Category Archives: Education

What I’m Reading

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The WSJ recently reviewed the top economics blogs and one I read regularly, Marginal Revolution, by Tyler Cowen, was highlighted. The one critique of MR was that Cowen’s sporadic “What I’m Reading” posts make people feel inferior because he’s always reading about 20 different books stretching across about 10 different fields, many quite esoteric. Cowen is a unique dude, incredibly well read, a prolific writter (he blogs 3-5x a day and writes nonstop essays and books), and a connoisseur of ethnic cuisine among other things. 

I’m always reading email, student work, and lots of print and electronic periodicals. On top of that, I have book reading periods, one of which I’m in right now. So with no Cowen-like pretense, here’s what I’m reading.

Nancy Pearl, on Seattle’s NPR station, KUOW, turned me on to “the best teen novel” she had ever read, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. I purchased it for my soon to be 14 and 17 year olds. I’m reading it before wrapping it and to say I’m wrapped up in it is an understatement. You know how we all have things we wish were different about ourselves, I wish I made more time for fiction. I really believe in the power of fiction, I just don’t make time to drink from the well often enough. Synopsis. . . elite boarding school, 10th grade girl, 12th grade boyfriend, secret all male society, feminist pushback, timely, and smartly written. 

I’m also reading The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner. The subtitle hints at the thesis: Why even our best schools don’t teach the new survival skills our children need-and what we can do about it. Overlaps almost directly with my primary professional interests so I’m enjoying it. Wish I wrote it first.

Last, but not least, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. I heard the author, John Gottman, on NPR one night and thought he was the clearest and most interesting and insightful speaker on marriage I had heard. When I told the wife that she ran out and got a few of his books. Should I take that as a bad sign? I negotiated down to taking turns reading alternate chapters of “Seven Principles”. Funny thing, she hammered out chapter one and then we stalled. Yesterday she told me she has to return it to the library soon, a not so subtle hint, but first I have to wrap up The Disreputable History. How can I concentrate on my marriage before knowing how things turn out for Frankie, Matthew, and the other Loyal Basset Hounds?

Why Merit-based Teacher Pay Is Not A Good Idea

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There are several reasons, but the most important coincidentally relates to health care reform. In a recent New Yorker article Obama is supposed to have read very closely (The Cost Conundrum, June 1, 2009) Atul Gawande examines why health care providers vary so much in terms of cost and quality and why cost and quality often aren’t related. Late in the article Gawande turns to the Mayo Clinic as a model of topflight efficiency and quality.

“It’s not easy,” he (a Mayo administrator) said. But decades ago Mayo recognized that the first thing it needed to do was eliminate the financial barriers. It pooled all the money the doctors and the hospital system received and began paying everyone a salary, so that the doctors’ goal in patient care couldn’t be increasing their income. Mayo promoted leaders who focussed first on what was best for patients, and then on how to make this financially possible. No one there actually intends to do fewer expensive scans and procedures than is done elsewhere in the country. The aim is to raise quality and to help doctors and other staff members work as a team. But, almost by happenstance, the result has been lower costs. “When doctors put their heads together in a room, when they share expertise, you get more thinking and less testing,” Cortese told me.”

Here’s the public schooling parallel. “The aim is to raise quality and to help teachers and other staff members work as a team. . . . When teachers put their heads together in a room, when they share expertise, you get improved teaching and learning.”

So Arne, in your vision, will merit-based pay decisions be made on a teacher-by-teacher basis? If salary allocation is a zer0-sum game, and I’m a teacher who is excelling, why would I share my most successful materials, my most effective teaching strategies, my best insights with my colleagues? The answer, of course is, I wouldn’t. And so how will teachers who have beat a permanent retreat to their respective classrooms, create improved academic achievement?

The runner up problem is hypocrisy. Arne, is your salary merit-based? What about Obama’s? The members of Congress? District superintendents? Principals? What about the CEO’s who have seen their salaries and pensions skyrocket at the same time their company stock has fallen? What about the 80-90% of people’s who are not commission-based salespeople? If merit-based pay is so good for the goose, what about the gander?

