text:
- edward long
- Mesa, AZ
- United States
Association of Old Crows
This conversation is closed.
In school can, and should, "Emotional Intelligence" be taught?
Read the brief New York Times article before you share your ideas about this. Well beyond the scope of the three R's, does this usurp parental responsibility?
Closing Statement from edward long
19 Tedsters offered 91 comments on the question. 33 Thumbs-up. Read them all to see the clear trend. Educators do not see EI as an appropriate curriculum item. The day-to-day handling of individual issues of emotional turmoil is part of the teacher's lot in life and most of them agree they call for privacy, and the public airing of the details of a students home life is not proper. Folks who grew into adulthood without "normal" family support and guidance see the real need for teaching children, in class along with reading and writing, how to manage their emotions. Some say it takes a village to raise a child, others say it takes a family. The NYT link is biased in favor of teaching EI in school. Empathy figured in as did usurpation. A spirited, polarized discussion. Thanks to the contributors.
Peter Law
Sep 17 2013: Hi Edward,
- +4
The premise seems to be that educators are emotionally stable people themselves. I would guess the truth is that they are a cross-section; just like the mums & dads. Looking back, many of my issues were with the teachers themselves. Children are unlikely to share this with the source of their inhibitions.. I went back to college in mid-life, & found some of the lecturers & students sharing their problems with me. This is of course perfectly natural, but not sharing with the rest of the class.
For me emotional developments takes place by favourable interaction & love between human beings. Our self esteem needs building from an early age. We need to love & to be loved by those around us. There is no quick fix. Let's let the poor educators get on with the job they are qualified for. Sure, if you are an understanding sort, then children will come to you for advice. Great, advise & encourage, but respect the child's privacy.
A child came to me once & shared that her mum was having an affair with the headmaster. That would have gone down well. :-)
Who dreams up these ideas anyway ?
Sep 17 2013: Hi Peter, you bring out a good point when you state that "the premise seems to be that educators are emotionally stable themselves"..........when "in truth they are a cross-section, just like the mums and dads".
That is why this kind of interaction is such a sensitive thing.
I think children naturally express concerns in their lives to loving adults who they feel comfortable with.
Teachers have a great responsibility when they are nurturing and caring.
We have to be very careful how we handle these issues.....lives are involved.
You ask, "who dreams up these ideas anyway?".............the powers that be.....and they fork out money for people to play around with these ideas.........here, look at the Grants page from our government:
http://www.3cisd.com/funding/grants/view/federal-grants-contracts/1R43MH070162-01Sep 17 2013: Thanks Peter for a lucid expression regarding the inappropriateness of saddling teachers with responsibility for something they are untrained, and very likely unmotivated, to provide. So far everyone agrees there is a problem of young people being without understanding regarding how to manage their emotions. This question asks if schoolteachers are the appropriate source for that training.
Kua Keys
Sep 17 2013: In a word 'yes.' But first teacher's need to be taught.
- +2
I don't think it's an 'either or' problem. EQ won't take the place of anything -- yet it will enhance everything. I know from personal experience of being a 'foster child' and tossed from place to place--when I graduated high school, I'd been to 18 different schools. I was in 'survivor mode' and didn't have much energy left for anything else. Someone/anyone helped me with EQ would have been a wonder, a bright light in my life. Maybe with EQ I wouldn't have believed I was stupid--and it wouldn't have taken 20 years after college to believe I was actually intelligent.
So yes.
Fritzie -
Sep 17 2013: You raise a good point that some children have more reliable resources available to them at home than others. You were "tossed from place to place." Some kids have a parent in jail or otherwise inaccessible to model wise choices. Does the society want to do something in this area to help these children in ways that their parents or guardians cannot? Or do we want children to be the victims if their parents cannot step up?Sep 17 2013: I doubt anyone exposed to a cross-section of young people will argue there is no need for guidance and education in managing emotions. The question here is should that nurturing come from already strapped classroom teachers who are themselves untrained, and often unsuited, to take the lead in that arena. In the USA the model seems to be if the teacher suspects a student is unable to learn, for whatever reason, action will be taken on a private (not in class) basis with Adminstrative approval and oversight. The issue may lead to the involvement of protective services outside the school. The question here is should teachers be required to become trained in SEL and should curricula be amended to include regular, requisite classroom hours dealing with specific problems which most of the students probably do not have? You suffered most unforunately with systemic failure, the question is which system failed to recognize and meet your need? Was it the school system? Bravo for your successful overcoming of a rough childhood. Welcome to TED!Sep 21 2013: Yes, I can see how the behavior of the teachers would affect how kids learn EQ. I had the benefit of choosing the highest rated professors for my college EQ classes. They were very kind and respectful to their students, and very enthusiastic. But if I were to have had a boring, apathetic teacher, or and angry, disrespectful teacher, that probably would have an effect on how I took in these EQ skills. Because they're skills that we use all the time. And how they see the person teaching them about it uses them, that would affect how the students use the skills. So the teachers would probably need some learning too.Sep 16 2013: it's a curly one.
- +1
in my experience, there is a lot of social learning that goes on in between the books, if you get my meaning.
schools teach bare facts and academic skills, to a greater or lesser extent, based on a curriculum. but students - children, in particular - do not operate like a computer, switching on at the 9 o'clock bell, switching off for morning tea and then back on again when class resumes.
in fact, i have watched students watching teachers when the teachers are interacting socially and you rarely see them more intently engaged. they are watching and learning how adults behave and interact.
this is one of the reasons why schools desperately need more male teachers - children and students are able to see how males interact with females (within the structured formal social space of school grounds) and also (if the schools have several male staff members) how males interact with males.
as this is very different compared to the way females interact with females, it can be valuable information, especially for young boys learning how to become men.
the reality is that very little of this kind of interaction is guided or planned and even less of it is assessed but to do so would lessen it's impact, I feel, reducing it to yet another lesson rather than authentic social interaction.
so my short answer is no, it should not be taught in schools. but adults, in the presence of young students, should always be mindful of their behaviour towards other adults as they are probably carrying out some of their best teaching.
Sep 16 2013: I see. Taught in school, but not as a curriculum item. Thanks for those insightful observations Scott.
Sep 16 2013: it most certainly could be taught in a more direct fashion but i do think that schools are constrained by their assessment methods - both those shown to be robust and useful and those foisted upon schools by ministers and government - as well as by that ever-present (excuse the pun) factor of time.
as you point out, it also starts to blur the area between parenting and teaching which, for all the good intentions behind doing so, is not really the job of teachers, in my opinion. maybe that's changing but i really don't think that the world has changed so much as to require schools to do this.
society does seem to get all het up at times over these sorts of issues but the reality is that these issues really are more complex than the news would have us believe and cannot be universally dealt with by an education system that is really becoming more and more like underfunded logistics organisations.
Sep 16 2013: " i have watched students watching teachers when the teachers are interacting socially and you rarely see them more intently engaged."
- +1
Your words jumped out at me because..............if you want to hear a pin drop in the classroom, then start to have a conversation with a fellow teacher..........It's like the old E.F. Hutton commercial......remember the one?
Whisky Delta
Sep 22 2013: In the first page of the article...
- +1
A teacher might say, 'Calm down!' — but how exactly do you calm down when you're feeling anxious? Where do you learn the skills to manage those feelings?"
There has to be an understanding between teacher and student. For the student, there is a time and place for everything. For the teacher, reward student(s) in small increments of fun and laughter. This is a more compromising approach between the student and teacher. AND it's magical if you can mix the two together at some point!
Forgive me for only taking the time to read the first two pages of the article, Ed. How ya been?
Sep 22 2013: Say hey, WD. Your idea for a magical mix is attractive.As an outsider it seems fairly simple to me how to handle an upset kid. Ideally saying "calm down" would restore order and class can continue. As my teacher wife reminds me it very rarely works that way. Clearly it is important for the teacher to have students who have emotion management skills appropriate to their age. Again, it is not always so. So what do we do? Modify the curriculum to include EI/SEL training? Send the teachers back to college to become qualified therapists? Does it take a family, or a government (village) to nurture a child on the way to healthy emotional maturity? What do you say? Be well!!
