Educators: Explore the New; Hold On to What Is Good

     How is the water of the physical brain turned into the wine of consciousness? This question, posed by Colin McGinn, a British philosopher, represents man's continuing efforts to understand the mystery of the human brain and how it works. Indeed, many scientists have dubbed the twenty-first century as the “age of the brain,” and it will historically be known as such.

     Educators, more so than at any other time, have a tough time fulfilling the expectations of a modern society. The Age of the Brain has certainly placed more demands on this group of important professionals. Think of the weight that competition among countries for the smartest and brightest individuals, those who will increase the wealth of intellectual property, carries.

     I personally feel that current research is doing much to assist today's educator. To be informed, the educator must take advantage of new theories on how the human mind works. However, to be successful, the educator must also utilize theories that have been proven.

     There have been many theories in education that have stood the test of time. One theory that specifically relates to the mind is Bernice McCarthy's system of learning called the 4MAT System. This system challenges the educator to consider the existence of four major learning styles in humans: (1) The Imaginative learners; (2) The Analytic learners; (3) The Common Sense Learners; and (4) The Dynamic learners.

     With the 4MAT System McCarthy does not advocate separating learners into four groups; she is basically saying an individual has stronger tendencies to a particular style of learning. Indeed, she even suggests there are overlaps of groups. She is saying if we can identify the learning styles in a classroom and subsequently identify which students lean toward a particular style, then the educator can adapt his or her teaching styles to the situation.

     A bonus that comes with utilizing the 4MAT system, according to McCarthy, is that “it offers a way to accommodate, as well as challenge, all types of learners by appealing to their accustomed learning styles while stretching them to function in less comfortable modes."

     To me, the 4MAT system gives meaning to the literal definition of education, i.e. "to draw out or from within.” If my child’s teacher has heard of the 4MAT system and, best yet, is using some form of it in the classroom, I would want to know.

     If colleges of education are including the study of the 4MAT and other proven systems in their curricula, they will help the prospective educator and his/her students become more successful in today’s world.

* This entry based on a newspaper article written by Kenneth Spoto in 1995.

A Review of the Great Partnership - Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning

     I once wrote there was no place, basically, for science in the quest for the “good life” (please refer to my May 30, 2011 post). I now admit that I may have been wrong. This realization came to me after reading the book, The Great Partnership – Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning, by Chief Rabbi of Britain Lord Jonathan Sacks.

      Rabbi Sacks proposes there can be a relationship between science and religion; one that was lost after the renaissance and the European Reformation, but, now, one that could be of mutual respect and involve productive debate. Although respect has not been evident for some time, Sacks argues science and religion are, indeed, intertwined in the human search for knowledge and meaning. He offers an analogy involving the human brain: science is to the left brain as religion is to the right. The left brain is analytical and asks the question, “How?” The right brain is creative and asks the question, “Why?” He states, specifically, and asserts through the book, that “science takes things apart to see how they work; religion puts things together to see what they mean.”

     Sacks is a Jew, and, so, he fleshes out the book’s thesis  from the principles embodied by the Abrahamic (monotheistic) faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Other authors of history, as does Rabbi Sacks, have given credit to the Jews as being the first people to discover monotheism. The ideas of democracy, tolerance, and antislavery are also from the Jews. Of course, Christianity and Islam are (and have been) influential religions. However, Sacks draws principally from Judaism in making his points. In addition, he emphasizes throughout his book his philosophy is undergirded by the principles of democracy and freedom. And, so, he recommends all religions should be tolerated - the benefits each one offers to mankind cannot be ignored.

     According to Sacks, modern atheists, of whom some are noted scientists, are at odds with religion. Many profess to a Neo-Darwinism and are generally intolerant of religion. He notes that “debates about religion and science usually happen during times of great crisis in society.” Examples include the seventeenth century wars of religion; the 19^th century industrial revolution, urbanization, and Darwinism; and the 1960’s “death of God debate,” which he terms “a delayed impact of two world wars and a move to liberalization of morals.”

