I hope it all was worth it. Nothing says holiday spirit like trampling workers to death or shooting fellow shoppers. Of course, the authorities in California are trying to distance the shooting from Black Friday or an argument over a toy, but the point remains that those involved were shopping and had an argument. And someone got shot. So maybe they weren't fighting over this year's hottest hard to get item, but I'm willing to bet that they're frayed nerves and quick tempers had something to do with the consumption frenzy that generally begins around 4 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving.
It seems to me that the main way in which we relate to other people is through consumption. We chat with the barista, we hand the valet the keys, or maybe we're on the other end of that equation. However, it goes beyond our interactions with others as server/served, producer/consumer. I think in many ways, consumption is the way many of us relate to the world. We don't know what to do when we aren't consuming. If a store is open -- even if there's nothing inside there we need -- many of us (and I'll include myself here) will go to that store just to walk around the aisles.
Maybe we'll find something we desperately need. Maybe we'll kill the hours, anyway.
21 November 2008
In partial explanation of my absence, in lieu of a doctor's excuse.
I'm at a conference on teaching at the college level, so I'm getting a bit of a break from the daily grind. Conferences are usually energizing experiences for me, since the environment is intense and the locations are, if not exotic, at least out of the ordinary. However, I can't help but think that the main problem with college-level education conferences is that they tend to present information I learned as an undergraduate as if it were new material. Hey, look -- students learn more when they have to manipulate content rather than simply take notes at your lecture! Oh, check this out -- varied assessment techniques are more valid than just midterm and final!
However, the best one I've had so far was a session on using technology in the classroom -- or to be more specific, it was a session on "trends" in technology that could be applied to education. In other words, it turned into a "did you know that there are things called blogs that can be used for interacting with students?" and a "search engines can pull up all sorts of information about you, even information you may not have provided yourself."
I kid you not. 2008. Late 2008.
But I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that the food was good, the accomodations pleasant, and that some of the sessions have been much better than those I've chosen to outline. I suppose my big problem is that I'm comparing it to English conferences, in which you'd most certainly get laughed out of the room if you tried to present some twenty year old reading of Moby Dick as if it were something new (not that I haven't seen my share of bad English conference papers, but in general you get savaged in the question and answer session for presenting old ideas as new discoveries).
I've also discovered that most of the people at this conference aren't actually trained education researchers -- they're college professors from one discipline or another who have a great interest in their teaching, and it's good they have that interest; they're probably all good teachers, dedicated teachers. However, that doesn't mean they can design valid research studies on educational models. For instance, I question the validity of a study in which students are divided into two groups: one group takes the course online, the other takes it in a traditional classroom setting. Learning is measured by a multiple-choice post-test that the traditional students take closed book in class under time constraints, and the online students take online under time constraints. The instructor seemed to think that the time constraints precluded online students from looking up answers, even though the tests were based on readings in their textbooks (hello, google books anyone, or even the good old fashioned method of having the book open and marked to key chapter summaries, bullet lists, etc.).
Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon.
However, the best one I've had so far was a session on using technology in the classroom -- or to be more specific, it was a session on "trends" in technology that could be applied to education. In other words, it turned into a "did you know that there are things called blogs that can be used for interacting with students?" and a "search engines can pull up all sorts of information about you, even information you may not have provided yourself."
I kid you not. 2008. Late 2008.
But I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that the food was good, the accomodations pleasant, and that some of the sessions have been much better than those I've chosen to outline. I suppose my big problem is that I'm comparing it to English conferences, in which you'd most certainly get laughed out of the room if you tried to present some twenty year old reading of Moby Dick as if it were something new (not that I haven't seen my share of bad English conference papers, but in general you get savaged in the question and answer session for presenting old ideas as new discoveries).
I've also discovered that most of the people at this conference aren't actually trained education researchers -- they're college professors from one discipline or another who have a great interest in their teaching, and it's good they have that interest; they're probably all good teachers, dedicated teachers. However, that doesn't mean they can design valid research studies on educational models. For instance, I question the validity of a study in which students are divided into two groups: one group takes the course online, the other takes it in a traditional classroom setting. Learning is measured by a multiple-choice post-test that the traditional students take closed book in class under time constraints, and the online students take online under time constraints. The instructor seemed to think that the time constraints precluded online students from looking up answers, even though the tests were based on readings in their textbooks (hello, google books anyone, or even the good old fashioned method of having the book open and marked to key chapter summaries, bullet lists, etc.).
Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon.
17 November 2008
Chemical Warfare.
Apparently, chemical weapons were used on US troops in the first Gulf War. Unfortunately, it was our own government who employed the chemical weapons on US troops. CNN reports on a study that was done for the "congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses" finds two causal agents:
While CNN doesn't identify who used the "dangerous pesticides," I can only guess that with our country's history of using chemicals to deal with naturally occurring hazards (see Agent Orange), that it was the US deploying the pesticides.
The US also has a fine history of experimenting on its own soldiers and civilians, as the early atomic bomb tests ably demonstrate:
The report identifies two Gulf War "neurotoxic" exposures that "are causally associated with Gulf War illness." The first is the ingestion of pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills, given to protect troops from effects of nerve agents. The second is exposure to dangerous pesticides used during the conflict.
While CNN doesn't identify who used the "dangerous pesticides," I can only guess that with our country's history of using chemicals to deal with naturally occurring hazards (see Agent Orange), that it was the US deploying the pesticides.
The US also has a fine history of experimenting on its own soldiers and civilians, as the early atomic bomb tests ably demonstrate:
Not to mention the fallout about 65 miles away in Las Vegas. Roll those dice, baby!
Notoriously, we also have the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, conducted over an amazing 30 years by the US Public Health Service and only stopped when it became public knowledge that the U.S. government was deliberately failing to treat study participants so they could study the effects of this fatal-if-left-untreated disease...of course, the participants were poor Black men, so I guess the government thought, "eh, who really cares."
So the idea the government would deliberately infect our troops with experimental medicines and expose them to poorly researched chemical pesticides isn't exactly a shocker. The only question is whether George H.W. Bush will be brought to justice for presiding over this act of chemical warfare.
These two need to be stopped.
Adrian Fenty, who apparently thought that running a school system boiled down to slapping paint on walls and hiring incompetent, unprepared managers, and Michelle Rhee, who has no idea how to manage a large organization, must be stopped. In their latest move to mask their sheer ignorance of education, Rhee and Fenty are seeking to declare a "state of emergency" in the DC public schools. Now, in a "yes we're all concerned" kind of way, DCPS has been in a state of emergency, but in a technical, as in "declare martial law, suspend laws, shoot to kill" kind of way, no such state of emergency exists.
These two must be stopped.
I argued this publicly and privately to anyone who would listen when the school takeover was being floated and Rhee was handed the reins: this maneuver [the takeover] had nothing to do with improving DCPS and everything to do with dismantling the teacher union and outsourcing -- essentially privatizing -- public education. With every move Michelle Rhee has made, I've only grown more confident in that prediction. [as a side note, I suppose when I use "incompetent" in relation to Michelle Rhee, then I'm taking at face value her claims to want to improve the system -- I think she's a tremendously competent tool of the think-tanks and foundations that want to dismantle public education in the US, but a terribly incompetent manager.]
Now comes this bizarre move, where she and Fenty seek to invoke the same sort of emergency activity that New Orleans used after Hurricane Katrina. Under the Bush regime, neocons and neolibs alike looked to the "state of emergency" conditions to suspend ordinary regulations that sought to protect workers and turned the New Orleans rebuilding effort into a giant laissez faire showplace of corruption and thievery. Let me be clear: privatization in most of these contexts means taking public money and handing it over to cronies in the private sector, often giving far more for far less and with no oversight or accountability.
Unfortunately for Rhee and Fenty, DC apparently hasn't suffered any major natural disaster like a hurricane, earthquake, or flood (although I might make the argument that Rhee's tenure has been an man-made disaster, maybe like an act of terrorism...though that's a bit harsh isn't it?), and I doubt Barack Obama's administration will be as friendly as Bush's was to undermining public education.
Teacher unions aren't the problem. Bad management is the problem. Critically underfunding local school in-classroom and enrichment activities is the problem. Utterly mismanaging facilities is the problem.
Yes, there are bad teachers out there, just like there are bad co-workers at most offices in the private sector, but anyone who thinks the solution to DCPS is to dismantle the teachers union is falling for the old bait and switch. Destroying the teachers union does nothing to improve education but it goes a long way toward satisfying the anti-government forces whose ultimate goal is to undo government support for education.
