May 2014 – Curious David in CARROLL LAND

Curious David Redux: What evidence is there that collaborative, engaging, Web tools indeed enhance learning— or Promote or Maintain Brain Health?

As I continue my transition to WordPress.org (and apply Margareta Magnusson’s ideas articulated in The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning to blogs I have written and photographs I have taken), I shall be revisiting some earlier pieces I have written during the last 15 years or so. I’ll title those pieces Curious David Redux.

BruceandDavid

[The photo above is of me, Dad, and younger brother Bruce in Grandma Stover’s back yard. I wonder where sister Connie was? Perhaps with Mom.]

The thought piece below first published on September 2, 2008 is actually a slightly revised blog piece I wrote in May of 2004 under the name “Curious David” when I was a community educational blogger for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I was attempting to think through the poential of Internet Learning Tools. Today in 2018 I now am thinking through which of these might lend themselves to maintaining or promoting brain health.

I’m nervous and excited. Time to take off my invisibility cloak. Tomorrow (Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 8:00 a.m.) I meet in person for the first time with my 20 first-year students. What an immense responsibility to be their first professor!

We’re going to explore “21rst century” learning tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networks, virtual worlds, and YouTube. The idea for this course emerged from my experiences writing this “Curious David” blog column. Last year’s opportunity to write for “JSonline” was transformative for me as I learned from elementary and secondary school teachers, high school students, virtual school advocates, retired faculty and readers about innovations, challenges and successes they faced promoting learning.

In this first-year seminar we shall focus on some of the 25 free learning tools described by educator Jane Hart. [Here is an updated list I would draw upon were I to teach this course again.] As we examine these learning tools we hope to answer questions such as these:

To what degree can these web tools truly enhance student learning?

To what degree are they just “cool” tools?

Could they be used to develop critical thinking?

Do they improve or degrade communication skills?

Might they be applied to fostering cross-cultural or international understanding?

Might they strengthen or weaken writing skills?

What are their weaknesses or dangers?

Should they complement or replace 20th century learning skills/tools?

How can one evaluate their effectiveness?

[It seems to me it should be possible to produce an evidence-based paper like this to address the questions above.]

My intent is to assist students in the transition from high school to college—and to investigate Web 2.0 learning tools which might be useful across classes and in the workplace. I want to involve them in educational experiences that will develop and enhance abilities in reading, writing, reflecting, presenting, thinking, and producing. Writing exercises will include short in-class and out-of-class reaction papers, journals, blogs/wikis, and exams. Presentations will be both formal and informal; individual and in small groups. Collaboration will be both with fellow students and with me.

Still Curious,

David

Giving Away (Social) Psychology

When I initially arrived at Carroll with my “ABD” degree (All But Dissertation) in 1978 it made much sense to me and to my chair, Dr. Ralph Parsons, to teach what I had specialized in during graduate school at The Ohio State University.

David, Ralph, and Virginia Briefly Reunited February 1, 2014

My introduction to the field of social psychology had come while I was an undergraduate at Oberlin College, and I hoped to give back to my Carroll students the excitement that I felt at that time of actually being a social psychologist.

At Oberlin my academic adviser, Ralph Turner, was a self-described “arm-chair” social psychologist—i.e not at a researcher—interested in creating dithering devices to facilitate learning that would cascade within and outside the classroom. As an adviser and professor Ralph Turner was kind to and patient with me. He was a role model of a dynamic teacher and a voracious reader who regularly wrote book reviews and who played a leadership role in Division 2 (Teaching of Psychology). He encouraged my intellectual curiosity and accepted me as I was, unformed and uninformed but eager to learn. He introduced me to the idea that psychological principles of persuasion and attitude change could be used to make the world a better place—or a worse place if applications of these same social psychological principles and findings failed to be guided by ethics.

These were my most (in)formative years especially, perhaps, because I was taking all my classes “credit/no entry” (that is, ungraded). This freedom from being graded allowed me to read voraciously, to be exposed first hand to social justice and war/peace issues, and to read and reflect upon works such as Postman and Weingartner’s Teaching as a Subversive Activity. I was also at that time inspired by APA President George Miller’s 1969 address advocating that we should give psychology away.

