Good news!

2 items of good news---

(1) Ruby Payne is coming to Shawnee State University.
(2) Will Smith is not a Scientologist.

Regarding point (1): Ruby Payne's notoriety comes from her work studying poverty. Her main emphasis has been in the field of education, however, she has co-authored a book applying her research to church work (incidently, the other author is a CofC minister). I have read a couple of her books, and I have purchased one that I have yet to read. She is good. Her approach to explaining the cultural and sociological phenomenon of poverty is very helpful. My long-term goal is to apply insights from her research to Sunshine's benevolence efforts. This involves understanding that we are entrenched in middle-class worldview. As a result we unintentionally construct barriers to those who do not reside within our socio-economic stratum.

Ruby's lecture is titled, A Framework for Understanding Poverty. She will be speaking this Thursday (9-18) at 7:00 pm in the Clark Memorial Library, Flohr Lecture Hall. Kristine and I will be there.

Regarding (2): I am happy to read an interview with Will Smith suggesting that he is not becoming a Scientologist. A while back, I read that he was being courted by Tom Cruise and Scientology. I think him too smart and psychologically healthy to join the psychological mafia.