Jumpstart Your Brain Challenge: The Lifelong Learner

The Lifelong Learner

 

The most brilliant man I ever knew only had an eighth grade education. He was, however, a lifelong learner.

 

William Woolum was two years old when his mother died giving birth to his baby sister. His father, ill equipped to care for his young son and infant daughter, put them in the care of others. This was at the turn of the century. Last century. Around 1900. He was loved and cared for and was able to complete eighth grade. He later taught his wife to read and write. 

 

His knowledge and wisdom was revered throughout the community. 

 

One time, the local college sent graduate students out to the neighboring county schools to offer free classes to the residents. William Woolum had raised his family and was older now, but he signed up for a mathematics course. He loved math. 

 

The young man teaching the course posed a problem then demonstrated how to arrive at the answer. It was a practical problem using elements of geometry. After the class, Mr. Woolum approached the graduate student and showed him another way to arrive at the answer. 

 

“And that works every time?” the young instructor asked. 

William and Ophia Woolum

“Every time,” Mr. Woolum answered. 

 

The young man returned to his professors who put the algorithm to the test. The next week the young man returned to the small schoolhouse where the residents gathered. 

 

“Mr. Woolum,” he said to his eager student, “I’ve talked with my professors. Your equation, indeed works every time. Quite honestly, sir, I don’t think there is anything I’ll be able to teach you in this course.”

He allowed Mr. Woolum to attend and often met with him afterward to discuss mathematic theory and practice. They became friends.

 

William Woolum was my grandfather. He was smart and loved learning. His whole life. Moreover, he instilled in my mother and in turn to me, a love of learning. My husband, Tom, who had a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cincinnati asserted many times over how brilliant my grandfather was. The two loved to challenge each other with “mind games” and mathematical problems.

 

This is what a healthy brain is all about. It isn’t about education and getting a degree. 

 

It is about an attitude of continually learning and growing long after your “school” days come to an end.

 

I offered this series (Jumpstart Your Brain) as a guide. It is a good reminder to me as well. It is a reminder to not become complacent. It is a reminder to pursue a path to broaden my perspective.

 

I’m living what I teach.

 

I’m falling in love again with the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I’m engaging again in playing the piano. I have a daily five-minute Spanish lesson I enjoy on my computer via Duolingo. I’ve finished three of Shakespeare’s works…a true challenge to my thinking. I’m dusting off the Zumba DVD’s.

 

As for fun and games? I do play a few online Sudoku games, but also enjoy spending time with my mother playing a variety of other games involving strategy. (She is an incredible chess player so I haven’t broached that challenge yet. I call it “emotional self-protection.”)

 

The words I leave with you now? It is never to late to Jumpstart Your Brain. Make the DECISION to be a Life Long Learner. It is up to you.

 

From my Bio:

Rebecca Waters, EdD, completed her undergraduate work at the University of South Florida and her graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati. She served as both a public school teacher and as a professor of teacher education. Rebecca taught for a year in a private school in Kosovo where she also served as the elementary principal and the school’s liaison to the American Embassy. Rebecca is the author of two novels, Breathing on Her Own and Libby’s Cuppa Joe. All of her books, including three books on writing, are available on Amazon.

Follow me on Twitter: @WatersAuthor or visit my author Facebook Page: Rebecca Waters Author

 

Jumpstart Your Brain Challenge: Fun and Games

 It’s Not All Fun and Games…But Some of It Is

 

In this series on getting your brain in gear, we’ve looked at pursuing your dreams as one way of engaging your brain cells in new activity. We identified those dreams, organized and assessed resources to fulfill those dreams, and talked about how the process is often more valuable than the product. 

 

We then took a slightly different direction by talking about the role music and movement play in optimizing brain activity. I say “slightly” because all of these elements work together. Each activity boosts your brainpower, putting another activity within reach.

 

Today I want to present a few differing activities. In these waning days of winter, with Seasonal Affective Disorder in full bloom, I want to provide a few options to engage your brain without the long term commitment of say, writing a book or learning to play an instrument.  

 

Here are five opportunities you can start today. You may already have all you need stuffed away in some closet.