Sep 22 2013: I'd say... The teachers that receive great feedback from the students (like a popularity contest) almost always follow suit with learning and I use the word "almost" because I know there is no such thing as perfect. These are the teachers that stand out and surpass all the others. When teacher and student have a strong bond there is alot of respect, both ways. This makes it easy for learning to take place because of this environment that is created by the teacher.
These are special teachers that should lead (loosely) all other teachers. I don't believe it is necessary for modification or more college. However, I do believe the best help would be to have the teachers, whom have this type of relationship with the students, share their experiences with the problems other teachers may be facing. An advice sort of set up or meetings, a way to reach out to other teachers that could be struggling in any way. As far as becoming emotionally mature, I'm under the impression this does not exist. Oh, "emotionally mature" just sounds lame, boring, cut dry, and lacks good character development. One might as well hang out with a computer all day or program one. :)
I honestly believe it takes a special gifted personality to be an 110% effective teacher and they are out there. Problem is the ratio of these teachers to students is not met in a classroom environment of what is today and seems impossible for every student to have this type of teacher even every other year. At times I believe teachers going lower or on the same level of maturity makes it much easier than battling it ("calm down!"). I believe this type of behavior from teacher is the very beginning of having that gifted personality. I don't have it, lol, I'd go overboard with it and upset a parent when a child would come home explaining why most farts smell bad. more than likely. I have been well. And you?
Sep 22 2013: All rightey then. You advocate an informal, OJT (on the job) style training for teachers to make them competent EI counsellors. I guess you do not hold parents primarily, if not solely, responsible for the development of emotion management skills in their children?Sep 23 2013: Pops, there is a window to go through to get to every child in some form or another, teaching is not for everyone as I said. It takes a special talent just as many other things in life. For some it take much more practice or studying for someone without a talent. Sure, what happens at home may increase or decrease this window size through out the child's life. We are the same way as adults as well. I wouldn't go as far as to put a label on this such as a EI counselor or anything either. It's about finding the way through every child/person. I strongly believe it takes a good teacher to perform character shifts for every child in the group. It's much more complicated than we may want to think it is. Watch the movie, the breakfast club. There is no doubt in my mind would I believe I could find this window in a limited amount of time such as a year in the 5 students to effectively teach them what I know to each for/to their best abilities.
Can you really dance or do you just think you can after 4 years of dance lessons? Are your efforts validated by the lessons? You have to know how to break dance, tango, ballet, line...ect. and transition smoothly through each several times an hour.
Sep 23 2013: Roger Whiskey Delta. Much grass.
Yoka Feng
Sep 18 2013: As a foreigner, I've got a picture of the class in the US school and known what you want to talk about. Thanks to Mary!:)
- +1
I feel that If I were the teacher I wouldn't do like that. I think focusing on happy things instead of problems is better. I think a young child should be happy every day.It's said a happy childhood benefits a person when he grows up. And there's a saying: if you share your hapiness with others , you will get more happiness. So helping children think about happy things in their lives will be positive to their EQ. And for the problems, I think they're complicated and related to some kind of privacy. It's better to ask about the questions when you find the child's sadness has badly influenced his performance in communicating with others and learning or when the children tell you their problems on their own accord. If the tone of the topic in the article is changed to a positive ,colorful one , I think this could be a good complementary daily activity for the children.
When I was in my primary school , we were required to tell an interesting story or things in life we had learned from that we'd like to share with others about 5minutes at the beginning of the class by turns on a daily basis. And other classmates could ask some questions about it to have a short interaction. I think it's quite good. We usually enjoyed the time listening to others' stories and thoughts. Teachers never asked us about our private problems in the classroom. They addressed them on a need-to-know base.
So my opinion is teacher could help to develp children's EQ at school by setting some complementary daily activities with the appropriate ways. These activities needn't to be developed into curricula, just using the imperceptible teaching method in daily life to develop children's mental health is ok.
This is only my personal amateurish view, if any ignorance about your situation, please kindly ignore it.:)
Sep 18 2013: EQ can appear on report cards as "Plays well with others", or "Deportment". None of it has to do with delving into the students private life looking for material for group discussion in class, and it is not a curriculum subject given a dedicated time slot in the school day. By the way Yoka, most of the contributions on TED Conversations are personal, amateurish (non-professional), and come from less-than-complete knowledge of the topic, so do not fear.
Sep 18 2013: Thank you. I agree with you. Teacher can guide the students with their EQ by encourage them to think and act positively. I think this positive attitude and habit could benefit them in their long life. No private family affair is needed to be discussed as an example in the class.
And Children are easy to be influenced, they sometimes laugh right after their crying. I think it's not necessary to remind them of their passed unhappiness sometimes,either. They can be cured by the new interesting activities with other children or their interested things automatically.
Sep 18 2013: Hey! I am 68 years-old and I am easily influenced, I laugh after crying, I like new and interesting activities. Maybe this training is more widely applicable than we think? Good observations Yoka.Sep 18 2013: And Thank you for your explanation on the interesting American slang. I really like American slangs. They are so vivid and interesting. I cracked up, too.
Sep 18 2013: You cracked up? You developed a structural failure causing a separation of the material substance of your body? Just pulling your leg Yoka.Sep 18 2013: haha,you laugh right after crying, so you're a Peter Pan? I'm pulling your leg,too.
Actually I think when people take apart in the meaningful and exciting social or group activities, their mental health could be affected positively. When I am happily doing something with my friends,my heart will probably be stronger to deal with some trouble, and with the support from my friends, I can get more excellent advice or solutions to the problems too. This is great! Yes, we are just like children and TED discussion is one of these activities.:)Sep 19 2013: "Cracked Up.........developing a structural failure"..........that's a good one Ed.
It has been a really nice thread with Yoka.
I enjoyed reading the part of airing dirty laundry as well.
Very entertaining........but also very insightful.
Sep 19 2013: I'm flattered. Thank you~ :)
Kua Keys
Sep 17 2013: With more and more kids at risk due to either poor parenting/alcoholism/drug-addiction--the question is what can any/all of us do to help them fight their way out of a bad beginning--because not doing so IS going to cost all of us. I believe--yes teacher's should be trained because probably not all have a healthy EQ themselves--it will only help them, not hurt them. Then EQ could be incorporated into all the schooling. For example, teaching history--ask about how the Japanese might have felt during their time in POW camps--how does it make the students feel?
- +1
"The question here is should teachers be required to become trained in SEL and should curricula be amended to include regular, requisite classroom hours dealing with specific problems which most of the students probably do not have?"
Yes, because their training would ultimately benefit ALL students--even witnessing another student being helped would be an example of 'empathy' for all students to observe. It isn't just the at-risk kids who need to develop empathy. And again, since drug-addiction is at an all time high--along with divorce--most students in the classroom may be included in the 'at-risk' category than we think. I think the benefits far out weigh the negatives.
Thanks for welcome--and yes, I did make it out! But it took a village ;- )
Sep 17 2013: I will not be surprised if this conversation evolves into a Village vs. Family issue. Does it take a family or a village to raise a child? The village idea is viewed negatively because it looks suspiciously like excessive government involvement. The family idea is rejected by those who did not have the benefit of a caring, nurturing family. Perhaps the two scenarios are so different that one solution will not work. Whatever happens any caring society will keep an eye on every child and intervene to rescue from harm.Sep 17 2013: I don't like the framing of "emotional intelligence," but I do think schools have a responsibility to teach more than just the facts. Just finished Paul Tough's "How Children Succeed," and took two main points away from it:
1) many underprivileged students (and non) have home lifes that leave them a perpetually overstressed state, and nobody can learn or otherwise work on self-development when in this kind of frame of mind
2) even more so than content learning (which can be remedied even to a late point), underprivleged students are disadvantaged culturally - they often do not have the support systems that naturally inculcate the resiliency skills other students take for granted and are lacking the sense of entitlement to demand resources for their development
If schools have a responsibility for fostering these kinds of skills in students (and I think they do), then we need to accept that they have the power to develop a certain personality type or at least personalities that fit within a certain spectrum.
This certainly goes beyond a just the facts approach, but also edges away from the softer implications of teaching emotional intelligence to something more focused - resilient students who have the skills to achieve themselves.