Fitness Friday—7/10

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6/29 M T W R F SA SU Total
S       

 

 350       

strokework

 x   3,650       4,000 √-
C       

 

   54 900’       

20.8

[surging]

   59+ 1,606’       

20.3

Bourdeaux

strong

     37 1,578’       

18.4 solo

FishTrap

 150 √+
R       

 

 6.2   7.1       

54:42

   9 hills/trails       

Ward Lake

 8.7       

 

   31 √

 

S. Chose not to swim T so came up short on yardage. My excuse? Phelps returned to competition and I didn’t want to steal any of his limelight. 

C. The best I’ve felt and the strongest I’ve ridden all year. Too bad I peaked right after the Astana Tour de France team roster was finalized. Highlight was bridging up from no man’s land to the lead group on the second climb in Capital Forest and then being in the middle of things all the way home. 

R. Fair amount of trail running. The team is in pretty solid shape. Cooled down at the end of both F’s and SA’s runs in Ward Lake. A favorite summer tradition.

Michael Jackson Questions

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Essay exam. Choose any two to write on.

Why does one’s ethnicity so strongly shape one’s opinion about whether or not he was guilty of child abuse?

With so much countervailing evidence, why do people seemingly assume there’s a correlation between fame and character?

How is it that MJ was by most accounts a brilliant businessman, especially for an entertainer, but has also been described as terrible at managing his personal finances?

Why isn’t Joe Jackson’s influence on MJ more central to the discussion of MJ’s eccentricities and alleged criminal activities?

How does a 12 year old sing and dance like MJ did in 1970? 

What is it about Jackson that makes so many 40 and 50-somethings nostalgic for their childhoods?

If fame corrupts, does absolute fame corrupt absolutely? 

What makes us think we know celebrities like MJ?

Since all we really have an inkling of is their public persona, what makes us think there’s a personal connection? 

How come I can’t moonwalk?

Fitness Friday—6/26

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6/15 M T W R F SA SU Total
S         

 

   3,800         

scm

   zzzz       3,800 √-
C         

 

   50   50     75 1,700’         

5on5off

17.9

 175 √+
R         

 

     6   6.6 10  1:20         

387’

last 6:41

   22.6 √-

S. T was Evergreen masters. It’s hella early and I have to drive across town, but I like it. All I remember is one set of 10x100m on 1:40, odds free, evens w/ 50 stroke. Did the first in 1:28 and then drifted to about 1:37 which made the second half damn near continuous. Somehow, I need to get back to my old descending self. Good coach, fast team, challenging workouts. Slept through R’s workout. That happens maybe twice a year. I’m blaming Sheri because she slept through T’s workout which set a precedent. A solid workout, but only one, thus the dreaded √-. 

C. Got dropped on both race team rides. Set a negative p.r. R by getting dropped twice in the same ride. I had plenty of time on the slow slogs home to debate whether my lack of form was the result of my summer cold or from being undertrained as a result of the previous week. Weirdly, my form was better and I had more pop in April. What’s with that? Nutrition has been fine, but I haven’t been getting enough sleep. In actuality, I don’t think I’m riding worse, it’s just that the race team is riding better as a result of riding more miles than me. I’m not talented enough to hang with 50% of their mileage. At minimum, I need to ride a similar amount, but that’s not as high a priority for me. So maybe I just need to accept getting flicked off the back at some point during each training ride. But if I go in with that attitude, it’s guaranteed to happen. It’s part physical, part mental. In the spring I was riding with a little swagger, now I just don’ t have sufficient ass time to ride as confidently. One more variable is the uncertainty surrounding RAMROD. I’m 156th on the waitlist so it’s going to be close. If I knew I was in I’d be a little more motivated to go long. I did go medium-long on SU finally. 5 miles on, 5 off. Wasn’t lighting the course on fire, but also felt like there was still fuel in the tank at the end. There was wind and rollers. If T and D weren’t racing they might have pulled up to me mid-ride and asked, “Ron, on or off right now?”

