was called on to care for the younger ones and assist her mother in household chores. Daily activities were especially cumbersome, for her mentally unstable mother was hospitalized frequently. When Caroline was in fifth grade, her father developed Tuberculosis (TB) and was hospitalized at the same time her mother was committed to a distant mental hospital. In those days there were limited ways to treat TB and most patients spent years in a sanatorium. The family was without a bread winner facing starvation. At eleven years, Caroline was in charge of her younger brothers and sister.
When the state finally learned of the situation a social worker found Caroline foraging by herself in the woods. She and her siblings were separated by the state, with two boys sent to one orphanage and the two girls to another. Caroline wondered if she would ever see her young brothers again. Describing her feelings of that time she said, “I believed that my family was no good trash. After all, we were poor with no chance of improvement. I thought that since things were so horrible, we must be bad people who got what we deserved. I was sure that I too would come down with TB and suffer from mental illness as I got older. I assumed that all of our misfortunes were inherited.”
Fortunately, Caroline was taken in by a loving couple, both doctors, who dedicated themselves to caring for the homeless children of Appalachia. The two adults were inspirational role models for the young girl. With scarce finances to operate their orphanage but with a big I-can-do infectious attitude, they impacted the lives of thousands of children. Their perseverance and positive outlook attracted help from others in the nearby city of Charlotte. At one point the doctors decided to build a clinic. Without the necessary money to do so, they relied on old fashioned community help by organizing the children and mountain neighbors to help dig river rocks for the building’s foundation. To earn additional revenue, they collected used clothing from wealthy in-town donors and started a thrift shop that is now over fifty years old. Their actions and positive attitude were role models for young Caroline.
Most importantly, they showered her with attention and love. They convinced Caroline that tuberculosis and her mother’s mental state had nothing to do with her. As an adolescent she gained in self-esteem and began to believe that the tragedies she had experienced could be surmounted. Upon graduation from high school, Caroline was awarded a scholarship to college where she studied nursing. She fell in love and married a physician who provided a comfortable home where she became a social force in the community as she raised five children. As they aged she went on to direct a prestigious science center.
Caroline is still attached to the mountains of Appalachia and continues to support the orphanage that helped her become a successful businesswoman. The sister who had accompanied her to the orphanage also flourished under the tutelage of the two doctors. Unfortunately, her brothers did not fare as well in their group home and struggled throughout their lives.
Not only does trauma burden children but it causes economic and political repercussions that carry a high price. Medical, law enforcement, and legal expenses are paid for by the rest of society.
Parents who leave their children alone for long hours, whether due to illness, drugs, or excessive work schedules, are often faced with unexpected consequences. In poor neighborhoods, many children play outside to a combative, primeval atmosphere similar to that described by William Golding in Lord of the Flies. They move about in city jungles without adult guidance, join gangs and exist in a survival mode. They become unruly and unwilling to play by the rule of law, with little regard for the consequences of their actions.
These youngsters add to the load on our courts, foster care, and juvenile detention systems, burdening the country with $8-21 billion in long term costs.
Art work is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Do comment on my blog post below. Have you or your family experienced trauma?
References:
Larson, S. (1997) Teenage Rebellion. Culture and Youth Studies. retrieved 2017 from http://cultureandyouth.org/troubled-youth/articles-troubled-youth/teenage-rebellion
Justice Policy Institute. 2014. Calculating the Full Price Tag for Youth Incarceration. retrieved 2017 from http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/sticker_shock_final_v2.pdf
5/27/2017 9:32:12 PM
View from a Bridge
This summer, greet your young visitors with a museum in your home. It is enjoyable to organize and fun to observe smiling faces that move independently without creating chaos.
A Museum at Home
It is summer and children will need to find entertainment at home or on excursions while visiting friends and relatives. Most adults don’t plan for the onslaught of vacationing children and as much as they look forward to their company, they also dread it. With a bit of preplanning, however, much can be done to make time spent at home (or at a family gathering) special. It is possible to organize household space to permit creative activities to occur without worry about cherished possessions being destroyed.
Why not create a hands-on museum in your home. . .one that will go beyond computers and videos to stimulate curiosity and engage the attention of active children? It is a good way to occupy energetic pre-schoolers and elementary school youth. By thinking like a museum director, opportunities can be provided for housebound youngsters to enjoy creative, educational and thoughtful pursuits. For instance, it is common in hot weather for kids to spend hours outside splashing in water play in order to keep cool.
