Happy summer to all of you! Thank you to everyone who participated in the first year of iRead, both in person and virtually. We would especially like to thank all of our fabulous guest speakers who made our job easier (planning sessions for all of the different sections would have been a nightmare!). We wanted to give everyone an update about next year's program. Our 2009-10 selection for iRead is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. We have started a blog already: http://drink3cups.blogspot.com/, so be sure to subscribe to it for updates!

Recap of the iRead meeting

on Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind,

Chapter Nine: “Meaning”

 

Dr. Harvill Eaton, President of Cumberland University, was our guest discussion leader for the chapter on “Meaning.”  He admitted that he had not really given such philosophical issues much thought recently.  He recalled taking a Philosophy class in college and how he was influenced by this experience and by his professors.  Dr. Eaton related to us that he has a connection to many of the people mentioned in the chapter.  He wondered about his own life’s path contemplated how he was pulled back into a small college environment, perhaps due to the values which he finds meaningful. 

Dr. Eaton thought the topic, “meaning,” was a difficult one and posed a series of questions for the group to ponder. 

What is meant by “meaning?” 

Is there an absolute definition of meaning?

If there is meaning, what is it? 

 

As the group explored these questions, our discussion led us to think about the works of scientists and philosophers, such as Siddhartha, Thoreau, Hume, the Dali Lama, Einstein, and others who have contributed their knowledge and wisdom to these

unanswerable questions.

We considered a quote in the book from Dr. Lauren Artess, an Episcopal priest and labyrinth pioneer:  

“We are not human beings on a spiritual path,

but spiritual beings on a human path.” 

 

Recap of the iRead meeting

on Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind,

Chapter Eight: “Play”

Our featured discussion leader was unable to attend so the Library staff facilitated this session with an April Fool’s Day Play Party. This chapter supports the concept that “laughter can improve our health, increase our profits and maybe even bring peace to the world.”

As the group toyed with objects and participated in creative activities, we discussed the book. Daniel Pink states that “humor is showing itself to be an accurate marker for managerial effectiveness, emotional intelligence, and the thinking style characteristic of the brain’s right hemisphere.”

The author uses Southwest Airlines as an example of a company with a “play ethic.” Its mission statement says, “People rarely succeed at anything unless they are having fun doing it.”

The book devotes a large section to online gaming. We had discussed in several previous sessions that this popular technology may be effective in education if used for instructional purposes.

The group contemplated words of wisdom from Fabio Sala from the Harvard Business Review: “Humor, used skillfully, greases the management wheels. It reduces hostility, deflects criticism, relieves tension, improves morale, and helps communicate difficult messages.” We agreed but added, to be effective, humor needs to be used appropriately.

Check out the pictures from our play day!

Need a little fun in your life? Don't be an April Fool...join us for the iRead discussion on "Play" with Amy Berry on Wednesday, April 1 in the Lawlor Room, Vise Library.

Recap of the iRead meeting

on Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind,

Chapter Seven: “Empathy”

Lisa Macke of Cumberland University’s Counseling Center lead the group discussion of Chapter Seven on “Empathy.”
She began by asking what part of the chapter left the biggest impression. One person commented on the contagious nature of yawning. Another commented on the study conducted on facial expressions and how the eyes can help reveal if someone is being sincere. The study found that facial expressions are universal and: “That seven basic human emotions have clear facial signs; anger, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, and contempt, and happiness.”


Health care was an area discussed concerning the author’s assertion that this is a field in which empathy is needed and most desired. We discussed the inherent nature of empathy in the caring professions and went on to consider whether or not this is a skill that could be taught. The group agreed that scientific knowledge and an empathic nature are needed in the medical professions to be most effective in the healing process.

Lisa stressed the need to communicate empathy and noted that there are four elements of communication: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Education has done a poor job of teaching listening skills which is the most important skill for understanding the view points of others and being empathic.

There was a discussion about some professions, such as law enforcement, that needed to guard against being empathetic. The professors found it hard to be empathetic, nor sympathetic with students who do not turn in their work for various reasons. They can empathize with the situation, but they see it as a consequence of the student’s actions. Some students’ requests for leniency are a way for them to test the limits of authority. Many of them have been sheltered and over protected and have not always had to deal directly with challenging situations.

People who do not display empathy do not usually have a solid background of human attachment. They may have been in foster care or other situations where attachments were not formed. Empathy requires human connection.

Lisa reviewed another study which found that social skills, more than test scores, were better indicators of future earnings. People with good social skills do better at navigating social settings and can relate well to peers. They are able to find something that they agree upon even if just 1%, to relate with another person and seek understanding.

The group talked about past business/career publications such as Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which has a chapter on empathic communication and recommends: ‘Seek first to understand . . . .” This theme has been covered before and a Whole New Mind reiterates it for a new generation.

Please join us for the iRead discussion on "Empathy" with Lisa Macke on Wednesday, March 18 in the Lawlor Room, Vise Library.
It's not too late to join the group! If you're interested in joining and receiving a free copy of A Whole New Mind, stop by the library!

Recap of the Sixth iRead meeting

on Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind,

Chapter Six: “Symphony”

Ted Rose, Cumberland University’s Dean of the School of Music and the Arts, led the discussion on ‘Symphony.” He said that this had a special significance to him because of a painting he remembers as a child with this title. Unlike a lot of art work he was exposed to, this one was full of patterns and shapes, non representational. It bothered him, but he also found it intriguing. Symphony is a lot of parts put together to create a whole. Like in drawing where objects are in relationships with each other. The group looked at the self portrait drawings that are in the book and discussed the differences between the two. We also examined drawings by Dean Rose of paper bags. He pointed out that people draw what they think they see and oversimplify shapes. We need to learn to see better and decipher tone, stroke, and line. He brought our attention to three types of marking systems: weight, edge and shade, as well as negative space. These tools can expand our capacity of expression. Most people need to be taught how to see.

Dean Rose also discussed how our educational system can stifle creativity. One example was when he was in the third grade and moved to another school, his teachers made him use his right hand (he was naturally left-handed). Although this made him dislike school, today he is ambidextrous and uses both hands to draw – as he demonstrated. He also told us about a fellow student who had become paralyzed from the neck down due to a sports accident. As part of his physical therapy, he had to learn to paint with his mouth, which he did successfully. Using his qualities of self discipline and perfectionism, he went on to a successful career in computers, something he never thought of doing before.

Dean Rose also told of a school he visited in Kuwait where the students learn through hands-on activities in small classes. There was much discussion about the limitations of our school systems and the obstacles to managing large classrooms. One method may be to use video gaming technology for educational purposes to engage students. We also pondered an excerpt from an article by Lorin Hollander warning that schools “are not nurturing our most precious resource: the creativity and humanity of our children.”

Next, the discussion led to an architectural project at Pratt Institute in New York where architects from all over the world explored building cities in the sky and other problem solving activities. These exercises changed their building designs and allowed them to think in a whole new way. We looked at pictures of the Dubai rotating skyscraper as an example of innovative architecture.

Dean Rose also spoke of a high school student he taught who was an honor student and a math whiz who was discouraged from taking art. When allowed into art class, he created a self portrait based on the style of Chuck Close. His favorite quote was from Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”