Metacognition

I'm from a long line of tribes, scribes and oracles

Who baptize human minds when the horrors grow

We keep records of what the righteous ought to know

And put our prophecies in songs, so they're portable

                        --Doctabarz, "Ink-N-Bone" 

In my lifetime, I have witnessed Excellence diminished by Suffering, much more often than I have witnessed Suffering diminished by Excellence. Many of my loved ones, each uniquely beautiful and full of potential, have perished prematurely and unnecessarily...

...from bullets, cancer, diabetes---all preventable

but harder in a system that's sinful and reprehensible.

                        --Doctabarz, "The Elders, Ch. 2" 

So, I make music to inspire people towards Excellence in practices that help to diminish Suffering—to maximize our individual, community and environmental wellbeing. Many of the most revered spiritual volumes were the works of inspired poets, and included not only moral lessons, but information on diet and health, psycho-social wellbeing, romance, biological and physical sciences and related methods, economics, technology, and other useful topics. That’s what you’ll find here—a dynamic musical and scientific resource that draws upon my 30+ years as a lyricist and musician, 20+ years as an educator, 20+ years as a religion scholar, 10+ years as a scientist/researcher, and a lifetime of learning to thrive in the face of poverty, violence, and systemic oppression. 

Credentials: I have a Ph.D. in Education and a Ph.D. Minor in Linguistics from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Religion from University of Southern California. I am an inaugural Peace Studio Fellow (2022), and the former Assistant Professor of Multilingual and Multicultural Education at University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. As a Lyricist and Learning Scientist, I explore and leverage the ways lyricism (i.e., the composition and performance of song lyrics) is connected to humans' cognitive function and learning, and the maintenance of our social and environmental bonds. My musical works are informed by a neurocognitive perspective, a teaching and learning perspective, and from the perspective of a performer engaged in the work of Moving Crowds both physically and politically.