The roots

During the Clinton administration in the, the US economy experienced 8% GDP growth for multiple years. A growth of this magnitude, for an economy as big as the US economy, was applauded by the economists around the world. During this period, the US economy was expanding in all fields; each sector was developing new areas of investment. Investment banks were especially aggressive in seeking new investment opportunities, hoping to get a larger share of the growing economy. Unfortunately, in their haste, they did not perform proper risk analyses on these new behaviors. Some of new forms of investment had high profitability, but they also carried serious amounts of risk. However, nobody was questioning the high risk aspects of these investments. One of the fastest growing sectors was the housing market. House prices were booming in conjunction with the high employment levels and wages. As a result, financial institutions were underwriting mortgage loans at record levels. Mortgage loans are illiquid items on financial institutions’ balance sheets. As such, financial institutions believed that they were not adequately utilizing these mortgage loans. In response, financial firms invented the “mortgage backed securities” by “bundling” mortgage loans.

This new investment vehicle provided investors with bonds of various levels of leverage and risk preferences by bundling the mortgage loans and putting a structure around them. These bundled mortgage-backed securities were well received by the credit agencies; many mortgage bonds were rewarded with AAA ratings (the highest possible rating) even though many of the individual bonds making up the bundles were poorly rated. As a result, with the high demand for these investment vehicles, financial institutions were able to convert illiquid mortgage loans into highly liquid and profitable bonds.

False applications in the mortgage market

One of the common mistakes Wall Street makes is to take a brilliant idea, put it into application, and then generate asset bubbles by over applying the great idea. Unfortunately, bundled mortgage products caused one of the biggest bubbles of recent times. In order to satisfy the high demand for mortgage-backed securities from investment banks, financial institutions greatly increased the amount of mortgage loans they underwrote. As a result, many individuals who would not otherwise be able to qualify for a mortgage loan were granted loans. This trend resulted in a bubble in the housing and mortgage sectors, and the volume of mortgage-backed securities increased to $2.1 trillion. Utilizing their high leverage levels, banks ended up issuing mortgage backed securities in excess of existing mortgage loans.

As a result, the sub-prime mortgage market was overloaded with individuals who had low credit scores. However, at this time the U.S. economy was booming and house prices kept rising. During this period, the Federal Reserve failed to recognize the increasing threat from the mortgage sector. The Fed did recognize the abnormal growth in the U.S. economy and was trying to take preventive measures for a softer landing for the anticipated recession thereafter. However, the Fed did not seem to identify the heart of the problem. The Fed believed that if a home owner defaulted on his or her mortgage, he or she would be able to sell their house at a higher price and move on, given that housing prices kept rising. Therefore, mortgage defaults were not a threat to the economy.

This approach alone indicates that the Fed failed to perform the necessary analyses to identify the threat coming from the housing market. Unfortunately, after peaking in 2006, housing prices started to fall in 2007, and this triggered the financial crisis that would shock financial markets around the globe. In the blink of an eye, the upward trend in the global economy was dramatically reversed. The people who normally should not have been granted mortgage loans started to default on their loans and were thus forced to sell their houses far below the prices they purchased them at. These sums were not sufficient to cover the original amount of their loans. And many home owners failed to sell their houses, which were therefore sold in foreclosures by the banks at even lower prices. This pushed housing prices even lower. With the increasing number of foreclosures, the U.S. economy faced a severe problem. Mortgage loans were the foundation of mortgage-backed securities. Given the high leverage used in structuring the mortgage-backed securities, the amount of existing mortgage-backed securities that were under stress was in excess of the existing mortgage loans. The high level of defaults on mortgage loans resulted in a huge drop in mortgage-bond valuation. This turmoil in the mortgage market put stress on all the investment firms who had mortgage bonds in their portfolios. Credit rating agencies, traditionally, were able to recognize their incorrect ratings; in 2007, these agencies downgraded many mortgage loans which were originally granted high ratings.

The crisis spreads across financial markets

The downgrading of the mortgage bundles was a wakeup call for other actors in the financial markets, and a financial panic began spreading to many other markets. The summer of 2007 witnessed a high volume of activity compared to the previous summers. In a couple of months, spreads on credit default swaps were doubled. The crisis first hit the mortgage underwriters and many mortgage companies declared bankruptcy. Countrywide Home Loans was saved by being acquired by Bank of America.

At this juncture, financial institutions pressured the Fed to decrease the interest rates to boost the economy. However, the Fed had not grasped the severity of the situation. The Fed did not want to decrease the rates, as it was hoping to avoid the possible depreciation of the U.S. Dollar and a potential increase in inflation. The Fed was finally able to start decreasing the rates in September 2007, which turned out to be too late to stop the impending collapse.

After mortgage companies, the crisis spread to the banks. The distrust in mortgage bonds was spreading to all sectors of the global economy. As a result, banks – especially investment banks – were suddenly in distress, as the high leverage investments on their balance sheets rapidly lost a substantial amount of their value. The Fed finally recognized the severity of the problem and started taking unprecedented measures to save many of these financial institutions.

However, some investment banks had too many troubled assets on their balance sheets. First, the smallest of the “big five” investment banks, Bear Sterns, was almost bankrupted in March 2008. This resulted in significant drops in the U.S. stock market. JP Morgan Chase saved Bear Sterns by acquiring it. This gave temporary relief to the financial markets.

During this period, the Fed was still claiming that the financial crisis would not spread to other sectors of the economy. However, there was a substantial shift in expectations. The troubled finance companies undertook huge layoffs in order to save themselves. Those who had lost their jobs started to lose their homes, as well. And soon, not only the sub-prime mortgages, but also all other types of mortgages, started defaulting. This accelerated the price drops in mortgage bonds even more, causing further trouble for finance companies. On the other hand, the new houses coming onto the market, coupled with foreclosures, increased the excess supply in the housing market, which drove house prices even lower. As a result of large layoffs at the financial companies, the spending by the laid off employees decreased, which lowered the demand for the firms’ products, which in result caused even more problems for the troubled firms, and thus resulted in even more layoffs. The economy was in a disastrous cycle, and the financial crisis was now ready to spread to the “real” sector.

