All banner artwork by Brady Johnson, professional graphic artist.
My latest books:
The Blue Skunk Page on Facebook
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 06:51AM We repainted our offices last week and I found this behind my desk. I don't know the source.
I like it. See also:
Trying to organize some of these thoughts in a column tentatively titled "Why your next CTO should be an English major".
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 05:47AM From the NY Times opinion pages:
Of course, people should learn basic numerical skills: decimals, ratios and estimating, sharpened by a good grounding in arithmetic. But a definitive analysis by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce forecasts that in the decade ahead a mere 5 percent of entry-level workers will need to be proficient in algebra or above. And if there is a shortage of STEM graduates, an equally crucial issue is how many available positions there are for men and women with these skills. A January 2012 analysis from the Georgetown center found 7.5 percent unemployment for engineering graduates and 8.2 percent among computer scientists. - Andrew Hacker an emeritus professor of political science at Queens College, City University of New York, and co-author of “Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids — and What We Can Do About It.” (formatting mine.)
My son struggled with required math classes in both high school and college, as did I. And suspect both of us are somewhere within one standard deviation of a normal IQ. Politically-driven, nonsensical math requirements probably make me angrier than almost anything else in education right now. To think of the millions of lost classroom hours spent teaching useless skills that actually turn kids off education should make every educator angry - including math teachers.
I understand why top students - the A+ types - learn physics and calculus. I get why they study classic literature and the details of history. The kids in this brainy group are the future professors, scientists, and engineers who will propel civilization forward.
But why do we make the B students sit through these same classes? That's like trying to teach a walrus to tap dance. It's a complete waste of time and money. And most students fall into that middle category. I assume this ridiculous educational system is a legacy from a day when generic mental training was good enough for just about any job.
In our modern world, would it make more sense to teach B students something useful, such as entrepreneurship?
My response to that post, "If they let me design the math curriculum", still works for me, perhaps even more so given the NY Times editorial:
I've talked to a number of adults who, like me, are fairly well convinced that they could not graduate from high school today given the "rigorous" math curriculum requirement. And I am sure the majority of the legislators and business leaders who think four years of math is essential for every student couldn't either.
But as I think about it, four year of math is a great idea - we just need to start teaching the right kind of math - consumer math.
In my school days, "consumer math," was a euphemism for dummy math. You can't hack algebra or trig, Consumer Math class is for you. Ironically, today's graduate needs "consumer math" a heck of a lot more than trigonometry. In such a course I would include:
Oh, speaking of math skills, here is a sure fire way of knowing one has slipped into geezerdom. At the used book store recently, I gave the clerk a 20 dollar bill and a one dollar bill to pay for my $5.35 purchase. (Have you noticed that older used books are now selling for more than their original cover price?) Anyway, the clerk said she would have to just make change from the $20 since dealing with two bills was too complicated. She did relent after she checked (on a calculator) that my mentally calculated estimate of $15.65 in change was indeed accurate.
My immediate reaction: "Why aren't today's schools teaching kids to make change?" 50% of all criticisms leveled at schools would be eliminated if we simply taught kids how make change - every year, right through college. Spoken like a true geezer, huh?
OK, folks, when will educators find the courage to wrest control of curriculum out of the hands of the politicians and departments of education and put it back where it belongs - in individual schools? Complaining in the teachers' lounge and on echo chamber blogs isn't helping. Attending any political forums this fall to inform the candidates? Practicing willful, purposeful subversion? What?
Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 10:19AM Kids, get your nose out of those comic books and look at the scenery. (Trip to Black Hills, 1965)
Kids, get your nose out of those video games and look at the scenery. (Trip to Black Hills, 2011)
Grandma, get your nose out of that iPhone and look at the scenery. (Trip to the Wisconsin Dells, 2012)
I suspect the motels where we stayed during our last road trip lost money on us. While the boys ate their weight in motel breakfast waffles, Fruit Loops, and sugar donuts (I know, bad grandpa), the amount of electricity we consumed each night recharging our "devices" must have also cost a pretty penny.
The two adults and two children on this trip among them brought*:
and with the exception of the digital camera, each device got used on a daily basis. A major task was creating and implementing a charging schedule. With only two ways to charge the devices in the car, full batteries each morning were imperative.
Grandma explains the use of an ancient analog GPS tool.
A few thoughts about mixing vacations and devices:
1. As the quote above suggests, kids (and probably adults), have always been more drawn to media, whether Batman or Mario, than the passing scenery. Since this trip had drives that lasted seven hours and four hours, the babysitting factor of the iPod was great. OK, maybe we should have played Auto Bingo or had deep cross-generational discussions about the meaning of life. You can try that on your next trip with a six-year-old.
2. I made a deliberate effort to stay away from work while on this trip, even getting cranky with my staff for sending me e-mail that I did not deem an emergency. We need to have a departmental meeting about what does and does not constitute an emergency when I get back. I have always prided myself on being one of the few tech directors whose phone is not constantly going off during meetings for questions that result (as I see it) from a lack of empowering others. But this doesn't just happen.
3. The instant reference ability of the iPhone came in handy. The GPS feature worked great. Checking the opening times of attractions was easy. But this time, more than ever, we were able to "augment" our reality as we traveled. For example, the sign on the city of limits of Lodi, WI, reads "Home of Susie the Duck." Are culturally literate people supposed to know who Susie the Duck is/was? Anyway, the information was easy to find and added a bit to the trip.
What was the name of that bird the guide just pointed out?
Oh, the Prothonotary Warbler, according to the online guide.
4. It's now a ding and not a ring that wakes one up at night. My wife knew within minutes when the new granddaughter arrived. But this time, it was the ding of text message, not the ring of a phone, that carried the news of the early arrival. My grandson Paul and our own younger children do not call or e-mail, only text. If we chronologically-challenged individuals want to stay in touch, it will be our generation that must change communication methods. Do educators get this yet?**
5. Despite the gadgets, we still did analog stuff. Hikes, bike rides, movie going, swimming, and lots of other activity got everyone away from the screens. Oh, we also read books. Really. My guess is that time away from screens will increasingly define what a vacation really is, as more of us spend our work days staring at the damn things.
Speaking of which, I'm going for a walk!
Oh, despite all the electronics, the motel TV sets did not go on even once...
Books of choice on this trip.
* This is what happens when you have both a geeky dad and a geeky grandpa.
** From "Embracing the Inevitable" whitepaper, Blackboard.com/k12
Although debates continue about using mobile devices in K-12 education, it seems that their use by Active Learners—students who have grown up with the Internet and expect to have information readily available at their fingertips—has already reached critical mass. As evidence, consider:
Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up 2011 National Research Project found that 58% of middle and high school students want to use their own mobile devices as part of their education
The same report found that 30% of middle school and 46% of high school students have used Facebook to collaborate on classroom projects
The National School Board Association found 63% of students use mobile devices in schools—even when prohibited
- Believe it or not, 46% of drivers aged 18 to 24 said they would choose Internet access over owning a car, according to the research firm Gartner
