Astral Facts: 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Astral Facts December 2013:Interdisciplinary Polygamy: It is not just Entertainment

Astral Facts, December 2013

Interdisciplinary Polygamy: It’s not just Entertainment

Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Interdisciplinary Polygamy: It’s not just Entertainment

Entertainment opportunities become one area of interest during the annual holiday season, especially with the days so short and the nights so long. Students relieved of the burdens of late night cramming for finals have time to unwind, not realizing the similar feelings of those on the other side of the desk and behind the whiteboards.

While busily preparing behind the scenes for the next influx coming after the New Year, faculty, staff, and administrators also may actively seek the comfort of the distractions offered by the entertainment industry.

Of course, this extends beyond the academic community, and for more than just the students and their families. Even though this is heralded as the time to focus on the joy and peace of the season, ironically, it seems doing so becomes more and more stressful each year.

Hollywood and its extended outposts are well aware of this, with movie passes suspended to encourage us all to pay full price for the delectable offerings of the season –> hobbits with new plot twists and romantic entanglements, Hermione as a more acceptable “adult” alternative to Hannah Montana’s influence, catching the fire of the Hunger Games, etc. Many of us read the reviews and usually go to the ones of our personal preference in spite of bad reviews and consider other choices based on good reviews – from our peers as well as the “experts” (who are usually wrong in panning our preferences).

However, it’s not just the “new” selections that merit our attention, for some of the overlooked past selections deserve recognition. This is further enhanced by our not needing to fight the crowds getting to and from the theaters, thanks to the wonders of Netflix and the DVDs at the local library, Redboxes, used book stores, and even quaint video rental counters in a few grocery stores.

These “oldies” may not have been a financial “big hit” at the box office for those fixated on the revenue stream, but they offer interesting insight to the Humanities Scientists who notice how the “marriage” of the disciplines of history, politics, and the humanities can create healthy and insightful relationships.

This was brought home to me recently when my wife and I took my personal holidays for a sort of “working vacation” off campus at the WorldMark resort facility (the site formerly known as “TrendWest”) up at Birch Bay. While there, we received coupons for two DVD “rentals.” Our choices turned out much better than we expected (even though the number of explosions per minute were far below my usual “escape” minimums).

Thus, in the spirit of the season, here’s a short review and recommendation of each:

The Conspirator (2011)

Most of us regard the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln to have been done by John Wilkes Booth, who was [unwittingly?] helped by Dr. Samuel Mudd. However, the “conspiracy” was more wide-spread, for an attempt that evening was also made on the Secretary of State, William Seward, and another was planned for the Vice President Andrew Johnson as well. As it turned out, many of the participants were associated with the son of Mary Surratt, a southerner who owned a boarding house where some of the planning was suspected to have taken place. Mary Surratt was arrested as a co-conspirator. A union war hero with a promising legal career was appointed as the defense attorney. The film covers the situation of the lawyer’s sense of justice during the trial, held by a military tribune, as he is expected to confirm his client’s guilt. Directed by Robert Redford, it addresses serious issues of prejudice and public opinion while standing up for one’s principles. It is certainly relevant to current issues. Here’s the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSvG_gk2mZU

Emperor (2012)

Fast-forwarding from 1865 to 1945, this film also deals with issues of prejudice and public opinion while standing up for principles. It tells the story of the challenges faced by Gen Douglas MacArthur and his staff in Japan during the aftermath of WWII. The primary issue had to do with determining the responsibility of Emperor Hirohito and whether or not he should be tried as a war criminal. Again, the officer appointed to handle the situation becomes the central figure in resolving conflicts of personal views and public responsibility. Certainly, it is relevant to current issues. Here’s the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7mTqpibZ5Q

Shortly after our return to “normal” life, my wife and I happened to watch a film on TMC (Turner Movie Classics), which also presented an interesting marriage of history, politics, and humanities. Although the previous two were based on real characters in real situations, the next film is a "what if" that reflects actual activities by unknown and unheralded individuals.