With a bit of cleaver planning by adults, during play children can learn simple principles of physics and hydraulics. They might choose to have fun by dressing in period costumes (studying culture and history), constructing forts and buildings (practicing engineering and architecture), putting together 3-D puzzles (fine tune spacial abilities and logic), coordinating puppet plays (developing imagination and writing abilities), making art (sharpening visual and small motor skills), and other activities involving physical movement and mental challenges. By providing educational opportunities during the summer, parents also have a chance to test their own ingenuity and creativity. The process will call on ingenuity while providing a great deal of enjoyment.
When my children were young I was a frequent visitor to children’s museums and noted that the way they were organized permitted kids to roam freely in safe environments packed full of learning materials designed for their age level. According to The American Association of Children’s Museums, “A children’s museum is defined as an institution committed to serving the needs and interests of children by providing exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity and motivate learning.” They encourage parents to interact with their children while in the museum in order to make the experience more meaningful. That definition fits my family to a “T” so, when I moved to a community without a hands-on museum, I decided that I would turn my home into one.
Maria Montessori was a great influence. She was a 19th century physician turned educator who became involved in designing Casa dei Bambini, a school for low-income children. As she experimented with curriculum and classroom design, “she began to see independence as the aim of education and the role of the teacher as an observer and director of children’s innate psychological development.” When my children were preschoolers I enrolled them in Montessori schools which I quickly realized were simply classrooms set up as mini-museums. They were organized spaces that permitted students to access materials when they wanted to do so. Manipulative were designed for problem solving, mastery, and use in surprisingly creative ways.
Montessori believed that young children were sensitive to order, enjoyed doing activities repetitively and were happiest doing practical things. She even taught two year olds how to peel carrots. Her environment was kid-size with materials that could be easily reached and put away when completed. Over time very sophisticated components were developed for schools run by teachers specially trained in her methodology.
With Montessori’s approach in mind, I started my own in-home museum to be assembled on a shoe-string. Taking time to develop an organizational plan is part of the challenge that will eventually let children roam freely. I began by selecting a dedicated area for my grand experiment. It was a place devoid of objects that could be accidentally destroyed but could be filled with materials, supplies and educational toys to promote hands-on creativity and imaginative play. I wanted the children to be able to use all of their senses.
I added shelving and assigned different locations to hold games, art supplies, and science toys. There were construction areas, a place with math manipulatives, a reading area with pillows and a rug, a craft station, and a puppet stage. Shelves were dedicated to puzzles and a variety of educational toys with a dress-up bin and mirror nearby. I also built a music tree with clips to hold percussion instruments that the entire family enjoyed grabbing during musical gatherings.
Before entering the play area children were given instructions for its use. The toys are not jumbled one on top of another as they would be in a toy box and are within easy reach. Children were told they could take whatever toys or supplies wanted but had to return them to their original location before selecting a new item. Training them to put toys away is not difficult if the rules are explained and there is consistent follow-up. Keeping the area clear for future projects not only makes a parent’s job easier but it makes the child’s space more accessible.
When an item was new, I took the time to demonstrate its use, exiting the scene as soon as it was evident that the toy was mastered and they could continue with their own creations. When there were lots of little parts I put them on a tray that the child could take to a table or the floor. This made the clean-up cycle easier.
Part of the secret of a successful home museum is to introduce toys (activities) one at a time. Once my child knew how to use the toy in its intended way, she or he was free to create variations in the way they played with it. The goals were for my children to master the activity, become inventive when possible, and be independent of my interference. I wanted them to gain satisfaction from their successes, not worry about failures, and become motivated for the next challenge.
A home-museum environment does take careful planning, but once operational the task becomes more routine because the child selects his/her own activity, enjoys the challenge, and moves progressively from one skill level to the next. Older children will often help younger ones. Again, independence is the goal.
One last thought—a child of about two and a half years old is ready for your home-museum. At first it is best not to have too many toys available so the child will not be faced with choices of items he does not know how to operate. When the manipulative is successfully mastered then the next challenge can be introduced. if several children use the space, each needs to understand which items they have earned the right to use. This system provides motivation and works well for older children as well as preschoolers. It often encourages older children to teach younger ones.
