"The Basic Foundation of Humanity is Compassion and Love"

The basic foundation of humanity is compassion and love. This is why, if even a few individuals simply try to create mental peace and happiness within themselves and act responsibly and kind-heartedly towards others, they will have a positive influence in their community.  ~The Dalai Lama

Understanding Existence

"If we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we would know the mind of God."

STEPHEN HAWKING, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays

Getting it Together

Are we wired to be unstable
Apocalypse on our brink
Will we survive the aftermath
Or step back and pause to think
Only if we see our purpose
Seeking the love inside us

Are we here at fortune’s chance
Just a lucky spin of the wheel
Or is there purpose to our plight
Press forward as though it’s for real
Fate smiles upon everyone
Seeking the love inside us

Are we destined to be alone
Those in faraway places
That would wish to know our dreams
Or in mistrust hide their faces
Shall we help them come inside
Seeking the love inside us

Can we get it together
Have we so lost our way
Can we get it together
Hoplessness held in sway

Getting it together
Put the hate and darkness aside
Getting it together
Loved ones along for the ride

Live in anger or live in peace
Live in sadness or bask in joy
Live in hatred or live in love
Living a lie or live the truth
Close the door or leave it open
Choose to talk or choose to listen
Live alone or grow together
What shall we chose

Getting it together
Seeking the love within us
Getting it together
Seeking the love within us

GB 12/10/2010

Examining the Health Benefits of Writing

Having a positive attitude has long been believed to improve one’s ability to fight diseases as well as to weather negative life events.  In 1952, Norman Vincent Peale’s book The Power of Positive Thinking brought the concept of a positive attitude out of the religious circles into the mainstream, starting an ongoing debate and dialog that continues to this day.  Recent research has shown that a positive attitude does have an effect on wellness by linking stress reduction to the ability for the body and mind to bounce back from adversity.  The New Age circles have long believed that using art as a form of expression provides positive effects on the healing process.  As writing is one art form of expression, I would like to explore the use of writing as a mechanism to help the healing process.

A major proponent of writing to heal is Dr. James Pennebaker, Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Texas.  In his early research, he explored the linkage between people who kept powerful, negative secrets and their health issues.  He speculated that if people shared those secrets, their health problems might improve and hit upon the concept of expressive writing to expose those secrets:

“Our minds are designed to try to understand things that happen to us. When a traumatic event occurs or we undergo a major life transition, our minds have to work overtime to try to process the experience. Thoughts about the event may keep us awake at night, distract us at work and even make us less connected with other people…  When people are given the opportunity to write about emotional upheavals, they often experience improved health…”  [1]

Pennebaker cites a young woman who had lost her husband in an accident.  She came to Pennebaker with a need to write about what had happened.  Per Vive Griffith of the University of Texas: “By the last day of writing she said she was transformed.  Within two months the woman had quit graduate school and moved back to her hometown. The writing experience had made her realize she was on a life path she no longer wanted and that she had been putting on a false, cheerful front with her friends.”  Despite her major life change, the woman felt that the writing saved her life.  [2]

Writing to heal has gained other supporters.  Dr. Joshua Smyth also suggests that writing about emotions and stress improves the immune function in patients battling HIV/aids as well as other afflictions.  His study, published in 1998, suggests that writing does help in the healing process provided that the writer uses the process to better understand and learn from their emotions.  Researchers believe that stress relief is what facilitates the healing process.  [3]  Dr. Smyth led a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association where 71 asthma and rheumatoid arthritis patients wrote about the most stressful events in their lives vs. a control group of 36 which wrote about an emotionally neutral subject.   In the test group, 47% clinically improved, whereas 4% worsened, the balance showing no change.  In the control group, 24% improved whereas 22% worsened, the balance showing no change.  The effect proved to be statistically valid.  [4]

A more recent study, in which Dr. Pennebaker, Dr. Keith Petrie, and others ran at the University of Aukland in New Zealand on 37 HIV patients found that those who wrote about their negative life experiences measured higher on immune functioning than the control group.  Dr. Petrie’s colleague Dr. Roger Booth also has linked writing to stronger antibody response in patients immunized against Hepatitis B.  [5]  Quoting Dr. Pennebaker:

