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The LIfe Cycle of Alumni: Part II – Butterfly/Alumni Metaphor

In this second post of my series on the Life Cycle of Alumni, I will outline my metaphor comparing the metamorphosis of caterpillars to pupa to butterflies to the transformation of prospective students to students to alumni. This metaphor came to me as I thought about how individuals change from the time they start thinking about college through their graduation and think back on their college careers.

Every metaphor has key points of agreement between the object and the target. However, there is no perfect metaphor, in which there is complete agreement between the object and the target. If there were complete agreement, then the object and the target would be identical, and no metaphor would be necessary. In the metaphor that I am proposing between alumni and butterflies, there are both agreements and disagreements in the developmental changes of the object and target.

The first point of agreement between the object and the target is that for both butterflies and alumni, the developmental stages are so different from other stages. Caterpillars and pupa are very different from each other. Prospective students and students have very different attributes and behave very differently from each other. Pupa and butterflies are very different and behave very differently. Students and alumni are very different and behave very differently from each other. In their different stages, caterpillars, pupa, butterflies, prospective students, students and alumni have very different wants and needs. They must be treated differently.

The second potential point of agreement occurs in the pupa and student stages of these life cycles. In the pupa stage, the organism essentially withdraws from the world and transforms itself into a completely new organism. The classic model of a college education was for the students to withdraw from the world and have the time and opportunity to mature into productive adults without being encumbered by the affairs of the world. However, this model of a college education has become increasingly rare and hence, this may actually be a point of disagreement between the object and target of the metaphor. Students no longer have the luxury of withdrawing into a cocoon to mature.

I believe there are at least two other places where the metaphor lacks agreement between the object and the target. The first point of disagreement centers on the fact that in the development of butterflies, the three stages do not appear to have conscious knowledge of the other stages of development. This contrasts with the development of alumni, where prospective students can and do look forward to being students and alumni. Students can remember what it was like when they were prospective students. They also definitely look forward to being alumni. Finally, alumni remember what it was like being prospective students and students.

The second point of disagreement is that for butterflies no outside agent assists the butterflies through their developmental stages. Butterflies lay eggs, which hatch into caterpillars. Caterpillars grow and mature until it is time for them to settle into the retreat of a cocoon for the final stage of transition. While in their cocoon, they continue maturation through a process of metamorphosis. When that is complete, an adult butterfly breaks out of the cocoon. After this period of metamorphosis, an adult butterfly breaks out of the cocoon and flies away to propagate the next generation of caterpillars and pupa. Adult butterflies do not seem to have maternal concern for their offspring. In each stage of this life cycle, the organisms grow and mature until it is time for the next stage.

In the case of alumni, the academic institution is heavily involved in each developmental transition. This places a heavy burden on the institution to plan their programming to maximize the potential benefits to the individuals who are progressing through the developmental stage of alumni. If the institution is successful in helping prospective students become successful and engaged alumni, those alumni can in turn be very helpful in assisting the institution aid more eventual alumni on their developmental journey. Alma Mater must be a very different kind of mother than Mother Nature. She must be actively intrusive into the developmental process.

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What Can the Academy Learn From Temple Grandin and Her Cattle Chute Designs?

Who is Temple Grandin? She is the author of Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism, the subject of the HBO film “Temple Grandin”, and the designer of one-third of the livestock-handling facilities used in the United States today. According to the flyleaf of her book, Thinking in Pictures:
Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is a gifted animal scientist who…also lectures widely on autism—because Temple Grandin is autistic, a woman who thinks, feels, and experiences the world in ways that are incomprehensible to the rest of us. In this unprecedented book, Grandin delivers a report from the country of autism. Writing from the dual perspectives of a scientist and an autistic person, she tells us how that country is experienced by its inhabitants and how she managed to breach its boundaries to function in the outside world. What emerges in Thinking in Pictures is the document of an extraordinary human being, one who, in gracefully and lucidly bridging the gulf between her condition and our own, sheds light on the riddle of our common identity.

