Looking at the clouds

When I told my mother that I was reading about research on education, she said, "They should consider how much time people spend looking at the sky, because that helps you learn. People should spend more time looking at the sky. But not when they're driving." It's true. A fancier way to say it is that we should consider whether allowing ample processing time enhances learning. I remember when Chak was finishing up his PhD, he often mentioned that in his Acknowledgements section, he was going to mention his shower, because that's where he got many of his inspirations.

Sometimes with all the emphasis on No Child Left Behind and being competitive in the global marketplace, it seems like we should be jamming information into students as much as possible, but maybe that's not the best approach. Maybe students' time should be more balanced, so they have time to chew on and digest what they have learned before they spit it back out for the exam and then promptly forget it.

Education vs. Research

A candidate for a job at a university may be asked about his/her view about education vs. research, or such a candidate may ask the same about the university. Either way, the answer always seems to be that both are important, and that good research makes education better. However, in practice, there can be a lot of variation in how much emphasis is placed on each.

When I first came to my job, I felt that faculty and staff worked together to serve students. Now I still feel that my purpose is to serve students, but somehow this seems to have become a minority viewpoint. It seems that increasingly, the prevailing view is that the purpose of faculty is to write grant proposals, and the purpose of staff is to serve the faculty.

On more than one occasion, people have commented that we should not emphasize undergraduates or education too much in our publications or web site, because if we do, people will think that we are not a prestigious research university.

Sometimes I feel that faculty think students are good to the extent that they work on research, but that otherwise, anything faculty have to do dealing with students (such as advising or teaching or meeting prospective students) is considered an interruption to their real work.

I do think research is a good thing. It's good to learn more about the world, to explore ideas, to find out what does and doesn't work. That's what research should be about, though too often it seems to be more about getting money, not only in the university context, but also in business and in nonprofit organizations.

Though I think research is a good thing, I think that universities are educational institutions, and as such, the primary goal should be education. I do believe that research is a part of education. We want to teach students to be learners, and that's what research is, it's the process of continually learning more about the world.

I know that research prestige may attract the best faculty and students and may open doors for graduates of the school. I know that money is needed in order to run a university. Perhaps it's because I'm not in the position of having to run a university, that I can afford to be idealistic. But in my view, our goal should not be to bring in research funding but to educate students.

Values

It seems that the word "values" is often used to mean "conservative values." I'm a liberal, but I have strong values too. I strive to be kind, honest, and fair in all that I do. I don't gamble, drink, smoke, or swear. I'm a vegetarian. I use mouse traps that catch mice alive and then I drive the mice I catch out to the country.

I try to live in ways that are good for the environment. I recycle and buy recycled products, I buy organic food, I walk to work, I use cloth rags and towels rather than paper towels, and I use environmentally friendly personal care and household cleaning products. One of my family traditions is to re-use wrapping paper. The trick is to hold things together with ribbon instead of with tape. On Christmas Day as we unwrap our gifts, we have the ribbon box and the paper box in the middle of the floor. As we unwrap each gift, we fold up the ribbon and paper and put each in the appropriate box. Then when we are done, we are all cleaned up and have the paper and ribbons ready for next year.

When choosing which companies to do business with or invest in, I'm guided not only by cost and convenience, but whether the company's practices are in line with my values. I do business with financial institutions which practice socially responsible investing.

I prefer community over big business. I avoid malls because I don't like being in such a materialistic environment. I prefer to shop at small, local businesses rather chains. I garden and go to the farmer's market. I believe kids and grownups should spend little time on computer games and TV, and plenty of time on playing outdoors, playing with kids, playing with grownups, running around, dancing, reading, and doing creative things, whether it's building furniture, drawing pictures, making music, doing pottery, writing, or some other sort of arts, crafts, or engineering. When I hang out with others, I prefer to do something outdoors or at someone's home rather than going somewhere such as a bar, restaurant, or mall.

I've heard people complain that people should not bring their kids to restaurants. "Advice goddess" Amy Alkon says that kids should not be brought to a wedding reception. She writes, "Who says America isn't a monarchy? It's ruled by millions of tiny tyrants named Cody and Madison, presiding over adult-sized serfs called parents whose single greatest fear is not being liked by their children." I find her disrespectful attitude toward kids offensive. I don't believe kids should be spoiled, but I don't think spoiling comes from including kids in activities. Instead, it comes from indulging kids with too many material things and failing to expect them to behave responsibly. I believe kids are part of the family and should be listened to and treated with respect.

I think it's wrong to condemn people based on concrete things such as religious affiliation or the number or gender of one's of sexual partners. Instead, I think the measure of morality is in treating others with kindness, respect, and honesty. People sometimes interpret liberals' tolerance of diversity as spinelessness, as not taking a stand for what is right. We have beliefs about what is right, they just aren't the same as what the conservatives believe. Conservatives see immorality in diverse sexual practices. I see immorality in the discrimination which our country institutionalizes in its marriage laws. Liberals show that they have strong moral beliefs when they express their objections to war, holding prisoners at Guantanamo without trial, torture, capital punishment, permissive gun laws, and animal testing.

Some people think it must take a lot of self-repression to avoid swearing and alcohol and meat and junk food, but it doesn't. Meat-eaters don't feel deprived if they live on a diet which does not include split peas or tofu, and in the same way, I don't feel deprived by how I live. To me, my lifestyle is much more fun and interesting than what is considered a mainstream lifestyle.