Sep 17 2013: Without doubt there are children who need training in managing their emotions. The question here is if school is the best place to give that training. I know the "modern family" is not like the 50's TV families, but should the school be expected to pick-up the slack where parents have failed to meet their rightful responsibility?
Yoka Feng
Sep 17 2013: I'm sorry I haven't read the article because I can't find it with my internet. But I'm still interested in this thread and want to say something. :)
- +1
I don't know about American school ,but I think with the one-child-policy in China,mostly there's one child in every family . Parents and grandparents consider their children as the apple of the eye which possibly leads to children's selfishness and low capability of communicating with other children. And also some of children's parents have to go to other cities to work and can't take care of their children which gives rise to some mental problems to their children,too.
So I think teachers in the school could help the children to gain some good emotional intelligence and raise good habits at school.Teacher could teach them to be friendly and helpful to each other through some meaningful group games or activities, teach them how to deal with conflicts fairly between each other .These may help the children foster the team spirit in the social environment and help them grow healthier on mental..
Sep 17 2013: There certainly is an "only child" stigma in society, and not without reason. I think your observations are valid. My question is more about the appropriateness of educators becoming primary instructors in such matters. Should the family laundry be done in the classroom? The link stresses the use of real examples of emotional stress encounterd by students in their private lives. Is this a healty practice, and should it become a Lesson Plan item in every school?
Sep 17 2013: Thank you very much for allowing my boldness in your thread. I just have glanced at some other person's comments. I think I totally agree with Mary's view below.
"I don't think I am comfortable with the idea of discussing one child's problems in front of an entire class. I prefer on focusing on classroom dilemmas and then teach appropriate emotional responses to these.
Children do tend to confide home problems to their teachers at times, but I personally prefer to help the student one on one.....and not in front of others."
And with all due respect, I think a laundry being done in the classroom is totally kinda joke. We can't imagine it in China. Do you really mean students bring their clothes and wash them in the classroom? I'm very willing to ask you more,but I'm sleepy now. I will have more thinking and follow up tomorrow.
Thank you again and Good night!
Sep 17 2013: How delightful Yoka to imagine you visualizing children bringing the family laundry to class and scrubbing away on it! Actually it is an American idiom meaning the act of speaking publically about matters which should be kept private. Sleep well!
Comment deleted
Sep 17 2013: Crown House has a book............................. but remember emotional intelligence has certain specific applications. What is wrong with just telling people that one is not a peiple person,etc.
Comment deleted
Sep 17 2013: Two things George: 1) The book title? 2) What about telling people that one, etc.?
Sep 17 2013: Here's a Crown House book on E.I.
As for the #2 thing.......
I think he meant to write......
"What is wrong with just telling people that (you are) not a people person" :)
I swear Ed, after reading my student's papers for so many years and deciphering their writing, I've gotten pretty good at understanding what others are trying to say. I think I am right in my interpretation. But I could be wrong.
Hopefully George will chime in. I just finished giving him a lesson on the letter "ñ" in another conversation.......so he might have his Spanish and English mixed up. LOL
George, you know I'm just kidding right? :D
Sep 17 2013: You must edit your profile to include "Metaphysical and Transcendental Interpretation" under Languages. Thanks for the link.Sep 19 2013: 1. about three that I could find on www.crownhouse publishing.com
Two(2) that start out with Emotionally Intelligent Living..... by Geetu Orne and Geetu Bharwaney
2. This was an idea from Strength Finder.
Sep 16 2013: I read the first of the seven pages.
- +1
Interesting stuff.
You know Ed, a lot of caring teachers deal with this sort of thing daily.
In the classroom there are a lot of 'teachable' moments where valuable life lessons are exchanged.
Having said that, I don't think I am comfortable with the idea of discussing one child's problems in front of an entire class. I prefer on focusing on classroom dilemmas and then teach appropriate emotional responses to these.
Children do tend to confide home problems to their teachers at times, but I personally prefer to help the student one on one.....and not in front of others.
There are character development lessons which are integrated into the social studies curriculum in the primary grades.
Sometimes these end up being a Pandora's box............that become quite interesting.
A conscientious teacher has to be careful with the information children divulge in the classroom.
This is a sticky subject for me. :/
Sep 17 2013: You say sticky, Scott says curly, my wife says private discussions only. I am seeing a trend here. Thanks!
Sep 17 2013: Yeah.....I noticed Scott said curly.......all we need now is Larry and Moe.....haha
I really do think that perhaps the population in the school might affect what they do in the classroom setting.
Oftentimes inner city schools get grants to try a lot of new innovative ways to help these children get a running start in life. I'm sure that the teacher who is implementing that program has been trained using special strategies.Sep 23 2013: Emotional intelligence can be taught but this is not your typical classroom curriculum where the teacher stands on the board or flashes something on the screen. I believe this requires a personal touch.. in a very small group. Emotion "education" requires people to talk about their emotions and you as a teacher give feedback regarding those "feelings". You just cannot do something like that in a usual classroom setting. It doesn't usurp parental responsibility because you are teaching these kids something that is "positive" in society and will be universally accepted. Its a different thing when you talk about sex education for example... some parents don't want schools to teach this and is willing to take up the burden of education their child regarding sex. Teaching children positive emotional responses is something i think all humans will agree upon.
Sep 23 2013: Agreed, Jeff. I doubt if anyone argues that learning to manage one's emotions is not an essential life skill. Your idea is for teachers to be responsible, and able, to teach EI in class using very small groups and not as a Lesson Plan item in every class. Many here have commented that not all teachers are able to manage their own emotions. Do you think there should be assessment and training for all teachers as a qualification for employment? Thanks for your well-spoken view on this matter.Sep 23 2013: Lejan is correct; mirroring neurons are present as part of our brain's genetic makeup. Recent research has found that the brain subject to various trauma changes at an epigenetic level and can govern the ability to shut off the hormones relating to the response to trauma. This in turn affects the ability to learn both about oneself and other people. A child who has suffered or is suffering trauma whether abuse, neglect or bullying is unable to calm down mentally on his or her own. A dedicated effort on the part of empathetic, knowledgeable adults to sit down with such a child and give them the safety to look at what is happening, has happened and might happen and to help them gain tools to deal with these things is a priceless gift. Whether this could be achieved as part of a school curriculum is debateable.
Sep 23 2013: It is kind of like telling a kid to who has never learned to swim to just swim when they fall into the pool. Just saying "calm down" won't work. The ability to calm one's self is a learned skill. The ability to teach that skill is not currently a requirement for classroom teachers, but some say it should be. Thank you for your informative response and your clearly expressed opinion regarding the appropriateness of SEL/EI being a standard subject in school.Sep 22 2013: A very perceptive question. Emotional intelligence can be taught and should be. By parents or caregivers first, but by compassionate teachers at school if not elsewhere. Even if a child is in a family relationship where the adults are emotionally immature and/or abusive and neglectful, helping the child to see how their own feelings and an understanding of the other person's motivation can affect their reaction to a situation, can literally be life-saving at times. Self-awareness is the origin of resilience and the ability to empathise. It isn't inherent in our children so it needs to be taught. It can only be taught by those who possess it to a good degree themselves and who care for the children as fellow human beings deserving of dignity.
Sep 22 2013: If you don't have it you can't teach it! Very succinct. It has to be taught, no doubt. Do you think it should be requisite study as part of the primary/secondary syllabus? You mention empathy, be sure to read Lejan's comments below. Thank you for your insight Lesley.Sep 21 2013: I don't think that teaching these skills would go against what a child's parent teaches them. I think that having EQ taught in schools would actually get kids to consider their parents life lessons even more than they do now. That teaching EQ would help kids to be less apathetic towards their parents. Not going against parenting, but actually strengthening the relationships between kids and their parents. Because EQ involves questioning your own thoughts, vs. questioning others. For example, one thing I learned in one of my college EQ classes for managing your emotions is to ask yourself "Does feeling this way help the situation?" It doesn't involve criticizing other people (such as your own parents), it's quite the opposite. It's being critical of yourself in a reasonable way. It doesn't teach, "this is right, and that is wrong." It teaches more along the lines of getting you to ask yourself "Is this right, and is that wrong? And why do I believe that? And do I have good reason to believe that?"