     To be fair in his recount of history, Sacks admits religion has caused its share of the problems of the world. In regards to any idea of science and religion working together, he believes fundamentalism and conservatism in religion are serious impediments. Specifically, he argues the written word of any religion needs interpretation by qualified interpreters. The literal meaning truly differs from the meaning given by the author. The wrong interpretation, he warns, leads to intolerance, fanaticism, and radical philosophies.

     One of the subtle points Rabbi Sacks attempts to make in the argument for science and religion working together is there once was a relationship involving the two in European history. Abrahamic monotheism originated in the east. And, according to Sacks, it lost some things and gained other things in its movement to the west through Christianity. Originally considered a Jewish sect, Christianity made its way from the eastern to the western world mainly through the missionary work of the apostle Paul and, resultantly, acquired a western perspective. Science, he adds, is generally a Western invention beginning with the Greeks and Romans and maturing with the renaissance and the great scientific discoveries of the 16^th and 17^th centuries. Eventually, religion and science became inseparable.  By the time the religious reformation in Europe began, Christianity had accumulated much wealth and geopolitical power; things the author says no religion should possess. In the end Christianity’s refusal of knowledge, other than religious, forced science to declare independence and to continue its discoveries and proofs, to include that man was not the center of a small universe but simply a small part of a much larger one.

     According to Rabbi Sacks, “God’s existence cannot be proven” (as can, let’s say, hydrogen through the scientific process). However, one way Sacks knows there is a God is when he sees him working in people; the altruistic behavior exhibited by those meeting the needs of others. Another way the author says points to God is the case for intelligent design. Sacks reminds the reader DNA is the basis of all life – “one, singular beginning.” He adds the scientist responsible for decoding the human genome called it the “language of God.” He also quotes another scientist that stated “If evolution with its emphasis in randomness was run again, a sentient being such as man would not exist.” And, thirdly, Sacks explains that, within humans, individuals pass on their genes; groups/cultures survive. Jews have survived over 4000 years. Where is “survival of the fittest” in the human condition exemplified by them?

     Obviously, Rabbi Sacks places religion in the unique perspective of helping mankind find meaning. To paraphrase the Rabbi’s words: meaning must exist on the outside of a system. As with baseball or football, a spectator must know the meaning of the sport before he or she can understand and enjoy the game. In the search for meaning, Sacks adds, humans must not look inward but outward, outside of the human condition; because that is where God and meaning exist.

     In conclusion to this review of an awe inspiring and educational book, I will note the author says "he comes from a religious tradition where we make a blessing over great scientists regardless of their views on religion.”  To the reader, he seems to be asking, “Why can’t science do likewise?”

    

The Myth of the Complete Leader – Why Organizations Should Not Endorse It

     For those of you who remember, the characters John Wayne portrayed were all knowing and all powerful leaders, knowing when to make decisions, barking out orders, and reviewing results with the admiration only a mother could demonstrate after her child’s first burp. However, the leadership image reflected by John Wayne or any other actor is not real leadership. In today’s real world leaders must accept themselves as “incomplete”, and the sooner their organizations accept this paradigm, the more efficient and effective they will be.

     According to a fairly recent paper (In Praise of the Incomplete leader, March 2007) published on the website of CIO, a leadership consultant company, “only when leaders come to see themselves as incomplete – having both strengths and weaknesses – will they be able to make up for their missing skills by relying on others.” In fact, CIO claims the idea of a complete leader a “myth.”

     Myth or not, the consensus of many authors and consultants on the subject is that leadership has become less vertical (less hierarchical) and more horizontal. Collaboration of individuals within an organization and between organizations is becoming the norm. Changes in the way successful organizations do business were spawned decades ago by the effects of globalization and the spread of knowledge across the world. And, as a consequence, leaders are serving more as facilitators, encouragers, and knowledge-holders.

     The historic spread of the world’s knowledge began shortly after the Renaissance and just before the Industrial Revolution, and evidently the itinerary of inventions and discoveries to today’s world has become a synthesis for engineering, economic, social, and other models being developed every day. Models of effective leadership are certainly no exception. CIO’s work on the case for the incomplete leader has led it to develop a model of “distributed leadership.” The framework for this model views leadership as a set of four “capabilities”: Sensemaking; Relating; Visioning; and Inventing.

