Keeping my brother

I just read an article in Sunday's Washington Post, written by the young man (Allen Haywood) who was viciously beaten on the L'Enfant Plaza (Washington, DC) train platform a couple of weeks ago. I have to say, that the absence of venom or self-pity in his writing was ....... I don't even know how to describe it, except to say that I applaud him for being able to take the tack he did.

For me, the most alarming aspect of this story is the fact that those on the platform neither sought to help nor did anyone try to draw the station manager's attention to the fact that a fellow passenger was under attack. Had the victim been a part of the marauding group, I could possibly (maybe) understand the reluctance of passersby/witnesses to intervene, but he was clearly older than they and he was minding his own business reading when the attack began. I think it must have been pretty clear that he was not, in any way, an instigator or willing participant in the mayhem. So why the reluctance to intervene or even to call for help?

It's interesting to me that whereas in Arizona, people old and young, jumped a troubled young man with a gun, in DC, people, old and young, simply looked away or better yet, shot video which they then uploaded to YouTube. How can we think it appropriate to record but not react/respond? Do we not think enough of each other to take the risk and call the station manager? That's a pretty sad state of affairs.

I keep asking myself when it became more important to watch than to do? I wasn't there of course, but as someone who did once famously stop a train because a lady getting off with a toddler and a baby left her handbag behind, I'm giving myself leave to speak. I dashed off the train (OK so I'm a little impulsive), instructing (yeah, I'm a little bold too) the lady nearest to me to watch my stuff while I chased after the departing lady. Between shouting at the lady to stop and tossing a couple of words to the train operator to wait for me, I must have looked like a nutcase. It wasn't the first time (that I looked like a nutcase) and it probably won't be the last. [In case you were interested, the operator did wait; the lady and her babies got the handbag, and I got to work on time. I also got a little extra cardio in that morning too. Happy ending all around.]

I say all that to say this: as I said in my piece on Ted Williams, we have to be in the world to change it. We can't just watch and shake our heads, tut-tutting at how things have got so bad. We have to be in it. What's the point of the empty voyeurism? Wouldn't we rather be known for having done something, than gain temporary notoriety for having stood by and watched, in this case, while a man was pretty badly beaten? I dunno. I figure the worst that can happen is that we might have to tell folk, "Look, if it was me, I would hope somebody would have done the same." Maybe, like me, you'll help someone and no one will know but who cares? I'm in it. It's also why I write my meanderings. My writing, even if it's only read by you and me, is me putting it out there. You have to be in it to win it, so come on and get in the game.

We are our brothers' keeper. What a shame Mr. Haywood had no brothers on the platform.

Full article by the assault victim available here: Why my metro assault is a problem

The Final Frontier......it ain't space

In the moments before Star Trek, Next Generation episodes begin, we hear Capt. Jean-Luc Picard intoning these words, "[sic] to seek out new life, new civilizations. to boldly go where no man has gone before". Space, they say, is the final frontier. I would beg to disagree.

A recent news report on ABC (link to full report below), reviewed the findings of a research endeavor that determined that "45 percent of students show no significant improvement in the key measures of critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing by the end of their sophomore years." Yikes! What's the point then of spending all that money? The most expensive school in the nation is about $60k per year. So if we believe this research, $120k of a $240k education bill will have been invested for um, "no significant improvement in [sic] critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing"? Dang. You might be better off playing the ponies, it's a surer return on investment.

The article places the blame for the lack of development of these critical skills on both student and faculty, and while I would certainly say that faculty share in the responsibility, the reality is that the development of the mind is the mind owner's responsibility, no one else's. A school has a responsibility to teach, but I, as the mind owner, have the responsibility to be engaged in the work, read, contemplate and participate in what's happening. I also have a responsibility to challenge myself by not filling my academic playlist with "underwater basket weaving" and "clapping for credit" which the research suggests, many young people do.

So, the choice is ours. Space isn't the final frontier, the mind is. The mind is the first and the last frontier for each of us. For some of us, it's the only frontier that matters. If as a nation America really doesn't want every other first world nation to whiz by; if as a nation America would prefer not to see China eat us for lunch (and still be hungry because at this rate, we won't be particularly filling), we all need to engage in the life of the mind. The easy road is a low road that leads to an inglorious destination.

Student Tracking Finds Limited Learning in College - ABC News

Just a dog in shirtsleeves?

