Christmas Greetings to One and All

Wow! Another year has just sped by! We are all doing well at work, school and play—and trying to keep it all in some reasonable balance.

You’d think this letter could have gotten out early this year since I (Sue) have been thinking Christmas thoughts since September when the kids at church and I began work on the Christmas cards—a project that helped support a Christmas gifts mission program for 400 local needy children. But, I hope at least to get this mailed before Christmas. Then I can run off to a Florida vacation with the rest of the family the first week of January—with a clear conscience.

Nevertheless, we wish you a wonderful Christmas, happy Boxing Day, and exciting New Year! May the joy of Christmas fill your hearts and home now and throughout the coming year.

Grand Canyon Becomes Grand Adventure

Many of you may already know of our trip last spring, but it was the BIG adventure for this year, so we include it here—just skip it if you’ve already heard it...

We got way more than we bargained for on our spring vacation to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. As expected, it was spectacular and awe-inspiring. We did a rim tour by car and foot the first day, including sunset—very nice. The next day we were up at dawn to hike into the canyon—which we did—downhill for five hours! I (Sue) was dreading the uphill climb (usually twice as long as the time it takes to hike down) that would have to be achieved before darkness set in. I kept repeating to myself, “Must go faster, must go faster.” But the scenery was magnificent!

At a rest break about noon, Jean leaned up against a boulder (about 3’x3’x4’) and it rolled over onto her leg and ankle pinning her to the ground. Walt and I managed, by the grace of God—and the adrenaline rush, to leverage it off her, but she could no longer walk—thigh, leg and foot had been smashed.

Walt ran two miles to the ranger station and was able to get help that eventually (4 p.m.) brought a helicopter to rescue Jean. I got to ride along to accompany her to the hospital. Luckily nothing was broken, just badly bruised. She spent the rest of the vacation in a wheelchair and on crutches, but was okay a couple of weeks later.

Meanwhile, back in the canyon, Walt and David had to sleep overnight at a picnic shelter near the ranger outpost, sharing one sleeping bag and trying to stay dry as the rain formed rivers across the shelter floor. They hiked out the next day, slogging up a very muddy rain-soaked trail into about a foot of snow at the canyon’s rim. All in all, it was an adventure we won’t forget!

Scouts’ Camping Styles Differ

David, now 11 years old and in sixth grade, has joined up with the Boy Scouts this year. His troop is very active, camping once every month—“rain or shine”—or snow, as was the case for the December campout. They always use two-man pup tents, on the ground—thank goodness, he has a warm sleeping bag. Despite the hardships, he is having a great time—and, as he says, “It builds character...”

In seven years of Girl Scouting, now, Jean has not yet slept in a tent on the ground! She and Sue, instead, go on Scout “camping” trips like the one last summer to Toronto, where

they visited Niagara Falls, saw Phantom of the Opera and “camped” in a fancy hotel with indoor pool.

Jean did have some stretching experiences this summer, however, at a two-week church camp. High-ropes courses had her walking (and swinging) some 60 feet above the ground on a cable. She went caving and earned her polar bear swim honors. But the highlight of the adventure was white-water rafting. They survived the toughest of the rapids with the loss of only one paddle!

Reading Research Intrigues Walt

This year Walt has begun a research program in the understanding of reading. He is hopeful that this will assist in improving reading instruction soon. This year, he examined training with a whole-word method (look at “cat” and repeat “cat”) and phonics method (look at “cat” and make the sounds “ca” “a” “ta” “cat”). The comparison of the two methods is very controversial (having been recently reported in Time and Newsweek October 23, 1997). Walt found to his surprise that the whole-word group learned faster. They also forgot faster and retained much less than the phonics group. The take-home message suggests that whole-word training leads to fast temporary acquisition of a small set of words but cannot build a large sight-reading vocabulary.

Walt is using brain imaging to track where the sight-reading learning occurs in the visual and language areas. He hopes to develop new principles to provide better computer tutorials to improve reading instruction.

Brain Scanning Reveals Learning Centers

Walt’s research is moving in new directions. In the brain imaging research he is monitoring about a dozen areas in the brain that seem to be the control of how we learn. The same areas seem to be involved in learning new tasks (e.g., phone numbers, faces) and they drop out as the skill is acquired. The work provides evidence for control areas that modulate the behavior of other cortical areas in which the skill resides. The brain activity of the skilled performer involves a much smaller and focused area of cortex.

E-Prime Debuts Soon

Development of Psychology Software Tools, our 11 year-old company, has occupied both Walt and Sue this year. We have sixteen very good staff members that are working to provide new research tools for psychology. (Check the web, if you’re curious: http://www.pstnet.com) Walt has been coordinating the many aspects of developing and shepherding to market an entirely redesigned software package for psychology research that was previewed this fall at the Psychonomics Society meetings. Full release is planned for spring/summer, 1998. Sue has been working as the graphics designer on the project. We are hopeful that this will provide a common language for computerized psychology experimentation.

The Kulture Korner

Jean, now in eighth grade, has been developing her theatrical skills as both an actress and puppeteer. At school, she is developing as a character actress in the annual musicals. Last spring, she played the maid Liza in Peter Pan—which involved singing a charming duet with Peter as he taught her to “crow.” For this coming Spring, she was just cast as Mrs. Peterson, the guilt-inducing mother in Bye, Bye Birdie, with lines like: “Sonny, you don’t need to hire a limousine for my funeral—I’ll walk.”