When I became a grandparent, I did not have a playroom available but I still wanted my grandchildren to enjoy a degree of freedom when visiting and of course, I wanted them to be engaged in meaningful pursuits. I used a large buffet in my dining area for it contained shelving and doors. It was perfect for storage and when the doors were open, shelves held a neat, organized arrangement of fun filled opportunities. Toys and supplies were well positioned at child height with areas for books, puzzles, art supplies, construction materials, etc. A separate box holding legos served as a plant base when the children were not there. Between meals, the dining table was covered with a protective cloth to avoid paint and clay spills. a wood floor permitted buildings to be constructed and small wheeled vehicles to be assembled from parts. Even after my grandchildren graduated to more sophisticated electronic toys and computers, the cabinet was kept ready for visiting youngsters. I wanted to be prepared and not worried about them getting bored while I spent time talking to their parents.
Yes, children’s museums are fun because they are centered on the individual and permit freedom of movement. Exhibits are designed to allow learning to take place and are built to withstand use. Since a mob of children are not your concern, there are hundreds of toys on the market that will serve your purpose. If you do decide to set up a museum in your home, I would love to hear back from you to hear about your success. What toys did you select? What problems have you encountered?
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]. View from a Bridge
3-D image, Mixed-media, 32” by 22”, gold frame,$599. .________________________________________________________________________________
CELEBRATE! and learn about hands-on learning and the growth of art and science museums by naive but passionate directors from throughout the country. Laugh and cry with them as you read their stories of trying to navigate the quagmire of running a non-profit organization.
Upcoming Book Talks
Lake Oswego Library - June 20, 2017
High Desert Museum, Bend - October 5, 2017
Available for $19.95 Powells Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Broadway Books, U. of Oregon Book Store, MAC Emporium, Kindle
For signed copy contact the author.
3/25/2017 7:35:14 PM
The Gossips
Acrylic on Canvas/ 12” by 36”/ $325
How Animals Teach
A birdie with a yellow bill,
Hopped upon the window sill,
Cocked his shining eye and said:
Ain’t you ‘shamed, you sleepy head!
This poem, by Robert Louis Stevenson, had an impact on me as a child. It reminded me that messages of wisdom can be found in the natural world for those who pay close attention. The birds and animals that share our planet are more intelligent and complex than most people imagine, and they have a lot to teach us.
A friend recently relayed a story about a goose that sought help from a policeman who was sitting in his car. The officer assumed the goose wanted food when she pecked at his window, quaked and walked away—but that was not the case. When ignored, the goose returned until the man exited his car and followed to see what she wanted. He was led to a grassy spot where a newly hatched chick’s feet were tangled in a cord. Amidst loud but unaggressive honking, the concerned mother stood by while the policeman’s female partner rescued the panicked gosling and set it free near an adjacent creek. The mother mother then hustled her brood to the water and all was well.
People talk about training their pets but rarely do they mention how their animals train them. We direct cats to litter boxes, teach dogs to fetch balls and even train them to be the eyes of blind people. I proudly taught my black poodle to jump through a hoop, but it is only recently that I thought about what I too learned from the experience. Patience, caring, fun are a few words that come to mind. Just because we don’t speak their language, doesn’t mean animals are not intelligent or that we can’t learn from them.
Our cat, Franny, can tell time. She sits by her food bowl at 7 each morning and promptly at 5:30 in the afternoon. She has trained us to feed her on time—which is fine, because she returns the favor. Somehow, she knows exactly when to wake up our adopted son so that he is never late for work. Much to my surprise, Franny didn’t miss a beat when daylight savings time arrived. How can that be?
A wealthy acquaintance sent his son to a private boarding school during his high school years. On the day he first arrived, he was assigned a horse to care for and exercise during his stay. All students were required to feed, brush and ride their animals rain or shine. Many of the arriving freshmen had been spoiled by indulgent adults who never required them to do a bit of work. Quite a few were raised by maids or nannies and suffered from having been emotionally neglected by their parents. Learning to care and be responsible for an animal was a life altering experience for these youth. Though the horses required their attention, they learned that caring for another living organism has rewards. Being trusted by and receiving unconditional love from their horses were life altering experiences for the majority of students.
Animals are often used as an aid for mentally or physically ill people.
A young woman I know spent many years suffering from severe depression. As her life went from bad to worse she was could not motivate herself to prepare meals or clean the apartment. Obtaining and keeping employment was a distant dream—that is, until she got a care-dog. Her perky pet was not the least bit concerned with her depression but rather trusted her to care for his needs. He required a morning walk and wanted to be fed several times each day. Her dog needed someone to brush his long hairs, bathe him occasionally, and play with him regularly. Though at times the animal was a burden, he gave a lot back in return.
