Thoughts on 2012

From: about.com

There's less than two hours left in 2012: how did we do?

I would divide my year in two.  I spent my spring semester at one school, teaching two class, working as the school's IT guy and being a department head.  The teaching part was relatively easy.  For the first time in my teaching career I was teaching material I had taught before, and I was in a computer lab.  The hard part was being the IT person: I was constantly bombarded with requests to fix things and I often had no idea about what to do...very frustrated.

Over the summer, I switched schools to have a little shorter commute (and hopefully, better students).  I went back to teaching full-time (3 classes), which I hadn't done in three years.  I found myself as busy as I was during my first year of teaching.  I had three preps, and every class was new to me or had new curriculum.

Things that have gone well:

• Final project assignments
• Teaching photo editing
• Motivating students to shoot video

Things I could have done better:

• DECA sponsor
• IT guy
• Teaching writing
• Incorporating reading

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it comes to mind the most quickly.  Later, I'll ruminate about what my goals for 2013 should be.

Bowl Money

I just came back from the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, and had a fantastic time.  I went to the game, did the touristy stuff and then came home.

One of the highlights for me was buying tickets to the game.  I know that sounds strange, but hear me out.  My alma mater wanted me to buy tickets through them for $72 per.  The bowl itself was selling upper level seats for a minimum of $20.  Stubhub?  8 lower level tickets for $10 apiece.  Guess which one I picked?

I'm not sure how much longer that bowls can keep up this system of forcing schools to sell 10,000+ tickets at wildly inflated face values.  Smart fans aren't going to pay those prices, and some fans are losing interest in attending bowl games altogether.  The bowls, schools and conferences need to sit down and hammer out a more reasonable way to make bowl trips palatable to fans.  I love to support my school and I love to save money--why can't I do both when going on a bowl trip?

You Don't Know Bo

Right before the Christmas break, I showed my students the ESPN documentary on two sport star Bo Jackson.  The video probably held their interest longer than nearly all of the ones I've shown in class this semester.

Bo Jackson was getting hugely popular when I was in high school.  I remember the tackle that ended his NFL career happened my senior year of high school.  He was definitely a marketing force when it came to cross-trainers.

It was interesting that so much of the video revolved around stories of Bo doing something remarkable. I remembered a few myself: the Monday Night Football game versus the Seahawks, the home run to lead off the All-Star Game, breaking a bat over his knee and gunning down Harold Reynolds at the plate.  Bo was definitely the shooting star--moments of brilliance, but a career that was way too short.  Of course, some of my kids wanted to know if he was in the Hall of Fame--I guess that's the highlight-infused culture we live in today...

Man of Many Talents

I'm especially impressed with people that are multi-talented:  singers that write their own songs, actors who can direct, athletes who can play more than one sport well.  Hugh Jackman is the embodiment of a multi-talented actor.

Let's see: action movies, check. Broadway, check.  Tony Awards, check.  And now, Les Miserables star.

It was interesting to see my students' reaction to Jackman crying and then lifting an obscene amount of weights to get in shape for his Wolverine role.  It's almost like they couldn't reconcile someone being emotional and strong...

If We Make It Through December

From: coolclips.com Before I started teaching for the first time, one of my teaching friends told me that teaching would get easier every year. Well, it hasn't. In my seventh year, I have three different classes to prepare for. Two of those classes I have taught before, but they have been re-written, so it's like teaching brand new courses. And the third class is something I haven't taught before. One of my students asked me if I was going to be teaching until I retire. At this pace, I don't think so. If I keep having to work till midnight 10 months a year I will re-think this whole teaching deal. Isn't there an easier way to do this?

The Making of Zero Dark Thirty

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

Another video from ABC News.  This time, we're talking about the making of the movie Zero Dark Thirty, which is about the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden.  With all of the interest about military games, such as Halo 4 and Call of Duty, I thought it would be interesting to for my students to see a preview of a movie that is about a military action that really happened.

Halo 4

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

Every time I turn around, there seems to be a new video game out.  This time, it's Halo 4.  My students watched the ABC News video above.  They seemed most impressed that two women run the game for Microsoft.  Who says it's a man's world?

Old Spice Does It Again

Anytime I need an example of interactive or viral marketing, Old Spice is the go-to company.  After coming out with the Terry Crews music player, now there is the 4.5 Weeks to Save the World Game.  Check it out...or better yet, have your students play it!

