The Enlightenment is often miscast as the ‘Age of Reason’ - Wall Street Journal (In truth, it dethroned rational philosophy in favor of sociology and psychology.)

***HIGHER ED

California Accreditor Loses Appeal - Inside Higher Ed

Public records deflate myths about "profitable" college athletics - Student Press Law Center

***HUMANITIES /STEM

'Manifesto for the Humanities' - Inside Higher Ed

Professors consider how to sell English major to students parents administrators - Inside Higher Ed

***TEACHING

Assessing the Process Not the Product of Learning - Chronicle of Higher Ed

New analysis offers more evidence against the reliability of student evaluations of teaching - Inside Higher Ed(they’re actually better at gauging students’ gender bias and grade expectations)

Setting Boundaries as an Empathetic Teacher - Chronicle of Higher Ed (How to keep some emotional distance from the personal traumas of your students)

***SEXUAL ASSAULT ON CAMPUS

A tool to Track Hundreds of Federal Sexual-Assault Investigations - Chronicle of Higher Ed

The Legal Limits of ‘Yes Means Yes’ - Chronicle of Higher Ed

***LEGAL ISSUES

2015 Year in Review for Student and Faculty Rights on Campus - The Fire

Are Legal Restrictions On Disparaging Personal Names Unconstitutional?–In re The Slants - Technology & Marketing Law Blog

Two courts reaffirm protections for opinions based on disclosed facts - Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Kent State University agrees to $145,000 settlement of federal lawsuit over assistance animals - Cleveland Plain Dealer

End of the Line for Google Books Lawsuit? - Inside Higher Ed

Google Defeats Copyright Lawsuit Over Waze Data - Technology & Marketing Law Blog

***RELIGION

Donald Trump At Evangelical Liberty University Jan 18 - International Business Times

Wheaton professor denounces efforts to fire her - Chicago Tribune

In treatment of professor, Wheaton shows split among US Evangelicals - Christian Science Monitor

The Real Reason Wheaton College is Terminating Larycia Hawkins: Loving the Common “Enemy” - Patheos

Do Black Lives Matter to evangelicals? - Washington Post (opinion)

'Insider Movements' book called 'dangerous' - Baptist Press

Franklin Graham’s promised land - The Economist

This Is What It’s Like To Be Christian And Live Under ISIS - BuzzFeed News

Classicists' Christian Problem - Chronicle of Higher Ed

December 23, 2015

The freak-out test

December 23, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

If I were feeling really anxious what would I do? If we would pick up the phone and call six friends, one after another, with the aim of hearing their voices and reassuring ourselves that they still love us, we’re operating hierarchically. We’re seeking the good opinion of others.

Here’s another test. Of any activity you do, ask yourself: If I were the last person on earth, would I still do it? If you are alone on a planet a hierarchical structure makes no sense. There’s no one to impress. So, if you’d still pursue that activity, congratulations.

If Arnold Schwarzenegger were the last man on earth, he’d still go to the gym. Stevie Wonder would still pound the piano. The sustenance they get comes from the act itself, not from the impression it makes on others.

Now: What about ourselves as artists?

If we were freaked out, would we go there first? If we were the last person on earth, would we still show up at the studio, the rehearsal hall, the laboratory?

Steven Pressfield. The War of Art

December 01, 2015

Wings are best grown after you jump off the cliff anyway

December 01, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Life after college is like getting hit by a bus you didn’t see coming because you were too busy texting to look both ways before crossing the street. And why would you? You’ve crossed that street every single day at the exact same time for 20 years and a bus has never run over you before. Here’s the thing: Up until this point, your entire life has been hinged upon a concept of preparation and reward. You study for a test, you get a good grade. You exhibit good behavior, you don’t get thrown in detention. You do your chores, you get an allowance.

The real world doesn’t really care about any of that. Sometimes you fail when you should have succeeded. Sometimes you’re punished when you’ve done nothing wrong. Sometimes you lose, even when you did everything in your power to win. So lay down your ego and stop waving that degree around like it’s a Get Out Of Jail Free card. Jump in. Grow your wings.

Alex McDaniel

November 27, 2015

Coming to terms with the unknown

November 27, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

A Dutch experiment gave subjects a series of 20 jolts of electricity. The group was divided between those who knew they were getting 20 strong shocks and those who were told they would receive 17 mild shocks and 3 intense jolts. The second group wasn't told which shock was coming when.

The researchers found the group that did not know what was coming had a higher level of anxiety - even though they received fewer hits than the other group. The group facing uncertainty sweated more and their hearts beat faster.

Oddly enough, the anticipation of the unknown creates more stress for us than knowing something bad is going to happen to us. We prefer knowing the bad news is a sure thing over suspecting there may be bad news to come.

It’s hard to come to terms with the unknown. When we know what we are facing, we can go ahead and grieve and move forward. But when we don’t know whether to grieve or not, or how much to grieve, we are stuck in the land of uncertainty.

Stephen Goforth

November 10, 2015

fuming and fretting

November 10, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

One autumn day Mrs. Peale and I took a trip into Massachusetts to see our son John and we pride ourselves on the good old American custom of promptness. Therefore, being a bit behind schedule, we were driving at breakneck speed through the autumnal landscape. My wife said, "Norman, did you see that radiant hillside?"

"What hillside?" I asked.

"It just went by on the other side," she explained.

"Look at that beautiful tree."

"What tree?" I was already a mile past it.

"This is one of the most glorious days I have ever seen," my wife said. "How could you possibly imagine such amazing colors as these New England hillsides in October? In fact," she said, "it makes me happy inside."

