Cast Down Your Bucket Where You Are

The only thing I knew about Booker T. Washington was that he found many ways of using peanuts.  In the process of my research I learned that he wasn’t a farmer after all rather than a teacher and educator who became a leader of the newly emancipated African-Americans after being liberated from slavery.  George Washington Carver who was a student of his school in Tuskegee, Alabama was the one who experimented with growing better yields of peanuts, sweet potatoes and pecans. 

I was very much moved when I read Booker Washington’s biography Up From Slavery.  I was mostly impressed by his humble and grateful attitude regarding his upbringing.  He never blamed anybody for his circumstances or was resentful for his life.  Even after being freed his family was very poor and had little to eat.  Even young children had to work from morning till night in the salt mine, coal mine or the mill.  But because of his determination to make something of himself he found a way to learn, adopt and even go to school.  His desire to learn was so strong that he eventually was accepted at the Hampton School in Virginia.  He was so motivated to learn that he started out with night classes at Hampton’s.  He spend the whole day working for a white family doing basic homemaking chores.  Because he wanted to do a good job, he excelled in all his doings which not only gave him the confidence of his employer but also helped him eventually to work at the school in the same way, while going to classes.  He became an exemplary student and showed many of the new pupils how to learn physical skills while also absorbing the book knowledge. 

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”

~ Booker T. Washington (1856-1905), Up From Slavery: An Autobiography

In time, his supervisor, General Samuel C. Armstrong chose Booker to open a new school in Tuskegee, Alabama, to further the education of the children of the freed slaves in the south.  In all his doing Prof. Washington encouraged the students to apply their physical skills.  In fact, the whole curriculum of the school was designed so that the students worked half a day and the other half was for studying and recreation.  Dr. Washington saw the Tuskegee school as his life’s work.  He invested himself completely and won the support not only of his own people but also the influential white folks.  He traveled all over the country presenting his work with the students at Tuskegee which resulted in the financial support of many of the former slave holders as well the generosity of Northern businesses.  During that time he became a well-spoken public orator which gained him even greater funding.  His address known as the Atlanta Compromise Speech in 1895 brought him more fame and requests for presentations and appearances to benefit the cause of the black people.

“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”

After some 18 years of total dedication to the education of the black population of the south, some of his supporters decided that he needed a break.  Some of his Northern benefactors got together to plan a trip to Europe.  Mr. Washington in his humility didn’t want to accept at first the expenses for the fare across the Atlantic.  None-the-less, he benefitted greatly, not only from the rest and relaxation the voyage provided for him and his wife, but also from the many new contacts he made while overseas.

“Character, not circumstance, makes the person.”

He often reflected on how far he had come ‘up from slavery’ meeting with presidents, royalties and high society.  He always went back to his own roots deeply planted in his faith in the greatest benefactor, God.  His involvement was never political: rather, he proposed education and raising the standard of living for his own people.

To say the least, I was very moved reading the accounts of Dr. Booker T. Washington’s experiences following his way with strong determination, hard work and deep faith.  His motto never changed: cast down your bucket where you are.  This is a great lesson for all of us, be grateful for what you have and where you are, but follow a greater vision with passion and persistence. 

 

Pygmalion Effect

You may have never heard of the Pygmalion effect but there certainly has been a lot of talk recently about the Law of Attraction.  Since the book and movie “The Secret” has been published that age-old spiritual law has received a new lime-light.  In the business world they are calling it “The Law of Positive Expectation.”

So, what’s the buzz?

Thoughts create images in your head.  Those pictures produce feelings or emotions.  The vibration of these emotions will attract similar experiences.  Here it goes: positive emotions will generate positive experiences, while negative feelings will generate negative experiences.  What does that mean? You create your own life by what you imagine in your mind.  Eventually, you build your own future.

Contrary to the popular thinking that we live in a mechanical universe, the universe exists in different forms of energy, starting with the atom.  Our thoughts are a form of energy.

Where did the Pygmalion effect come from?