R. Bagged M’s run to do final summer school prep before the first class. Rest of the week was standard, except for mile 21.6-22.6. Four of us on SA’s standard 10 miler. At one point the “youth” (late 30’s/early 40’s) dropped back about 20m. I told the Supplement (early 50’s) it was time to show the youth that we’re like fine wine, just getting better with age. “When we hit the church driveway, we begin our mile time trial.” The Supp had been waiting all morning for that invitation. 6:41 with an uphill finish. Score one for the geezers. The dreaded √- due to missing M’s run and not making up any of the miles.

 


Fitness Friday, 6/19

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6/8 M T W R F SA SU Total
S    

 

   2,900m    

WLwetsuit

   4,000m    

TESC scm

       6,900 √
C    

 

   58    

32solo

2,500’

         22    

mtb w/ L

 80 √-
R    

 

10

   6.2 7:46avg   6.2 hilly 10.5 in 1:20   33 √+

Notice the upgrade, the self assessment checks, sophisticated stuff. Fitness-wise, the week started well, then spiraled down due to a Thursday night work commitment and weekend sinus infection. Fortunately, the sinuses are clearing and my normal superhuman strength is slowly returning.

Swimming. T’s early morning solo lake swim was nice. Just as I got into a respectable semi-meditative rhythm near the middle of the lake I felt stuff hitting my face which was freaky deaky. I stopped, looked around, and realized I was surrounded by a film of leaves from shedding cottonwoods. I adjusted and got into clear water shortly afterwards. I do “laps” between two docks that are about 600 yards apart. Thursdays swim was short course meters with the masters team at Evergreen College at 5:30a. There were a couple of high school speedsters too. Told my daughter I was the slowest guy in the pool to which she replied, “Well, you got beat by a 75 year old.” Point well taken smart ass. I like the coach and the vibe. The one other male and I had the lockerroom to ourselves, reminded me of my Norway pool. I asked the coach, a former All American, if there was any hope for me and he confirmed what another coach had told me, I’m crossing over and need to work on pulling straight down and back. 

Cycling. Worse week of the summer. I need to pick it up if I hope to hang with the Valley boys who probably average 250m/week. Tuesday’s ride was great. Hilly and hard. I was strong on the first climb and hung on for three-fourths of the ride. When I finally got flicked off the back, I didn’t mind the slow solo return to town via Harrison. Sunday’s ride with L to Woodard Bay via the Chehalis was a nice change of pace, figuratively and literally. I felt badly when L said, “The only time I get to workout with you is when you’re injured or sick.” Because she rides a heavy hybrid and we were flying along at 13mph, she got tired on the homeward stretch which finally inspired her to learn to draft. I pulled her home. Purist will criticize me for counting the “family” miles, but the week was so thin I don’t have a choice.

Running. Solid. M morn I added on in the woods after dropping the boys off. Don’t know how I got Saturday morning’s run in when I was getting sicker by the hour. Superhuman toughness probably. The right wing nut jobs had excused absences, so the run was unusually peaceful.

Oh, and how should I convert all the bark shoveling I did on Friday into swimming, cycling, or running units?

One footnote to the week. I was considering doing an Olympic triathlon in Portland on Sunday but bagged it due to the sinus infection. As it turns out, my niece, an OSUBeaver, had a breakout race and won her age group going away. I MAY have been able to match her time. Maybe we’ll tangle later in the summer. If all goes as planned, she’ll cry UNCLE when I pass her near the end of the run.

Excellence

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Two events recently made me think about excellence, what it entails and how to cultivate it. Event one was Olympia High’s final orchestra concert of the school year. I’m always blown away by their individual and collective musicianship. Event two was Sunday’s Pre(fontaine) Classic track meet in Track Town, USA, Eugene, OR. In the mile, 12 people went sub 4, an American woman ran 3:59.9 in the 1500; a shot putter went over 71 feet; a long jumper 28’8″; the 100m winner, 9.94; and on and on. 

One thing musical and athletic excellence entail is beauty. There’s something mesmerizing about watching a gifted musician embrace and bring a piece alive just as there’s something almost mystical about watching an elite middle distance East African runner pull away in the last 400 meters.

