Too much to be crabby about today - saw this & had to share. It's silly - but it made me smile when I needed it.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Just for a Smile
Too much to be crabby about today - saw this & had to share. It's silly - but it made me smile when I needed it.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Juno to Juneau
Creativity at its finest! Call it political satire or just making fun of hypocrisy when we see it - either way this is hilarious.[Not following politics this week? GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin's 17-yr old daughter is pregnant. Which we'd ignore if Palin wasn't adamantly anti-sex-ed and anti-abortion.]
I admit to a small amount of hypocrisy of my own here: in general, I believe we should leave the kids out of this election - it's not the girl's fault her mother is running for office. But this was just too spot-on not to share.
Amazing what photoshop (or whatever application was used) can do! (Look up Sarah Palin on Snopes.com to see a very funny fake picture of her in a flag-pattern bikini with a rifle.)
Again, hats off to folks who think of things I never would. Love it.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
My "Lady Brain" Is Just Amused
I was amused when I heard that John McCain had chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate - all I could think was: BIGGEST PANDER EVER!
Leave it to John Stewart & Samantha Bee to articulate better than I ever could why this choice is so dumb - Friday's Daily Show has a great "analysis" of the choice. The skit is funny but also right on.
Some women are offended by his choice, and some are energized - I just think it's funny. If Obama wins in a landslide, I will NOT be surprised. The one good thing this choice will probably accomplish for McCain is getting conservatives who couldn't bear to vote for either candidate to independents who will say "are you kidding me???" is much larger.
I also remember how badly Mondale lost in '84... everyone always credits his straight talk about raising taxes, but I think having Ferraro on the ticket was relevant too. As the Democratic primary season revealed (to my surprise) sexism is worse than racism in the country right now. There are plenty of folks who are simply not comfortable with a woman in charge.
But to his credit: McCain just made this race even more interesting! :)
Leave it to John Stewart & Samantha Bee to articulate better than I ever could why this choice is so dumb - Friday's Daily Show has a great "analysis" of the choice. The skit is funny but also right on.
Some women are offended by his choice, and some are energized - I just think it's funny. If Obama wins in a landslide, I will NOT be surprised. The one good thing this choice will probably accomplish for McCain is getting conservatives who couldn't bear to vote for either candidate to independents who will say "are you kidding me???" is much larger.
I also remember how badly Mondale lost in '84... everyone always credits his straight talk about raising taxes, but I think having Ferraro on the ticket was relevant too. As the Democratic primary season revealed (to my surprise) sexism is worse than racism in the country right now. There are plenty of folks who are simply not comfortable with a woman in charge.
But to his credit: McCain just made this race even more interesting! :)
Monday, August 18, 2008
Post after the Road Trip
I've become a slacker with regard to posting from the road - we had pretty regular computer access, but were too entertained to think of posting!I just returned from a 3-day cross-country road trip with my 19-year-old daughter. Apparently we have both matured a lot over the last year because we had a GREAT time! No car trouble (blessedly) and a couple fun stops with friends.
My trip actually took me from DC to Deep Creek, MD to Philly to Chicago (via suburban Cleveland) and then home. I picked up my kid in Philly so she was with me for most of it.
Deep Creek Lake in NW Maryland (see above photo) is one of the most beautiful places I have ever experienced. My cousin has a lake place there, so we spent an afternoon on the boat - a lovely day.
But the revelation of the trip was not in the scenery, amazing though it was. The exciting part was spending 24 hours in a car with my kid and enjoying ourselves. Beautiful.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Homeland Security's Latest: Brilliant!
In the "Gotta Love It" category...
The StarTribune reported yesterday that in response to their "admitted blunder" of hiring ex-MNDOT official Sonia Pitt, (after she was fired for mishandling the 35W bridge collapse,) the US Dept of Homeland Security is instituting a new policy:
"From now on, more job candidates will have their backgrounds searched on Google."
Oh yeah, that'll fix that problem!
The StarTribune reported yesterday that in response to their "admitted blunder" of hiring ex-MNDOT official Sonia Pitt, (after she was fired for mishandling the 35W bridge collapse,) the US Dept of Homeland Security is instituting a new policy:
"From now on, more job candidates will have their backgrounds searched on Google."
Oh yeah, that'll fix that problem!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Perspective from Here
The view from my front door:
It reminds me: "If I am not happy in this place, in this time... I'm not paying attention."
Life is good. :)
It reminds me: "If I am not happy in this place, in this time... I'm not paying attention."
Life is good. :)
Points for Creativity!
Nothing makes me feel old like seeing a really fun, creative idea executed by people 20 years younger than me! Whether or not you think this is silly, we have to give these kids points for creativity.
The New York Times reports a new movement of Barack Obama supporters who are "expressing solidarity with him" by adopting the middle name "Hussein" on Facebook pages and in daily life.
A cursory look at the results for a search of "Hussein" on Facebook today netted: Tonya Hussein Van Tol, John Hussein Hartman, Dustin Hussein Hamari, and Kyle Hussein Randall, all in the first 2 pages.
There are lots of ways to make a point, but at least this one is entertaining. I like it!
The New York Times reports a new movement of Barack Obama supporters who are "expressing solidarity with him" by adopting the middle name "Hussein" on Facebook pages and in daily life.
A cursory look at the results for a search of "Hussein" on Facebook today netted: Tonya Hussein Van Tol, John Hussein Hartman, Dustin Hussein Hamari, and Kyle Hussein Randall, all in the first 2 pages.
There are lots of ways to make a point, but at least this one is entertaining. I like it!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
I Hope I'm Wrong
I was genuinely surprised at the headline on today's Start Tribune - "Franco Guilty in Crash" - though I probably shouldn't be. I'm been making Minnesota red-state jokes for a couple years now, so I know that anti-immigrant negativity is alive & well here. But seeing that Olga Franco was found guilty in that bus crash was jarring: I still don't expect that from Minnesotans.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope there was compelling evidence that she did it, and somehow it just didn't make it into the newspaper. All I know about the case is what I've read in the StarTribune, so I realize that may leave much to be desired. But there is so much reasonable doubt in my mind that I can't help but wonder what role anti-immigrant sentiment - read racism - played in the verdict.
For the first time this year, I can envision McCain winning the presidency. I hope I'm wrong.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope there was compelling evidence that she did it, and somehow it just didn't make it into the newspaper. All I know about the case is what I've read in the StarTribune, so I realize that may leave much to be desired. But there is so much reasonable doubt in my mind that I can't help but wonder what role anti-immigrant sentiment - read racism - played in the verdict.
For the first time this year, I can envision McCain winning the presidency. I hope I'm wrong.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Events
Events in my personal life are actually more interesting than the rest of the world right now... my excuse for not writing for almost a month. Life is good - both joyful and heartbreaking, but never boring.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
It's a Small World pt. 2
I haven't done this in a while, but I started clicking the "next blog" link at the top of the page just to see what's out there. The first FIVE blogs to pop up were in other languages - and then the sixth was English, but about a family moving from Ottawa to Switzerland.
I don't even recognize all the languages I come across.
LOVE IT!
I don't even recognize all the languages I come across.
LOVE IT!
World View on Zimbabwe
A friend forwarded these political cartoons from around the world that she received from a friend of hers in South Africa. Small planet. Big issue.
No shock to find that folks in leadership in Zimbabwe are not interested in what we think about it! In a recent article on allAfrica.com that appears to be from a newspaper in Zimbabwe, a senior aid to Mugabe, Secretary for Information and Publicity Cde George Charamba, is quoted as saying the West can "go hang a thousand times" for criticising Zimbabwe's presidential election run-off.
Alrighty then.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friedman: Wake Up Call
This man is pretty much always right, as far as I can tell, and right now he's becoming a serious doomsday prophet!
In Thomas Friedman's latest NYTimes column, "Anxious in America", he makes the case that rebuilding Iraq will not be the big issue in the next election - it will be rebuilding America. He's been writing a lot recently about our pathetic oil dependence and need for alternative energy development, including a recent column "Mr. Bush: Lead or Leave" that really lays it out.
His latest column details many ways in which America is on the wrong track right now: low savings rates, high consumer debt, food prices soaring... and then one paragraph jumped out at me:
"My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working."
He gives lots of concrete, specific examples to back up his assertions, and concludes with:
In Thomas Friedman's latest NYTimes column, "Anxious in America", he makes the case that rebuilding Iraq will not be the big issue in the next election - it will be rebuilding America. He's been writing a lot recently about our pathetic oil dependence and need for alternative energy development, including a recent column "Mr. Bush: Lead or Leave" that really lays it out.
His latest column details many ways in which America is on the wrong track right now: low savings rates, high consumer debt, food prices soaring... and then one paragraph jumped out at me:
"My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working."
He gives lots of concrete, specific examples to back up his assertions, and concludes with:
"If the old saying — that “as General Motors goes, so goes America” — is true, then folks, we’re in a lot of trouble. General Motors’s stock-market value now stands at just $6.47 billion, compared with Toyota’s $162.6 billion. On top of it, G.M. shares sank to a 34-year low last week.
