Category: EDUCATION (Page 1 of 2)

Most alumni are very happy with their college experience. That’s as it should be. Thre is no one right college for a person. There are all sorts of ratings by a wide variety of entities for universities. A person would have to try quite hard to get a bad education at most any college. The same mainly holds true for enjoying the college experience. Big, small, urban, small town. The school’s specialty might play a big part of course. Five or ten years later there are probably few regrets no matter one’s selection. Papa has only met a few folks who expressed remorse about their college years. Not to be judgmental but they also seemed of a type that were sorry for the flavor of ice cream selected when eyeing others’ selections. Two of you are starting the college search. It is not a time for anxiety or fear. Make choices/applications that are comfortable to you. You are the one that will be living the experience. Down the line the odds are that you’ll be just as happy as most alumni.

In a famous 1960’s movie a college kid is told there is one word for his future income/happiness. “Plastics”. Papa has one word of advice for college. “Balance”. One of the purposes of college is that of independence from home and family. On your own is a big step. Necessary and exhilerating in many ways. You pretty much become your sole boss on matters such as time, sleep, diet and friendships. Alumni mostly recall social events from university days. Trudging in snow or against driving rain isn’t memorable. Nor, is a late afternoon lecture or a night studying. You’ll remember the fun. However it is all important; it seeps in. The best college experience may be to have fun, gain some knowledge and perhaps a bit of wisdom.

Balance in life is also a skill/trait to develop during a college career. It will be helpful throughout years of employment. It is tricky to not get drawn away from focus. Too much social in school hurts study time. That is obvious but beware of the ease of being diverted. Get behind and the next issue to avoid is putting something off by minimizing a deficit’s importance. Putting one’s self in a deep hole and ending up just squeezing by and avoiding total disaster is a next step nightmare. Stay up to date. Hard work can sound arduous but change the emphasis to sticking with it. No need to set records of hours studied and sleep lost. Chug along and keep up. Balance.

Going off to college is a positive life experience. Not all young people have the opportunity that awaits you. Make the most of a chance to learn balance. Avoid pressure feelings/concepts/got tos and go with positive images. The world is not going to end if certain events/college admission/grades/goals are not achieved. The world will be better off if you do your best in all endeavors which will contribute a fair share to the world’s needs. I’m so excited to observe how you proceed over the next few years. You’ll all do well. Don’t fret. Don’t worry. Have all your fun. Stay in balance.

Floods may be overwhelming Spain but that deluge pales when compared with the heaps of “what if” opinions about tomorrow’s election outcome. There is a little something for everybody in reporting and analyzing polls. By now you may know which of the media outlets will provide aide and comfort to each side of the political spectrum. Hope is raised for each candidate only to be dampened by the fear that something horrible could happen if one does not vote. Papa is a history/politics junkie so it has been fun to watch since returning fom Cape Breton. I have read only one opinion that makes sense. It took an old football adage to emphasize a political point.

Football coach Woddy Hayes was famous for saying that three things can happen with a forward pass; and that two of them are bad. A political pundit discussed the value of polls in predicting this election. There are three possible outcomes for pollsters. Two are dangerous and one is safe. The polls have been consistently near tie status in the seven so called swing states. Which of the polls will correctly predict the winner? Who is the next annointed guru who will carry more weight in 2028? Or, who will be wrong and thus endanger staying in business to poll in 2028? Somebody has to be paying for the polling expertise. A risk reward situation.

To be safe there is the third route. Predict a tie as polls/outcome is too close to call. Papa, still on his mission to send a message to the political parties to put up a serious candidate, will nonetheless enjoy watching voting results tomorrow. It will be a more emotionally even keeled experience without a horse in the race. Alcohol to drown sorrows will not be needed. Agitated sleep will not cause Wednesday to be a day of fatigue. Blood presurre will be close to okay. Sure won’t be off my feed. It will be interesting to go to the gym that day and try to guess who voted for whom by the looks on the faces of members. Or, will America give a giant sigh of relief until 2028? In that regard a clear, near landslide result might be what the doctor ordered. Early to bed wouldn’t hurt either. Fingers crossed.