Because of this, I personally, would like to see it as at least an option in schools. But whether or not it should be a requirement, I'd like to see it be a requirement, just because I see no downfalls in it. But I can see that many kids wouldn't want to have another requirement to take in school, and parents that many parents would have the misconception that teaching EQ would make kids rebel against their parents. But from what I learned in my EQ class, I think that kids would, on the contrary, be more obedient to their parents.
Sep 21 2013: Check the other responses here and you will see some agree with your take on this and others have good reasons to oppose the idea. Thanks for your thoughts and concerns for young people. By the way, use the REPLY function to respond to one particular person and they will get a email notifying them. It's the red letter word "REPLY" to the left of the thumb icon. If you don't use it they might not read your comment.Sep 21 2013: I have come up with a theory that teaching interpersonal skills to kids early in life will reduce bullying in schools. We can't be around the kids all the time to control them. But they are under the most control is in classes. And interpersonal skills are the "empathize with others, and maintain satisfying relationships" part of EQ. Although, I learned these EQ concepts in college. So I do not know how early they will be able to learn and understand the concepts of EQ in their young minds. And bullying happens at very young ages. I think they would be able to understand the concepts of EI in their early teens years, which would also be a good time to have EQ fresh in their minds, because intrapersonal skills is the other part of EQ, which involves understanding one's own emotions. And in our teen years is when we are trying to find our identity, who we are, and where (or if) we fit in, and what we want to do with our future lives; which is a lot of complicated and confusing stuff to think about. So this could also reduce teen suicides. Because they would better be able to think about their own emotions, and therefore, their confusing and suicidal thoughts. And suicidal people often don't say anything about their suicidal thoughts, so intrapersonal skills (able to manage one's own emotions) would help them to think more clearly about what they won't share with others. And for the kids who can't yet grasp these EQ concepts, we could have EQ taught in parenting classes for parent who choose to take them. So they can help their kids to manage their own emotions, and empathize with others. So, in short, teaching kids intrapersonal skills will reduce suicides, and interpersonal skills will reduce bullying and abuse in schools. And I also think we would have less road rage if we had EQ taught before learning to drive.
Sep 21 2013: Thank you for a lucid dissertation on the value of EQ/EI/SEL (and any other acroynyms for emotion management training). I doubt anyone will disagree with your theory. We are, more specifically, discussing the appropriateness of "teaching" such skills in school. Are you arguing that school should be where kids learn to live responsibly by managing their emotions? Traditionally the family is where such life skill is taught, with augmentation by classroom teachers on an as needed, private basis. Do you advocate transferring responsibility from the family to the government?Sep 19 2013: Sure, why not,
However, when you look at how the schools have been doing with reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic, I would be a little nervous on what kind of emotion wrecks our kids would become...
Sep 19 2013: Hear Hear Sir!!!!!Sep 20 2013: I suspect your "why not?" is rhetorical, but will offer an answer in case it isn't. 1) Some see the subject as inappropriate in the general curriculum of requisite subjects to be taught to all students. 2) Some see no room for such teaching in today's school schedule. 3) Some see a need for education and training of teachers before they can perform as SEL teachers/counsellors. 4) Some see the public airing of private matters as inappropriate in the classroom. 5) Some see the responsibility for EI/SEL to be primarily the parent's with incidental augmentation by classroom teachers on an as needed basis and always in private. 6) Some see the foisting of this responsibility upon the school to be a misapplication of governmental authority which diminishes the sanctity of the family by involving The Village.
Sep 20 2013: Not rhetorical, sarcastic....
I see no good coming from teaching children about emotions... I remember the Nazi "kintergardens" educating the emotional response in children for the Fatherland
and giving up their parents to the state.
I know, everyone has said, "What happened to the Weidmaire Republic could not happen to us.
The Romans said the same thing when the Senate elected an Empiror.
Sep 20 2013: Note to self: Mike Colera is given to subtle sarcasm. I will revise the tally sheet to put you on the "NO" side. Thanks Mike.
Lejan .
Sep 19 2013: Is there a proven method to teach 'empathy'?
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Sep 19 2013: Does managing one's own emotions equate to empathy? Have I missed your point Lejan?
Lejan .
Sep 19 2013: I haven't been clear enough.
- +1
Empathy is the ability to put ourselves into 'the shoes' of another person and to 'feel' from within that other 'perspective' in order to get a better understanding about that other persons 'emotional state'.
This understanding then may guide the way we then interact with that person if we choose to do so.
To me, this ability is the foundation of 'emotional intelligence', yet so far I am not really certain if 'empathy' can be taught - thus - I have my doubts on EI to be teachable as well.
Today we know that 'mirroring neurons' are fundamental to empathy, and that this process 'runs' unconsciously in our minds. What I do not know is, if this process is equally active in all of us, or, if it was, if the 'interpretation' of it was the same. The fact, that there are people who are less considerately towards others than a given 'average' may be part of my hesitation.
So to be able to teach EI at school succesfully, there must be a method to teach empathy, of which I haven't heard of so far. This is the reason of my question.
Sep 19 2013: Aha! Empathy is a component of complete Emotion Management/EI/ SEL/EQ, whatever it is called. We are not born with an understanding of, or concern for, what other people are experiencing. Babies don't lay quietly in their bed at 3AM so Mommy can get her much needed sleep. Somewhere along the path to emotional maturity the ability to think of others is acquired. I doubt that empathy, or any other component of healthy emotional maturity can be taught in the classroom.
Lejan .
Sep 19 2013: Even though I have my doubts that 'empathy' could be taught, I have no doubt that 'empathy' can and should be nurtured.
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The baby cries at 3 am not because it isn't capable of 'empathy', in fact, babies are, but because it has not yet developed the faculty of abstraction necessary to understand the underlaying 'cause and reaction' which brings its mother in this unpleasant situation.
This is different for the father though, as he should have already developed all skills necessary to take his share in midnight suffering and to make his woman sink into the pillows again while he's rocking the cradle any other night... :o)
Nurturing of 'empathy' is mainly rooted within the family, as this is the very place for children to get to understand and to use their abilities and this mainly by exemplary living of the parents as well as by their affectionate and forgiving care.
Whenever we learn to use a tool, we do it best if we have a chance to watch someone using it.
From there and a little practice, the learning curve will be much steeper than if we have a tool yet don't really know what it is used for.
On 'empathy' I expect this as well, as if a child has no one who cares for it, how should this child learn to develop its own sense to care for others?
This is what I consider 'nurturing' and on this I expect any school to take on its very responsibility it has for all the children who are part of it.Sep 18 2013: I have to admit I am not sure because this is a skill that each child needs but most will learn it at home or in a social environment both at school or outside of school and outside of the normal curriculum. Even with training, the teachers will need the correct personalities to do it correctly. Even trained professionals in the field with years of experience make mistakes.
In the past, the philosophy has been to give the students what they need no matter the cost (i.e. special ed students) but this will affect all the children's school time.
Sep 18 2013: Good point Wayne about the scope of application for SEL in school. Like Special Education programs, not every student needs to be involved in the program. But the trend seems to be toward making EI part of the standard curriculum.Sep 17 2013: Schools today run as commercial outfit,performance matter,not character building
Sep 17 2013: You say "today" as if there was a time when schools were responsible for the emotional development of children. Is that your intent? In the USA that was never the case. Children do develop emotionally in school, but it is not an academic entity in the education system.Sep 17 2013: Yes for various long term situations arising at home,at work and in Business n relationships
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- Performer: Michael Endres
- Composer: Franz Schubert
- Audio CD (November 1, 2005)
- Number of Discs: 6
- Format: Box set
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Indian Motorcycle is looking for partners who share our passion for
a legacy of unparalleled craftsmanship and dedication. Our goal of
expanding our dealer network, spanning 200 top markets across
the U.S. and Canada, can only happen with the right partners. If you
feel you've got what it takes, we invite you to become part of the
next chapter of a story 114 years in the making.
"I was a Harley dealer for 38 years. Right now, I see a whole lot more potential in being an Indian dealer."
"When I heard that Polaris Industries had bought the Indian brand, that was a real game changer for me."
Backed by Polaris Industries, a 4 billion dollar company,
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NIAID has a long-standing program of research devoted to better understanding, treating, and preventing neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NIAID conducts its own basic and clinical studies and supports those of researchers based in the United States and in countries where NTDs are widespread.