That’s us. We’re at a 34-year low. And digging out of this hole is what the next election has to be about and is going to be about — even if it is interrupted by a terrorist attack or an outbreak of war or peace in Iraq. We need nation-building at home, and we cannot wait another year to get started. Vote for the candidate who you think will do that best. Nothing else matters."
Scary, but quite possibly true. As prophets go, this is a man that I listen to.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Dance with Matt
This video is the ultimate in beautiful randomness - placing it squarely into my favorite category of things in life: "Who thinks of these things?!" Gotta give this guy some credit - 42 countries in 14 months. (Be sure to move the cursor off the picture after you hit play so you can see the bottom of the screen.) Enjoy!
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Memories
Reading The Sheila Variations usually leads to me finding something she wrote that I want to copy, and today is no exception! In "You Can't Take it With You" she lists favorite memories that she'd like to take with her when she dies.
Here are a few of mine. I would love to hear other people's too...
* Long weekend in Newport RI in '94 with my friend Rachael and a bunch of people we had never met & never saw again, but who adopted us because one was a friend of a friend and we were coming through town
* Playing yard games with the neighborhood kids on summer nights when we were young - something I didn't consciously appreciate until some girls from school who lived a few blocks away wandered down one night & commented on how cool it was that our block all hung out & played together
* Halloween parties my senior year ('85) dressed as the Robert Palmer back-up band with my 3 best friends
* Graduation day the first year I taught seniors ('05) at Patrick Henry HS - seeing the blessing in each one who made it to the finish line
* Visiting U Penn and Columbia last spring with my daughter who was trying to choose between them after being accepted to both - being so incredibly proud of her every day
* Watching my 3-year-old nephew climb on my dad's tombstone & knowing the God holds us all and life goes on...
Here are a few of mine. I would love to hear other people's too...
* Long weekend in Newport RI in '94 with my friend Rachael and a bunch of people we had never met & never saw again, but who adopted us because one was a friend of a friend and we were coming through town
* Playing yard games with the neighborhood kids on summer nights when we were young - something I didn't consciously appreciate until some girls from school who lived a few blocks away wandered down one night & commented on how cool it was that our block all hung out & played together
* Halloween parties my senior year ('85) dressed as the Robert Palmer back-up band with my 3 best friends
* Graduation day the first year I taught seniors ('05) at Patrick Henry HS - seeing the blessing in each one who made it to the finish line
* Visiting U Penn and Columbia last spring with my daughter who was trying to choose between them after being accepted to both - being so incredibly proud of her every day
* Watching my 3-year-old nephew climb on my dad's tombstone & knowing the God holds us all and life goes on...
Wombat Wisdom
I couldn't find the code to embed this here so you'll have to trust me and click on the link:
"All is One" Wombat
Just do it.
"All is One" Wombat
Just do it.
10 Reasons to Believe in a God Who Allows Suffering
10 Reasons to Believe in a God who Allows Suffering
from Mandilakhe Dabula
via Auntie Mo and Melissa Borgmann:
from Mandilakhe Dabula
via Auntie Mo and Melissa Borgmann:
1. Suffering comes with the freedom to choose.
2. Pain can warn us of danger.
3. Suffering reveals what is inside our hearts.
4. Suffering takes us to the edge of eternity.
5. Suffering loosens our grip on this world & life.
6. Suffering gives us opportunity to trust God.
7. In suffering, God suffers with us.
8. Suffering is lesser than God's comfort.
9. In times of suffering, we find one another.
10. God can turn suffering around for our own good.
From my own experience:
- It is true that pain serves a purpose in life! It warns us to pull hands away from hot stoves and hearts away from bad relationships.
- It is true that sometimes we hold negativity in our hearts, which causes suffering - but that suffering reveals what we need to let go of.
- It's true that pain helps us focus on what matters - not things of the earth, but trust in God.
- And it's absolutely true that God can use our suffering to make us stronger, healthier, and better able to do God's will on earth.
I do not know what suffering this South African young man has endured, or where he found these words, or why he sent them on. It doesn't matter. I am blessed to read and ponder them today.
From my own experience:
- It is true that pain serves a purpose in life! It warns us to pull hands away from hot stoves and hearts away from bad relationships.
- It is true that sometimes we hold negativity in our hearts, which causes suffering - but that suffering reveals what we need to let go of.
- It's true that pain helps us focus on what matters - not things of the earth, but trust in God.
- And it's absolutely true that God can use our suffering to make us stronger, healthier, and better able to do God's will on earth.
I do not know what suffering this South African young man has endured, or where he found these words, or why he sent them on. It doesn't matter. I am blessed to read and ponder them today.
The More Things Change...
Mitch Pearlstein has a hilarious little quiz in the Strib today: eleven quotes by presidential candidates about change. From Bush to Obama to Nixon to Kennedy, you can't tell them apart.
Examples:
2. "My fellow Americans, something new, something different has happened. It is the end of an era and the beginning of a new day."
8. "This nation is daring and decent and ready for change... My fellow citizens, we can begin again."
Same message? The first is from Hubert Humphrey in 1968 - the second is GW Bush in 2000.
The more things change...
Examples:
2. "My fellow Americans, something new, something different has happened. It is the end of an era and the beginning of a new day."
8. "This nation is daring and decent and ready for change... My fellow citizens, we can begin again."
Same message? The first is from Hubert Humphrey in 1968 - the second is GW Bush in 2000.
The more things change...
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Right Living
Wise words from Henri Nouwen:
Right Living and Right Speaking
All good. :)
Right Living and Right Speaking
To be a witness for God is to be a living sign of God's presence in the world. What we live is more important than what we say, because the right way of living always leads to the right way of speaking. When we forgive our neighbors from our hearts, our hearts will speak forgiving words. When we are grateful, we will speak grateful words, and when we are hopeful and joyful, we will speak hopeful and joyful words.
When our words come too soon and we are not yet living what we are saying, we easily give double messages. Giving double messages - one with our words and another with our actions - makes us hypocrites. May our lives give us the right words and may our words lead us to the right life.
All good. :)
Friday, June 20, 2008
Prayers Needed
With all the flooding in the Midwest right now, we are clearly doing a better job taking care of people this time than we did with Hurricane Katrina. I'm not sure why yet - I suspect it's a state issue (high-tax, high-service blue state) but who knows. The StarTribune article today reported one FEMA official saying there was much less need for temporary shelters because of people sheltering others in their homes: "It's evidence of that neighborly Midwestern grit out there." Interesting!
25,000 people left homeless in Cedar Rapids by the flooding...
Somewhere between 2 million & 5 million acres of crops destroyed...
20 levees breached already, with 30 more at risk...
The entire town of Winfield, MS was flooded out...
Prayers needed!
25,000 people left homeless in Cedar Rapids by the flooding...
Somewhere between 2 million & 5 million acres of crops destroyed...
20 levees breached already, with 30 more at risk...
The entire town of Winfield, MS was flooded out...
Prayers needed!
What's up with the Question Marks????
I don't think of myself as someone who is generally confused or unsure - more people would probably call me confident & opinionated - but as I was scanning back, I noticed three entries in a row with question marks in the title. What's up with that????
Am I carelessly being like those women who can't make a statement without raising the pitch of their voice at the end of the sentence for approval? I hope not!!!
Am I carelessly being like those women who can't make a statement without raising the pitch of their voice at the end of the sentence for approval? I hope not!!!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Classroom of the Future?!
How's this for cool? An economical use of resources - the Classroom of the Future brings a tech-advanced space to the school via flatbed truck. So a district might invest in one and share it among schools - or share with other districts.
It has:
* a stage and a small-cinema-sized screen for presentations and performances
* work space for 15 students to explore music and filmmaking
* adaptability for additional needs as technology improves!
Bravo, future thinkers!
"Nerd Girls" - a Step Forward?
It sounds stupid, but according to Newsweek, "Nerd Girls" is actually a group of female engineering students at Tufts University who are trying to break down the stereotypes and claim both science brains and femininity at the same time.
Apparently it's working - junior Christina Sanchez says being a computer whiz and a sexy girl is no big deal: "Just because I get dressed up Saturday night, that doesn't mean I won't do better [than a guy] on a test on Monday."
Amen, sister!
I was stunned, though, that the older woman in the article quoted saying "I hid my passion for all things scientific and focused on pursuits that were allowable" is only 38! Younger than me! When did Gen X become the prior generation???
Still, gotta give credit to the young ones coming up - if they do it better than we did, that's as it should be! :)
Apparently it's working - junior Christina Sanchez says being a computer whiz and a sexy girl is no big deal: "Just because I get dressed up Saturday night, that doesn't mean I won't do better [than a guy] on a test on Monday."
Amen, sister!
I was stunned, though, that the older woman in the article quoted saying "I hid my passion for all things scientific and focused on pursuits that were allowable" is only 38! Younger than me! When did Gen X become the prior generation???
Still, gotta give credit to the young ones coming up - if they do it better than we did, that's as it should be! :)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Race No Longer a Political Tool?
Paul Krugman has written a great column, "It's a Different Country," about the use of race as a tool of political division. He makes the case that without it, much of the right-wing agenda makes no sense.