Thre is no alternative to Isreal’s military action to dismantle the Hamas terror organization. Papa’s definitive statement is of course not universally held. Remarkably, many individuals/groups see alternatives. There are many whose base instinct is to recoil from war. Why? Because war is indeed hell. It can be argued that it is that recoil instinct that leads many politicians/leaders to war’s prelude. Appeasement. Time and again wars are started by those who don’t care if war is hell. They start the wars; especially if they sense weakness. A rational desire for peace is often viewed as an irrational invitation to aggression by fanatics, bullies and dictators.

It can be argued that the three current examples of aggressors include Iran, Russia and China. Isreal experienced absolute evil from fanatics on October 7th. The butchery was beyond belief. Less than a month later much of the civilized world is already moving away from the evil of Hamas (Iran) to hand wringing about proportional responses, international law and humaniatrian concerns centered on Isreal. Another upside down world view led by our media and what once were institutions of higher learning. And, never forget our wobbly politicians. The US is sending folks to confer with/pressure Isreal. Fully support but…types. Why not go down into a tunnel in Gaza and talk to the Palastine leaders holding hostages and who have committed actual war crimes? Is it possible that we are talking to/pressuring the wrong guys?

Of course appeasement after the fact also suits Hamas. (Iran) Much like a kid who hits a playmate and then hides behind his mother’s apron strings. We’ll all get along now. (Until the next time.) Sometimes war is not as complicated as news guys say. Sometimes it is simply good versus evil. Eisenhower said he was unprepared for the extent of Nazi brutality when he visited concentration camps. He wanted the media, nearby Allied soldiers and German citizens to witness the reality of the Holocaust. Already today deniers of October 7th are popping up. Surprisingly so at our universities. I’m sorry but stupidity shouldn’t exist there. When asked to condemn the Hamas slaughter of October 7th a professor out east was flippant; depends on when the clock starts she crowed. Another claimed feeling exhilerated by the carnage. I suspect they’d like Isreal to turn a blind eye to the next haymaker.

I’ll recommend it to your parents but they should decide if now is the time for you to view photos/videos that Isreal has published documenting October 7th. Some material was taken from cameras Hamas murderders used. It is simple evil. I looked at it reluctantly. It is disturbing. But it does sear in the mind what was called ‘why we fight’ motion pictures during World War Two. Part of what is good in the world now is responding with its military. The hell of war will severly impact the innocent once again. Every bit of suffering wil not generate one iota of concern with Hamas. Those fanatics only want to eliminate Isreal and kill. We have compassion for the innocent but stopping evil now prevents greater suffering in the future. Read history: Casualties at Normandy/Dresden/Hiroshima compared to “alternatives” possibly adding months/years to war. If you do look at Isreal’s documentation please use it to steel yourself against war and consider that “Peace through strength” has merit to avoid war.

Recently Papa’s mind has been focused on his inability to continue a full day’s care for the youngest. The boy has become too heavy. My joints are too stiff. The reality of his crawling and soon thereafter of walking did me in. How can one care for someone you can’t keep up with? So, with an overburdened mind, I lost track of the opposite end of the age spectrum. I overlooked that certain twins are eligible to start the learner’s permit process. Followed by driiving the highways and by-ways of America.

You are smart enough to know that great responsibility comes with a driver’s license. It is a serious matter. I’m not sure how to impart an important piece of inforamation except that it is something I hope becomes a part of you. Many new license holders are overly nervous about getting behind the wheel of an automobile. Others are recklessly cocky about their ability. Neither is good. What I hope for you is an actual mental transformation that you feel and act in charge of the motor vehicle. Driving can bring great joy, perform useful service and do substantial damage.

I know of two young drivers who got into cars which were parked on the driveway of the family home and promptly backed into a vehicle parked behind their car. Yes, it is good to do simple checks of one’s surrpundings before getting into a car. I also know of two high school mates who had fender benders within six months of starting to drive. It is a critical time. Check internal nervousness at the driveway/curb and get into the vehicle with a sense of individual confidence.

Papa had a very near catostraphic experience during his high school years. Almost ran a woman down. The prelude was a mess up by my brothers (Of course) at university. Dad brought the 1958 Impala convertible home for some forgotten transgression of his rules. A beautiful convertible became available for my use. So, it came to pass that I drove a good friend and another guy from school across town on a sunny day. This other guy was cut from a different mold than us. He was nice but more boistrous. A football player and wrestler who was quite animated. The only thing he and I had in common was the good fortune of dating twin sisters. He commandeered the shotgun seat, sprawled out with feet on dash and quickly manipulated radio stations/volumne controls. We were soon on our way.