This Land is Mine (1943)

Starring Charles Laughton, this was filmed during WWII and is set in a “fictional” European country, but the association to Vichy France is quite obvious. Although it begins as obvious “propaganda” in support of resistance to German fascism, the story goes far beyond that. In this film Laughton plays the part of a meek “schoolmaster” living with a very domineering mother. Eight years after his role as the domineering Capt. Bligh opposite Clark Gable’s Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty, Laughton is very convincing as the type who is disrespected by his students and not taken seriously as a suitor by the love of his life. In a poignant scene he instructs his boys to tear out the pages of their textbooks because the mayor and city council have agreed with the German Commandant that the curriculum needs to be altered to fit the “new world vision” that will bring happiness to all. Again, the conflicts of personal conscience and public responsibility have clear relevance to current issues. Here is an interesting scene:

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/455773/This-Land-Is-Mine-Movie-Clip-The-Sound-Of-The-Mob.html

Thus, these three all present “astral facts” regarding issues of personal conscience, public responsibilities, shared governance, peace on earth, goodwill to humankind, and joy to all, aspects which sometimes we forget about as we “celebrate” during this holiday season. Nonetheless, the marriage of interdisciplinary studies can reveal a lot of how today’s events link the present to the past and the future. The rest is history.

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Astral Facts: November 2013 - His Bowtie Is Really a Camera.

Astral Facts, November 2013

His Bowtie is Really a Camera!

His Bowtie is Really a Camera

Long before people were freakin’ about the impending Y2K disaster (remember that?) a more subdued anxiety was caused by George Orwell’s 1949 novel, 1984. While certainly a work of an unrealistic future, it was still troubling, for other writings, such as Jules Verne’s views of undersea and outer space travel, were certainly becoming realities.

Following Arthur Miller’s impression of the darker side of the America Dream, as expressed in Death of a Salesman (also in 1949 and still being read – and being performed on our campus next month) and The Crucible (1953), the turmoil of the 1960’s was expressed in music, such as the song “America” in Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends album (1968) (a source of the title for this issue).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAoArleLZEk

Over 40 years later, in this current holiday season, we might pause to be thankful those predictions from back in those days have turned out to be “spurious” --- or have they? With all the wonderful technology at easy access these days, is Big Brother still lurking behind a black velvet curtain (or even that black velvet Elvis painting) now transformed into an Ethernet screen?

Recent news reports here in the Seattle area revealed that a new tracking system has been installed in the downtown area capable of tracking up to 1000 electronic media pings for each individual person passing through or wandering around the area.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/seattle-police-have-wireless-network-can-track-you/nbmHW/

Of course, situations such as this are rarely overlooked by the creative artists within the Humanities Sciences. Whether by print, audio, video, paint splashed on burlap, assorted scrap iron welded sculptures, the potter’s wheel, and even the chainsaw artist, implications of the media are expressed through the media.

We can take a look at how things may be in 2023 --- How about the Ultimate Social Network? (this one’s a bit longer, about 15 minutes, but a great backdrop for entertainment during a lunch break or escape from student papers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzryBRPwsog

Back in 1951, Ray Bradbury jumped 100 years into his future. We might wonder if it is our future as well: Ray Bradbury, “The Pedestrian,”

http://mikejmoran.typepad.com/files/pedestrian-by-bradbury-1.pdf

(If the link does not work, just copy and repaste the URL into your browser.)

As for our present, we can see the authorities have backed off, as reported in the media:

http://www.kirotv.com/videos/news/video-new-spd-wireless-network-is-being-shut-down/vCJFr4/

Or at least, that is what it seems on the surface. Fortunately, we have the comfort of knowing that our government is listening to us!

Smile at the bowtie!

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Astral Facts, October 2013 - More Than a Glass Bead Game

Astral Facts, October 2013

More Than a Glass Bead Game

I recently received a mailing with a “call for papers” and an invitation to attend a spring conference “Soccer as the Beautiful Game: Football's Artistry, Identity & Politics” at Hofstra University. It appears to be an interesting and enlightening program, which I would love to attend, but I doubt any funding would be available since my recent request for funding to attend a conference in San Antonio specifically focused on composition and the challenges for students and teachers in the English 101 classes was only eligible for 20% funding due to the heavy demand on the limited budget account. Unfortunately, the flow of the revenue stream can send such requests down the rabbit hole in favor of the measured flow coming through the turnstiles.

