Evidence

Ten hours today and a double tomorrow, so I will share a poignant meme with you all (pardon the french):

Consciousness Continuum

Today, a friend told me about an article in Scientific American about a possible new way to measure consciousness, even in seemingly vegetative people.

This method relies on electromagnetic stimulation--as areas of the brain are stimulated, the resulting brain activity is measured. If only one area of the brain is shown to be active, it can be assumed that the brain is truly not capable of any sort of truly conscious activity. Likewise, if too much activity in too many areas is shown, the same can be assumed. 

However, this method is still in its infancy and further testing is needed to make the assertion that this is, in fact, a measure of consciousness. How does one accurately measure one's awareness of their surroundings if they cannot acknowledge their surroundings?

Vitamin D

Today, my students and I went outside.

It was lovely out, and I feel like we all deserved a little break. That was 9th hour.

In my 10th hour, I had a couple students almost get into a physical altercation at the very beginning of class. But we diffused the situation, and I feel like I handled it better after having been able to soak up some sun than I would have otherwise.

It Comes in Waves

Today was...I have no words for it.

So I'm watching a beautiful film about oceans, soaking my feet, and taking a bit of a break tonight (still need to plan lessons, fill out some forms and send some e-mails). 

If you're curious about the film, it's on Netflix and it is called "Moving Art: Oceans." It's seriously really calming. 

Trying to Open the Bottle

Today, I had one of my classes try a brief group reading.

The material was a bit difficult, as it came from an A.P. book--the reading was Edgar Allan Poe's "MS in a Bottle." (I figured Poe was appropriate reading, as there was a raging thunderstorm outside). Unfortunately, we didn't get too far into the short story--while some of my students loved the difficult material and had questions for it, some seemed to just give up on the "boring" reading and said that they "could not relate to it."

I wonder why this is. I don't think there is much of a difference between the engaged students and the "bored" students as far as reading/comprehension ability. Perhaps some individuals have a tendency to not "delve deeper." Or perhaps I should have encouraged them more. Perhaps they were making an effort mentally but giving me a different story verbally. It could be that some students react to difficult material by asking questions, and some react by acting bored or frustrated.

Well This is Awkward

Tonight, I had to take a test for work and I still have some lesson planning to finish up--so I'm going to share this image that a good friend of mine shared on The Book of Faces.

Rise Star Church

Today, I read about a mentally ill man who has been wandering the streets of Edwardsville, IL.

I am not going to pretend to know exactly what is going on in this man's head, but from the looks of his facebook page it is obvious that he is completely disconnected from reality, with symptoms that suggest schizophrenia. 

The horrible thing is that his delusions center around this narrative (as far as I can tell at this point): he is the high priest of a church and looking for a "bride," one who must be a child who wears green. He believes that it is okay to have sexual relations with children wearing green to cure them of some ailment--he believes that this helps them. 

I want to make this clear--just because someone has schizophrenia does not mean that they will become a pedophile. This man probably suffers from comorbid schizophrenia and pedophilia, and he rationalizes his urges through his delusions. Most people who suffer from schizophrenia are only a danger to themselves, not others. 

However, this man is dangerous. I read a comment just now saying that he has been arrested, but I can't find any confirmation of the arrest in the news. If you live in this area, please be wary. If I can confirm the arrest, I will comment it on this post. Here is a picture of him:

Do As I Do, and As I Say

Today was a long day at work, and I have another long day tomorrow--so this post will be short and sweet.

I feel this is a good reminder even if you are not a teacher. It is impossible to truly know what others are going through when you encounter them, however brief that encounter may be--so let's be kind.

Target!

On the Book of Faces, I came across this pledge to boycott Target.

Why are people boycotting Target? Because Target is allowing transgender people to use the restroom which corresponds with their gender identity. These people believe that people will use this to sexually assault others.

To these people I say, why don't we focus on the groups/situations in which sexual assault is common? Sexual assault usually occurs between a perpetrator and victim who know each other.

That's My Secret, Cap.

It's almost as if the creators of this meme are acknowledging that Jesus is fictional...