Further compounding problems at this point, crude oil prices went as high as $145 per barrel, which increased the cost of goods, causing even more problems for the greater economy. Also, the credit crunch was at its peak. Troubled banks were not lending out to the financial firms, and it was very difficult for the firms to find a way out from the dire situation in which they found themselves. 2008 was a brutal year for the investment banks. Merrill Lynch was saved from going bankrupt when they were acquired by Bank of America in an operation orchestrated by the U.S. Treasury. However, the same government officials let Lehman Brothers go bankrupt to set an example for the financial institutions and to signal to the market that they would not save every troubled financial institution. Whatever the symbolic power of the gesture, the real-world result was devastating. Following the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history ($639 billion) , panic spread all over the U.S. financial markets. As a result, many financial and economic indicators dipped. Following Lehman Brothers, 54 more U.S. companies declared bankruptcy. Unemployment passed 10%. The Federal Reserve decreased its funds rate to zero percent and transferred billions of dollars to financial institutions. The invoice to save AIG alone was for $85 billion.

The chaos in the U.S. financial markets continued for almost 7 months, with the markets finally hitting bottom in March 2009. The remaining investment banks on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, converted themselves to holding banks in order to survive the crisis. This technically ended the investment bank era on Wall Street.

Macroeconomic troubles in the U.S. economy

The stock market started to recover following the market bottom in March 2009. Since then, the major stock indices in the New York Stock exchange have gained over 100%. This recovery is a result of unprecedented support from the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury. However, as a result, the U.S. economy had a record budget deficit of $1.4 trillion in 2009 and a deficit of $1.3 trillion in 2010. Today, though unemployment is below 5%, a stubbornly high percentage of workers have simply taken themselves out of the job market. The Fed’s funds rate is still at zero percent. Though the U.S. had a financial crisis in 2007-2009, today the U.S. faces macroeconomic issues.

The financial crisis in Europe

The European Union followed a similar path during the financial crisis. Since the financial markets are interconnected, the crisis easily spread to markets in Europe. However, U.S. officials were more determined to resolve the economic and financial issues by taking unprecedented measures, whereas officials in the European Union were more conservative. The financial crisis forced the hidden problems in European Union to the surface. The economic problems in Greece especially showed the lack of financial and economic strength in some European countries. In March 2012, Greece had to restructure its sovereign debt. This restructuring caused a $3 billion default in sovereign credit default swap contracts. In addition to Greece, Portugal and Italy have also experienced severe economic problems. Even Spain and France have showed signs of instability. In summary, compared to the U.S., the European Union has much deeper problems. In the coming years, the Union might face real challenges that threaten its very existence, as recently indicated by the Brexit phenomenon.

Conclusion

The recent financial crisis caused some fundamental changes to the global economy. The world’s largest stock exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, experienced its largest crash since the Great Depression. The impact of the crisis was quite painful for ordinary people in the U.S. and Europe.

Ali Fakih is a researcher specialized in financial markets, investments, and market microstructure.

References

• Brunnermeier, Marcus K., Deciphering the Liquidity and Credit Crunch 2007-2008, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 23, Number 1, Winter 2009, Pages 77–100
• Federal Housing Finance Agency, Housing Market Data, http://www.fhfa.gov/
• Markit, CreditEx, http://www.creditfixings.com/information/affiliations/fixings.html
• U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/ces/
• Wikipedia, Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_of_Lehman_Brothers
• Federal Housing Finance Agency

Just as animals can find their food, GPS seems like it can find almost any spot on Earth. Thanks to this technology, it is now possible to find people lost on mountains, in caves, or at sea. GPS can instantly detect the whereabouts of a car in a city; parents worried about their children are able to track them with ease and precision.

Though we’re able to track people with shocking degrees of accuracy, it’s harder for us to follow the miraculous activities of the micro-structures and complex molecules in our cells. We do not yet have instruments which can accurately track objects that are so small. Though we can see the holes in our skin with the naked eye, we can only see molecules, and smaller structures, with the help of an electron microscope.

Green fluorescent proteins

Taking the minute activities that occur inside an organism and transferring these processes into a visible format, and photographing intracellular chemical changes, are among the major struggles scientists face. Many researches have tried to develop ways to transfer the micro and nano worlds into a visible form.

One way of doing this is called molecular tracking. To do this, scientists track one molecule, which is easy to spot or photograph because of the light it has been conditioned to emit, and connect it to the item they’re going to examine. It is possible to make minute things observable by means of this light-marking method. The question is: how to make the molecule emit light in the first place?

The answer lies in nature. Certain sea creatures emit colorful lights. Producing light as a result of biochemical activity is called “bioluminescence”. Many creatures living in the depths of the sea, as well as fireflies and a few other species, possess bioluminescence.

Bioluminescent creatures live with special proteins that absorb light energy. While they absorb a little of this energy, they reflect the rest, emitting light. For a long time, scientists did not understand how these proteins worked. But in the 1960s, scientists managed to isolate green fluorescent proteins. This was a breakthrough in terms of marking and viewing human cells. The researchers who decoded the chemical structure of these molecules won the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

One of the most important bioluminescent creatures is the jellyfish aequorea victoria. Shimomura et al first obtained this creature’s proteins through chemical means in 1962. These green fluorescent proteins are now widely used in molecular biology and biochemistry. They are used as gene and cell markers, and thus help scientists determine the amounts of these genes in different organisms.

One of the proteins scientists track is GAD67, a protein which has important duties, particularly in the brain. GAD67 produces some messenger molecules, which function in the communication activities of the nervous system. When scientists want to know if there is GAD67 in the brain or somewhere in the nervous system, they first inject green fluorescent proteins into the cell. Later, they study the cell by using special antibodies attached to the green fluorescent proteins. If there is GAD67 in the tissue, scientists recognize it from the green color. What they are seeing is not actually GAD67, but the green fluorescent proteins attached to it.