     Sensemaking involves making sense of the world around us. In response to the current (and future) situation, the leader develops maps of where the organization is going and encourages consensus. Relating implies building relationships that are true; the frequent inquiry of employees and others; and advocating the advice and ideas of these individuals and not just paying lip service in pretense of doing it (the leader’s)  his or her own way – of course, undermining in an organization goes both ways. Visioning is an old concept, however, it does not mean simply to develop and post a mission statement; it means collaborating on the mission, developing the mission through road maps, and accepting the idea the mission is dynamic and changeable. Inventing is the “transformation of a vision into a present-day reality.” For his/her organization to be competitive, the leader must facilitate and support new and ongoing innovations.

     Although the four capabilities of the CIO leadership model may sound familiar, the innovative idea about the model is the placement of the capabilities in a balanced equation for the organization’s use and not to the exclusiveness of the individual leader. Very few, if any, individuals possess the attributes of the mythical complete leader; the leader and his or her organization who accept this reality will be more successful in today’s global world. 

A Review of The World is Flat, A Brief History of the 21st Century by Thomas L. Friedman, copyright 2007

      The World is Flat is an easy-to-read and informative book. The title is clever, a metaphor for the leveling or elimination of some of the barriers to globalization. An explanation of the effects of certain forces on globalization’s growth, this book has implications for today's world, as of the date of this blog. The author covers his thesis, “the world is becoming flatter,” in three particular contexts: identification of the ten forces that flattened or are continuing to flatten the world; how societies, particularly the United States, businesses, organizations, and individuals are and will survive the flattening process; and a discussion on the constituencies, forces, and problems impeding the flattening process and how might we, as human beings, collaborate better to overcome them.

The Ten Forces

     The first, five of the ten flattening forces the author identifies provided the first thrusts to an increase in globalization. These five forces were 1) the fall of the Berlin wall and the rise of the Windows operating system – more people on the playing field and a system to help everyone play better; 2) a refinement of the worldwide Web and the development of internet browsers - the computer and connectivity became more useful for millions; 3) the development of standard software that enabled better workflow within organizations and between organizations; 4) the collaboration of freelance programmers and engineers in chat room-like settings to produce shared software (e.g. Linux operating system, freeware, wikipedia); 5) Outsourcing Y2K – the collaboration of America and India on digitizing data in fear of losing large amounts with the advent of the year 2000; after Y2K, outsourcing from America to India exploded and e-commerce grew.

     The last, five of the ten flattening forces the author identifies are situations that have taken the flattening process further. These last five forces are 1) Off shoring – China’s joining the WTO in 2001 gave a huge boost to producing in China and other countries the same products that were produced in America, only with cheaper labor, lower taxes, subsidized energy, and lower health-care costs; 2) Supply-Chaining: collaborating horizontally among suppliers, retailers, and customers to create value– example is the Wal-mart worldwide supply chain; 3) In sourcing – different from supply-chaining because it is “third party-managed logistics”; example is UPS’s work with clients to help them in synchronizing whole companies and their interactions with both customers and suppliers; 4) In-forming – search engine companies, such as Google and Yahoo!, enabled individuals to build and deploy their own personal supply chains, and become their own researcher, editor, and selector of entertainment in the privacy of their homes; and 5) the impact of digital, mobile, personal, and virtual gadgets that improve connectivity.

                                    Survival in the Flattening World

     To survive in the “flattening” world, the author points out western nations, particularly the U.S., will have to transform their infrastructure and education systems. He notes there is a “quiet crisis” in this country where pressing fiscal, energy, science, and educational shortfalls need to be addressed by “leaders with vision.” In education, he notes, there needs to be an emphasis in encouraging the studies of liberal arts along with engineering, chemistry, and other sciences. To survive the flattening process, tomorrow’s workers will need to be creative, well rounded individuals.