While a perennial graduate student at Ohio State I was surrounded by students who already were far better scientists than I was or would ever become and who subsequently have made major contributions to the field. Once again I was heavily influenced by personal relationships formed with a few key faculty—in particular by my academic adviser, mentor, and friend Tom Ostrom and more indirectly but in many positive ways, by the teachings by example of Tony Greenwald. Both of them, in their kind but brutally candid way convinced me that my calling most likely would be in teaching rather than in conducting creative, seminal, path-breaking research. And here I am thirty-some years later!

It pleases me that a number of Carroll students have chosen to pursue advanced graduate degrees in social psychology (e.g. Mark Klinger, Pam Propsom, Deana Julka, Darcy Reich, Jenny Welbourne, Cathy Carnot-Bond ) or in related disciplines (e.g. Mike Schwerin). Some of them have developed enviable scholarly reputations. But my goal in my experimental social psychology class is not so much as to be a pipeline to graduate schools in social psychology as to attempt to provide a capstone-like experience in their developed abilities of thinking about research.

I’m at a point of giving serious consideration to changing what I teach and how I teach my experimental social psychology course—if I continue to teach it. Two or my colleagues have a professional identity with my discipline, and I’m sure that they could step in. One possibility is to teach it entirely based upon readings (e.g. classic studies and recently published articles). Such a change in format might allow for more extensive, daily discussion and the potential development of student research ideas resulting from such discussion. This possibility would work best, however, if the class were small. There are years, though when I’ve had up to 35 students.

A second possibility is to teach it from a much more global, international perspective. A third possibility is to dramatically introduce hands-on Internet-based resources and experiences—drawing upon my recent interest in developing Web 2.0 learning tool. A good start in identifying some such resources has already been made by Scott Plous in his development of the Social Psychology Network and is reflected in the work of Jonathon Mueller in developing teaching resources for social psychology. And, of course, I could draw more upon the expertise of former students who are active experimental social psychologists. (Are you interest in some good students directed to you? Let’s connect!)

I welcome input from students and former students concerning which directions I should explore. How best should I proceed to give social psychology away?

Whispered Words of Wisdom

Whispered Words of Wisdom from My Mom at Her Memorial Service

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Sun City, Arizona

Good Morning! I am David Simpson, Pat’s oldest (perhaps Prodigal ) son sometimes called “David D.” by her. A Professor of Psychology for the past 35 years, I am wont to speak for 50 minutes or to twitter for 140 characters, but here, as she would wish, I shall be uncharacteristically brief.

My mother was a life-long Teacher. She taught me how to read. As soon as I learned how to read, I tried to teach Baby Bruce. Even today I love reading and teaching.

Mom taught me about life and about death and how to pray the 18^th century Children’s prayer (personalized version):

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take

God bless Mommie and Daddy and Grandpa and Grandma

Connie Sue and David and Brucie and Queenie

And EVERY BODY!!!!! Amen

My mother was both simple and complex. She was a lady —prim and proper. She was good-humored, reflective, energetic, slim and vivacious. She loved children and music and clowns and cows and rainbows and especially took pride in her own children— respecting, accepting, treasuring, and nourishing their differences. Mom was a worrier—especially about the well-being of her guests. I do not doubt that she is worried right now about this service and that the guests feel welcome.

Mom leaves me with these whispered words of wisdom:

Don’t worry about doing THE Right Thing, but do A right thing.
Live, Love, Learn, and ——Give.
Be Good (for Goodness’ Sake).
Be Nice to your Brother and Sister.
Be Patient.
Be Kind
Be Giving.
Be Forgiving.
Be of Good Cheer.
Be You.
Be—–

and

Let it Be.

Obituary: Patricia Ann Stover (Simpson) Swinger

(Thanks to Sister Connie Sue and Brother Bruce for writing this).

February 2, 1924–April 18, 2014/ Sun City, AZ

Born in Robinson, Illinois to Nelson T. and Beulah Copley Stover, she had two siblings: Robert Nelson Stover and James Copley Stover. Her summers were spent at Interlochen, a world-renown music school/camp where she studied a number of instruments, including flute, piano, and organ. Her life centered around her family, her faith, and her music—not necessarily in that order.