For example, scientists in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases are working to uncover how NTD-causing pathogens interact with humans, animals, and the organisms that spread them from host to host. The lab conducts patient-centered research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, as well as field studies in India, Latin America, and Africa.
Read more about the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases.
NIAID support is helping scientists uncover new knowledge about NTD-causing agents that could ultimately be used to develop new prevention and treatment strategies. Through its Partnerships with Public-Private Partnerships program (PPP) and Tropical Diseases Research Units, NIAID is actively supporting the discovery and development of drugs for NTDs. For example, researchers in the program are developing a low-cost treatment for visceral leishmaniasis and identifying new drugs for sleeping sickness and Chagas' disease.
In 2012, NIAID funded eight Tropical Research Medicine Centers (TMRCs) to support research on NTDs in endemic areas. The Centers are designed to facilitate research on the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of NTDs, and to create and sustain in-country research capacity.
The Vector Biology Research Program at NIAID supports research on several vectors that transmit agents of NTDs. Many of these projects have field components in disease-endemic areas of the world. For example, NIAID funds a project in French Polynesia that aims to reduce populations of Aedes polynesiensis, a mosquito species responsible for spreading filariasis in the region. Another group of investigators is studying the mosquito immune response against filarial worms with the hope of identifying targets for blocking development of the worm inside the mosquito.
NIAID research repositories, such as the Filariasis Research Reagent Repository Center and Schistosomiasis Resource Center, continue to foster the development of research programs against these diseases by providing researchers with parasite species, standard study protocols, and training. For example, through the Schistosomiasis Resource Center, investigators can obtain schistosome worm species at different life stages to study how they infect and multiply within snails and other hosts.
For more information, see The NIH-NIAID Schistosomiasis Resource Center, a review article published in the July 30, 2008, edition of Public Library of Science Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Potential New Chagas Treatment Discovered by NIAID-Supported Researchers
A New Gold Standard: Improved Animal Model Could Speed Drugs for Chagas' Disease
NIAID Discovery May Help Eliminate River Blindness
Researchers Investigate Treatment Responses in Pig Model of Parasitic Brain Infection
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Last Updated August 11, 2010


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Chapped lips, flyaway hair, dry skin, cracked elbows — Southern California winters may be mild, but they still cause beauty problems.
"Independent of where you live, your skincare regimen needs to change with the seasons," says Dr. Ava Shamban, a dermatologist and author of "Heal Your Skin," a book that lays out regimens for improving complexions.
"The most common complaint people have about their skincare in the winter is that it's no longer doing its job," she says.
Beauty products: An article in the Jan. 27 Image section about beauty products for winter said that Wakaya Perfection can be combined with other ingredients to become a facial scrub. The combination becomes a body scrub. —
Experts say that just as the contents of a wardrobe shift to accommodate the change in weather, so should what's on the bathroom shelf. Making it easier, many beauty lines have unveiled specific seasonal products — lipid-rich creams, hydrating serums and nourishing lip salves.
Some of the new products serve multiple purposes. Garnier's Triple Nutrition Miracle Dry Oil ($5.99) works on hair, face and body, using fruit oils to soften dry skin and take care of frizzy hair. LeAine Dehmer Clinical Skin Care's 14-Day Recovery Balme ($125 to $395) has ginseng and lotus for lips, hands, elbows and cuticles. Derma E's Skin Cracked Skin Relief Creme, $13.50, contains bay leaf oil, clove, arnica and aloe vera for allover use.
Here are some other products designed to perk up winter-weary looks.
For an instant lift to flat hair, try got2b Powder'ful's volumizing styling powder ($5.99).
Fight frizz with Rusk Designer Collection's W8Less Multi 12-in-1 Miracle Leave-In Treatment ($4.95 to $14).
Verb Ghost Oil uses argan and moringa oils to prevent breakage ($14).
Black cumin seeds and soy amino acids in glo-essentials' Moisture Enhance Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner lock in moisture ($25 to $27).
Nexxus Hydra-Light's new range of products moisturize hair without silicones ($9.99 to $14.99).
Volume from Brazilian Blowout is a four-product collection that plumps and conditions flyaway hair ($28 to $38).
Modena Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner from Borghese has vitamin B5 and aloe to add life to winter-worn tresses ($13).
Tata Harper's new Lip Treatments contain lavender, comfrey and acai oil to keep lips nourished ($24 to $28).
First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Lip Therapy has colloidal oatmeal and antioxidants to nourish, moisturize and protect ($12).


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ZANY Steven Hall is urging people to vote for him after he performs in front of millions of TV viewers on Britain's Got Talent tonight.
The 53-year-old telecommunications engineer will represent Cumbria when he takes to the stage for the live semi-final with a new dance routine.
Having taken the nation by storm with his eclectic two-minute act, which saw him perform a dance to The Birdy Song, The Macarena and The Twist, he has become an overnight success.
He has gained more than 1.5 million views on YouTube and more than a thousand fans on his official Facebook site.
So, what has he got lined up for the biggest performances of his life tonight?
"It was said: 'How am I going to follow that?' Because the element of surprise has gone," he said.
"So I have taken what everybody said they would expect me to do next and not done it."
Life has changed for the Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society member since he gained three 'yes' votes from Amanda Holden, Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff, and a standing ovation from the Liverpool crowd.
"It was the second best experience of my life, but I can't tell you the first one," he jokes.
"Since then, it has been so busy I haven't had time to think about it.
"I have been to London several times for interviews and rehearsals."
Having performed in theatres across the Lake District, Steven set up Comedy Showtime two years ago, a five-person act that puts on performances across the region.
From this, a 10-minute dance evolved which came to form the basis of his BGT audition.
If Steven is successful tonight, he will make it through to Saturday's live final.
If victorious in the final, he will perform in front of The Queen at The Royal Variety Performance and win £100,000.
"I am nervous and confident about tonight," he said.
"Nervous because Simon Cowell is back on the show and he is held in such anticipation about what he has thought of the acts that have gone through while he's been away.
"But I am confident of my routine. I'm looking forward to it."
10:10am Wednesday 6th April 2011
A POPULAR visitor attraction in Bowness is in the running for a prestigious award for excellence.
Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House project by Lakeland Arts Trust – one of Britain's finest surviving arts and crafts house by M.H.Baillie Scott - has been shortlisted from hundreds of entries for an award at the national Museums and Heritage Awards for Excellence.
Comedienne and broadcaster Sue Perkins will announce the 11 lucky winners at a ceremony at Westminister on May 11.
The Awards applaud projects ranging from groundbreaking achievements of national institutions to those crafted with limited resources and budget and winners will be selected by a panel of judges including Diane Lees, Director General, Imperial War Museums and Sam Mullins, Director, London Transport Museum and other leading sector professionals.


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Kabwelulu Gourd Figure
The base of this figure was attached to a gourd or calabash that served as an important divination implement for members of the Bugobo society. This society was considered a reliable source of medical knowledge, and the calabashes were used in the society's healing activities.
- Culture: Luba
- Medium: Wood, metal
- Place Made: Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dates: 19th century
- Dimensions: 7 3/4 x 2 7/8 x 2 3/4 in. (19.7 x 7.3 x 7 cm) (show scale)
- Collections:Arts of Africa
- Museum Location: This item is not on view
- Accession Number: 22.1454
- Credit Line: Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
- Rights Statement: Creative Commons-BY
- Caption: Luba. Kabwelulu Gourd Figure, 19th century. Wood, metal, 7 3/4 x 2 7/8 x 2 3/4 in. (19.7 x 7.3 x 7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1454. Creative Commons-BY
- Image:
- Catalogue Description: Wooden standing female figure holding hands below breasts. At top of head, deep hole in center. Along outer edges of face, scarification indications. Chin, long and beardlike. At back of neck, three pronged headdress. Condition is fair. Coating of resin covers entire figure. Part of headdress broken off.
- Record Completeness: Best (89%)


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Islam, A. S. M. Shawkatul (2005) A comparative study of advanced suspension dampers for vibration and shock isolation performance. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Explore the Entrepreneurship.org Resource Center to find resources. Designed with entrepreneurs in mind, our resource center allows you to find materials to grow great ideas.
