Our Blog and Radio Show features the remarkable accomplishments of President Warren Harding. The article of the month “Do You Sing the Me Me Blues? ” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM. Included are two articles on how studying a musical instrument improves learning and academic performance and how listening to classical music improves health. Remember to start your day right by listening to classical and Baroque music. No one is immune from the power of music.
Dr. Madeline Frank’s Musical One Minute Radio Show for December 2014: How did Classical Music play a part of President Warren Harding’s life and what musical instruments did he play?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-radio-show-2014/
Our blog features President Warren Harding, journalist, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, senator, businessman, husband, and musician who believed in helping others.
Warren Gamaliel Harding was born on November 2, 1865, in Blooming Grove, Ohio to George Tryon Harding, Sr., a teacher and farmer and Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson Harding, a midwife and “devout Methodist”. Warren was the oldest of 8 children. At a young age he began studying the cornet and became an expert musician and student.
Warren’s parent’s valued education and overtime George and Phoebe Harding earned their medical degrees. They were devoted to helping others.
George Harding moved his family to Caledonia, Ohio where he bought a local newspaper called “The Argus”. At the age of ten, Warren began learning the business of journalism.
At Ohio Central College in Iberia, Ohio, Warren studied the newspaper and printing trade while working in Mount Gilead, Ohio for the “Union Register”. He also became a gifted speaker. At 17, in 1882, he graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree. Afterwards he worked as an insurance broker and taught school.
Warren also played in several bands on his cornet and in 1884 his band the “Citizens’ Cornet Band” competed in the Ohio State Band Festival winning the prize of $200 for third place. The prize money paid for the fashionable band uniforms Warren purchased “on credit”.
He purchased for $300, with several partners, the failed newspaper the Marion Daily Star. By1886, Warren had paid back his partners and was the sol owner of the paper. By 1889, he built his paper, the Marion Daily Star, into “one of the most popular newspapers in the country”. He was known for his journalistic ability, his business acumen, and for his desire to help others live a better life. If he saw an organization over charging for a service he would right the wrong in his newspaper by writing about.
Warren Harding married Florence Kling DeWolfe, 5 years his senior, on July 8, 1891. He was a consummate publisher and gifted speaker. He was elected in 1899 to the Ohio State Senate. Later he was Lieutenant Governor of Ohio from 1904-1906.
In 1907 Warren Harding reorganized “his newspaper business into the Harding Publishing Co… issued stock in the company, took two-thirds for himself and allowed his employees to purchase the rest; this was the first profit-sharing arrangement of its kind in Ohio.” Warren Harding cared about his employees and wanted them to have a vested interest in their future.
During the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1912, Warren Harding was chosen by incumbent President William Howard Taft to give a speech nominating Taft. When President Harding later becomes president, he nominated former President Taft to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Taft’s nomination was “confirmed by the Senate”.
Warren Harding was the first U.S. Senator in 1914 to be “elected by popular vote”. He served March 4, 1915 through January 13, 1921 “until his inauguration as President in 1921, making him the first sitting senator to be elected President of the United States.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding
To celebrate his nomination at the Democratic Convention Warren Harding played his tuba. President Harding came to the Whitehouse a strong and fit President. He was the 29th President of the United States and “organized the Citizen’s Cornet Band, available for both Republican and Democratic rallies.”
President Harding said, “I played every instrument but the slide trombone and the E-flat cornet.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/warrenharding
President Harding gave his “best” speech to “joint sessions of Congress” on April 12, 1921. He “urged Congress to create a Bureau of the Budget, cut expenditures, and revise federal tax laws.” These were matters “he deemed of national and urgent importance.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding
For President Harding’s cabinet, he chose the very “ best minds” which included Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, and Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes.
