Best TV Shows About High School

As a general rule, I don't watch TV shows that have anything to do with the profession I'm in. While I was in the Marines, I made sure to avoid JAG, and since I've been teaching, I've done the same with shows set in high schools.

Jay Matthews of The Washington Post has an interesting blog post about the top five TV shows about high school. It was interesting to see some the shows Matthews talked about, including Friday Night Lights and Glee. One show I remember liking as a teen was Head of the Class, whether it was Howard Hesseman or Billy Connolly as the teacher.

Never Thought I'd Be Blogging About Figure Skating

From: Logo Design Next

There aren't a whole lot of national championship events that come to the Triad, so when they do, it's good to take advantage of them.

The 2011 US Figure Skating Championships have been at the Greensboro Coliseum since the 22nd, and my family and I went to Saturday's morning session. It's great to have a sporting event that the whole family's interested in--as a matter of fact, my wife knew about this before I did.

I'm not sure why the championships ended up in Greensboro (maybe the size of the coliseum matters), but it's great to have an opportunity to talk to my classes about a major sporting event that's so close to home.

Behaving Off the Clock

From: Microsoft Clip Art

I had the "honor" of teaching Career Management my first year in the business. I made it a theme of my class that what you did outside of work affected your employment status. Back in '07, there were plenty of examples to prove me right, like Michael Vick and Pacman Jones.

One guy who always seemed to escape consequences for being a bad boy has been Charlie Sheen. Despite a long list of offenses, Sheen has always seemed to dodge any punishment. Recently, a senior CBS exec, when asked about Sheen's behavior, stated that it was no big deal as long as he showed up to tape his highly successful show, "Two and a Half Men."

Oops. With Charlie's recent binge and subsequent trip to the hospital, taping of his show has been affected. How long can Sheen keep this up? How long will the show go on?

Productive Snow Days

There's a very interesting blog post on The Washington Post's web site about an Ohio school district's handling of snow days.

Instead of making the snow days up later in the year, Mississinawa School District has what they call "e-days." Students stay at home and download work posted by teachers on their web sites. Students without computers have more time to turn in the work, since they can't do the work until they get back to school.

This idea would be AWESOME here! I already post assignments on my web site for students to do. It would be great to be able to count snow days as school days. Teachers already do work during these days--it'd be great to see students get credit for these days, too.

Using GoAnimate to Win a Contest

GoAnimate4Schools.com: The Four P's of Marketing by Scott Armstrong

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate4Schools. It's free and fun!

I got turned on to GoAnimate via a tweet from one our district's technology facilitators (thank you, Evan!). They have a contest among educators to create the best educational animation. Winner gets new computers. I hope you check out what I did regarding one of the basic topics of marketing, the 4 P's. And if you can retweet it, even better!

Thanks!

Making iPads Mandatory in School

From: All Things Digital

The Webb School in Knoxville, TN is requiring students to have an iPad for school next year. The school plans on having students do their work on the device. They also plan on having students read their required material on iPads instead of dragging textbooks around.

The school will require students to purchase the iPad (or they can rent one for $200/year).

I think it would be very interesting to try that at a school in our district. Requiring students to purchase iPads probably would raise a hue and cry for some, and would be a formidable obstacle to surmount. I would also wonder how teachers would react to teaching with the iPad--I could definitely see resistance to implementing these in the classroom.

It always sounds like a great deal to have technology as the centerpiece of teaching tools, but...it still comes down to reading, writing and 'rithmetic first. Without those three subjects as the building blocks of an education, the fancy gadgets can only do so much. Still, I'd love to give it a shot with my classes!

Grading Parents

From: Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

I got really excited when I first read the headline of an article about a Florida politcian's proposal to have teachers grade the parents of their K-3 students. Before I started teaching, my theory about school success was that schools are only as good as the parents demand them to be. Five years into teaching, and I haven't changed my mind about this. To me, our school report card shows that their is a lack of effort by our parents to get our kids to do well on their tests. So, at first glance, grading parents sounds like a good idea.

As I read the arguments in the article, however, I thought that the reasons against the grading seemed convincing. In an ideal world, teachers should be working with parents to help students be successful. Giving a parent an F may be accurate, but not necessarily helpful in getting the job done. After all, how would teachers feel if parents could grade us?

GI Joe Redux?

From: investcomics.com


As a kid growing up in the '80s, most of my toys were either from the Star Wars or GI Joe franchises. And between my brother and I, there were a lot of GI Joe toys in our house (and GI Joe comics, and episodes of the GI Joe cartoon being watched).