For years -- long before Rhee rode into town -- DCPS's problem has been a lack of good management at the top. That lack has resulted in crumbling facilities and moronic curriculum decisions that treat phys ed, art, and music as luxuries rather than integral components to education (not to mention an administrative attitude that placed little emphasis on keeping track of students and seriously underfunded guidance offices). That's where the problem lies, and until someone addresses that root problem -- the imperial central administration -- DCPS will not improve.
These two must be stopped.
These two must be stopped.
I argued this publicly and privately to anyone who would listen when the school takeover was being floated and Rhee was handed the reins: this maneuver [the takeover] had nothing to do with improving DCPS and everything to do with dismantling the teacher union and outsourcing -- essentially privatizing -- public education. With every move Michelle Rhee has made, I've only grown more confident in that prediction. [as a side note, I suppose when I use "incompetent" in relation to Michelle Rhee, then I'm taking at face value her claims to want to improve the system -- I think she's a tremendously competent tool of the think-tanks and foundations that want to dismantle public education in the US, but a terribly incompetent manager.]
Now comes this bizarre move, where she and Fenty seek to invoke the same sort of emergency activity that New Orleans used after Hurricane Katrina. Under the Bush regime, neocons and neolibs alike looked to the "state of emergency" conditions to suspend ordinary regulations that sought to protect workers and turned the New Orleans rebuilding effort into a giant laissez faire showplace of corruption and thievery. Let me be clear: privatization in most of these contexts means taking public money and handing it over to cronies in the private sector, often giving far more for far less and with no oversight or accountability.
If adopted, the measures would essentially allow the District to begin building a new school system. Such an effort would be similar to one underway in New Orleans, where a state takeover after Hurricane Katrina placed most of the city's 78 public schools in a special Recovery School District. About half of the district's schools are
charters, and it has no union contract.
Unfortunately for Rhee and Fenty, DC apparently hasn't suffered any major natural disaster like a hurricane, earthquake, or flood (although I might make the argument that Rhee's tenure has been an man-made disaster, maybe like an act of terrorism...though that's a bit harsh isn't it?), and I doubt Barack Obama's administration will be as friendly as Bush's was to undermining public education.
Teacher unions aren't the problem. Bad management is the problem. Critically underfunding local school in-classroom and enrichment activities is the problem. Utterly mismanaging facilities is the problem.
Yes, there are bad teachers out there, just like there are bad co-workers at most offices in the private sector, but anyone who thinks the solution to DCPS is to dismantle the teachers union is falling for the old bait and switch. Destroying the teachers union does nothing to improve education but it goes a long way toward satisfying the anti-government forces whose ultimate goal is to undo government support for education.
For years -- long before Rhee rode into town -- DCPS's problem has been a lack of good management at the top. That lack has resulted in crumbling facilities and moronic curriculum decisions that treat phys ed, art, and music as luxuries rather than integral components to education (not to mention an administrative attitude that placed little emphasis on keeping track of students and seriously underfunded guidance offices). That's where the problem lies, and until someone addresses that root problem -- the imperial central administration -- DCPS will not improve.
These two must be stopped.
16 November 2008
As Ice Cube would say, it was a good day.
The stadium was wet, and it wasn't helped by some extremely drunk woman puking her guts out two rows in front of me sometime in the middle of the second quarter...she and her boyfriend/husband/partner skedaddled soon afterwards, leaving everyone within four rows of their ground zero gasping for air depending on the breeze. Also, the guy who's back she threw up on wasn't terribly thrilled about it.
The important thing, though, is that Penn State beat Indiana convincingly, although the first half was anything but, with PSU going into the locker room up 10-7. However, the defense clamped down in the second half and stymied any possibility of an Indiana comeback. As for the
Big 10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl, now it comes to the final game of the regular season, the so-called "rivalry game" against Michigan State. It's not much of a rivalry game, since PSU and MSU don't have a history; it's simply the league-generated rivalry game...Penn State's only real rivalry -- as in hate and violence, fear and loathing -- was with Pitt, and sadly they stopped playing regularly in the early 1990's. I think it's as ridiculous as Florida dropping Florida State or Miami because they're in rival conferences.
Anyway, after the game I strolled about campus and the rain let up and above Burrows Building, which houses the English Department, there was a fantastic rainbow:
That's gotta mean something good.