Thanks to the Web, copyright laws are now front and center for entrepreneurs. Are the Fortune magazine quotes you use in your marketing e-newsletter protected? (Possibly) Are e-mails protected? (Yes and No) This article, while not legal advice, is an excellent, readable guide to today's changing copyright laws.
Staying "lean and mean" should be the bootstrapper's mantra, according to tech entrepreneur Jeff Hester. In this blog post, he shares his advice and insights into protecting and growing your business during the early years.
Going international requires careful thought and planning. This article poses a set of questions (by category) for entrepreneurs to answer to prepare them for going abroad for customers and sales. Questions include market and channel issues, product translation and localization, and IP protection.
The impact of social media is increasingly becoming a part of entrepreneurial strategies for growth. The "Word of Mouth Marketing Association" cautions that disclosure of the firm's relationship with its bloggers should be transparent so that an opinion expressed might be judged more appropriately. Marketers are encouraged to demonstrate honesty of relationship, opinion and identity, as well as to take responsibility for the acts of recruited agents or volunteers.
Thomas M. Siebel shares his principles for meeting the complex demands of customers who want to interact seamlessly with companies across various platforms.
Is your business data safe from outsiders? Fred Langa, Information Week, provides points to help prevent data theft, identity theft, and private information falling into the wrong hands. Included are links to the tools and resources outlined in the article.
WiFi is becoming commonplace. But there is danger in not securing your network. Five steps to help: use your corporate network; keep a clean preferred list; enable security on your router; pick a good password; and enable Web-mail security.
How you and your people handle customer complaints can be the key to keeping current customers and getting new ones. These tips provide excellent guidance for front-line customer service representatives or others dealing directly with customers.
A basic guide to exporting from UNZ 7 Co.
Learn how Comtech Solutions scrapped its geographic management structure, reorganized around function and used a technological upgrade to help it manage across the globe.
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Groovy baby! Get your seventies and eighties hustle on with some dancing diva sounds from our Disco and Motown bands! Search here for Disco & Motown Bands in Queens.
Add a fun Disco and Motown band to your next event. - Read More
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Check, Please!™ Francie® Doll
A familiar face gets a fresh fashion update! For the first time Francie Fairchild shows off a new Silkstone® body.
Check, Please! Francie doll is ready for a fun day out and about in a cheerful red and white outfit from Robert Best. Her brunette hair is styled in a sassy 60's flip topped with cute matching cap, and she's got her adorable pup at her side.
This thoroughly MODern Miss is a Dealer exclusive.
Fashion designed especially for the Silkstone® Francie® doll body. Not for use with other Barbie® dolls.
For the adult collector.
Production doll may vary from the photo shown above. Mattel reserves the right to modify the fashion/fabrics, sculpt, hair color/style, and accessories. Doll cannot stand alone as shown.


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"Where I got the color red—to be sure, I just don't know," Matisse once remarked. "I find that all these things . . . only become what they are to me when I see them together with the color red." This painting features a small retrospective of Matisse's recent painting, sculpture, and ceramics, displayed in his studio. The artworks appear in color and in detail, while the room's architecture and furnishings are indicated only by negative gaps in the red surface. The composition's central axis is a grandfather clock without hands—it is as if, in the oasis of the artist's studio, time were suspended.
MoMA Audio: Collection, 2008
Curator Emeritus, John Elderfield: This painting was made in the summer of 1911 and shows the studio, which Matisse was then using in a suburb of Paris.
We see examples of Matisse's own works of art—a presentation of his career to date almost. If we look to the left of the clock in the center of the picture—interestingly a clock without any handswe can see at the bottom of the clock a little landscape, one of Matisse's very earliest paintings. The big figure painting to the far right was done in 1907. And the white sculpture underneath it is a very recent work.
What he's giving us is the studio as an exhibition place, but also the studio as bearing marks of the presence of the artist, most obviously by the crayons on the table in the foreground. And we realize that the only things, which are marked separately from the red are all things to do with the works of art themselves.
One of the fascinations of the picture is that it is very flat. On the other hand we really have the sense of a room being there. And its provided by drawing. But instead of drawing all the lines, which would actually very abruptly divide up the space, Matisse has carried the red up to the point of where those lines would be. And its the absences of the red which provide the sense of movement into the room.
For Matisse, color was an agent of expression, and he also obviously used it as a way of organizing the space of his pictures. Here, color has this quality of functioning a bit like the medium of time, where all these things are floating, but open up into different worlds.
The Museum of Modern Art , MoMA Highlights, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, revised 2004, originally published 1999, p. 77
"Modern art," said Matisse, "spreads joy around it by its color, which calms us." In this radiant painting he saturates a room—his own studio—with red. Art and decorative objects are painted solidly, but furniture and architecture are linear diagrams, silhouetted by "gaps" in the red surface. These gaps reveal earlier layers of yellow and blue paint beneath the red; Matisse changed the colors until they felt right to him. (The studio was actually white.)
The studio is an important place for any artist, and this one Matisse had built for himself, encouraged by new patronage in 1909. He shows in it a carefully arranged exhibition of his own works. Angled lines suggest depth, and the blue-green light of the window intensifies the sense of interior space, but the expanse of red flattens the image. Matisse heightens this effect by, for example, omitting the vertical line of the corner of the room.
The entire composition is clustered around the enigmatic axis of the grandfather clock, a flat rectangle whose face has no hands. Time is suspended in this magical space. On the foreground table, an open box of crayons, perhaps a symbolic stand-in for the artist, invites us into the room. But the studio itself, defined by ethereal lines and subtle spatial discontinuities, remains Matisse's private universe.
If you are interested in reproducing images from The Museum of Modern Art web site, please visit the Image Permissions page (www.moma.org/permissions). For additional information about using content from MoMA.org, please visit About this Site (www.moma.org/site).
© Copyright 2011 The Museum of Modern Art


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Beauty on the Sill: Tips for Growing Orchids
An in-depth look at easy-to-grow orchids.
This story (from the January 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens® magazine) introduced orchids that would succeed in a typical home environment. I wanted to address the issue of orchids' reputation -- often well earned -- as difficult plants, which results in many people being afraid to try growing them. But this is a large, diverse group of plants, and not all of them are difficult. Some are quite easy. I want to give you the confidence to try these plants. To do that, I'll to steer you to the types that are easiest to succeed with.
When I say "succeed," I mean that they will survive, and also grow and eventually rebloom indoors, with no special lighting, no greenhouse or sunroom, and no advanced skills required. An important resource for me in the development of this story was Dr. Ron McHatton, an expert with the American Orchid Society. He provided a list of orchids that fit the above criteria, and those that we show you are from that list. If you want to give orchids a try, the types we're covering are good ones to start with.
The Easiest Orchids for NovicesYellow nun orchid
Three orchids noted by McHatton are especially commendable (from a novice's perspective): the nun's orchid (Phaius); a closely related hybrid, Phaiocalanthe; and the tropical lady slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum, not to be confused with Cypripedium, a related but distinct type of lady slipper). They thrive with care similar to that of many houseplants: regular water and average light. If you can grow a ficus or a pothos, you can probably grow one of these orchids. It would be hard to overwater these moisture-loving orchids, which is important because that's perhaps the most common way that people kill orchids.
Learn tips to keep your indoor orchids healthy!
As an aside, I wonder why we don't see more of these lovely moisture-tolerant types in stores. Everyone I've spoken with who has grown these orchids agrees that they are easy plants to grow, but they seldom appear in retail outlets. The orchids you see in retailers these days are nearly all Phalaenopsis. They're easy to grow and ship, they're inexpensive, and they're gorgeous. So this isn't a complaint about Phalaenopsis. (Costa Farms, based in Florida supplies most of these nationwide, and generously provided some of the plants we photographed for this story.) I just wish there was more variety in retail stores. For now, you generally have to obtain Phaius, Phaiocalanthe, and Paphiopedilum, from online retailers (which we share on page six of this piece).
Two other orchids we covered in the print story are Phalaenopsis (the moth orchid) and Cattleya hybrids (the "corsage orchid"). These orchids prefer dry roots, so are vulnerable to being "loved to death" with too much watering, but are otherwise reasonably easy to grow. I should make a distinction here between pure unhybridized Cattleya orchids and Cattleya hybrids. The former are more difficult to grow. Fortunately, most of the Cattleya you find for sale are hybrids that are a bit more domesticated.