Around the same time, my attention was drawn to the recent radio report I heard about salaries for public employees. I was not surprised to hear that the governor is not the highest paid public employee. It doesn’t take a very wild guess to suggest that honor goes to the Steve Sarkisian, the head football coach at the UW, at about 2.7 million annually. So it only makes sense that #2 is Mike Leach, football coach at WSU, and #3 is Lorenzo Romar, UW basketball coach. Revenue stream is where it’s at.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/05/22/2606897/uw-wsu-coaches-earn-highest-state.html

I found this an interesting topic to muse upon recently in between games in the World Series. From a Humanities Science perspective, in a society where wealth is considered the primary measure of value, the role of athletics in any culture seems like an engrossing issue. (Obviously, the conference organizers at Hofstra must share similar senses of academic curiosity and inquiry.) Does this represent the brutality of Man (and perhaps the Female) dating back to the days of the Roman Empire and the Christians vs. Lions events? I know when I was teaching in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan people were complaining that the Afghan national sport, buzkashi, had been “watered down” by not allowing participants to use knives. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UB3eA8B4qI

On the topic of soccer (or football as they call it in Europe), George Orwell has commented,

"I loathed the game, and since I could see no pleasure or usefulness in it, it was very difficult for me to show courage at it. Football, it seemed to me, is not really played for the pleasure of kicking a ball about, but is a species of fighting."

Yet, here in the humanities the grace and artistry can be perceived, as Albert Spalding, the person who first established the certified rules of baseball, has observed:

"Love has its sonnets galore. War has its epics in heroic verse. Tragedy its sombre story in measured lines. Baseball has Casey at the Bat." - Albert Spalding

Note how the folks at E-verse have reacted to this:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2009/06/casey-at-the-bat.html

The heroic, religious, and mythological elements we uncover in the Humanities are present as well in reverence and adoration expressed to the sport and its rituals.

“Now one of the halves or hemispheres used to make the baseball can represent Yang, and the other Yin, and their union around the spirit or core creates a life within Life, a force within Forces, the tao within the Tao, imbued with the possibilities of expression in terms of the fundamental laws of Yin and Yang. And like all of creation, no two baseballs are alike, both in their form and in their history, pitchers will discard some because of their feel, others they will scuff to modify their function; some will be historic and occupy Cooperstown, others will be delegated as practice balls; some will be autographed souvenirs, some will be in use at this moment. Baseballs are not capable of awareness, although in a very strange way they are alive since we have created them. They are extensions of ourselves and of our world uniquely held together in the Tao of man against man in the game we call baseball.” --Go (Gordon Bell), The TAO of Baseball

In the field of more modern American literature, Ernest Hemingway drew upon the spiritual nature of the game in writings. A primary example is the classic The Old Man and the Sea, set in Cuba, as noted by James Plath of Illinois Wesleyan University in discussing how the novel “begins and ends with baseball. In the opening scene, after the boy’s unofficial apprenticeship and the subject of luck have been introduced, Santiago sagely tells the boy to “Go and play baseball” rather than locate sardines for bait (12), as if to convey the importance of the former, as if to establish priorities, to suggest (as coaches will) that the lessons a sport can teach about life are truly important. At the novel’s end, Santiago gives the boy the spear from the big marlin, which had been described as being “long as a baseball bat” (62). [“Santiago at the Plate: Baseball in The Old Man and the Sea, 69]

http://www.dsusd.us/users/christopherg/old%20man%20pdf's/Santiago_and_Baseball.pdf

“True, there are differences between baseball and religion, no way around it. Religions have at least one god. Baseball only has demigods. Religions know the Truth. Baseball only has statistics. Still, nit-picking aside ... they’re about the same. Baseball is religion without the mischief.” Thomas Boswell, How Life Imitates the World Series,

On the other hand, it’s just a game. Still, maybe I will don my ceremonial garb, paint my face in appropriate team colors, and join the frenzied throngs. Go team!

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Support for the Stem

Astral Facts, September 2013

Support for the Stem

Culturally it is a social given that education is a major component in any stable society, and much discussion has focused on the roles of the core combinations known as “STEM”: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, as areas of high importance. The acronym reveals an interesting analogy, for a stem only exists as an extension of some trunk or branch. To extend that analogy, the obvious trunk and branches are rooted in the fields of the Humanities, for it is there that the basic skills of reading, writing, and critical thinking are fostered and nurtured. also in combination with what goes on in the social environment trunks, these skills grow into the budding STEMs of the science of the natural and external worlds. Ultimately, the blossoms and fruit that emerge at the end of the STEMs are not created solely by the STEM itself. The elements of the Humanities and Social Sciences are key factors as well. The connection between stem and fruit is much more complex than it seems to be, with roots not always recognized.

Last spring, while we on campus were in the throes of finals and graduation, Annie Murphy Paul looked to such roots in her Time Magazine article “Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer” (June 3, 2013). Paul cites separate research studies from Canada that indicate “individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them and view the world from their perspective. This link persisted even after the researchers factored in the possibility that more empathetic individuals might choose to read more novels.” She also cites research that suggests children who had exposure to literary stories resulted in higher level skills later in life, warning that lack of experience in deep reading-“ slow, immersive, rich in sensory detail and emotional and moral complexity involved in reading” - puts limitations on intellectual and emotional development of the individual. As Paul says, “Although deep reading does not, strictly speaking, require a conventional book, the build-in limits of the printed page are uniquely conducive to the deep reading experience.”