After graduating from Robinson High School, she attended Oberlin College in Ohio where she met and later married Frank C. Simpson of Cleveland, OH. Frank was in the United States Navy, and soon after they were married June 30, 1945, she moved to FL to be close to him. Three children were born to them: Connie Sue (born in 1946), David Durell (born in 1949), and Bruce Copley (born in 1953). Pat was a stay-at-home-mom until Bruce entered kindergarten; she then began a teaching career in Ohio, and completed her student teaching and her Bachelor’s Degree through Kent State University in Ohio before returning to the Buffalo area to teach at The Park School for a number of years.

Frank’s job with General Electric and later with several steel companies in Niles, OH, and N. Tonawanda, NY, led to numerous family moves, and when Bruce was to enter the 9^th grade, the Frank, Pat, and Bruce finally settled in Williamsville, NY near Buffalo, NY. Pat was involved in church music, church activities, teaching activities, and, of course, school activities of Bruce as he moved through high school. Frank died in New York in 2001.

In the meantime, Pat had moved to Sun City, AZ where she renewed acquaintance with Paul Swinger whom she married in 1994. Ironically, they had attended all twelve years of school together in Robinson, IL. Small world….Paul’s family consisted of two daughters– Vicki (and Leon) Midgett and Paula (and Randy) Britt, and their daughters and grandchildren.

Throughout her life, Pat maintained her interest in music, specifically the organ and the piano. She continued to take lessons throughout her life and was the organist and director of several choirs as well as mastering the hand bells of Paul’s church in Sun City. She traveled to various churches in Europe as a result of her membership in the American Guild of Organists, which regularly traveled overseas; she was able to play the European church organs of composers such as Bach, Handel, Beethoven, etc. She and Paul did extensive traveling after they married: Hawaii, Alaska, and Europe were some of their adventures. Pat continued with her music playing at Royal Oaks and elsewhere until macular degeneration curtailed that activity.

After she moved to Royal Oaks in Sun City, she took up golf and made many friends through that activity. She continued to golf throughout her life–and was quite good at it, too, and modestly had trophies to prove it. Part of an octogenarian golf team, she will be missed by her golfing buddies.

In February, Pat celebrated her 90th birthday with all three of her children and her friends in attendance. On April 18, 2014, she died peacefully at home in the company of family members. Services will be held in Bellevue Heights Baptist Church at 11:00 am the morning of May 17, 2014; and interment will be next to husband Paul Swinger (who died in 2008) in the columbarium of Bellevue Heights Baptist Church, a church where she was active in church activities from volunteering for the annual Rose Festival to serving on various church committees and participating in Bible studies and activities involving numerous churches in the Sun City area.

In addition to her children Connie Sue (and Keith), David (and Debbie) and Bruce (Kai) and many special friends, Pat will be missed by her grandchildren Andrew (and Misty Bowman and their two boys Nicholas and Daniel) of Hinwil, Switzerland; Blaise Connor Simpson of Frederick, MD; and Lisa (and Christopher Miller and their son Bryan) of Bucyrus, OH.

Post Commencement

Commencement Is history. Academic life takes on a different rhythm. End of semester revisiting of goals. Planning for fall semester courses. Reflection, rejuvenation, redirection.

One of the first academic professional development efforts I’ll engage in this summer is in reworking my Experimental Social Psychology course, PSY303. I need to somehow incorporate into it lessons learned from Diederik Stapel.

I also want to transform it into a major introduction to international/global applications. Any suggestions from readers of this blog would be most welcome.

Language, Culture, and Internationalizing Education

I have long had a fascination with languages. In high school I studied Latin for two years and followed that with two years of Spanish. When I graduated from Oberlin College in 1971 with an A.B. in Psychology I also had studied the equivalent of a Spanish major (including credits earned at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico). While a graduate student at Ohio State University I marveled at the language fluency of foreign fellow graduate students (I spent 6 months doing research at the University of Bergen, Norway and was humbled by the challenges of learning Norwegian and by how much more about the United States Norwegians knew compared to me!). A critical component of these language learning experiences was having opportunities to be exposed to the literature, theater, art, history, and cultural contexts of these languages. It will be interesting to discover what added value such tools as Rosetta Stone software contribute to efforts to internationalize this campus. I have yet to see convincing empirical evidence that the software lives up to its heavily advertised promises. I think something like teletandem may be a more practical way to provide language immersion. I greatly admire a number of thought leaders who write well and think deeply about authentically internationalizing education. Reading two books recently, Richard E. Nisbett‘s The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently… and Why and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outlier’s: The Story of Success, has revitalized my interest in relationships between language, culture, thought, and behavior. Richard Nisbett, whom Gladwell acknowledges as a major influence on his thinking that resulted in this book, was an invited speaker at Carroll University on March 24, 2009. Books such as these shaped motivated my tracking much more regularly global issues in higher education.

