loving art, science and creative kids
2/28/2020 9:07:23 PM
Cool Daddy (NFS)
My son and I painted this award winning picture together. We enjoyed a good meal with the $100 prize money.
Hobbies in the Age of Bots
This is the third in a series of newsletters about survival in the age of bots. It is time to tune into the likelihood of millions of people being laid off because of robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence. The labor force participation rate has steadily declined forcing unemployed people to occupy their time in some way. How do they do it? The chart below from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only 63 percent of working age people are employed, a drop from 67.4 percent 11 years ago. The chart that follows shows unemployment rates by educational attainment.
To live though the next 50 years, students will need expansive ways of thinking about work. The jobs they have as graduates may not give them the satisfaction they crave nor provide them with a purpose for working. Becoming passionately engaged in a leisure time activity may be what they need to do to refrain from sliding into depression or taking drugs. Hobbies can even lead to employment that has nothing to do with college courses or training taken earlier in their careers.
I’ve spoken to people whose hobbies changed the course of their work lives. It’s been fascinating to see how the way they were educated built self-esteem that helped them become flexible adults able to change direction. Last week I wrote of Dan Stueber, a drummer turned archeologist specializing in stone tools. My youngest son Talik gave me permission to share the unusual path he is taking.
Brendan Talik Eichinger
To supplement what he was being taught in school, Talik took piano lessons and participated in gymnastics. Summers he attended robotics and computer camps with like minded boys hooked on networked gaming. Before internet was available, we mothers had to drive our sons with their heavy computers to a home where a LAN (local area network) was set up. The boys spent the next several days engaged in fantasy and role playing games, eating pizza (boxes and boxes of it) and sleeping at random hours on the floor or sofa.
Since he was a hands-on learner, we enrolled our son at Benson High, a vocational school that taught computer programming as well as assembly. Augmenting academic classes, were practical offerings like metalworking, woodworking and small engine repair. Talik was introduced to electrical wiring, electronics and fabrication. After school, he rock climbed, a skill requiring focus and late nights he joined drumming circles held in parks away from those trying to sleep.
Learning about computers in high school and OSU and a first job as IT specialist, led Talik to start Mezr, Inc, a web design company for large businesses such as Jack-in-the Box. Though he and his employees work diligently, it is his after work activities I find most unusual.
Burning Man’s art/science festival motivated Talik to become a contributing participant. He moved into a vacant transmission shop, carved out living quarters, and set up a shop filled with tools and large work tables. Wednesday evenings became craft night where 20 to 40 friends arrived to work on their own projects as well as communal ones for the festival. He attracted artists, electronic, light and sound specialists, electricians, welders, designers, woodworkers, and computer programers. There was also a sprinkling of marketers, organizers, accountants and lawyers. Volunteers were there for inspiration and to build community. The sum of the knowledge these people brought became larger than any individual part. They reminded me of my early days of starting a science museum in Michigan.
Hobbies have a way of evolving. Tectonic was born when Talik and friends designed, sewed, and assembled a large colorful tent with fire spewing from thirty foot center poles. The tent surrounds a stage where DJs add effects and mix recorded music and bands perform before gyrating crowds. Light sculptures, laser shows, fire dancers, and acrobats provide additional entertainment. When more powerful speakers were needed, they were built in-house. If not needed for festivals, they are rented to events that hire Tectonic to manage sound.
After accumulating so much equipment, logical next step was initiating a summer event. Shift, launched five years ago, takes place in July south of the Dalles. Its grown has been steadily, yet prudent. Advertising is c primarily by word of mouth to discourage drunken ya-ya party-goers. Having attended, I can attest that it is a well managed, artistically interesting, musically immersive venue with safety of great importance.
Talik’s hobby started, in part, helped counterbalance hours of sitting in front of a computer. This winter Mezr moved into a 10,000 square foot building. Its subsidiary, Tectonic, has designed it as a place for private parties and music events. An opening bash is scheduled for March 13th to launch ticket sales for Shift 2020.
