Eye on Faith

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Baby on Back

Mali Marketplace (Photo by Ferdinand Reus)

In Mali, babies are traditionally carried upon their mothers’ backs.

So when Assistant Professor Ramata Sissoko Cissé was faced with a crying baby in her Georgia Gwinnett College classroom, she knew just what to do. Spotting a clean lab coat nearby, Cissé transformed it into a baby carrier. She then “safely secured” the baby onto her own back.

Mali-born Cissé proceeded to teach while the baby’s mother took notes. This set a wonderful example of “love and compassion,” two highlights of Cissé’s classroom philosophy.

Resources

https://thegrio.com/2019/09/30/college-professor-goes-viral-for-carrying-students-baby-on-her-back-during-3-hour-lecture/

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Aging: A fair trade?

Cruising toward what? (Photo by Dveking)

These days, there’s fair-trade chocolate and fair-trade jewelry. And now there’s even fair-trade aging.

Widespread human aging, a relatively recent phenomenon (if you discount Methuselah and friends), has inspired a bundle of literature and philosophy. Some say it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread (also relatively recent). Others look in the mirror and gasp.

So which is it? Are senior years golden years, while cruising toward exotic ports? Or are they black-and-blue years, while cruising for a bruising? Maybe both.

Many feel that wisdom grows as youth fades. It’s up to every elder to decide: Is that a fair trade? Given the alternative, it very well might be.

Resources

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/04/why-we-cant-tell-the-truth-about-aging?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Friday, November 1, 2019

Take Out the Trash Talk

Way to go! (USMC photo)

Joel Embiid and Karl Anthony Towns are doing neither themselves nor anyone else a favor by trashing one another.

It’s bad enough to engage in a brawl on the court. Fans came to witness basketball, not free-for-all. Worse yet, these players

continued to spew forth garbage on social media.

Adam Silver has his work cut out for him. He has already pointed out the ill effects that social-media trash talk has upon mental health. Now it might be time to insist upon a higher level of NBA sportsmanship.

Resources

http://www.startribune.com/karl-anthony-towns-vs-joel-embiid-fight-spills-over-to-social-media/564163542/