Fifty Ways to Say I Love You, Mom…

Today is Mother’s Day in the United States—my first since the passing on of my Mother on April 18 of this year. Some variant of this important Day of Recognition is of course celebrated throughout the world. Please pass on these three simple thoughts to your Mom—as I do to mine.

Ek is lief vir jou, Mamma! Dankie, Mamma. Ek is jammer, Ma!
Të dua, mami! Ju faleminderit, mami. Më vjen keq, mami!
أنا أحبك يا أمي! شكرا لك يا أمي. أنا آسف يا أمي!
Mən səni sevirəm, ana! , Ana təşəkkür edirəm. Mən Ana üzgünüm!
Maite zaitut, ama! Eskerrik asko, ama. Sentitzen dut, ama!
আমি তোমায় ভালোবাসি, মা! , মা আপনাকে ধন্যবাদ. আমি মাকে দুঃখিত!
Я люблю цябе, мама! Дзякуй, мама. Мне вельмі шкада, мама!
Volim te, mama! Hvala ti, mama. Žao mi je, mama!
Обичам те, мамо! Благодаря ти, мамо. Съжалявам, мамо!
我爱你，妈妈！谢谢你，妈妈。对不起，妈妈！
Volim te, mama! Hvala ti, mama. Žao mi je, mama!
Mám tě ráda, mami! Děkuji, mami. Je mi líto, mami!
Jeg elsker dig, mor! Tak, mor. Jeg er ked af det, mor!
Ik hou van je, mam! Dank je, mam. Het spijt me, mam!
I love you, Mom! Thank you, Mom. I’m sorry, Mom!
Mi amas vin, panjo! Dankon, panjo. Mi bedaŭras, Panjo!
Ma armastan sind, ema! Aitäh, ema. Vabandust, ema!
Rakastan sinua, äiti! Kiitos, äiti. Olen pahoillani, äiti!
Je t’aime, maman! Merci, maman. Je suis désolé, maman!
მე შენ მიყვარხარ, Mom! მადლობა, Mom. მე ვწუხვარ, Mom!
Ich liebe dich, Mama! Danke, Mama. Es tut mir leid, Mama!
Σ ‘αγαπώ, μαμά! Σας ευχαριστώ, μαμά. Λυπάμαι, μαμά!
मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ, माँ! , माँ धन्यवाद. मैं, माँ माफ कर दो!
Szeretlek, anya! Köszönöm, anya. Sajnálom, anya!
Ég elska þig, mamma! Þakka þér, mamma. Fyrirgefðu, mamma!
Aku mencintaimu, Bu! Terima kasih, Bu. Maafkan aku, Bu!
Is breá liom tú, Mam! Go raibh maith agat, Mam. Tá brón orm, Mam!
Ti voglio bene, mamma! Grazie, mamma. Mi dispiace, mamma!
私はあなたを愛して、ママ！、お母さん、ありがとうございました。私は、お母さんごめんなさい！
Aku seneng kowe, angel! Matur nuwun, angel. Kula nyuwun pangapunten, angel!
ខ្ញុំស្រឡាញ់អ្នកម៉ាក់! សូមអរគុណកូនម៉ាក់។ ខ្ញុំពិតជាសោកស្តាយកូនម៉ាក់!
나는 당신을 사랑 해요, 엄마! 엄마, 감사합니다. 미안 해요, 엄마!
ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າຮັກທ່ານ, ບ້ານມອມ! ຂໍຂອບໃຈທ່ານ, ບ້ານມອມ. ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າຂໍອະໄພ, ບ້ານມອມ!
Es mīlu tevi, mamma! Paldies, māmiņ. Piedod, māt!
Aš tave myliu, mama! Ačiū, mama. Aš atsiprašau, mama!
Те сакам, мамо! Ви благодарам, мамо. Жал ми е, мамо!
I love you, mama! Terima kasih, mama. Saya minta maaf, mama!
Jeg elsker deg, mamma! Takk, mamma. Jeg beklager, mamma!
میں آپ سے محبت، ماں! شکریہ، ماں. میں، ماں معافی چاہتا ہوں
Kocham cię, mamo! Dziękuję, mamo. Przykro mi, mamo!
Eu te amo, mamãe! Obrigado, mãe. Sinto muito, mãe!
Te iubesc, mamă! Mulțumesc, mamă. Îmi pare rău, mamă!
Я люблю тебя, мама! Спасибо, мама. Мне очень жаль, мама!
Волим те, мама! Хвала, мама. Жао ми је, мама!
Mám ťa rada, mami! Ďakujem, mami. Je mi ľúto, mami!
Te amo, mamá! Gracias, mamá. Lo siento, mamá!
Tôi yêu mẹ! Cảm ơn mẹ. Tôi xin lỗi, mẹ ơi!
Seni seviyorum, anne! Teşekkür ederim anne. Ben, anne üzgünüm!
Jag älskar dig, mamma! Tack, mamma. Jag är ledsen, mamma!
ฉันรักคุณแม่! ขอบคุณแม่ ฉันขอโทษแม่!