I drove up a side street to the four way stop on 84th street. At the intersetion I stopped. And, waited. There was no traffic coming from either my right or left. Nor, was there a car coming towards me. My car was alone at the stop sign. At that point my co-pilot decided to take matters into his hands. Actaully, into his feet. I can’t recall if that ’58 car had seats belts but he was able to extend his left leg out and onto the gas pedal while saying, “What are you waiting for? Lets see what this car’s got.” He floored the gas pedal.

That car was indeed quite peppy and it roared forward into the intersection. I’m no longer sure if my right foot was under his or if I simply pushed his foot away while starting to brake. However, it was so sudden that the engine died with the on and off gas feed. We drifted a few feet before we came to a stop; just a few feet away from a woman who was crossing the street. There had been no cars at the intersection but I had been waiting for a lady with a bag of groceries to cross in front of me. The poor woman was startled. It didn’t take a genius to know what thought was forming in her mind from the look on her face. It was directed at me. Mister lead foot realized what he had done and was calm and quiet fir the rest of our trip.

I now have years of driving experience as well as decades in courtrooms and it is clear that I’d have had a very diffiuclt time reducing my responsibilty back then. Papa dodged a bullet. Lesson of the story is that when you get behind the wheel of an automobile expect the unexpected.

My chemistry teacher in high school spent most of an hour long class one day emphasizing note taking. He described it as a skill we all needed to develop. Honestly, I had never given the task much thought. I remember carryng a five subject writing pad from class to class but it contained more doddles than notes. It was also a good spot to write down phone numbers and upcoming dates of school events.That there might be a specific method to taking notes wasn’t penetrating Papa’s mind in those days.

That teacher stuck with his point for a long time. He displayed enough passion on the subject that I finally took notice and paid more attention. For most of the first sixteen years of my life, teachers too often sounded as if droning on from A to B to C. However, Mr. S. got his message across: What he was saying was important. Paying attention at times delivers rewards. It turned out he was so right. Good note taking skills helped in all future classes, especially throughout college. He didn’t tell us how to do note taking. His message was that each of us develop our own system that worked for us.

The first lesson I took from him was to focus when a teacher/professor highlights a path for you. You don’t need to write down every word spoken. Develop your own shorthand/summary style. I found that writing down important points helped me retain what had been spoken. Afterwards, a review of the notes, perhaps with a skim of a textbook section on point, put the instruction in mind for a third time. Later, at university, a few students brought in tape recorders to take in every word. (In those days it involved a clunky/clumsey endeavor. I assume that is what might happen with internet classes.) I grew up using the listen, write and then re-read method. Again, establish your own system that works for you. You will discover that you have the primary responsibility for your own education. It takes effort.

You will be taught by many talented teachers/professors. You will encounter a few duds along the way. That’s the way it goes at times. However, a less than stellar teacher does not absolve you of learning. You may need to work harder but your goal should always be improvement. Good teachers/professors make everything easier for you. That is true in note taking. Sometimes you can detect a flicker of enthusiasm in their voice. Pay attention; that’s probably because an important point is being made. If the ten causes of a war are discussed in a history class and a ton of time is spent on three; it’s a good bet to be prepared for one or more of those three being on an exam.

I found it helpful to write my notes as if writing a course summary. Each day’s notes became a chapter of sorts. Don’t neglect looking at the textbook’s table of contents. Lectures often follow a book’s chapters. That can become another point of reference for points to be emphasized in your note taking. (Papa had one professor that was emtionally moved whenever he discussed Plato. Yes, a tad more in-depth study of Plato paid off at exam time. BTW: Reading some Plato is highly recommended.)

Nobody knows what he future will bring. For me I was lucky that I could use a note taking system in my career. Concise is a good trait to develop. Though a verbatim transcript was available, my notes became a mix of words and observations that proved valuable to me. Notes helped me visualize the individual as the person who had spoken. Hearing/seeing, writing and then reading. It works.

It is an election year. Last night there was a debate between candidates for the US Senate seat from Pennsylvania. One of the men running for that office suffered a stroke earlier this year. A stroke can be mild to severe. It can be deadly as was the case for your great-grandmother. Essentially blood flow to the brain is stopped or is temporarily blocked. A stroke also causes brain damage. The amount of damage varies from individual to individual. Quick treatment is vital for both survival and to lessen the extent of residual impairment.

