Vestiges of Storm Debbie and one more try–STEM

Posted By: David Fortier August 11, 2024

By David Fortier

Come Sunday morning, the rains from Hurricane Debby will have subsided and clear skies are here. The trees in the neighborhood will still be recovering from the heavy winds and rains. It is not too difficult to understand the devastation of the towns and cities that fell in its path and the flooding that swamped streets and roads.

Around the house, the water main has been repaired. All that is left for Monday is back filling the hole and replanting a holly tree. That is, except for some of the lawn and a couple of flower beds. This is good. Things might have been much worse.

And the Olympics will be winding down, not that we watched very much. Saturday night was a treat, though, and a reminder of how much fun the games can be. Track and field is terrific!

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STEM, which I introduced in last week’s column, came up in several conversations over the past few days. Only once did I raise it. The other instances arose naturally from a discussion of our education system.

In the first instance, the one where I brought it up, the conversation tackled the idea of STEM failing us, with its focus on careers. STEM fared well, since one of the people in the conversation teaches physics. The point they said is not that STEM is the problem but that the problem is the insistence on students having to pick and choice a career rather than to invest themselves in discovery and experimentation.

There is a joy in this endeavor that is lost when the outcome is tied to finding a career, rather than the problem solving and thinking that is involved in the learning process. To do physics, to find an answer to a question for a payoff, a career, is less about learning than it is about something else.

In the second instance, when STEM arose from a conversation more naturally, i.e., without my instigation, it was in the context of how other countries are in school for up to 225 days a year rather than 181, required here in Connecticut. In this instance, the context was about why it is that our national standing in education is not better.

Just something to think about.

A reminder, my contention is that we need a better work life/democratic life balance to ensure the future of our American Experiment. More emphasis on STEM, solely, pushes the balance out of kilter.

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The new member of the Bristol City Council, Mark Dickau, will be sworn in before the Joint Meeting of the City Council and Finance Board on Wednesday evening. Dickau, the sole Democrat on the council, will sit through his first meeting following the swearing in.

Note: Council meetings are typically held on Tuesday, but this Tuesday, Aug. 13, a primary is being held for the candidate who will face Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy in November.

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For listening, there is the Gray Area Podcast, episode “Why Orwell Matters.” In this age of fake news and misinformation, the author of 1984 and Animal Farm has a few things to say, and they are not necessarily the things you might have picked up from reading these books in high school English class. Click here. Scroll down to the episode.

A good complimentary listen might come with the Hidden Brain Podcast episode, “Where Truth Lies.” Again, what we know about how to approach information has less to do with “rational” thinking than one might have been led to believe. Orwell did not have the benefit of contemporary science, but he was on to this. We have the benefit and it makes sense to take advantage of it. Click here.

For reading there is “The Best Therapy for Our Anxiety Epidemic,” by Arthur Brooks in the Atlantic. John Haidt’s the “Anxious Generation” is all the rage at the moment, and for a good reason–Haidt understands the science behind our phones and how the techies who introduced them and provide our apps use these to produce an aura of anxiety that pervades our lives and keep us hooked. Click here.

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City meetings this week include the following:

On Monday, Aug. 12

  • American Rescue Plan Task Force, 4 p.m., council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting link, click here.
  • Board of Fire Commissioners Special Meeting, 5 p.m., Fire Station Headquarters. For virtual meeting link, click here.
  • Cemetery Commission, 5:30 p.m., Bristol Historical Society.
  • Zoning Commission, cancelled.
  • Conservation Commission/Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Special Meeting, 6:30 p.m., council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting link, click here.

On Tuesday, Aug. 13

  • Banking & Audit Committee, 8:30 a.m., Meeting Room 3-1, city hall.

On Wednesday, Aug. 14

  • Youth Commission, 6 p.m., Meeting Room, 1-4, city hall. For virtual meeting link, click here.
  • Joint Meeting of City Council and Board of Finance, 6:45 p.m., council chamber, city hall. For virtual meeting link, click here.
  • City Council Public Hearing, 7 p.m., council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting link, click here.
  • City Council Meeting, 7:10 p.m., council chambers, city hall. For virtual meeting link, click here.
  • Persons with Disabilities, 7 p.m., city hall.

On Thursday, Aug. 15

  • Commission on Aging, 11 a.m., Room 103, Bristol Senior Center.
  • Citation Hearings, 3 p.m., city hall.
  • Animal Control Building Committee, 5 p.m., city hall.
  • Zoning Commission Special Meeting, 5 p.m., virtual meeting via Zoom.
  • Board of Public Works, cancelled.
  • Energy Commission, 7 p.m., Meeting Room 116, city hall.

On Friday, Aug. 16

  • No meeting posted.

TBE will do our best to update meeting times and locations, but it’s a good idea to check the agendas ahead of time for cancellations. Click here for specific meetings and times.

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The new school year is just around the corner. If you know a high school student who would like to get first-hand experience covering sports, send them our way. Contact editor@bristoledition.org.

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Enjoy!

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