I learned a lot from flipping through the channels on Friday night:

1. There is a new TV network aimed at kids, Hub TV
2. Hub TV is airing revamped GI Joe cartoon series, GI Joe Renegades
3. GI Joe Renegades is NOT at the same level of the cheesy GI Joe cartoons I watched: it's cheesier.

Please, Hub TV, leave my GI Joe alone! The movie was bad enough!

Where All of the Children Are Below Average

From: Minnesota Public Radio


When Garrison Keillor tells tales about the fictional Lake Wobegon, he often says that all of the children there are above average. Although it's a funny line, nothing is funny about the report card our school brought home this week.

After clicking through it, I found there is not a single category of testing where our students meet the district or state average. Math, science, social studies, English--nothin'. It's quite discouraging to see the amount of work our teachers put in to teaching our students result in such pitiful scores. I know that testing is certainly not the end all and be all of measuring a school, but I was hoping we could be competent in at least one subject area.

Fixing NASCAR's Points System

It looks as if NASCAR may tinker around with their points system, which has been in place since the '70s. Even longtime NASCAR fans get confused about how the points system works. Basically, the race winner gets 185-195 points, and second through 43rd get progressively less. Now, it appears NASCAR is kicking around the idea of giving the winner 43 points, and each subsequent finisher gets one less point.

I think this idea will make the math easier, but it doesn't solve the overall problem with NASCAR's points system. One of the greatest driver-to-driver insults is to say someone is "points racing," that is, racing conservatively to pick up a few points rather than gambling to win. If NASCAR and its fans really want to put a premium on wins ("If you're not first, you're last"), then there needs to be a greater separation between 1st and 2nd place. Using the current points system, I think the winner should get at least 50 more points than the second place driver. Since top 5 finishes and top 10 finishes are big, there should be a big drop in points from 5th to 6th and 10th to 11th. Will NASCAR ever come close to doing this? I doubt it...

Human Target: Lance Armstrong

Cycling is one of those sports, like baseball and track & field, that seems to be under constant scrutiny regarding the "cleanliness" of its stars. Lots of big names in those sports have been caught: Manny Ramirez, Marion Jones, Floyd Landis, etc. Now it may be Lance Armstrong's turn to face the heat.

Many in France questioned how a cancer survivor could dominate such a physically grueling race year after year, but no test ever proved that Armstrong had cheated. Floyd Landis declared when he and Armstrong were teammates, Armstrong was using drugs, but given Landis' own issues, his charges were not given much weight.

Now, SI is releasing a story concerning the grand jury's work in Armstrong's case. Like the Barry Bonds federal case, lots of damaging info is leaking out about this case.

Lance Armstrong has built an image has been forged by beating cancer, winning races and dating rock stars. Can his image survive what's going to happen in court?

Killing the Golden Goose

With the insanely high TV ratings the NFL registered during its divisional playoffs games last weekend, the last thing people should want to talk about is labor issues. But, in fact, there seems to be growing buzz about a lockout/strike shortly after the season ends.

I don't think either side will get much sympathy from fans, due to the money both sides make. And why should they get sympathy? They play to packed houses, get nearly every eyeball in America to tune in during their championship game, and have the most popular sport in America for some time. How, indeed, do you screw this situation up?

If there is some kind of labor stoppage, I wonder what the overall impact on the game would be. It seems to me that the general public gets much angrier at baseball players for striking than it does when NBA or NFL players do (and the NHL's not at the point where a sizable chunk of the public care is they play or not). If some or all of the 2011 NFL season is missed, I predict that America's love affair with the NFL is so strong that all will be forgiven whenever the teams take the field again.

The Digital Divide & Minorities

From AP

There's an interesting article making the AP rounds this week regarding the "wiredness" rate (is that a word?) of blacks and Hispanics versus whites. The poll from Pew shows that blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to use their mobile phones to access the Internet, update Facebook accounts and checking e-mail.

People quoted in the article raise concerns about how minorities use their connectedness. To summarize, those mentioned were concerned that minorities were using their Internet access to entertain themselves and not do something productive, like apply for jobs, work on spreadsheets, etc.

Speaking from personal experience, as a former Computer Applications I teacher, I'm not sure that this problem is limited to just minorities. I started teaching under the assumption that all of these teenagers that grew up with computers would be able to run circles around me. I found that assumption to be 180 degrees off. It seems like most of my students know just enough about computers to download music, play games and send misspelled tweets. Ask them to do something useful, like research for a paper or create a spreadsheet, and it's a dicey proposition at best. I've also learned that having my students use Excel once a year isn't enough (insert your "duh" here), so I'm trying to work that application into more of my lesson plans.

Money For Nothing

Nothing like a good dose of censorship, Canadian-style, eh?