     Businesses and organizations that employ tomorrow’s creative, well rounded worker will cope with the flattening process “because society will offer an uninterrupted flow of ideas, diversity, concepts, and competitive edge.” Companies will have to act small locally – allowing the individual customer to serve themselves (e.g., E -Trade) but also "big" internationally. Small companies can be successful by being big locally and small internationally. In terms of character, the successful company will recognize the growing number of empowered customers and, so, will need to “out behave” the competition.

     Society will benefit from the flattened world; however, it will need to find or develop, what the author terms, “the new middle class.” This new class will include “the untouchables” and the “anchored,” those professionals who will be able to perform functions in ways that are so specialized they can never be outsourced or whose jobs are connected to a geographical location, i.e., researchers, doctors, nurses, waitresses, chefs, etc. In regards to addressing a potential brain drain, the author notes the U.S. needs a stronger and more supportive immigration system if it wants a national pool of people from which to hire.

         

     Developing countries will also need to improve infrastructure, education, and governance to develop a framework for innovation and collaboration. Many will need to emulate the U.S. and make tolerance the norm, because, as the author notes, when tolerance is the norm, trust is bred and trust is the foundation of innovation and entrepreneurship.

 Forces and Problems Impeding the Flattening process

     There is a large pool of potential talent in the world that will not be able to take part in or take advantage of the flattening process.  First, the author points out, there are many who are too sick or becoming sick (in undeveloped countries), and there will be too little time for them to receive help from reluctant or inadequate governments and from too few organizations and individuals to change the trend. Secondly, there are many who are disempowered –those who do not have the tools, skills, or infrastructure to participate meaningfully for any length of time. Thirdly, there will be an increased global struggle for natural resources resulting in “junking up, heating, and garbageing up, smoking up, and devouring up our little planet faster than at any time in history.” The author asks, “What will happen when three billion new entrants to the flat world start gobbling up all the resources? Species and ecosystems won’t be able to adapt fast enough.”

     The author devotes a fair amount of the last chapters to how modern day terrorism and war could tremendously affect the flattening of the world. With the close contact that has resulted from globalization, there are many people who feel threatened, frustrated, and even humiliated. “Terrorism, the author relates, is spawned by the poverty of dignity (not of money), and humiliation is the most underestimated force in international relations and in human relations.”  All out war or even the threat of a war would retard or stop the flattening process, altogether; however, the author notes, adversaries will be more inclined to think before they act. “Countries whose workers and industries are woven into a major global supply chain know that they cannot take an hour, a week, or a month off for war without disrupting industries and economies around the world and thereby risking the loss of their place in that supply chain for a long time.”

     The last chapters of The World is Flat undoubtedly have implications in today's world. For example, how long will the interruption in world commerce, brought about by Russia's meddling in Ukraine, continue? What real damage has this meddling and the subsequent international response caused? Has the meddling and the response retarded the "flattening process"? How long will it take the U.S., EU and Ukraine (and Russia) to recover once things return to the status quo?

     The World is Flat, although published in 2007, is indeed timely. The author sums up his work with an appeal to the continued promotion of imagination, innovation, and collaboration; these three, alone, may well enable the continued flattening of the world.

A Letter to Mom

     Just before Christmas of last year, I made the decision to write to my mom at least once a month instead of phoning her every two weeks, as I have done for the past thirty years.  My decision was based on the content of the phone calls' conversation - mostly about my sisters and the family home.  The nature of the calls grew to be more negative, and I truly felt they were deteriorating  our mother-son relationship.

     The lives of my sisters (and to a certain extent, my brother) keep my mom worrying constantly, it seems, and the costs of maintaining a large house are always on her mind. The following is a recent letter to my mom. It is in response to her concerns about selling the family home amid all the drama in the lives of my sisters and niece. 

Dear Mom:

     I trust you and the girls are doing well. The wife and I have been well. 

 

    Thanks for the letter written on March 11; was a little short. Thanks, also, for your encouragement to pray to our Lord Jesus; We do so every day. You will forgive us, though, if we don’t pray to Mary – there is only one way to God and heaven and that way is Jesus. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." -1st Timothy 2:5.   