Paul also references the studies of psychologist Victor Nell, who found that people slow down during “pleasure” reading, which allows them to contribute to the text with personal experience and opinion combined with reflection and analysis. Nell says this results in similar emotions and conversations within the mind of the readers “like people falling in love.” Paul compares this to the distinctions made by literary critic Frank Kermode between “carnal” reading (such as technical or informational reading) and “spiritual” reading (such as considering why the caged bird sings or feeling the frustration of someone obsessed by a white whale), noting that spiritual reading skills become underdeveloped and atrophied when young people become obsessively “attached” to their digital devices, for spiritual reading takes discipline and practice. Her conclusion is that we are mistaken if we focus on the attempt to “meet kids where they are” by tailoring our teaching around their onscreen habits. Rather, we need to show them someplace they’ve never been, where deep reading is the logon and password.

Here is the link to the whole article:

http://ideas.time.com/2013/06/03/why-we-should-read-literature/

Then last week on October 3^rd in The New York Times, Pam Bulluck’s article “For Better Social Skills, Scientists Recommend a Little Chekhov” reported on an article from the journal Science regarding the role of “literature” in mental development (and by extension – mental maintenance). The same article was reprinted locally on the front page of The Seattle Times the next day. Here is a copy of the abstract from Science:

Abstract: Understanding others’ mental states is a crucial skill that enables the complex social relationships that characterize human societies. Yet little research has investigated what fosters this skill, which is known as Theory of Mind (ToM), in adults. We present five experiments showing that reading literary fiction led to better performance on tests of affective ToM (experiments 1 to 5) and cognitive ToM (experiments 4 and 5) compared with reading nonfiction (experiments 1), popular fiction (experiments 2 to 5), or nothing at all (experiments 2 and 5). Specifically, these results show that reading literary fiction temporarily enhances ToM. More broadly, they suggest that ToM may be influenced by engagement with works of art.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/10/02/science.1239918.abstract?sid=f192d0cc-1443-4bf1-a043-61410da39519

In her commentary, Bullock quotes Nicholas Humphrey, an evolutionary psychologist who has written extensively about human intelligence, and who was not involved in the research. “That they would have subjects read for three to five minutes and that they would get these results is astonishing.” Dr. Humphrey, an emeritus professor at Cambridge University’s Darwin College, said he would have expected that reading generally would make people more empathetic and understanding. “But to separate off literary fiction, and to demonstrate that it has different effects from the other forms of reading, is remarkable,” he said.

Others have noted the distinction between literature and “popular fiction.” Emanuele Castano, a psychology professor involved in the research noted “popular fiction seems to be more focused on the plot …Characters can be interchangeable and usually more stereotypical in the way they are described.”

In popular fiction, said David Comer Kidd, another of the researchers, “really the author is in control, and the reader has a more passive role.” In literary fiction, like Dostoyevsky, “there is no single, overarching authorial voice,” he said. “Each character presents a different version of reality, and they aren’t necessarily reliable. You have to participate as a reader in this dialectic, which is really something you have to do in real life.”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/i-know-how-youre-feeling-i-read-chekhov/?_r=2

Thus, it seems that a healthy STEM really depends on the deep reading that fertilizes the ToM at the root. If you don’t believe me, ask people such as Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, Dolores Haze, Queequeg, Holden Caulfield, Lucy Honeychurch, Winston Smith, etc. If you can’t decide between the red pill or the blue pill, ask Nurse Ratched to help you.

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Ruddy Mode of Life

Astral Facts, May 2013

Ruddy Mode of Life

Back when the Smothers Brothers comedy music was popular, Tommy Smothers played the role of the “goofball” brother and, in that role, he used the phrase “ruddy mode of life” in an interesting Spooneristic^{^[1]} Freudian slip about the “muddy road of life.” In the past few weeks, I have noticed how “ruddy” the modes of life can be, especially in a Humanities Sciences mode, as content crisscrosses like threads in a DNA sample.