These proteins, which are complex structured giant molecules, have a very special geometry and pattern. While even modeling the mathematical structures of a molecule takes much effort, another molecule of a different color produced by another creature makes things easy for researchers. This “marking” makes it possible to understand whether genes work or not, and whether they are active in protein production or not. It is possible to trace connections between cells, observe reactions between proteins, and to find mechanisms that form signals.

During the diffusion of light from the green fluorescent protein, no substance other than oxygen is needed (such as metal ion, phosphate, etc.). Such research can thus be simply conducted by observing the green-lit protein under ultraviolet light. This protein absorbs light from a spectrum between 395 nm and 470 nm. This range is within the wavelengths of light visible to the human eye. Normal proteins diffuse light at 300 nm, and are not visible to humans. Here, we witness another miracle in the way the world are created. It is a blessing that this special protein diffuses light of 450 nm, unlike other proteins.

Uses of green fluorescent proteins

Since the 1970s, fluorescent proteins have been used as markers in researches studying cell biology, biochemistry, and material sciences. The discovery of these proteins marked the beginning of a new era for intracellular (in vivo) research. Scientists have used this method to discover the biochemical workings of bacteria, nematodes (round worms), insects, and mammalian cells. For example, green fluorescent proteins can be used to observe the development of embryos, the unfolding of genes, or to monitor cancer metastasis in the human liver. Since a series of cancerous cells generates a very bright green light, they can easily be spotted. Hopefully, the wider use of such proteins will make identifying cancer easier in the future.

In addition to these discoveries, the emergence of some plant viruses has been observed thanks to these proteins. They’ve also been used to monitor the development of pollen. Lastly, the proteins have been useful when tracking gene transfers from plants to animals.

All of this has been possible because sea creatures absorb light differently than creatures on land. Organisms living underwater diffuse light best at a wavelength of 450-490 nm. The jellyfish who provide the necessary green proteins are perfectly adapted to their environment, and this enables them to hide from their enemies. It is this light that scientists are now using to understand nature – and to potentially save lives.

The elements of the innate immune system are dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, mast cells, eosinophils, basophils, and natural killer cells. The adaptive immune system has two basic elements, the B and T cells.

The human body rarely has serious reactions against antigens which are not harmful. However, the body responds to harmful substances with the bodily defense system. We can think of the situation like this: imagine that a man visits a certain country and enjoys himself. If he begins to cause harm to that country and its citizens, he will be arrested by the security forces of that country. The human body reacts similarly to unwanted visitors. Invasive substances that cause a defensive response are called immunogens. Disease causing germs are made up of structures such as fats, carbohydrates, proteins, DNA, and RNA. As cells of the immune system attack the organic structures of germs, the strongest reactions happen against the proteins of complex structures. The question is: how does the body recognize these harmful molecules and organic structures?

Different elements of the immune system recognize pathogens through different ways and means. The different elements are equipped with specific receptors, which enable them to work together as a defensive unit. These receptors can be compared to locks, alarms, and other controls used to protect a house. They make it possible to alert the body to most unwelcome visitors. The innately granted immune system has many different ways of recognizing aliens. These include the killer-activation and killer-inhibition receptors, the complementary system, and Fc receptors.

Natural receptors of the immunity system

People are born equipped with the innately granted immune mechanisms. These loyal and dutiful elements quickly recognize and respond to pathogens. If we continue thinking of the structures formed by the immune system as a key and lock, then the lock can be defined as the receptors of the innate defense system. Once this mechanism is ready, different signals given to the core of the cell trigger the release of certain molecules (cytokine and chemokine). Similar to cannonballs punching holes in castle walls, these molecules upset the membranes of germs. Thus the process of eliminating harmful pathogens begins. If it is not possible to handle the situation in a short time, the defensive cells call other elements of the defense system to help. Sometimes, natural killer cells and eosinophils take charge. The defensive line works in total cooperation. The key and lock relation constitutes the beginning of this defensive line.

Toll-like receptors won the Nobel Prize

Toll-like receptors have an interesting story. A German scientist spotted a certain gene found in drosophila (the vinegar fly) and named it “toll” (meaning great, fantastic, or stunning in German). Later on, since the structure and placement of nucleotides are similar to the “toll” gene, the newly discovered immune system receptors were named toll-like receptors. The scientists who made this discovery won the 1995 Noble Prize in medicine.

These receptors, found in the membranes of defensive cells, are responsible for recognizing and capturing germs. There are 13 types of defined TLRs in the human defense system. While some TLRs (TLR 3, 7, 8, and 9) are found inside the cells and arrest the harmful intruders, some are found in the cell walls and function like guards patrolling a border. By means of these guards in the cell walls, germs are spotted so other elements can eliminate them. These dutiful guards fulfill the duty they are created for – and they do it in a wonderful fashion.

Killer-activated receptors

Harmful intruders, such as viruses and parasites, sometimes invade the body’s cells. Some germs continue their lives by using the genetic material, metabolism and energy of the cells they invade. Moreover, they continue their expansion to healthy cells. If they expand enough, they can threaten the entire body.

As part of the body’s defense system, molecules signifying stress appear on the surfaces of these invaded cells, a sort of “warning” that the cell is occupied. In such a case, the killer-activated receptors recognize the cells with stress molecules on their surfaces and connect to them. Then a necessary sacrifice is made: the “occupied” cells are eliminated to prevent the germs from expanding to the rest of the body.

Killer-inhibitor receptors

All cells with a nucleus possess the tissue conformity complex known as MHC-I, which can be compared to an ID card, which shows a certain cell to be a healthy piece of the body. When some cells are invaded by germs, or lose their qualities due to reasons like cancer, they cannot show their IDs anymore. Namely, MHC-I is either too weak or is not seen on the cell’s surface. Killer-activated receptors, which are constantly on patrol, demand every kind of cell to show its ID in order to verify there are no alien invasions. The MHC-I identity of a cell is recognized and controlled by the killing-inhibitor receptors—or the bar code readers—of the natural killer cells. At this control, the cells that fail to show their ID card are accepted as invaded or as having contracted cancer. The cells in such condition are eliminated by the natural killer cells for the health and continuity of the entire body.