The festival and music part of Talik’s business is expanding so rapidly that it may overtake his internet design company. What was a hobby has become a second job, causing him to work and worry ‘round the clock. Thankfully, many people passionately share his burden and are employed to help out while others volunteer to maintain the vision of build a community that inspires creativity.
Each child and every working adult will have to learn to bend, twist, and change direction as the economy and world changes. It is time for educators and parents to help students think creatively, take risks, and discover their passions. A broad liberal arts education with vocational options would go a long way to helping the next generation survive in the age of bots.
References:
Civilian labor force participation rate (2020) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. retrieved from web site at https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm
Yang,A. (2018) The War on Normal People. Hachette Book Group. ISBN 978-0-316-41424-1, New York, NY.
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.
2/14/2020 1:54:35 PM
Oregon City Falls
Oregon City, at the end of the Oregon Trail, was the first city west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the site where the first long distance electricity was sent over wires, traveling 14 miles to Portland. It takes a jet boat ride to realize how the city has changed. Mills are closed that used to line the river for easy access to energy from the falls. Change is a constant in everyone’s life. Are you ready for it?
Preparing for the Future- Part 1
Following is the first of a series of newsletters discussing education and employment opportunities for working age people. This first section provides background information that will feed into topics about survival in an era where increasingly rapid changes in the economy, political climate, technology, and environment are the norm.
Parents are likely to direct their high school graduates to enter fields that pay well in today's marketplace . As a result, students register for classes that are narrowly targeted towards careers they may or may not be interested in. Though current research shows that attaining a higher education leads to a better job, only 58% of those starting college graduate. according to the National Student Learning House Research Center. This means that only 6 out of 10 enrolled students will receive a degree by the end of six years. Those leaving early can be so weighted down with debt that they will never have the earning potential to pay it off. Postsecondary enrollments in 2019 decreased by 1.3 percent, though the completion rate did rise a piddling amount. Business, marketing, health related professions, and general studies are among the most popular majors for entering freshmen.
Colleges increasingly find it difficult to make ends meet, causing them to become more inventive. They lure students in with degree or certificate granting programs in such fields as casino management, cybersecurity, sports communication and business, eSports, competitive video gaming, food studies, hip-hop studies, social entrepreneurship and aging, beer fermentation, wine and viticulture technology, and manufacturing. They have masters degree offerings in peace education, political campaign management, and embodiment studies (Goddard College describes this as “honoring the intelligence of the body and its capacity for insight and liberation with respect to lived bodies, social bodies, and the living earth.” Some, but not all of these programs are good bets.
Technology has had a major influence on the way classes are taught. The number of students enrolled fully online increased dramatically during the last few years. In the past, work and family obligations were typical reasons given for distance learning, but today a growing number of students (34 percent) say they prefer to learn this way. Those under 45 years are likely to use mobile devices to complete course related activities.
Most college students work, but the type of work they do and the hours employed differs for low and high income students. Low-income students are more likely to have full-time jobs than those with financial resources. Unfortunately, students working 15 or more hours per week have C grade point averages or lower. Those employed less than 15 hours a week attain B average and higher grades. In general, lower income students enroll in associate degree and certificate programs while those with higher incomes aim for bachelors degrees.
The greatest difference between the two economic groups, however, is that low-income students work to feed and house themselves while their more privileged colleagues work in order to make connections for long-term professional and academic reasons. This disparity tends to “compound social inequity” according to Lindsay Ahlman at the Institute for College Access and Success. In other words, all too many students today, have to choose between studying or working for their food and shelter.
Student homelessness has been on a steady rise. Approximately 1.5 million public school students experienced homelessness during the 2017-18 school year. Among college students the situation is reaching crisis proportions. The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice found that 18% of two-year college enrollees and 14% of those in four year institutions are essentially homeless. They live in cars, couch surf occasionally with friends and stay in overnight shelters. Insecurity affects their emotional stability, creating doubts about their future.
