Interviews with interesting people
I spent many hour in this library. The College of Education was to the left and the Department of Psychology was to the right. I ran back and forth between them. The library was neutral ground.
I’m going to interview myself. Ask me all the questions I imposed on others and they so cleverly answered. It seems only fair.
Lynn Loar works with autistic kids, animal shelters and teaches fellow social workers. She’s worked thousands of cases, and helped change the child abuse reporting laws of California. It just goes to show you how much ice skating can impact a life.
This is the story of how a kid from rural Texas moves to Chicago to work with exotic animals. When Ken Ramirez was young, his parents repeatedly moved to individually pursue their graduate degrees. It was hard on him. So naturally when he got old enough he did the same thing. Ken has worked many exotic animals but has settled in Chicago, taking care of the 20k residents of the Shedd Aquarium.
You may have seen the video Michele and her dog Listo doing a free-style routine (if not, check it out). It’s a great example of animal training that would be impossible without using a clicker and reinforcement theory. Free style is Michele at play. For work, Michele is the Director of Research and Development for Guide Dogs for the Blind.
If you love biology, Dezene is your guy. He lives in Prince George, British Columbia but I caught him while on vacation on Prince Edward Island, just after Hurricane Irene. He gives you a good idea of what it’s like to be a university professor.
Richard teaches children to learn. He has years of experience working with people with autism, learning disabilities and physical handicaps. Richard gives some good advice of how to work with violent patients, difficult cases, and normal folk. For Richard’s site, click here.
Rewards can change the lives of everyone around you, of every species. Dogs, dolphins, elephants, employees, children and you all share in the willingness to trade behavior for rewards. Dolphins jump for fish, you go to work for money. Everyone is impacted by smiles, hugs and nodding your head. Karen Pryor suggests you learn how to thoughtfully use operant conditioning. These principles mean you don’t have to push anyone around, impress them or dominate them. And if you don’t learn these tools, you tend to fall back on being a primate. Check out Karen Pryor’s ClickerTraining site here.