Complement system receptors

After entering the body, many viruses can reach different parts of the body by joining the bloodstream. In addition, blood also contains the harmful substances of any disease-causing elements dissolved in it. In order to recognize these harmful elements and toxic substances, a special defense team (the complement system) is assigned to the task. Many molecules in the protein structure take part in the complement system. By means of this system, the body recognizes and eliminates the potential threats which pass through the body’s physical, chemical, and biological barriers, and which might reach all the body’s cells via the blood stream.

This defense system is an interconnected and cooperative one. In situations like the deficiency of the elements that make up this system, the body is not properly defended and suffers from different diseases. The pioneering element of the complement defense system, known as C3b, binds to the lipopolysaccharide molecules on the membranes of microorganisms and triggers the complement system’s reaction. As a result of this reaction, the other elements of the defense team (C6, C7, C8, and C5b) are activated and embedded in the cell membrane of the microorganisms. By opening holes in the membrane, they cause the microorganism to die.

The design of our immune system shows how perfectly equipped humanity is for life on this planet. Though we consciously protect our homes and property, we never think about what is happening inside our bodies. If somehow we were supposed to consciously take care of these defensive processes, we would never be able to have “inner peace.” Thankfully, we are not alone.

It is beautiful not just because it is a source of euphoria for them, but because they know they can inspire more people to pursue their dreams, and to spread love around the world.

For those who dream, life is like a magnificent train station. You meet people, you get to taste the finest cuisine, you explore beautiful sights, and you see history unfold in front of your eyes – just like those people who frequent the grand terminals in major cities of the world.

Sure, these dreamers may experience many tribulations and obstacles in the pursuit of their dreams; however, they know that facing the blackest darkness is a part of seeing the value of the light. When one does not see the depths of the abyss, one never knows the real worth of the sun. When a person does not feel the gray overcast looming over one’s head, there is no way to appreciate the wonders of a rainbow.

I love those who dream big, because they are not afraid to face the world. I love those who have the audacity to face the world, because I know that deep inside, I can trust them. I love those who try hard to achieve their dreams, because I love seeing hard work rewarded in the best way possible.

I do not love those who are flippant, those who stab people in the back, or those who spread hate across this blue-domed planet we call Earth. We have had more than enough violence and despair in this world; why do we need any more of it?

Do we want to see more children washed up on a shore far from their homeland? Do we want to see more women crying? Do we want to see more young people drifting away from humanity? All those dreamers say: we will put our lives on the line if it means we can make the world infinitesimally better than it was. Indeed, they do it in their own way, working every single day to lead a life that is worthy of example.

They say that “sometimes, the only payoff for having any faith is that it gets tested again and again every day.” This is true to a great extent. Indeed, sometimes, the hardships the faithful face are Herculean, to the point that it drives one to madness. But in the face of such difficulties, the faithful must ask: are we just fighting for this world? Because one fact is for real: there is another world, whose beauty is unheard of, not even in fiction – the likes of which are beyond anyone’s imagination.

To those who dream big, here is a message to you: Never let go of your dreams. If those dreams are connected to the lofty cause that you love, then pursue them to the last ounce of your breath!

Both of these ladies were ecologically conscientious, even though they never received an education about the environment. Despite this, I would have thought that by now, decades later, there would be more of a focus on environmental education (EE) in schools. And though a search on Google Scholar shows a lot of research about EE, it doesn’t show a ton of applications of EE in contemporary schools.

EE perspectives are present in many ideologies, such as ecopedagogy, egocentrism, anthropocentrism, autopoiesis intrinsic value theory, ecofeminism, green socialism, eco-Marxism, etcetera (Lummis, 2002). And yet I am interested in EE programs, and there are shockingly few of them.

Value education is based on cognitive and affective development. The main aim of education, according to value education, is to create a “good citizen” for a “good society” (Lickona, 1999; Rest, 1974). The most important side of these education programs is to develop self-awareness, helping people to become aware of the larger world (Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002, p.257; Rest, 1974, p.461).

Awareness is directly related to ego development, and to thinking critically. Experimental programs are needed, and a person’s cognitive structure needs to interact with the environment to develop their ego. The main subject here is being “interactionist”  (Rest, 1974). I would like to define this term, environmentally, as “to have an interaction with the natural environment and to have individual outputs.” I understand that in terms of EE, value education should trigger environmental awareness.

There are experimental studies ongoing in the hopes of achieving environmental awareness. Unfortunately, none of these studies mention value education. This is a shame, as the typical properties of value education (Rest, 1974) and EE overlap: to develop responsibility and awareness, cooperative learning, to think critically, and to develop behavioural changes in the long-term.

Value education should be an important part of EE because educational philosophy plays a critical role in shaping teaching programs. Teachers and administrators should first think about the philosophical roots of their aims. Rest (1974) says that value education is based on the thoughts of Plato, Hegel, Dewey, and Piaget; in other words, “progressivist” approaches. Pierre Walter (2009) also mentions the progressivist origins of EE.

We should not forget that we first encounter value education in our families. Value education and EE may also be evaluated in terms of education children learn from watching adults/parents. A lot of research highlights the importance of parental education (Kasapoglu and Turan, 2008; Gokdere, 2005).

Unfortunately, current research shows there is a gap between theory and practice in EE (Bolstad and Baker, 2004; Elliott, 1999; Hart and Nolan, 1999; Mansaray, Ajiboye and Audu, 1998). This gap may close with the use of value education, but there is significant overlap between the two disciplines. Using one to develop the other is a method that has not yet been tried, but could lead to future improvements in both disciplines.

