Eco-Friendly Parenting
“Going Green” may be a dirty phrase or a distant goal for parents engrossed in the realities of diapers, dishes and dollars. However, an eco-conscious lifestyle may be closer and cleaner than you realize. Here are 3 suggestions for parents seeking to minimize their ecological footprint and increase family interaction.
Emphasize Green Toys
A horde of plastic toys strewn across the floor of toddler households is a daily reality for many parents. Not only is it a burden to clean up such a mess, but it is completely unnecessary. Children are extremely fickle creatures, often moving from one toy to the next in a matter of moments. Put two kids together and watch them squabble over the same object in a room full of toys.
Resolve both issues: go green and save cleaning time. Impossible! Not really; children around the world in the deepest poverty enjoy exhilarating times with a deflated soccer ball and their friends. Do yourself and the environment a favour and reduce the number of plastic toys in your household.
The best green toys are books. Not only is a book literally recyclable, but it is also educational and fun. Getting children hooked on books is actually quite easy – toddlers love sitting and reading picture books.
Experience Communal Living
“Going green” provides unique solutions to parents desiring deeper family interaction amidst a technology obsessed age. Many families are estranged because they rely too heavily on technology to provide a robust social network. Eco-conscious parenting means limiting the amount of technology in the household and limiting its use.
Shedding your extra TVs and computers not only conserves energy, but also reinforces the idea of family as community. You mean share? Yes. Sharing forces people to be efficient and personal. It also makes people less dependent on energy-consuming technologies.
Educate through Example
Many will say, “If I pull the plug, my kid is going to rebel.” Is that statement a reflection on your child or on you?
If you don’t educate your children about the environment and leave them an example to follow, you can’t expect them to be tree-huggers. It isn’t a switch that can be turned on or off; it is a lifestyle. This can be both frustrating and comforting.
Start early. When your child asks why he can’t have the mountain of toys Jonny has, seed your answer with your convictions about the environment. Take your kids outside often, and get them involved in your garden; take on eco-friendly projects that children can sink their teeth into.
The goal of parenting is the same as the goal of gardening: fruitfulness. Ultimately, parents want to know that all of their sweat and toil has produced character in their children. Alternatively, gardeners spend time pruning and weeding in order to maximize the beauty of flowers and productivity of plants. Why not put the two together? Parents who cultivate a green parenting style will not only reduce their energy consumption, but provide the foundation for healthier family interaction.
Being an Effective University Student
Part 3 in the University Series
Many Arts students are overwhelmed by the amount of “free time” they have compared to other students. It is often a point of pride and laughter when a science major exclaims “You only have 12 hours of class a week? I have 35!”
However, the illusion can be fatal. This article seeks to help Arts students avoid developing a pendulum work ethic so that they will be effective students.
1. Read
It may seem obvious to say “read the assigned readings”, but this simple duty is so often overlooked that it has become a point of bragging. The goal being to read as little as possible while still writing excellent papers; extra points are added for papers written the night before the due date.
This mentality reflects the commercialization of the university system. It is the attitude that says “I only care about the piece of paper, because that is all my potential employer will care about.” In point of fact, people with this mindset should never have set foot in the Registrar’s office. A little harsh? Perhaps.
Reading is the backbone of university. If you don’t read, you will have nothing constructive and specific to say. Moreover, reading is the primary way of developing critical thoughts of your own. Sadly, true reading is rarely taught. The number of books assigned in many courses is overwhelming such that students are discouraged from reading. Additionally, students forget to linger over a text to determine what a writer is saying, or wrestle with the author’s arguments to see if they ring true.
Reading is not passive, but dynamic. Don’t be fooled though; true reading is not found in the dynamism of post-modern critical theory, where a reader imposes a variety of interpretive grids over a text and determines the meaning of it from that. That kind of reading is like a man focusing all of his attention on the glasses he uses to read, rather than on the book. There is a need to acknowledge the glasses used to read the book, but critical theory often ensnares students so that they no longer see the book, but only the glasses.
2. Write early and often
Don’t leave writing to the last minute, no matter how brilliant and verbose you think you are. Even if you write an A grade paper, it is a sham. Why? You are still buying into the “get a good grade and get out” policy. In other words, you don’t really care about your own thoughts enough to do a thorough job of expressing them.
Some might say “But I remember working my guts out on one paper only to get a B, while I did a haphazard job on another and received an A.” Those who say this are in it for the piece of paper at the end. It is similar to saying, “I will only try hard if I get a good mark.” The cart is way before the horse – in fact, it is half a mile up the road! Remember why you are at university: to learn how to think and communicate those thoughts. Did your thinking develop in your thought at all when you regurgitated that half-digested History book onto the piece of paper you call an essay? Probably not.
Write often. Writing consistently will go a long way to keep you from swinging like a pendulum. Start projects early, well before they are due. You want to know a secret? Due dates can be fatal, just like “free time”. Like every good law, a due date is there as a warning sign. Its encouragement is in the form of a whip or a spur in the ribs. That deadline has the potential to destroy every creative and worthwhile idea you ever had about the text in front of you. To avoid the cold vice of a due date, start writing early. Get out in front of the pack and don’t be worried if you get called a “brown-noser” or some other ancient insult – you will be happy you are not getting whipped.