Only in America

I showed this video to my SEM I class last week.  I asked my students what they would do with $500.  After getting the typical responses, I had them watch this video about Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, who came to America with $500 to his name.

I'm hoping that some of his personal work habits rub off on my students!

Bond, James Bond

The Broccoli family is celebrating 50 years of James Bond with a new movie this month, "Skyfall." 60 Minutes did an interview with the family as well as star Daniel Craig.

I had my students tell me what they knew about James Bond prior to watching this segment.  I was impressed that they knew about martinis, girls and Aston Martins.  Sadly, two of my students had never heard of James Bond.  That's why I teach, folks!

Top Ten Brands That Lost Value Last Year

From: dkmedia.net

Every year, I struggle to teach brand equity, and students struggle to learn it.  Coincidence?

Anyway, this link provided a good exercise about the brands that have lost some value in the last year.

The Schwarz-inator

Not sure how many of my kids know who Arnold Schwarzenegger is; at the very least, they don't know how AWESOME he was in the '80s.  More of them seemed to know about his affair than any movies he had done.  Sad.

The "60 Minutes" interview (2 parts) is still enlightening, about a driven man who has been successful in sports, entertainment and politics.

Hello, iPad Mini

We spent a lot of time in my Strategic Marketing class discussing new tablets on the market, like the new Kindles, but especially Apple's new iPad Mini.  In the above video, not everyone thinks it will be a best seller.

Goodbye, Lance Armstrong

After years of denial, Lance Armstrong finally gave up his fight to clear his name.  After the 1,000 page report and testimony from former teammates, sponsors also gave up their associations with Armstrong.  Even Nike, who has stood by nearly every athlete who has erred, dropped him.

The interesting thing in my class: over 75% of them said they thought Nike should have stayed with Lance Armstrong, and the teammates must have been lying.  Yeah....OK!

Customer Service Fails

From: thriftability.com

I shared this link during my first evaluation.  I'm not normally nervous before evaluations, but I am at a new school this year.

I thought my students needed a prompt about bad customer service, because other than Wal-Mart and McDonald's, I'm not sure they're aware of other industries with horrific reputations for customer service, like car dealers and furniture stores.

Oh for October

When I started this blog, I thought I could post every 2-3 days...which is true in a normal year.  This school year has been far from it.

I knew when I moved schools that I would be pretty busy.  I was going to have new classes, as well as ones that were rewritten.  But even I was surprised by how much doggone work I did in the first quarter!

I'm hoping that the next 131 days of school are not nearly as busy as the first 49.  In the meantime, I'm going to post links to some of the things we discussed in October.

A Classic

I think I've blogged about this before, but "60 Minutes" just replayed this segment of NFL super agent Drew Rosenhaus, and gosh darn it--it's just so good!

What a Joke!

I just saw it's been three weeks since I last posted on my own blog--yikes!  I thought when I moved schools and shed a department head and tech facilitator job that my job would get significantly easier.  Wrong!  Three new/re-written preps are kicking my butt.  January and its one prep glory can't come soon enough!

Anyway, with all this late night work, I stayed up to watch the Seattle-Green Bay MNF game.  What a joke!  It's one thing to say you're protecting the integrity of the Shield by suspending guys left and right; it's another to say that while keeping the real refs off the field for what amounts to pennies in the grand scheme of things.

Failure to Launch?

 I showed the above video to my Strategic Marketing class over the course of two days.  A few things we took away from it:

1. The founder of Space X was a physics major, not an aerospace guy.  So what you study in school may not be the path you end up on.
2. If you don't know something, hire the people that do.
3. Space X had three rockets that failed.  Had the fourth launch been a failure, the company would've folded.  Companies have to take risks.

See what your students think.

P-P-P-P-P-P-POWER!!!

Old Spice Muscle Music from Terry Crews on Vimeo.

Thanks to the e-mail from Ad Age, I shared this interactive video with my Strategic Marketing and Multimedia Web Design classes.   All of my students seem to know who Terry Crews is, so there is already a built-in interest factor.

The surprising thing was when I asked my students to play with the video and create their own music.  Only 1-2 kids per class wanted to do this.  I thought more of them would jump on this, but it's probably that typical "I-don't-want-to-possibly-be-embarrassed-in-front-of-my-friends" mindset.  Oh, well, it's your loss.

Trick My Ride

I'm using a new resource in my Strategic Marketing class: Bloomberg.  Today I showed a video about the super wealthy being able to add a $50K electronics package to their luxury cars.