Well, There Go My Morals

As opposed to drawing one's "absolute morality" from a jealous, bloodthirsty, sex-obsessed god?

I guess this is also a part of my secular, sujbective opinion.

Unicorn Comin' Through

While I was teaching today, I came up with a fun way to encourage my students to focus on their work. 

I don't like to send my students to the office (an action which usually results in suspension) unless I absolutely have to. I prefer giving them another chance and explaining why they need to modify their behavior. Because of this, I feel my students have a good amount of respect for the things I say. 

Still, getting them all to focus is no small task. Today, I used a student's lack of focus to give all the students initiative to focus. 

My students like to tease me because of my penchant for heavy metal, and they will oftentimes parody metal songs in class. One student asked me after I handed out the last assignment for the day: "Miss Athy, why don't you show us what the music we like sounds to you? We always make fun of your metal, so it's only fair." (Most of my 9th hour students like rap). 

I replied, "If you all focus on your work, I will rap at the end of the hour." My students giggled with glee and began writing furiously. And as promised, at the end of the hour I "spit some bars." I only know one rap song (about a unicorn) by heart, but I'm pretty good at it--and my students were shocked. Their expressions were priceless! 

This Is Real

Yesterday, I wrote a post criticizing Ken Ham for believing that the Oxford School of Theology's expanded curriculum constituted persecution of his faith.

Can we take a moment to appreciate the dinosaur's expression here?

Today, I read a story about legitimate persecution of Christians. To summarize the story, a man's government had outlawed Christianity. The man was arrested and the rest of his family received word that they may be arrested as well, so they fled the country. They do not know if or when they will see him again.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be separated from my fiance indefinitely simply because of what we believe (or have decided not to believe). My heart aches for this family, regardless of what they believe. It's not fair for their government to treat their lives as worthless.

If you are interested in helping the organization that originally posted this story, (of course I am sure we will ignore the "lift them up in prayer" option) their blog has several different options, including simply sharing this story and being a part of this conversation concerning legitimate persecution of others.

Notify the Editors!

Today, I came across an article entitled "Oxford School of Any Theology" written by Ken Ham in which he attempted to redefine "theology" to mean "Christianity."

The Oxford School of Theology, after studying more recent demographics, is expanding their course list to included classes that reflect those demographics (e.g. more diversity in religious and ideological courses). Ken Ham laments this change, as this means less "required" Christianity courses:

 "Christianity has lost its place of prominence as all religions are increasingly being presented as equally valid."

Oh no! His religion is no longer "top dog." I suppose now we will have to redefine the word "persecution." 

Alte Freunde

Tonight's blog post will be short and sweet, as I have some grading to finish up and I work early tomorrow. A question was posed to everyone at work today by our new director (who I really can't stand):

"Why do you all stay here? What keeps you here?"

I'm happy to say that nearly simultaneously, we answered "the residents." No matter how crappy work can get otherwise, our residents have become an important part of our lives and are pretty much family to us. 

Where Did the Empathy Go?

Earlier this week, I had a lesson planned for my students that was designed to encourage them to put themselves "in another's shoes."

It did not go over well. 

My students simply could not understand how to do this. They claimed that they didn't want to write from the person's point of view because he was "old and boring" (for the record, yes he was old, but he risked his life to ensure that African-Americans had their right to vote secured). 

It worried me a great deal. I was aware that prevailing research suggests that empathy is experiencing a decline among young people, but my students' behavior suggested that they were having some real difficulty in a relatively simple exercise in empathy. 

I proposed a compromise for their assignment: they could write about the person in the assignment, not from his point of view. Hopefully as we go on with the material, I can help them take "baby steps" towards exercises in empathy. 

Here's a Blueprint, Follow It

I came across this post on The Book of Faces today.

Now I agree that the goal of education should be to bring someone to a career that they are passionate about, not one that brings them the most money. And it is good to cultivate strong character and a bit of skepticism within each and every student. But that last part...where do this "god's" ideas come from? The parents? The church? Extended family? 

I Pity the Fool Who Doesn't Believe

I posted a comment on The Book of Faces recently.

