CREATIVITY and MEMORY

Exercising Your Brain

Nancy Anderson, a neuroscientist at the Iowa Carver School of Medicine, suggests that to build a more creative brain, do one or more of the following for at least 30 minutes a day (my suggestions in italics):

1) Explore an unfamiliar area of knowledge.

For example if you are creative or “right-brain” oriented, explore logical information such as math or science; if you are “logical”, listen to music or explore art

2) Spend time each day thinking.

Sounds like a mute point as people would offer that they spend most of their day thinking. This suggestion refers to building thinking pathways that may not be currently related to your career. It’s much like those people who would say that they get exercise everyday walking around the office. Thinking, like exercise, needs its own time and focus.

3) Practice the art of paying attention.

Too many things distract us these days from cell phones to family. As a result, we miss things that could be important or at least helpful. Read the adventures of Sherlock Holmes or watch classic “who-dunnit” dramas. It will refresh your mind’s eye and sharpen your powers of observation. Leonardo da Vinci is remembered centuries after his death because of his powers of observation.

4) Use your imagination.

We have allowed ourselves to become passive recipients of entertainment. Buy some kid’s toys like Leggos or board games like Stratego to practice imagination.

Anderson suggestions for nurturing creativity in children include:

1) Read with your child everyday

2) Emphasize diverse topics of study

3) Encourage curiosity

4) Get children interested in music

Creativity and thinking are skills that need “exercise.” They don’t respond well to “turn-on immediately” demands. For learning to occur, new skills and information must be integrated into everyday use. Just like learning a new word everyday: if you don’t use it, you lose it.

(For more from Anderson, read USA Today, 08/29/06)

Memory

Turning off the TV and reading or doing puzzles are the keys to better memory say researchers in Australia and reported in USA Today. Over 30,000 people were studied and it was concluded that people who watch one (1) hour or less of TV per day, performed significantly better on memory tests. In addition, those people who reported doing puzzles scored higher on tests such as memorizing shopping lists and recalling names.

It will be interesting in the future to see how these results compare to Internet use instead of TV. You would suspect that as the Internet is becoming a passive entertainment medium that the results will be the same. But, gaming is popular and interactive requiring skills such as strategy and decision-making, so future generations may have better memory.

For now, turn off the TV and refer to the suggestions above to stimulate creativity and thinking. The collateral benefit will be better memory!

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

AUGUST MUSINGS

“Tarnation”

According the most recent edition of Webster’s Dictionary, the word “tarnation” does not exist. But, as we all know, it is commonly associated with the observation: “What in tarnation!?” that leads to the shaking of the head so the loose skin around the cheeks and neck shake like Jello. It is also one of those “cowboy words” that for some reason is linked to the current administration. Hey, when in doubt, throw out a “tarnation” or two, shake your head and keep people off-balance. It worked for Yosemite Sam!

$165 Mill to OSU

Boone Pickens gave $165 million to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University’s athletic department. Apparently, he was tired of his beloved OSU being the doormat in football and basketball. He thinks his most generous gift will allow OSU to recruit top athletes.

What in tarnation? Have all the social issues that plague our communities suddenly disappeared and now we can all concentrate on poor performing sports teams? Well, it is true that Warren Buffet did give billions to fight disease and famine, so Pickens was free to build a professional football program at OSU. And, it is his money and if sports are important to him, well, that’s his choice.

I wonder how long it will take before OSU is placed on NCAA probation for recruiting violations?

Decency

Here’s a passionate subject that was taken to new heights because of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction. It seems like everybody wants to legislate decency. The bottom line: money and power are the roots of the fight for decency. Millions of dollars are spent to promote and protect decency and politicians love to wrap themselves in the flag of American morals.

But the definition for decency is constantly evolving. At one time in the US it was scandalous for women to show an ankle in public. Decades later the bikini made headlines for its daring. Today, a bikini is fairly large compared to some suits worn by women at the beach.

Language is also changing. Words that would only be said by dock workers or marines in the middle of a fire-fight are now commonplace in mixed company. Sensitivity to course language is abating; it is the rare person who can actually express emotions without a slew of four letter words.