The important thing, though, is that Penn State beat Indiana convincingly, although the first half was anything but, with PSU going into the locker room up 10-7. However, the defense clamped down in the second half and stymied any possibility of an Indiana comeback. As for the
Big 10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl, now it comes to the final game of the regular season, the so-called "rivalry game" against Michigan State. It's not much of a rivalry game, since PSU and MSU don't have a history; it's simply the league-generated rivalry game...Penn State's only real rivalry -- as in hate and violence, fear and loathing -- was with Pitt, and sadly they stopped playing regularly in the early 1990's. I think it's as ridiculous as Florida dropping Florida State or Miami because they're in rival conferences.
Anyway, after the game I strolled about campus and the rain let up and above Burrows Building, which houses the English Department, there was a fantastic rainbow:
That's gotta mean something good.
14 November 2008
Six on the Quick Pick.
I'm heading out of town to attend the Penn State v. Indiana contest in magnificent Beaver Stadium, located on the eastern edge of the University Park campus. But before I go, I'll leave you with some advice you'd be best served by ignoring or turning around on its head:
1. #11 Ohio State at Illinois. I'm taking Illinois in a shocker.
2. #25 South Carolina at #4 Florida. Homecoming for Steve Spurrier, but it won't be happy. It'll be more like a Harold Pinter play. Florida in a rout.
3. #16 UNC at Maryland. I know I picked against them last week and got burned. I'm picking against them again. Maryland wins this game...by a hair.
4. Boston College at #19 Florida State. Can BC sustain their momentum after shutting out Notre Dame? Can FSU sustain their momentum after trouncing Clemson? Good questions. I'm leaning Florida State here, because BC should have put up more points against ND -- I don't think they can keep up with FSU.
5. Cal at Oregon State. This game is interesting because it remains to be seen just how good Oregon State, defeaters of USC, might be. I think Oregon State wins over a disappointing Cal team.
6. Indiana at PSU. PSU by a landslide in a rainfilled mess.
1. #11 Ohio State at Illinois. I'm taking Illinois in a shocker.
2. #25 South Carolina at #4 Florida. Homecoming for Steve Spurrier, but it won't be happy. It'll be more like a Harold Pinter play. Florida in a rout.
3. #16 UNC at Maryland. I know I picked against them last week and got burned. I'm picking against them again. Maryland wins this game...by a hair.
4. Boston College at #19 Florida State. Can BC sustain their momentum after shutting out Notre Dame? Can FSU sustain their momentum after trouncing Clemson? Good questions. I'm leaning Florida State here, because BC should have put up more points against ND -- I don't think they can keep up with FSU.
5. Cal at Oregon State. This game is interesting because it remains to be seen just how good Oregon State, defeaters of USC, might be. I think Oregon State wins over a disappointing Cal team.
6. Indiana at PSU. PSU by a landslide in a rainfilled mess.
13 November 2008
To borrow a phrase, You Cannot Be Serious.
Sarah Palin refuses to go away. Discredited even by Fox News, Palin is making hay about her influential position as a governor. After having actively ramped up the most ridiculous partisan attacks in my memory (Obama as Marxist -- if only, Obama as terrorist), Palin now complains about those very tactics:
Doesn't she get it? The fifteen minutes are over.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday argued that she and her fellow Republican governors were ready to put aside "extreme partisanship" and act if WashingtonWhat the hell is she talking about? Since when do governors run the show around here? Do you know what governors do? They run their states, and every now and then they meet up with other governors who run other states, and they talk about running their states. They don't pass laws. They don't set federal policy. They don't run federal agencies. And no one outside their own states look to any of them for leadership. But don't tell Governor Palin:
fails to provide the leadership America needs.
"I think that this group is going to be looked to and looked at for leadership that perhaps had been lacking in Congress and in Washington, D.C.," she said. "This group is going to be uniquely qualified to provide leadership in this nation."Um. No. Let me repeat: at a national level, no one gives even half a rat's ass what a collection of governors think, and trust me, they care even less about what a collection of one party's governors think (be they Republican or Democrat). The story gets better, with Palin -- whose only apparent ability during the Presidential campaign was to try to talk about Barack Obama's pre-political career and events that occurred while Obama was a child -- decrying the media for talking about the past.
Palin addressed reporters at the annual Republican Governors Association convention in Miami, Florida. Palin was joined on stage by a long line of Republican governors.
Doesn't she get it? The fifteen minutes are over.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)