Wednesday's Woman: Astronaut, Innovator, Educator

My daughter recently renewed her interest in science during her 8^th grade class study of space and the universe.  While looking online to find articles and videos that I thought may augment her learning, I came across today’s Wednesday's Woman.  She is also featured in the January/February issue of New Moon Girls, my favorite periodical devoted to and written for tween girls.

This week's Wednesday's Woman is inspired by nature, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  She graduated from Stanford in 1977 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and fulfilled requirements for a B.A. in African and Afro-American Studies.  In 1981 she obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree from Cornell Medical College and later joined the Peace Corps.  The flight of Sally Ride in 1983 prompted her to apply to NASA.  After being accepted she worked in launch support and verification of Shuttle computer software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory.  When Space Shuttle Endeavour launched into orbit in 1992, she became the first African-American woman to orbit the earth.

Who was the first African-American woman to travel into outer space?  Dr. Mae Jemison.

Because of her love of dance and as a salute to creativity, Jemison took a poster from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company along with her on the flight. "Many people do not see a connection between science and dance, but I consider them both to be expressions of the boundless creativity that people have to share with one another." Jemison also took several small art objects from West African countries to symbolize that space belongs to all nations. (Wikipedia)

Dr. Mae Jemison continues her inspiring work today creating and working with the Jemison Group  supporting learning, research, and uniting the arts and sciences.  Her list of current projects of current projects include The Earth We Share (TEWS) international science camp programs; the Dorothy Jemison Foundation of Excellence (DJF), established to honor and implement teaching principals inspired by her late mother, a teacher in Chicago Public Schools; the innovative medical device company, BioSentient; and TEWS, 

Science literacy is crucial to the well-being of societies and countries around the world. Every day technology becomes more significant in shaping the world’s economy, our homes, cultures and relationships.  The future prosperity of nations around the world is intimately intertwined via advancing information, transportation, and agricultural technologies and the environment.   The Earth We Share (TEWS) engages students and teachers from around the world in meeting these vital challenges.

More information about Dr. Mae Jemison’s current projects can be found on her website which offers an interactive timeline highlighting her career; educational areas designed for children, teens, and teachers;  and a Laboratory where fresh ideas are explored.  Dr. Jemison gave a brilliant TED Talk in 2002 wherein she proposed that arts and sciences should not be thought of as separate entities, but should be thought of as fields of study that cannot exist  without each other:

What I'm very concerned about is how do we bolster our self-awareness as humans, as biological organisms? Michael Moschen spoke of having to teach and learn how to feel with my eyes, to see with my hands. We have all kinds of possibilities to use our senses by, and that's what we have to do. . . my personal design issue for the future is really about integrating, to think about that intuitive and that analytical. The arts and sciences are not separate.

If you are looking for someone who can inspire your daughter to be fearless in her endeavors, point her in the direction of astronaut, educator, artist, and innovator--today's Wednesday's Woman:

  Dr. Mae Jemison  

{Each week I feature an inspiring woman.  If you know of someone to be featured, please let me know!  Last week, in accord with Digital Learning Day, Wednesday's Woman highlighted two stand-outs in the field of Educational Technology, Kathy Schrock and Judy O'Connell.}

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Smartphones and Build-A-Bears

My girls spend their weekends at their dads during which time I receive updates regarding activities and the emotions evoked during happenings   via phone calls, text messages, emails, or direct messages on Facebook.  I never know exactly how the information is going to be delivered.  I have learned to employ my intelligent phone to be certain I do not miss an update.  Missing updates result in phone conversations that resemble this:

Daughter: “Mom, I am calling because you have not responded to my email.  Did you see my Facebook status?  I sent you the link in a text message.  And why haven’t you checked your voice mail? I explained the email which tells you about my Facebook update in it.”

Me: “What?”

The aforementioned comes from my older daughter, Sophia, who is 13.  My 11 year old, Antonia, sometimes sends me text messages but typically calls at night right before she goes to bed to say goodnight.  Details about her day are brief, but I listen carefully for subtle changes in her voice that indicate how she is feeling.  I often wish she would text, call, or email more, but she is a different type of communicator than her sister.  It is interesting to compare Sophia’s multimedia narratives to the minimal reflections provided by Antonia.  When put together, I can get a pretty good idea of what has been going on during their time with their dad, step-mom and step-sister.

Antonia and her step-sister spend a significant amount of time playing school with their Build-A-Bears.  They transform their dad’s living room into a very detailed classroom.  They hang posters, set up work spaces, and line up their bears with name tags.  One of these school sessions can last an entire day.  It’s serious business and serious fun.

The Build-A-Bears are also serious business.  Antonia and her step-sister each have one special bear that is treated like a child of their own.  They go shopping for their child-bears’ wardrobes and change their clothes according to the day’s plans.  During the week, when Antonia and her step-sister are apart, they update each other on their bears’ activities.

Two weekends ago, while the girls were at their dad's house, communication from Sophia was normal.  On Saturday, I knew they went out to dinner and had a treat at home—cookie cake.  I knew that, as usual, Antonia and her step-sister spent time playing school with their bears.  Antonia sounded great during our brief nightly talk on the phone so I didn’t press for details surrounding her day.  But Sophia sounded annoyed.  I chalked up her irritation to stress and tiredness (the girl will not stop, even during the weekends).

On Sunday morning, Sophia called and illuminated the cause of her annoyance.  I asked her how dinner was, and she replied, “Mom.  We went out to dinner to celebrate the BEARS’ BIRTHDAYS and the cookie cake was for their party at home.  Dad even bought them each a $10 gift card to get a new outfit, AND they picked out a G-rated movie for them to watch.  MOM.  Can you believe it?”

Upon my girls' arrival to my house later that afternoon, I welcomed them enthusiastically and said, “Hey.  How was the birthday celebration?  It sounds like it was a good time!”

Their dad confirmed that it was indeed a fabulous celebration whereupon Antonia looked down at the floor from embarrassment and Sophia plopped her entire body down to the couch accompanied with a giant sigh of disdain.

I ignored the drama on the couch, took Antonia’s chin in my hand, lifted her face to mine and said, “You know, I had a doll I played with until I left home for college.  I kept her and her little suitcase of clothes under my bed so that my older sister wouldn’t make fun of me.  I changed her clothes and combed her hair every day.”

She smiled.  

I asked Sophia if she thought her behavior was appropriate.  She rose from the couch and apologized to her sister.  Their dad went home, we unpacked bags, and the week went on without the bears' birthdays being mentioned.

On Saturday of last weekend my phone was buzzing, alerting me to incoming text messages.  I assumed it was Sophia with updates.  To my surprise, the messages were from Antonia.  But there were no words.  Only photos:

I was thrilled to hear from her.  Although her messages contained no words, I understood.  To me, the photos of her "school" said, “Thank you for accepting me for who I am.”  

Then the phone rang.  It was Sophia. . .

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Top 10 Passions

There is a great community of writers who link up every week with Stasha of The Good Life fame for  Monday Listicles.  This week’s list is one that I need to reflect upon regularly in order to stay focused on the important stuff.  It’s all about passion.

My Top 10 Passions in Life.

1. Parenting.  I have devoted my life to parenting and it can sometimes take over and overshadow all of what I do.  So it’s vital for me to remember entries two through 10.

2. Love.  The significant other kind of love, the kind I have for my three Chihuahuas, and the world peace compassion kind of love.

3. Getting lost in or being awakened by the artistic expression of others: reading a great novel, seeing a great film, viewing an amazing photograph. . .

“You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book(Lady Chatterley, for instance), or you take a trip, or you talk with Richard, and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom(when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this(or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death." Anais Nin

4. Writing Sperk*. Getting it out.  Challenging myself to express it in a way that is meaningful, authentic, relatable, and concise.  Getting to know my blogging community.  Every week, I am astounded by the great writing I come across—writing that is powerful, funny, truthful, empowering, and inspiring.  I wish I had more time to devote to it, but . . . see number one.

5. Music.  It’s been my most favorite and constant companion since I was a little one.  My significant other plays the bass, my older daughter sings, and my younger daughter plays the clarinet.  I absolutely love when any one of them practices.  iPods being docked and turned up loud is encouraged.  Sharing playlists on Spotify is a must.  And live music?  There is nothing that compares to being in the moment and part of the energy of a live concert.

6. Education, especially early ed.  Quality early learning can change the world.  We need to focus on it and pay early ed professionals salaries that are comparable to teachers of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools.

7. Children’s Advocacy.  Children are miniature people.  They are not second class citizens.  We need to honor their expression, keep them safe, and support them in creating their voice.  If we do so, when they grow up, the world will be a better place.

8. The Pittsburgh Steelers.

9. Sharing information..  The world has become smaller due to technology.  I am always blown away by the current ability to find and share information.

10. Peanut Butter.  I eat it right from the jar.

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Save It for Later Saturday: Empowering Your Princess

In Save It for Later Saturday you’re getting a brief run-down of the stand-outs from my week's "Read Later" list.  This week, like last week, please replace the word Saturday with Monday.  I thought about skipping my weekly recap all together due to its lateness.  However, my penchant for perseverance will not allow it to be.  Reality, though, is an unavoidable nuisance, and I must tend to other Monday duties.  So this week’s Save It for Later Saturday is brief.