So what? My question remains: “What can the academy learn from Temple Grandin and her cattle chute designs?” I am persuaded that we can learn much. However, I don’t believe I will be suggesting what you’re probably thinking right now. I am convinced that many people reading this are saying to themselves: “The obvious purpose of cattle chutes is to herd cattle in an inexpensive and efficient way into or out of holding pens, with the last set of chutes leading to the slaughter house.” The above analogy would suggest that students are cattle and that institutions of higher learning are either holding pens or slaughter houses. Although I have heard people seriously make those comparisons, I am not going there.
I want to focus on several ethical values, design principles and practices that Temple Grandin employed in her work that were highlighted in the book and movie. I originally picked up the book because of neurological changes in my life. Due to several traumatic brain episodes, I have found myself living in the land of metaphors instead of the land of words and analytic, quantitative and sequential thinking in which I grew up and resided for more than 40 years of work in the academy. As I read the book and watched the video, a number of images jumped out of the book and off the screen, and caught my attention. If we were to use Grandin’s values, principles and practices as we design and operate our institutions of higher learning, I believe that they would be more humane, inexpensive, efficient and more effective in producing the learning in our students that we all desire.

The principle that drove Temple’s designs was that form was to follow function. First we define what we want to do. Then we design our processes and instruments to achieve the desired end.
The first value to be emphasized was respect for life. Temple respected cattle and pushed cattle ranchers and meat packers to respect the cattle. By force of her will, she was able to demonstrate that respecting cattle produced better and more efficient results in moving cattle from one place to another, right up and through the point of slaughter. Our students are alive. Shouldn’t we respect them?
The first of Temple’s practices I want to emphasize is the practice of looking at the product or process through the eyes of the intended user. In designing her cattle chutes, she got down on her hands and knees and crawled through the operating chutes to see what the cattle saw and encountered. In this way, she was able to find the places where the cattle stumbled, where they were confused, where they balked, and where things went smoothly. How many of us have crawled through the obstacle courses that we run our students through? Do we know where the path is too dark to see the potholes? Do we know where outside light confuses our students?

The second of Temple’s practices involved changes that Temple made to the then prevalent chute design. Temple changed the design of her chutes from straight lines with right-angle turns to curved lines. How did she figure this out? She studied how cattle behaved. She noticed that they were calmer and more responsive when moving in arcs rather than straight lines. How many of us have studied our students’ behavior and changed our pedagogy to get more responses from our students?
A second change Temple made in chute design was to replace slatted sidewalls with solid side walls. Why? Because she noticed that the cattle were distracted by outside interference like uneven sunshine producing glares and shadows that the cattle didn’t understand or recognize. Temple was challenged on this change by the cattlemen because of costs (solid walls were more expensive to build) and the fact that the slatted walls gave the handlers the opportunity to prod the cattle along when they got all tangled up. Her response was measured. She pointed out that since the cattle liked the arc movement and solid walls, there would be far fewer roadblocks, meaning less work for the handlers and more contented cows which meant more and better beef.
So what can the academy learn from Temple Grandin’s design of cattle chutes? We can learn: 1) Respect for our students, 2) Define our desired outcome and design our forms to achieve the desired functions, 3) Study our students, and look at learning through their eyes. 4) Remove unnecessary obstacles to make not only their life easier, but ours also. 5) Contented students will produce more and better learning.

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Consider the Moth

Luke 12:22-30 (NIV)

22Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

In the 12th chapter of Luke, Jesus alternates between speaking to a large crowd and teaching his disciples privately in this very public setting. In verses 22 through 30, using two lessons from nature, Jesus attempts to teach his disciples the fruitlessness and folly of worry. He shares the secret to handling the paralyzing grip of worry and selfishness: All we need to do is to put our lives into the protective and comforting hands of God the Father.

In the first vignette, God cares for the birds of the field (ravens or crows depending upon which version of Scriptures you use). Ravens and crows are scavengers and generally considered nuisances and pests. However, God takes care of them. That should give all of us hope and comfort.

In the second vignette, wild flowers or lilies (depending upon the version of Scriptures you use) are favorably compared with the splendor of Solomon, his palace and its royal trappings. We all know that all flowers are very temporary. They eventually wither and die. The remains of the flowers are either left to decompose and become part of the ground for the next crop of flowers, or they are gathered up and burnt, with the ashes scattered to the winds. Finally, time erases the signs of their presence and they are remembered no more. However, God gives these temporary plants as much beauty and concern as the royal trappings with which Solomon surrounded himself. We don’t need to be overly-concerned with the way we look and dress. God will provide us with our basic needs. [Note: I believe the key word in the preceding sentence is “overly-concerned.” We do need to dress modestly and appropriately for the occasion. Other people may judge us by the way we look, but God judges us for what is in our hearts.]

In these two vignettes and in other scripture passages Christ, during his earthly ministry, used examples from nature to teach us practical lessons. Some of these include the parable of the sower, the lesson of the mustard seed, and the lesson of the size of the harvest. God, speaking through writers of Job and the Psalms, used examples from nature to teach us practical lessons.

