1000 vs 4000

I follow a variety of people to keep up on brain research and how it relates to health and education. One of the people I follow is Annie Murphy Paul. Her recent blog post really has me scratching my head and wondering whether I agree. That is a good thing - being pushed to rethink your position can help reinforce it, or help you find what is better.

Her recent post talks about the number of hours kids are exposed to media content each year (4000) and she compares that to the number of hours they receive of educational instruction (1000). Sounds a bit lopsided, yes?  Her argument (and also that of the person she is referencing, Patricia Greenfield) is that schools should NOT just add more media content (wait, LESS tech in school?) but perhaps work on strengthening the areas that are weak.

Patricia claims that students these days are getting very good at "widespread and sophisticated development of visual-spatial skills" (all those 4000 hours) but losing ground at "abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination"

Is that what you see? If not, if it is still well balanced then, no problem. If it is out of balance then an important question is how can we get it into balance and what part does the school and the home play in that process? And what part can media exposure play as well or is media exposure only a part of the problem?

Lots to think about.

Competing or Complementary Concepts?

I travel mostly in the Lutheran world - churches and schools, and the leaders from both - and I see many of them working hard at engaging their communities, some with the help of Wheat Ridge Ministries. In the case of schools, one of the areas that many schools work hard at is being current with technology. Not an easy task with the speed of changes, the impact that has on budgets and staff learning curves etc.  This recent Facebook post is an example of the conversations that are going on around tech in schools. (Churches have a similar challenge as well.)

In my time here in the 21st Century it has become obvious to me that tech is not going away.  Churches and Church Schools need to learn how to get good at it - and be on the front end of the curve instead of always playing catch-up.

Lutherans aren't alone in facing this challenge: how to use/keep up with technology in education. I'm wondering if, in the midst of dealing with that challenge, churches and schools aren't missing a very important concept that provides just as strong a connection to the community, and in the case of schools, just as big an academic boost to the people involved - that is health, and specifically exercise and what we eat and how well we rest.  I also came across this post (and there are dozens more like it) that highlights the huge gains we get from simple exercise.  And there is strong research that links exercise to academic gains.

We are living more and more in an electronic world... but we are still humans with a body that was designed to move. It should be possible to address both of those needs for the best possible results.

Refugees... "Bring the Sky"

I'm a stranger in a strange land. I came by time machine to the 21st Century and made what feels like a quick adjustment with the strong help of some locals. But I learned some things today that shocked me.  Many refugees in this country start their time here with a 6-9 month detention experience (translate that: "jail").

For the people who have no time or ability to take the regular "visa" route to enter the U.S. (many of them are fleeing for their lives) they come to these borders hoping for help and many end up in temporary detention as the first step. Lots of war zones in the world that produce lots of refugees.

Some sobering facts: 34,000 refugees are in detention on any given day; that adds up to more than 300,000 individuals per year.  The average length of stay in detention is about 30 days (that represents two distinct groups: 1) the refugees that will be sent back for a variety of reasons and they stay typically less than the 30 days; and 2) the ones with legitimate asylum claims who end up taking 6 to 9 months to work through the system, much of that time spent in detention while they wait.)

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) received a grant from Wheat Ridge to provide a ministry of visitation to these refugees in the detention centers.  LIRS provides a five module "Bring the Sky" visitation kit to organizations that engage volunteers willing to provide visitation. The name "Bring the Sky" comes from a refugee who was in detention and was not able to be outside much. He would always ask his visitors to describe the sky and the weather.

Perhaps your church is willing to look into this kind of ministry. People need your presence as the hands and feet of Christ! There is likely a detention center near you. I can't imagine how different it would have been if my stay here in the 21st Century would have started with 6 months of detention...

Emotional Coach...

Another excellent affirmation of the key role parents play, all through life.  Dr David Walsh consistently presents up-to-date and practical information based on current brain science.  Why Your Kid Needs An Emotional Coach, and Why You Are the Best One For the Job!

Check out one of Wheat Ridge Ministries' many grants that focus on healthy relationships and wholistic health.

Community Involvement...

I get into lots of churches and I see a wide variety of ways that churches (translate that: the leaders of the churches) get involved in the community.