Another orchid worth noting is the Cymbidium. It's a great orchid for Northerners because, as McHatton told me, it responds to the short days of winter by flowering. In the South, with its relatively long winter days, it can be difficult to get to bloom. And like the other orchids we covered, Cymbidium can succeed in a home environment.
How to Water Orchids
As I mentioned above, overwatering is a common cause for dead orchids. People typically ask about a plant's water needs by inquiring how often they should water, and it's this "how often" mindset that is a big part of the problem. How often you should water a plant depends on how much water it uses, which is a function of humidity, light, air movement, and what its roots are growing in. Watering by the calendar rather than a plant's needs is a recipe for failure.
So the short answer to the question of when to water most orchids, including Phalaenopsis and Cattleya, is: Just before it goes dry. How often is that? In practice, it can vary from every few days to every couple of weeks. It depends on the orchid and on the conditions in your home. One of those conditions -- an important one -- is the medium the orchid is growing in.
The best way to judge moisture is the old-fashioned way -- stick your finger in the planting medium. Pull it out, then rub your fingers together. You can easily feel if any moisture is present. If you don't feel any, it's time to water. Eventually, you'll develop a sense of how often to water, and how conditions (seasonal changes, for example) affect frequency. You'll also develop a "feel" for how heavy the pot is when the planting medium is dry, another way to gauge moisture levels.
McHatton offers a useful suggestion: A few suppliers (Charley's Greenhouse, for example) sell clear plastic pots. When moss or bark -- the best planting media for orchids -- is moist, you'll see the condensation on the inside of the pot. When it's dry, you won't, and you'll know it's time to water again.
Watering is no more complicated than pouring water into the potting medium and letting the excess drain through the bottom. I've noticed that some orchids available in stores are in pots with no drainage holes. That makes it far more difficult to water properly, so I'd suggest repotting in a different container (or drilling holes, if you have the tools).
Why Potting Mix Is Important
It's impossible to properly discuss watering without considering rooting media. Orchids are commonly potted in one of two media: moss or bark. Both are perfectly good materials, but they require somewhat different care. Moss acts like a sponge, and it takes a lot longer to dry out. Thus, for orchids like Phalaenopsis and Cattleya that need to dry out thoroughly before watering, moss requires a longer wait before watering and is less forgiving of too-frequent watering. Bark, which holds little water, poses less risk for these orchids. The rule of thumb for these orchids is: Water the day before the medium is completely dry.
Lady slipper and nun's orchids, as I pointed out above, enjoy conditions on the moist side and they'll do better if you don't let them go completely dry. Moss is a good choice for them, supplying adequate water for longer intervals between watering. Can these moisture lovers be grown in bark, too? Sure, if it's fine-textured. But be prepared to water more frequently.
when repotting an orchid.
Orchid media decomposes over time, especially bark. When this happens, the bark loses the fast-draining properties that many orchids prefer. That's why it's necessary to repot in new bark every year or two. It's a simple two-step process. Just remove the orchid from the old bark, which you can just throw on the compost pile. Clip off dead roots (which will be dark and shriveled, compared to the firm, fleshy, light-color healthy roots). Place the orchid back into the pot and refill it with new bark.
Fertilizing OrchidsStep 2: Place the orchid
into a slightly larger pot
filled with fresh bark.
A common recommendation, and the one I offered in the print story, is fertilizing with quarter-strength, water-soluble fertilizer each time you water. That means whatever the fertilizer label says to mix into the water, use only one-fourth that amount, and add it every time you water. This constant "spoon-feeding" is good for plants and ensures you never have to worry about when you fertilized last.
Orchids and Light
Homes generally have dim light (from a plant's perspective), so orchids that tolerate low light levels stand a better chance than those that require strong light. As the print story noted, an east-facing windowsill is a great spot to grow your orchid. The sunshine from an unscreened south-facing window can be a bit too bright (and hot), but a sheer curtain offers just the right amount of filtering. Or set the orchid back away from the window so that it's not constantly in strong indirect light.
West-facing windows make it simply too hot for orchids, and McHatton doesn't recommend them. However, with some filtering (as you would with a south-facing window) you might make a go of it. The light at a north window is usually just too dim for orchids.
You may want to use a blooming orchid as a table centerpiece, or put it somewhere away from a window. There's no harm in doing so, as long as you return the orchid to better light once it's done blooming.
Orchids and Humidity
These orchids don't require rain forest humidity, and may do OK in your home without extra measures. But the dry atmosphere of an air-conditioned home can be challenging. That's why a daily mist, or setting orchids on a moist bed of gravel, helps success.
One precaution: Orchid pots should sit atop the gravel, not nestled within it. Otherwise, you risk wicking moisture up through the bottom of the pot and saturating the roots.
Interested in the clear plastic pots I mentioned? Try Charley's Greenhouse Supply: charleysgreenhouse.com.
To purchase orchids try the following companies that provided the ones we photographed.
EFG Orchids: efgorchids.com
Orchids.com: orchids.com
Costa Farms: costafarms.com (They supply the orchids sold in Lowe's, The Home Depot, and other retailers.)
Learn more about growing and choosing orchids from the links below.
The American Orchid Society: aos.org


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Here is a great reason to always wear your seat belt.
The alleged Jeffrey Epstein prostitution ring has a New Mexico connection.
Christopher Cook was arrested early this morning and is suspected to be the man who shot an APD officer last weekend.
There is some kind of major transformation about to take place on Mountain Road NW.
Dog left at train station with his luggage.
There are indications in Colorado that marijuana can be physically addicting.
Rather than marry any same-sex couples 14 counties in Florida simply stopped marrying anyone at all.
The gray wolf that was spotted at the Grand Canyon may have been shot.
You got problems? These comics have PROBLEMS.
New Mexico's antiquated liquor sales restrictions may loosen up some more.
Would eliminating cheap booze reduce the incidence of DWI?
TLC Driving School finally (not really) explains why they closed without notice.
The new overseer of the EPA is a climate-change denier.
You can't drink beer in an alligator herd.
Looks as though parts of the missing Air Asia plane and some bodies of passengers have been recovered.
A toddler shot and killed a woman in a Walmart. The questions this raises about America and gun safety would seem too large to ignore–but I bet we'll have no problem ignoring them anyway.
If you aren't familiar with Hip Hop Family Tree Comics, start with this week's Boing Boing installment, then gorge on archives or buy a copy. Ed Piskor's comic has become something I greatly anticipate every week.
Knockouts bouncers arrested over beating of patron.
Some cops in Roswell bought a dad baby formula rather than arrest him for shoplifting.
Gallup Catholic diocese has released a "credibly accused" list of clergy.
These Jimmy Kimmell-John Krasinski Christmas pranks are pretty funny.
"I'd like a cup of coffee and your most feral adoptable cat please."
Theme park "Dicken's World" has, ironically, fallen on hard times. Something Billy Childish can tell us about.
In true Jesus fashion, a naked man burned down a church.
More Americans believe in immaculate conception than believe in climate change.
Hollywood producer Aaron Sorkin is pissed at the media reporting on the Sony hack.
Taliban gunmen massacred 141 at a school in Pakistan.
My favorite cocktail party factoid, that mushrooms are more animal than plant, just got bolstered.
HBO made a Johnny Tapia documentary.
The color of the year has been announced.
APD released another image of the man suspected of shooting my favorite 7-11 clerk this past weekend.
A former Nazi charged for his involvement in an infamous WWII massacre in France appears to be off the hook.
In other Nazi-related news, Congress has passed a law that will prevent former Nazis from recieving social security benefits.
All those allegations of torture and cruelty against terrorism suspects in the hands of Americans and their minions turn out to be true and worse than previously alleged according to a report just released.
A private company is winnowing the field of candidates for a one-way mission to Mars.
Avril Lavigne has developed a celebrity mystery illness.
Check out Boing Boing's gift guide.
Afghanistan just harvested enough opium to equal 90 percent of the world's supply.
Author Alice Walker is a fan of conspiracy theorist David Icke!