In Christian higher education, we have often used the phrase “All truth is God’s truth.” Arthur Holmes, in his book by this same title, uses the creation or cultural mandate given to Adam as license to search for truth wherever we might find it. We do not need to be afraid of truth. However, we do need to circumspectly make judgments between God’s truth and Satan’s imitations of that truth.

In that vein, I want to thank Tom Bartlett, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He wrote an article that appeared in the August 17, 2012 edition of The Chronicle Review. Interestingly the article was labeled Salvaging God on the cover of the magazine section. Does God need salvaging? Do we think we can salvage him? When you get to the article inside the section, it is entitled, Dusting off God; Does Religion Really Poison Everything?

Bartlett begins this article with a parable about moths that Richard Dawkins, an outspoken atheist, introduced in his book, The God Delusion. Moths and bats are two nocturnal fliers. However, their evening flights are made possible because of two very different natural senses. Bats use the sense of sound. They use natural sonar to navigate around obstacles. Moths, on the other hand, use their very sensitive eyes and the light from the moon or stars to see the obstacles and navigate around them.

The fact that moths use light by which to navigate actually explains why they are susceptible to bug zappers. They are not attracted to the light of campfires, light bulbs or bug zappers. They are confused by that light.

Physics tell us that light is a chameleon in the physical world. Sometimes it behaves like waves of energy, and other times like particles with mass. Some physicists attempt to describe this aspect of light by saying that the particles resemble individual packets of matter that are pure energy. This seems to be a key to the complicated relationship between matter and energy. Recall Einstein’s formula, E = mc2.

Light radiates from a source in waves of ever expanding circles. Our eyes and other light sensors don’t “read” the wave. They are focusing on the individual packets of light. By the time light reaches the earth from the moon or stars, the waves of light are so large in diameter that the light sensors in our eyes are “reading” the light as if it was coming into our eyes as a series of parallel, straight lines.

If we look at a light bulb from a distance of three feet, the diameter of the light waves reaching our eyes is not very large. The light sensors in our eyes pick up multiple light packets, and not a straight, steady stream of packets. This can even make the light bulb seem to flicker. If you look at the light bulb through a very narrow slit, the flickering will be greatly reduced.

The great distances between the earth and the sun, moon and stars, fixes the position of these bodies in relationship to the earth. We and moths can then use those fixed positions to navigate successfully objects on the earth.

Since our eyes and sight receptors are so much larger than those in moths, the introduction of a much closer source of light such as a campfire, porch light or bug zapper doesn’t attract moths. It is actually confusing them. Therefore, they can’t navigate properly and tend to begin a death spiral into the source of the light. Self-immolation is not built into their instincts or DNA. It is the result of confusion. Dawkins explains that moths didn’t evolve to commit suicide. He claims that this is just “an unfortunate byproduct” of the evolutionary process.

Richard Dawkins suggests that religion is like a bug zapper for humans. It introduces another source of information that confuses people, distracting their attention from scientific truth. They behave like moths and seek patterns in religious texts. This begins people on a death spiral into the black hole of ignorance.

This is a very convenient and useful explanation for the confirmed atheist. It removes God from the equation. It eradicates any burden of personal obligation or responsibility for our choices. It then squarely places the blame for all of our problems on religion. Although the seemingly innate search for truth through religion and religious experiences appears to be a universal feature built into the soul of every human, it is nothing but “an unfortunate byproduct” of evolution.

Of course we could offer another explanation. However, this explanation is predicated on the existence of an omnipotent and just God who created the universe and everything in it. This God demands obedience and personal responsibility. However, this God is also a loving God. Through the sacrifice of Christ, this God has offered all people the opportunity for eternal salvation. Yet this scenario is unacceptable to many because man is no longer the center of the universe.

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Bloodhounds and Aphasia

As some of you know, a little over three years ago, I experienced a stroke-like event. It was due to a hemorrhage in a meningioma attached to the right frontal lobe of my brain. Although this event wasn’t technically a stroke, it gave all the appearances of a stroke. It also left with me with many of the after effects of a stroke. I am constantly fatigued. I have balance issues, muscle weakness primarily on my left side, short-term memory lapses and a mild case of aphasia.

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that exhibits itself through the partial or total inability to process language. My mild case of aphasia affects me primarily in two ways. The first way is in the speed at which I can process language. My language processing speed has slowed down considerably. Thus, I have more problems with verbal communications. Written communications give me more time to process the language. The second problem I have is the occasional inability to find the most appropriate word to fit the situation. As suggested above, the pressure of a quick response demanded in a verbal communication seems to acerbate the problem of lost words.