     Mom, your faith in God, I feel, is strong and justified, however from a different point of view. My explanation of how I feel about prayer and salvation is not about preaching to you. I make the decision to explain because it reminds us (me and the wife) that God has convicted us to our beliefs, and not the other way around.

     The boys are doing well. Your second, great grandchild should be arriving around April 3 – of course we will phone you on the day it happens. One of the boys and his wife are planning a trip to China this September – wish I was going with them. The youngest boy continues to work at the hospital; his dog, Scooter, is growing (about 5 months old, now).

     Trust that you will sell the house soon, because trust is greater than hope.  A sad example of where trust is not used is in the lives of the girls (my sisters and niece). Of course, I love them, but the Word tells us to distance ourselves from those who may hinder our faith and joy. To me, the behavior they exhibit is that of negativity, worldliness, and “learned helplessness.”

     Having learned to be helpless, the girls make themselves feel hopeless when they are truly not.  As I mentioned in an earlier letter, life is hopeless when there is no hope – consider the people who are suffering from “real” hopelessness – starvation, war, denial of freedom, etc. Of course I pray the girls shed the darkness of learned helplessness and the feelings of hopelessness and see the light of trust and its constant companion, the “truth.”

     Trust, I am convicted, implies “faith.” And the mystery of faith demands trust. The Proverbs, in fact, remind us to “trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths” – Prov. 3:5-6. 

     When I say “I don’t trust so and so” (as I have said of one of the girls, in the past), please do not take it to heart.  The trust I have in others is of the Holy Spirit, the being that links all Christians together. When one (in the Spirit) is motivated to say, “I do not trust so and so,” the Holy Spirit is telling him or her that it (the Holy Spirit) does not reside in so and so. Behavior and resistance to the truth of so and so should inspire one to share the “good news.”  However, for many reasons, only understandable by God, one may distance himself or herself, at first, but, trustfully, returns later to share the good news.     

                                                                                            

      Once again, Mom, I am not preaching to you or others in the family – I am returning to you all and attempting to share the “good news.”  Of course, the family (and maybe you) may ask, “who is he to sound so holy and share words of faith and wisdom he has not shared before with family?” And it is okay to question me.  I can answer truthfully that I have been convicted by God and that man only spreads the seeds; God picks the crop He has convicted.

     I am definitely not a prophet, but Jesus, I feel, was including people like you, me, my brother, and other Christians when He said, “A prophet is honored anywhere else except in his own town or his home.” – Mark 6.

     Take care, and peace be with you and the family.

     Love from me and your daughter-in-law,

Some Humor to Share

I found, firsthand, that beauty is only skin deep when I looked into my wife’s abdomen during a caesarean section for our third child.

Hillary Clinton was right when she said it takes a village to raise one child; consider the actual amount of all the taxes we pay (per child) for pre-schools, head starts, public schools, and other social programs.

I Want My Child To Be A Thermostat

    “I want my child to be a thermostat, not a thermometer.” Desiring that his child develops into one who will effect needed change instead of only reflecting it, author James C. Hunter makes this statement in his book, The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle (2004). It is appropriate that we give credence to Hunter’s statement because it articulates what we should desire, with temperance, in all youth. By youth, I am referring to middle and high school students (however, elementary youth should be given an appropriate audience). Indeed, there are many young voices out there, now, crying “leadership”, “ownership”, and “sharing” in the decisions involved in many current issues.

     When we express our voices we are expressing ownership. When we express ownership, we are exercising leadership; simple math tells us this. Sadly, many adults do not take ownership (one of the steps to taking ownership for them, simply, would be to vote). If adults consider youth the inheritors of the future – we want them to express their voices as voters of the future - why not give them the opportunity to express their voices (and leadership) now?

     Today’s youth should, more and more, be given the opportunity to voice their opinions and exercise leadership. For example, in the 4-H Youth Program, this focus is evident in such state-level events as Junior Leadership Conference, Citizenship Conference and Washington Focus, 4-H Day at the Capitol, and the Conference on Cooperatives. The names and content of learning activities of a particular youth program may vary from state to state and from locality to locality. However, the point is this: all youth should not only take the role of participants, they should also be taught and encouraged to organize, plan, and help conduct events.