Example: fear of "Big Government" which of course was a Reagan staple & has been used to divide and conquer ever since. The reality: Americans support the biggest domestic programs: Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Reagan used to imply that the problem with big government was money wasted on "them" - welfare queens, etc. But Clinton's reform of the welfare system blunts that argument significantly.
Krugman's basic argument is that if Obama wins in November, it won't "transform America" so much as it will show that American has already been transformed.
Given the recent racism I've seen from Fox media surrounding the Obama campaign I'm not so sure... but we'll see!
Example: fear of "Big Government" which of course was a Reagan staple & has been used to divide and conquer ever since. The reality: Americans support the biggest domestic programs: Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Reagan used to imply that the problem with big government was money wasted on "them" - welfare queens, etc. But Clinton's reform of the welfare system blunts that argument significantly.
Krugman's basic argument is that if Obama wins in November, it won't "transform America" so much as it will show that American has already been transformed.
Given the recent racism I've seen from Fox media surrounding the Obama campaign I'm not so sure... but we'll see!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
"I'm Voting Republican..."
OK, this is certainly superficial - and maybe even mean - but it's also worth seeing and thinking about...!
It's Come to This...
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but apparently since they can't attack his platform or positions, folks are just attacking Obama with lies. The campaign has created an official "Fight the Smears" page on its website to debunk the lies as they circulate.
I'm sad that it's even needed, but at least modern technology allows the truth to catch up! (What's the old phrase: "A lie makes it half way around the world while the truth is lacing up its shoes?!")
Check it out!
I'm sad that it's even needed, but at least modern technology allows the truth to catch up! (What's the old phrase: "A lie makes it half way around the world while the truth is lacing up its shoes?!")
Check it out!
She's Many Things, but "Baby Mama" Is Not One of Them
Wow. I knew that the race would get ugly, but so quickly?!
Apparently, Fox News referred to Michelle Obama as " Obama's Baby Mama" - seriously. I got this from an Andy Ostroy post on Huffpost which, while opinionated, has always been accurate as far as I've seen.
Holy $%^&#!
America, we're about to get to know ourselves really well in the next 5 months...
Apparently, Fox News referred to Michelle Obama as " Obama's Baby Mama" - seriously. I got this from an Andy Ostroy post on Huffpost which, while opinionated, has always been accurate as far as I've seen.
Holy $%^&#!
America, we're about to get to know ourselves really well in the next 5 months...
18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling
"18 million cracks in the glass ceiling..." a great metaphor for 18 million voters who were intentional about electing a woman to be Commander in Chief! I am sorry to see Hillary's campaign end, but I am proud of her, and of America.
We've come a long way, baby.
We've come a long way, baby.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
And on That Subject...
Ironic - I finished the post on Antoine's memorial, picked up my notes to see what I'd been thinking about writing next, and found it was MN graduation rates.
According to stats from 2004-06, black students in MN are currently graduating at a rate of 62%. Antoine did graduate, as did all the boys I knew who were at his memorial today.
What did that get him? Or the rest of them? Two had gone on to college, but neither is going back. The rest - not so much.
Overall, MN is down to an 85% graduation rate, though 91% of the state's current workforce has graduated from high school. Why the drop? Why are kids opting not to finish? What does the diploma offer them that they can't get without it? What does it guarantee?
I'm getting like Melissa - all questions, no answers!
According to stats from 2004-06, black students in MN are currently graduating at a rate of 62%. Antoine did graduate, as did all the boys I knew who were at his memorial today.
What did that get him? Or the rest of them? Two had gone on to college, but neither is going back. The rest - not so much.
Overall, MN is down to an 85% graduation rate, though 91% of the state's current workforce has graduated from high school. Why the drop? Why are kids opting not to finish? What does the diploma offer them that they can't get without it? What does it guarantee?
I'm getting like Melissa - all questions, no answers!
Gun Violence in My Life
I attended a memorial today for Antoine, a former student who was killed this spring. In spite of the tragedy, I was glad to have the chance to see many former students - most graduates '06 or '07 - who I might otherwise have lost touch with. As I told the young man who organized it, sometimes bringing people together is the best we can do!
I was so proud of him: organizing any event when you're 19 isn't easy, especially a memorial service for a friend who shouldn't be dead! But it was lovely. We had a cook-out in the park, with a time for people to share their thoughts about Antoine, a prayer, and the release of a ton of balloons, each with a little message written & tied to it. Cool.
I remember vividly the moment I first heard about the shooting of a student of mine: fall of 1995. I was just starting my third year of teaching. We were in the copy room in the morning, and someone came in with the news, and I remember suddenly crying, and being embarrassed to be crying in front of colleagues. He was a 9th grader, shot while riding his bike - not an accident. I remember attending the funeral, and planning things at school to help our students process & grieve.
I don't remember where I was when I heard about the next student of mine who had been shot - it was after the fact so I couldn't attend the funeral, and it was a couple years after she'd moved on from our school, so not too many people were left who remembered her. But I did. She was killed because someone was playing with a gun in the next room and it accidentally went off & shot right through the door of the room she was in.
So this is the third student gun death - that I know of - of my kids. And, shockingly, pathetically, it actually does get easier. Maybe this is how we cope. If it didn't get easier, I guess at some point we would just stop functioning.
I was so proud of him: organizing any event when you're 19 isn't easy, especially a memorial service for a friend who shouldn't be dead! But it was lovely. We had a cook-out in the park, with a time for people to share their thoughts about Antoine, a prayer, and the release of a ton of balloons, each with a little message written & tied to it. Cool.
I remember vividly the moment I first heard about the shooting of a student of mine: fall of 1995. I was just starting my third year of teaching. We were in the copy room in the morning, and someone came in with the news, and I remember suddenly crying, and being embarrassed to be crying in front of colleagues. He was a 9th grader, shot while riding his bike - not an accident. I remember attending the funeral, and planning things at school to help our students process & grieve.
I don't remember where I was when I heard about the next student of mine who had been shot - it was after the fact so I couldn't attend the funeral, and it was a couple years after she'd moved on from our school, so not too many people were left who remembered her. But I did. She was killed because someone was playing with a gun in the next room and it accidentally went off & shot right through the door of the room she was in.
So this is the third student gun death - that I know of - of my kids. And, shockingly, pathetically, it actually does get easier. Maybe this is how we cope. If it didn't get easier, I guess at some point we would just stop functioning.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
It's Equality, Stupid
The Hillary Clinton presidential campaign has me thinking about and noticing sexism is ways I haven't in recent years. And it's not just me: two newspaper commentaries today echo my concerns:
The New York Times Magazine has a piece by Peggy Orenstein called The Hillary Lesson ruminating about what our daughters are learning from her candidacy. Is it "We've come a long way, baby" or "We've got a long way yet to go?"
Her statistics point to the latter: Only 16% of governors and 16% of members of Congress are female, and only 24% of state legislators are female. Only 12 out of 500 of the top executives of Fortune 500 companies are female - less than 3%.
Sigh.
Lori Sturdevant, in a political commentary piece in the Strib today called "Dont Despair", takes the opposite tack with the same info - stats in MN are better than the national average, so we have much to be proud of. Our current legislature is 34% female, with a female house speaker. She also cites several significant legislative accomplishments that happened because a woman or women were in power.
Amen.
But interestingly, it's not just the women writing on this issue: George Will, who we can always count on to make the sexist position sound practical and reasonable, writes about Clinton's run in "The Prize Clinton Isn't Owed" (reprinted in the Strib as "The Other Part of Equality is Losing".) The second half of the article is boring Clinton-bashing, but the first part is interesting. He makes the point that you know you're equal when you're treated badly:
When, in 1975, Frank Robinson became major league baseball's first African American manager, with the Cleveland Indians, that was an important milestone. But an even more important one came two years later, when the Indians fired him. That was real equality: Losing one's job is part of the job description of major league managers, because sacking the manager is one of the few changes a floundering team can make immediately. So, in a sense, Robinson had not really arrived until he was told to leave. Then he was just like hundreds of managers before him.
Thus, he asserts, Clinton should take the calls to bow out of the race as a compliment. I don't agree, but I am always impressed by his ability to make sexism (or racism - or whatever he's peddaling at the moment) not only palatable, but even seem logical.
Gee thanks - not much there to advance the discourse. Orenstien, on the other hand, gives us genuine food for thought as she points out that framing gender as something to be "overcome" is not necessarily in a young girl's best interest:
Right now, my daughter doesn’t know about the obstacles she may face someday, and I’m not sure of the wisdom of girding her in advance. Even the supposedly “girl positive” picture books, designed to address this very issue, pose a dilemma. Take “Elenita,” a magical-realist tale, given to my daughter by a family friend, about a girl who wants to be a glass blower. Her father says she can’t do it: she’s too little, and besides, the trade is forbidden to women. The lesson, naturally, is that with a little ingenuity girls can be glass blowers or stevedores or [fill in the blank]. Nice. Still, I found myself hesitating over the “girls can’t” section. My daughter has never heard that “girls can’t be” or “girls can’t do.” Why should I plant the idea in her head only to knock it down?
