Life's Lessons Learned Picking Wild Berries

Recently, I picked approximately five gallons of dewberries, which average about 1/3 the size of blackberries and grow on bushes closer to the ground. The dewberries grow wild on property managed by the Army Corps of Engineers that surrounds the neighborhood in which I currently reside.   While I was picking these berries, I was reminded of picking blackberries with an aunt in 1951.

At age 10, I convinced my parents to let me live with my favorite aunt, an uncle and my paternal grandfather. My parents had five sons, so it was reasonable that they could spare one to help care for my “invalid” grandfather; there were no children in my aunt and uncle’s home.

My aunt was a good teacher, although she only had six years of formal education. She took me along with her when she went to pick wild blackberries. It was easy to convince me to help pick the berries; I knew she would bake a berry cobbler and whip some cream to place on top of the portion I would eat. When we were in the berry patch, she would draw analogies between things we would encounter there and things I would encounter later in life.

A good example of a lesson learned in the berry patch is: Many things in life have risks associated with them. When picking berries, a person faces the risks of briar scratches, mosquito and tick bites that could lead to infections (Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, West Nile virus [In 1951, we were not yet aware of Lyme disease and West Nile virus]), snake bites, etc. My aunt would warn of risks in life from unwise use of alcohol, speeding when operating a motor vehicle, unwise use of a tool, including guns, axes, knives and chainsaws, and unwise affection for a disloyal person.

Another lesson learned in the berry patch was: A “gathering” approach to selection of berries to pick is better than the “hunt and shoot” approach. If a person focuses too intently on the biggest juicy ripe berries, she or he is apt to overlook many other ripe berries nearby. She would demonstrate that she could pick far more berries than I could in the same period of time. She was seeing far more berries nearby, while I was moving about trying to pick only the biggest and nicest berries I would see. My aunt said that men and boys seemed to prefer the “hunt and shoot” approach to the “gathering” approach generally preferred by women and girls. She made this observation in 1951, well before this concept was popularized through a comedy skit and published literature.

A third lesson learned in the berry patch was: When one reaches too far, she or he is apt to lose her or his balance and increase exposure to the risks of unintended injuries and fail to achieve the successful outcome desired. If one loses her or his balance, she or he is apt to fall, brush against one or more briars, or expose oneself to a snakebite. Copperhead snakes tend to inhabit brushy areas where blackberries thrive. My aunt saw this as analogous to living beyond one’s means, which could lead to financial ruin, or trying to attract the affections of a person who would be disinterested or highly likely to be disloyal to the relationship.

I have been grateful to my aunt throughout my life for lessons she taught me in the berry patch, the stable and the garden.

Tags: Wise aunts can teach about life
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Life's Lessons Learned Picking Wild Berries

Recently, I picked approximately five gallons of dewberries, which average about 1/3 the size of blackberries and grow on bushes closer to the ground. The dewberries grow wild on property managed by the Army Corps of Engineers that surrounds the neighborhood in which I currently reside.   While I was picking these berries, I was reminded of picking blackberries with an aunt in 1951.

At age 10, I convinced my parents to let me live with my favorite aunt, an uncle and my paternal grandfather. My parents had five sons, so it was reasonable that they could spare one to help care for my “invalid” grandfather; there were no children in my aunt and uncle’s home.

My aunt was a good teacher, although she only had six years of formal education. She took me along with her when she went to pick wild blackberries. It was easy to convince me to help pick the berries; I knew she would bake a berry cobbler and whip some cream to place on top of the portion I would eat. When we were in the berry patch, she would draw analogies between things we would encounter there and things I would encounter later in life.

A good example of a lesson learned in the berry patch is: Many things in life have risks associated with them. When picking berries, a person faces the risks of briar scratches, mosquito and tick bites that could lead to infections (Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, West Nile virus [In 1951, we were not yet aware of Lyme disease and West Nile virus]), snake bites, etc. My aunt would warn of risks in life from unwise use of alcohol, speeding when operating a motor vehicle, unwise use of a tool, including guns, axes, knives and chainsaws, and unwise affection for a disloyal person.

