It seems strange to me …

 

While driving from Round Rock to Denton this morning, I listening to Texas A&M radio host discuss the war in Israel. By and large, those radio hosts blamed Biden and Israel for Hamas killing probably more than 1,000 Israelis  who were celebrating  Simchat Torah which marks the end of the annual readings from the Torah ending with Devarim (Deuteronomy)  and starting anew with Bereshit (Genesis)… a renewal festival … while Hamas attacked party goers and  launched more than a 1,000 rockets into Israeli suburbs … mass murder amid a religious celebration … and Texas news casters were busy blaming Biden and not saying much about Hamas … perhaps funded by Iran … perhaps … but perhaps all those innocent persons killed while celebrating a religious holiday were really planning a secret attack on Gaza … unlikely …

I am sickened by what happened and have sent funds to the IDF … Israeli Defense Forces … but I am more sickened by those Texas newscasters and fellow Texans who blame Biden for the deaths of those 1.000+ innocent Israelis … I am so sick of American stupidity … I am ashamed to be an American … If could, I would escape to Bali …

Why is there so much hate and killing among so-called civilized people in this lost planet? Hate and self-promotion … hate and greed … hate and violence … so much hate … and now I am hating those stupid people … what can be done to bring more peace and a little more harmony into such an evil place as these dystopian states???

I have no clue … I bury my thoughts in words read long ago but not totally forgotten:

“The desert is not remote in Southern tropics, The desert is not only around the corner,
The desert is squeezed in the tube-train next to you” … echoes from The Rock (T. S. Eliot)

And Shelley had the rock (named Ozymandias) speak: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away”

And as usual I turn to Bob Dylan for insight:

From All Along the Watchtower: “There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief “There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth None of them along the line know what any of it is worth”

From Frankie Lee: when you see your neighbor carrying somethin' Help him with his load
And don't go mistaking Paradise “”For that home across the road”

 

I want to climb on every rung of that ladder but I fell off and landed on my face …

Lost

Mike Spector

October 2023

Growing old gracefully

 

I first thought I would title this “growing old with dignity” as that seemed somewhat lacking in my own professional life with the exception of a few people including a Harvard profession, a college chair, and perhaps a few others. In any case, when I think of growing old gracefully, I think of my grandmother when she was in her 90s in a hospital room on IVs and oxygen who took the opportunity when no hospital personnel were around to unhook herself and try to walk several miles to her farm in LA … lower Alabama. When my aunt found her, the decision was to not keep her in the hospital and my aunt cared for her for a while, which was a burden. 

I then volunteered to take her to UA … upper Alabama … as I was the only one of my cousins whom my grandmother called by the correct name. So we traveled North to my home and took care of her there. We managed that for a few months but it was a serious burden for my wife so we took her back to LA. While that does not sound so graceful, she actually was. My aging grandmother wanted to take care of herself and not be a burden to others. She had strong opinions and could still curse up a storm in her 90s. Why I was the only one of my cousins whose name she remembered is beyond me. Maybe it was because my mother was supposed to give birth to a girl and have  no more children but I was not a girl although my mother did give birth to two girls after me. Because my grandmother was expecting me to be a girl, she had made several baby dresses for me which I wore the first year or two of my life. I have not been a cross-dresser since those early days, though. Just to keep the record straight.

But as I am growing older, I am discovering differences that I had not noticed when I was younger. Professionally, I see people seeking out younger colleagues and overlooking the older folks as if their knowledge and experience is no longer relevant. Perhaps I was like that when I was younger although at present my professional colleagues whom I most respect are all retired and most are older than me. Why do I keep working is a question my kids sometimes ask me. My answer is that I do not know what else to do. I have no real hobbies and I do like teaching students … some of them … some of the time.

 Many of my students apparently think I am too old to know anything useful, which might well be true. Anyway, I admit to having old fashioned ideas and thinking that the scholars I most admire are long gone … I mean Socrates, Plato, Maimonides, Hillel, Gagné, and so many others … and there are still a few around who still inspire me such as Dave Merrill and Paal Davidsen. What have I learned in all these years? Two things: (1) I do not know very much, and (2) Most others think they know more than they actually know. So it goes. Humility is a lost art. Hubris is the theme of the times. Meanwhile, I shall adopt the ways of J. Alfred and wear my trousers rolled and long for those days as a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas. Forgive the lack of quotations … look up the reference. Libraries and books are still useful. No one is too old to learn, it seems.