Finally, technology is increasing the concerns of those fighting for decency. Technology opens access to all sorts of decency-bending standards. Pity those countries like China and Iran that try and control what their people view on the Internet! Ironically, as technology is the culprit for creating new examples of indecency, it is also the reason it will be impossible to legislate decency in the future.

Student Engagement

A recent study measured student engagement in the college classroom. The study counted such things as asking questions and participating in discussions. Freshmen were rated at a 62 percent as compared to seniors that scored a 75 percent.

Of course that four year separation is not an “apples to apples” comparison. By the time students reach the senior level, the “slackers” have flunked or dropped out. A better study would be to follow students over a four year period to determine if engagement increases or remains the same as the student progresses through the years.

And finally, according to Dave Letterman, “NASA lost the original film of the moon landing. Well, you know, in their defense, they’re not exactly rocket scientists.”

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

Sleep & School Choice Follow-up

Fewer People Getting Enough Sleep

In 1998, 35 percent of people reported they slept 8 or more hours. In 2005, the number was 26 percent.

Over 40 percent of people state they sleep less than 6 hours per night, well below the hours recommended for optimal health and performance.

Finally, less than 50 percent report getting a good night’s sleep and 75 percent report symptoms of sleep problems. (National Sleep Foundation)

It’s no wonder that prescription sleep medication is advertised so heavily on TV. The ads make it so appealing: gentle drugs that allow you to drift off to sleep and sleep through the night. Leave your worries behind!

For most people the problem is that they cannot turn-off their brains and drift off to sleep naturally. People are consumed with the myriad of entertainment options or needless worries. The Internet is addicting and there’s too much going on for people to turn away. With more homes connected via high speed Internet access, video sites are popular and more entertaining than regular TV. Add to that instant messaging and gaming, you have a combination that goes on like the battery maker’s pink bunny.

People worry too much mainly because they have created too much debt. They buy starter castles that create monthly payments that used to be the bulk of a year’s salary 20 years ago. Instead of buying to meet needs, people buy out of wants. No doubt that excessive debt will keep you awake at nights.

Sleep is also affected by diet and exercise. Too much sugar and caffeine throws the body out of balance and organs are constantly working to deal with processing the excess sugar and stimulants. Smoking constricts blood vessels, again causing the body to work harder to function properly. All these self-indulgent practices are taking their toll on sleep and longevity.

The daily lack of exercise means that a person’s muscles are fully loaded and ready for action. Instead of a natural winding down that the body cycles through each day, it is still on alert waiting for physical work. Lack of exercise also means that those excess sugars are not being burned for energy and instead being converted to fat.

The lack of sleep has been shown to hurt business productivity. After all, at some point, people will dose and lose concentration possibly leading to an injury. Teachers see red eyes and lethargy among students in the classroom. It’s no wonder that reading scores are so low. It’s hard to concentrate and learn comprehension when you are sleepy.

Lack of sleep is also dangerous. Studies have shown how people “micro-sleep” to rest the brain. Unfortunately, this micro-sleep may occur while driving a car. A recent highway safety report stated that pedestrians were killed at a higher rate than in any time in recent reporting periods. There’s a good chance many of those people were killed by sleepy or sleeping drivers.

Lack of sleep is a self-induced problem. Hence, people can cure themselves without the need for sleep medication. First, reduce or eliminate the constant sipping of colas and dessert coffees. Second, switch to healthier eating such as salads and whole grain foods. Third, exercise daily (walking, bicycling) for about 30 minutes. Fourth, stop smoking if that applies to you. Fifth, set up a routine bedtime and wake-up times. It is important to be consistent. And, sixth, limit your time spent with entertainment; be sure to shut it down at least one hour before bedtime.

A final note: single working parents spend much of their week exhausted from work and trying to raise their family. They are so tired that quality sleep may elude them and the hours seem to blend together. They probably wish that playing on the Internet was their problem! If you fall into this dilemma, find a way to build downtime in your daily schedule at least one hour before bedtime. If everything didn’t get done, make sure that the necessities are complete and forget the rest. If possible, delegate some tasks to your family and have them help you find some time for yourself.