Indeed, I think this relates to my concerns about how we kids teach about slavery in America - even telling the stories of overcoming, we are still laying out the paradigm of inequality as the base from which all else grows. What would happen if we quit framing our culture in those terms and just taught our kids what it takes to get ahead?
Food for thought!
The New York Times Magazine has a piece by Peggy Orenstein called The Hillary Lesson ruminating about what our daughters are learning from her candidacy. Is it "We've come a long way, baby" or "We've got a long way yet to go?"
Her statistics point to the latter: Only 16% of governors and 16% of members of Congress are female, and only 24% of state legislators are female. Only 12 out of 500 of the top executives of Fortune 500 companies are female - less than 3%.
Sigh.
Lori Sturdevant, in a political commentary piece in the Strib today called "Dont Despair", takes the opposite tack with the same info - stats in MN are better than the national average, so we have much to be proud of. Our current legislature is 34% female, with a female house speaker. She also cites several significant legislative accomplishments that happened because a woman or women were in power.
Amen.
But interestingly, it's not just the women writing on this issue: George Will, who we can always count on to make the sexist position sound practical and reasonable, writes about Clinton's run in "The Prize Clinton Isn't Owed" (reprinted in the Strib as "The Other Part of Equality is Losing".) The second half of the article is boring Clinton-bashing, but the first part is interesting. He makes the point that you know you're equal when you're treated badly:
When, in 1975, Frank Robinson became major league baseball's first African American manager, with the Cleveland Indians, that was an important milestone. But an even more important one came two years later, when the Indians fired him. That was real equality: Losing one's job is part of the job description of major league managers, because sacking the manager is one of the few changes a floundering team can make immediately. So, in a sense, Robinson had not really arrived until he was told to leave. Then he was just like hundreds of managers before him.
Thus, he asserts, Clinton should take the calls to bow out of the race as a compliment. I don't agree, but I am always impressed by his ability to make sexism (or racism - or whatever he's peddaling at the moment) not only palatable, but even seem logical.
Gee thanks - not much there to advance the discourse. Orenstien, on the other hand, gives us genuine food for thought as she points out that framing gender as something to be "overcome" is not necessarily in a young girl's best interest:
Right now, my daughter doesn’t know about the obstacles she may face someday, and I’m not sure of the wisdom of girding her in advance. Even the supposedly “girl positive” picture books, designed to address this very issue, pose a dilemma. Take “Elenita,” a magical-realist tale, given to my daughter by a family friend, about a girl who wants to be a glass blower. Her father says she can’t do it: she’s too little, and besides, the trade is forbidden to women. The lesson, naturally, is that with a little ingenuity girls can be glass blowers or stevedores or [fill in the blank]. Nice. Still, I found myself hesitating over the “girls can’t” section. My daughter has never heard that “girls can’t be” or “girls can’t do.” Why should I plant the idea in her head only to knock it down?
Indeed, I think this relates to my concerns about how we kids teach about slavery in America - even telling the stories of overcoming, we are still laying out the paradigm of inequality as the base from which all else grows. What would happen if we quit framing our culture in those terms and just taught our kids what it takes to get ahead?
Food for thought!
Friday, May 09, 2008
Post from the East Coast
In 15 years in education, I have never taken more than a long weekend off, so 4 whole days is a radical thing for me! My kid has finished her freshman year & I'm going out to help her move out of the dorm, then we're going to hang out for a few days, then she'll come home with me for a couple weeks.
Whirlwind!
I leave tomorrow and won't post on the trip, but here's to the blessing of being mobile and able to go to her when she needs me. We are so blessed.
Whirlwind!
I leave tomorrow and won't post on the trip, but here's to the blessing of being mobile and able to go to her when she needs me. We are so blessed.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Cinco de What?
Racism pops up in funny ways. This year it's all about illegal immigration. In 14 years of working in public schools, I never heard anyone say anything negative about Cinco de Mayo. Folks may not know the history of what it's celebrating, but hey, a party's a party!
But this year, I actually heard two co-workers complain about celebrating it at school, even though 1/4 of our kids are Latino. The gist of the concern is that we should be teaching American history, not Mexican history.
And then I saw this cartoon, by Scott Stantis. Perfect!
But this year, I actually heard two co-workers complain about celebrating it at school, even though 1/4 of our kids are Latino. The gist of the concern is that we should be teaching American history, not Mexican history.
And then I saw this cartoon, by Scott Stantis. Perfect!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Freedom Takes a Hit
I wrote a while back about the law in Indiana requiring government-issued ID in order to vote, and I am shocked to say that the Supreme Court upheld it.
From an editorial Tuesday in the New York Times:
"Democracy was the big loser in the Supreme Court on Monday. The court upheld Indiana's voter identification law, which solves a nearly nonexistent problem by putting major barriers between voters -- particularly minorities -- and the ballot box. Worse, the court set out a standard that clears the way for other states to adopt rules that discourage disadvantaged groups from voting. It is a sad reversal for a court that once saw itself as a champion of voting rights."
There is still no evidence that there has ever been voter fraud at the polls in Indiana - so this "solves" an imaginary problem. But it creates an important new one: preventing the poor from voting. Getting a government-issued ID is not free or easy; even when the fees are waived, it takes money to get required documents like birth certificates, and it also takes time and energy and knowledge about where to go and what to do. Not so simple.
A related milestone: I paid $41.53 to fill my gas tank today. I know folks with larger gas tanks passed that mark a while back, but it's a first for me. $3.52/gal.
I really think this is all part of the same system that caused Antoine's death... (see below). Things are going VERY well for a small group of the wealthy powerful, and not so hot for other folks.
Democracy could fix this - on all three counts - but the slow destruction of the public schools means average folks no longer understand their power.
What's the solution to THAT???
From an editorial Tuesday in the New York Times:
"Democracy was the big loser in the Supreme Court on Monday. The court upheld Indiana's voter identification law, which solves a nearly nonexistent problem by putting major barriers between voters -- particularly minorities -- and the ballot box. Worse, the court set out a standard that clears the way for other states to adopt rules that discourage disadvantaged groups from voting. It is a sad reversal for a court that once saw itself as a champion of voting rights."
There is still no evidence that there has ever been voter fraud at the polls in Indiana - so this "solves" an imaginary problem. But it creates an important new one: preventing the poor from voting. Getting a government-issued ID is not free or easy; even when the fees are waived, it takes money to get required documents like birth certificates, and it also takes time and energy and knowledge about where to go and what to do. Not so simple.
A related milestone: I paid $41.53 to fill my gas tank today. I know folks with larger gas tanks passed that mark a while back, but it's a first for me. $3.52/gal.
I really think this is all part of the same system that caused Antoine's death... (see below). Things are going VERY well for a small group of the wealthy powerful, and not so hot for other folks.
Democracy could fix this - on all three counts - but the slow destruction of the public schools means average folks no longer understand their power.
What's the solution to THAT???
Monday, April 28, 2008
Perspective
Just as I finished the last post, Amy Grant began to sing...
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Amen.
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Amen.
Dead Children
I have lost another student to murder by gun. I am ANGRY.
I didn't pay close attention to what the Rev Jeremiah Wright actually said that was offending folks, but my recollection is that it was generally negative about America. Right now, I'm feeling that America is on the road to hell, and I can relate to anyone who is ANGRY with the circumstances we find ourselves in today in this country.
I have been in education for 15 years. In that time I have had four students killed and three locked up for murder or other gun crimes. Plus one more just arrested last week for gun possession but apparently getting off. And those are just the ones I know about.
I am ANGRY that a student of mine who was smart, who graduated from high school with skills last year, is now dead after participating in an armed robbery. If the smart ones go down, what hope does that leave for the rest??? Antoine was a good kid by teacher standards - he didn't cause trouble and he learned what I tried to teach him. What on earth was he doing in an armed robbery???
I am ANGRY that kids with potential, who had lots of support while in school, graduate and suddenly have nothing. If a kid is not ready when they graduate, then what? One former student, who keeps telling me he is going to enroll in community college, was caught getting high with a gun in his car, sitting across the street from a school, waiting for his girlfriend. Is that really all he's got?
I am ANGRY that two of the brightest young black men I've sent off to college in recent years have returned - dropped out - in less than a year. As their English teacher, I know it wasn't simply a skill issue - they could think and write just fine. There's more to it. And again, those are just the ones I know about.
What exactly does America offer our poor black boys? Someone asked me this afternoon if Obama could make a difference on this issue, and I said maybe for the generation yet to come, but for these guys? I'll have to ask them, but I doubt it.
I am ANGRY.
I didn't pay close attention to what the Rev Jeremiah Wright actually said that was offending folks, but my recollection is that it was generally negative about America. Right now, I'm feeling that America is on the road to hell, and I can relate to anyone who is ANGRY with the circumstances we find ourselves in today in this country.
I have been in education for 15 years. In that time I have had four students killed and three locked up for murder or other gun crimes. Plus one more just arrested last week for gun possession but apparently getting off. And those are just the ones I know about.