 “When we translate an experience into language we essentially make the experience graspable. Individuals may see improvements in… our ability to think about more than one thing at a time.  They may also find they’re better able to sleep. Their social connections may improve, partly because they have a greater ability to focus on someone besides themselves.”  [6]

There are however skeptics to the concept of writing to heal.  One of the drawbacks is that writing about trauma may initially trigger distress.  Dr. Helen Marlo of Notre Dame de Namur University states that not everyone will work though that distress.   Quoting her: “I get concerned that if people just write about traumatic events, they get raw and opened up and aren't able to work through it on their own.” But Dr. Susan Lutgendorf, University of Iowa, cites that what matters is how a person writes.  If the writing does not focus on the meaning of upsetting events, it leads to poorer, not better health.  Those who focus on the meaning of the trauma react positively from the experience.  Dr. Pennebaker: "People who talk about things over and over in the same ways aren't getting any better…There has to be growth or change in the way they view their experiences.”  He also realizes that some personality types have better response to writing to heal and recommends not attempting to write about a negative experience shortly after it happens as it may create a response where the experience may be overwhelming.  [7, 8]

So what is the best way to write for healing?  As per Vive Griffith, Dr. Pennebaker outlines a good approach: “write down your deepest feelings about an emotional upheaval in your life for 15 or 20 minutes a day for four consecutive days.”  Being able to write a narrative, especially from more than one perspective, seems to have more benefits.  [9]  Dr. Linda Joy Meyers, author of  The Power of Memoir, also suggests a story-telling approach and suggests that leads to both physical and emotional healing through changes in the immune system and neural pathways:

“In my book I talk about the ways that memory is stored in the brain and explain how traumatic memories are stored differently. We might stay stuck in the trauma…Putting our experiences into a story—even a fictionalized story—helps us to reprocess our memories and frees us to move forward.”  [10]

Margie Davis, a writer and teacher, learned that cancer patients also benefit from expressive writing through stress reduction and positive changes to the immune system.  Quoting her: “I need to say that expressive writing isn't just about venting or complaining.  It's about coming to an understanding of one's feelings…It's important to write deep thoughts and feelings about stressful events.”  [11]  Carol Celeste, another teacher of personal essay writing:

 “In recent years, personal essays and journaling helped me relieve the stress of family tragedy…I know from personal experience and all the research I’ve done that expressive writing does a body, mind, and spirit good. It brings me true joy to see it help others, and to coach more writers to refine their storytelling techniques as they learn more about themselves.”  [12]

Expressive, or story telling writing indeed provides a means for healing from illnesses and emotional upset.  The numerous health and emotional benefits suggest that this technique, as well as other creative releases be used more widely for healing and wellness.  There are numerous courses and workshops available for those who would like a structured way of learning the technique.  A Charlotte, NC based company WordPlay offers a “Writing to Heal” workshop.  [13]  The anti-violence organization Forge Forward offers a comprehensive writing course.  [14]  There are also books available on the subject.  [15, 16]  Quoting Isabel Allende from Susan Zimmerman’s Writing to Heal the Soul:

“Writing is a long process of introspection; it is a voyage toward the darkest caverns of consciousness, a long, slow meditation. I write feeling my way in silence, and along the way discover particles of truth, small crystals that fit in the palm of one hand and justify my passage through this world.”

 

References:

1.         http://www.utexas.edu/features/2005/writing/

2.         Ibid.

3.         http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun02/writing.aspx

4.         Smyth, et.al. , “Effects of Writing About Stressful Experiences on Symptom Reduction in Patients With Asthma or Rheumatoid Arthritis,” Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 281, No. 14), April, 1999.

5.         Ibid.

6.         See [1]

7.         See [3]

8.         See [1]

9.         See [1]

10.       Dr Linda Joy Meyers, http://memoriesandmemoirs.com/2010/08/the-power-of-writing-to-heal/

11.       http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=53961

12.       http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/22-inspiration.html

13.       See [1]

14.       http://forge-forward.org/anti-violence/support/writing-to-heal/

15.       See [10]

16.       http://www.dailyom.com/library/000/000/000000233.html

Moving the World

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. "

~ Helen Keller

The Value of Writing...