Since dogs live in the moment, he taught her to do so as well. His daily walks improved his owner’s health and the regular outings made her look fit and energized. Since he was well cared for, he was happy and flourished, which made the woman feel appreciated. Though she still suffered from occasional bouts of depression, she became more content and less depressed. She and her dog managed to get through bad times knowing that good moments will return. The dog gave the woman a love that was nonjudgmental. A few wet licks, a hug, and a friendly wagging tail is all it took for me to know that the two are a joyful team.
I recently read about how prisoners in many western states have become cowboys who train wild horses. For example, in Nevada, for the past 17 years felons have been allowed to leave their minimum-security prison to spend eight hours a day on a ranch where they are addressed as “horse trainer” instead of “inmate.” They represent a tough bunch of men who were incarcerated because their aggressive, impatient behaviors led to conflicts with the law. Some were drug dealers, others burglars, and many were in prison because of assault. By the time they learn to train temperamental mustangs, however, they go through a transformation.
Man and horse bond around a number of issues. Neither are used to being caged. When captured, both react by becoming mean and scary. Yet, in order to be released, they have to exhibit a softer way of acting that embraces respect and trust.
When a trainer is first put in a pen with a mustang, he confronts a wild, angry, snorting animal. It can take weeks before the horse is willing to be touched and many more days before it can be haltered, saddled, and ridden. The trainer works with his animal in a stressful and usually dangerous environment. As one man put it, “climbing a 1000 lb. beast that keeps bucking you to the dirt also requires true grit.” When the trainers return to prison at day’s end, other convicts and guards do not mess with them. As they develop feelings of self-worth they, give off an aura that exudes self-confidence while showing respect for all living things.
Though the horses are put up for adoption every four months, the inmates remain supervised until their sentences are complete. Since they are treated like men, instead of prisoners, and because they love what they are doing, they quickly discard defensive behaviors and learn patience. Working with horses requires requires emotional control and focus on what they are doing. Acquiring these skills help them gain employment upon their release.
Veterinarian, Vint Virga, agrees that animals teach us a great deal about being human. Their attention to the present, is a demonstration in how to savor the moment rather than be distracted by past and future thoughts. By taking a cue from their behavior, we learn to focus on what is most important.
Animals tune into impressions taken from their environment and then trust and act on instincts. If we too learn to acknowledge hunches, we will become more open to choices and opportunities. They also teach us not to take ourselves too seriously and work all of the time by demonstrating that rest and play are also vital to happiness. They vary moments of rest and relaxation with periods for discovery, invention, and joy. Animals become fully absorbed when playing and do not worry about how good they are at the game. When my dog played catch, she became completely focused and never paid attention to distractions in the environment.
Pets exude unconditional love for those who take the time to know and share their world. A few kind words, a belly rub and neck scratch will produce a friend who is there to greet you when you return from a busy day. By paying attention to the lessons they teach, you will learn how to live in a circle of warmth, comfort, and delight.
I look forward to hearing from you. Please share your stories of what you learned from animals on my blog site.
References:
Hernandez,Dan, True grit: how wild horses are turning Nevada Inmates into cowboys. The Guardian, Feb 25, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/feb/25/true-grit-wild-horses-nevada-inmates-cowboys
Virga,Vint, THe Soul of All living Creatures, 10 Things Animals Can Teach Us about Being Human, Psychology Today.https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-soul-all-living-creatures/201501/10-things-animals-can-teach-us-about-being-human
Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
CELEBRATE! and learn about hands-on learning and the growth of art and science museums by naive but passionate directors from throughout the country. Laugh and cry with them as you read their stories of trying to navigate the quagmire of running a non-profit organization.
Upcoming Book Talks
Old Boys Club - Tigard - April 28, 2017
Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon,
Eugene - May 23, 2017
Lake Oswego Library - June 20, 2017
High Desert Museum, Bend - October 5, 2017
Available for $19.95 Powells Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Annie Bloom's Books, Broadway Books, MAC Emporium, Also on Kindle
for signed copy contact the author.
11/11/2016 1:39:57 PM
Meet the Blockheads
A modern fatherless family
Why are our boys failing?