Ignoring the need for sleep will make you less productive and less capable of handling daily stress. It will cause excessive irritability and may cause you to lose your friends and annoy your loved ones. Slow down and enjoy your dreams!

School Choice Follow Up

In a story reported in USA Today (08/23/06), charter schools, based on standardized tests, are no better in math and reading scores than public schools. In fact, the data indicates charter schools are slightly behind their public school rivals.

US Education Secretary Margaret Spellings stated that charter schools are relatively new and need more time to show improvement. What? The government offers school vouchers for students stuck in under-performing public schools to attend charter schools that are under-performing public schools! This is an answer?

Why do charter schools need more time to show improvement? Don’t they follow the same curricula rigors and teacher standards as public schools? There’s a perfect illustration of government BS.

By the way, there are 3600 charter schools serving over 1 million students or about 2 percent of the total student population. Do you suspect that these schools will “run their course” and disappear by 2010? Right now there are two to three times more students being home schooled and that number is estimated to grow to more than 10 million over the next decade.

Education has become a battleground defined by passionate supporters for each cause that believe their way is the right way. The losers are the students who need an educational system that prepares them for more uncertainties than realities. They need a future not a past.

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

CHOICES?

Too Much is Too Much

Are “more choices” better for education? Since the advent of No Child Left Behind, school vouchers have been the center piece intended to help students “escape” poor performing schools. With federal money available ($4000 per student), other choices such as charter schools and cyber schools are now in competition for students. Add private and religious affiliated schools, you now have an abundance of choice available instead of public schools.

But, like most instances where too much choice is available, these options will confuse the parent/consumer and dilute the educational system, not support it. For example, Pennsylvania school districts are responsible to contribute 80 percent of local cyber school costs.

Even more tragic is the promise for better education, only to have barriers denying access. For example, inner city or rural students that need to commute to suburbs on a daily basis will find transportation costs that are prohibitive and restrictive (no after school activities) over the long-term.

Dilution separates students from their communities and their peers. It lowers financial resources available to schools to invest in building advanced classroom activities. Finally, dilution creates a hierarchy in the competition for new and qualified faculty, most likely leaving less qualified teachers for public schools, especially inner city schools. For example in Philadelphia, over 1500 teachers failed to meet the qualification requirements established by PA Department of Education in 2005. The result was a 6-month extension; to date no other consequences have been filed.

Access to quality education is a “right” not a privilege. A famous quote states that if you think “education is expensive, try ignorance.” The tenets of capitalism may fuel the US economy, but it is literate and educated people that make it grow.

The hierarchy that is now being formed, from elite private schools to poor inner city and rural public schools, will further divide the populations of the US. The elite school graduates will go on to elite colleges and obtain top paying jobs. The other students will be lucky to afford a community college program. And, as they are filing service industry jobs (that only require a high school diploma), generational poverty will continue and millions more will join the ranks of poverty.

The US doesn’t need all these educational options, especially those that produce isolation from the specific socio-economic populations. Public schools were intended to meet all student needs in a diverse environment and had a storied history for the past 100 years of producing some the best thinkers and leaders in history.

Schools do need to adjust to meet the needs of the new global economy and the virtual world. But these needs are “tweaks”, not overhauls. It was a poor assumption that because there are failing schools that all schools should be placed under suspicion. This is like punishing all kids in the family for the actions of one. That form of punishment does little to create responsibility and accountability when you are not at fault.

Should we be concerned about low test scores? Yes, because they do indicate that something needs to be changed. It is illogical that today’s students score lower than previous generations. The outcomes are indicative of issues that go beyond the classroom. Family engagement has changed and parents are less likely to be involved with the education of their older children. This is the most important factor that has changed test score results.

To illustrate how parents are losing touch with their kids, 50 percent of 12 to 17 year olds state that drugs, alcohol or both are available at parties. The percentage of parents who think that alcohol or marijuana is not available at parties teens attend is 80 percent. (Time, 8/28/2006)

Recently, the TV station TNT featured a made-for-TV movie about Ron Clark, an educator with a dream to change the lives of inner city youth. While his struggles were “sterilized” for family viewing, the outcomes were not. His devotion to his students by including them as “family” made them feel wanted. Knowing that they had a supportive and caring environment, they outscored all 6 graders on standardized tests that year and went on to be enrolled in some of the finest schools in New York City.