What do bloodhounds have to do with aphasia? Bloodhounds are gentle, loyal, good companions. They are also hard working and persistent. They don’t quit until their job is done. What is their job? It is to find someone or something that is lost. Bloodhounds are the perfect mascot for the team battling against aphasia. They represent hard work and persistence that a sufferer of aphasia must exhibit in searching for lost words. They represent the loyalty, gentleness, and constant camaraderie of caregivers, not only in the midst of active searches, but at all other times as well. They respond best to an owner or trainer who exhibits calm but stern authority.

Why did I associate bloodhounds with aphasia? Recently I became bogged down in an attempt to write something. The words I needed to completely and accurately reflect my thoughts were lost. This episode reminded me of a neighbor from my early teen years. This particular neighbor raised and trained bloodhounds. He and his dogs were very good at what they did. They were in constant demand by local police to help locate missing people, especially children or dementia patients who had wandered off. At that moment I realized that I needed a good bloodhound to find the right words that were lost in my mind.

As I tried to develop this metaphor, I found that I was playing two different roles in this play on words. At times, I was the handler providing the dog with the initial clues to point the dog in the right direction, or helping the dog by redirecting him to possible new trails. At other times I was the dog rooting through the intertwined brush and rocky crevices and canyons of my mind trying to sniff out the right words.

At the end of every search, the emotions of the two players were mirror images of each other. At the end of a successful search, the trainer would grab the dog around its neck. He would rub the back of its head and neck in celebration. He would say excitedly, “Good dog! Way to go!” It was amazing to watch the joy of the bloodhound, nodding his head up and down in quick jerks, and yipping happily. It seemed as if the dog was saying, “Look at what I just did. I found the lost child or person.”

 On the other hand, when a search was shut down in failure, it was depressing to watch the bloodhound hang its head and howl with a sad cry that expressed the soulful dejection inherent in failure. The trainer would call the dog to him. He would put his arm around the neck of the dog pulling it close to him. He would gently rub the back of the dog’s neck and head and soothingly say, “That’s alright, boy. You’ll get him next time.”

Now, when I face the challenge of finding the right word, I will think of a bloodhound. I hope and trust that there will be more joy than sadness at the end of my searches. To increase that likelihood, I know it will take more practice and training.

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Aphasia and the Art of Navigation

If you have been following my blog, you know that a little more than three years ago a hemorrhage introduced me to the world of aphasia. The hemorrhage occurred in a meningioma attached to the right frontal lobe of my brain. The hemorrhage created all the appearances, symptoms and after effects of a bleeding stroke. One common after effect of a stroke is aphasia, literally a loss of words.

Aphasia is a communication disorder resulting in the partial or total inability to process language but does not affect intelligence. In my case, aphasia has diminished the speed at which I can process language and make decisions. I don’t believe it has affected my ability to make correct decisions. It has only affected the speed at which I can make, communicate or implement those decisions. Since verbal communication is more spontaneous and offers less time to process language and reflect on the underlying ideas, I have more problems with verbal communications than written communications.

This difference has been brought home to me many times in the past several weeks as I have had to serve as navigator for me and my wife as we have had to find our way around our new town. With my history of seizure activity and potential for future seizures, I have had to relinquish my driver’s license and quit driving. This has forced us to rely on my wife to be our chauffeur.

My wife is basically a good driver. However, she would readily admit that she doesn’t like driving in heavy traffic. She would also admit that she is “geographically challenged.” East-west-north-south do not register with her. She doesn’t like to read maps. She wants to know whether to go straight or to turn right or left at the next intersection.

My wife and I approach driving very differently. Our approaches to driving are the exact reflections of our approaches to cooking. My wife is an excellent cook. People are always complimenting her cooking and asking her for her recipes. Prior to my episode and before I was told to stay away from electronic utensils and objects that had sharp edges or points, I liked to experiment in the kitchen and try different combinations. People would also compliment my creations. However, when asked for my recipes, I couldn’t supply them because I didn’t use fixed recipes. On the other hand my wife is a recipe cook. She wants a list of instructions to follow precisely. This practice carries over to her driving. She much prefers a list of directions over a map.

In my battle with aphasia, I have come to the conclusion that, “I am a lousy navigator.” In familiar areas, I know where to turn and what is the best lane to be in. In unfamiliar areas, by reading a map I know where to turn. However, in both situations I can’t seem to find the words quick enough to give my wife sufficient warning of what to do next. When I find the words to indicate an impending turn, I raise the volume of my voice to emphasize the urgency of an upcoming turn. This sometimes startles my wife or makes her think I am yelling at her. Both of those outcomes could be disturbing in the least or dangerous at the worst. When she misses a turn or makes a wrong turn, I get very upset with myself. Because I am angry my next several comments will usually reflect those feelings. I am not upset with my wife. I am just upset that I didn’t direct us appropriately.