Not everyone is, but too many to count are. During last week’s book launch party for Lives of Museum Junkies, I was asked two thought provoking questions. One was, “What can be done to attract more women to the sciences?” The second query was in response to my answer. I mentioned that I was more concerned about what was happening to boys than girls, and was then asked, “why?” My answer, “because so many schools are failing to inspire their male students.”
I want to share a few statistics to back up my claim, starting with comments from the National Education Association (NEA). NEA is particularly concerned about the growing gender gap in education and especially with poor male performance. At every grade level girls exhibit superior social and behavioral skills than boys. They earn better grades and are more likely to continue with advanced training after high school.
A Pew Research Center report confirms this claim. In a 2012 study, 71% of young women enrolled in college immediately after high school as compared to 61% of men. The completion rate for entering male freshmen is 27%, while for women it is 36%. Some of the gender discrepancy can be attributed to financial reasons, but not all. Men are more cautious than women when it comes to taking out student loans and therefore are more willing to risk entering the job market without a degree. The fact that their entering pay scale is higher even at the non-degreed level helps.
Writing for NEA, Dr.Patricia Fioriello claims that some of the gender differences exist because our education system has different standards and expectations for boys vs girls that benefit female students. It is not that girls are smarter than boys, but that they are prone to work harder. Greater numbers of girls than boys are enrolled in advanced placement classes and are valedictorians of their class. As a result, record numbers receive college scholarships, making it easier for them to continue.
Over a lifetime of employment, the consequences for not completing college are dire since a diploma or training certificate is needed to get a well-paid job. Those without degrees are twice as likely to experience unemployment. They are the first to be cut during a recession. Obtaining a degree, however, does not guarantee pay equality. Men still command higher salaries than their female counterparts who find it especially difficult to get work in science and technology fields.
In The Rise of Women, researchers DiPrete and Bachmann give an overview of the changed nature of our classrooms. At every stage, they find that girls are more persistent and have greater self-control than boys. Girls get greater gratification from performing well, in part, because they don’t suffer the conflicts men have about their masculinity and the schoolroom.
With the onset of affirmative action, clubs such as girl scouts, parents and teachers started telling girls that they could succeed and be whatever they wanted. They were prodded and empowered and the bar for expectations was set high. The stigma around the sciences that existed when I was in high school where I was one of two girls enrolled in physics class has all but disappeared. Schools with strong science curricula now attract equal numbers of female students to their classes, reducing the gender gap of previous years.
Young women are praised and rewarded for sitting quietly while males, with their high levels of testosterone, are punished for moving about. It is primarily in sports that boys are encouraged to shine without fear of being branded a nerd or geek. On the field, they are instructed to push and tackle opponents while in class they are instructed to keep their hands to themselves and their mouths closed. These restrictions and rules inhibit their natural desire to explore and they constrain their freedom. Many boys are happy to be removed from the classroom and proud to be sent to the principal’s office.
Accordingly, the National Review says that both sexes benefit by being raised in a stable married household. Children growing up in female dominated, single-parent families often suffer, though the absence of a father appears to hurt boys more than it does girls. When a well-educated dad is in the scene, boys are much more likely to achieve academic success.
I believe that inspiring boys to want to learn is certainly possible. Fathers can help by once more becoming mentors to their sons and by attending teacher conferences, not just sporting events. Attracting more males to the teaching profession would help by increasing academic role models for boys. In past generations, boys followed their father’s example, learning engineering skills by assisting them repair engines, fix plumbing, tinker with cars, build houses, and work with machinery. Boys rarely see this type of work being done today. This month’s Kiplinger report states that jobs for plumbers, welders, electricians, mechanics and carpenters are in demand yet going unfilled. CNN announced that America has a persistent problem due to a lack of trained workers.
It would be beneficial if teacher ed classes taught a bout gender differences and how to deal with hormonal changes and brain variations of the two sexes. For instance, we know that young men are more likely to struggle with impulsive decisions and planning behavior due to a slower developmental timeline. In women, the reasoning part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, matures while they are in their mid-twenties. With men, it isn’t until they are in their late 20s and even 30s that the brain is more fully developed. Physical needs also vary. Boys need to move more and to satisfy cravings for adrenaline highs and excitement. Adjusting classroom behavioral expectations is a first stem to accommodating the unique needs of each student.