“Writing is a long process of introspection; it is a voyage toward the darkest caverns of consciousness, a long, slow meditation. I write feeling my way in silence, and along the way discover particles of truth, small crystals that fit in the palm of one hand and justify my passage through this world."

--Isabel Allende, Paula

Life is Light

"Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

- George Bernard Shaw

"But My Life is More Than a Vision..."

But my life is more than a vision

The sweetest part is acting after making a decision

I started seeing the whole as a sum of its parts

My life is part of the global life

I'd found myself becoming more immobile

When I'd think a little girl in the world can't do anything

A distant nation my community

A street person my responsibility

If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring.

Gotta get out of bed get a hammer and a nail

Learn how to use my hands, not just my head

I think myself into jail

Now I know a refuge never grows

From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose

Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose

~The Indigo Girls, “Hammer and a Nail,” from “Nomads Indians Saints”

Global Warming: An Objective View

Nearly every day, we hear or read in the news about global warming and its dire consequences.  Global warming is a polarizing, politically charged topic that often breeds strong emotional responses even among those in the scientific community.  In many countries and firms, it has mobilized global efforts in an attempt to lower carbon dioxide emissions.  Because this topic is highly controversial, I would like to look at global warming from an objective standpoint. 

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) reports that the most respected scientific communities including the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) state that global warming is a real phenomenon and it is linked to burning fossil fuels and deforestation.  As further evidence of warming, the EDF reports that sea levels rose 7” in the 20^th century after showing little change over the prior two millennia.  Figure 1 shows the warming trend.  [1]

Figure 1: global temperature departure over the last 160 years.

Three potential causes of warming are posed: sun activity, the Earth’s reflectivity, and greenhouse gasses.  The IPCC estimates that the sun has contributed little to global warming since 1750.  They further suggest that human generated particulate pollution and deforestation would have had a cooling effect on the planet by increasing solar reflectivity, leaving greenhouse gasses as the cause.  Figure 2 shows the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels going back 800,000 years and further shows the upward break in the trend line in recent history due to the burning of fossil fuels.  The EDF claims that worldwide temperatures may increase from 2 to 11.5^oF in the next century, “devastating our livelihoods and the natural world we cherish.” [2]

  

Figure 2: Carbon dioxide levels over the past 800,000 years in parts per million.

The EDF reports that damage has already occurred due to global warming.  70,000 square miles of forest has been lost in the Rocky Mountains due to insects.  According to the World Health Organization, 150,000 extra deaths from disease spreading insects have occurred due to the warmer temperatures.  Further dire consequences are predicted: rising seas, risk of extinction of at least 20% of all species of life including diminishing polar bear and coral reef populations, stronger storms, more diseases, devastating heat waves, and worsening air quality.  [3]  The New York Times, reporting scientist feedback on an alarming recent increase in open water in the Arctic Ocean, said that they were “…becoming convinced that the system is heading toward a new, more watery state, and that human-caused global warming is playing a significant role.”  [4]

As reported by Kerry Sheridan, Richard Muller, who is director of the Berkley Earth Service Temperature Project, went from being a skeptic to a supporter of global warming by confirming the findings of the IPCC.  Quoting Muller’s congressional testimony: “In my mind, humans have contributed to climate change.  The real issue is how much?” [5]  Ben Santer, a research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, reported that after considering a host of different factors, “…natural causation alone cannot explain the changes we see.  People sometimes incorrectly say, 'You climate scientists never consider alternate hypotheses, alternate plausible explanations…' That is not true…We routinely…try and determine whether they fit the available observations.  They do not.”  [6]

Global warming skeptics are quick to counter these arguments, saying that they are focusing on a small time scale (800,000 years) as opposed to the overall time scale of the planet.  As reported by Matt Patterson in the Washington Examiner: “Six hundred and forty million years ago, the entire globe was covered in ice…while 200 million years ago, the whole planet was warm and ice free even at the poles.”  He further reports that work conducted at CERN, Europe’s high-energy physics laboratory, finds tentative evidence that the interaction of cosmic rays and the sun’s magnetic field may contribute most of the observed climate changes.  [7]        

Dr. John Everett, a systems analyst, constructed a web site to provide objective information on global warming and presents the following facts and issues:  [8]

·       As reported by NOAA, the Earth was much warmer in the time of the dinosaurs, when carbon dioxide levels were 2 – 4 times greater than today.