I asked for "proofs." Twice now I have been told by Christians during debates that there are "proofs" which prove God's existence. This time (as no one has actually gone in-depth into what these "proofs" entail) I decided to find them myself--so I searched. 

What I found was...interesting. One website gave basic facts about the Earth and asserts that because scientists don't know what precipitated the Big Bang, we know that god exists. 

Hold up. Let's say I'm walking down the street one day and see a circle of mushrooms. I don't know how the circle got there, or how it came to be a perfect circle. Fairies! I think to myself. That has to be it, since I don't know how they came to be that way, and so perfectly arranged. This is the same logic as the previous assertion. The truth is, no one knows for certain what precipitated the Big Bang, and not knowing the answer does not mean we should just assume--it means we should keep digging. By the way, the actual reason for "fairy circles" is quite a bit different than the old folk tale. 

I found another result in my search as well--this "proof" asserts that we are all fools for not believing (and for the right price, you can buy the lessons to "teach" others about the word of god):

This is Why We (Left Behind) Our Faith

This man's story sounds quite similar to mine. Religion: an addiction portrayed as a cure. It only causes intense anxiety and confusion.

Hammin' it Up

Today, I came across an article written by Ken Ham. In this article, he asked a question: Why do atheists care?

He muses in his article, questioning us atheists why we care so much about his Ark Encounter. Well, why do we? 

For me, I don't like it when someone asserts that one sole idea is the truth, especially if that idea is rooted in faulty thinking. Science--as independent of bias as we can make it--provides a different narrative of our world than what Ham seeks to portray in the Ark Encounter. It wouldn't bother me as much if Ham taught good science, but still asserted that his god created the earth. 

Ham also makes this assertion:

"At the time of this issue’s publication, atheists are aggressively opposing a new project involving the building of a life-size Noah’s Ark, the Ark Encounter. But what is it to atheists if Christians build such a facility to proclaim the Christian message? After all, thousands of secular museums across the USA and other countries around the world are already proclaiming an atheistic evolutionary message to the public. Government schools throughout the world by and large indoctrinate hundreds of millions of the coming generations in naturalism—really atheism."

You know the defense mechanism of projection?

These museums do not promote atheism. They promote science and history, concepts which all of us--Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Muslim--can take part in. Evolution does not claim to explain how we came about. It explains how different species arose. 

Ham also makes this assertion:

"The fact that people like Bill Nye and Richard Dawkins and atheist groups in the USA like the ACLU, the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation are so consumed with fighting against biblical Christianity, actually confirms the truth of God’s Word.

In Romans 1 we read that God has given man the ability to know that He exists, so that if anyone rejects the God of the Bible, they are without excuse: 'What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse' "

Okay--same logic, different scenario. I have knowledge of a goddess. She has the power to bless all that she comes into contact with (through humans, of course, as she cannot be seen). The humans in which she resides all are bestowed with healing powers (but they can heal only according to her will). She speaks to all humans every day, all that you must do is listen. If you deny her, you are denying that voice inside you--you have no excuse to ask her for proof or to deny her, because she speaks to you if you are willing to listen. 

Can you see that I am trying to manipulate you here, Mr. Ham? 

Also, my goddess blessed me with cheese-filled pretzels at work for spreading her message. Praise be to her. 

Baal, Demon God of Hoops

The other day, I came across an article that I found poignant but troubling.

Bearing the title, "When Ball Becomes Baal," the article details that a. Sports should not become so all-consuming that they interfere with all one-on-one family time (I can agree with that) and b. Sports should not come before God (eh...). 

My biggest question to the author of this article is, what about the child's wishes? 

"One of my sons played basketball, but the season was interminably long. I was also traveling. So, I would be gone speaking over the weekend, then, when I was home, I was out two or more nights sitting on the sidelines watching my son practice. It was not really “time together.” This wasn’t going to work.

The solution came to me after prayer. I asked him if he would be willing to learn golf in the place of basketball. We could play together, along with his brother, and we could do it whenever we wanted. We could enjoy this for the rest of our lives. I’ve paid some extra money, but I’ve bought back some time with my sons and some good exercise for me also. It’s a bargain."

Hm...mighty convenient there that the solution after prayer was for your son to change what he wanted to do, not the other way around...