3. Proofread your work
This is another one of those subjects people give a polite nod to and then proceed to throw out the window. A lack of proofreading is directly related to midnight cramming via a phenomenon known as the illusion of completion. You hammer out the final sentence of your confusion, flip to your school email account (pre-addressed to your Prof. with apologies for the lateness), attach the file and hit ‘send’. Instant satisfaction – which tastes as good as instant coffee.
Give your eyes time to relax before returning to proofread. That means days, not minutes! You will be surprised at how much you change, or how many fresh ideas jump into your head. “You mean, I wasn’t writing at peak quality at 3:00 am?” Wow…
4. Speak with your Professors
Many students avoid professors like the plague. They purposely pick courses with five-hundred people in it and grad students for seminar leaders, so they will never have to make eye-contact with their Prof. In order to be an effective student, you need to seek out continual feedback from your Professors. The best way to go about this is to get to know a few Professors really well and get up the courage to ask them for help in your writing. Smaller seminars will allow you to get specific feedback on your writing and communication, which will enhance your effectiveness.
Please realize that part of being an effective human being, let alone an effective student, is building relationships with people you work with. University is no different. Part of your preparation for graduate studies and later doctoral studies will be effective communication with Professors and advisory boards – demonstrating to them that you take yourself seriously as a student, and you think the work you are pursuing is worthwhile. All of this begins in the classroom as an undergraduate.
Life as a student is fantastic and enjoyable. But in order to be effective you need to take it seriously as well. These things are not mutually exclusive, and those students who recognize this experience great pleasure at being able to work hard at a job they love. Don’t be deceived by the freedom of September, for November is right around the corner!
Tips for Picking University Courses
Part 2 of the University Series
It can be both an exciting and dreadful experience to pick university courses. This article will discuss four things to keep in mind when planning your path through undergrad.
1. Pick professors, not courses
The biggest mistake undergraduate students make when selecting courses is they pick ones they think they are interested in. Why a big mistake, you ask? You don’t know why you are at university in the first place. University is mainly about learning how to think. Therefore you need to surround yourself with one or two professors who can teach you this skill, and stick with them. If you are a freshman, talk with friends who have gone to the university and know professors in your department. Or search out alumni and ask them – they are usually happy to tell you who their favourites were and why.
What you are looking for is a professional relationship. You want to find a person whom you can learn from and who is exceptional in his field. Take as many courses as you can with this person, regardless of the topic. The Prof. who knows your work will be able to give you specific help over a long period. This is much better than trying to get to know two or three new professors every year, and it prepares you for the period at the end of your degree, when you are trying to make new contacts and thinking about graduate work.
2. Take courses with small class sizes
Depending on what program and school you choose to go to, this may be difficult. My experience has shown me that there is a strong correlation between class size and quality of work – particularly in the Arts. When there are four people in an upper year English seminar, it is extremely obvious whether or not you came prepared to the session. You simply cannot avoid speaking without it being reflected in your mark.
Many students opt to take the least number of “Research Seminar” courses possible to avoid this very problem. However, this will only stunt your growth, because your whole academic career is building toward these intimate settings. It is in these seminars that most people find their voice and express their ideas. Additionally, the lack of bodies to hide behind will force you to come to classes prepared to speak, which in turn develops your thinking skills.
Smaller seminars are also where Professors get to know students, and when they start to speak into students’ lives. The key to getting into a graduate program often comes as a result of recommendations made by the Professor you got to know in a small class.
Finally, smaller courses increase the depth of your writing ability. The focus is usually tighter, forcing your critical thinking skills to be at their best. More initiative is placed on students to generate discussion and speak in class.
3. Don’t specialize too early in your degree
This is the flip side of point number two. It is not always a good idea to race toward small research seminars and avoid broader “reading” courses. Most departments make it mandatory for students to take intermediate courses involving a lot of reading from a large pool of literature, before specializing in smaller research seminars. This usually takes the form of set periods of literature (Ancient and Modern Philosophy) or major topics (Micro and Macro Economics). The reading may be overwhelming, but the breadth of knowledge will ground you so that you are shaped like a Pyramid rather than a bean-pole.
Some might ask, “why not focus on what I want to study and forget about the rest?” The answer is the same as before: You don’t know why you are at university. To learn how to think. Depth without breadth will turn you into a clone because you haven’t interacted with enough people to challenge your own thoughts and assumptions.
4. Take courses from multiple disciplines
Generally, it is a great idea to take courses from one or two other disciplines during your career. If you overdo it, you may be unprepared in your own discipline, but the benefits of interacting in other disciplines are, in my opinion, substantial.
Think about it in terms of a palette of colours. Adding Philosophy courses to an English degree will give you new colours for your painting – it will teach you new ways to think. This might mean learning the mechanics of thinking (Philosophy), or modes of expression (Languages). It may simply broaden your knowledge base and your ability to connect with diverse groups of people.
