Rocky on the Ropes

No pandemic would send Rocky Balboa or the folks on the World War II home front into a black hole of loneliness and depression. Follow their advice: Get physically fit. Activate you own version of Rocky's raw egg concoction and his run up Philadelphia's Art Museum steps. Grow your wealth. During World War II, Captain America advised citizens to fight for freedom by investing $37.50 in a war bond that would yield $50 in ten years. Today, bonds are sold online at treasurydirect.gov. Discover farming. Pick apples, berries and watermelons at local farms, buy fresh corn at stands along country roads, plant tomatoes in your own Victory Garden and grow flowers to attract the honeybees that pollinate crops. Enjoy home entertainment. Once listeners gathered around the radio to hear a closet full of items tumble out on "Fibber McGee and Molly" or they read comic books in lighted closets during blackouts. Choose from a much wider variety of ways to enjoy home entertainment today. Hone your arguments. While sheltering in place, take time to scroll through social media, listen to talking heads, read up on the issues and then express your opinions in "Letters to the Editor" and elsewhere.

Learn to Express Ideas Orally

Global issues require students to be able to discuss matters such as climate change, nuclear proliferation, cyberwarfare, terrorism, religious and racial differences, and female rights in a well-spoken and confident manner. A public school in London decided learning to speak was as important as reading and writing and began helping students learn the basics of discourse.

     As we have seen in the presidential race in the US this year, discussing difficult topics can bring out horrible behavior that fails to lead to a solution. When I served on a jury for a criminal trial in Wisconsin last week, I was worried about my ability to get along with the other 11 jurors as we discussed the merits of the case.

      Having training in oral communication is too important to ignore. Oral communication requires students to listen to another's argument and express a differing opinion politely. It requires using research to challenge another's thinking and to defend your own position.

     Listen to or read the speeches of Churchill and John F. Kennedy to see how important word choice is. Try out new approaches in the classroom and around the dinner table, and learn the power of oral persuasion.