 

1.        Play a Game- Strategy games are optimal for activating your thinking skills. These can include other people or you can play individual games such as Sudoku or a crossword puzzle to challenge your reasoning skills.

 

2.        Work a Jigsaw Puzzle- Jigsaw puzzles require sorting, categorizing, visualization, and pattern recognition to name a few brainteasers within the box. Yes, you may have to eat on TV trays for a few weeks, but the process is worth it and the finished product yields a sense of accomplishment.

 

3.        Change Your Routine- I clearly put this one in the middle because I don’t want it lost in the mix. All of us have experienced changes in our routines during the pandemic, but by now we are settling into new ones. It may be time for a few new elements. For example, if you usually exercise after work to unwind, try splitting your exercise up and do some of it in the morning to get your body going. Or if you are a morning person already, try adding something to your evening you don’t usually do. If you find yourself sitting at the computer working (or exploring social media) for long periods of time, set an alarm to remind you to get up and do something, anything, different. Routines are comforting, but they can lull us into a state of boredom and brain inactivity.

 

4.        Read-Of course I suggest reading. I won’t push it so far as to suggest you read one of my books. (You can find them on Amazon for yourself.) I will suggest you read across genres to extend your knowledge, worldview, vocabulary, and problem solving skills. Every few years I set out to read the complete works of Shakespeare. Some of it is quite challenging. I’m simply not into “sprites” and “fairy queens” and some of the magic he puts forth. But each time I read, I learn something new about myself or themes ever present in good writing. I will be honest here. I haven’t made it through every one of his works in the span of a single year. But I am getting there. And the journey is interesting.  

 

5.        Research Your Family History- This one is very specific. Your family. Not mine. Not some historical figure. You think you know it all? I doubt it. Lately, I’ve watched a PBS show called Finding Your Roots with host, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. One of the elements of the show I enjoy is the historical context he brings to the family tree he researches. My oldest daughter is in the process of researching both her and her husband’s family. What a gift for her sons. I’ve supplied information I have and have listened as she fits pieces of the puzzle together. She will find several people with the same name and systematically eliminate some of them based on their birth year (“This one can’t be her, Mom, unless she had a baby when she was in her eighties.”) or one person she found was married to someone other than our relative for over fifty years. It simply wouldn’t fit. She found an inscription in one of her great-grandmother’s high school yearbooks that helped her find another family member. 

So there you have it. Jumpstart Your Brain by engaging in some fun and games. Be sure to let me know how this works for you! Leave your comments below or contact me at rebecca@waterswords.com. You can also let me know if you want to sign up for my newsletter. If you do, I'll send you my best-ever brownie recipe.

Jumpstart Your Brain Challenge: Get it Moving

 Two Left Feet?

 

Most of us are well aware of the physical benefits of exercise. We understand the research asserting that regular exercise increases our energy, stamina, strength, and overall health. Getting that flow of oxygen to your brain is part of that overall health benefit. We all need it.

 

When we think of physical exercise, we often consider a workout at the gym, weight lifting, or running. In my case, walking. But for this week’s Jumpstart Your Brain Challenge post, I want to explore the binding together of music and movement: Dance.

 

My husband and I enjoyed dancing. We met at a high school dance and later in life learned ballroom dancing as well as square dancing. (And no, I did not wear the big fluffy skirts.) 

 

Tom wasn’t too sure about learning “real dances.” He claimed he had two left feet. He was athletic and enjoyed many other activities, but dancing required something he wasn’t sure he had in him. 

 

If you read last week’s post, you’ll recall the value listening to music has for increasing your brainpower. Double that when you have to link the music to a physical set of patterns. It stretches you. 

 

I’m going to use square dancing as my model here. Many of us learned some basic square dance moves in elementary school. Others have likely seen it performed in western movies or on television. Many of the moves are connected to other forms of dance as well.

 

In square dance, the expected move is called out to the participants. You don’t have to wonder what to do next. You simply listen to the square dance calls and complete the move as defined. It sounds like a “no-brainer,” right? 

 

As it turns out, translating what you hear said and moving your body accordingly while staying in time with the music is an integration of input that will stretch your brain while working your muscles. Not to mention three other couples are depending on you to do your part. Integrating music and movement is a win-win activity.

