June 13, 2020

From Gerald R. Lucas

How to Live Better covid-19: day 92 | US: GA | info | act

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I like these guidelines. They couple easily be a twenty-first-century replacement for that outdated other list of ten. They call this list “How to Work Better,” but I renamed it above.

  1. Do one thing at a time
  2. Know the problem
  3. Learn to listen
  4. Learn to ask questions
  5. Distinguish sense from nonsense
  6. Accept change as inevitable
  7. Admit mistakes
  8. Say it simple
  9. Be calm
  10. Smile

I have no wish to appropriate these from Black Lives Matter, and they should clearly be read in that vein first. Yet, as an educator, I think these should be the goals of higher education, especially number five. I think that education involves making us more engaged and compassionate and informed citizens—this is crucial for the survival of democracy. If Norman Mailer is correct and that

We all have the responsibly to educate ourselves to be better humans, especially those of us who are melanin-challenged.



Note

  1. Mailer, Norman (2003). Why Are We at War?. New York: Random House. p. 71.