That remark of hers so impressed me that I stopped the car and went back a quarter of a mile to a lake backed by towering hills dressed in autumn colors. We sat and looked and meditated. God with His genius and skill had painted that scene in the varied colors which He alone can mix. In the still waters of the lake lay a reflected vision of His glory, for the hillside was unforgettably pictured in that mirrorlike pond.

For quite a while we sat without a word until finally my wife broke the silence by the only appropriate statement that one could make, "He leadeth me beside the still waters." (Ps 23:2) We arrived at Deerfield at eleven, but we were not tired. In fact, we were deeply refreshed.

Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking

November 05, 2015

The Geography of Cancer

November 05, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Chance has a genius for disguise. Frequently it appears in numbers that seem to form a pattern. People feel an overwhelming temptation to deduce that there is more to the events they witness than chance alone. Sometimes we are right. Often, though, we are suckered, and the apparent order merely resembles one.

To see why, take a bag of rice and chuck the contents straight into the air.

Observe the way the rice is scattered on the carpet at your feet. What you have done is create a chance distribution of rice grains. There will be thin patches here, thicker ones there, and every so often a much larger and distinct pile of rice. It has clustered.

Now imagine each grain of rice as a cancer case falling across a map of the United States.

Wherever cases of cancer bunch, people demand an explanation. The rice patterns, however, don’t need an explanation. The rice shows that clustering, as the result of chance alone, is to be expected. The truly weird result would be if the rice had spread itself in a smooth, regular layer. Similarly, the genuinely odd pattern of illness would be an even spread of cases across the population.

This analogy draws no moral equivalence between cancer and rice patterns. Sometimes, certainly, a cancer cluster will point to a shared local cause. Often, though, the explanation lies in the complicated and myriad causes of disease, mingled with the complicated and myriad influences on where we choose to live, combined with accidents of timing, all in a collision of endless possibilities that, just like the endless collisions of those flying rice grains, come together to produce a cluster.

Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot, The Numbers Game

November 04, 2015

Solving the problem is more important than blaming the cause

November 04, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

When you’re young, it’s easy to get into the blame game when things go wrong. Your alarm clock didn’t go off. Your computer crashed as you were typing the last sentence of that 10-page history paper. That professor didn’t like you. Then you grow up, and guess what? No one cares about your excuses, unavoidable as they might be. Be proactive. Get the job done. Worry about the rest later.

Alex McDaniel

October 19, 2015

If you’re not being challenged on a daily basis, change something

October 19, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Reaching adulthood is no excuse to stop learning or growing. It just means now we’re responsible for reaching new heights in every aspect of our lives. Go for a morning jog. Ask your boss if you can have a hand in a bigger project with more responsibility. Meet new people. Keep pushing.

Alex McDaniel

October 13, 2015

Gratitude is powerful

October 13, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Learning to be grateful for what we already have will not only make us happier, but will also open the door for more to come into our lives. Say thank you. Write personal notes. Take inventory of the thousands of tiny pieces of your life made possible by friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and members of your community. And be grateful for it.

Alex McDaniel

September 18, 2015

Your identity

September 18, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Your identity doesn’t get found. It emerges. Reid Hoffman

September 15, 2015

Being single is not an illness to be cured

September 15, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

There’s a big difference in aspiring to be in a relationship with someone who brings out the best in you and simply wanting to be in a relationship so you don’t have to be single anymore. Your relationship status isn’t indicative of your personal success, so why not embrace the dating lulls when they come as time to work on yourself until someone better comes along? And slap anyone who asks when you’re finally going to settle down and find someone. They need it.

Alex McDaniel

September 14, 2015

The storyteller

September 14, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

The storyteller's responsibility is not to be wise. A storyteller is the person who creates an atmosphere in which wisdom can reveal itself. -Barry Lopez

September 11, 2015

Stop doing stuff

September 11, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Stop doing stuff you already know how to do. Start doing things that only God could pull off. Bob Goff

September 09, 2015

Shrink the change

September 09, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Shrink the change. Break it down so it's not so scary.

September 02, 2015

When you hit the ground

September 02, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. –JK Rowling

August 31, 2015

Levitation

August 31, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Rise above the drama.

August 21, 2015

Couple spends wedding day feeding refugees

August 21, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

A Turkish couple celebrated their wedding day by hosting 4,000 Syrian refugees at their reception party in the southern city of Kilis near the Syrian border. Fethullah Uzumcuoglu and his bride Esra Polat borrowed a food truck from a local charity and pooled money they received as wedding gifts to pay for the feast. Still in suit and gown, the newlyweds spent much of their party handing out meals to the grateful refugees. “Seeing the happiness in the eyes of the Syrian children is just priceless,” said the groom. “We started our journey to happiness by making others happy. That’s a great feeling.”

The Week Magazine, August 21, 2015 issue

burning books

August 17, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

Joseph Brodsky

August 12, 2015

what we call management

August 12, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

Much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work. Peter Drucker

August 07, 2015

Your Trails

August 07, 2015/ Stephen Goforth

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. -Edward Abbey

Becoming

ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire

articles of interest - Jan 11

The freak-out test

Wings are best grown after you jump off the cliff anyway

Coming to terms with the unknown

fuming and fretting

The Geography of Cancer

Solving the problem is more important than blaming the cause

If you’re not being challenged on a daily basis, change something

Gratitude is powerful

Your identity

Being single is not an illness to be cured

The storyteller

Stop doing stuff

Shrink the change

When you hit the ground

Levitation

Couple spends wedding day feeding refugees

burning books

what we call management

Your Trails

Goforth Solutions, LLC