I am ANGRY that a student of mine who was smart, who graduated from high school with skills last year, is now dead after participating in an armed robbery. If the smart ones go down, what hope does that leave for the rest??? Antoine was a good kid by teacher standards - he didn't cause trouble and he learned what I tried to teach him. What on earth was he doing in an armed robbery???
I am ANGRY that kids with potential, who had lots of support while in school, graduate and suddenly have nothing. If a kid is not ready when they graduate, then what? One former student, who keeps telling me he is going to enroll in community college, was caught getting high with a gun in his car, sitting across the street from a school, waiting for his girlfriend. Is that really all he's got?
I am ANGRY that two of the brightest young black men I've sent off to college in recent years have returned - dropped out - in less than a year. As their English teacher, I know it wasn't simply a skill issue - they could think and write just fine. There's more to it. And again, those are just the ones I know about.
What exactly does America offer our poor black boys? Someone asked me this afternoon if Obama could make a difference on this issue, and I said maybe for the generation yet to come, but for these guys? I'll have to ask them, but I doubt it.
I am ANGRY.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
25 Years After "A Nation at Risk"
I don't often agree with George Will - though he is an incredibly articulate writer and one often has to pay careful attention to avoid getting sucked into baloney with him. But his reflection on the state of education the other day is worth reading.
I disagree with much of his rhetoric, but he dares to go where good liberals (myself included) fear to tread, noting that a 1966 report concluded that "the qualities of the families from which students come to school matter much more than money as predictors of schools' effectiveness." (Note the work qualities, not quality. That's important.)
A cursory glance around any school community will confirm this. In general, when parents insist that students do well academically, they do well. When parents do not push, students do not accomplish as much. Occasionally, a student fails or succeeds in spite of their parents, and that's the nature of America. But educators know that, as a group, in general, students will meet our expectations.
(This is why I tell my friends with small children to stop using "or else" - it signals that you don't really expect them to do what you've asked.)
Soo... Will blames schools for focusing on teaching and funding (the things they CAN control) rather than the percent of students born to single parents or poverty - which is not only unfair but pointless. It's unfair because the family is not the purview of the schools. It's pointless because the family is not the purview of the schools. Blaming families is handy, but accomplishes nothing.
It's not a matter of helping parents understand that their kid needs a desk with a light in a quiet place, and needs to sit there for an hour a day, in order to get homework done. That we can do. It's a matter of finding housing for the friends & relatives who are staying in the home and giving kids no privacy. Of keeping the electricity turned on. Of providing a meal - even without the family gathered around one table for dinner. Of convincing folks that Dr King's dream did not die with him, much as it appears to have when viewed through the lens of poverty.
So while Will brings up a point that is relevant to discussions of academic achievement, it is not helpful in terms of improving schools. The spin-master strikes again.
Misusing statistics to push an agenda is not a conservative thing - people from all points of view do that. I was joking with a friend in my stats class today that we can use statistics to prove just about anything. Correlations don't necessarily even show relationship - they certainly don't show cause.
For example, Will implies that the unionization of teaching is the cause of a decline in the average SAT score. That's crap. The first teachers union was created in 1962 and America's highest average SAT scores were posted in 1964. Cause? Of course not. Correlation? Hardly. Relationship? Maybe - both were reactions to the fact that America was asking its schools to do something never before attempted: educate everyone.
Schools do what they can with what they have. Some are racist places that create barriers for kids who don't have well-educated parents. Can't deny this. But the system is a reflection of America - and the many people who think like George Will. We who are working in schools know that we have much work yet to do to accomplish the goal of educating everyone. But unlike the pundits, we're in there fighting the good fight.
I disagree with much of his rhetoric, but he dares to go where good liberals (myself included) fear to tread, noting that a 1966 report concluded that "the qualities of the families from which students come to school matter much more than money as predictors of schools' effectiveness." (Note the work qualities, not quality. That's important.)
A cursory glance around any school community will confirm this. In general, when parents insist that students do well academically, they do well. When parents do not push, students do not accomplish as much. Occasionally, a student fails or succeeds in spite of their parents, and that's the nature of America. But educators know that, as a group, in general, students will meet our expectations.
(This is why I tell my friends with small children to stop using "or else" - it signals that you don't really expect them to do what you've asked.)
Soo... Will blames schools for focusing on teaching and funding (the things they CAN control) rather than the percent of students born to single parents or poverty - which is not only unfair but pointless. It's unfair because the family is not the purview of the schools. It's pointless because the family is not the purview of the schools. Blaming families is handy, but accomplishes nothing.
It's not a matter of helping parents understand that their kid needs a desk with a light in a quiet place, and needs to sit there for an hour a day, in order to get homework done. That we can do. It's a matter of finding housing for the friends & relatives who are staying in the home and giving kids no privacy. Of keeping the electricity turned on. Of providing a meal - even without the family gathered around one table for dinner. Of convincing folks that Dr King's dream did not die with him, much as it appears to have when viewed through the lens of poverty.
So while Will brings up a point that is relevant to discussions of academic achievement, it is not helpful in terms of improving schools. The spin-master strikes again.
Misusing statistics to push an agenda is not a conservative thing - people from all points of view do that. I was joking with a friend in my stats class today that we can use statistics to prove just about anything. Correlations don't necessarily even show relationship - they certainly don't show cause.
For example, Will implies that the unionization of teaching is the cause of a decline in the average SAT score. That's crap. The first teachers union was created in 1962 and America's highest average SAT scores were posted in 1964. Cause? Of course not. Correlation? Hardly. Relationship? Maybe - both were reactions to the fact that America was asking its schools to do something never before attempted: educate everyone.
Schools do what they can with what they have. Some are racist places that create barriers for kids who don't have well-educated parents. Can't deny this. But the system is a reflection of America - and the many people who think like George Will. We who are working in schools know that we have much work yet to do to accomplish the goal of educating everyone. But unlike the pundits, we're in there fighting the good fight.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Getting Easier...
Still struggling with this crazy stats class, but getting better! Here's a question on the current assignment that I actually know the answer to:
For Analysis #2, what are the null hypotheses associated with each of the three linear contrasts for the post hoc tests?
I'm finally to the point where I know answers like that without having to check notes. I'm learning! ;)
For Analysis #2, what are the null hypotheses associated with each of the three linear contrasts for the post hoc tests?
I'm finally to the point where I know answers like that without having to check notes. I'm learning! ;)
Peacemakers
A seminar is not usually my first choice for a Saturday, but I attended a great one yesterday! Peacemaker Ministries teaches conflict resolution using biblical principles - very interesting.
A few highlights:
There are three categories of responses to conflict: flight, attack, or conciliation. Of course the first two are much easier than the third!
The "four promises of forgiveness" are really just sensible ways to ensure that a conflict, once resolved, stays that way - definitely something I can use with students with different language!
- I will not dwell on the incident
- I will not bring it up later & use it against you
- I will not talk to others about it
- I will not all it to stand between us
If my 6th graders would commit to these promises, we'd have a lot less drama in the middle school! :)
Conflict can provide opportunities - sometimes to hep others, or serve others, or for us to grow! And sometimes even the chance to glorify God. So conflict is not - as "Minnesota Nice" would have us believe - something always to be avoided. Ha - radical concept.
I was glad to have the time to think about how to bring positivity into situations where it is needed - it was powerful. God is so good!
A few highlights:
There are three categories of responses to conflict: flight, attack, or conciliation. Of course the first two are much easier than the third!
The "four promises of forgiveness" are really just sensible ways to ensure that a conflict, once resolved, stays that way - definitely something I can use with students with different language!
- I will not dwell on the incident
- I will not bring it up later & use it against you
- I will not talk to others about it
- I will not all it to stand between us
If my 6th graders would commit to these promises, we'd have a lot less drama in the middle school! :)
Conflict can provide opportunities - sometimes to hep others, or serve others, or for us to grow! And sometimes even the chance to glorify God. So conflict is not - as "Minnesota Nice" would have us believe - something always to be avoided. Ha - radical concept.
I was glad to have the time to think about how to bring positivity into situations where it is needed - it was powerful. God is so good!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
This is What 40 Looks Like!
I've been having a "this is what 40 looks like" attitude this month as the milestone birthday hit. I refuse to be bummed out about anything to do with this age. My life rocks! The idea that we should want to be younger is crap. Here's a bunch of my friends at another friend's 40th birthday party last month - all but two of the women in the picture are 40 or 41. I think we're doing just d*** fine. :)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Female Creativity
This came via email so who knows about it's real origin, but it is attributed to a company called Edge which is apparently female-run. This photo is of a space that they supposedly created for another female-owned and run company... true or not, it's still pretty funny. (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Saw a very interesting one-man show at the Walker last night - Marc Bamuthi Joseph in a performance called "The Break/s" combining spoken word, dance, acting, and more. Born in '75 he is a Gen Xer in full flower - finding his powers, naming and using them to speak truth to the world and try to make it better. Like the social justice movement rising from the spoken word scene, he has the beautiful faith of the young that he can and even will make his mark.