This was one of the more creative and intentional that I've come across. Pastor Dave Koppel is Sr Pastor at Palm Valley Lutheran in Round Rock, TX. I was there recently sharing a message on the Beatitudes out of the Gospel of Matthew.  Dave shared that he had recently participated in Leadership Round Rock. It is a year long, intensive leadership development opportunity that the Chamber of Commerce provides for city leaders.

Here are the goals of Leadership Round Rock:
History:  Provide an understanding of the history of the Round Rock area.

Infrastructure:  Expose students to key business, governmental, educational, and community institutions.

Issues:  Explore important challenges and issues to be addressed by our community.

Involvement:  Promote the importance of civic involvement and identify ways to contribute to the community.

Support:  Support the goals of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce. Sustain the involvement of Leadership Round Rock graduates in improving this program and in connecting with our community.

And it cost $1000 to participate.  Now that's a sign you are investing in your community!  Relationships are built and connections are made.

Perhaps there is something like that in your area. It would be a great way to listen to the needs of the community and may lead to new opportunities for ministry like these.

Exercise - you don't need to be an athlete!

Well, while much of the country has been digging out and/or staying warm,  I've been traveling in the southwest... and getting farther and farther behind on my posting here!

Came across this post on exercise recently - quite a strong endorsement of the things I share in my workshops. It is very difficult to give God our best, especially if there is much sitting involved, if there is not some movement as part of our regular routine. Our brains are designed to be in a body that moves.

Some congregations have gotten pretty serious about doing something to make a difference - helping people be better stewards of the gift of our bodies and brains. One such project got some help from Wheat Ridge for what they call R.E.H.A.B. and it is making a big difference in people's lives. I recently visited with Pastor Greg from Christ Memorial in St Louis and he says it is a very lively and active ministry that engages many people in the community.  Wheat Ridge supports many other projects that do similar things.

Has your church got any ideas simmering in the area of health and human care? Need some help? Consider a Wheat Ridge grant. And check out there new crowd funding site - WeRaise!  And if health and human care ministry resonates with you, Wheat Ridge needs your help - most of what they give away in grants comes from donations.

Hunger in America?

I don't know how you can possibly keep up with all the media there is around you here in the 21st Century. I suppose you just don't - the more time I spend in the 21st Century, the more I just stay inside some limited range of what I'm comfortable with, and/or I get into a rut and just watch the same kinds of things from the same 'channels'.

When I listen to a new 'channel' once in a while, I get an interesting and often much needed jolt.  I just watched two things almost back to back.  Wow, the differences were made even more stark when watched so closely together. Movie whiplash...

I watched "A Place At The Table" (currently on Netflix).  It is a movie about hunger in America and it is very well done.  I suspect that, if it challenges your belief system, you'll be able to find fault in some area or another but, overall, it looks to be pretty accurate.  How is it that, in a country with more than enough to eat and more than enough resources (as the movie points out, this country still makes the claim of being "number 1", of "best"), we have so many hungry people?

The other movie I watched was "Margin Call" (also on Netflix) about the 2008 financial melt down through the eyes of one specific large financial company, and specifically through the eyes of a very small group of their top leaders.  I watched this one first, and then, as I was watching "A Place at the Table", I was struck how the leaders at the top of the financial company in "Margin Call" had such a 'hard night and following day' when they were 'struggling' with what they would do when they learned that their bad decisions had left them extremely 'vulnerable'.  Their answer? Pass the buck. Sell off all the junk to unsuspecting buyers.  And in the end, none of the really high up 'leaders' ended up hurt (those would be the people from the movie "A Place at the Table"). In response to a question from a colleague about what their severance package was going to be like, someone (who was going to be 'sacrificed' by being fired for their part in the bad decisions) said: "It better be very good". And it probably was. And, in the end, no one was held accountable for the mistakes they made.

It isn't "very good" for about 50,000,000 people in this country.  And while faith based response has skyrocketed, it is not keeping up.

"A Place at the Table" reveals the surprising connection between hunger and obesity, and on who it is that is hungry (spoiler alert: many of them have full time jobs).

Now what? If you want to get your church involved in the many and various faith based responses, Wheat Ridge can help. And this Grants Directory gives you a look at what else is going on through our  current grant recipients. (If you look under the heading "Topical Areas" you can search based on a specific interest.)