Adjusting gender differences means embracing multiple approaches aimed at differing intelligence strengths. Rather than focusing primarily on linguistic learners, as is the norm, why not provide hands-on opportunities for kinesthetic, auditory, and tactile learners, to name a few? All students benefit when given the opportunity to select shop classes, vocational training, apprenticeships, or arts or music education. And, most important, to be able to navigate through daily living situations, youth need practical classes in financial management, non-violent communication, nutrition, food preparation and health.
Lastly, praise works. Let’s celebrate the achievements of our students rather than focus on their mistakes. One of my sons attended Job Corps where he was rewarded for the smallest of accomplishments, with certificates and praises that were acknowledged in front of his fellow students. By the end of a year, he was a high achiever with a stack of paper 1.5 inches high. He was so proud of his accomplishments that he wanted to frame them all.
We have a lot to do to re-engineer our education system. 25-30% drop out rates are not acceptable. 32 million illiterate people wandering our streets is intolerable for a democratic society, and those numbers alone should sound a call for action. We can do better. We must do better.
References:
http://neatoday.org/2013/03/05/why-girls-are-outperforming-boys-in-school-2/ - Why Girls are Outperforming Boys in school.
The Rise of Women
The Growing Gender Gap in Education and What It Means for American Schools
by Thomas A. DiPrete Claudia Buchmann, 2013 - ISBN: 978-0-87154-051-5
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/06/womens-college-enrollment-gains-leave-men-behind/ - gender gap in college enrollment by Pew Research Center.
http://fortune.com/2013/03/27/boys-vs-girls-whats-behind-the-college-grad-gender-gap/ - Fortune Magazine article about college gender gap issues.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425506/gender-gap-college-fatherless-households- National review and fatherless households.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/07/news/economy/us-economy-job-skills-gap/ CNN and need for skilled tradesmen.
http://drpfconsults.com/surprising-facts-about-how-boys-are-treated-in-school/ - Hot Topics in Education by Dr.Patricia Fioriello.
I would like to hear from you. Please respond below.
10/29/2016 1:08:22 PM
Walking on Air, by Marilynne Eichinger
Acrylic on Canvas / 25.5” by 49.5” / $ 650 / Painting made after visiting Bath, England.
The following article was written by my son, Ryan Rosenberg ,for the Los Gatos Education Foundation. It is an appropriate follow-up to my blog about STEAM education. Thank you for the many comments and suggestions you made to that particular writing.
Study finds arts, music can be the "secret" to a successful tech career
Successful tech entrepreneurs seem to have a surprising “secret” to their accomplishments - studying art, music, and hands-on creative activities (such as wood or metal working). A study published in the journal Economic Development Quarterly (1) found that participation in artistic activities boosts the chance of entrepreneurial success in technical fields. Researchers followed a group of Michigan State University honors college graduates from 1990 to 1994 who majored in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).
Graduates who were successful entrepreneurs — those who went on to found companies or produce patents — were significantly more likely to have had participation in art, music and hands-on creative activities than those who did not. And it's not just entrepreneurs who benefit from the arts; a strong link was found with STEM graduates overall. In fact the STEM practitioners in this study were 62% more likely to have had classes in visual arts than the general population, 59% more likely to have been taught music, 39% more likely to have had dance instruction, and 38% more likely to have taken acting lessons.
So how does their music, arts, and hands-on creative experience help these engineers and scientists in the real world? It seems artistic thinking is crucial to their work. The study asked participants to identify the types of tools they used for problem solving and found, “as one would expect of science and engineering professionals, the vast majority reported using logic while doing their work…[but] an overwhelming majority also reported using ‘artistic’ styles of thinking: 95.3% reported using exploratory play as a method of problem solving; 80% reported using either intuition, imagination, or both; and about 80% reported using analogies. In other words, these successful STEM professionals use ‘artistic’ types of thinking at work just as often as they use stereotypical ‘scientific’ modes of thinking.”
In summary, researchers determined that “participation in various arts and crafts positively correlates with the production of patentable inventions and the founding of new companies, and can differentiate the entrepreneurs from less innovative individuals, even among a group of highly successful individuals such as Honors College STEM professionals.”
Reference:
Arts and Crafts: Critical to Economic Innovation
LaMore et al., Economic Development Quarterly, August 2013, 27 (3), p. 221
Guest Author - Ryan Rosenberg for the Los Gatos Education Foundation, 9/26/2016
My artwork is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected].