 

You may achieve the same effect through Zumba or Jazzercise. (Though those may not be as much fun as dancing with your partner. Just sayin.’)

 

And there are levels to what you do. My husband and I studied Basic, Mainstream, and Plus levels of square dance. We had friends who moved to the next level, A-1 and knew people who studied A-2. In fact, Tom and I attended a few A-1 lessons. It was like a right-handed person learning to write with her left hand while standing on her head. 

 

One couple, several years older than us, embraced the activity even though they never smiled while they were dancing. I had to ask why they were doing it. Their answer was simple. 

 

It made them think. The more challenging dances forced them to listen carefully and move differently than the lower level dances.

 

So you’re thinking “I don’t see this happening.” I get it. Dances aren’t happening right now due to social distancing. Of course you can learn ballroom dancing via DVD’s. You can tune in to dance exercise on your computer. But you might also get some benefit from taking a different route as you walk your neighborhood, start on a different side of the store when you shop for groceries, or do your morning stretches set to music. 

 

Whatever you decide, I trust you will increase your brainpower when you “double dip” using music and movement together. 

 

Let me know. I love to from my readers.

 

From my Bio:

Rebecca Waters, EdD, completed her undergraduate work at the University of South Florida and her graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati. She served as both a public school teacher and as a professor of teacher education. Rebecca taught for a year in a private school in Kosovo where she also served as the elementary principal and the school’s liaison to the American Embassy. Rebecca is the author of two novels, Breathing on Her Ownand Libby’s Cuppa Joe. All of her books, including three books on writing, are available on Amazon.

 

 

 

 

Jumpstart Your Brain Challenge: The Power of Music

 The Power of Music

 

As a professor in the field of teacher education, I was compelled to research recent trends and studies in the field. I already knew there was power in music education, so I was intrigued when research examining “the Mozart effect” for learning hit my desk. I knew music had been researched initially as a means of lowering blood pressure. 

 

The easiest way to explain the proposed educational benefit is that researchers were exploring how classical music influenced thinking and memory. Several studies noted that students who listened to Mozart prior to taking a test performed better on exams than their equally prepared counterparts. For a while, schools filtered music through their hallways. A few schools around the country tried this during final exams or standardized testing. They were hoping, of course, to access some elusive phenomena bound to increase the school standing.

 

Further research demonstrated that the effect lasted for about fifteen minutes.

 

But it was there. And real. And it sparked continued interest in the overall effect of music on the brain. The research continues. I have read literature reviews on the subject including research from Harvard and Johns Hopkins. There are others and many less scholarly summations of the effect music has on the brain are readily available online. (Google “brain and music”)

 

I’m keenly interested in how listening to music influences memory and reasoning. 

 

It may not be what you expect. The studies I reviewed for music and memory do not suggest listening to the familiar, but to the unfamiliar. The same is true for strengthening brain function. It makes sense. The very architecture of music is mathematical. 

 

Think of it as entering your childhood home where you know every nook and cranny as opposed to being left free to explore a castle or museum. Or to find a route through a maze. Your brain isn’t strengthened by the familiar. Your brain is challenged and strengthened by the unfamiliar. 

 

If you want to jumpstart your brain, listen to classical music. If you are already a fan of Mozart, try Jazz. Or Bluegrass. Jazz and Bluegrass provide rich, dense layers of music that will indeed challenge you. And if you are already familiar with Jazz or Bluegrass, give classical a try. 

 

Any music you wish to explore is readily available on your computer or Alexa or other device. A few minutes each day will access a part of your brain you rarely use. Continued listening each day will likely improve your overall brain function. Perhaps improve your memory. And lower your blood pressure. Music is powerful. 

 

What are your music interests? What new form of music might you try this week?

Me? I’m enjoying Mozart while I type this post. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

From my Bio:

Rebecca Waters, EdD, completed her undergraduate work at the University of South Florida and her graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati. She served as both a public school teacher and as a professor of teacher education. Rebecca taught for a year in a private school in Kosovo where she also served as the elementary principal and the school’s liaison to the American Embassy. Rebecca is the author of two novels, Breathing on Her Ownand Libby’s Cuppa Joe. All of her books, including three books on writing, are available on Amazon.