References
Gokdere, M. (2005). “A Study On Environmental Knowledge Level Of Primary Students In Turkey”. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 6, Issue 2.
Hart, P. & Nolan, K. (1999). “A Critical Analysis Of Research In Environmental Education”. Studies in Science Education, Volume 34’ Issue 1, p. 1-69.
Kasapoglu, A., & Turan, F. (2008). “Attitude Behaviour Relationship In Environmental Education: A Case Study From Turkey”. International Journal of Environmental Studies, Volume 65, Issue 2, p. 219-231.
Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). “Mind The Gap: Why Do People Act Environmentally And What Are The Barriers To Pro-Environmental Behaviour?”. Environmental Education Research, Volume 8, Issue 3, p. 239-260.
Lickona, T. (1999). “Character education: The cultivation of virtue”. In Charles M. Reigeluth (Ed.), “Instructional design theories and models (Volume II)”. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey.
Lummis, G. (2002). “Globalisation: Building A Partnership Ethic For A Ecopedagogy In Western Australia”.  Australian Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 27, Issue 1, Article 2, 1-1.
Rest, J. (1974). “Developmental Psychology As A Guide To Value Education: A Review Of "Kohlbergian" Programs”. Review of Educational Research, Volume 44, Issue 2 (Spring, 1974), p. 241-259.

Why is STEM Education Critical?
STEM’s importance grows from the fact that STEM knowledge is diffused to almost each and every part of our lives. If we just look at our environment, we can see how we experience things that are STEM-related. At this point, if a country wants to produce innovative economic leadership, it will depend upon producing STEM professionals (engineers, mathematicians, physicists, etc) who develop inventions and innovations in all areas of the economy. In addition, the 21st century workforce requires an almost entirely new set of skills due to the rapid changes in technology and the internet; we have to prepare our young population for the challenges they are going to face. The 21st century has brought many changes to our lives, from manufacturing to broader dissemination of information and technology. Today’s students know that the future holds jobs that require more advanced skills (Roblin, 2012; National Research Council, 2011) because many traditional jobs have been outsourced or replaced with high-tech tools. Therefore, students must also be prepared for jobs that do not yet exist (Dede, 2010). A lack of a skilled or, a STEM-illiterate, generation is a threat to each and every economy that worries about their future.

How do we experience STEM in our daily lives?
The Science Pioneers website gives many good examples of how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are diffused into things happening around us every day. The website defines science as our natural world. We ride a car, fly a plane, or sail a ship, and each has its own system and set of sciences.

We also live in the digital age where all types of technology enter our lives via desktops or laptops, iPads or smartphones, and countless other information sources. We witness the construction of colossal structures, as well as engineers’ amazing solutions to today’s challenges of a growing population and global warming. We don’t need to search very hard to see the contributions of engineers to our daily lives. All we have to do is look at the world around us, including the houses we live in and the cars we drive.

When it comes to recognizing the use of mathematics, evidence is everywhere. Math is used for such minor tasks as going to a grocery store, bank, or shopping center, or for budgeting or investing. Mathematical calculations are part of our daily routines. Almost every other field (STEM and non-STEM) depends on mathematics. I remember an example one of the STEM teachers gave me. He explained why mathematics is not fully appreciated. He used an analogy of a tray, which represents mathematics. When you serve other subjects – including physics, chemistry, biology, technology, and even reading – on the tray, people pay attention to the things on the tray, but not the tray. But without the tray, you cannot serve anything.

In sum, STEM education is a must in today’s economy; it’s very important, because “it pervades every aspect of our lives” (Science Pioneers, p.1).

STEM Education’s role in countries’ global competitiveness: the case of STEM in the United States
It is better to explain this section with an example. The United States will produce more than 1.8 million STEM jobs by 2018. In fact, it is expected that STEM-related jobs will grow at a faster rate than other fields – 17 percent versus 9.8 percent (Bertram, 2014). Unfortunately, it is estimated that 1.2 million of these STEM jobs will go unfilled. Why? Because the current US workforce does not possess the skills to fill them (Bertram, 2014). Moreover, the World Economic Forum ranks the United States 52nd in the world when it comes to the quality of mathematics and science education, and 5th in overall global competitiveness or innovativeness. Moreover, the United States comes in 27th among developed nations in generating college graduates in science or engineering. Not surprisingly, many graduate students studying in US graduate schools are mostly non-American citizens, including over 2/3 of the engineers who receive Ph.D.’s from United States universities. What’s more, only one third of the annual 1.8 million bachelor graduates in the US choose STEM majors. One very important quote from the US Department of Labor (cited in Vilorio, 2014) summarizes why STEM education is important for the US economy: “The STEM fields and those who work in them are critical engines of innovation and growth: according to one recent estimate, while only about five percent of the US workforce is employed in STEM fields, the STEM workforce accounts for more than fifty percent of the nation’s sustained economic growth.”

Therefore, STEM education has a critical role in countries like the US. The importance of STEM education is not limited to only the United States: when you look at the research literature, you will see that many other European and non-European countries have started investing millions of dollars to improve their STEM education and increase their STEM-literate college students (Archer, DeWitt, & Wong, 2013; Ayar, 2015).

What a good STEM Education should look like
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) (2010) identified four major goals of STEM Education. But again, these goals were developed for the American people and government. Thus, any community or country can develop their own STEM education goals based on their needs or expectations.
According to PCAST, the first goal of American STEM education should be to ensure a STEM-capable citizenry where average Americans have the knowledge, conceptual understandings, and critical thinking skills that come from studying STEM subjects. The second goal of American STEM education is to generate a STEM-proficient workforce, one that has the skills to meet the needs of the American economy. The third goal of American STEM education is to cultivate STEM experts who can contribute “to economic growth, to technological progress, to our understanding of ourselves and the universe, and to the reduction of hunger, disease, and poverty” (p.6). The last goal of American STEM education is to close the achievement and participation gap among students of color and women, in order to tap into the country’s full potential.
In conclusion, it seems that policymakers and researchers agree on the strategic and scholastic importance of STEM education. In order to produce the workforce countries need, research suggests STEM teaching has to be engaging, rigorous, relevant to students’ lives, and must cultivate an interest in STEM subjects (NRC, 2011). But the pivotal question we need to ask is: how will educational institutions teach STEM subjects and raise a STEM-literate generation? This is another article topic to ponder!
References
Archer, L., DeWitt, J., & Wong, B. (2013). Spheres of influence: what shapes young people’s aspirations
at age 12/13 and what are the implications for education policy? Journal of Education Policy, 29(1), 58-85.

