Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Watching Students Grow

My daughter starts photo journalism at the Univ of Missouri this fall. I am excited for her and I must say as we attend the Freshman Orientation for students and parents, they have done their homework.
It is fun to watch this new generation of college students. I think they may be one of the special generations. They have so many challenges as the government has messed up our economics and social morals as we continue down the road of the super power. I find it scary. How do we undo all the wrongs?
Every now and then we have a special generation. I think this may be one. I always thought the young adult women around 1900 were in that category. With their enthusiasm and wisdom we gained the right to vote and produced a lot of good artists and writers. And of course the writers and artists around Thomas Wolfe's time including Scott and Zelda Fitgerald's and Georgia O'Keefe' and Steiglitz were incredible. The arts emerge sometimes. It is exciting when that happens.

When I was with Jamie and her boyfriend Steve in Hawaii, I saw science and art meeting again. I love it when that happens. Steve said it is all about evolution. When there is dissatisfaction and things don't work, change must happen. That is when art changes as well. Maybe he is right. His father was an evolutionary scientist and his mother was a potter.

This generation is different, somehow. It might be the dissatisfaction and the change we need to survive and grow. It is time for art and science to meet again to make things happen. I was pleased to hear the chemistry teacher give his enthusiastic talk about what teachers expect from student and what students expect from teachers. It was very philosophical and once again brought art, science and life together.

He quoted Naylor from The Search of Meaning saying:
"A community is a grouping of people dedicated to the nurturing of each other, mind , body heart and soul." I will have to look into this book and I saw it on Amazon. Hmmm.

The young strong bodies and minds give me hope. It is nice to share the energy of life. I think maybe this new generation can handle it. They seem to be technocrats that think and move quickly and have insight as well.

I have always thought my daughter is a wise old soul. And now I get the pleasure of watching her grow: mind, body, heart and soul.

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