In My Opinion, You're Hitting the Space Next to the Nail

I came across an article today that surprised me.

Admittedly, I expected this to be a piece about how homosexuality is an abomination and Christians can't forget that, or about how sex before marriage is becoming okay and we can't deal with that--I'm happy to say that it wasn't. While I obviously don't agree with a good deal of what the author said (especially the bits about evangelizing), they did make a good point in that most Christians are motivated to be Christians because of the fear of eternal damnation. 

...However, I would disagree wholeheartedly with their point that the Christian god is the embodiment of love. Please refer to this verse to see what I mean. 

Public Service Announcement

I have quite a bit of grading to do tonight, so I will keep this short and sweet.

If you have an elderly loved one with severe dementia or Alzheimer's and are thinking of placing them in a senior living home, please do not pretend that they are doing better than they are and place them in the "independent" area of the home due to this faulty perception. They won't get the memory care that they need and they will be in danger of wandering off. Thank you. 

Cucumbers Are Way Too Phallic

Today, I had a discussion via The Book of Faces on the topic of sex education.

In this discussion, the person offering a religious viewpoint cited a Focus on the Family article, stating that it had some "great resources" for (what they wanted for) public school sex education. 

It was worrisome, to say the least. 

What are your thoughts on the discussion? Let us know in the comments!

Stop Waiting

The other day, I came across a blog post written by a Pentecostal girl.

If the author of this post, or anyone like her, is reading this--I have some advice that I would like to give you. 

You say you felt called to ministry and did everything "God" told you to do. The way I see it, "God" is a combination of your desires and pressure from your family and church. 

You say that you don't want to complain and that people should be content where they are. I agree with that to a point. 

Here is my advice: find what you want to do. When I was still a Christian, there were things that I was afraid to do and I rationalized backing out of them because I interpreted this fear as "God's will" (it was actually social anxiety). 

I would be wary of going into a field which has a history of discrimination against women. This brings up another point of mine--if people are holding you back, if people are not taking you seriously because you are a woman or because you are young, you have every right to complain. You have every right to tell them that they are wrong. 

Lastly, no deity is going to bring you what you desire. You have to go get it for yourself. 

Spinal Cord vs. Frontal Lobe--Ready: FIGHT!

Today was a pretty good day as far as teaching went.

My students accomplished a good amount of work (despite the fact that I allowed them to work in groups, hey!) and I feel like my new system of encouraging rewards for good behavior and effort versus punishment for (low levels of) bad behavior and lack of effort is working. 

And then there was a fight. 

It wasn't in my classroom, but as soon as my students could hear what was going on, they rushed to the door, smiled, and began excitedly chattering as they mused who it was and what sparked the fight. It was like being in Ancient Rome during a gladiator battle. 

I firmly told everyone to get back to their seats and they did, completing the rest of the current assignment. In the last ten or so minutes of class, the discussion circled back around to the fight as there were police officers in the hallway and we were given instructions to not let any students out into the halls. 

Some of the students had a good idea who the victim of the fight was--someone who has a tendency to "run their mouth." They blamed this person for "talking s*** to the wrong person." 

In my head I thought, hold up. I told my students that yes, this person may have been disrespectful to someone else. But that "someone else" had a choice in how to react, and they chose extremely poorly. A couple of students seemed to think about what I had said and seemed to be, if not in agreement, at least seeing the other side of things. But one asserted that there are just some people you can't cross--or else. 

In my opinion, most everyone has a choice in how to act when presented with certain situations. In most cases, even if other problems do exist, most people have a functioning frontal lobe. But if they choose to make the same choices over and over and cling desperately to the same faulty thoughts, it becomes more difficult for them to change. This, however, does not make change impossible. 

We humans have been gifted with a higher-order cognitive system, the cerebral cortex, which envelops the parts of the brain involved in lower-order cognitive processes (amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, etc.) People have varying levels of this higher-order functioning, and within these varying levels exist various types and problems involving the process of this higher-order thinking. For some, the damage is too extensive for much to be done in the way of cognitive improvement. But I would argue that for many, faulty cognitive processes (like the tendency to automatically react with unwarranted violence towards another) are the result of, to put it bluntly, lack of adequate thought. 