Mike Spector

September, 2023

One Commandment

 

One Commandment

I once had a professor who argued that one could conceive of a religion in terms of just one commandment and he said that for Christians that commandment was “thou shalt love” whereas for Jews it was “thou shalt obey.” I politely disagreed as I knew he was indirectly attacking my religion, and I thought it was a gross oversimplification. I still think it is a gross oversimplification, but I also recall my father, Rabbi Spector, teaching me that the fundamental lesson I should learn was “thou shalt question.” So I have come to think that one might ask a person which of the following is most important to guide one’s life in order to gain an understanding of that person:

1.      Thou shalt love.

2.      Thou shalt obey.

3.      Thou shalt question.

4.      Thou shalt inquire.

5.      Thou shalt listen.

6.      Thou shalt not hate.

7.      Thou shalt not despise.

8.      Thou shalt not belittle.

9.      Thou shalt not discriminate.

10.  Thou shalt not marginalize.

You could add other choices. What choices would you add? Which choice would you make? I tend to follow my father’s advice … at least I try to follow that advice.

Jonathan Michael Spector

 

The news is so disturbing these days

I did not watch the first Republican debate but did see much of it replayed and then analyzed by various pundits. Most said Nikki Haley was the standout performer although she voted with the majority to acquit Trump if he was found guilty of any of the four indictments against him. The two dissenters to that vote were Christie and Hutchinson … not Haley. My impression is that Christie and Haley were the most serious, consistent and persuasive but it is unlike that either will be the nominee. Haley may become a running mate for a nominee to go against Trump though.

Anyway, that was quite disturbing to see the candidates flail and talk nonsense and be so venomous for so long against each other and Trump and Biden and democrats … what a mess this nation is in. We are afraid to condemn those who organized those who invaded the Congress, suffering from continuing gun violence, unable to limit the sale of automatic weapons of death, seeing hate-filled attacks on those with whom someone disagrees, lack of respect or tolerance for different views on basic things like free speech and healthcare, unable to admit the dark history of this country’s founders, keeping students away from selected books including classics in literature … even in Plato’s Symposium there is an undercurrent of homosexuality which would lead some to ban that classic work … where are we headed and what can be done to put us on a more humane course ??? 

I have no answer and am struggling to retain a sense of pride in being an American, a distinguished graduate from a military academy, and a university scholar.

I am so depressed. As the donkey said in a Shrek movie, I think I need a hug.

Mike Spector

late August, 2023

Learning Facilators

 

Learning Facilators (remarks by J. Michael Spector in 2023 and many times previously)

 What do many research reports show that contributes to learning and performance? Here are three of the recurrent and often cited factors:

 1.     Prior performance and learning. Those who have done well in the past are likely to keep doing well. However, we cannot control who comes to our course and what prior experiences they have.

2.     Time on task tends to result in improved performance. So, how can instructors get students to spend more time on learning tasks? Motivation seems a likely answer, along with compelling real world tasks.

3.     Timely, informative and supportive feedback. Of course, but now there is a frequent tension between institutions increasing class size which tends to limit how much and what quality of timely and informative and supportive feedback an instructor can provide.

 If these learning facilitators are known to support and promote desired learning outcomes, then the nearly ubiquitous fascination with new technologies should be related to those known learning facilitators, IMLTHO.

 We have to take and support learners regardless of their backgrounds or prior experience in the subject area of with technology. Those with strong backgrounds and significant prior experience perhaps need reminders of how little they understand about some aspects of learning and could perhaps benefit from being challenged to step outside their typical belief boundaries. Those with limited knowledge and experience need and deserve our continuing support.

 If motivation results in more time on task and that can then result in improved learning, then perhaps some new technologies and innovative instructional techniques can be motivating to some learners.

Less we forget, learners, all learners, need time, informative and supportive feedback … especially weaker learners and even high performing learners.

 These reminders amount to emphasizing the learning in the vast domain of learning technologies rather than the technologies themselves. It is about learning. It is about using technology to support learning. It is about putting learners and learning first and using technologies that work as a supportive issue.

 But this is just an old man’s opinion based on lessons learned haphazardly and by coincidence. Technologies will not revolutionalize learning. What is likely to revolutionalize learning is for society to place high value on learning for all consistently and for sustained periods of time. Rather than place one’s faith in a specific learning technology, one might consider placing one’s path in a specially dedicated teacher, trainer, or educator. A question of consciousness … does our society genuinely value and support learning for all its citizens? I am inclined to believe we can do better … much better.

 New technologies have a kind of seductive aura that draws in many … but what about that lonely voice that asks: what do you want to learn, why do you want to learn that, how will you know you have made progress, what do you not know or understand, what are you doing about those deficits? If not now, then when? Get on with the learning and be surprised at what you do not know or understand. It is not about the technology … it is about learning. It is not about the technology … it is about using technology to support learning. It is about learning.