7/22/2016 9:01:09 PM
Applauding the Blues
Acrylic on canvas/ Gold Frame/ 23.5” by 19” / $ 495.00
Do you stop to look, touch or smell the flowers? Perhaps you even taste some.
The following excerpt is from my upcoming book, Lives of Museum Junkies. Due out in August it tells my story along with that of eleven other innovators who influenced the hands-on museum movement in the early 70’s. Publication information will be available in a few weeks.
The Importance of Touch
In 2012, a young social work student at the University of Rochester was featured in national publications as a most unusual entrepreneur. While studying brain and cognitive sciences as an undergraduate, Jacqueline Samuel became aware of the negative effects of living in a culture that does not sanction touch for its own sake. Throughout the world people are more willing to hold hands and hug friends and family than in the United States.
Adverse consequences of tactile isolation are known to be agitation, anxiety and aggression. Jacqueline decided that she would ameliorate the situation by opening a cuddle parlor she named the Snuggery. Her focus centered on bringing the healing power of touch to those who are tactilely isolated. The rules she and her employees devised were strict; staying clean, keeping clothing on and not engaging in any “funny business.” Her non-sexual touch emporium was singularly based on the platonic need for physical closeness. Business boomed, spurring copy-cat cuddle parlors throughout the country. One even opened where I live in Portland, Oregon.
You might wonder what type of person needs to pay $60 for an hour hug? Clients come for a variety of reasons and include those on graveyard shifts returning home to empty beds, the physically handicapped and the chronically depressed. There are thousands of people, many elderly, others single or with a physical disability who are never touched, held, or hugged. Having a friend to talk to and being cuddled is important for overall emotional well-being.
Jacqueline’s insight is backed by volumes of research showing how touch reduces cortisol, the stress hormone that suppresses the immune system. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami is a center that concurs with Jacqueline’s concerns. They recently completed a study showing that teens who lack hugging are more likely to be aggressive than their peers who are regularly hugged. Elderly people who are touched are healthier and less likely to develop dementia. Premature babies who are stroked gain weight faster than those who are not and infants who lack adequate physical and emotional attention are more likely to have behavioral, emotional and social problems as they age. And now we see that tactile learning can also be highly effective.
Hands-on museums are cognizant of sensory research, and tactile solutions especially form the basis of many of their activities. Not only do people need physical contact with others but they also have a need to touch and play with objects. A friend of mine shared an insight that it was not just his auditory sense that made him enjoy playing the piano, but his tactile contact with the keys. . . . . .
My work in the museum field was influenced by an exercise I had to complete as a graduate student in psychology. One of my assignments was to write a paper imagining what it would be like to lose each of my senses. I was also directed to explore my feelings about loss of sexual sensitivity. To start the exercise I would sit for an hour in an easy chair imagining myself as a blind or deaf person. As I delved into the assignment, I was surprised to realize that losing my hands would be one of the most horrendous handicaps I could have. The hour spent with handless imagery was torturous, leaving me scared, almost frozen. What if I could not touch a door knob or wave my hands while talking? How horrible it would be to not be able to tousle my child’s hair. Touch was not the only sensation that affected me deeply. I quickly realized that losing my sight would be just as awful. As a visual and tactile person I am so fortunate to have both of these faculties.
Each of us is controlled by biological predilections and we are most happy when we allow daily activities to be guided by these predispositions. . . . . Understanding a child’s sensory preference helps parents and teachers design appropriate educational programs. The visual learner may love reading books, but there are many children who are hesitant readers and need to be drawn into the learning process through an alternative sensory route. A history teacher might design a curriculum for tactile learners by challenging them to make dioramas. The process still requires the children to read in order to know what to include in their 3-D pictures, but their interest in the project will be internally motivated. . . . .
Parents, grandparents, friends and teachers please think twice before you tell a child not to touch. Your curious child might just need a little guidance to encourage safe and constructive activities that take advantage of his or her way of communicating. Remember, a broken glass can be dangerous but there are safe ways to turn broken glass into a mosaic . . . touch me, touch me not. . . . .
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This summer is a good time to let your children wander and experiment by using the sensory mode they most prefer. A warm hug for effort will go a long way towards developing their passion for learning. And by the way, we parents and grandparents love hugs as well. They provide wonderful feelings of well being.
Please comment on my blog at eichingerfineart.com/blog.
Art work is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
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For sale on Amazon by Marilynne Eichinger: The True Story of Streetwise, overcoming homelessness and beating the odds. Go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AAXMJOG