Politics is a strange business. After a stroke, an election campaign in the ensuing months seems to me to be the last item anyone would dial up if interested in health/survival. There have been conflicting reports as to whether the man should have continued, dropped out or gone on television for yesterday’s debate. News reports of the debate and snippets I’ve viewed indicate that sympathy for his medical condition is natural. However, he does not appear to have recovered. It is difficult to understand why no one stepped forward and forcibly protected him. Perhaps he had no one but dropping out as a candidate should have been on the table. That did not seem to be a mild stroke. Strange indeed.

But, politics is not what caught Papa’s attention. It turns out the poor man has a history of A-Fib. I have had that diagnosis in common with him since approximately 2011. I didn’t even know I had it. When I retired I started an exercise program and that was when my irregular heart beat was detected. I was lucky. Apparently my heart isn’t up to snuff. (Says the man with four by-passes stitched in his heart since 1988.) With A-Fib blood enters a chamber and over stays its welcome while it sloushes around a bit before exiting. That slight delay might make some blood a little thick and muck up the works. Things get really bad if a clot travels to the brain and causes a stroke. My crack cardiologist put me on a blood thinner. Warfarin is akin to rat poison but did the job for a number of years. The medication did require blood draw checks every six weeks or so. Recently, I was switched over to a pill that does not reuire such monitoring. Papa gets a kick out of his heart doctor. She says my condition is stable and SHE can live with me being on medications for the rest of my life without a cardioversion or more elaborate interventions.

Which brings Papa back to the debate last night. I researched the candidate. He stopped taking the medication to treat his A Fib. Duh. I have no idea what medication he was to take. I didn’t learn why he stopped. There is a simple lesson here. If you have a doctor you trust and you are prescribed medication in the future; TAKE YOUR MEDICINE.

Whenever I hear a person disparge history classes in school it is often based on the following: “History is just memorizing dates, places, and people. Who cares what happened long ago?”

Perhaps it was their teacher or the way the subject was taught but to Papa 1066, 1492, and 1776 represent much more than dates committed to memory. It is the event, its causations and the impact on the future that make history compelling. (However, I do plead guilty that at times I use dates as hints for the 677 passwords I must use in modern life.)

June 6, 1944 was, in my opinion, the event that has had the most lasting effect on all who are fortunate enough to presently live in free countries. That was the day the invasion of Fortress Europe started which led to the fall of fascism in Europe. It is unthinkable to imagine what America and the free world would look like if World War Two had been lost by the Allies. Less than one year after D-Day Hitler was kaput.

It may not matter if a student fails to memorize a specific date. Ball park figures can’t hurt if one makes the effort to dig for knowledge of why an event was needed, what happened, and the future it ensured. D-Day is a story of sacrifice so that others (we) could still be free and enjoy individual liberty. Look it up. Read about it. It was an enormous undertaking requiring tons of supplies, thousands of planes, ships and vehicles, tens of thousands of troops and unmatched courage. Mostly young soldiers from America, Canada and Britain waded, crawled and fought their way ashore with back packs weighing up to 88 pounds. Within five days about 325,000 soldiers were in France. D-Day led to an epic victory. It is an event that should help us appreciate the value of being free.

I will assume that when the time comes, each of you will pass a state driver’s test. Armed with a license you will discover an additional sense of empowerment. Much of life is a series of steps forward and upward. Steady advances which are age appropriate are best. Many individuals get in trouble because of their own impatience to grow up too fast without a solid base. They get wobbly. Don’t get wobbly.

A driver’s license is a grand milestone in life. It represents a modicum of freedom tempered with huge responsibility. Driving is always serious business. I’ve had my license for 62 years without a moving violation on my driver’s record. It’s not easy and undoubtedly requires a lot of luck also. Don’t under rate luck. But, wrong place and time can rise up at any time even for the best of drivers. Many clients have told me that they felt a chill of dread run up their spine when they first saw the flashing lights of a police cruiser. Pull over and don’t panic.

Current news frequently includes stories of traffic stops gone bad. Resisting, running away and violence on rare occassion does happen. High speed chases are very dangerous. One of my Algerbra teachers and his wife were the victims of an intersection collision caused by a nogoodnik eluding the police. I once had a client avoid the police in a stolen car by running to and climbing an electric transmission tower. Who’d look there? Two years later that young rebel died after falling from one of those towers. People wondered what he was doing up there. His conduct was way beyond wobbly. When the police lights flash behind you, just pull over.