Dire Straits' hit song "Money for Nothing" has been banned across Canada's radio stations due to offensive language. Several times in the song, the singer references rock stars using a word for homosexuals that begins with "f."

This song's been out since 1985, and I'm not sure that I've ever heard anyone complain about this song before now.

To the lone Canadian radio station that refuses to give in to the government's attempt at censorship, I salute you!

American Idol in Trouble?

From: RealityTVMagazine

This blog post on tvweek.com got me thinking about American Idol's new season. The major overhaul, of course, is the departure of Simon Cowell and the addition of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.

I started out watching AI when it first debuted and stuck with it for a few seasons. I've been impressed that the show has been enormously successful over the years, but it's basically a Star Search remake. Except...Simon Cowell is no Ed McMahon. Cowell's biting commentary, particularly in the first auditions was must-see TV. Will people tune in at the same rate because they can't wait to see what Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez say to a no-talent "singer"? I say no.

Doing More With Less

From: Popeater

At some point, nearly every employee will hear this mantra from top management. It's encouragement to work harder for less pay/less time/fewer resources.

But this phrase can also be applied to the entertainment industry. I'm not a huge Lady Gaga fan, but she can obviously generate money like she prints it, in light of news that she may make $100M in 2011. This after earning about $60M in 2010.

In fact, Lady Gaga reminds me of another popular entertainer who combined mediocre singing and dancing skills with a sharp sense of marketing and a relentless work ethic to become one of the world's most recognizable people: Madonna.

Home Run! A Teacher's Translation Guide for Policy Makers

From: The Military Times Edge


This appeared in The Washington Post's education section today. Can't say it better myself!

Snow Day III (and other sequels)

We're out of school for the third straight day. Hopefully, we'll get in some school at the end of the end of this week and start knocking out these mid-terms and finals.

I named this post Snow Day III because I've been thinking about movie sequels/remakes this week. I understand that movie studios are in the business of making money, and making a movie with a built-in audience always seems like less of a risk than a movie based on an original screenplay, but...

The Green Hornet doesn't have the following that Superman and Batman have. Yes, there was a TV show in the '60s, but I can't see audiences flocking to see this film. The casting of Seth Rogan as the Green Hornet is confusing--does the studio want this to be a comedy, or is Rogan trying to break out of a typecast?



The Mechanic is another movie that makes me scratch my head. I like Charles Bronson as much as the next red-blooded American male, but I can't imagine The Mechanic being a movie that anyone Bronson fan would rank as one of his most memorable roles. That being said, if the movie's a success, then more power to the studio!

BCS Thoughts

From Sports Illustrated

Congratulations to the Auburn Tigers for winning the BCS championship last night, the fifth straight SEC team to do so. The cynic in me wonders how long it will take the NCAA to vacate the 'ship. With USC, it only took five years.

In the meantime, Auburn should get some serious coin from merchandising sales. According to CNBC's Darren Rovell, Auburn already has 175+ championship items for sale. And I noticed that prior to the game, a #2 (Cam Newton) jersey was selling for $125 in stores around Glendale.

One final thought: for all of the vitriol that annually surrounds the BCS, once again the game delivered money and ratings. The ratings from the game were the largest ever for a program on cable television, and StubHub actually had to shut down ticket sales for the game last week due to overwhelming demand.

Things to Do on a Snow Day

For a long time, many people have criticized our school district for being quick to pull the trigger on calling off school. In wake of last week's injury to a student driving to school, we got the call early Sunday evening that school has been closed today.

What to do with an extra day off? (Well, it's not really extra--we'll end up giving up a workday next month.) I have a list:


*Finish thank you cards (from Christmas)
*Continue working on mid-term exam writing
*Work out
*Plan next semester's activities
*Begin the work on my National Boards retest
*Clean house
*Read
*Play the guitar

Odds that I finish this entire list: at least 50-1.

Any Given Saturday

So, I'll join the rest of America in apologizing to the Seattle Seahawks for doubting them. As the T-shirt worn at Qwest Field says, "7-9 is the new 10-6."

One interesting thing at Qwest Field: it appears that vendors at the stadium have been customers $1.25 extra for a 20 oz. beer that's the same size as a 16 oz. beer. How to save face? By offering 16 oz. or 20 oz. beer at the same price for Saturday's game.

When Technology Attacks!

Oy, vey! What a week!

You know you're in for a rough time when your "updated" attendance/gradebook software and your teacher web sites don't work right before mid-terms/finals. As a part-time tecnology facilitator, I've been running myself ragged trying to help teachers access NCWise to do grades/attendance, as well as maintain their web sites. When is an upgrade not an upgrade?

