Tag: storytelling

Peace Plan: Music 101

“Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common.” Sarah Dessen, American novelist of young adult fiction

Music is a soother for many ills. Why not apply it to world peace?

Adam Weingarten is the music director of Boston University’s Hillel, offering the first music program of its kind for any chapter of Hillel International. Weingarten’s goal is to bring students together, Jewish and non-Jewish. His take on college life today is a microcosm of what all of us may be experiencing:“It’s harder for people to connect now…to see what we have in common. Having a common memory, having a night where you had a good time with someone else, that can bond you for life—or at least for the four years you’re here.”

As a youth, Weingarten enjoyed singalongs at Jewish summer camp alongside the music of his favorite band, the Beatles. He created his own band, “Sounds of the Attic,” while combining Judaic studies and audio engineering. His philosophy of music is as simple as it is profound: “…little moments actually make the biggest impact…just like a song has a progression, a beginning, middle, and end, and every part of it is equally important, that’s what I want the kids to feel during their college experience—making their story flow like a perfect piece of music.”

Music is as old as_________. Fill in the blank. Likely the first humans chanted and had choir practice. It is believed that oral storytelling was often embellished through song, especially with rowers at sea or ancient dramas embellished by a Greek chorus.

Ancient Egyptian temple priests were thought to use “vocal toning” (that resonated within stone walls) to align humans with deity. Buddhist monastics chanted Om as a meditative practice. Confucius is considered a promoter of the powers of music and tone. Ancient Greek physicians used musical incantations and vibration accompanied by flutes and lyres to heal the sick; music was believed to purge negativity, improve digestion and sleep, and treat joint issues like gout. In Finland the vocal practice of lament was part of healing grief, loss, and other traumas.

These early intuitives were on the right track. Research in the 1950s-1960s found that patients with religious leanings and an enjoyment of classical music would respond faster in healing from postoperative retinal detachment than those without these characteristics. Science today identifies how music affects the brain’s limbic system and produces changes in neurotransmitters, such as catecholamine, indolamine, dopamine, endorphin, and the latest, neuron growth hormone. During group singing, bonding-hormone oxytocin is released, producing trust and social connection. I experience this, singing with 130+ others in my community’s Peace Choir.

Research bears out Weingarten’s hunches about music’s peaceful power: complete strangers may develop close bonds after singing together for just one hour.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

538. When might you consider music as a healer?

539. How often do you sing with other people? If not, why not?  

Reading Is Not Dead (Yet)

Can reading books make a comeback?

U.S. daily book reading for pleasure is steadily declining (40% drop from 2003-2023). A National Endowment for the Arts research lab at University of Florida teamed with University College London researchers to analyze data from 236,000+ Americans who completed the American Time Use Study.

The dearth of pleasure reading does not reflect all groups; people with higher educational levels and women are more likely readers. Unfortunately, reader-less homes where reading for pleasure could support mental health, creativity and lifelong reading are those in lower income or educational realization and rural (versus metropolitan) areas. One might argue that these folks often have two jobs to make ends meet and reading time is a luxury that is not sustainable.

March is National Reading Month. The intent is to encourage daily reading habits to promote literacy as well as nurture reading habits in both children and adults. A focus set by Read Across America Week (March 2–6), was “Champion Kindness,” a goal much needed today. Helping children read diverse books can foster empathy along with developing a love for broad-ranging literature.

One reason March is a special reading month is due to honoring of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd. Much-loved Dr. Suess books, with their quirky illustrations and humorous storytelling, remain favorite choices for parents who read books to their children at bedtime. His Grinch character provides food for thought for both parents and kids. Dr. Suess was right when he said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.”

While many blame our digital-relying habits for a reading downfall, British author and technology guru Kevin Ashton maintains that technology is not to blame. He reminds, “What’s on their phones is words…go look at [a]…TikTok video…There are captions that help it make more sense when they’re communicating with one another. They’re sending text messages. Children today are writing more words than you or I did when we were teenagers.”

Yes, “words” are present in technology, but I think the technology vs. reading-books issue needs more discussion among educators and mental health providers. When there is a winning lawsuit against Meta and Google, blaming social media for the anxiety and depression of a woman who claims addiction to social media as a youngster, the impact of digital wording matters. What safeguards are present for tender minds in developing healthy perceptions about their belonging in a fast-paced society? Who moderates digital mediums for kids?

Ashton had thoughts about storytelling for decades before writing his book, The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art. He suggests that it is emotional storytelling that readers seek. Yes, emotions are complex parts of us and stories help us gain perspectives about emotional territory. Along with diverse book-reading, I believe we need more in-person communication in sharing emotions in homes and schools.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

484. What is the last book you read?

485. Were there any emotional insights from reading that book?  

AI vs. A Culture of Reading

The average American reportedly reads (but may not finish) 12-13 books a year according to a Gallop poll. However, this number is misleading because “heavy” readers skew the data. (I confess to being a “heavy” reader.) The median number is 2-5 books per year. An estimated 17-40% of adults in the U.S. read no books in a given year. Gallop reports that women read more than men (approximately 15.7 books versus 9.5). College graduates are more likely readers with 90% reading at least 1 book annually, while 34% of individuals with H.S. or less years of schooling read 1 book per year. Surveys in recent years report declining numbers of books read annually.

We have AI to read for us. Will the reading slippery slope become more pronounced? I wonder how AI affects students doing their own research of a topic. How might AI impact overall reading (learning) habits? Linguist Naomi S. Baron, Professor Emerita, American University, also has concerns. She is worried about AI “…accelerating an ongoing shift in the value people place on reading as a human endeavor.”

Yesterday’s Cliff Notes are today’s “Blinks.” Apparently meant to be in the blink of an eye, one can skim a years-in-the-making book in a 15-minute summary. BooksAI is another “reader” for reading assignments. With Google NotebookLM, AI compares 2 books for your student assignment with the addition of posing questions to look smart in class.

As a contrast, Iceland has a culture of readers. Often cited as the most literate nation in the world, over half of Icelandic residents read 8+ books a year and 1 in 10 publish a book in their lifetime. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Iceland has the most writers per capita in the world. AI estimates that 1 in 5000 people publish a book in the U.S. despite a self-published-book rise.

There is an endearing tradition, Jólabókaflóð (The Christmas Book Flood), in Iceland each Christmas. Books are gifts on Christmas Eve. Each Icelander typically will receive at least one book. With no knowledge of Iceland, this is a tradition I began with my children years ago and I continue it annually. I applaud Iceland’s country-wide tradition.

With its long, dark winters, Iceland has long celebrated a tradition called kvöldvaka, an evening time of honoring storytelling in communal spaces. A person might read from a book, recite a poem, or re-tell a story from Iceland’s early history. Children learned to read and write in such a setting while honoring their country’s history and geography. At a time when many were poor, the literacy rate in Iceland was high.

This makes me wonder how Americans spend their winter evenings. Is every person glued to a solo digital gadget? Are students skimming AI summaries rather than reading books? How might these AI “traditions” affect our culture?

Can we embrace both AI and reading?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

472. How do you use AI?

473. How many books and/or eBooks do you read a year?