     In the county-level 4-H Program, youth learn how to express their voices through parliamentary procedure, collective decision-making, leadership, and teamwork. Youth professionals equip both adult volunteer leaders and club members with the skills to plan and present/conduct individual as well as club level activities.

     In planning and conducting activities, unexpected setbacks and disappointments may happen; however, they are reinforcements to learning and their occurrence not unusual. My take on leadership development is to equip and then facilitate. Offering help, for example, to a particular youth club that would like to plan a county (or parish) wide event, to include identifying a location, buying awards, and, most importantly, contacting all interested, county-level members of the particular youth program and inviting them to the event. In this scenario  members of the club that planned the event are allowed to exercise their sense of ownership and leadership skills – youth professionals and adult volunteers facilitate the whole process from beginning to end by sharing in the planning and providing professional knowledge, life experiences, and lessons learned.

      In reference to Hunter’s comment, above, I want all youth with whom I work to be thermostats and not thermometers.

    

A Letter to Mom

     This entry in The Good Life is devoted to my mom; a nice, 80-something year old lady of Italian ancestry who misses her husband. My dad passed away in 2001. When he died it seems a big part of my mom died with him - she has not been as happy or as positive. She dwells on the good-old-days of the past and the endless list of human evils of the present. I would like to mail her the following letter, but am afraid she will accept it defensively. If anyone who reads this entry can identify with me, in this relationship with my mom, I would more than appreciate some words of comfort and advice.

                                                                                                                   January 28, 2013

    Dearest Mom and Friend:

    You truly have been a mother and friend, and I trust you are doing well since we spoke last.

     I wanted to write, today, because of two concerns. First, although I consider us friends, I feel that we have not grown in this relationship for the past 15 or 20 years. I enjoy phoning and speaking with you twice a month and have enjoyed the occasional visits between me, the boys and Anita, and you – these all have been important, but I would like to improve our relationship in the near future. When Anita and I can sell our house, we will do so and move to Florida, closer to you.

     The second concern deals with your outlook on life since Dad past away. Right now, let’s say, you were offered a trip to heaven by a mysterious being. This being promises you that you would find Dad upon arrival and that you and Dad would live together in peace and happiness for all eternity. Would you take the offer? I know I would not. And I know you well enough that you would not. Let me explain why I feel this way.

     First, we don’t know this mysterious being that is offering the fantastic journey to heaven. And who does this being think he is? Does he truly know you would be reunited with Dad in the same way you were with him on earth – no one makes this promise – not even the holy Bible. God’s word, as revealed in the Bible, promises only eternal life, should one accept Jesus Christ as his/her savior. Consider that our eternal, heavenly bodies will be more concerned with being with God and getting to know Him – there will be an eternity for us to visit our loved ones, but (I feel) in a different way. To guess about how we will live in heaven would be wrong.

      Wrong or changed Christian beliefs have come down to us mortals, like a waterfall, throughout history. And they have been heaped upon us to bear throughout our earthly lives. In Christian belief and worship, God asks that we keep things light and simple, that we just have faith. Recall the apostle Paul who wrote in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” 

     Faith is real! It is literally underneath us, as we stand (the sub-stance) convicted (or convinced) of things described in God’s word; things we cannot now see or even dream of.  However, as Paul also writes in 1 Corinthians 13, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then (when we finally reach that eternal life) we shall see face to face (the truth).”

     The Second reason for believing you would not go on the trip offered by the mysterious being is selfishness; selfishness on my part. Why would you want to go on a mysterious trip when our (yours and mine) total time together has not been spent?  Why would you want to “leave me and others alone at the movie before it ends”?

     So, dearest Mom and Friend, please don’t trust the mysterious being; stop longing for restful sleep. Instead, continue to trust in the Lord with all your heart and in all ways, and He will direct the paths you take (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Love, always,

Kenneth