Saturday, March 31, 2007

W.W.G.W.B.D?

And another - read it all & laugh out loud - from Wellington Grey:

What Would George W Bush Do?

Metaphor

Email story I received recently from a friend serving in Iraq:

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hanging on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived each day only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream... "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"

"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Of course, like many forwarded emails, this story came with a cheesy spell-it-out-in-case-you’re-stupid final paragraph, which I have deleted. All I can say is:

Perspective!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

On Americans

More fun stuff from WellingtonGrey.net!

Of Angels, Monkeys, and Fat Men...

DNA Ancestry Project

When my daughter first suggested that she get her DNA tested to find out her real ancestry, I expected it to cost thousands of dollars. DNA testing just doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would be cheap!

It turns out the DNA Ancestry Project, run by Genebase, will send you a test kit to do either maternal or paternal lineage for only $118! So of course we ordered two. What's even better is that the test is a simple mouth swab - no needles, no blood. Just rub a little swab on the inside of your cheek for 15 seconds, send it off, and log in online to get results.

Check it out at Genebase


One bummer is that paternal lineage can only be tested on men - women don't have the Y chromosome needed - but my brother can test & his results will apply to me as well.

In addition to getting our own info, the website has a ton of cool info about migration patterns of early peoples and how we fit into the big picture of the global population! I've known since I was a kid that my ancestry is Swedish & English on dad's side, and mostly German with a little Welsh on my mom's - but I think it'll be interesting to see what else might be in the mix! And my daughter knows she's Somali, but nothing beyond that! Is there any Italian in there? Ethiopian? Who knows?


Glad I Studied!

A chicken-and-egg question:
Does one's GRE score lead to success or failure in life, or does one's life lead to success or failure on the test?

According to researchers at the U of M, an extensive study has shown that entrance exams are, in fact, the best predictor of future success - even better than prior student success.

Check it out on the U of MN website

According to the study, test scores are actually a better predictor of grad-school success than any other measure, including undergraduate performance. This is apparently true from law school to med school to PhD programs like mine. The U article doesn't speculate as to WHY this is true (and the full Science magazine article is only available online to subscribers) but I think it's interesting to ponder...

My GRE score was a mixed bag - very high verbal & writing, stinky math. (Ironically, just like my daughter's SAT!) So what does that tell you? I'll do well in life when I need to talk, but not when I need to calculate? Hmm...

I do suspect that there is something about being a good problem solver on tests that relates to being a good problem solver in life - and which would then lead to success in general. Beyond that...?

Other ideas?

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Yet Another Definition of Gen X

From a book called "Retiring the Generation Gap" by Jennifer J Deal:

Silent Generation: born 1925-1945
Early Boomers: b 1946-1954
Late Boomers: b 1955-1963
Early Xers: b 1964-1976
Late Xers: b 1977-1986

My friend Mitch will be happy because he likes to think that he's not a Boomer even though most definitions put '64 in the Boomer range. ;)

This is the first time I've seen Boomers & Xers broken into separate "early" and "late" groups - not sure yet what differences there are between those groups - have to read the book!

Well Done, Maturi!

So the Gopher AD that we weren't so impressed with 6 months ago has redeemed himself, and then some! (No wonder he looks the most excited in the picture!)

First, the hiring of Tim Brewster as football coach to replace Glen Mason - a guy the staff will actually be able to stand working with - and now landing legend Tubby Smith from Kentucky to replace Dan Monson as basketball coach! Gopher fans have not had a great year this year (yes, the wresting team came out champions, but even hockey is not the gorilla is once was) so this is all very welcome news.


"Bong Hits 4 Jesus" - and Chris Stwart

I was amused to find myself on the side of Judge Samuel Alito in a case that is currently being heard by the supreme court. Wouldn't have expected that!

Check out the case: Bong HIts 4 Jesus

Apparently, back in '02 when the Olympic torch was coming through Juneau Alaska, kids were let out of school to watch. A kid held up a giant banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus", the principal grabbed it & suspended him, he sued, and the case has made its way through the courts over the years right up to the supremes.

Free speech vs. anti-drugs... what's a principal to do???

I laughed at Ruth Bader Ginsburg's comment that "It isn't clear that this is 'Smoke Pot.' " Really? What else does "bong hit" refer to in English?


But Alito, of all people, made a good point: "I find that a very, very disturbing argument because schools have and they can define their educational mission so broadly that they can suppress all sorts of political speech and speech expressing fundamental values of the students, under the banner of getting rid of speech that's inconsistent with educational missions."

Bottom line: it was settled by the Supreme Court in '69 that "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Political speech - pro-drug or otherwise - doesn't have to be allowed to disrupt learning, but if the kid is standing outside he's hardly disrupting classes, so it seems to me that taking the banner away is probably enough. Maybe assign him a detention or something, but a 10-day suspension? Good greif.

In an ironically related StarTribune article, new school board member Chris Stewart is promoting law-and-order in the schools, and he has my FULL support. I've watched the Mpls schools put up with WAY more disruptive behavior with consequences no where near a 10-day suspension, and I'm pretty tired of it.