Ayar, M. C. (2015). Engineering design at first-hand and career interest in engineering: An informal STEM education case study. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice 15(6), 1655.

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As long as one maintains relationship with God faithfully and from the heart, one begins to feel in the depths of the heart the spiritual pleasure that we can also call “imbibing” with no need for a cup or cup-bearer. This pleasure makes the travelers on the way to God intoxicated, according to their rank. As they feel the pleasure, they grow thirstier and desire more and more pleasure, with the result that thirst and satiation follow one upon another in the spirit. They express this state as Gedai did, who says:

O cup-bearer, in the fire of love,
I have burnt away, so give me some water!

This comes to the point where the travelers on the way to the Ultimate Truth, their desire and yearning for Him ever growing, feel pleasure embedded in longing and satisfaction embedded in hunger. They burn with passion for the door that is ajar to be opened completely. The interruption of these favors is impressed on them like a fast, while the resumption of the favors is like a feast, and they murmur in expectation as Muhammed Lutfi Efendi does:

Offer the wine of union: it is time to break fast;
Improve this ruin: it is time to display favors.

Another approach to thirst is to see it as such a longing and passion for the Truly Beloved and Desired One that the initiate aches intensely for satisfaction saying, “My liver has become roasted: will there not come help in answer to my sighs?”; the heart of the initiate overflows with love, burns away in flames, and his or her eyes scan the horizon in expectation of their Lord Who offers them pure drink (76:21). However, so long as a loving initiate remains imprisoned in the lampshade of corporeality, the Truly Beloved One does not manifest Himself to him or her completely. This is why the thirst of the yearning lover who still lingers between corporeality and spirituality increases more and more to the point of being consumed in the flames. The following couplets by Sa‘di ash-Shirazi are truly beautiful in expressing such a degree of spiritual pleasure and thirst:

You show Your Face, then avoid showing Yourself,
increasing thereby both demand for You and our heat.
Whenever I see the Beloved Who has seduced me into His love,
I am confused how to act, and bewildered on the straight path.
First He burns me in flames, then extinguishes with sprinkles of water,
this is why you sometimes see me in flames,
And sometimes drowned in water.

Just as ordinary pleasure with its painful and pleasant aspects impresses itself on other organs and parts of the body, so also this pleasure impresses itself on the heart and the conscience or on conscious human nature. God’s Messenger declared: “One who is pleased with God as the Lord (The One Who sustains, administers, and brings up), who is pleased with Islam as the religion, and with Muhammad as the Messenger has tasted the delight of belief.” He sometimes expressed this pleasure with the words used to denote bodily pleasures, as in the hadith where he prohibited his Companions from fasting every day: “I am not like you; my hunger and thirst are satisfied (by God in ways unknown to you).” Whereas, the pleasure tasted by the heart and spirit as a result of spiritual life is purely spiritual, it is more constant when compared with ecstasy and feeds the heart and spirit with ever new radiations. As for ecstasy and stupor, they are gifts that come in certain states of the initiate’s journeying and, despite their being dazzling, they emerge in proportion to the seeker’s spiritual depth.

Pleasure also differs according to its sources. God’s promise of Paradise, eternity, and a vision of Him, one moment of each being superior to thousands of years of worldly life spent in happiness, in return for belief, confirmation, and obedience, is one of those sources of pleasure. Without considering any of the material and spiritual or worldly and other worldly joys, the conscious human nature’s pursuit of nearness to God and always feeling His company and Presence give another kind of pleasure. Completely freed from conceit and egoism, being favored with absolute nearness to God and feeling the uninterrupted pleas-ures of subsistence by God at the summit of seeing, hearing, and knowing Him alone, is another summit of taste. In short, everyone has their share in the spiritual pleasures in proportion to the degree of their belief, confirmation, and knowledge of the Almighty God.

While we feel indifference to bodily pleasures when we are satisfied with them, constant thirst is felt for spiritual pleasures. We can describe this as an unquenchable thirst. Initiates yearn more and more for the Divine gifts that an excellent guide will pour into their hearts through words and behavior, and feel their conscious nature open to an infinite degree to the knowledge and love of God and spiritual pleasures. Such a conscious nature or, rather, heart, which is its primary pillar, continuously yearns for God until it attains absolute nearness to Him. In time it is completely freed from the prison of corporeality and the density of bodily life and, favored with transcendence of time and space and flying in the heavens of the heart and the spirit, it constantly moves between thirst and satiation, expecting the doors that are slightly ajar to be opened wide.

When at last the disciple willing the All-Beloved and in love with Him becomes willed and loved by the All-Beloved, when illumined with His light, colored by His color, and, when, as a result of the burning manifestations of the Divine Facial Light, all things other than Him have been burned up, the true nature of existence shows itself. Beyond all states and appearances, the One, Unique Being is felt free from all qualitative and quantitative considerations and restrictions; He is felt as the Converter of states (the One Who creates all states and makes His servants go from one state to another), the one Who gives abundant favors, and the Creator of all acts and deeds. In the following verses, Mawlana Jalalu’d-Din Rumi illustrates this highest degree of pleasure:

Drink such wine that the jar containing it
should be the face of the Beloved,
and the cup in which it is offered be the eyes of those
intoxicated with the wine.
Drink such wine from the cup of the Everlasting Face that
its bearer should be the One alluded to in
Their Lord offers them pure drink.
When that wine is brought forth, it leads you to a purification
of the filth of corporeality at the time of intoxication.
How strange a drink, how exceptional a taste, how unusual a pleasure,
how nice a fortune, how great an amazement, how peculiar a zeal!
Another Sufi, as if leading our hearts to taste the pure wine of pleasure, voices his feelings as follows:
See, all have been intoxicated when Their Lord offers them pure drink,
Four, five and seven; are all intoxicated by the Unending Majesty.