I'm currently 'between professional opportunities'. As a consequence of my job search, I am often invited to attend interviews but sometimes arrangements fall apart for one reason or another. When they do, I often have to wonder why it's so difficult to notify candidates ahead of time that changes are being made? I have a few suspicions why it doesn't happen but more of that anon.

Here are three examples of interviews gone awry. I'm sure every job-seeker in the world has a story or two to tell. Here are mine:

Interview 1
On the day before Thanksgiving, I was to attend an interview. It was a cattle call for about sixty people. Under different circumstances, I probably wouldn't have attended but circumstances alter cases. I was sufficiently desperate to make the effort in spite of my misgivings. We were asked to set aside 3 hours (yes, on the day before Thanksgiving) for the process.

When I got to the venue (a local community center) I found an unmarked door, no one seated at reception and a poorly lit waiting room. Fortunately for me, a gentleman seated just inside the door saw my hesitant approach and asked me whether I was there for the interviews. When I said that I was, he informed me that they had just been advised that the interviews had been rescheduled for 4:00 pm on the day before Thanksgiving. I presume they still wanted us to set aside 3 hours, on the day before Thanksgiving when there was some kind of precipitation in the forecast.

Interview 2
I received a call to attend an interview. We scheduled for two days later. My life, if you've read my other blog, Losing Mummy, Finding Barbara, is not simple, so I need advanced notice if there are to be changes. Of course, as you seek work, you can hardly say, "Look, I've got this situation at home blah, blah, blah" but between the extreme of bending over backwards to accommodate me and treating me as though my universe matters not, a host of options exist.

At any rate, my interviewer was unable to meet with me on the scheduled date and at the scheduled time. Unfortunately, he called two hours before the meeting to advise me that a change needed to be made. The problem with that is that my caregiver was already in place and I was already out of the house. I picked up the voice mail while in the train station, half way to the meeting. I turned around and went back home. I was no closer to a job, but I still had to pay the cost of a day's caregiving.

Interview 3
I gave my resume to a company President who was a social connection. He invited me to interview. We spoke at length, he taking copious notes all the while (always a good sign I thought). He promised to be in touch. He wasn't. I followed up with emails and phone calls. No response. I subsequently saw him in a social situation. He promised to follow up. He never has. I am fortunate that we no longer move in the same social space as it would be difficult for me to continue to smile as though his company's lack of basic respect wasn't a problem.

So here's what I think..........

The economy is a hot mess and that mess has meant that there are many candidates looking for work. This has made it possible for companies to be very discriminating. It has also meant that companies can also be equally dismissive but in this world of social media, ill-treating prospects can have negative reputational impact fairly quickly. This alone should make closing the loop with candidates a requirement. Even a form email is better than nothing at all.

Second, I believe that there are people who simply have no understanding of what it is to be unemployed. This is hard to imagine but, I suspect true. I believe that there are people who, in the absence of that understanding, simply cannot empathize and therefore cannot understand that a simple note that indicates that you are not a fit for an opportunity goes a long way.

Third, I believe that there are organizations that are so disorganized that even basic courtesy is nearly impossible for them to manage. My Thanksgiving Eve interview is a case in point. How difficult would it have been to use their email system to send out a rescheduling notice in the many hours before the noon start of the interviews? It simply didn't occur to anyone as being important. The attitude quite simply was., "If you want this job, you'll come back and stay until 7:00 pm even on the day before Thanksgiving. It's that simple. We have something you want and you'll do just about anything to get it."

Organizations don't seem to realize that when they treat prospective employees poorly those candidates know in their guts that they should not expect anything better once they are on board. If they accept an offer of work, managers should know that these new staff will always have one foot out the door.

At the end of the day, all three of these situations told me one thing: my needs were my business. Companies have no need in this market to take jobseekers' needs into consideration but that lack of consideration sends a very strong message to the discriminating prospect who may be in search of a job but may also put a high value on how an organization treats them. It would behoove employers to treat each prospect as if they were 'the one' until it's proven that they aren't. That means extending a wee bit of courtesy to the candidate because you just never know who your next superstar will be.

Courtesy my friends, it costs you nothing and yet, it can cost you everything in the long run, including a stellar employee who goes elsewhere. Remember, we're not just dogs in shirtsleeves. We're people too.

Forget the Science Fair, it's a Science FEAR

I'm standing one step away from the annual childhood ritual of the science fair and I have to say, it's really a strange rite of passage with (to me) fairly limited educational benefits.