I took some notes - although there was so much that was rich and interesting I couldn't possibly capture it all. I hated to pull out my TREO because the light form the screen can be distracting, but I covered it up as best I could because there were a few lines I just had to get down:
"If you lose your mind, what jumps in to take its place?" Before the show, the MC was moving through the crowd, asking questions designed to get the audience thinking about the big themes in the show, and he asked "Have you ever lost your mind?" to several people. My friends & I laughed - of course! Every day! In education, how can you avoid it? Ha ha. But Bamuthi took it to the next level: If you lose your mind, what jumps in to take its place? Fascinating question.
About his white girlfriend and the complexities of identity politics: "She is the woman I want to come home to, but not always the woman I want to leave the house with." Ouch. Honest! He talked about how the black mother of his black child challenged him about the extent to which a white stepmother might not be good for his son... when did love get so complex? Was it always so?
"The more I am accepted by others, the less I accept myself." He didn't imply so much that he was seeking approval from others, but he found that as he moved through the world and received approval & acceptance, he lost some sense of self. I can relate. I know I am much more interested in acceptance by others than I should be.... It's a hard habit to break.
His experience of being black in America: "I have not experienced oppression. That is just some shit I see on TV." Oppression is so much bigger around the world than we realize in America. He talked about going to Senegal & learning from a woman who was teaching the elders in very rural areas to stop genital mutilation. So much larger than our problems here. He does see that being descended from slaves is a relevant part of some black Americans' self-identity, but he does not name it as defining for himself.
About the extent to which artists can actually make a difference in the world: "Like Basquiat tagging Bush's yacht..." What am image! I love it! No one talks about Jean-Michel Basquiat anymore, but as a rebel artist I think it makes sense to evoke his name, as it stands in such contrast to George W. Bush, who is no rebel and no artist...
And maybe most important: "How you love is what you do, not what you say. Action is truth." Oh, I believe this.
BRAVO, Bamuthi!
Here's a video to give you a little idea of the experience:
Sunday, April 06, 2008
21
The Mn Legislature is apparently considering a bill to lower the drinking age back to 18, and the Strib came out against it today with an editorial for keeping the drinking age at 21 that surprised me a little. They seem to be relying heavily on "research" that isn't cited. I don't like reading about "studies" and "evidence" with no names, dates & details attached.
I do like the assertion that if it's ridiculous to have kids serve in the armed forces but not be able to drink, then maybe the age for serving should be raised too. We could add marriage to that too & call it a day. But I hesitate to believe it can be wrapped up so neatly.
I have one striking experience with the subject that has informed my thinking for years. When I was in high school, I went on a school-sponsored trip to Spain for a couple weeks. Drinking was considered part of the "cultural experience" and our parents signed a form giving us permission to drink alcohol on the trip. Accordingly, we drank every single chance we got. But the 16-year-old Spanish girl whose family I lived with did not. The first night I was with them, we went out to dinner, and wine was offered. I happily accepted. Chiqui declined. I turned to her in surprise and asked why she wasn't having any, and she said "it's a school night." He parents would have allowed it; she just didn't want any.
The experience has stayed with me ever since. All the American kids on the trip - jocks, geeks, etc - drank. The Spanish kids, who had ready access with no legal drinking age, did not. Do the math, people.
Someone pointed out recently that if the drinking age was 18, most kids would turn "of age" while still living with their parents, and thus have parental influence on learning to drink. Logical.
The Strib says that the rate of drunk driving among 18-21 year olds has apparently dropped significantly since the drinking age changed. Also logical.
But is there another way to address that, besides the law?
I do like the assertion that if it's ridiculous to have kids serve in the armed forces but not be able to drink, then maybe the age for serving should be raised too. We could add marriage to that too & call it a day. But I hesitate to believe it can be wrapped up so neatly.
I have one striking experience with the subject that has informed my thinking for years. When I was in high school, I went on a school-sponsored trip to Spain for a couple weeks. Drinking was considered part of the "cultural experience" and our parents signed a form giving us permission to drink alcohol on the trip. Accordingly, we drank every single chance we got. But the 16-year-old Spanish girl whose family I lived with did not. The first night I was with them, we went out to dinner, and wine was offered. I happily accepted. Chiqui declined. I turned to her in surprise and asked why she wasn't having any, and she said "it's a school night." He parents would have allowed it; she just didn't want any.
The experience has stayed with me ever since. All the American kids on the trip - jocks, geeks, etc - drank. The Spanish kids, who had ready access with no legal drinking age, did not. Do the math, people.
Someone pointed out recently that if the drinking age was 18, most kids would turn "of age" while still living with their parents, and thus have parental influence on learning to drink. Logical.
The Strib says that the rate of drunk driving among 18-21 year olds has apparently dropped significantly since the drinking age changed. Also logical.
But is there another way to address that, besides the law?
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Homoscedasticity
I love statistics class...
Homoscedasticity apparently means homogeneity of variance – we can plot predicted values on a scatterplot against standardized or unstandardized residuals to figure this.
Who knew?
Homoscedasticity apparently means homogeneity of variance – we can plot predicted values on a scatterplot against standardized or unstandardized residuals to figure this.
Who knew?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Bravo, Patriots!
Shout out to Patrick Henry's boy's basketball team, back in the state semi-finals after a win over St Michael tonight for the first time since '03! The Henry website has more info on the team's accomplishments this year. This picture cracks me up because they are trying to look cool and not smile - but I bet they're smiling tonight!
Varsity players I worked with in my time at PHHS include Louis Cox, Dennis Joiner, Alonzo Melton, and Jerry Sweezy. I'm proud of you guys!!!
Go Patriots - next game is tomorrow! :)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Better Than Average!
How random is this - globally, people trend downward on the happiness scale until the age of 44, then trend upward again. (Excluding old folks with bad health problems.) The general life-pattern of happiness looks like a U-shaped curve, with the age of 44 at the bottom.
What the flip?!?!
According to a current article in Time magazine, this is exactly the case. Survey data representing 2 million people in more than 70 countries shows that: "Across the world, people in their 40s generally claim to be less happy than those who are younger or older, and the global happiness nadir appears to hit somewhere around 44."
As for me - I'm having a 40th b-day party in a few weeks and counting my blessings. I don't know that I'm happier now than I was at 20 or 30 (OK, I was having a pretty darn good time at 20!) but I don't feel less happy now than I was before. Go figure!
What the flip?!?!
According to a current article in Time magazine, this is exactly the case. Survey data representing 2 million people in more than 70 countries shows that: "Across the world, people in their 40s generally claim to be less happy than those who are younger or older, and the global happiness nadir appears to hit somewhere around 44."
What accounts for this? I'm at a loss, and so are the researchers. The article continues:
"It's not anxiety from the kids, for starters. Even among the childless, those in midlife reported lower life satisfaction than the young or old, says study co-author Andrew Oswald, an economics professor at the University of Warwick in Britain. Other things that didn't alter the happiness curve: income, marital status or education. "You can adjust for 100 things and it doesn't go away," Oswald says. He and co-author David Blanchflower, an economist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, also adjusted their results for cohort effects: their data spanned more than 30 years, making them confident that whatever makes people miserable about being middle-aged, it isn't related, say, to being born in the year 1960 and growing up with that generation's particular set of experiences."
So what are we to make of this? The article even makes the point that the findings are cross-generational, so Xers are no more or less likely to fall into this pattern than Boomers or Millenials. Hmm...As for me - I'm having a 40th b-day party in a few weeks and counting my blessings. I don't know that I'm happier now than I was at 20 or 30 (OK, I was having a pretty darn good time at 20!) but I don't feel less happy now than I was before. Go figure!
On Race: From One More Articulate than I
No matter what the outcome of the 2008 presidential race, Barack Obama's speech on race this week will be remembered as a turning point in race relations in America. It will be read and studies in schools, and parts will be repeated and sent around the internet for years.
I don't know how he feels about that - or about me excepting some of it here - but I believe it's worth sharing just to advance the cause of unity. Here are the parts that most resonated with me:
"The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us….
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years….
For the African-American community, that path [to a more perfect union] means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny….
In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper…."
Gen X is known as the most cynical generation - one that expects little from those around us and depends mostly on our own selves. I will be curious to see how this speech is received by Gen Xers - will it inspire the some optimism and hope that it will in younger and older generations?
I don't know how he feels about that - or about me excepting some of it here - but I believe it's worth sharing just to advance the cause of unity. Here are the parts that most resonated with me:
"The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us….
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years….
For the African-American community, that path [to a more perfect union] means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny….
In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper…."
Gen X is known as the most cynical generation - one that expects little from those around us and depends mostly on our own selves. I will be curious to see how this speech is received by Gen Xers - will it inspire the some optimism and hope that it will in younger and older generations?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Trust
More thoughts from my friend Melissa and Fr. Richard Rohr:
It's Lent. There's time in the desert. There's temptation. There's deep rumination. It's a grand season to take us all through to a sweet party of miracles. (I don't really care if you are Catholic or believe in God and a Resurrection or NOT.) Love is good and here and coming through in this guy's words. Enjoy Fr. Rohr's wisdom. And try to trust that the Universe will provide for you. Daily! It is! It Does! Yes! Amen!