O God! Offer us of the wine of Your love and include us among those loved by You! And bestow blessings and peace on our master Muhammad, the master of all loved by You, and on his Family and Companions, approved by You.

Nearly forty years ago, a posh Texas department store sent her a catalogue of items totally unnecessary for a young Minnesota wife and mother. She had dreamed her way through that glossy book, looking for something she could afford, looking for something unique, glamorous, and new. She wanted something to make her feel special and valuable. There was little in that catalogue that she really could afford to buy. But there was something that looked like it might meet the rest of her needs: a watermelon towel! To her it seemed cheap at any price, but that towel cost more than forty toddler tee-shirts from the Nearly New Thrift Store. It cost more than twenty sticky sweets from Bob’s Corner Dairy Dip. It cost more than ten of the small recipe magazines she thumbed through at the grocery store. It was twenty dollars.

Yet, despite the cost, the towel was ordered, it came in the mail, and it was huge! It was a bold graphic print of a slice of juicy hot pink and cool green watermelon. It felt like velvet. It was hers and no one else could touch it!

Not much of anything else was all hers in those years of new marriage, old house, and young kids. Her children climbed in the bathtub with her because it was so much fun. When she closed the door and sat down on the toilet they cried because they were lonesome. They scribbled in her books. They tried on her shoes. They played with her car keys and lost them. They pulled on her arm when she talked on the phone because they were impatient. They ate from her plate because they were hungry. If she was sleeping, they woke her up when they were awake and ready to start their day. In general, her children invaded her body, occupied her mind, and stole her heart. Mostly it was normal and natural. It made her happy. But her life was often tiring, even exhausting. And then she felt used, and used up.

One cold Minnesota morning, she watched her five year old daughter and three year old son playing in the snow outside while she folded laundry near the window. Suddenly the back door flew open and both of them rushed toward her, red-cheeked and wet. They smiled at her and she beamed back at them. Then one put her icy hands under her mother’s shirt, on her warm stomach, to thaw them. The other leaned forward affectionately, she thought, and then wiped his runny nose on her shoulder. Out they ran. She sighed and pulled the watermelon towel from the wash basket. Because her children couldn’t have it, the watermelon towel was very attractive to them. After a bath, or after a swim in the lake, they asked for it. Later, going to a sleepover or away to camp, they pleaded for it. When all the other towels in the house were dirty, they demanded it. But she never shared her watermelon towel.

Politely but firmly, she refused all requests for it, no matter what the circumstances. She would simply state, “This towel is mine and it is very special to me. I like it very much. It is just not something I want to share.” That answer eventually satisfied them. Little by little they came to accept, to respect, and to understand her need for the watermelon towel. She was reasonable and generous. She knew that. They knew that. She would not be moved and she never felt guilty, not when it came to the watermelon towel.

The watermelon towel was carefully packed and moved with the family from Minnesota to Massachusetts to Wisconsin. It moved with the woman through forty years of change and growth in a marriage, in a family, in a community. Sometimes the watermelon towel was used often, sometimes hardly at all. It became a little worn, a little stiff, and perhaps just a little less colorful. It acquired blotches and bleach spots in the laundry room during the years when teenagers were alternately dyeing or fading their clothes. It went to the bottom of a big raggedy stack of beach towels.

Once when her son and daughter were in college and her husband was working, the woman treated herself to a professional conference before beginning a new job. She sat by herself at the hotel pool after the business part of the day was over.  She sat by herself on her watermelon towel, watching and thinking about the young families all around her.

“This watermelon towel has stood for an important part of who and what I am, and what it means to me to live in a family,” she thought. “It has stood for that part of myself which is uniquely mine. In a warm, close, and loving family, especially when children are young, it can be hard not to give all of yourself away,” she thought. “It can be desperately hard to see and to hang on to what you need for yourself when others need so much from you.”

When children are growing up they have to see and to separate what is uniquely their own and what belongs to everyone else. They need some of what everyone needs. If parents can hold them close and still keep a little distance, children will learn to do this, too. The woman’s children grew up able to respect who they were and what they must do with their lives. Her son and her daughter married and each had four children of their own. They both have kept their own “watermelon towels”: his is the old tenderly cared for Jeep he fusses with; hers is the quiet yoga classes she never misses. 

The woman’s days are mostly peaceful now, and she doesn’t need to protect her space, her belongings, or even her time. That doesn’t feel strange or unsettling to her; it feels comfortable. She’s not sure where the towel is these days and thinks she might have given it to a young neighbor who was expecting twins. The woman is glad she has had some preparation and practice for this stage of her life, and that she has learned to be generous to herself as well as to others. Her days are full of both contentment and anticipation. She is looking forward to the next visit of her grandchildren and thinks she must remember to tell them about the watermelon towel.

This study is a part of the burgeoning field of neuro-cardiology. It began when Armour and Ardell discovered a web of neurons in the heart. This web is described as being like a small scale brain, and it is endowed with functions like learning, data processing, remembering, and cognition – and it performs these independent of the central nervous system. These neuron cells in the heart both maintain communication with the brain and regulate the heart’s functions. Thus, a two-sided information transfer between the heart and brain is realized. In 2010, research conducted in different centers demonstrated that more information is sent from the heart to the brain, than vice versa.

Specific findings (McCraty, 2002, 2010; Haspel, 2009) have drawn particular attention to the relationship between the heart and brain, and they reveal that the heart communicates with the brain in four different ways:

1. Neurons (the neurological way)
2. Hormones and neurotransmitters (the biochemical way)
3. The pulse waves produced by blood pressure (the biophysical way).
4. The mutual transaction of electromagnetic fields.