How can I count the ways this thing makes little sense to me? Well first there's the wholesale application of the scientific method. With all due respect to the scientific method, this is not something that is easily learned, certainly not by eight year olds! The steps of the method, listed below, may seem quite simple, but at 8 or at any age and with any kind of learning disability, some significant effort has to be made to make these principles accessible. My question is: why make an experiment, requiring the application of all 6 steps of the method a requirement at the second grade, especially when there is little likelihood of the teacher having covered all these concepts?

Why not create a science fair system that begins with teaching the importance of formulating questions? Later, the teachers can graduate to incorporating doing background research, still later graduating to formal hypothesis generation and hypothesis testing. With each passing year, as more is taught, students are better able to apply more and more of the method to their projects. Projects could then become more elegant and more learning would take place. With such a process, the curriculum would remain accessible and the learning would be lasting, the whole point of education.

As it is, it seems to me that asking an 8 year old to 'construct a hypothesis' is ridiculous in the extreme. It is entirely possible that my perspective is informed by the challenges of our second grader. Her problems with formulating and asking probing questions are a function of her ASD, but I'm fairly certain that she isn't the only child who, in the absence of sufficient teaching, can't figure out what a good scientific question might be. How hard would it be to actually, I don't know, teach the thinking involved in science? How hard would it be to expose the children to these concepts in ways that make science more enjoyable rather than more terrifying?

What I most resent is the way the whole science fair is set up, such that it seems only to serve two negative purposes. First, it serves to alienate children from science. I've heard stories of parents who simply recycle projects from one year to the next. Where's the learning in that? What are we teaching our children? It's definitely not the rudiments of science, more likely it's the rudiments of cheating. The second purpose that seems to be served here, is that the system inadvertently alienates children from their parents. If a parent is a high school graduate with little science exposure, how does she/he help the child and if she/he can't, how does that make her/him look to the child? Further, how does that help the education system achieve its goal of engaging parents in their children's education?

The whole thing seems a terrible waste of time and emotional energy to me, but that's just me. Oh and at the end of the day, it's the parents doing half the thinking behind the output. What's the point of that?

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The 6 steps of the Scientific Method:

• Ask a Question
• Do Background Research
• Construct a Hypothesis
• Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
• Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
• Communicate Your Results

Seeing and believing

Who hasn't been Ted Williams at some point in their life? Perhaps our moment of 'Ted-ness' didn't take us to the streets, but who among us hasn't drifted far off the path we envisaged for ourselves?  Who?

While we revel in the joy and excitement of Williams' new found hope and prospects, perhaps we should take a moment to consider that it is the fact of his having been seen that has given him this chance. Perhaps we should consider for a moment, that every day we pass folk on the streets (and in our homes?) who only want to be seen.


Seeing isn't nearly as hard as it might first appear.  It involves putting down the iPad, iPhone or other smartphone for a minute and making eye and emotional contact with the person right next to or in front of you.  Think about it.  Not too long ago, there were no gadgets to keep us as connected and yet disconnected from our neighbors.

Everywhere you go today, when you see someone down on their luck or just experiencing a rough patch, someone who is clearly in need of a hand, perhaps you might ask yourself, "Are you Ted Williams?" and follow that thought with whatever action you think is appropriate.  Maybe you'll buy someone a cup of coffee or put someone in touch with a coworker looking to fill a job.  Ted Williams isn't the only diamond out there waiting to be found and polished, given an opportunity to be set into a spectacular piece of jewelry.  No indeed, given our almost 10% unemployment,  you can rest assured that there are quite a few Teds out there.

Commit yourself to seeing and believing in someone today.  It's really not that hard.

Happy New Year!

At the end of every year, I consider how things have gone over the preceding twelve months. Over the last three or four years in particular, I've not wanted to peer too closely at things as things haven't progressed as well as I would have hoped. 2010, though was quite a departure. Perspective is a heckuva thing.

Though by many measures, I haven't done all that I would have liked, I was blessed to complete a project which, frankly, I've been wanting to complete for about 5 years.  Instead of being hampered by unemployment, I was freed by it.

People talk all the time about how being fired or downsized opens up new vistas, well, it's true for me as well.  As a consequence of the blessings of 2010, economic uncertainty notwithstanding, I see 2011 as an open year, brimming with new opportunities.  For once, I don't see the closure of a bad year but rather the opening of a great one, greater still than the one just ended. 

I'm very excited about 2011.  I hope you are too.  Happy New Year.