In Greek mythology, there was a talented sculptor named Pygmalion.  He wasn’t very successful in his love life, but he had a great imagination.  When he found a beautiful piece of ivory, he saw the form of an attractive young woman before his eyes.  He started carving and chiseling and in a short time he had created the statue of lovely young lady.  At once, Pygmalion was taken by her beauty, to the point that he put clothes on her and jewelry.  He even gave her a name: Galatea which means sleeping love.

As it is was tradition in Greece, Pygmalion went to the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and prayed for a wife just like the statue he had carved out of the piece of ivory.  When Aphrodite heard his plea, she went to see the statue of Galatea.  She was very pleased with her since she resembled the goddess. 

When Pygmalion came home from his worship, he found Galatea alive.  He fell in love with her, and they got married.  From then on, the couple went to the temple together and brought gifts of thanks to the altar of Aphrodite.  She in return blessed them with happiness and love.

And we remember the story for the lesson: whatever we expect with deep passion and imagination, it will come to pass.

The Pygmalion effect was made popular by George Bernard Shaw who wrote a play called “Pygmalion.”  It became also the known as “My Fair Lady,” a musical, where Professor Higgins takes a common flower girl from the streets of London and trains her to “become a lady,” speaking, dancing and behaving like a woman of high status.

 

The Power of Positive Expectations

In the 1960’s Robert Rosenthal has done experiments where he told one teacher that he had great expectation from a group of school children because of some data.  Throughout the school year, these children had great performance in all areas of study, because of the support and encouragement of the teacher.  At the end of the school year the teacher learned that the children had been randomly selected, and was surprised how well they performed.  In another experiment, high grade students were treated with no special attention and expectation.  At the end of the school year their grades showed only average results.

This seems to prove that the teachers' expectations about a student's achievement can be affected by factors having little or nothing to do with his or her ability, and yet these expectations can determine the level of achievement by confining learning opportunities to those available in one's track.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Robert Merton, a 20th century sociologist, actually coined the term of self-fulfilling prophecy. In his definition, in the book Social Theory and Social Structure published in 1949, the prophecy or prediction is false but is made true by a person’s actions. In the modern sense the prophecy has neither false nor true value, but is merely a possibility that is made into probability by a person’s unconscious or conscious actions.

The self-fulfilling prophecy has also deep implications in regards to our health.  The well-known placebo effect can fit into this area which shows the power of our mind and how attitude and suggestion can influence us for better or worse.

The best steps to take advantage of the 'law of expectation' is to keep a positive attitude and stay focused on facts, and most of all trust our gut feelings in case somebody wants take advantage of our ‘innocence.’

What Happened to Capitalizing Proper Nouns?

I don’t envy any English teacher in this technological age.  All their efforts of teaching their pupils good grammar, all their hard work of educating the students in writing, spelling and communicating comes often to a halt after graduation.  It seems that with texting and abbreviating, many basic grammar rules are falling to the wayside.  Or are we getting too lazy to shift the keys to get the proper capitalization?  I have noticed especially that many people write their names in lower case letters, or worse yet the whole address.

Coming from a German language back ground, we have many more rules about capitalization of nouns.  In fact, all nouns are capitalized.  When I researched about the history of grammar rules and capitalizing nouns I was surprised that between 1600 and 1800 it was popular to capitalize all nouns in English, too.  The American Constitution is such a document, where all nouns are capitalized.

Since our society is questioning everything today and many rules and norms are broken, is it time to revise grammar rules as well?  Who is to decide?  Is the popular trend demanding new rules, or are we to stand our ground and insist on the traditional guidelines?

Language carries in itself power and deep meaning.  It creates ideas and has certain vibrations which can either uplift us or take us down emotionally.  It is a means for communication and more importantly an expression of thoughts.

At this point it is probably not a matter of discussion when to capitalize nouns.  We live in a free country and everybody can spell the way they want to.  As for my part, it makes me sad when I see names written in lower case letters.  To me it says: I don’t matter, I am so small, or I don’t care. 

Let’s start a revolution and capitalize our names.