Dear 2014 Carroll University Graduate…

My thoughts may be even fuzzier this Saturday morning as I sit here in my office—a little over 24 hours before your Commencement Day. I have just returned from a three hour meeting in my role of Faculty Observer at a Board of Trustees Meeting, and I was most impressed by the poise, courage, compassion, and intelligence of the remarks made by your Student Senate President. Now is a good time to gather together some last thoughts about and for you. Tomorrow will be a joyful and tearful day as relationships change. Because of my ~~age seniority good looks~~ length of time at Carroll and rank of Full Professor, I march at the front of the line both at Baccalaurete (behind Dean Byler) and Commencement (following Faculty Marshall Pamela Pinahs-Schultz). That gives me an ideal seating position for seeing and hearing those of you in choir, but forces me to be on my best behavior (awake, disconnected from my Ipad, resisting wearing my Brewers’ or Carroll College hats). For those of you I have met, I have done my best to teach you well but I am only human. Every student I teach is different, special, and teaches me. You have enriched my life and I welcome the opportunity as you become alumni to continue and perhaps to even expand upon our relationships. Thanks for the lessons. Many people (family, staff, faculty, administrators, and trustees) have worked very hard, in addition to you, to try and provide you with the best education that Carroll can provide both within and outside of the classroom. I often think that we ought to set aside a time for recognizing those unsung “guardian angels” who have done their best to make Carroll a caring community and a better place. As time and circumstances allow join them in giving back (without expectation of receiving “conovocation points”) your time, wisdom, networking resources, prospective student recommendations, and examples of skills or values developed here at Carroll that serve you well. Give Carroll its due credit when it has earned it, but also offer constructive criticism when the institution has failed to meet your expectations for it. Seek out opportunities to do “a” right thing. Use your mind to think carefully and critically but don’t forget that there are indeed many times when it is appropriate to follow one’s heart. I envy your youth and the many opportunities that lie ahead to share your talents and to make the world a better place. Stay in touch. Oh, yes… Here is a final exam. With many fond memories, David Simpson, Professor of Psychology

What ELSE a professor does: On Being a Person of “Letters”

What does a professor DO? My answer to this question changes as a function of when you ask me—at different times of the academic year and developmentally at different times in my professional career. I began to address this question in my first blog for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in October of 2007 when I was trying to explain to my father that a professor does more than sit in his office and read books (what a heavenly thought though). At that time I had the pleasure of being one of their online educational community columnists for a year.

One of the major demands on my academic life over and above teaching six classes per year, serving on committees,engaging in scholarly activity, academic advising, and mundane organizational responsibilities is writing letters of recommendation—an important task which consumes increasing larger amounts of my time. Having been a faculty member at Carroll for more than thirty-five years, I have gotten to know and be known by an increasingly larger number of students, staff, faculty, and alumni. I receive an unusually large number of requests from former students who graduated a number of years ago and who now are changing life directions (I truly welcome hearing from you—not only when you need something from me:)). The venue of these requests has changed from being asked in person and (in advance) to materials being placed under my office door, email, social media, telephone calls, Face Book messages, email forms from graduate programs–and occasionally via owl! I must admit I like staying in touch with former students, and the ways I keep connected with them have multiplied with the of use of email and the increased use of social networking tools such as Face Book and Linkedin and David-in-Carroll-land.

