On Saturday mornings, I generally try to get a lot of “work” done whether it be cleaning my room or cleaning up the kitchen or doing work for my job or the website business, etc. Generally, I have a show or two on that does a recap of the week’s events in the business, social, and global worlds. The other morning, I overheard some of the talking heads have a conversation about eliminating homework for young people.

The argument was that young people are saddled with two or more hours of homework each night and it is too much for them to complete the homework and develop a cogent social image. The talking heads went back and forth with all of the usual arguments in this debate (blame the teachers’ unions, blame the “teach to the test” mentality, blame parents, blame the kids, etc). Lots of blaming going on.

Then one of the guests said something along the lines of, “Kids become smart by getting engaged in math, reading, the arts, physical education – all of it!” And that made me think about what – in my view – makes a young person grow “smart.” I think I figured it out.

In my book, reading is the base of intelligence. I’m sure that most of you would agree that being literate is the base of the learning experience, but in terms of growing and expanding your knowledge on all issues, I think reading is the stimulant. However, reading is not alone in this effort. There are two other necessities which I believe are closely related to reading that ultimately lead to an increased intelligence – comprehension and writing ability.

It does no good to read all of the books in the world if you’re just acting as a computer and processing words on a page. This is where I believe teachers have their greatest impact on young minds. On the very same dime, this is a scary part of the education process as teaching comprehension is one of those areas where an inherent bias from a teacher can shape a child’s future views. Very scary.

The writing process is also one that encourages learning because it takes reading and comprehension to a different level. In other words, students can learn how to read (and read a lot) and then learn how to understand what they are reading, but going through the process of writing a piece that someone ELSE will have to read is putting all of these intangibles together. Writing is the culmination of this process (though at the professional level, getting published is the culmination!).

That’s how I believe a student can become smart – reading (a lot) and understanding what the student is reading and then ultimately producing a written work that others will read and have to be able to understand. And, for the record, this applies to literature, math, science, arts, etc. I would also think it is obvious that students should be engaging in this process both in and out of the classroom (in other words – YES, there should be some homework for students).

As I was driving across the state the other morning, I noticed a lot of people on their cell phones. This got me thinking that maybe there were other places that these folks would rather be (perhaps where they were headed). During one of the extended Howard Stern commercial breaks, I started to move this thought around in my head and I assumed that the people on their phones, no matter who they were talking to, were trying to make something happen that would benefit them and/or their companies.

Before I take this post in a direction where I don’t want it to go, let me redirect a bit. I began wondering what I would be able to accomplish in life if I didn’t have any of the generic responsibilities that people are saddled with today. In other words, could I make my classes more interesting for my students if I didn’t have to spend 10 hours per day away from my home office? Further, would I be able to really explode my small website business if, again, I didn’t have those 10 hours each day away from my home office and if I could spend that time selling my services around my community?

Let’s flip it the other way around. What if I lived closer to my day job and I didn’t have the Adjunct Professor position or the small business? What would I be capable of accomplishing at the office if all I had to worry about was my occupation? Further, since I work for a small nonprofit where there is no real upward mobility, wouldn’t I be able to hyper-focus on my current set of clients and really learn their needs as well as the overall business more?

But the thoughts that really led me to write this post are really more artistic in nature. Imagine if a part-time writer didn’t have any bills or any familial responsibility and could focus on being creative. How about a great artist that holds a job he or she hates during the day, but makes magnificent paintings in his or her spare time? This applies to anyone – a musician who is a weekend singer because she has to work during the week, an artisan who does world-class woodworks at night because he has to hold a 9 – 5 to pay the mortgage, a budding scientist who is researching a new phenomenon in his spare time, etc.

My thoughts went further (it’s a long drive to work, folks!) and then I turned the argument in on itself. Are there people who have this type of situation? Absolutely. Those with no real-world responsibilities (families, jobs, bills, etc) have all of the time in the world. However, these are often the most inexperienced people out there or, worse, many of these are pampered people who turn to drugs to fill a void in their life. Not the group of people that you want beginning a new creative wave in the population!

But there are folks who have this amount of freedom in their lives. Those who do not have to take on the burdens of debt to afford a society-required education; those who make a good wage and are in financial control or financially free; those who have worked for a few decades and raised a loving family and are now getting ready to retire. Our world has the possibility to be very creative and for people to be in control of their own lives.

Then the asshole in front of me hit the breaks when no one was in front of him (idiot!) and I had to hit the breaks really quick! In a split second I was brought back to 195, headed to Trenton, on a cold December day, with 10,000 things to do before I could get back in my truck (after night has fallen) and head back to Monmouth County to teach my class.

Ah…life! 🙂

Well, I’m back from Miami and while I think it’s too hot down there, it’s getting sort of chilly up here! I was in Miami at the Opportunity Finance Network‘s 2007 Annual Conference and I thought it was great! The Opportunity Finance Network acts as a national trade organization for the CDFI industry (CDFI = Community Development Financial Institution).

I attended sessions on New Markets Tax Credits as well as charter school financing. OFN also offered plenaries and panels on industry-wide issues and the current credit mess. All in all, it was a great conference. The Wachovia NEXT Awards were given out for the first time on Wednesday night and I was absolutely floored at how the main dining/meeting room was turned into a night club setting complete with couches, lounge areas, a live band, and bar stations. I’ve never seen a room transformed into a night club at one of these events! Not only did the room look great, but the awards ceremony was awesome and a fun time, too.

As for the rest of Miami, I had a chance to visit South Beach as well as the Lincoln Road outdoor mall. It was nice to see from a tourist’s perspective, though I do not believe that it is a place where I would visit over and over again. One of my co-workers put it right when she said that the Downtown and South Beach areas are more of a fantasy world whereas there are other places in the state (and in the country) that are more “real life!”

All in all it was a fun trip, but I’m glad to be back home!

Well folks, I’m headed to Miami for the next couple of days. I have a bunch of posts loaded up and ready to go for when I get back, though, so be sure to check back in a couple of days!

While I’m gone, try Jersey City Locksmith for the best locksmith service in the Garden State!

Below is a link to an article posted at the New York Times website this morning. I’m not sure why, but I found it very powerful. The gist of the story is that a woman who was very private decided to stop talking to people in the early 1990’s. People last saw her alive in 2005. The police forced their way into her home a few days ago and found her skeletal remains – complete with winter coat on ready to go out.

The assumption is that she had been dead for between one year and eighteen months.

Anyway, the story is linked below. Again, I found it very powerful for some reason.

Neighbors Reflect on A Death No One Noticed