Many of my kids tell me they want to drive Bugattis and Ferraris--I wonder if they know what it takes to be able to afford those cars...scratch that.  I know they don't know.

Current Events for Strategic Marketing

From: cmgdigital.com

One of the results of switching schools this year is that I get to teach new classes, like Multimedia and Web Page Design.  I'm also teaching Strategic Marketing, which I've taught before...but that was a long time and one curriculum re-write ago.

I have really enjoyed talking about current events in my sports marketing classes, and I would like to continue doing that in Strategic Marketing.  It's easy to find stuff for SEM I: just watch ESPN, CNBC or E!.  For Strategic Marketing, I have to do slightly more digging.

For my first current event in class, we're going to be talking about the tobacco packaging that has been struck down by a federal court here.  I'm sure we can have a good discussion on that!

Here...we...go

From: wildsoundmovies.com

I had planned on blogging about Lance Armstrong, or Neil Armstrong...but, school's about to start!

This is the least prepared I've felt for the start of school year since my first year.  What's wrong with me?  This is my seventh year doing this!  Even my daughter's not nervous about starting the year.

Why do I not feel prepared?  Let me count the ways:

1. I have three preps for the first time ever, and every class is new.
2. I'm at a new school.
3. I'm not teaching in a computer lab for two of my classes.
4. I'm in charge of the biggest DECA chapter in my county, and I've never been good at leading that club.

It's time to pray I can make.  I know I've got the first day's activities down--now it's trying to figure out what to do with the other 89 days this semester!

The Carolina Way?

From: blogs.nd.edu

It's been a stressful two years for UNC athletics, and it doesn't look like things are going to get better anytime soon.  Two years after Marvin Austin's tweets sent the 2010 and 2011 football seasons in disarray, more bad news has come out: the Julius Peppers transcript.

Carolina has already had its hand slapped by the NCAA once, but that was for transgressions that occurred after 2007.  Now it seems that the academic fraud goes back to at least 2001.  Things are so bad even a former governor has been put on the case to investigate the full extent of this mess.

I'm not shocked that athletes pursue easy majors and take easy classes--they have insanely busy schedules in college, and I'm sure many are there for the primary purpose of playing ball.  What boggles my mind is the low GPAs required to play.  I thought only high schools were slack about eligibility standards, but when a school with the academic reputation of UNC allows athletes to play for years with a sub-2.0 GPA, it makes me scratch my head.

The Carolina Way, indeed...

Pay the Man, Shirley

Dear NFL,

You make over $7B a year.  Your refs aren't great, but the replacements are even worse.  Pull the change out of the couch and pay these guys.

Thanks!
A decreasingly interested NFL fan

What I Learned From Watching the Olympics

From: The Guardian

I watched more Olympic events in the last two weeks than I had since high school.  Why?  Probably because it was something both my daughter and I were interested in (and had time to watch).  All the Olympics-viewing I did gives me the knowledge to actually know what everyone else is talking about, Olympics-wise.  Here's what I learned:

• Millions of people don't care that things were tape-delayed, so shut up with all the #NBCFail whining.  Unless you're someone with infinite loads of free time in the summer (like me), you couldn't watch the Olympics until after work anyway.

• China's sports system is heinous to its athletes.  Even worse than what the Soviets and Eastern Bloc countries did.

• The NBCSports channel may actually work.  I saw several promos for shows about the NFL, MLB and the NHL.  It'd be nice to go somewhere other than ESPN for sports news and analysis.

• The tennis on Bravo was better than any of the lame reality shows they normally run.

• The Brits are really good at cycling, and I didn't realize how many forms of it there are.

• We got shut out in sailing medals for the first time in decades.  I didn't realize that sailing and all of its various forms were Olympic events.

Will I watch the next Olympics?  We'll see--no one in our house actually does the sports they do.

Raising the Bar

From: chron.com

I had a chance to listen to ESPNU's College Football podcast this week, and they spent the whole show on the upcoming changes to initial eligibility for the incoming class that graduates high school in 2016 (aka this year's 9th grade class).

It was shocking (in a good way) to hear that the NCAA was requiring a 2.3 GPA for core classes.  Also, students also have to complete 10 of the 16 core classes prior to their senior year, which keeps them from sleepwalking for three years and then making a mad dash during their senior year to get eligible.  You can read about the new requirements in their entirety here.