There are temptations to streamline, to cut corners, become more efficient, achieve that elusive goal of an empty email box. I conservatively estimate that I was called upon to write 5-6 letters for at least 75 individuals this past year. Easy solutions which come to mind (some of which I have experimented with) include using a template or form letter, using a rating scale or check list, keeping the letter short, limiting the number of letters written per student, being very selective about for whom I write (—or just saying NO), limiting the amount of time written per letter, limiting the format to twitter restrictions of 140 characters, using a haiku format, and/or teaching students ways that they can make my letter-writing easier. Alas, I wish that I were able to follow my own advice!

There exists quite a literature of the art (how does one write convincing letter?) and science (how valid and reliable are they?) of writing letters of recommendations. One of my favorites that I return to time and again immortalizes some ambiguous phrasing I strive to avoid—but am often tempted to use.

Time to go to a meeting of the Board of Trustees in my capacity as a Faculty Oberver to the Board. This will probably be the last time I serve in this interesting capacity at Carroll. I’ve enjoyed getting to know and be known by these dedicated people.

Hope I can stay alert; it was quite late when we returned from the Brewers/ Yankees game at 1:00 a.m! Maybe I’ll plug into this song on my headphone.

David’s Wayback Machine – Pioneering Web 2.0 Technology Tools (Part 1) Jan 6, 2009

There was a time when I kept rough drafts of everything I wrote. Now, I am no longer in that habit and am in the process of cleaning out all my files (both electronic and legal-pad format). It is amusing to (re)discover some early writings when I thought I was at the leading edge of knowing about, sharing, and using “technology learning tools”

I find interesting the existence of the Internet Wayback archive project, though I’m uneasy about such a huge amount of Internet detritus (especially my own) using up cyberspace. Recently I’ve made time to attempt to clean up my own Internet garbage (old accounts, false starts on blogs). With some amusement I rediscovered some of my first efforts to promulgate into the classroom technology tools with 25 Carroll freshmen. (I have chosen NOT to revive the dead links in this piece).

Original 2009 piece follows here:

I’ve begun developing a presentation I’m scheduled to give on January 16 to Carroll faculty tentatively titled “Pioneering Web 2.0 Learning Tools with Carroll Students: Educational Technology of the Future, Catching Up with What Fifth-Graders Already Know, or Another Fad? “I hope to share with interested members of the Carroll community some of the Web 2.0 learning tools and resources that I have explored this past semester(Download FYS 100 Section U Syllabus – Dr, David Simpson Labor Day Version PDF with my students (who were especially playful with their photoshop skills).

I am toying with the idea of showing what I can NOW do in some kind of class—possibly for alumni or faculty. I would draw upon my knowledge gained since 2009 about the application of technology learning tools—especially drawing upon resources like this? Anybody interested? If so, email me—or send me a message via owl.

I’ve been Doing a Lot of Time Traveling Lately

I’ve been doing a lot of time traveling lately partly due to my bed time reading of the marvelous 900+ page paperback The Time Traveler’s Almanac. I’m tempted to try out Mr. Peabody’s Wayback machine.

This is also the time of year where I am flooded with memories of my time at Carroll (and my (in)formative years at Oberlin College and Ohio State). And I whistle a lot while walking across campus as I process this flood of memories. Once I get the semester successfully put to bed (with fond farewells to graduates at Commencement on Sunday), I need to turn my attention to sorting through photos, thoughts and memories in preparation for Mom’s memorial service on May 17.

Little Brother Bruce and Big Sister Connie Sue kindly sent me all the photos from Mom’s Sun City Residence. Can you pick out Connie, David, and Bruce as they looked in 1955? I wonder what we were thinking then? I think that I had gotten over my desire to run away from home because of the birth of Bruce and was trying to teach him how to read. I hadn’t yet started teasing Sis, though I may already have inadvertently locked her in the bathroom. Here are some of the events shaping our thinking then.

I can vaguely remember some of the radio show and TV shows. What do you remember from 1955? What would you like to remember when you are 65? 90?