Those "BLAMMO!" moments happen; they still do. I pray they always will. It was just reading this time, a little something about Albert Bandura's phenomenon known as Reciprocal Causation. For those not in the know, it falls in with Bandura's other big idea, that being the social learning theory, where we learn something by it being modeled. Bandura demonstrated this with the famous experiment where adults and then kids went buck-wild on a Bop-'Em clown doll. As for Reciprocal Causation, my textbook says "behavior can also influence both the environment and the person. In fact, each of these three variables--environment, person and behavior, influences the other two." Blammo.

I haven't had this big a light go on since John 15:1-8. (for those not in the know about that one, it goes something like, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the Gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.) And, yes, for all keeping score, Eccesiastes 9:11 still rings in my soul like a bell; but John 15 was the first "click" experience I ever really had.

Indeed, some teachers are probably looking at the Bandura theory, going, "yeah, and?!" Forgive the neophyte in me, I guess. I hope God doesn't consider the comparison sacrilege; forgive me, Lord.......It may take me a while to adapt to information like this, then again, I may take to it and swim. Today was a wierd day subbing; went in for a whole day, got there and it was only half because there was issues with the power, which I would later find out were apparently wide-spread.

Finally, kudos to Johanna Hilbert, one of my ESL students, who flies back home to Germany tomorrow to be with her friends to accept an award for a quasi-documentary film they made together, about German/Algerian relationships (from what I gather, not far removed from interracial relationships in America,) and teen suicide attempts. Whoa. This is their third film, and if I'm getting the information right, their second award; pretty impressive for a 16-year-old-girl. I've been promised a DVD of her work, since it's not widely available. With any luck, we'll all see what happens.