Peace,
Melissa
"Our Daily Bread"from The Great Themes of Scripture
-Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM
I try to depend on God, but I don't really like depending on anybody! The message of learning to trust in Providence s powerful for me because it does not come naturally - it must be learned and practiced. To give my life to God is powerful, but not easy. I DO trust God to guide me correctly - and I do try hard to listen to God's guidance. But little reminders like this are welcome too. :)
It's Lent. There's time in the desert. There's temptation. There's deep rumination. It's a grand season to take us all through to a sweet party of miracles. (I don't really care if you are Catholic or believe in God and a Resurrection or NOT.) Love is good and here and coming through in this guy's words. Enjoy Fr. Rohr's wisdom. And try to trust that the Universe will provide for you. Daily! It is! It Does! Yes! Amen!
Peace,
Melissa
"Our Daily Bread"
When Moses prays to God, "Yahweh, feed these people," Yahweh replies, "I will feed them. I will let manna drop from heaven but they are to pick up only enough to feed themselves for one day" (Exodus 16:4). The whole message of the desert is a message of continual dependence on God, minute-by-minute learning to trust in Providence. Some of them want to store up the manna in order to have some for tomorrow. They want to plan for the future, and allay their fears. Moses says, "No! Only enough for today. Yahweh will give you your daily bread. But some kept an excess for the following day, and it bred maggots and smelt foul" (Exodus 16:20). Instead we say, "Give us this day our daily bread." How strange these words sound to a people with savings accounts, insurance policies and three-year warranties, even on their toasters!
-Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM
I try to depend on God, but I don't really like depending on anybody! The message of learning to trust in Providence s powerful for me because it does not come naturally - it must be learned and practiced. To give my life to God is powerful, but not easy. I DO trust God to guide me correctly - and I do try hard to listen to God's guidance. But little reminders like this are welcome too. :)
Orange Dots?
As always, Melissa simply takes a walk and comes up with something profound:
I counted four marked trees. They have these florescent orange dots on them. I imagine Arch Benham would tell me that they have dutch elm disease, they need to be cut down.
What would happen if people had orange dots on them? Wouldn't it make navigation and relationships so much simpler?
"Do not get involved here. This person is sick. Will contaminate you, and destroy your forest; your root system will start to break down." (I have no idea what Dutch Elm does....maybe I should look into this...?)
I can think of a few involvements that would not have taken the path they did had an orange dot existed to warn me away! But then again - the journey is what it is... I would not be who I am today without all of those experiences, so I do not ask to trade any of them away. I don't believe in regret - just growth and, hopefully, learning from experience!
I counted four marked trees. They have these florescent orange dots on them. I imagine Arch Benham would tell me that they have dutch elm disease, they need to be cut down.
What would happen if people had orange dots on them? Wouldn't it make navigation and relationships so much simpler?
"Do not get involved here. This person is sick. Will contaminate you, and destroy your forest; your root system will start to break down." (I have no idea what Dutch Elm does....maybe I should look into this...?)
I can think of a few involvements that would not have taken the path they did had an orange dot existed to warn me away! But then again - the journey is what it is... I would not be who I am today without all of those experiences, so I do not ask to trade any of them away. I don't believe in regret - just growth and, hopefully, learning from experience!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Reminder
From my friend Melissa, a recipe for peace:
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
And a quote on my wall at work that just jumped out at me today:
"I can complain because rosebushes have thorns, or I can rejoice because the thornbush has a rose..."
Amen.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
And a quote on my wall at work that just jumped out at me today:
"I can complain because rosebushes have thorns, or I can rejoice because the thornbush has a rose..."
Amen.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Feminism for a New Generation?
A friend bought me "The Bad Girls' Weekly Engagement Calendar" by Cameron Tuttle, author of "The Bad Girls' Guide to the Open Road" and other comedy books aimed a young women. It promotes a "run your own life" lifestyle that may not be entirely realistic if you have to work for a living, but is certainly attractive on paper!
One page in the calendar really cracked me up - a comparison of "good girl" and "bad girl" behavior. A few examples:
A good girl... plays it safe.
A bad girl... plays by her own rules.
A good girl... sits back a waits.
A bad girl... gets out and dates.
A good girl... always wants to fit in.
A bad girl... always wants to sleep in.
A good girl... never questions authority.
A bad girl... never questions her gut vibe.
A good girl... would rather be liked than difficult.
A bad girl... would rather be loved and difficult.
A good girl... believes in compromising.
A bad girl... believes in living the dream.
Now which one do you want to be?
It reminds me of the Louise Thatcher Ulrich quote: "Well-behaved women rarely make history." No doubt.
One page in the calendar really cracked me up - a comparison of "good girl" and "bad girl" behavior. A few examples:
A good girl... plays it safe.
A bad girl... plays by her own rules.
A good girl... sits back a waits.
A bad girl... gets out and dates.
A good girl... always wants to fit in.
A bad girl... always wants to sleep in.
A good girl... never questions authority.
A bad girl... never questions her gut vibe.
A good girl... would rather be liked than difficult.
A bad girl... would rather be loved and difficult.
A good girl... believes in compromising.
A bad girl... believes in living the dream.
Now which one do you want to be?
It reminds me of the Louise Thatcher Ulrich quote: "Well-behaved women rarely make history." No doubt.
No So Smart
It's interesting to ask why powerful people do stupid things. Literature from the time humans learned to write has addressed the issue - and all powerful people have at some point been exposed to the stories - and yet they continue.
In today's Strib, local lawyer David Lebedoff considers the intersection of Elliot Spitzer's smart brain and stupid behavior.
How can someone with Princeton and Harvard degrees, who made it to the position of Governor of New York, do something as singularly stupid as get caught using prostitutes?
There really are few better ways to lose average folks' respect.
I find it fascinating.
In today's Strib, local lawyer David Lebedoff considers the intersection of Elliot Spitzer's smart brain and stupid behavior.
How can someone with Princeton and Harvard degrees, who made it to the position of Governor of New York, do something as singularly stupid as get caught using prostitutes?
There really are few better ways to lose average folks' respect.
I find it fascinating.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Real Books and Fake Books
I wish I could reprint the cartoon here, but technology says no such luck: check out Opus and Berkeley Breathed's take on e-books... a debate I won't even bother to enter because I'm looking at computer screens way too long every day for work... no way I want to do it for pleasure reading too!
Added bonus - Opus on nature vs video games... :)
Added bonus - Opus on nature vs video games... :)
Saturday, March 08, 2008
I Will Have a Headache Soon
Oops, I didn't take the masters-level prerequisite course for the doctorate-level statistics class I am now in - but I'm hanging in there anyway! :)
A few things I am doing tonight in addition to writing here:
* Compute an estimate of the standardized effect size (Cohen's d) for the analysis and provide a full interpretation of it.
* Create a new variable that takes the natural log of [the variable from the last question]. Explain your opinion about the assumption of normality in an analysis with this new variable.
* Plan a new study on electoral voting with statistical power of .80. Use G8Power3 to find the required sample size using the estimated effect size from the analysis you just completed and a .05 type I error rate. Report both the estimate of the noncentrality parameter and the required sample size.
Wahoo!
A few things I am doing tonight in addition to writing here:
* Compute an estimate of the standardized effect size (Cohen's d) for the analysis and provide a full interpretation of it.
* Create a new variable that takes the natural log of [the variable from the last question]. Explain your opinion about the assumption of normality in an analysis with this new variable.
* Plan a new study on electoral voting with statistical power of .80. Use G8Power3 to find the required sample size using the estimated effect size from the analysis you just completed and a .05 type I error rate. Report both the estimate of the noncentrality parameter and the required sample size.
Wahoo!
Guys: Busted!
I have long suspected that people who dislike Hillary Clinton are really just sexist, whether they admit it to themselves or not. I never hear - from my friends or in the media - people say they dislike her policies or disagree with her on important issues. Instead, it's always something about "baggage" or "coldness" or some other nebulous quality...
In a recent commentary article for Salon.com, Edward McLelland writes about what he calls the "dude factor" in this race: guys who seriously would vote for either McCain or Obama, but not Clinton. In explaining this phenomenon, he notes that when asked what traits they want in a president, guys cite "independence, plain-spokenness, charisma, willingness to take a stand, respectability..." traits they admire in other guys.
But not in women?
They don't say that, of course. Interestingly, according to a recent CBS-NYT poll, 81% of Americans say they would vote for a woman for president, but only 56% think their neighbors would. What does that tell us? Americans are generally full of it.
The author asserts: "I told myself I wasn't dismissing Clinton because I disliked her. I was dismissing her because other people disliked her." I've heard that a lot. I think it's a crock.
He notes that there is a significant number of men who say they would vote for Obama or McCain, but not Clinton. But McCain & Obama have polar-opposite positions on a significant number of issues. As McLelland points out: "[Like Clinton,] Obama wants the government involved in healthcare. McCain thinks it should stay private. Obama wants to raise the minimum wage every year. McCain voted to abolish it. Obama wants to bring our troops back from Iraq by 2010. McCain says they may stay another 100 years. Obama is a dovish, big-government liberal who takes the kinds of positions that have earned Democrats the "Mommy Party" label. But he's not suffering for it the way Hillary Clinton is."