President Harding’s Greatest Achievements during his 2 years in office:
– Signed into law “the First Federal Child Welfare Program” called the “Sheppard-Towner Act” which provided funds for maternity and infancy education through public health nurses. (Nov. 23, 1921)
“80% of all expectant mothers did not receive any advice or trained care. The Bureau also investigated high rates of infant and maternal mortality rates. After examining 23,000 infants, they concluded that the U.S. infant mortality rate was 111.2 deaths per 1000 live births.”
– Enduring legacy: Signed into law the “Budget and Accounting Act of 1921”. (“Bureau of the Budget”)
“The law created the presidential budget director, who was directly responsible to the President rather than to the Secretary of Treasury. The law also stipulated that the President must submit a budget annually to the U.S. Congress. All presidents since have had to submit an annual budget to Congress.” (Accountability in “federal budget expenses.”)
“President Harding appointed for his first director of the Bureau of the Budget” Charles Dawes, an expert financier, who “reduced government spending by $1.5 billion his first year as director, a 25% reduction, along with another 25% reduction the following year.” In two years, the Government budget was cut almost in half.
Because of President Harding’s policies, “Federal spending declined from $6.3 billion in 1920 to $5 billion in 1921 and $3.3 billion in 1922. Tax rates, meanwhile, were slashed—for every income group. And over the course of the 1920s, the national debt was reduced by one third.”
-“Harding believed the federal government should be fiscally managed in a way similar to private sector businesses.” His campaigned slogan was, “Less government in business and more business in government.” He kept his word!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding
-President Harding and foreign affairs: He negotiated peace treaties with Austria and Germany rejecting the League of Nations.
– Greatest achievement in foreign policy: At the Washington Naval Conference, 1921-1922, “a naval limitations program” was agreed on by the “the world’s major naval powers” that lasted for 10 years.
-He endorsed and recognized “his fiscal responsibility” to “African- American civil rights”.
– Supported an 8 hour work day for striking railroad and mining workers.
-President Harding realized the importance of oil for national security and prosperity, signing an executive order giving the U.S. a huge oil reserve in Alaska. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding
-President Harding as a journalist understood the value of getting along with the media and was the first President to order his cabinet to select their press staff. He was the first to take written questions from the press.
-President Harding was the “first president to be heard on radio.” He realized the growing importance of radio and that government should control the industry. He held two Radio Conferences for this purpose.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/harding-becomes-first-president-to-be-heard-on-the-radio
http://www.answers.com/Q/What_did_Warren_G._Harding_believe_in
President Warren Harding’s two years in office established new laws and policies that U.S. citizens are still enjoying today. He was passionate about serving his country and came to the White House strong and healthy and the pressure of his Presidency caused congestive heart failure. President Harding died on August 2, 1923 in San Francisco, California. He was a lifelong musician dedicated to helping others to the very end of his life.
“Do You Sing the Me Me Blues?” By Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM
The world does not revolve around you! Have you ever had a conversation with another person and you could not get in a word as they were only interested in talking about themselves? Did you ever hear a speech that was supposed to be helping the audience learn to do something better and the speaker was stuck on talking about their problems?
Do you remember who Scrooge was?
Scrooge forgot about everyone else too! Charles Dickens wrote his classic story “A Christmas Carol” in 1843. Dickens describes Ebenezer Scrooge as “The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and he spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice.” The “Ghosts of Christmas” visited Scrooge’s past, present, and future. Over the course of the story Scrooge sees what he has become and decides to change.
Today Scrooge represents a “miserly” person who does not care about others. He or she is self absorbed and selfish and is only concerned about him or her self. When this person decides to change and concentrated on helping others their life takes on one of hope and happiness!
How would you like to connect better with your family, friends, co-workers, and your schoolmates?
If you want to connect with others you have to listen to them, care about them, and be concerned about their welfare. Zig Zigler said it best; “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
Life is all about connecting with others. A lady in the British aristocracy had dinner one night with Prime Minister Gladstone and on another night with Prime Minister Disraeli.
She was asked what she thought of these two gentlemen.
She said, “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But when I sat next to Disraeli I left feeling that I was the cleverest woman.”