Recently my wife and I had a “date night” but not the stereotypical dinner and movie outing. (I tried that once before we were married and her comment after the movie was that we had wasted so much time sitting in silence in the theater when we could have been talking to each other.) Instead, we went to a lecture by Dr. Steven Meyer previewing the content of the soon to be published book, Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record. This took place at Northwest University in Kirkland, cohosted by The Discovery Institute. Of course, the stereotypes again jump to mind, for the school is a Christian college associated with the Assembly of God Church and The Discovery Institute is closely connected with the theories of Intelligent Design. To further set the stage for stereotypes, the presentation was held in the main auditorium at the school – the chapel.

Nonetheless, we didn’t hear any scripture verses. Meyer gave an overview of Darwin’s theory, including Darwin’s own concerns about “missing links” that he anticipated being further studied, as well as the evidence for the Cambrian Explosion and more recent large fossil discoveries in British Columbia and China which Prof Meyer said all cast a long shadow of doubt over Darwin’s views.

Meyer noted that such discussion is frequently discussed among the scientific community but avoided in the textbooks and in most schools. Meyer expressed his wishes for more open dialogue. He mentioned that when Jun-Yuan Chen, a paleontologist working on the fossil field finds in China, lectured in Seattle, he refuted Darwin’s views based upon his research, Consequently, he faced strong opposition here in the US, to which he said, “In China we can criticize Darwin, but not the government; in America you can criticize the government, but not Darwin.”

In his preview of the book, Prof Meyer noted a variety of theories being suggested as alternatives to the Darwinian view. Meyer said he supports the Intelligent Design approach.

Although some in the audience resembled the stereotype of the inflexible fundamentalist kept “pure” by natural and selective inbreeding, primarily the tenor of the folks lining up at the microphone at the end were questions and comments from people identifying themselves as biologists, engineers, physicists, and others involved in scientific and technology fields. Many of them asked for clarification of complicated aspects, but in an inquisitive rather than antagonist tone, primarily in accord with Dr. Meyer’s views.

Then a few days later, the word came that Bill Nye (“The Science Guy”) hit the news when some people in Texas took offense at the content in his presentation, citing their religious views as the source of protest. Apparently, the problem hinged on the fact that the light from the moon is reflected light and the offended people in the audience felt Nye was ridiculing their understanding of the biblical reference to the moon being created as a “great light” in the sky. (Whether they were offended that he was suggesting they were too stupid to realize moonlight is reflected light, or they thought he was he was suggesting religion is stupid is unclear.)

This latter event has sparked an interesting private discussion amongst the Astro-Facts and Astral-Facts folks, for certainly the Bill Nye episode has put both sides in the greater community up in arms unnecessarily. Again, the desire has been expressed for more open and “courageous” communication from both sides of the issue.

As the folks on the Astro side have explained, the “scientific” approach deals with the “reality” of life, where experiments can be conducted to reveal principles that predict outcomes, and it is important to allow situations when these outcomes might not occur, which would then indicate the claim was incorrect - without the potential to disprove, "proof" is suspect.

Unfortunately, this invalidates most Astral-Facts because they don’t exist within the physical realm. It is difficult to confirm intelligence when it exists (if it does exist, that is). It’s a real Catch-22 to try to confirm that something outside physical reality is the cause of physical reality when the only allowable evidence is restricted to what is in physical reality.

Then, in the “ruddy mode of life” a horse wandered off up in my hometown of Redmond. It didn’t return to the stables that evening and the folks searched frantically to find it, but to no avail. In desperation, they called an “animal communicator” and emailed her a picture of the horse. While sitting her own home, the “animal communicator” concentrated, “made contact” with the horse, and within three minutes suggested where to look. Within five minutes, the searchers located the missing horse, trapped in a nearby ravine.

http://mynorthwest.com/874/2284706/Meet-The-Animal-Communicator-Who-Located-a-Lost-Horse-In-Redmond

For some of us this boggles the mind, but for others it stimulates the brain. Either way, such events can get the blood pumping, so it’s always a good idea to watch for the cross-traffic as we plod along the “ruddy mode of life!”

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.

[1]In case the term is unfamiliar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Singing the Accreditation Blues

Astral Facts, April 2013

Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Singing the Accreditation Blues

At the campus where I teach, we are now at a crucial point in the accreditation process. Whether we want to or not, we are called upon to consider where we are, where we want to be, where we are going, and other such existential issues, especially related to gaps that emerge. Certainly at the core of all this is a reflection on our purpose of existence, individually and collectively.

When I was teaching overseas (see a previous post for details), I would relax by reading some of the “pleasure” literature not included in my college coursework. When I read John Updike’s novel The Centaur, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the description of a scene involving George Caldwell, a high school teacher. His son, Peter, relates an incident when his father had stretched out on the floor in the center aisle of the classroom and shouted out to the students: “Walk all over me! You’re going to do it anyhow!” Certainly the incident resonated with me, teaching in a totally foreign environment, but I also recognized how much many public and private school teachers could understand what the father was experiencing.