Another lesson learned in the berry patch was: A “gathering” approach to selection of berries to pick is better than the “hunt and shoot” approach. If a person focuses too intently on the biggest juicy ripe berries, she or he is apt to overlook many other ripe berries nearby. She would demonstrate that she could pick far more berries than I could in the same period of time. She was seeing far more berries nearby, while I was moving about trying to pick only the biggest and nicest berries I would see. My aunt said that men and boys seemed to prefer the “hunt and shoot” approach to the “gathering” approach generally preferred by women and girls. She made this observation in 1951, well before this concept was popularized through a comedy skit and published literature.

A third lesson learned in the berry patch was: When one reaches too far, she or he is apt to lose her or his balance and increase exposure to the risks of unintended injuries and fail to achieve the successful outcome desired. If one loses her or his balance, she or he is apt to fall, brush against one or more briars, or expose oneself to a snakebite. Copperhead snakes tend to inhabit brushy areas where blackberries thrive. My aunt saw this as analogous to living beyond one’s means, which could lead to financial ruin, or trying to attract the affections of a person who would be disinterested or highly likely to be disloyal to the relationship.

I have been grateful to my aunt throughout my life for lessons she taught me in the berry patch, the stable and the garden.

Tags: Wise aunts can teach about life
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H1N1

Unless one has been in hiding the last week no doubt you have been inundated with information regarding the H1N1 flu virus that has been seen in various pockets of the U.S. It seems like every day there is a more information, but as of this writing it appears (and not that the emphasis is on appears) that the flu is not as bad as been feared. Nonetheless, the U.S. is moving forward with its plans to implement strategies to deal with this potential pandemic.

For those of us in health education and public health this has been a fascinating time. Removing the human side of the issues (deaths, illness, etc.) and looking at this from strictly a public health issue this has been a wonderful case study on how to deal with an emergency. For those in educational settings this is well worth time talking about this situation. A few things that I’ve noted:

• Despite a lackluster effort in the last few years of his administration, the Bush’s Administration appears to have done exceptional preparation (based on the Avian Flu) for dealing with this sort of problem. Let’s give credit where credit is due. A few years ago we were concerned about the Bird Flu (which didn’t really pan out). Yet, efforts were made to provide a framework to prepare for this. We’re seeing the results of this plan and it appears to be working well.
• We’re seeing the importance that public health is playing in this situation. It’s so refreshing to see public health officials who are acknowledged for their expertise and knowledge rather than demonized (as we have seen in the past). Most people don’t want to pay taxes, but if they do they want to see the benefits resulting from such. I think the fact that the U.S. has the best established public health routine in the world is pretty evident with an event such as this, and most people that I have talked to feel that the money we’ve invested in the CDC is well worth it.
• We’re seeing the continuing emergence of the county public health department as the leader in emergency preparedness. I’m not sure how it is in the other states, but after 9-11 we realized that our emergency preparedness was in a real disarray. In a study that Dale Ritzel (former colleague of mine) and I did in the early 90s we found that everybody in our community (probably true with most places throughout the U.S.) had their own unique emergency preparedness plan but nobody was talking to the other players in the community. For example, here in Carbondale, SIU had a plan; the local hospital had a plan; the emergency personnel had a plan; the city had a plan, but nobody coordinated all such parties (or if they did nobody knew about it). After 9-11, here in Illinois, the county health departments stepped up to the plate and took over that control. Here in Jackson County (home county of SIU), the emergency preparedness coordinator at the health department is an MPH health educator. It makes perfect sense for this type of person to take over the lead. They have great planning and organizing skills, know how to work with various groups. What a great opportunity to show our students what health educators actually do.

I’m also privy to a very special situation. My wife, also an MPH trained health educator also works at the local health department (Division Director of HIV Services) who is also a key person in the emergency preparedness scenario. In addition to her regular work expectations, she also has key roles in emergencies. I can’t go into detail because of security (and probably because I don’t know them myself), but she has played a key role in receiving medical supplies to deal with the H1N1 outbreak. Last week she was awakened at 2:00 am to receive the drop of supplies. Besides carrying a cool badge she also gets to boss people around (she’s had plenty of practice with me—the difference is that most of these other people listen to her).