·       The effect of higher carbon dioxide levels on sea life: “The science actually indicates plants, crustaceans, and shelled algae plankton will be more successful…since they (crustaceans) eat algae, which also respond favorably to CO2 increases (and warmer temperatures), it is likely there will be increased food in the sea. With no laboratory or observational evidence of biological disruption, we see no economic disruption of commercial and recreational fisheries, nor harm to marine mammals, sea turtles or any other protected species. Open-minded research is needed to sort it out.”

·       As reported by the U. of Illinois, while that Arctic ice was at its 30 year low in 2007, Antarctic ice was at a record high.

·       The IPCC reports a temperature increase of 0.8^oF (0.4^oC) over the next two decades and, based on widely varying models, 1.1 – 7.2^oF (0.6-4.0^oC) over the next century.

·       The “Urban Heat Island Effect,” or the fact that cities are warming as the result of increased urban activity, is considered the key component of observed temperature rise.

·       The IPCC also reports that sea levels are increasing by 3.1 mm/yr (0.2”/yr), but Dr. Everett learned that the data was manipulated; the actual rate is 1.6 mm/yr.

·       As fossil fuel reserves dwindle, so will the effects of carbon dioxide emissions.

·       The IPCC suggests that the oceans will become more acidic by 0.14 – 0.35 pH units; hurricanes, although fewer, will become stronger, and there will be significant changes in precipitation patterns.

·       “The Earth's ability to absorb CO2 has apparently been underestimated and the climate models need revision per the 31 December 2009 validation of work by Wolfgang Knorr that shows ‘No Rise of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Fraction in Past 160 Years.’”

He further goes on to say that the recent rise in global temperatures is trivial when compared to the Earth’s natural temperature variations.  “…to suggest the rise will accelerate five-fold (IPCC best estimate) this century is incredible.”  He further goes on to support the stand of critics that this is a natural rise following the Little Ice Age of 1500-1900, where temperatures were the coldest in 8000 years.  [9]

In looking at the effect of carbon dioxide on global warming: “The consensus scientists believe their models can replicate reasonably enough the contribution of human-caused greenhouse gases and thus they can be used to estimate future warming. The other scientists believe this is not the case….CO₂…pales in its abilities to impact temperature compared to water vapor and solar variability [not just radiation but also magnetic flux (which controls cosmic radiation and cloudiness) and orbital mechanics].  Additional factors that some skeptics believe are not adequately considered are the natural contributions of CO₂ and other gases that dwarf the human component and the impact of cosmic radiation on the formation of clouds.  Also, it is not clear to some scientists whether CO₂ increases lead to warming or whether warming leads to CO₂ increases. To many skeptics, the over valuation of CO₂ as a causative agent, particularly in light of it having a logarithmic function that decreases impact with the amount of CO₂, is an indication of a policy agenda meant to deter the use of fossil fuels, not understand climate change.”  [10]

Dr. Everett is actually more concerned about global COOLING due to the potential for mass starvation.  “Throughout the history of human life, the Earth's livability has always been better when the climate has been warmer than cooler…Whether it is a fish in the ocean, a shrimp in an aquaculture pond, or a bean on a vine, it will grow faster when it is warmer, all things being equal.  Humans will be quick to take advantage of a warmer climate and to adjust if it gets too warm in an area. More crops grow where it is warm or hot than in frozen ground, and CO₂ is a primary food of plants.  Even now, NASA satellites show that the Earth has become 6% greener as the world has warmed over the past 20 years.  [11]

Regardless of the magnitude of climate change, Dr. Everett concludes “We should respond prudently to the threats from climate change. These actions should include things that make sense in their own right and which will be important whether the Earth warms or cools in the near future…If we are concerned about global warming, a guiding principle is to do things that yield a cost savings or are neutral. Overall, we should aim to reduce our cost of goods sold and, at the consumer level, our living expenses, while at the same time ‘cleaning up our act.’”  [12]

As we sort through the information coming out on global warming, we need to analyze it objectively and attempt to squelch out the hype, fear tactics, and rhetoric in making our decisions.  We should continue to conserve energy and resources because it makes economic and environmental sense, whether it would be for carbon dioxide reduction, pollution reduction, or resource extension.  We need to continue to look for alternative energy sources that have environmentally and/or economically positive impact when compared to fossil fuels.  It is critical that high level policy decisions as well as personal decisions be based on the facts to maximize the actual positive impact on the Earth and humanity.  The most important consideration should be the condition in which we leave our planet behind for our children.    