The heart’s two-sided communication network with the brain and other bodily systems is one of the most complex communication systems known to humankind. While the brain has abstract, analytical, and logical intellects as well as functions like thought processing, data storing, and remembering, the heart is endowed with the intellects of feeling and communication. It is the center where feelings are first produced, and these emotions are then conveyed by the limbic system. In addition, the brain’s response to these emotions not only impacts all cells, but also the heart and brain waves of other people in the same vicinity.

Each heartbeat pumps blood, but it also sends and receives data to and from the entire body via neurological, hormonal, and electromagnetic means.

The same research from 2010 showed though the heart is the root of these functions, it also has functions relating to judgment, decision making, data-processing and remembering, just like the brain. The science of neuro-cardiology seems likely to radically change how we perceive the human body and soul.

The beating heart’s influence on our lives

The time that passes between heart beats is described as “heart rate variability.” Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects whether electric signals by the sinoatrial node (a group of nerve cells responsible for the electric current in the heart) is healthy or not. As HRV measures the heart’s ability to respond to the signals coming from and going to the brain, understanding the variability ratios of the heart has gained importance in recent years.

HRV is not always constant. The research conducted by Thurber et al (2010) studied HRV’s influence on a person’s mood, and it yielded interesting findings. According to their study, if HRV is consistent, all the body’s systems are positively influenced, or negatively if the HRV is inconsistent.

Depending on the emotional state of the individual, the heart influences the brain stem, amygdala, and cortex via the data it sends by means of heart rate variability. All of these findings indicate that the heart is not only given the duty of pumping blood, but also of being an administrative signal center that regulates the entire operation of the body in rhythm. When individuals experience different emotions like rage, joy, fear, or despair, the rhythmic patterns in HRV also differ.

For example, if a person is experiencing positive feelings like gratitude, appreciation, love, or mercy, the heart rate variability is consistent; but if the person is experiencing negative feeling such as fear, anxiety, despair, depression, or the like, the HRV becomes inconsistent. In addition, if the person is experiencing positive feelings, the heart perceives other positive feelings with more ease; and if not, the perception of such feelings becomes more difficult. Thankfully, the research conducted by McCraty et al (2009) and Halpel indicated that it is possible to intentionally evoke positive feelings in a person. External factors play a major role in our moods.

The electromagnetic field of the heart and its influence on our lives

The human heart is a reactor where the strongest and widest electromagnetic field in the body is produced. The bio-electromagnetic field produced in the heart has been measured to be 50-70 cm wide by magnetometers with a base of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). According to McCraty’s measurements of the heart’s electric field, which can be measured with an electrocardiogram (EKG), it is, on average, 100 times greater than the electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded in the brain – and the magnetic component is an average of 5,000 times stronger than the one produced in the brain.

The changes in blood pressure, sound pressure, and electromagnetic waves – all of which are produced by the rhythmic activity of the heart – are perceived by every organ and cell in the body. For instance, electromagnetic waves sent from the heart affect brain waves. Recent research by Haspel as well as Bedell and Kaszkin-Bettag suggest that the heart is where emotional states originate – the brain is simply sensing these feelings.

For instance, when the heart rate variability is 0.10 hertz, there is complete harmony between our body and spirit. In this state of harmony, it was observed that the waves from the two lobes of the brain are in the same phase and they turn into a single wave. In other words, the two lobes of the brain begin to work in perfect harmony. In addition, it was observed that at this state the brain secretes a serious amount of endorphins, which are the source of the feeling of pleasure.

Science is beginning to show that if the waves formed by HRV and brain waves are harmonious, a person will be physically and psychologically healthy. If the two sets of waves are not harmonious, the person is likely to be ill. This indicates that the changes observed in pulse patterns over time are a key measure of the balance between the brain and heart.

At the same time, this balance varies according to our mood. Attaining harmony only happens only when we experience feelings such as compassion, love, affection, appreciation, forgiveness, and thankfulness (Thurber et al, 2010; McCraty and Reese, 2009). A great deal of this harmony is realized through electromagnetic communication, which also strengthens our senses, concentration, and ability to generate new ideas. And physically, our immune system is strengthened, stress is reduced, and we are overall healthier. The equation is simple: good moods equal good health.

In addition to all of these benefits, a 2002 study by McCraty showed that a magnetic area of influence that surrounds the body is formed with every beat of the heart (figure 2). While the heart influences the functioning of our bodily systems with the data it sends to all cells and to the brain, it also influences other people’s hearts and brainwaves by sending out external data. In many instances, we witness that being close to certain people may both influence our heart (feelings) and brain (thoughts and decision making processes). This explains how parents and educators who constantly share the same environment with children can have a great impact in their lives. For this reason, all people, but particularly parents and teachers, must be very careful about what passes from their heart. It is ultimately our body’s functions turned into external action that have the greatest influence on those around us.

The following statements from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, summarizes this issue well:

• “God does not look at your bodies nor your forms, but He looks at your hearts and your actions.”[1]
• “There is lump of flesh in the body, the nature of which is that when it is sound, the entire body is sound, and when it is corrupt, the entire body is corrupt—it is the heart.”[2]

[1] Sahih al-Muslim, Birr, 33.

There is love that passes through generations,
a mere candlelight, each person a candle,
their flame bewitching others
and enlightening them with a delicate radiance.
This flame is eternal only if one is willing to share
the warmth across future generations.

There is love that passes through windows of the soul
as a simple breeze;
whether harsh, soft, or in the form of a tornado,
it manages to brush upon skin,
and never constant, nor still,
it pierces through the heart with wind,
leaving only debris.

There is love that passes through the closest and purest veins
embedded within hearts,
embroidered in societies and personalities.
This is love that is Truth,
greater than the salted night sky
more vast than the knee-deep river,
origin of itself.

My forehead touches the first ray of sunlight
after the subtle diminishing fog in the morning,
fingertips reaching for everything
black holed pupils recording and absorbing.
I hear the caged soul yearning
This,
This is love,
living in the presence of the Beloved.

Works Cited

“Charles Bukowski on What Love Is.” Brain Pickings. January 30, 2012. Accessed December 25, 2015. https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/01/30/charles-bukowski-on-love/.