The point should be well-taken: it is not money or the variety of schools that create the desire to learn, it is teachers. And not just qualified teachers but qualified teachers who understand about unconditional love and citizenship and teach values in their classroom.

Catch The Ron Clark Story during reruns or look for it at your local movie rental place. You can also visit his website at www.ronclarkacademy.com.

You may also want to check out the TV movie, The Knights of the South Bronx, another inspirational movie about an inner city school teacher who uses chess to help kids reach new levels of learning and success. So much more can be accomplished in education if our efforts are supportive and not confrontational.

Less choice is more American because it provides for all people, a basic rule of democracy and civilized society.

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

ACT, ART AND HEAT

Only 1 in 5 Ready for Challenge of Academics

The American College Testing (ACT) reports that only 21 percent of students taking the ACT meet all four benchmark scores. Those benchmarks are English composition, social science, algebra and biology. Over 40 percent pf all graduating seniors (1.2 million students) took the test.

The College Board (SAT) is expecting a decline in average scores as well. If true, this outcome will be particularly hard to accept as the SAT has been “centered” since 1995, meaning that it takes less right answers to get a high score.

For conclusions we have: (1) testing is meaningless if we believe students do well in college even with poor test results or (2) too many students are going to college with no chance for educational success. In the first instance, many colleges and universities are no longer requiring ACT or SAT as part of the admissions process. This serves both sides well as colleges no longer worry about “lowering standards” and students can save the time and effort of taking tests.

In the second instance, testing is thought to predict how prepared students are for college. Those who perform poorly are not necessarily excluded but required to take an extra level of freshman classes to catch up with their higher scoring peers.

The answer may be in holding colleges more accountable for the outcomes of student graduation and preparedness for the work world. Admissions people see a plethora of high school students and their families and can predict who might be successful. Coupled with high school coursework/transcripts and admissions requirements such as essays and teacher recommendations, predicting success by these experts will be more accurate than testing. But, since quotas are necessary, it is unlikely that these screeners will accurately deny admissions to all those who should be kept out.

As long as parents believe the myth that higher education means higher pay, students will be forced into college. By 2010, the US Census will be reporting that 60 percent or more of high school students fail to finish more than 3 years and that the average wage for professionals is lower than the average in the 2000 census.

Art: Rich Kids' Activity

The higher the annual income of parents, the more likely it is for children K-8 to be involved with art. Nearly 30 percent of children in households that earn over $75K per year participate in art activities after school (at least once a month (2005)). If the income was $15K or less, the rate of participation was less than 6 percent. Even at $50K per year, less than 14 percent participate.

So, if you want your child to be like the rich kids, provide the opportunity for art. (Source: Department of Education)

Grad School Expensive

If you believe graduate school is the answer for higher wages and opportunities, it won’t come cheap! Over 60 percent of all grad students have at least $37K in debt. As you would expect, medical students have the steepest debt at $114K (95 percent of all med students have significant debt). For a PhD, expect to have about $37K in debt. (Source; FinAid.com)

July Hot But Not a Record

The national average temperature in July 2006 was 77.2 degrees. That was hot but not the record for July; that was set in 1936 at 77.5 degrees. (The monthly national average for July is 74.3 degrees.)

The 10 hottest months on record all occurred in July. And, even though there has been much recent discussion about global warming, the top 10 records for July occurred over the last 125 years: 1936, 2006, 1934, 1901, 2002, 1980, 1931, 1954, 1998 and 2003.

It would seem that people living from 1930 to 1936 would have been concerned about global warming is such a theory mattered in that era. In fact, the earth has been warming slowly for the past 300 years.

Still, there should be growing concern about the Earth’s accelerated heating as the warmest 7 months ever recorded (since 1895) has been the stretch from January to July 2006. Also, heat stroke kills more people every year than hurricanes or tornadoes. Especially vulnerable are the elderly and the very young. Considering the graying of America, stories about heat related deaths will increase rapidly over the next few years. Certainly, that alone is worth the effort to conserve and reduce greenhouse gases.

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC