Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The assault on intelligence?

A recent column by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post takes Al Gore to task for sounding too intellectual and erudite for his audience (Gore was promoting his book The Assault on Reason at George Washington University). Milbank cites as evidence Gore’s mentions of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations and Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Greg Simerly, speech and theatre, says, while Gore is very smart, “Generally, it’s the smart ones that are able to use the most important public speaking skill—audience analysis. In other words, know your audience, and know how to tailor your message to them. Al Gore can do that. The alternative, as someone once said, is this—no one ever lost an election by talking down to the American people.”

Contact Simerly at 615-898-5607.
gsimerly@mtsu.edu

Keep it cordial, but not conjugal

Relationships have boundaries, and professional boundaries when dealing with criminals are highly important, says Dr. Gloria Hamilton, psychology. “When people are in a criminal justice institution, you, coming in to see them, become the center of their world,” Hamilton says. “There’s nobody as important as you. Why is it that often young females—social workers, psychologists—why is it that they end up sometimes falling in love with a male prisoner? … Because they will never get the attention and fixation and intensity in the outside world that they get from that man who’s incarcerated. … To him, she is everything.” Hamilton says a professional who slips through the boundaries can get into a situation that’s over her/his head.

Contact Hamilton at 615-898-5745.
ghamilto@mtsu.edu

Savoring science

Is the Internet creating a more science-savvy America? Perhaps so, says Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, associate dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences. “Although the convenience of researching scientific material via the Internet has undoubtedly spurred an increase in the ability of the lay person to understand science, I also believe that media plays a large role in this increase of ‘science-savvy’ individuals,” Foroudastan says. “If a story is conveyed in an interesting manner, whether by description, illustration, animation, or video, people are more apt to understand it better or look it up on the Internet due to curiosity. Hit television series such as “ER”, “CSI,” “Gray’s Anatomy,” etc., may also correlate with science’s rising popularity among the American population.”

Contact Foroudastan at 615-494-8786.
sforouda@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

GETTING TEENS TO READ AND WRITE--The Tennessee Center for the Study & Treatment of Dyslexia at MTSU will sponsor the Adolescent Literacy Institute on Friday, June 15, in the Business and Aerospace Building. This institute is designed for middle and high school teachers (teaching language arts, English, ESL, resource reading, special education, and the content areas) who are interested in fostering and improving adolescent literacy. Dr. Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professor of Literacy at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the keynote address on “Teaching Writing to Adolescents: Specifically-Supported Practices” at 8:15 a.m. Workshop topics include “Making the Reading and Writing Connection Effective and Fun” and “Vocabulary: Building Word Consciousness.” For more information, contact M. Tara Joyce, Ed.D., Adolescent Literacy Institute Director, at 615-494-8880 or ali@mtsu.edu.

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 for another recording workshop for children ages 12-17 at MTSU. The workshop will be conducted from June 21-July 15 in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building under the tutelage of Ryan York, who also teaches guitar, bass and drums at Chambers Guitars and Musical Instruments in Murfreesboro. For a fee of $125 per student, York will introduce the youngsters to cassette four-track recording, digital eight-track, computer recording and electronic music. The workshop is sponsored by the Youth Culture and Arts Center, a project of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, a nonprofit organization. For more information, or to enroll, contact York at bororecording@gmail.com.

THE GRIDIRON GIRLS, WHOSE THEME SONG IS “THANK YOU FOR BEING AN END”--MTSU Head Football Coach Rick Stockstill and the MTSU football staff invite you to join them for the 2007 Ladies Football Clinic on Saturday, July 14 in Murphy Center. The clinic, which will feature seminars on strategy, equipment, training and rules, will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with registration slated to start at 8 a.m. Ladies will be encouraged to take part in coaches’ drills and demonstrations. The goal is to provide a fun learning experience. Participants will receive commemorative T-shirts and lunch will be provided. The cost of the clinic is $25 dollars. For the children, the Rick Stockstill Youth Camp for rising 1st through 8th graders will be held June 4-7. For more information, contact Danny Lewis at 615-898-2311.