 References

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M.C., Norman. M.K. (2010). How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

National Research Council (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/9853

Shute, V. J. (2008). Focus on formative feedback. Review of Educational Research, 78(1), 153-189. doi: 10.2307/40071124

 By the way, IMLTHO – in my less than humble opinion … I lack humility … among other deficits 

Mass Stupidity

There were 21 National Merit Finalists in my high school graduating class … and I was one of those 21. With so many high performing students, there was a real sense of competition to learn and perform among many. I graduated 8^th in my class at the Air Force Academy … among more than 500. Again there was a sense of competition to learn and perform and graduate with honors as I managed to do in spite of a challenging second year, broken arm and being friends with some who were expelled. That is why my motto is onward through the fog … stolen from Oat Willie’s in Austin.

Will Rogers said: “The short memories of the American voters is what keeps our politicians in office.”

Mark Twain said: “No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.”

Albert Einstein said: “Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore.”  I wish I were intelligent. I think Einstein also said that only two things were infinite – the universe and human stupidity and he was not sure about the former.

Mahatma Ghandi said: “There are two days in the year when we cannot do anything. Yesterday and tomorrow.”

Hillel said: “If I am not for me, who will be? If I am only for me, what am I? And if not now, when?”

I think I heard someone say that stupidity is contagious so you should be careful with whom you associate.

Michel Montaigne said: “Stubborn and ardent clinging to one’s opinion is the best proof of stupidity.”

Claude Henri Jean Chabrol, director of Madame Bovary, said: “Stupidity is infinitely more fascinating than intelligence; intelligence has its limits while stupidity has none.”

I was looking for some deep insights in various quotations on stupidity. I found little. I simply do not understand how so many people in this country and elsewhere can have their actions driven by stupidity and hate. The sages encourage wisdom and religious leaders encourage tolerance and kindness. Yet I see too little wisdom, tolerance and kindness in my state and my country ‘tis of the… wealthy and privileged. And, yes, I admit to having become intolerant of stupidity although I do not see myself as hateful or unkind. I could be mistaken. I often am.

Like Ferlinghetti, I am waiting … do see https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42869/i-am-waiting-56d22183d718a. Where is that rebirth of wonder???

I am still waiting and wondering if I dare disturb the universe … so see https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock ... I have disturbed many of my colleagues over the years … I have no sense of tact … I am like that “pair of ragged claws, scuttling across the floors of silent seas."

And of course there is Bob Dylan who said:

“Half of the people can be part right all of the time
Some of the people can be all right part of the time
But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time
I think Abraham Lincoln said that
“I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours”
I said that.” (Talking World War III Blues:

An open letter to people I love and cherish (i.e., children, grand-children, nephews, cousins, etc.):

 An open letter to people I love and cherish (i.e., children, grand-children, nephews, cousins, etc.):

It has occurred to me that many of you are growing up in a country that is troubled and different from the one in which I was raised. You are blessed with loving families and friends but the world you inhabit is quite troubled … much more so than the one in which I matured so many years ago that was troubled by a war in Vietnam founded on lies and greed … those were troubling times but much much less so than today. I survived my time as an Intelligence Officer in the USAF in spite of my opposition to the war, first working to help others get honorable discharges, and I eventually managed to later work for an Air Force research laboratory and conduct research at my alma mater, the USAF Academy. Ironically, in today’s troubled times, it is quite often military leaders who seem to have the best grip on reality and what is happening around the world.

What is happening around the world? Well, we are systematically destroying the climate, and changes in weather patterns and erosion of glaciers and other phenomena are worrisome and getting worse and more frequent. Animal species are disappearing. Coral reefs are disappearing. Sea levels are rising. Oh well. Change is inevitable, some say.

Is the survival of the human species inevitable? Well, let’s leave this question aside for now. Looking through lists of endangered species, it seems that most are sea creatures or birds. We are killing off what lives in the seas and in the air we breathe. Or is it just humans who are doing the killing?
There is the issue of loss of habitat for some animals … as the ice melts, polar bears are having a harder time and as villages invade forests, animals are losing ground. Still birds and fish among the most endangered. Why is that? Okay … no more salmon or duck for me. Can I survive on kumquats?

There is no doubt that threats to the environment pose many threats to living creatures. Oh yes, then there is that one threatening creature called homo sapiens … not such a wise being after all but he did come after homo erectus … that being who could stand upright and spot prey at a distance. A wise hunter will find prey anywhere and everywhere … that is what we do, is it not?