Traffic stops do not happen at convenient times. The thought that it is the worst of times will go through the mind. What to say to your parents? How could I be so stupid or in such a hurry or not paying attention might flood your thoughts. I didn’t do anything wrong could also be on your mind. A traffic stop is followed by interaction with a police officer. Accept it for what it is. Don’t argue or get belligerent. Be polite. If you feel the stop/ticket are not justified the roadway is not the time or place to have the discussion. You’ll have your opportunity to present your case at a later date/forum.

Much is recently written about police targeting specific individuals solely for inappropirate reasons. (Race, clothing, appearance, gender etc.) It cannot be disputed that such baseless stops happen. For what it is worth I believe that such targeting is very rare. Escalation during a legitimate stop is by far the greater danger. I’ve taught some law courses in a Police Science Department and have had frequent interaction with officers through the years. I found most officers and students to be sincere individuals interested in doing a good job. But, be aware that officers feel they need to be overly alert to situations that may go wrong. Theirs is a dangerous job. It is not unreasonable for you to assume that an officer approaching you during a traffic stop has not yet fully assessed what he/she will find. Yes, they could be a bit on edge. It is up to you to avoid any words/conduct that doesn’t lessen such edginess. Smile. Be polite. Cooperate. You know you are not a danger; give the officer sufficient reasons to reach a similar conclusion. Then accept any ticket and feel free to call Papa.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Peace through strength is a vital concept. It is also an easy catch phrase to say; even for those who often go wobbly in the face of aggression to borrow a famous quote. Many observers believe that US leaders have waxed and waned over the years when it comes to maintaining military might. It would be nice if the country was united in establishing a set percentage of the budget for defense. New social programs and give aways sound nice at times but one needs to question the wisdom of doing so at the expense of national security. As is so often the case it is a matter of priorities. It is mindless in Papa’s view that there are folks who not only ignore the existence of evil in the world but who at times give national security a low priority.

When I was a student, “entangling alliances” was the history class answer as a cause of World War One. The Triple Entente against the Triple Alliance. What was not mentioned in those days was that the US had avoided permanent alliances pretty much until after my arrival into the world. 165 years or so except for a time with France during our Revolutionary War.

“It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the Foreign World.” George Washington

“Peace, commerce and honest friedship with all nations//Entangling alliances with none.” Thomas Jefferson

At the end of World War II three dictators had been vanquished. (Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini) A fourth, Stalin survived as an ally. He however, soon went the way of most thugs and absorbed Eastern Europe and as Churchill said put authoritarian stooges in control behind an Iron Curtain. He was also trying to do mischief in Greece, Turkey and Iran. Communists just don’t stop; the infectious philosophy was also supported in China, Korea, Vietnam. (Some of those 1950-60’s leaders received training in Russia in the 20’s/30’s.) And, the Baruch Plan of 1946 to eliminate/control atomic weapons was rejected by the Soviets. (More is better!)

So, the North Atlantic Treary Organization was created to counter the Soviet appetite. It was an era of turmoil and after nuclear secrets were stolen and more A-bombs were produced a very dangerous time existed right up to Putin’s current saber rattling. NATO has also expanded since its inception. Whenever I see the main man jog his three or four photo op steps before sternly announcing/whispering we might have World War Three if one inch of NATO territory is invaded, for whatever reason I think of an old movie, “The Mouse That Roared'”. What if one of our allies does something stupid or has its own Putin moment? Whatif indeed. Entangled?

On a more positive note, Putin may have lit a fire under Europe. After all they are closest. Not that he was a favorite or always right but perhaps Trump’s quetioning why Europe doesn’t do more for its own defense is clearer today. Peace and harmony towards all sounds good but but evil can smile with malice in its heart. Let us hope that more realistic leadership steps forward to recognize the evils and make strategic decisions in the nation’s best interests. European leaders now seem more responsive to the bear at the doorstep. (Three EU leaders had the strength of character to enter Ukraine.) As tragic as Ukraine is the US best not sleep too soundly with the peril of China. Those birds opened up to business after Nixon’s approach but have not been very accepting to the concept of liberty.