References:

1.         http://www.edf.org/climate/global-warming-facts, an Environmental Defense Fund web site.

2.         Ibid.

3.         See [1].

4.         http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/science/earth/02arct.html

5.         Kerry Sheridan, “Ex Skeptic Tells U.S. Congress Climate Change is Real,  http://news.yahoo.com/ex-skeptic-tells-us-congress-climate-change-real-220221850.html

6.         Ibid.

7.         Matt Patterson, http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2011/09/new-climate-science-vindicates-global-warming-skeptics

8.         Dr. John Everett, http://climatechangefacts.info/
9.         Ibid.
10.       See [8].
11.       See [8].
12.       See [8].

I DON'T CARE! (or do you?)

“’I DON'T CARE!’ Harry yelled at them, snatching up a lunascope and throwing it into the fireplace. ‘I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!’
‘You do care,’ said Dumbledore. He had not flinched or made a single move to stop Harry demolishing his office. His expression was calm, almost detached. ‘You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.’”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

When we have strong emotions of any sort, positive or negative, it is because we care.  We are caring people at the root, so if someone’s actions make us angry or sad, remember that one of the reasons we are angry or sad is because we care deeply for them.

Where Ocean Meets Sky

Where ocean meets sky
Blue and blue together merge
Our imaginations soar
Reaching for destiny’s verge

Where ocean meets sky
Black blends with black
Stars reveal deep secrets
And bring wonderment back

Where ocean meets sky
The soul meets infinity
Reaching outward to sense
Great and unfound mystery

Where ocean meets sky
Infinite love fills the heart
Energy that comes from beyond
Powers us to play our part

Where ocean meets sky
Forever the eye can see
Everything seems amazing
Our senses running free

Where ocean meets sky
The end and the beginning
Where ocean meets sky
Our awesome dreams abiding

Widening our Circle of Compassion...

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us 'universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."  ~Albert Einstein

Modern Communications: A Great Blessing…If We Mind the Consequenses

Back when I was growing up, the only options we had for communications besides face to face communications were the telephone and the U.S. Mail.  For phone calls, unless the call was local, the cost was often a disincentive to make much more than, say, a 15-minute call.  A letter could take several days to reach its destination, which made it difficult to have an interactive conversation with the letter recipient.  By far, the best way for people to communicate would be to actually see and talk with them.

Today we have easy and instantaneous ways to communicate.  Today’s society not only has regular phones but cell phones that we carry wherever we go.  Smart phones serve as handheld computers, accessing the internet, email, and work servers.  When on the go, we have text messaging, instant messaging, and email.  We take pictures or even videos and send them to whomever we like wherever we like.  At home we have personal computers and access to all of these tools as well as computing power stronger than the mainframe computers of the 1980s.  We have social media: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  There is Skype and other means for making video calls.  Many of these communication tools are free, provided that one pays the monthly access fees for unlimited data, calling, and text messaging.  We have access to most of the people we wish to interact with on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis.

Having ubiquitous communications is a tremendous advantage to businesses, organizations, and personal relationships.  Tools like Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging allow people to maintain friendships over great distances and to meet new, like-minded people even if they live on the opposite side of the globe.  LinkedIn allows professionals to network with old and current colleagues as well as manage their careers.  Smart phones allow business people to stay connected to their offices, their customers, and their colleagues.  Email saves paper and allows for instant written communications.  Cell phones allow for verbal communications when mobile, even to foreign countries.  Video and audio conferencing facilitate meetings without having to be physically present, and allow different people from several locations to participate together in a meeting.  Skype allows for person-to-person video calls.