Thinking can help neurons branch out and form new connections, a process aided by neurotrophic growth factors (NGF). I believe that by pausing before acting and forcing oneself to think rationally about a situation, many can stop the initial reaction spurred by the lower-order parts of the brain. When one does this many times, stopping the initial reaction will become easier. 

I am Free to Run.....RUN!

Yesterday, I was musing to myself as I often do and a Newsboys song popped into my head.

I used to sing it all the time in church.

As the lyrics ran through my head, I began to really analyze them. In church I would just repeat them without much of a second thought (that is, until I really began to question the tenets of the religion which I followed and stopped singing in church altogether). Here they are, if you are unfamiliar with them and/or you are curious:

Through you the blind will see
Through you the mute will sing
Through you the dead will rise
Through you all hearts will praise
Through you the darkness flees
Through you my heart screams
I am free
Yes, I am free

I AM FREE TO RUN
(I AM FREE TO RUN)
I AM FREE TO DANCE
(I AM FREE TO DANCE)
I AM FREE TO LIVE FOR YOU
(I AM FREE TO LIVE FOR YOU)
I AM FREE
(I AM FREE)
YES I AM FREE
(I AM FREE)

Through you the kingdom comes
Through you the battle's won
Through you I'm not afraid
Through you the price is paid
Through you there's victory
Because of you my heart sings
I am free
Yes, I am free

[Repeat Chorus]

WHO THE SON SETS FREE-IS FREE INDEED
(WHO THE SON SETS FREE)
WHO THE SON SETS FREE-IS FREE INDEED
(WHO THE SON SETS FREE)

[Repeat Chorus]

When they say they are "free," I assume that this has to do with their belief that being "saved" will free them from death. Firstly, though, there is no way if knowing what will happen after we die. Secondly, they lyrics are extremely ironic and a bit twisted: "I am free to live for you." Living under the rule of some deity (who seems to have a habit of remaining hidden) is far from freedom. One might say, "but my dear atheists, we made the choice to believe, so it is freedom!" However, this choice is predicated on belief of two possible outcomes: eternal life or eternal torture. Is that really a god saying "I am giving you all the freedom to make a choice?" It's like me saying, "Okay, either you can believe that everything I say is the truth and live, or you can speak out against me--but if you speak against me, I am going to torture you and then shoot you in the head." 

Dat Angst Tho

On The Book of Faces the other day. I decided to chip in my two cents on this thread. 

I don't think anyone has a "purpose." The thought of that makes me think of the "predestination" idea popular in some Christian groups. 

The truth is. no one knows why we are here, or if there even is a "why." However, the fact that one will someday cease to exist does not mean that their existence had no meaning. There are things that continue to exist even when we no longer do, and we can make a positive difference in what we know now as the randomness of our presence here, so that the things that continue to exist can be impacted in a positive manner. One can assign meaning to their own life, even without the promise of some reward or afterlife. 

This Little Diddy Was Inspired by a Book I Recently Read

You’ve always had more problems than I,

For you created them all yourself.

Now watch, admire your handiwork.

Ask all why it must be this way

Though the place on which you stand

Was built by those two very hands.

You say you want her?

One by one, you will find her

And weep for the loss of your beautiful illusions

Truly, these are your own delusions

Of grandeur.

All you need is that ember, you claim,

No. An audience to watch you burn.

All the while you say you yearn

For what will never be.

I see.

What are you? I

wonder.

Man or beast?

I do believe you wish to feast

On the sympathies of those you know.

Even so,

This charade still plays.

I suppose we should all just enjoy the show.

Critical Thinking Day!

I've been seeing a meme make its rounds on the Book of Faces and other places. It essentially states: "April Fool's Day: The one day when people critically evaluate what they read." Sadly, this is not true for everyone even today. But why do people seem to find critical thinking so unnecessary?

Turns out most people have a tendency to be cognitively lazy. Forming new connections in the brain--and changing those connections--takes a lot of work, and people don't like work. It becomes especially difficult when connections have been formed and used the same way for years. However--it can still be done!