At church, Jean has joined the puppeteer squad that produces several children’s messages and short plays throughout the year.

Both Jean and David honed their writing skills at a summer writing institute—even Sue participated in the parent writing workshops.

Writing and painting come together for Sue, as she has been creating one-of-a-kind “artist books.” To develop these long-held interests, she has been taking classes in both bookmaking and watercolor painting. She is also doing a series of paintings based on her African trip—watch for her gallery opening show “someday...”

Sports News: Basketball, Biking & Boating

We’ve added three new sports to our lives this year. David has joined up with the sixth grade basketball team at Falk School this year. This involves getting to school an hour early twice a week on the ”Daddy Bus”, plus after school hours for the games. Tall for his age, David plays defense quite well and is working on his shooting. Practice, practice!

Sue has her blue and gold pom-poms, and along with other moms, has formed an informal cheerleading squad. (“Oh, Mom, just don’t embarrass us too much.”)

One of Walt’s goals this year was to teach the kids to ride their bikes. This may seem like an easy task to our flat-lander friends, but not so in hilly Pittsburgh! The other piece of advice we can now, from experience, state emphatically is that it is far better to teach your kids to ride when they are smaller (not so hard to push a 5 year old as it is a 12 year old!). After several weeks of sessions (and a lot of huffing and puffing on Walt's part), spirits were low. David muttered “I don’t want to do this.” In the next half-hour, though, he “got it” and was crisscrossing the church parking lot feeling the air rush by exclaiming, “Woo-hoo! This is fun!” Jean got it the next day and we became a family of riders. Now, we have begun to enjoy the local Rails-to-Trails bike paths. Fall was especially beautiful on several outings we took, crunching leaves with our rolling tires and enjoying the crisp air and views along the river.

We also enjoyed the rivers around here from our new canoe—a Father’s Day gift to Walt. Although our first outing ended in short order when we capsized in a river more suited for white-water rafting than for canoeing. As David describes it, “We really lost our lunch,” literally—since it wasn’t tied into the canoe. Jean, in her lifejacket, floated off down the river, while the rest of us caught hold of the overturned canoe. Once we beached on a large rock in the center of the river, Walt swam out to rescue Jean who had managed to cling to a rock mid-stream. We eventually all made it to shore and portaged back to where we had left the car about a mile away. After that we confined our canoe trips to nice calm rivers.

The Schneider Times

Published almost annually. Correspondence may be directed to: Sue, Jean, Walt and/or David Schneider, 511 Bevington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Electronic updates, puzzler entries, etc: sues@mail.pstnet.com

Telephone: (412) 242-6751

The Puzzler

Send us the commonly known names for these Christmas carols. First correct entry wins! Enter by mail or e-mail (e-mail entries will receive a 3-day delay to make it fair to the snail-mailers). Address in box below.

1. Move forward the entire assembly of those who remain steadfast

2. Ecstasy toward the terrestrial sphere

3. Hush the celestial messengers produce harmonious sounds

4. O tatterdemalion ebony atmosphere

5. It commenced at the onset of transparent day

6. Lordy, cool it you Kooky Cats

7. Nocturnal timespan lacking all auditory stimulation

8. Embellish the interior passageways

9. O miniscule urban area south of Jerusalem

10. O coniferous botanical specimen

Building Partnership: Brick by Brick

“Blocks for Blantyre” is the fundraising campaign of the Pittsburgh Presbytery to support churches in Malawi, Africa. In 1995, just before I (Sue) left to come home from Malawi, the thought occurred to me that wouldn’t it be great at “education” events back in Pittsburgh to have a real, tangible “block.” So, contrary to any good common sense, I packed up a hand-made Malawian brick into my returning suitcase, which was already loaded beyond capacity. When Walt met me at the airport and lifted the bag, he questioned, “What have you got in this thing, bricks?” To which I had to sheepishly reply, “Well, yes.” So for the past two years, this brick has gone with my display items when I have gone out to talk to folks. Otherwise it sat on my desk—making a rather unique bookend, even though it had broken in two pieces on the trip home.

Our church is building a new addition. “Wouldn’t it be great to incorporate that Malawian brick into our new building?”---Now it is done!

The brick, surrounded by a mortar frame to help it fit and stand out, is right near the new entrance to the sanctuary, where it will be seen prominently by all entering through the main doors. A brass plaque will be added, describing the brick’s significance. I really didn’t know why God had me bring that brick back—I thought it was my own idea—but now I know He can see much farther ahead than we can. It’s a thrill to see such tangible evidence of our church’s partnership with Malawi.

Sue continues to be involved with the Partnership as editor of their newsletter. We are looking forward to hosting visitors from our partner church this spring.

Sue also serves on the Board of Directors for KingdomCome, Inc., an all-volunteer organization that sells fair-traded imported crafts from third-world artisans, including Malawi. In its first year of operation, with nearly $20,000 in sales, we have supported 16-17 families for a year.

Family News

Walt’s mother, known to almost everyone as Oma, continues to do well, nearly two years after being diagnosed with cancer. She is in good spirits and living independently in her own home next door to us. We pray that her life will continue to be good and comfortable.

Sue’s “baby” sister, Kay, got married to her best friend Charles. Her daughter Kim made her a grandmother with the arrival of Jade Erin Ross in May. Sue’s brother Jim, not to be left out, got a new hunting buddy in the form of a second grandson, Ryan Matthew Dylan Willis in November. We are delighted to welcome these new people to our growing family.