Short Takes

January 18, 2019 | Jim Townsend

UHCL to host Skywarn training for weather spotters

University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Office of Emergency Management is hosting a Skywarn weather spotter training class conducted by the National Weather Service on Feb 6. The free training is 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the UH-Clear Lake Police Department, 700 Bayou Rd., Houston.

Skywarn is a National Weather Service program developed in the 1960s that consists of trained weather spotters who provide reports of severe and hazardous weather to help meteorologists make life-saving warning decisions. Spotters are concerned citizens, amateur radio operators, truck drivers, mariners, airplane pilots, emergency management personnel, and public safety officials who volunteer their time and energy to report on hazardous weather impacting their community.

Space is limited and registration is required. To save your spot, email Al Black, director of emergency management at blacka@uhcl.edu. 

Winter series begins for Friday Morning continuing education

University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Friday Morning Continuing Education winter series begins Jan. 25 with two lectures to choose from. 

At 9 a.m., learn about Sir Mick Jagger, front man for the venerable rock group, the Rolling Stones. This session will consider how this enduring cultural icon continues to embody competing tendencies – decadent and disciplined, provocative and provincial, sinner and saint – in ways that raise questions about the fragmented nature of Western culture. Presented by Samuel Gladden, professor of literature and associate dean of the College of Human Sciences and Humanities.

At 11 a.m., learn about historic and present-day Cyprus. This course offers a window into how the island’s litany of conquerors (Knights Templar, Lusignans, Genovese, Venetian, Ottoman, British) left their traces in the current-day democratic republic. Presented by Joanna Eleftheriou, assistant professor of literature.

This ongoing lecture series highlights unique topics in art, culture, social issues and more led by field experts. Costs include $44 for your first lecture (membership included) and each additional course is $18. Your membership includes class materials, borrowing privileges at the Alfred R. Neumann Library and discounts at the UHCL Bookstore. Register online and learn more at www.uhcl.edu/academics/extended/friday-morning-ce. 

Autism Speaker Series: classroom management strategies

The Autism Speaker Series continues Saturday, Jan. 26 when presenter Marisa Goodwin will introduce teachers and paraprofessionals to research-based classroom management strategies.

Goodwin, a third-year graduate student in behavior analysis, will discuss general tips and techniques, such as creating clear rules, using effective seating arrangements, and providing rewards. She will then move on to classroom-wide interventions, including “tootling” – an intervention used to increase peer prosocial behaviors – as well as other reinforcement techniques.

The lecture is 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Garden Room of the Bayou Building, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston.  Lectures are open to the public, although advance registration is required. To learn more and register, visit www.uhcl.edu/autism-center. 

‘Peacocks and Porches’ at Bayou Theater

Rebecca Walker came to understand the concepts of grace and hospitality in Southern culture as a child growing up on her grandparents’ porches in Texas and Louisiana. In her solo show, “Peacocks and Porches,” Walker presents a show that is part memoir, part poetry, and part Southern fiction on Thursday, Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m., at University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston.

Inspired by her childhood and the works of novelist Flannery O’Connor, the show aims to inspire others about how to extend grace.