I Saw A Bobcat Today

I saw a bobcat today. Not while jogging, when I tend to have such encounters, but while driving a stretch of road I take to buy groceries, a distance of about thirteen miles. The terrain here is long sweeps of grassland with occasional groves of live oak. I saw the bobcat from the window of my jeep as I drove along. At first I thought it was a house cat, for the distance deceived. I slowed and looked close and could then see the distinctive markings and ear shape of the lynx rufus. It was intent upon its quarry, crouched, tense, foreleg muscles bulging, ready to pounce. It never saw me, such was its focus.

Most of my enjoyment of California's Central Coast where I now live is from sharing the region with plentiful wildlife. I have encountered most of it on my runs; a gray fox, all kinds of deer from bucks to fawns, coyotes (including one I came face to face with at a distance of fifteen feet, startling us both), eagles and hawks, vultures, a ring-tailed cat, and near misses with bears and mountain lions.

The creatures in this area of California do not seem accustomed to runners. They are unprepared when I suddenly come upon them, padding up on light feet. I've nearly stepped on snakes and tarantulas. The cattle that line the fences gape at me in astonishment as I pass, their mouths hanging open exposing mouthfuls of grass.

I am told that the population of mountain lions in California is actually increasing. The cats have been driven west from other habitats where their existence has been challenged. In California, it is against the law to kill one (it is not against the law for one of them to kill us). And I wouldn't have it any other way. I was greatly saddened when a cat with which I shared a particular trail, each of us knowing of the presence of the other but going about our own business, became roadkill on the El Camino Real. But I know that another will likely move into the region.

I fear intoxicated drivers and illegal marijuana growers and deer hunters much more than the animals. It is with the former that my closest calls have come while jogging.

This all suggests to me that there is a balance in nature, a balance experienced by the other animals but not by humans. We've lost interest in maintaining the balance. We believe that we do not need nature, we believe that the existence of flora and fauna depends upon us, and not we it. We are saddened when a species dies out, or the ice pack which has stood for hundreds of thousands of years melts away. But then we pick up our coffee and flip to the next page of our newspaper.

It will be interesting to see if we can manage to live without nature. We are well on the road toward finding out.

 

Learning & the Brain

Another Learning & The Brain Conference looms (the 34th) in San Francisco this February. It will convene at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill and is totally worth the price. I first attended the Boston Conferences in the Fall of 2006. At that time, there was a disconnect between scientific research into how the brain learns and those trusted with actually educating it. Fairly recent advances in brain scan techniques had scientists collecting data at a rigorous clip.  All long standing educational concepts were under review. While some traditional teaching methodologies were validated many were turned on their collective ears.  The scientists doing the research suddenly found themselves with an abundance of data critical to education methodology and no means to apply it.  Yet those charged with educating our children often had very little knowledge of the human brain, its growth and capabilities.
     In 2006 the presenters at the conference were predominantly research scientists and college professors/researchers at the research end of the spectrum. The attendees at the conference were largely fellow scientists and researchers, or people from the medical profession, or special education teachers. But very few middle to high school educators were in attendance, those front line classroom teachers who need this data and its implications the most. Presenters expressed a common concern, the need for educators to work closely with scientists to understand how best to apply the new, critical data to education practices. There was a general call to teachers to partner up.
     At that conference in 2006, my first,  my interest in learning more about the brain was sparked. I soon realized that some basic assumptions in our current educational systems, particularly public education, were flawed and desperately needed to change. In fact, some truly basic assumptions, ranging from academic and athletic scheduling to classroom construction and numbers, homework assigning, school starting times, and so on.  Since that time I've written articles on the subject, presented posters, and generally tried to stimulate interest from those responsible for current education practices.
   When I received the promotion pamphlet for Learning & the Brain this year, I was happy to see that the balance of topics for scientists and educators is much more even. Such fascinating subjects as the role of maturation, parents and training on memory, the effects of parental nurturing on child brain structure, mood and learning, and why every brain is wired differently and implications for education.
   Wow. And that's just the beginning. As I read title after title I realized that few forums or places on earth can offer such a wealth of material on education and neuroscience.
   Yes, the $569 price is steep. I can't afford it. I must limit myself to attending every couple of years. But when I go, I fill entire notebooks. And the accompanying spiral bound book containing the research that backs the presentations is almost worth the price by itself. If you've got the dough, go.