It’s been about 40 years since I read that and jotted it down in the list of memorable quotes I always kept handy in those days.

As I now reflect upon my location in the current accreditation process, the reality is – things don’t seem so different now. Here are some major components of the student population of the various English classes I teach:

v The 18-20 year-old-year graduate of a local high school needing academic skills to transfer to a program for a bachelor’s degree elsewhere.

v The local graduate with strong skills but not able to afford the costs to study elsewhere.

v The 16-18 year-old high school student in the Running Start program.

v The more advanced student working on an “Applied Bachelors” degree on this campus.

v The adult needing retraining after being displaced from the workforce.

v The adult single parent returning to school after several years away.

v The “developmental” student who did not acquire many basic skills in the K-12 education system.

v The military veteran returning to school after several years of service.

v The immigrant student with limited language skills and cultural knowledge.

v The international student with strong academic skills from a different cultural system.

v The international student of affluence with poor or average academic skills from a different cultural system.

The list could go on with many of the students overlapping into several categories based on age, income, ethnicity, experience, etc. As I consider my “purpose of existence” I cannot help but wonder how I can be the right person for all these students at the same time. They all need something from me, and they expect me to deliver it.

As a professional educator at the college level, I am grateful to have some leeway in how I structure my courses and select my materials depending on classroom demographics. On the frontlines of such battles, I appreciate the shared governance that respects my experience, good and bad both, resulting in wisdom and insight into the fulfillment of my sense of purpose. It is the body of the faculty as a whole, through professional development opportunities, informal discussions, peer observations and feedback, etc. that is my biggest asset as we deal with issues and challenges we face together in partnership with the administration regarding community expectations and demands. Funding is always an issue in education, and most funding comes with “strings” attached. Essentially, this is pulling the teacher in still another direction.

Thus, which do I sacrifice in the quest for the greater good for the greater good? Are the “problem” students most deserving of the investment to try to help them navigate into the “greater good” of society? I watch Robin Williams in The Dead Poets Society or Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds and see how much effort goes into just one segment of the population – privileged or unprivileged. Even when the inspiration comes from “real life”- what cost does this demand for sacrifice by the teachers as well as their families and personal lives?

As Updike’s George Caldwell has stated, often it is the students themselves who put up major resistance. In one recent “informal discussion,” a colleague shared about the difficulties in reaching a particularly “distracted” class of students. This instructor decided to put the question to the students themselves: Why weren’t they more involved in the course and the class discussions? What could be changed or improved? The discussion with one student went something like this:

“You need to make the class more entertaining,” said the student.

The instructor asked for further explanation.

“For example,” explained the student, “on The Daily Show Jon Stewart talks about current events every day, but he makes it entertaining. You should make our discussions entertaining like he does.”

“Jon Stewart has a staff of writers who prepare all the material for the show!” The teacher replied.

“Yeah,” answered the student. “It’s really interesting what they do each day. I hardly ever miss his show.”

“I don’t have a staff of writers who can prepare new material for me everyday.”

“Well, I’m just saying that it would be more interesting for me if you would make the class more entertaining like he does.”

“How am I supposed to do that if I don’t have a staff of writers and I’m the only one to grade papers and teach the class?”

“All I’m saying is you should make it more entertaining. If you don’t want to listen to my answer, why bother to ask the question in the first place?”

Unfortunately, that’s as much entertainment as I can provide as I sit among the piles of papers while singing the Accreditation Blues, to the tune of the Assessment Blues:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZbM_MIz4RM

At least, I'll be able to entertain myself.

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Shades of Gray in a Million Pieces

Astral Facts, February 2013

Shades of Gray in a Million Pieces

A recent article in the Seattle Times noted that public and private universities in the State of Washington led the nation in the number of Peace Corps Volunteers in the past year. I was surprised at the number of negative comments posted online in response. Mostly, the views expressed feelings it was just an indication of lazy and inept people who couldn’t get a “normal” job, so they were volunteering to use public money for their personal pleasure. Needless to say, not many returned volunteers came forward to confess such “sins.”

All this did bring to my recollection a short piece I had written for one of the “chicken soup” books. It didn’t quite make the final cut because the editors said it was not “uplifting” enough. Unfortunately, the final line had been omitted from the copy they had and the omission was not discovered until after the book went to press. Here it is:

Calm at Storm Center

“Go ahead, Walter,” Jim told me as he pointed to the three folded slips of paper, “you can choose first.”