I blogged earlier this week about how awesome Flip cameras are. Well, I still like them, but I had issues trying to go "live" over our school's closed circuit TV this morning. Just add it to the list of things I need to figure out!

From Homeless to Madison Avenue

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Just spent today showing my students the inspiring story of Ted Williams, a homeless man in Columbus, OH with a radio announcer-quality voice.  He was interviewed on the Today Show this morning, and shared a fascinating story of rise and fall and rise again.

I asked my students what was the most interesting part of his story...of course, several of my wise guys said it was his shaking throughout the interview.  Nerves, guys?

Quick OWN Update

Maybe I was wrong to bet against Oprah.  It looks like OWN has opened to fairly strong ratings so far.  Still not sold on the net in the long term, however...

Photo: Oprah Winfrey. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press

Flip Video Test

This year, in addition to teaching, I also have part-time duties as a technology facilitator at my school.  I've come to learn (again) how much I don't know by having this job.

One of the cool things about having this tech job this year is getting to play with some of the new gadgets that come into our school.  Through our Title I funds, we purchased two Flip video cameras, and I took one home over Christmas break to test it out.

You can see the video below.  My daughter and I put together a gingerbread house.  I shot about 6 minutes of raw footage, then used the Flip software to automatically boil the footage down to 40 seconds.  Then I imported the video into Animoto and made it embeddable.  The question is whether video novices like most students can use this in class.  I say yes! 
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

OWN-ing Oprah

Oprah just launched her own TV network on the 1st, OWN (which stands for the Oprah Winfrey Network).  With the backing of Discovery, she's going to have to fill programming for the 24-7 demands of a network, not just for her syndicated one hour daily show.

Oprah's certainly had the Midas Touch with many things she's associated with, including her magazine, her book club, and almost anything she plugs on her show.  However, she's not invincible:  remember the movie Beloved?  Despite Oprah's best cross-platform efforts, the movie was a box office dud.

Will Oprah's network be a success?  With cable ratings so low to begin with, the net doesn't have a high bar to reach.  My prediction:  the net has a couple of moderately successful shows, but takes a big hit in ratings once the Big O stops airing her flagship syndicated show.

Everyone Loves to Complain About the BCS

We're right in the middle of the BCS bowls, with the Rose and Fiesta having been completed and the Orange, Sugar and National Championship game to be played next, which must mean it's the time of year for national columnists to take shots at the BCS.

As someone who's been to seven bowl games, including two Sugar Bowls, I think there's nothing like traveling to a new city to watch your team play a school you wouldn't ordinarily cross paths with.  I wonder if most of the writers that criticize the BCS have gone to a bowl game as a fan of their alma mater.  I suspect most haven't.

While some criticism of the BCS is justified, as a long-time college football fan, I can't seem to recall so much whining about the bowl system prior to the creation of the BCS in 1998.  With no BCS, Oregon and Auburn wouldn't even be playing each other:  Oregon would be in the Rose Bowl playing Wisconsin, and Auburn would be one of two teams in the Sugar Bowl. 

But, the original point of writing this post was to point out that in today's current sports media culture, if you name a playoff system, there are people caterwauling about how it's not fair.  Witness:

1. The NFL, on the verge of having a 7-9 team make the playoffs
2. The NBA, with questions about reseeding the second round should there be upsets in round 1
3. March Madness, where the coaches of the teams left out complain about not being a top 65 team
4. NASCAR's Chase, which has been re-tooled several times and still confuses fans
5. The PGA's FedEx Cup, which may have the most baffling format known to man

So, if you're one of the villagers with pitchforks and torches that are chanting  "Death to the BCS," are you going to move on to one of the other playoff systems next?

Book Review: Superfreakonomics

There are many things I don't do well.  One of them is understanding (and teaching) economics.  That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the subject, especially when it's as well-written as this book.

Superfreakonomics is the sequel to the enormously successful Freakonmics.  The authors, an economist and a journalist, take a behavioral economics-based view of various subjects, including prostitution, suicide bombers, hygiene in hospitals and global warming.  What we may know as conventional wisdom about these topics is surprisingly debunked through a series of experiments and data analysis.  The only thing I don't like about this book is that it isn't longer (less than 200 pages).

Fortunately, if you really like these guys, you can read their blog on The New York Times' web site.

My First Post

So, I don't have enough to do, so I thought I'd start another blog (you can check out the one I write for my students here).

I thought I'd start this blog for a few reasons:

• the vanity of seeing myself published
• sharing thoughts about teaching
• "rambling" (hence the title) about other assorted topics

There are a lot of good blogs about teaching and education out there.  I believe I know I have a unique perspective on teaching, given my background prior to starting in the classroom.  In fact, every teacher I know has unique experiences, so please feel free to share!