Say what you mean, clearly

Source: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/09/please-complain.html

If you want people to speak up, be clear and mean it. If you don't, don't pretend. - Seth Godin

Next Steps in Arts Think Tank Part 2: Finding Penelope

The Play. I've been postponing this organization of my thoughts and my mixed (in a good way!) response to it. It is a beautifully crafted, complex and tender piece of art. I am half afraid to write about it. But "[f]inding Penelope" (FP) was one of the main reasons for my trip. So I want to document this learning experience.

I had been following The Penelope Project blog for a while after Marj told me about it when she came back from the Seattle IA Conference. It inspired us, me, to consider writing a dissertation about an instructional intervention using theater. To see it implemented in person is surreal.

To provide some background to my perceptions, I've never read Homer's Odyssey as a student in Singapore. My international background may also cause some tension in my response to FP. Asians are expected to show filial piety to their parents, and sending the elderly to "old-age" homes is stigmatized. I struggle regularly with this tension -- being a filial daughter who should be taking care of her elderly parents, one with Alzheimer's and the other one acting as her primary caretaker versus being a supportive wife living in the US. I am conflicted in my response to the cast of elderly participants; I see my mother in them. Would I like to see her in the chorus? I think so. Would I stay away from the nursing home like Mira? No, I don't have the fear of nursing homes that Mira has. But it is a place that is associated with many "de-"s: "decline", "decrepitude", "degeneration" ... except that FP challenges viewers to think differently. Life in elderly care doesn't have to be about waiting for the end to come; we can engage the residents in something meaningful and imaginative. It is certainly not easy. Not everyone is a fearless charismatic leader like Dr. Anne Basting?

I also see among them my deceased friend who was in hospice care in a Catholic nursing home. I've seen her in her final days and remember restrictions were in place for visitors so as not to disrupt her rest. Here, the elderly are participants, opening their living units to us instead of hiding. It confounds my mind in some way -- would I wish peace and rest or clamor for a loved one?

I see talent (Dr. Basting, Sojourn Theater, actors...), hard work, perseverance, collaboration, negotiation, emotional connection... This performance is staged on a scale that is way beyond me right now. Would I love to be part of a project like this? Sure. I miss theater, producing, directing, managing... When can I do it again? I don't know. My dissertation does not include the staging of performances. Perhaps we can continue working with the project somehow to get it to performance stage?

To meet so many theater experts/giants in person was an honor! Other than Dr. Anne Basting, there were Dr. Jan Cohen-Cruz, Gulgun Kayim, Prof. Robbie McCauley, Dr. Elinor Fuchs, Dr. Carrie Sandahl, Prof Lucy Winner, Dr. Susan McFadden, Prof. Raoul Deal, Prof. Robin Mello (actress in FP) not counting other professionals who work in healthcare and arts, Pam Korza, Melissa Sharp and Kirsten Jacobs. I also became acquainted with Leonard Cruz, the choreographer for the gestures.

What an experience! I learned so much from the conversations and thank my project directors for the awesome opportunity.

Next Steps in Arts Think Tank: A Milestone Part 1

I had an enriching time at Milwaukee, learning and soaking in the experience of watching something profound unfold and transform everyone present -- both the actors and the audience. Several people wept just talking about it. A-ma-zing. I'm grateful to be a part of history in the making. Yes, I do believe Dr. Basting's research will mark a turning point in the use of arts for public health issues. This experience also marks a turning point in my doctoral journey. It's a confirmation, a feeling I get that my dissertation topic is going to lead me to a future career where I can make a difference in society.

I thank my project team for giving me the privilege to be there. I don't recall mentioning how my committee has played a major role in my growth as a doctoral/research student. M has taught me much about qualitative research. R shares resources and advice on my dissertation writing. Mi is a model of talent and perseverance. All three of them, M, R and Mi have by their examples, modeled for me a sterling example of authentic collaborative research. The project team chipped in for this trip, together with the UWM Foundation. I'm also sponsored for the ASL course. I don't look back at what I don't have but what I have. What do I have? A supportive committee and another stab at a fulfilling and meaningful dissertation.

I had been reading Dr. Catherine Jordan's article on community-based research for awhile and didn't realize I was in her presence until the morning of my departure. I'm so privileged to have had the opportunity to talk to her on the way to Luther Manor. She sat next to me and chatted with me so patiently. She said she has been a speaker at AEA. The first night before dinner, she had asked if I would be interested in going to Whole Foods to get snacks. But it was too near closing time when we were done with dinner.  I'm glad we had the chance to talk on the bus.

Dr. Randolph Rowe also talked to me and shared with me his wisdom, having guided many a student in doctoral dissertations. He also sent me some articles that will be relevant for my dissertation. Thank you, Randy!

Slow to Speak, Quick to Listen

Franklin said that she never felt the need to set the record straight about the surgery or rumors of cancer, nor did she feel like she should reassure fans that she was fine. "No (I didn't), because you really can't control what people have to say, and you just can't control what comes out of people's mouths. So, it will take care of itself. I am my own best example and that's where I leave that," Franklin said. Read more.

 Well said, classy lady.

Gender gap news

Lester Holt reports on how girls are flying by boys in American colleges. And this:

"Among the fastest-growing jobs of the next decade, only two, janitorial work and computer engineering, are expected to be dominated by men."

Wow, where does he get these numbers from? Which studies are he referring to? Why doesn't he report actual numbers of women in STEM occupations? How many did he talk to for this report? Yes, I can see girls everywhere in my School of Education but in Engineering, Physics, Statistics? 

"Women dominate high school honor rolls and make up more than 70 percent of class valedictorians."

No source cited. Amazing the kind of claims that are made and reported without references to research studies.