Applauding the Blues
Acrylic on canvas/ Gold Frame/ 23.5” by 19” / $ 495.00
Do you stop to look, touch or smell the flowers? Perhaps you even taste them.
The following excerpt is from my upcoming book, Lives of Museum Junkies. Due out in August it tells my story along with that of eleven other innovators who influenced the hands-on museum movement in the early 70’s. Publication information will be available in a few weeks.
The Importance of Touch
In 2012, a young social work student at the University of Rochester was featured in national publications as a most unusual entrepreneur. While studying brain and cognitive sciences as an undergraduate, Jacqueline Samuel became aware of the negative effects of living in a culture that does not sanction touch for its own sake. Throughout the world people are more willing to hold hands and hug friends and family than in the United States.
Adverse consequences of tactile isolation are known to be agitation, anxiety and aggression. Jacqueline decided that she would ameliorate the situation by opening a cuddle parlor she named the Snuggery. Her focus centered on bringing the healing power of touch to those who are tactilely isolated. The rules she and her employees devised were strict; staying clean, keeping clothing on and not engaging in any “funny business.” Her non-sexual touch emporium was singularly based on the platonic need for physical closeness. Business boomed, spurring copy-cat cuddle parlors throughout the country.
One even opened where I live in Portland, Oregon.
You might wonder what type of person needs to pay $60 for an hour hug? Clients come for a variety of reasons and include those on graveyard shifts returning home to empty beds, the physically handicapped and the chronically depressed. There are thousands of people, many elderly, others single or with a physical disability who are never touched, held, or hugged. Having a friend to talk to and being cuddled is important for overall emotional well-being.
Jacqueline’s insight is backed by volumes of research showing how touch reduces cortisol, the stress hormone that suppresses the immune system. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami is a center that concurs with Jacqueline’s concerns. They recently completed a study showing that teens who lack hugging are more likely to be aggressive than their peers who are regularly hugged. Elderly people who are touched are healthier and less likely to develop dementia. Premature babies who are stroked gain weight faster than those who are not and infants who lack adequate physical and emotional attention are more likely to have behavioral, emotional and social problems as they age. And now we see that tactile learning can also be highly effective.
Hands-on museums are cognizant of sensory research, and tactile solutions especially form the basis of many of their activities. Not only do people need physical contact with others but they also have a need to touch and play with objects. A friend of mine shared an insight that it was not just his auditory sense that made him enjoy playing the piano, but his tactile contact with the keys. . . . . .
My work in the museum field was influenced by an exercise I had to complete as a graduate student in psychology. One of my assignments was to write a paper imagining what it would be like to lose each of my senses. I was also directed to explore my feelings about loss of sexual sensitivity. To start the exercise I would sit for an hour in an easy chair imagining myself as a blind or deaf person. As I delved into the assignment, I was surprised to realize that losing my hands would be one of the most horrendous handicaps I could have. The hour spent with handless imagery was torturous, leaving me scared, almost frozen. What if I could not touch a door knob or wave my hands while talking? How horrible it would be to not be able to tousle my child’s hair. Touch was not the only sensation that affected me deeply. I quickly realized that losing my sight would be just as awful. As a visual and tactile person I am so fortunate to have both of these faculties.
Each of us is controlled by biological predilections and we are most happy when we allow daily activities to be guided by these predispositions. . . . .
Understanding a child’s sensory preference helps parents and teachers design appropriate educational programs. The visual learner may love reading books, but there are many children who are hesitant readers and need to be drawn into the learning process through an alternative sensory route. A history teacher might design a curriculum for tactile learners by challenging them to make dioramas. The process still requires the children to read in order to know what to include in their 3-D pictures, but their interest in the project will be internally motivated. . . . .
Parents, grandparents, friends and teachers please think twice before you tell a child not to touch. Your curious child might just need a little guidance to encourage safe and constructive activities that take advantage of his or her way of communicating. Remember, a broken glass can be dangerous but there are safe ways to turn broken glass into a mosaic . . . touch me, touch me not. . . . .
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This summer is a good time to let your children wander and experiment by using the sensory mode they most prefer. A warm hug for effort will go a long way towards developing their passion for learning. And by the way, we parents and grandparents love hugs as well. They provide wonderful feelings of well being.
I look forward to your comments below.
Art work is always for sale. Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com
For sale on Amazon by Marilynne Eichinger: The True Story of Streetwise, overcoming homelessness and beating the odds. Go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AAXMJOGThe