Often there’s a knowledgeable, committed, demanding coach eliciting excellent performance. Chip Schooler, the Olympia High orchestra conductor is a case in point. I don’t want to put him on a pedestal even though he does stand on one, but those students are privileged to get to work with him day in and day out.

There also has to be an intrinsic love of the activity that translates into dedication to repetitive practice. Then there’s very careful preparation for the excellent performance. One of my favorite parts of the meet was watching the pole vaulters warm up an hour before their event started. Running drills, spraying the handle of their poles, taking practice runs and flopping into the mat, stretching, hydrating, narrowing their focus.

In excellence versus equity debates, I typically advocate for equity, but they don’t have to be mutually exclusive all the time. Maybe I’ve slighted excellence out of fear that it too often produces elitism.

Late Adaptor

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Ever goggle yourself? I just did it to see if my new blog would pop up and I was glad that it did. Unfortunately though, a summary of my “Ratemyprofessor.com” entry also popped up and I’m very sorry to report I still score a big zero for “hotness”. Who cares that my other ratings are so complimentary, I want some chili peppers dammit (the symbol used to depict hotness)! My lovely wife was outraged when she first learned about this injustice and has committed to hacking into the system and rectifying things so that’s helped me move on.

A personal technology update. I’m still probably the only person over age twelve that doesn’t own a cell phone or mobile as some Euros refer to them. I also don’t have a Facebook page, could not care less about what Ashton Kutchar, Shaq, or Lance Armstrong are tweeting about, and only have music on my iPod nano (girly music according to my sister).

One of the stranger things about me though is I follow personal tech discussions fairly closely (David Pogue, Walt Mossberg, Farhad Manjoo). I’m addicted to macrumors.com and I’m anxiously awaiting the June 8th Mac Conference. How WEIRD is that, the last guy without a cell phone logging on daily to see the most recent screen shots of the soon to be released, new generation iPhone. You’re thinking off-the-hinges eccentric, but I really prefer “quirky”.

How is this lunacy explained? My interest in personal tech discussions is easier to explain than my non-conformity. I’m a social scientist at heart and I’m intrigued by the ways the technologies are changing how we relate to one another and our culture more generally. On the other side of the equation, one of my hang ups is the slow and steady dimunition of privacy. Another factor probably  is simply not being as social as most other people. Also, the longer I remain untethered (email is a whole ‘nother story), the longer the non-conformist part of me wants to stay untethered. How cool would it be to the the last untethered person (I’m thinking Newsweek cover story). I don’t begrudge anyone their smart phones or hand held computers, I have no illusion of having any impact on the inevitability of increased connectivity, and this post aside (remember Positive Momentum is a secret society), I don’t advertise my cell-less status.

That being said, I am ready to buy Apple’s Kindle killer whenever it comes out (probably first half of 2010 according to macrumors.com). I want an electronic reader and I have to confess to being intrigued by some of the iPhone apps. Maybe I should just buy an iTouch when it’s updated. I was impressed by a recent  iTouch to iTouch via Skype article I read. Maybe I should buy my lovely wife an iTouch too and then we can Skype away. Since she’s the only person who thinks I deserve a chili pepper, she’s the only person I want to talk to.

Should I buy an iPhone, iTouch, hold out for the tablet?

And yes, I own APPL stock; yes, all the references to their products in this post are subliminal; yes, tomorrow you’ll wake up and begin transitioning from that Seattle company’s products to APPL’s.

Is resistance futile and should I just create a Facebook account, start Twittering, join Linkedin, and upgrade the blog with all the social networking doodads? Why or why not? Has your personal tech enriched your life? Have the benefits outweighed the costs?

Care to sell me on digitizing my life?

Blogging Again

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I enjoyed the sabbatical, but I’m ready to rite again. I’m not advertising my return, so if you’ve stumbled upon this post, welcome to the secret society that is Positive Momentum. Whatever you do, don’t tell my mom so I can continue spelling whatever way I want.