It's true. The Pit is now deliciously called the WisePies Arena.
APD fired the officer that shot Mary Hawkes sans lapel camera footage.
The unidentified, phantom shooter in ABQ's SE Heights yesterday has caused an elementary school to be staffed by "extra security."
Today a fairly eloquent, top-hatted man came into the alibi offices and made his stance known vis a vis Albuquerque's ordinance against feeding pigeons. How do alibi readers feel? How do you guess the top-hatted man feels?
Charles Manson is engaged. Charles Manson does not have a wedding registry.
UK porn production will be stifled by this recent outlawing of acts.
Maurice Sendak's estate is in the hands of a former caretaker who either has his best interests in mind or is limiting accessibility to his effects and art collection.
Stephen Hawking has some holiday cheer.
Burt Reynolds is selling some stuff.
The Reagan-era ban on homosexual men donating blood may soon be over.
Here is a six hour long video of The Count reciting pi to 10,000.
Turns out, Mingus couldn't work without the cat shit.
The little Mexican boy with the huge tumor had one third of it removed in Albuquerque!
This woman's attempt at framing an APD cop for sexual assault failed.
The news that Ferguson, MO officer Darren Wilson would not be facing criminal charges brought protesters out to Albuquerque's Central Avenue.
Conflicting and inconsistent testimony is the likely reason Darren Wilson was not indicted in the shooting of Michael Brown.
Here is a summary of Darren Wilson's testimony about the shooting.
The NRA has an argument for keeping toy guns real-looking. It is stupid.
Kirk Cameron is in the news for something stupid again.
Behold The Morbid Anatomy Museum!
Someone stole this family's Sasquatch.
Patti Smith is going to perform before the Pope.
Kim Jong-Un has gotten very fat and supposedly has E.D.
Check out this 5,500 year old stone-age axe, with wooden handle, that was discovered in Denmark.
And now for an incredibly offensive WWII Bugs Bunny propaganda cartoon!
The little Mexican boy with a huge tumor is finally going to have it removed in New Mexico.
Chaco Canyon is among a number of National Parks set to increase visitor's fees.
A schoolteacher and her boyfriend are missing after the small plane they were flying went down somewhere in the San Juan National Forest.
What do Whole Foods employees really think about their employer?
Here we go with the Keystone pipeline again.
Westminster, Massachusetts may become a completely tobacco-free town.
1950's FATE magazine cover art gallery is rad.
Various plaintiffs v. various defendants.
America is losing it's small-town police forces.
A controversial New Mexico coyote hunt is on for the third year.
The National Institute of Flamenco is being sued by their former landlord over the fire that gutted their space.
Two Grey Wolves were found dead in New Mexico.
Were pulp characters Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade based on a real life black private detective?
Veterans Day and homelessness.
A eulogy for Car Talk's Tom Magliozzi by his eldest daughter.
A large Russian news agency is expanding to the west.
Rick Springfield's ass is going back on trial.
600 Indian women sterilized in a matter of hours leads to deaths.
European Space Agency about to land a spacecraft on a comet.
It's time for the city to divide up all the leftover cash that was earmarked in hopes of luring Tesla to Albuquerque.
City Council approved police officer raises to the tune of $900,000 in hopes of preventing a large number of officer resignations.
The TSA confiscated a ray-gun replica belt buckle from some guy.
This guy can talk his way out of almost anything.
Tom Magliozzi of NPR's "Car Talk" has died.
Some of the Atari games unearthed from an Alamogordo landfill will be auctioned on eBay.
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office will be guarding an abandoned insane asylum over Halloween.
You will not be able to purchase the new Breaking Bad action figures at Toys "R" Us.
Oscar Pistorius got five years.
"Mr. President, don't touch my girlfriend."
Many employers do not like stretched earlobes.
Lets review the highlights of the 2014 Ig Nobel Prizes.
Don Imus is selling his New Mexico ranch.
The CEO of French oil company Total was killed in a fiery plane/drunken snowplow collision.
Check out Punk:The Best of Punk Magazine.


text:
Whalers up one in a best of three series
by Andrew Rudansky
The Pierson Whalers took the first game of the best-of-three playoff series with the Southold Settlers, 1-0. The low scoring game, held on Wednesday, May 23 at Mashashimuet Park was the product of a defensive effort by both teams.
With the win, the Whalers are one step closer to being crowned the Suffolk County Class C champions. The winner of the series will move on to the Long Island Class C game later in June.
Frustration had settled in for both teams leading up to the finals, as rain delays pushed game one back on two successive days this week.
The Pierson Whalers were originally slated to host Southold in game one of the best of three series on Monday, May 21 at Mashashimuet Park. That game was cancelled by officials hours before the scheduled start time due to scattered showers.
The same happened when the rescheduled date for game one, Tuesday, May 22, was similarly cancelled due to rain delays.
Whalers Head Coach Jonathan Tortorella said that the rain delays could have been a blessing in disguise, as they gave the Whalers a few extra days to practice.
"We are better after these two days of practice, we got a lot of stuff worked out in that time," he said.
Tortorella said the extra time afforded to the team by the rain delays has also allowed some of his injured players time to heal. He said that he has as many as 12 players on the roster who he could use as starters in the playoffs.
The extra days off seemed to do the trick, as the Whalers looked sharp in all aspects of their game.
Lefty strikeout artist Colman Vilá started the game for the Whalers. Vilá has been dominant on the mound all season, winning all seven of his starts.
In Wednesday's game Vilá effectively managed the game through all seven innings, not allowing a run while tallying seven strikeouts.
The lefty did slow down in the later innings of the game, but later ended the match with two back-to-back strikeouts in the top of the seventh inning.
"If he is keeping guys off base, I don't care about strikeouts. With a team like Southold they are going to put the ball in play," said Tortorella. "I thought he was as good as he has been all year."
The Whalers scored in the bottom of the third inning when Forrest Loesch hit a grounder to the second baseman. A wild throw to first base attempting to get Loesch out, allowed Hunter Leyser to run home from third base.
The Whalers were put in danger in the top of the sixth inning, with runners on first and second with no outs. The Whalers defense — including Vilá's great play throwing out a runner at third — was able to hold the Settlers at bay, leaving two runners stranded.
"Kyle [Sturmann] was great at second base, Aaron [Schiavoni] was awesome behind the plate, Colman [Vilá] fielded his position, there wasn't that many hits into the outfield, so overall I think it was a great day defensively," said Tortorella.
The Whalers reached the Class C playoffs this year after posting a stellar 18-2 regular season performance. The 18 wins allowed the Whalers to run away with the league IX title, their first in over a decade.
The Southold Settlers placed third in League IX, after they closed out their season with a respectable 13-7 record. Southold was one of only two teams this season to hand Pierson a loss in the regular season. That Settler win came on April 21, when a late inning grand slam by Southold put the Whalers away in their first loss of the season, 4-8.
This season Pierson won the regular season head-to-head series 3-1.
With game one now in the books, the Whalers will next travel to Southold for game two today, May 24 at 4 p.m. Pierson's Jake Bennett is scheduled to pitch in the game.
Game three, if it is necessary, will be played at Mashashimuet Park on Tuesday, May 29 at 4 p.m.
"Is there pressure on them, yeah, but there is also pressure on us tomorrow as well, because we don't want a game three," said Tortorella.


text:
aResults of a pivotal 2-year, double-blind, randomized controlled trial with 942 RRMS patients to receive either TYSABRI® (natalizumab) monotherapy (300 mg by intravenous infusion [n=627]) or placebo (n=315) every 4 weeks for up to 28 months (30 infusions).1,2
bThe primary endpoint at 2 years was time to onset of sustained increase in disability, defined as an increase of ≥1.0 point on the EDSS from baseline EDSS ≥1.0 that was sustained for 12 weeks, or ≥1.5-point increase on the EDSS from baseline EDSS=0 that was sustained for 12 weeks.1 Increase excluded disability confirmation within 30 days of a relapse.3
- TYSABRI Prescribing Information. Cambridge, MA: Biogen.
- Polman CH, O'Connor PW, Havrdova E, et al; the AFFIRM Investigators. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of natalizumab for relapsing multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(9):899-910.
- Data on file as of June 2014, Biogen.