I wouldn’t call myself a feminist of the stereotypical kind, but I am very passionate about female empowerment.  When I came across this article shared by @DrPriceMitchell, I knew it would be one I would include in this week’s review.  In 10 Wonderful Quotes from Women, Dennis E. Coats, Ph.D. give us his favorite quotes from famous females after acknowledging that, “Women raised the family. Men went out into the world, got educated and went to work. And so it has been mostly the voices of men that were recorded throughout history.” I was pleased to see included in his list a quote from one of my favorite authors, Anaïs Nin: 

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” 

One of the reasons I began Sperk* is because I saw blogging on a list of 100 ways to be a feminist.  Blogging takes courage.  No one knows this better than my fellow bloggers.  Let’s take it a step further and begin quoting each other.  Maybe one day it will be written that it has been mostly the voices of women that were recorded throughout history.

Continuing to focus on the topic of feminism, I bring you Princess debate part two: Peggy Orenstein on culture, gender, and parenting from Washington Post reporter Janice D'Arcy. D'Arcy interviews Peggy Orenstein, author Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girly-Girl Culture, which was released in paperback last week.  In the article, Orenstein reflects on the differences between girls and boys, the trouble with gender specific marketing (including the LEGO Friends controversy), and shares her insight about allowing ourselves to be true to our own visions for our daughters. 

In Dear Middle School Girl, Shannon Torrence uses wit and empathy to challenge girls to look within to become person who is being stirred by the voice inside:

Listen to and trust your own inner voice.  Act accordingly.  Do not try to be someone you are not.  Do not for a second think that anyone else is any better or cooler or more interesting than you are.  No one is perfect, but everyone has something wonderful to offer this world.  The point is not to be the coolest, most attractive, best-dressed kid in school; it’s to be a kind, thoughtful, responsible and compassionate human being.

Dear Middle School Girl is a great read filled with brilliant reminders not only for our daughters, but also for us as we navigate parenting through the middle school years.  I am thrilled to have discovered at Michelle in the Middle which was shared by Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms on that most powerful tool for the dissemination of information, Twitter.

See you next Saturday.

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The Paradox of Beauty

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My girls have hair appointments at a salon somewhat randomly chosen from a list generated by that trusty search engine, Google.  I am nervous about this afternoon’s pending trip to the selected beauty establishment in the Short North, a trendy, artsy neighborhood here in Columbus.  Why be nervous?

First, this means I must style my own hair and find something presentable to wear other than my favorite red plaid flannel jammie pants that I’ve sported all week.  (Yes, my older daughter, Sophia, is planning to submit my photos to TLC's What Not to Wear).  Second, this means I must convince my girls that after five months, they do indeed need their hair trimmed.  For some reason, they think if they get a trim, their hair will cease to be long.  They do not understand that without regular pruning, their long flowing locks will turn into thin frayed wisps.  Lastly, I am not looking forward to meeting a new stylist.  The last two hair experts we’ve loyally employed turned out to be unstable professionally.  Oh, things always started out great. But one stylist stopped listening to what the client wanted for she could not hear over her own talking, and the other refused to return money paid for tinsel extensions that fell out in one hour.

The trip to the new-to-us salon cannot be avoided.  Next week Sophia is performing in her middle school’s musical.  She has the lead.  She can’t have stringy Marcia Brady hair and convincingly portray Winnifred the Woebegone.  Antonia, my younger daughter, complains every morning that she hates her hair.  This fascinates me because, although it does need shaped up, she has a gorgeous head of hair with perfect color, texture, and wave.  Are the talks about self-talk failing? 

So, haircuts, here we come.  

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Maybe it’s not the actual experience of the haircuts that I am dreading.  Maybe it’s that I despise the fact that I see my girls beginning to be crushed by the societal standards placed upon women to be pretty.  You know what, my girls are pretty—with hair or bald, new clothes or hand-me-downs, a broken out forehead or clear skin.   I am frustrated that they do not see their own beauty, honor it, embrace it, and give it the merit it deserves.  

This brings me to a heavily debated question.  What merit does beauty deserve?   

If beauty deserves no value, why am I concerned about my jammie pants?  I can chalk that one up to wanting to teach my girls what it means to be appropriately dressed and taken seriously.  Yet, left to be answered is why we celebrate celebrities and movie stars but put down the woman we pass on the street who needs to lose ten pounds?   

Maybe I'll make a statement against the value of beauty by rolling to the salon just as I am, right now, sitting at my kitchen table with no make-up applied, hair wild, and a Chihuahua comfortably cuddled in my lap.  Possibly too extreme.  I will continue to contemplate until it is time for this little dog on my lap to be let outside.  While he is frolicking in the winter sun, blissfully unaware of his beauty, I'll give in to societal standards by applying  my make-up and doing my hair.  The jammie pants?  That's a rough one.