I can hear some of you saying right now, “Why don’t you use a GPS?” We have tried two different GPS’s with less than satisfactory results. GPS’s operate off of optimization principles and programs. I am reminded of the computerized room scheduling programs that were being offered to colleges 30 years ago. The claim was that these programs would greatly increase room usage efficiency by filling dead space. The claims these programs made concerning more efficient use of space were undeniable. However, the results of these scheduling programs were neither satisfying to faculty or students. It was difficult for these programs to take into account the room preference of faculty, or the desire of students to have back-to-back classes scheduled in nearby rooms. There were too many variables for these programs to account for. The human mind of an individual who knew the curriculum, the facilities, and understood faculty and student preferences was a better scheduler than a computer.

GPS’s are only as good as the optimization programs on which they operate and the information that is entered into the data bank of the GPS. How old is the basic map that is used in the GPS? New roads are added every year and occasionally roads are closed. The major choices GPS’s give you to calculate optimal routes are: 1) shortest route (based on mileage); 2) shortest time (based on estimated time to cover the route calculated using posted speed limits); 3)toll roads (use or don’t use toll roads); and 4) roads to avoid. Any changes to the optimization strategies are difficult if not illegal for the driver to make while the car is moving. Construction and local conditions like accidents are not always known before one begins the trip. Dangerous intersections are not always accounted for by the GPS. Shortest or normally quickest routes may include left hand turns against traffic, which during rush hours or school change hours can be very problematic.

We do use a GPS on longer distance trips. However, on trips around town where road conditions seem to be more volatile, even with the speed at which I can communicate route changes, I seem to be a better navigational choice for us.

These events have convinced me that there are at least two jobs that are beyond my capabilities at this moment. I would be a disaster as a spotter for a NASCAR racing team or as an air traffic controller.

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Signs for a Positive Life

My previous posting concerning signs, “Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs” was meant to be a less than totally serious look at how we use signs to communicate. The first two signs illustrate what can happen when we try to be clever and use humor to remind people of things that should be obvious.

The third sign was the most serious of the three signs. This sign was asking people to look at themselves and decide how satisfied they are with their own lives using a satisfaction scale that had a few new twists to it.

This post comes from a recent excursion my wife and I recently took through a combination nursery, produce stand, deli, bakery and craft shop. We are fortunate enough to live in a rural area where such shops abound. For those of you in urban areas, the next best choice for you would be to walk through the farmers’ market that almost every city has.

As we examined the offerings of the country stand through which we strolled, there were hand-made arts and craft signs everywhere. Five of them really caught my attention.

The first consisted of words that should be words of encouragement to anyone who has experienced aphasia. The sign read

Even if you can’t find the words,
God already knows what it is that you’re trying to say.

I pray that God will help me realize this, but not use it as an excuse to quit searching for the lost words.

The second sign was a humorous sign which expresses a sentiment that I pray God will keep me from stumbling into purposefully:

When in doubt, mumble.

I believe the third sign was meant to be a humorous reminder directed toward all of us who have been work-alcoholics or hobby enthusiasts at some point throughout our lives. It encouraged everyone to keep their priorities in order: 

My garage needs me now;
The least I can do is be there for it

How easy is it to prioritize activities over people? I know I must ask my family for their forgiveness for past occurrences of misplaced priorities.

The fourth sign was a serious look at how to prioritize one’s life:

As long as the day is full of time,
There will be room for your hand in mine.

God, thank you for my wife and giving us time together. Remind me to go for walks for no apparent reason with my wife, hold her hand and tell her “Thanks for being there.”

Likewise the fifth sign expressed a positive outlook on life to which each of us should aspire: 

Cherish yesterday
Dream tomorrow
Live today

Lord help me pray, “God please help me come to each day, cherishing the fond memories of yesterday, dreaming big about tomorrow and living in the presence. Please give me the proper perspective on remembering the highlights of past events. Help me to dream appropriately big dreams about the future and to make realistic plans for the future. Help me to live in the present, not dwelling on either the past or the future, but at the same time not forgetting about them.”

This is the one sign that I plan to carry with me, if only in my head. It reminded of the line from the Five Man Electric Band’s song that says, “Thank you, Lord, for thinking about me, I am alive and doing fine.” How are you doing?