Jim Barker, Ed Ciok, and I were Peace Corps Volunteers in Afghanistan in September 1973, teaching at the Nangrahar Medical University in Jalalabad, where students studied English their first three years. During the first week on campus we had given them all placement tests and grouped them according to their levels. We considered calling them sections 1, 2, and 3 or A, B, and C but worried that those grouped as “C” or 3^rd would be upset at those labels. We decided to call the groups Red, White, and Blue.

“Go ahead,” Jim repeated, “Whatever color you choose for the first quarter with these third year students, you’ll have a different color for the other two groups.”

“I’ve got the Blues,” I said after unfolding the furthest away paper I had picked.

“You sure do,” Jim commented. Later I wondered how much he understood just how ironic my simple statement really was. Certainly I had a lot to learn, but I was filled with the volunteer spirit.

I had arrived in Afghanistan on July 9^th, fresh from graduate studies at Buffalo State College and a year’s internship in cross-cultural education at Lincoln Jr. High in Lackawanna, NY. Eight days later, on July 17^th while the king was out of the country, his cousin overthrew the government in a bloodless coup. From that point, the government in general shifted from its slightly pro-Western alignment in favor of Russian involvement.

Similar political winds had been swirling at our school for some time. Because of Jalalabad’s strategic position above the entrance to the Khyber Pass into Pakistan, Russia and the US had been competing for political advantage. One built a dam for flood control; then the other built an irrigation system to use the water. Then the first built a hydroelectric plant and the second built a modern road between it and Kabul, the capital city. In this process, the Russians built a large complex to house the workers and specialists brought in to design and build their projects. When they finished, they built a classroom complex and donated the site to Afghanistan to use as a medical university. Not to be outdone, the American government arranged for university professors from the US to teach specialized medical subjects at no extra expense to Afghanistan. These classes were taught in English during the final three years of the schooling, so Peace Corps Volunteers taught English as basic subject during the first three years.

Ideally, we volunteers are the ones just wanting to lend a helping hand for others in completing tasks without worrying about who gets the credit. We volunteers may sense some surrounding political struggles, but we idealistically try to stay focused on “the mission” for the benefit of the general population. Frequently we calmly carry forth in the eye of the hurricane of political and cultural forces swirling around us until suddenly those winds blast us. Such was my case, and I felt those forces building up from the first day in class.

My thirty-five “Blues” were a combination of three types: those who had never studied English, those who had studied but had never learned, and those who refused to learn. With only the first two groups, I probably would have been okay, but the third group, staunchly anti-American, preferred that English should not be a required subject, so they actively sought to sabotage our efforts. They quickly figured out that “Blue” was the lowest level, and they resented us even more for this stigma.

With these unhappy saboteurs assembled in my classroom, I stood in front of the group and innocently invested my efforts into their education.

The first day I distributed the mimeographed texts and introduced myself. As I was speaking, one student in the third row leapt to his feet.

“Your honor, I object!”

This was my introduction to Omar Gul, who essentially objected to everything in class.

We studied the vocabulary of the circulatory system and did an oral review for the exam.

“Faisal Ahmed, what is an artery?”

“Oh, Teacher,” Faisal responded, holding both sides of his head, “the blood!”

“Yes, what about the blood?”

“The blood is rushing in my head. I cannot think!”

The room erupted in laughter.

After this, “The blood is rushing in my head” was the frequent answer to many of my questions.

We also studied the elimination system.

“Teacher,” asked Speen Gul, a sincere student totally baffled by English vocabulary, “what means ‘eliminate’?”

“To remove; to make gone.”

Seeing the blank look still on his face, I dropped a small piece of chalk on the concrete floor.

“Like this,” I said, crushing it into dust under my foot.

My foot made a “Squoosh! Squoosh!” in the fine layer of sand which accumulated in the buildings every day.

“Squoosh! Squoosh!” reverberated through the room as the students imitated my action.

“Eliminate!” they cried in unison.

“Squoosh! Squoosh!”