And he had a great quote, when asked about the "disproportionate suspension of black male students". His response - and Stewart is black - was to assert that "the number of kids we suspend is proportionate to the kids who are committing suspendable offenses." Actually, there are a lot more offenses than suspensions, but his point is well taken! He calls for an "intracultural conversation in the African-American community" because, in addition to teaching their kids how to sit down & attempt to learn, families also need to consider that: "Schools don't make teens have babies, or stop black children from having books in their homes."
(duh)

Thank you, Chris Stewart. It's about time someone stepped up to that issue in this town.


Monday, March 19, 2007

Question of the Day

from “I’m Not a Feminist, But…”:

If women get raped because they ask for it, why don’t they get equal pay, equal opportunities, and other things they ask for?

Philanthropy for Newspapers?

I haven’t been able to articulate why I’m not comfortable with the idea of real newspapers giving over to online news, but Fast Company makes the point that a very real problem in front of us is the online companies inability to fund serious investigative journalism – so we should beware the demise of “old media” before “new media” is ready & able to take over!

Fast Company proposes a solution: treat newspapers the way we treat other organizations that serve a public good: form a foundation to solicit donations to support it. Like the Met Opera in NY, the NYTimes could be supported the same way.

Interesting idea!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Gretzky on Hockey... and Life

“I go where the puck is going to be, not where it is.”
- Wayne Gretzky

Good advice in so many arenas.

Post from St Paul

(written Friday, posted Sunday - no internet access at the convention)

I am sitting in a huge hall at RiverCenter listening to candidate speeches at the state teachers union convention. Every officer position is up this year, with no incumbents running. Interesting year!

Speeches are short and are usually the most interesting part of the agenda, but I am still compelled to multi-task. I have a folder of student essays to score, a paper to finish for a grad class, and of course this post to write.

There are several candidates for state union leadership positions who are clearly Gen X. Of course, the older I get, the more logical that gets, but it’s still nice to see. :) Tom Dooher, the candidate we’re supporting for President, is Gen X. Mary Cathryn Ricker, the Gen X St Paul teachers union president I wrote about a couple months ago, gave a very polished speech. (You wouldn’t guess she’s younger than me!) Anne Lewerenz, from Minneapolis, is another dynamic Gen X leader running for Governing Board. There are well over 500 delegates here, so it’s a kick to see our generation – supposedly so disinclined toward institutional involvement - leading such a large group!

Speeches continue…
Worst line of the night: “I love issues.” (Good grief. As I tell my students: think first, then speak.)

Best line: “Don’t cry because it’s over… smile because it happened.”

Saturday, March 10, 2007

3 down, 6 to go...

Waiting to see if your kid gets accepted to the college of her choice may not be an activity many Gen-X parents are engaged in this month, but I am!

My lovely daughter has been accepted to three of the nine colleges to which she applied - with three weeks left of waiting to hear from the other six! A big THANK YOU from mom to the schools that let her know before April 1 that they want her - it takes some of the pressure off...

I was happy to hear her tell a friend today that, given the choices in front of her so far - American, Whittier and Rollins - she would probably end up in DC. Yay! I am not excited about her going off to a city in which I know no one - it's hard enough not to be there myself! But if she lands in DC, she'll be in a place where I have friends & family - a nice security net. Still waiting to hear from Georgetown and GW, but American is a good start.

Of course she has NO interest in mom's alma matter - the U of MN - and she only applied to one school in Minnesota, so very slim chance that she ends up here. Hence my concern for where she DOES land. (So far, so good... just pray for patience for us as we wait for news. :)

Are Gen-X parents - with their long-held distruct of anything institutional - be pushing their kids to college the way our parents pushed us? I hope so! College attendance is at its highest rate ever in America - despite ridiculously rising tuition. Thankfully, more and more schools are following Harvard's lead with "need-blind" acceptance, meaning they will accept kids based on merit, and then provide whatever financial aide the kid needs.

I'm not sure I'm in total agreement with Bill Clinton's notion that ALL American kids should go to college, but to my mind, access is everything. That my kid CAN is what matters in the end.

Ellison Abroad, Rice Ascending


I was glad to read the other day that the State Department is working with Rep Keith Ellison to promote globally the fact that we now have a Muslim Congressman. Although Ellison's communications director apparently warned them that the Congressman & the Administration "don't agree on much," the State Department folks (Rice?) seem to have the sense to see beyond that.

Check out the article here

Heaven knows this administration has done so much to destroy America's image abroad, that if this is the best they can do for bridge-building, than I'm all for it.

In another, possibly related story, John Heilemann of New York mag puts forth the possibility that Condoleeza Rice is taking over from a deflated Dick Cheney as the pilot on US foreign policy - at least for the moment. He notes: "With the Middle East poised on a razor’s edge, it’s sobering to realize that the difference between bedlam and stability—between a shooting war with Iran and a diplomatic solution—may be determined by office politics. But, I suppose, it was ever thus." Although he notes that Cheney is far from down & out, Rice does seem to have the upper hand right now, at least on Iran. With any luck, that means diplomacy may yet win the day.