How do guys rationalize this disparity? Obama and McCain are "mavericks" - a great line for attracting independent voters.
But I think this is really about Hillary Clinton. In order to be a good president, she has to be tough-as-nails. In order to get all the experience necessary to be a good president, she has to develop an incredibly think skin. But men don't like women who are tough-as-nails and thick-skinned. It's a catch-22 that she simply can't win.
If she wins the primary or the general election, it will be because women have decided that it's time. We shall see.
In a recent commentary article for Salon.com, Edward McLelland writes about what he calls the "dude factor" in this race: guys who seriously would vote for either McCain or Obama, but not Clinton. In explaining this phenomenon, he notes that when asked what traits they want in a president, guys cite "independence, plain-spokenness, charisma, willingness to take a stand, respectability..." traits they admire in other guys.
But not in women?
They don't say that, of course. Interestingly, according to a recent CBS-NYT poll, 81% of Americans say they would vote for a woman for president, but only 56% think their neighbors would. What does that tell us? Americans are generally full of it.
The author asserts: "I told myself I wasn't dismissing Clinton because I disliked her. I was dismissing her because other people disliked her." I've heard that a lot. I think it's a crock.
He notes that there is a significant number of men who say they would vote for Obama or McCain, but not Clinton. But McCain & Obama have polar-opposite positions on a significant number of issues. As McLelland points out: "[Like Clinton,] Obama wants the government involved in healthcare. McCain thinks it should stay private. Obama wants to raise the minimum wage every year. McCain voted to abolish it. Obama wants to bring our troops back from Iraq by 2010. McCain says they may stay another 100 years. Obama is a dovish, big-government liberal who takes the kinds of positions that have earned Democrats the "Mommy Party" label. But he's not suffering for it the way Hillary Clinton is."
How do guys rationalize this disparity? Obama and McCain are "mavericks" - a great line for attracting independent voters.
But I think this is really about Hillary Clinton. In order to be a good president, she has to be tough-as-nails. In order to get all the experience necessary to be a good president, she has to develop an incredibly think skin. But men don't like women who are tough-as-nails and thick-skinned. It's a catch-22 that she simply can't win.
If she wins the primary or the general election, it will be because women have decided that it's time. We shall see.
Kudos to Rybak
Have to give the mayor credit when he deserves it! The Strib printed a preview clip today from his upcoming State of the City address: "Stop and think about it: The only natural waterfall in the Mississippi powered first lumber mills, with logs that came down the Mississippi, then flour mills, with grain that came either down the Mississippi or in James J. Hill's trains. Innovative business leaders created these mills. In the mills were immigrants from around the globe. This became the milling capital of the world. General Mills and Pillsbury grew up out of that. That's why we have this great standard of living. That's the story.
What are we doing right now? Once again, people are coming from all over the world in an innovation economy, in a city that's inclusive, using partnerships that are not just about other parts of Minnesota, but about more of the globe. That's why our partnership, not only with immigrants, but with students, is so critical. We are doing again what we did before."
Amen, Minneapolis.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Finland - No Surprise
If teachers in Finland are paid about the same, but the profession is much more competitive, I'm curious why. And if the answer seems to be that they have much more academic freedom - fewer standardized tests, etc - I'm thinking HA, no doubt! And it does not surprise me to learn that coming from that environment, kids in Finland are significantly outscoring their American counterparts on the very standardized tests they don't value so much.
Say what?
A recent Wall Street Journal article explains that Finnish students finished first in science & near the top in math and reading because of a formula that is simple, but not easy: "Well-trained teachers and responsible children. Early on, kids do a lot without adults hovering. And teachers create lessons to fit their students. "We don't have oil or other riches. Knowledge is the thing Finnish people have," says Hannele Frantsi, a school principal."
The creators of the international test commented on Finland's success: "Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students to national standards. "In most countries, education feels like a car factory. In Finland, the teachers are the entrepreneurs," says Mr. Schleicher, of the Paris-based OECD, which began the international student test in 2000."
Consider where America might be right now if the Bush administration had invested all that $$ in teacher training, rather than testing...!
An interesting cultural contributor is that English TV shows have Finnish subtitles, not dubbing, so in order to enjoy their favorite shows, students must be good readers. Hmm... how can we replicate that?
Say what?
A recent Wall Street Journal article explains that Finnish students finished first in science & near the top in math and reading because of a formula that is simple, but not easy: "Well-trained teachers and responsible children. Early on, kids do a lot without adults hovering. And teachers create lessons to fit their students. "We don't have oil or other riches. Knowledge is the thing Finnish people have," says Hannele Frantsi, a school principal."
The creators of the international test commented on Finland's success: "Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students to national standards. "In most countries, education feels like a car factory. In Finland, the teachers are the entrepreneurs," says Mr. Schleicher, of the Paris-based OECD, which began the international student test in 2000."
Consider where America might be right now if the Bush administration had invested all that $$ in teacher training, rather than testing...!
An interesting cultural contributor is that English TV shows have Finnish subtitles, not dubbing, so in order to enjoy their favorite shows, students must be good readers. Hmm... how can we replicate that?
Paper Rake RIP
I was disappointed to learn that the Rake Magazine - a local free paper - is abandoning print journalism for online only! Ad revenue issues, apparently. Huge bummer.
I was happy to see that my favorite Rake columnist, Colleen Kruse, seems to be continuing her Motley Kruse column online... bummer I can't read it while waiting for a friend at a bar or for my aerobics class to start anymore, but I'm glad she's still writing.
So I guess I should be happy that it is continuing online, and just get with the times and accept that print journalism has limited appeal these days? I'm not sure. I still get the paper delivered daily, and though I only have time to read it probably 3 days a week, I like it when I do.
Maybe that means I'm getting old! ;)
I was happy to see that my favorite Rake columnist, Colleen Kruse, seems to be continuing her Motley Kruse column online... bummer I can't read it while waiting for a friend at a bar or for my aerobics class to start anymore, but I'm glad she's still writing.
So I guess I should be happy that it is continuing online, and just get with the times and accept that print journalism has limited appeal these days? I'm not sure. I still get the paper delivered daily, and though I only have time to read it probably 3 days a week, I like it when I do.
Maybe that means I'm getting old! ;)
Gotta Give Her Credit
Hillary Clinton may be a lot of things, but you have to give her credit for being a good sport when she not only appears on Saturday Night Live, but she appears WITH the actor who plays her!
Very funny - but even better is SNL's debate skit which lampoons both Clinton and Obama, as well as the press for its treatment of them. Check it out!
Very funny - but even better is SNL's debate skit which lampoons both Clinton and Obama, as well as the press for its treatment of them. Check it out!
Generation Gap?
So I recently told a friend who's my same age (39) that I had just been out with a guy who's 25, and she was absolutely disapproving! I don't get that.
Then - even better - she asked whatever happened to another guy I used to date, and I reminded her that guy was 50, and she said yeah, why aren't you still dating him?
Hello???
Then - even better - she asked whatever happened to another guy I used to date, and I reminded her that guy was 50, and she said yeah, why aren't you still dating him?
Hello???
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Security Theater
Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer, computer security specialist and founder & chief technology officer of BT Counterpane, was interviewed & wrote an article for the Strib about the idea of a national ID card & other dumb security ideas.
He points out several flaws with the idea of a national ID card, (none of which is the ridiculous loss of freedom that comes with requiring such a thing)
* Cost: $23 Billion
* With current technology, any card created can still be forged
* People can still get them with false names - like two of the 9-11 hijackers did with drivers licenses
* Lost cards would require another whole system to deal with
* Human beings, who check IDs, are fallible.
* Computer scientists currently do not know how to keep that huge a database secure
So what's the point of a national ID if it provides so little real security? Schneier calls it "security theater" - something that makes us feel more secure without actually makes us be more secure. He points to airport security measures as an illustration of this principle, saying there have been three legitimate security improvements since 9-11:
- reinforcing the cockpit door
- conditioning people to fight back
- sky marshals
Everything else, he says, from checking shoes to confiscating corkscrews to limiting lotions, has no point beyond making people feel better.
A national ID card? Same thing. Give me a break.
He points out several flaws with the idea of a national ID card, (none of which is the ridiculous loss of freedom that comes with requiring such a thing)
* Cost: $23 Billion
* With current technology, any card created can still be forged
* People can still get them with false names - like two of the 9-11 hijackers did with drivers licenses
* Lost cards would require another whole system to deal with
* Human beings, who check IDs, are fallible.
* Computer scientists currently do not know how to keep that huge a database secure
So what's the point of a national ID if it provides so little real security? Schneier calls it "security theater" - something that makes us feel more secure without actually makes us be more secure. He points to airport security measures as an illustration of this principle, saying there have been three legitimate security improvements since 9-11:
- reinforcing the cockpit door
- conditioning people to fight back
- sky marshals
Everything else, he says, from checking shoes to confiscating corkscrews to limiting lotions, has no point beyond making people feel better.
A national ID card? Same thing. Give me a break.
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