I left campus every day feeling like a racquetball that had been bounced off all four walls. My other students, the first year Whites and second year Reds, were trying to learn. But I had to start every day with the third year Blues and to them I was nothing more than a permanent substitute teacher for them to play with. Two years before, when my Blues had been in their first year, the American professors had quit teaching at the school because several of the students at the school had acted in this same way. The school administrators could not back the professors since many of these students were members of prominent families. To expel the students would have cost those administrators their careers. When the professors left, the primary purpose for our teaching English had left with them. The subversive Blues in my class had their basic anti-American views reinforced by the lack of consequences during the previous two years of disruptive behavior. They had advanced in spite of failing English every year. Although the dean had given us a written statement that any student failing English would not be promoted at the end of the year, no one believed it would be enforced.

As the quarter progressed, these disrupting blues would bring pinecones into class and throw them around the room when my back was turned. They regularly took books away from the more serious students or stole homework assignments when others weren’t looking and turned them in as their own. I would scold them or send them out of class, and they would act chagrined for a time, but it soon started up again.

Several nights a week some of us Peace Corps Volunteers would have dinner together and discuss the challenges of the cultural adjustments and our missions. They were always amazed at the stories of the goings on at our school, but my tales of the third year Blues kept them spell bound. They consoled me and encouraged me not to give up, as had the Peace Corps Volunteer the year before. Still, they were anxious to hear the latest events each time we met.

Things reached the breaking point in November.

As I was writing new vocabulary on the chalkboard one morning, I heard a different kind of snickering going on behind me.

“What is it now?” I wondered as I quickly turned around and saw a flicker of bright light.

“Omar Gul!” I shouted as I approached him, “Show me what you have in your hand!”

As he showed me the pocket mirror he had been using to reflect the sunlight onto my back, in the corner of my eye I saw Ghulam snatch Ramatallah’s assignment paper from his book.

“Out!” I sad to Omar Gul, pointing to the door.

“But Teacher! The blood is rushing in my head!”

“Out!” I repeated, still pointing at the door.

“Out! Out!” the students chorused.

“Squoosh! Squoosh! Eliminate! Squoosh! Squoosh!” they chanted with lips and feet.

Omar Gul slowly swaggered out the door.

I then pointed to Ghulam and the door.

“You too! Return the paper. Out!”

“Out! Out!” came the chorus.

“Squoosh! Squoosh! Eliminate! Squoosh! Squoosh”

Once the squooshes had died down and a sense of order had settled on the class, I resumed writing the vocabulary. With the next word, a spotlight appeared on my hand and then into the space where I was writing. Omar Gul had climbed on a large rock outside the high classroom windows and was using his mirror to highlight the words as I was writing them. I had no choice but to ignore this and just keep writing as the light danced across my hand and the chalkboard.

The bottom of the windows started at about six feet above the concrete floor. The students seated in the front rows could not see outside, but the floor was sloped, theater style, for the rows in back to see (the room had about 120 seats), and several students ran up the aisles to the back of the room to look out and see where Omar Gul was. Just as this commotion began, a large boulder, about the size of a basketball, came in through the open window near the front row of seats.

“Clomp!” went the boulder, and “Clomp, clomp, clomp” as it bounced and rolled across the concrete floor, kicking up clouds of dust along the way.

I stood at the front of the room, the chalk still in my hand, dumbfounded by the scene unfolding before me. Six or seven students had run to the back of the room to see what was happening. Another milling gang of eight or ten students had pounced on the boulder and were hoisting it back out the window, hoping to drop it back on Ghulam’s head. Four students were violently throwing pinecones at each other. Someone had stolen Ramatallah’s homework again and he was struggling to get it back. Three students were running to the door on the opposite side of the room to go outside.

As I stood there, only one thought was running through my mind:

“They will never believe this at dinner tonight. I need to remember every detail to make the story as accurate as possible!”

As I stood there calmly taking it all in, Speen Gul came up to me.

“I take Omar Gul for you,” he said, turning his back to the others while opening up a pocket knife with an eight-inch blade.

“That’s not necessary,” I said while noting this detail for the evening’s report. “Just sit in your seat and wait.”

“I must go, “ he said, looking at the three students going out the door. “He takes your honor. You are Teacher!”

“It’s okay. He is the one who has lost honor. Thank you for your offer.”

Speen Gul reluctantly returned to his seat. After about ten minutes, Omar Gul and Ghulam had scampered off, so the remaining students also returned to their seats and we finished the lesson.

The next day Omar Gul and Ghulam were back in class, but I had become an observer instead of a participant. The class was no longer “fun” for Omar Gul and his friends; they sullenly sat in class or skipped all together and we spent the quarter exploring the digestive system and navigating the alimentary canal until Jim took over in winter quarter.

A week later, I found an anonymous note pushed under my office door. “Mr. Lowe, Thank you for laboring and efforting for us.”

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.