At least she doesn't buy Netanyahu's analogy of Iran to Germany in '38...




Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Wish I Was This Articulate

Here's another writer more articulate than I am on the subject of the achievement gap and issues with the schools... this time, my colleague & friend John Cook, writing in the StarTribune today:

His major point: "
We have to admit that the achievement gap is not just an educational problem. Rather, it is a byproduct of America's socio-economic, cultural, family and racial crises."

He goes on to illustrate:

"If all kids could attend the school of their choice, there'd still be an achievement gap; pulling some students out of low-performing schools and placing them into so-called "good schools" never addresses the core reasons so many African-American students struggle in the first place. If all schools had unlimited financial resources, there'd still be an achievement gap due to America's unresolved issues of race and class. These factors contribute to poor academic performance, crime, generational poverty and societal prejudice that, in turn, perpetuate the achievement gap.

If all educators had access to world-class staff development and taught the most effective curricula, there'd still be an achievement gap; the breakdown of the black family has reaped economic, social and academic consequences that impede academic progress. If every black child began first grade prepared to learn, there'd still be an achievement gap because not all educators believe black students are capable of learning on par with their white counterparts. Surely, low societal and academic expectations harm student learning."

Thank you! This doesn't let us off the hook - it's still true that the government has ways of holding schools accountable, but not of holding families accountable - but it puts it all in perspective. Yes, we need to have the best curriculum & instruction, the best teachers, and we need to believe in each one of our kids.

Spring Lake Park's school district has a motto: "High Standards for All. High Achievement for All. No excuses." I think that's critical - pointing the finger at the societal and cultural factors that hold our kids back is NOT going to help us progress. But engaging with those factors WILL help us progress, and that's what I call on Dan Samuels and our other critics to do.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Thank You, David Brooks!

Finally, someone articulate explains the “schools can’t do it all” issue that I’ve been struggling with for the last couple of months – David Brooks’ column “A Critique of Pure Reason in Education” published in the NY Times 3/1 and the Strib today. (Unfortunately you have to be a NYT subscriber to read it online – or go buy today’s Strib.)

I’ve been frustrated with Don Samuels & a hundred other people blaming the schools for the poor achievement of kids who come to us with enormous deficits. At some point, the finger has to be pointed at the forces creating the deficits – which makes everyone squeamish because of the implication of bad parenting. Brooks takes a constructive tack and simply proposes that government must rethink its role and invest not just in better early-ed, but in more programs like Circle of Security and Nurse-Family Partnership which help new mothers do the things we know kids need from birth on.

Brooks notes that Martha Farah’s research at Penn has been pretty clear about come of the deficits that poverty brings:
* Students who do not feel emotionally safe tend not to develop good memories (good for
coping, bad for school)

* Students from less stimulation environments have much smaller vocabularies and worse language skills

Conversely, children from attentive, attuned parenting relationships do better in school an beyond. While this may be no surprise to anyone in education, it focuses our attention on the need to intervene before such problems take root.

And there are ways to do that, if we are willing to put the child’s right to good mental health before the family’s right to privacy. Hmm

I suppose conservatives would say that what goes on in the household is none of government’s business, and in a way, they would be right.

But if we are committed to the education of all Americans – and, supposedly, we are – than we need to extend that commitment to acknowledge, as Brooks puts it:

“…Education is a cumulative process that begins at the dawn of life and builds early in life as children learn how to learn…”
and
“…we have to get over the definition of education as something that takes place in schools between the hours of 8 and 3, between the months of September and June, and between the ages of 5 and 18.”

Brooks challenges the current crop of presidential candidates to embrace the need to go beyond fixing schools to fixing the "powerful social trends" that put kids at a disadvantage.

Thank you!!!

Friday, March 02, 2007

Dissertation Blues

I didn't go back to grad school for the research... and now I'm at the point at which I have to DECIDE on a dissertation topic - which is harder (at least for me) than it sounds! There are lots of things I could pursue with interest, but nothing that has me jazzed yet. I've been waiting for the lightening bolt to strike and so far, no luck!

Possibilities:
* Alternative schools - Case study of alternative school movement (to/from reg schools)
* Resilience – as nurtured by specific high school programs or features – interview Wallin scholars for info on what worked for them
* Charter Schools in MN – what’s working?
* Demographic issues w/ student loss from MPS district – what are families’ experiences w/ system ?
* Participatory/distributed leadership – what does it mean? What do principals think about it? Management theory says "do it" – how do principals interpret that? What does site-based management and/or shared decision-making look like in MPS? St Paul?
* Role of culture - dissonance between school culture, home culture, neighborhood culture - extent to which the school can be a different culture & still be successful - extent to which home & neighborhood cultures have been tapped for instructional strategies - impact on the achievement gap
* Drop-out prevention/alternatives to social promotion & retention
* Principal Evaluation – What’s being done? What do people think about it?
* Teacher evaluation – what would people like? What is principal’s role?


My advisor has challenged me to have not just a topic but a research question nailed by June - much to consider!