These modern conveniences have made for some very interesting behavior that today’s younger generations take for granted.  One is communicating with more than one person at a time.  I have observed my daughter texting on a cell phone while chatting with three friends on Facebook  using her IPAD.  I have to imagine it is tough to concentrate on one conversation with several other distractions, but it didn’t seem to faze her.  Another is the ubiquitous use of electronics even in group situations.  Once, I observed a teenage couple sitting together.  One was texting on a cell phone while the other was zoned out listening to an IPOD.  Walking in town this summer, I observed a group of three college students.  One was talking on a cell phone, one was texting on a smart phone, and one was listening to an IPOD.  Another group of three people observed on the same walk, similar scene.  Electronics also cater to lazy behavior.  In an office setting, I have observed two colleagues emailing one another.  They happened to be one office apart!  I’m no better.  Once, rather than get up and go upstairs to tell my daughter something, I sent her a chat message.

I speculate whether or not in certain instances these devices interfere with, rather than facilitate communications.  We gain instantaneous, ubiquitous communications at the expense of these communications being impersonal.    So, what is lost when electronic communications replaces relationship building face-to-face communications?   A widely cited study conducted in the 1970s stated that word content comprises only 7% of communications.  38% is attributed to vocal inflection, with the remaining 55% body language.  [1]  This places severe limitations on written communications, whether they be email, text messages, or instant messages.  Even phone calls convey less than half of the overall message.

I’m sure that everyone in the business world has witnessed or experienced a chain of emails that spiraled out of control from a seemingly benign starting point.  Unfortunately, human nature often reads the worst intention of the writer in an email, occasionally leading to a damaging “email war” that is often highly visible to other people.  And they are so simply prevented.  A quick face-to-face meeting or phone call after the first misconstrued email would likely prevent an embarrassing and potentially damaging email exchange.

A common cost savings strategy for businesses is to use video conferencing or audio conferencing in place of face-to-face meetings.  Thousands of dollars in travel costs are saved as well as valuable working time spent traveling.  Video conferencing does, however, have its costs.  My personal experience with video calls: often there are technical difficulties which interfere with the meeting.  Also, the video quality tends to be poor enough that the face-to-face interaction is essentially lost, converting them into audio calls.  Audio calls are often challenging to manage due to the lack of face-to-face contact.  In face-to-face meetings, it is apparent by body language and often felt by all participants in the room who should have the next say.  This is not possible in video and audio calls.  It is often not clear who should have the floor next, leading to people talking over one another and long pauses in the conversation.  Finally participants who are quiet and shy are not easily brought into the conversation in video and audio calls, risking the loss of their valuable input.

There are two other consequences of ubiquitous communications.  The first is information overload.  Between blogs, social media, email, and web notifications, it is easy to have more information coming in than we can rationally process.  The exponential growth of spam messages forces people to spend large chunks of time deleting these messages despite the best spam filters.  The second is 24-7 connectivity.  Today’s children have constant access to and often are in constant contact with their friends.  Unless they are careful and have parental supervision, these communications often rob them of sleep, homework, and family quality time.  Adults have the same issues.  In addition to being in constant contact with friends and family, it is easy to maintain communications with the office on a smart phone.  So rather than getting revitalizing down-time, many people continue to work on vacation and in the evening hours.  Lost again is critical face-to-face time, this time with family and friends. 

Today’s electronic conveniences have made revolutionary, positive changes to today’s society.  That being said, we have to be careful to mind the drawbacks.  We have to be especially careful not to use electronic communications to replace meaningful face-to-face communications, especially where face-to-face interaction is easily available.  That way, the entire intent including the emotional side of communication is not missed.  Even in today’s fast paced world, we need to take the time to keep our relationships personal, for humans are a social species and constructive personal interactions enrich our lives as well as further the development of humanity.

[1].  Mehrabian, Albert (1971). Silent Messages (1st ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

The Importance of Music and Arts Education

It seems these days all state and local budgets are being cut in reaction to the current economic and political climate.  At the local level especially, a major expense item targeted for cuts is public education.  In the interest of trying to protect the main subjects, budget cuts appear to be falling inordinately on music and arts education.  The considerable benefits of music and arts education to our children and society need to be carefully considered before wantonly cutting these programs. 