Not everyone is college bound but a stigma still exists in choosing a trade school over college. This is especially true for youth living in households where their parents consider college to be the only true path to success. Despite this disdain, trade-school enrollment is up from 9.6 million students in 1999 to 16 million in 2014, following a decline in the 80’s and 90’s that left the country with a shortage of skilled workers and trades people. Many vocational jobs, though, requires four or more years training that includes attaining computer skills. Businesses like general motors and Intel work have joined forces with colleges and unions to offer a mix of on-the-job-training with academics. Half of the secondary school students in Europe are enrolled in vocational programs. It ’s time to get rid of the college-for-all narrative in the U.S..
The next fifty years are going to be quite different than that the boon years following the second world war. Computers and robots are assuming jobs previously held by people. Legal research, accounting, computer programming, web design, and call centers are often undertaken by people working in distant countries like India.
Youth are going to have to develop the mental aptitude and flexibility to thrive in a chaotically altering landscape. What a person studies in college may not be related to their employment twenty years later. Being curious, having a broad perspective, and the ability to problem solving is apt to prove \ more valuable than a narrowly defined expertise. If that is the situations students face, then what do they need to know to be able to move-within-the-flow of uncertainty? Let’s think about this question and consider it more fully over the next few weeks.
Next week - Preparing for the Future: Part II - The Path Least Taken
References:
Nadworny,E. (2019) College Completion Rates are Up, but the numbers will Still Surprise You. NPR. retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/03/13/681621047/college-completion-rates-are-up-but-the-numbers-will-still-surprise-you
Marcus,J ( 2018)Panicked universities search of students are adding thousands of new majors. The Hechinger Report. retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/panicked-universities-in-search-of-students-are-adding-thousands-of-new-majors/
current statistics (2019) Term of Enrollment Estimates, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. retrieved from https://nscresearchcenter.org/report-search/
Lederman,D. (2019) Online College Studenets. Inside Higher Ed. retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/06/05/annual-survey-shows-online-college-students-increasingly
St.Amour,M. (2019). Working College Students. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/11/18/most-college-students-work-and-thats-both-good-and-bad
Zaveri,M. (2020) Number of Homeless Students Rises to New High, Report Says. New York Times. retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/us/Homeless-students-public-schools.html
Jones,C (2019) Homeless in College: Students sleep in cars, on couches when they have nowhere else to go. USA Today. retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/06/10/homelessness-among-college-students-growing-crisis/3747117002/
St-Esprit,M (2019) The Stigma of Choosing Trade School Over College. The Atlantic. retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/choosing-trade-school-over-college/584275/
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Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Oregon City Falls- Acrylic on canvas - 36” x 48” - $ 1,100
2/7/2020 4:27:58 PM
You Decide
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Maya Angelo
The above quote made me think about how I've changed over the past one hundred and ten years of my life (I wish).
The Beauty of a Butterfly
Developmental psychologists have differing ideas about of the number and kind of transformations human beings experience in a lifetime. In the mid-1900s, German-American Psychoanalyst, Erik Erikson, coined the word identity crisis. These catastrophes initiated changes occurring during childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. He mentioned that there were eight stages of virtues people acquire throughout their lives.
Dr. Thomas Armstrong, Executive Director of the American Institute for Learning and Human Development, believes there are twelve developmental stages. Psychologist, Piaget, noted four that occur during childhood. Rudolf Steiner extended Piaget’s ideas into adulthood by adding three more. My head whirls with competing ideas about human development, though in general, most accounts focus on cycles involving learning, changing, and transforming, with the ultimate result attainment of beauty.
Psychologists also question whether human development is a continuous or discontinuous process. They agree that failure to successfully complete a stage can result in an unhealthy personality and unrealistic sense of self, but they disagree about whether the stages need to be completed in an age order progression. I happen to believe that there is no set age or order for a transformation to occur, though statistically they are more likely to happen during certain common times in the life cycle.
Dr. Armstrong writes, “Since each stage of life has its own unique gift to give, humanity needs to do whatever we can to support each stage and to protect each stage from attempts to suppress its individual contribution to the human life cycle.” What does this mean? It means we need to be careful not to apply undo pressure to preschoolers to achieve academic success, that parents need to be taught to support and recognize their child’s developmental stages, and that the wisdom of seniors needs to be acknowledged and protected from elder abuse. It also means giving everyone the care and assistance needed to blossom to the fullest degree possible.