I almost forgot … I am making these notes for people I love and cherish … my real worry is that many of them will live in a world much different from the one in which I managed to survive and even thrive … there is war and hate and violence all around and people who think those with whom they disagree should be banished from the earth … so much hate and violence all around … I do not think it was so pervasive when I was growing up and chasing butterflies. The advice I have heard others give is to find a little corner or space where there is not so much hate and violence and spend your time loving and cherishing those close to you. But that space is getting smaller and smaller and those you are able to love and cherish are moving on or moving away into their own safe spaces.

What can I possibly say to encourage you to live and love and find as much happiness as you can while doing as little harm to others as possible  … including all those fish and fowl … plant a fig tree and watch it grow … plant a little forgiveness and watch it grow … give a little … take a little less … smile at strangers … talk to those you regard as different or even deplorable … that takes courage … be strong and live long … sing a song along the way.

I am so discouraged by what I see all around the world these days … I am old and tired … but making these notes and thinking about those about whom I care has lightened my load … paraphrasing the last stanza of Bob Dylan’s Frankie Lee and Judas Priest … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Svltq6LxoI .

March madness, 2023

The Truth They Are Telling

 

This is my second take on the subject of this piece … the first was when I was in graduate school in the philosophy department at UT-Austin. I think I was protesting the war in Vietnam back then. Now things seem much worse. I do not have a copy of that first piece but I imagine it was much better than this short one.

The truth they are telling may only be the truth that is selling. “What is truth?” Ruth asked Naomi in the Megilath Ruth, and truth showed itself in Ruth following Naomi. Truth shows itself in actions and decisions … it is what we do that matters … not what we say. Truth shows itself.

Is the near death beating of Paul Pelosi a democratic conspiracy? Was what happened at the capitol an invasion or a peaceful demonstration? Who lied about having forbidden documents?  Are immigrants rapists and criminals or are they seeking a better life in this troubled land? How much worse must their home countries be?

While it is freezing in Dallas can climate warming be true? Is sea level rising? Are species being killed off? Is racism alive and well? Are rain forests disappearing? Is there balm in Gilead. “Quoth the raven, nevermore”(my apologies to Edgar Allan).

Truth shows itself to those willing to look and think. But in the metaverse, what seems to matter is what is being sold rather than what is actually happening.

On a side note, I recall my esteemed colleague, Prof. Norbert Seel, criticizing efforts to turn education into entertainment – called edutainment. Norbert was a serious scholar. My reaction to his criticism was to invent what I call edunishment – educational punishment. My argument was that effective learning often required hard effort … the punishment of serious and sustained inquiry associated with attaining deep understanding. I even told about when I was publicly humiliated but then realized deep truths I had overlooked. That kind of punishment by my favorite Professors, Spicker and Bouwsma,  led me to deep truths about myself and my lack of respect for what was happening in those two instances and what others present were thinking. I am such a slow learner … so often reacting rather than thinking.

Thought is not properly respected or rewarded these days in some many instances. Edutainment rules over edunisment. So be it. Laugh a lot and learn a little. Love more and hate less. It is so hard to live up to all of those ten commandments. Living up to one or two is not sufficient. It is all ten that matters … especially the second five, which seem the most difficult to respect and follow.

What is truth? Is it what they are telling and selling or is it something else? I have more questions than answers.

Mike Spector, January 30, 2023

A violent world

 

We live in a violent world as the daily news in many places easily documents. In Europe, Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine and mass killings of innocent civilians continues. In the USA, mass shootings of innocent people occur daily and pepper the evening news frequently. One can find examples of people killing other people in every corner of this planet, on every continent and in nearly every country. It is no secret that the human species has a long history of violence against other humans dating back to recorded time and stories of the origin of the species. That tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden turned out to be the tree of knowledge of war and acts of inhumanity.

Our species is now exploring space and the possible existence of civilizations in other parts of the universe. If advance organisms are found, I am curious to learn if they engage in such brutality against others and other members of their own species. Along with Edgar Allen Poe, I wonder if there is balm in Gilead as promised in the Jewish bible (Jeremiah 8:22). The Raven’s answer was “nevermore.” I honestly do not know.

However, the focus on people killing other people overlooks a larger threat to us all. Namely, the environment in which we live and occasionally thrive is deteriorating and threatening us all. Efforts to reduce gun violence and bring peace to our species overlooks the larger problem of our continued existence on this planet.

While I personally detest human violence and would like to see gun violence in my country and the state of Texas greatly reduced, I wonder at our inability to control or influence things within our potential control, such as gun violence and war, and our continued disregard to the environmental factors that influence our very existence. While the climate is at the far extreme of things we can influence, there are some things that could be done but are not even seriously considered. We are fighting the wrong enemy.

 

Mike Spector, January, 2023