Earlier on the HEDIR blog there was a discussion on the terms community health public health. I think this recent event further supports the term that the health education profession needs to affiliate themselves much more with the term public health more and to identify themselves not as community health educators but rather public health educators. Public health has received great attention and it’s becoming a much more revered and respected term.

Tags: H1N1, Public Health
Posted in Generally Speaking, Politics & Policy, Thoughts | 3 Comments »

Familiarity with Lessor Known HE Entities

When I recall my early years as a practicing health educator, I did not know much about national organizations to which health educators commonly hold membership.  It took a decade or more of teaching at the university-level and participating in the meetings of several health education organizations to begin to get some in depth knowledge of such entities as the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations (CNHEO), the National Center for Health Education (NCHE), and North American Regional Organization (NARO) of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE).  Of course, I helped launch the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) in 1988, so I gained an intimate knowledge of it at its earliest stages of development.

As I reflect on how poorly I understood the professional organizations with health educators as members when I was early in my career, I wonder how familiar early career health educators of today are with such entities as CNHEO, NCHE, NARO/IUHPE, and NCHEC.  Of course, they can readily visit the websites of these entities, a luxury that did not exist during my early career.   Hopefully, the professional preparation programs are strongly encouraging aspiring health educators to gain knowledge of these and the professional organizations that hold membership in CNHEO.

The web addresses for some of these HE entities are:

www.cnheo.org, www.nche.org, and www.nchec.org

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Commitment to Advocacy and Professionalism

I write today as the result of being at a professional meeting these past few days.  There were some wonderful presentations that were made, but the presence of health education professionals, from all practice settings, was noticably absent.  Sure, there were a few there, but individuals who worked hard to put together their presentations were clearly disappointed when  there were only one or two additional individuals in the audience, other than the team of individuals who prepared the presentation.

I know there has been a lot of discussion about the “fragmentation” of our profession and the fact that there are so many professional organizations. There have been several (I hesitate to use the word “numerous”) attempts to “merge” various professional organizations so there might be one “overarching” organization that would represent all health educators. Without trying to enter into that particular debate, unless those who may take the time to read this “espistle” and decide to respond, I am distressed that when a state, regional, national, or even international meeting is held in the “back yard” of some of our health educators whom we know are “out there,” and those individuals don’t attend the meetings, even to interact with a few “hearty souls” who have opted to submit abstracts for presentation consideration, I wonder what is really happening with the profession?

Given the fact that there is strength in numbers, and that we just learned that health educator was “heard” by the government in terms of health education as a profession, and we will remain listed in the Standard Occupational Classification System, I feel it is important that we, as professionals, take every opportunity we possibly can, to get together and discuss issues of mutual concern.

At this particular meeting, I learned that in California, there is a statewide meeting that is similar to what we try to do at the AAHE national convention when we have the meeting of Chairs of Health Education Programs.  In California, it appears they have a similar meeting for Health Education Program Chairs who are in California. What a great idea!  I would like to see similar meetings occur in other states as well.

The above notwithstanding,  I think if we are truly going to advocate for the profession, as is listed as one of the competencies that should be practiced by health educators, taking the time to attend professional meetings (better yet, submitting abstracts for presentation consideration), as well as trying to coalesce health educators within states (or areas if the state is just too large), is something we should strive to achieve.

I know there are a myriad of reasons for not attending national meetings, but those reasons become a lot “thinner” when all one has to do is get into a car and drive a few miles to interact with other health educators.

I will apologize “up front” if this message is perceived in other than a positive way, which is what I really want to convey.  I enjoy interacting with my professional colleagues who work in the multiplicity of settings in which we find ourselves working.  In our diversity lies our strength.  I hope each and every one of us will consider not having that second cup of Starbucks (or whatever your beverage preference),  and consider putting those monies into a “savings account” so we can each take advantage of professional meetings that may be in our “back yards.”

I hope to see many of you in 2009.

Larry

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