Taking courses from other disciplines will also enhance your overall university experience by exposing you to different formats of learning. Some programs are based heavily on verbal presentation, others on lectures and tests, and still others on writing papers. Experience in each will prepare you for multiple job types and develop your ability to be flexible.
Course selection can be daunting. The best approach is to communicate early and often with a variety of people who know your department. Having a plan like the one outlined in these points will keep you focused during the selection process, and ultimately prepare you to be a better thinker.
Why Go to University?
Part 1 of the University Series
High school students are hounded by guidance counselors at the end of Grades 11 and 12 about getting their university applications ready. “Have you thought about a major?” or “Do you have the proper credits?”
Many of these students h
ave never stopped to consider why they should go to university in the first place. Why shell out (or have your parents shell out) thousands of dollars for tuition, living expenses, books, and beer? Oh, they know the obvious reason: to get a higher paying job, of course!
Few students realize that the immediate goal of a university is not to educate students so they can get a job. That is what colleges are for. A university’s goal is to promote exceptional research. If you learn enough skills from your courses to land a well-paying job outside the academy, all well and good, but that is a byproduct of another focus.
This becomes increasingly apparent if you narrow the scope to Arts degrees. “What can you do with an English degree?” is a question I receive frequently, alongside, “Oh, so you want to be a teacher?” Underlying these questions is a fundamental perspective of the function of education. You go to school so you can make more money.
In fact, this mentality is so pervasive that it has affected the structure of many universities. One of the saddest trends within academia (at least in Canada and the U.S.) is the decision to economize university education – to view it as a commercial enterprise, and pay close attention to profits and income. I have seen it in my own university experience at Trent U in Peterborough Ontario. At one point the salary of a person in administration was raised significantly while full-time professors were replaced with part-time lecturers.
Commercialization can also be seen in the glut of specialized degree programs offered to students which helps them to ‘specialize’. At the interview: “I have a joint-major honours arts degree in English and Cultural Studies, with a minor in German and an emphasis in Victorian Literature.” Take that! Bam!
So why go to university? To learn how to think and communicate those thoughts.
In contrast to the vast array of skills that you can develop in college programs, at a university, you learn only a handful of interrelated skills. University is based on the formula: research a subject, think through its implications and applications, and communicate your findings verbally or in writing. And that is what you will spend most of your time doing at university.
The byproduct of all this reading and thinking and writing and speaking is character development. Because of the time you have invested speaking and debating with people, or arguing the validity of your findings, you will possess improved social graces essential to any communication job. All of your long hours spent researching and wrestling with the thoughts of others results in the ability to think critically, a trait essential for business and marketing careers. The application of these traits to non-academic positions is vast, and it is this personality growth that is attractive to employers.
Should you go to university? If you want to grow in your ability to think and communicate effectively, or if you love research, Yes.
The Green Bible
‘Going Green’ is certainly one of the trendiest topics of conversation these days – right up there with the state of the economy. The Bible, it seems, has finally ‘gone
NRSV Green Bible
green’ as well in the form of the new NRSV Green Bible.
Stuart Laidlaw’s recent article highlights the major ideology behind this edition of Holy Scripture: connecting ecology to faith. The Green Bible contains essays on the environment and highlights in green passages directly connected to the environment (a nod to the red-letter versions that highlighted words spoken by Jesus).
The crucial point in Laidlaw’s article:
“Vansittart says consumerism is responsible for many of our environmental problems, but sees no problem with purchasing a Green Bible to supplement the others in her possession, saying its numerous references, essays and a list of religious groups concerned about the environment are very helpful.”
What is next? A Gold Bible that highlights verses directly related to economics?
Don’t misunderstand. I believe what the Bible has to say about the environment, and creation in general, is accurate, and ought to stir people up to ‘think green’ about the way they live. But publishing a Bible based on an issue of secondary importance may only draw people away from the central message of the Bible (which includes the environment). It is about God’s sacrifice of himself so that he can justly restore all things wrong in the world (people and plants).
In fact, even a casual glace at the first chapters of the Bible reveal that the only hope for us as failed stewards and the only hope for mother earth (who receives a whopping kick to the face as a result of our failure), rests in God’s faithfulness. If he doesn’t do something, no one can.
Interestingly, the Bible teaches that this world will ultimately be destroyed and pass away (Rev 21:1). So what is the point of being environmentally conscious if all of our efforts will not sustain and save the environment in the end?
The main thrust of the Bible is that restoration occurs when humans despair of ever solving their own problems, be they economic, environmental, or spiritual, and look to God to solve them. Once that occurs, our desire to mirror God’s work of restoration happens organically.
To try and solve the issue on our own is to fail, like chopping the head off of a dandelion: you haven’t gotten to the root. Is this new version of the Bible going to point people to roots, or will we have to wait for the next golden dandelion head to pop from the market?
Welcome
Welcome to todd anderson writing! This site is a professional space for my writing endeavours as well as a space to connect with potential clients in need of writing, editing, or tutoring solutions.
If you are in need of clear and concise writing or thorough editing, you have come to the right place.
Enjoy!
Todd Anderson