Arts education cuts are being justified on the basis of protecting the core subjects: English, Math, Sciences, and Social Science.  For example, in New Hampshire, a bill was filed at the beginning of the year to remove arts, world languages, and some other subjects off the list of subjects defined as “an adequate education.”  [1]   The bill has fortunately stalled in the house.  The Daily Herald reports that in Elgin, Illinois this year, nearly $30 million was cut from the budget, including the elimination of art, music, and gym for kindergarten students; high school choir; middle school music technique; and high school bands.  At the national level, the Department of Education’s $40 million Arts in Education program was cut in the spring of this year as part of a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open.  National cuts will only make it easier for state and local governments to cut the arts from their curriculum.

We are being short-sighted when we let music and the arts go this easily from our children’s lives.  The No Child Left Behind Act has put an inordinate amount of pressure on mandated standardized testing, which further subordinates the arts from the core subjects.  Yet, recent studies show that music education has been demonstrated to improve test scores as well as promote well-rounded students.  Quoting Lester and Kmitch: “Among them, a 2007 Northwestern University study found that music training may enhance verbal communication skills as much or more as learning phonics. In 2002, the College Board found that students involved in public school music programs scored an average of 107 points higher on the SAT than their peers.”  [3]   A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education study found that students who played instruments through middle and high school “show significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.”  They also have a greater ability to learn new languages or enrich their native tongues.  [4]

Being successful in life involves more than rote memorization.  “…students whose education is dominated by rote learning will not be prepared for ‘the jobs of tomorrow.’”  [5]    Creativity, discipline, passion, commitment, analysis, planning, goal setting, risk-taking, fortitude, persistence, and teamwork are considered key life skills valuable to businesses and to society.  Music is particularly adept at teaching all of these life skills and leadership qualities through involvement in band and chorus.  Quoting Eich: “Theater, music and the fine arts all require, undeniably, an above-average level of creativity. But they also require the type of discipline, passion and commitment that can be extremely valuable in many areas of business that are now floundering.”  [6]   He further comments that the band directors of three renowned marching bands were “excellent teachers who instilled pride and enthusiasm.  They taught their band members how to attain excellence, even perfection, in performance, and how analysis, planning, goal setting, discipline and love of the arts are lifetime skills, applicable to success in any endeavor.”  [7]   Because of the need for synchronization of many instruments into one sound, bands teach and epitomize teamwork.  Hao Huang, relating music to the teachings of Confucius:  “Developing artistic skill and sensibility is essential to becoming an ethical human being.”  [8]

Cutting music and arts education hits the poor the hardest.  The wealthy can afford private lessons for their children if they so desire.  Tina Beveridge, as reported by Tom Jacobs: “If we marginalize all non-tested subjects, we create a system in which only the affluent members of our society have access to the most comprehensive and well-rounded educations, which widens the achievement gap rather than closes it.”  [9]   This works against the intentions of “No Child Left Behind.”  The Atlanta Post reports that low income children, especially minorities suffer the most from arts education cuts.  They further report that only 26% of young black adults received a childhood arts education as opposed to more than 50% in 1982.  The percentage among whites only dropped 5% in the same period.  So minorities not only suffer from losing the opportunity to learn critical life skills, but in the absence of a worthwhile activity, they may turn to less desirable activities.  [10]   So cuts in music and arts education worsens the polarization between the affluent and the poor.

Retaining music and arts education in our curriculum provides an excellent means for teaching our children critical life skills essential for their well-being and well-roundedness.  These life skills are also essential for the future success of our businesses and organizations, especially apropos as the United States struggles to stay competitive in the world economy.  As we continue to assess budget cuts and the challenges we face in the current economy, we need to carefully assess the impact of the cuts we make in programs for unintended consequences.  In fact, when we consider the positive impact on humanity of a good, well rounded education, we may want to consider increasing, rather than decreasing our investment in our children, for our children are humanity's future.

References:

[1]  http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/906605-196/an-artless-redefinition-of-adequate.html

[2]  http://saxo.dailyherald.com/article/20100328/News/303289962/

[3]  Ibid.

[4]  http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/31/music.education.cake.difiore/index.html

[5]  http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/arts-education-promotes-emotional-intelligence-6883/

[6]  http://www.miller-mccune.com/business-economics/marching-to-the-beat-of-a-different-drum-major-29066/

[7]  Ibid.

[8]  http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture/the-direct-line-from-confucius-to-lang-lang-36897/

[9]  See [5].

[10] Ibid.


Photo credit: International University in Geneva