I like the way Armstrong discusses the stages and why completing each one successfully is important in later life. A synopsis follows.
- Prebirth: Potential – Parents dream. The child who has not yet been born could become anything – a Michelangelo, a Shakespeare, a Martin Luther King.
- Birth: Hope – A newborn instills a sense of optimism that this new life may bring something new and special into the world.
- Infancy (Ages 0-3): Vitality – The infant is a vibrant and seemingly unlimited source of energy.
- Early Childhood (Ages 3-6): Playfulness, innovation, transformation – Young children at play recreate the world anew to combine what is possible with what has never been seen before.
- Middle Childhood (Ages 6-8): Imagination – The sense of an inner subjective self developing for the first time serves as a source of creative inspiration in later years.
- Late Childhood (Ages 9-11): Ingenuity – Acquiring social and technical skills enables children to develop strategies and inventive solutions for dealing with the pressures society places on them. Ingenuity lives on, helping adults seek ways to solve practical problems and cope with responsibilities.
- Adolescence (Ages 12-20): Passion – Puberty unleashes powerful changes reflecting sexual, emotional, cultural, and/or spiritual passion. It remains a touchstone for adults seeking to reconnect with their inner zeal for life.
- Early Adulthood (Ages 20-35): Enterprise – Young adults become entrepreneurial in order to find a home and mate, establish a family and/or circle of friends, and get a good job. Enterprise helps young adults go out into the world to make their mark.
- Midlife (Ages 35-50): Contemplation – People in midlife commonly take a break from worldly responsibilities to reflect upon the deeper meaning of their lives. Contemplation is a resource to draw upon for enrichment at any age.
- Mature Adulthood (Ages 50-80): Benevolence – Mature adults contribute to the betterment of society through volunteerism, mentorships, and philanthropy. Humanity benefits from their benevolence.
- Late Adulthood (Age 80+): Wisdom – Elders can help younger people avoid the mistakes of the past while reaping the benefits of lessons learned throughout life.
- Death & Dying: Life – Those who are dying, or who have died, teach us about the value of living and remind us not to take our lives for granted.
Where I am? Did I complete each stage successfully or do I still have some work to do to become a butterfly. At times I wonder if the wisdom I acquired throughout my life is relevant. The world is not the same as it was when I was a child. Technology, population increases, methods of communication, and changes in the environment add new dimensions to my childhood experiences.
I find that young adults aren’t interested in listening to dinosaurs who live in the past. They want to explore life on their own. The enjoyable challenge of being alive is partaking in the process of discovery. They willingly risk making mistakes in order to learn on their own. This is partially why historians find missteps in governance, war and social order get repeated many times over.
China’s dynastic tradition presents a good, though oversimplified, example. Enlightened rulers were followed by generations who inherited positions of power. Successive rulers became lazy and greedy, causing ordinary citizens to suffer until the leadership was overthrown, bringing about dynastic change which started the process again. Through the past 5000 years, China watched numerous dynasties collapse and new ones gain in strength. Yet, societal transformation was slow, falling into five major stages— Primitive, Slave, Feudal, Semi-feudal and semi-colonial, and Socialist.
The wisest thing a butterfly can do before flying away, is to hold his or her tongue, avoid telling people how to live their lives, and help them learn to think so that they will grasp nuances and changes in the social and physical environment.
Young adults need to know how to gather a wide range of information and to consider it honestly and critically before making decisions. They need to listen to the news and dig for the truth on their own rather than rely on others to tell them what to accept. I believe that instead of giving answers, elders should spread their wings and flutter over the next generation and encourage them to question preconceived values and ideas so that they can integrate their findings with the world as it is today and the way they want it to be tomorrow.
References:
Armstrong, T. ( 20201 )The Human Odyssey: Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life. American Institute for Learning and Human Development. retrieved from website at https://www.institute4learning.com/resources/articles/the-12-stages-of-life/
McLeod,S. (2018)Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Simply Psychology. retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html
History of China, Travel China Guide. retrieved from their web site at https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/
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Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
You Decide - Acrylic on deep canvas - 16” x 40” - $ 385
I look forward to your comments on my blog site.