Prime Minister Disraeli was a good listener and was interested in knowing all about the person sitting beside him. He made everyone he came in contact with feel they were “the cleverest” and “most important person” in the room. Prime Minister Gladstone was only interested in himself.
Wouldn’t you like to connect with others just like Prime Minister Disraeli?
Dale Carnegie wrote “How to Win friends and Influence People”. He said, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” He also said, “Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.”
What are the 3 keys for removing the “Me, Me, Me” from your vocabulary to be like Prime Minister Disraeli and Dale Carnegie in connecting with others?
1) As Dale Carnegie said, “Smile. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.”
2) Prime Minister Disraeli made everyone he came in contact with feel they were “the cleverest” and most important person in the room by being interested in them.
3) Dale Carnegie said, “Give honest, sincere appreciation. Appreciation builds our image faster than any other practice… the success of every job demands cooperation and effort from others… people contribute to our success as much as we contribute to theirs.”
By following these three keys for connecting with others you too will become a happier, healthier person full of hope, and you will never be in a room singing only about yourself! © 2014
Contact Madeline Frank for your next speaking engagement at [email protected]
“Music Can Boost Learning And Academic Performance: Study” (Nov. 2, 2014) by Pallivi Srivastava from Gizmodo.in/india
The American Psychological Association presented new research at the 122nd Convention. Students from impoverished communities of Chicago and Los Angeles in the first and second grade in public schools participated in musical training.
Srivastava said, “The results were quite promising and emphasized the positive impact that music could have in bridging learning gaps among children by helping the academically weaker students (from impoverished communities) to improve their learning abilities and academic outcomes. Among the study’s interesting findings is the fact that musical training can make changes to a person’s brain and nervous system in such a way that it can result in enhancing learning abilities, and helping close academic gap between ‘quick’ and ‘slow’ learners. Regular music training and practice improves the manner in which a child’s nervous system processes sounds in a busy environment, for e.g., a classroom or a playground. An advanced neural function, in turn, has beneficial effects on memory and attention spans, which also contributes to greater focus and better communication skills.”
Also three public high schools in Chicago had their students take band /choir classes daily for two years. The results showed academic improvement in these students. For more on the study click on the following link:
“Holy Cross Musicians Help Soothe Souls at St. Vincent Psych Unit” (Nov. 11, 2014) by Sara Schweiger, Telegram & Gazette Staff .
Tiffany Holland, a junior majoring in pre-med at the College of Holy Cross plays music on her violin at St. Vincent Hospital “twice weekly for an hour” for the patients in the psychiatric unit. She takes turns playing with the nine other student members in her Holy Cross Therapy group. The college recognizes the group and Ms. Holland is the coordinator of the group and the band director at the College of Holy Cross, Nicholas McKenzie is the faculty adviser.
It all began when Ms. Holland wanted to continue playing her violin and helping others by playing music for them. She originally contacted Christine Case, volunteer coordinator at St. Vincent and learned the psychiatric department was considering having music played for their patients by student musicians.
Ms. Holland said, “I think music is so special. It can reach out to people in a way words cannot.” She began studying the violin in the 5th grade.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20141111/NEWS/311119981/1116
Dr. Madeline Frank’s book “Leadership on a Shoestring Budget” is now available through amazon.com. Click on the following Amazon.com link to order your copy of “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” is available as an e-book on Kindle or in book form.
Click on the following link: http://goo.gl/lrJTx
For scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children read “The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is now available in book form, and newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook:
- com(Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/the-secret-of-teaching-science-and-math-through-music/
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is now available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.
- com(Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
Tips on how to use “Musical Notes On Math” https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math/
Wishing you and your family a happy Chanukah and a merry Christmas from your Non-Invasive Medicine…Music Expert, Madeline
For over 25 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through music. Dr. Frank, a strings teacher, college professor, researcher, speaker and concert artist has found a scientific link between studying and/or listening to musical instruments and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2014 Madeline Frank.