After taking a look at some of my students' GPAs, I think the new rules are a good thing.  Students that can't possibly have a 2.0 are playing football and basketball for four years in high school with the expectation that they can play in college.  Meanwhile, there are teachers, guidance counselors and administrators that enable these kids to play.  I hope the new NCAA standards force those of us at the high school level to be honest about who's participating on our fields and who's not.  Maybe even let us add a "plus" to a grade, even!

The Definitive History of College Football on TV

From: phatboyg.com

If you're planning on talking about sports TV rights in class, I highly recommend this article by Andy Staples in Sports Illustrated.  The article covers the time from the 1984 Supreme Court decision that paved the way for conferences and schools to make their own TV deals up through this year.

TV has really driven the conference realignments, which seem to be never-ending.  The end of the article really illustrates the full circle of college football and TV rights: the colleges would make even more money if they banded together and negotiated...just like the way it used to be before they sued the NCAA.

I Could've Had a V8!

If you remember that classic tagline from the late '70s/early '80s, people were slapping themselves in the head for not having a V8.

That commercial came to mind this week.  I'm switching schools, so I had to turn my laptop in to my old school, leaving me with no access to PowerPoint.  I have a lot of PowerPoints I need to create, as well as switch slides around from one file to another.

Enter OpenOffice.  I've spent all summer spinning my wheels, waiting to get my hands on a laptop with PowerPoint installed.  I put OpenOffice on my computer yesterday, and viola!  Back in business.  The irony is that I have recommended OpenOffice to many students over the years that have lacked Microsoft Office software.

Could've had a V8, indeed...

Next Event: Olympic-Level Whining

From: buzzbox.com

It's been great to sit at home during the day and check out the odd judo or rowing event on NBC's Olympics, whether it's been on NBC itself or Bravo/MSNBC/NBCSports.  Apparently, some people are upset because they're not seeing the big sports (swimming, gymnastics) live during the day and have to wait for NBC's prime time wrap-up special.

NBC is an easy target: they have consistently finished last place in the ratings for some time now.  And for them, the Olympics is a big chance to make some money before their new fall TV shows get embarrassed again.  Despite the complaints, it appears that NBC has made the right decision with their tape-delayed broadcasts.  The ratings are through the roof right now, and if there is another Michael Phelps-type story, all the better.

My only complaint: why not show everything live during the day, and then do your recap at night?  The people working during the day will watch the prime time coverage anyway (I think).

Why Johnny Can't Write

From: rmc.edu

Good blog in the Washington Post this week about why Johnny can't write.  In the blog, a college professor tells the story of a student so ignorant that he couldn't even cheat write.

This blog was a follow-up to another blog post about how to make assignments plagarism-proof.  That has been something that has bothered me since I was a student.  If you care enough about the assignment to cheat, then just do the assignment.  If you don't care about the assignment, then don't do it (or don't do a good job on it).

As I explained at our summer conference last week, the only way I know how to make assignments cheat-proof is to ask a lot of open-ended questions.  This creates a lot of work on my end after students turn in their assignments, but it is worth it to me if I can get original work from them.

Long-term, I'm not sure what the answer is to stamping out cheating.  When I give out worksheets, the default response of my students is to turn to each other and share answers--before I even finish giving the instructions.  If we're going to fix this culture, it's going to take more than just a few teachers to do so.

Summer Conference Day 3: Collaborating

From: imdb.com

Collaborating seems to be one of those buzzwords that's been around at least as long as I've been in education.  Maybe we talk about it so much because teaching can be such a lonely profession.  If you don't talk to your colleagues, you may feel like you're surrounded by students all day long.

Over the last three days of our summer conference, I've been impressed with the enthusiasm and extent to which we have collaborated.  Maybe it's because all of this new curriculum forces teachers to either

a) do it all by themselves
b) rely on other teachers to shoulder the burden


Whatever the reason, it's great to see that we can put our minds together and lighten each of our collective loads.

Summer Conference Day 2: Taking Notes

From: chicgalleria.com

I was a presenter in a round table discussion on the second day of our summer conference.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to talk intelligently for 15 minutes, but it turns out that I was pressed for time and didn't even get all my information disseminated in the allotted time.

The one thing that really struck me was the other teachers sitting at my table.  I soon as I started talking, people began taking notes (even though I told them I had supporting files available to download).  It was highly flattering that my colleagues felt what I said was important enough to write down--my family thinks my intelligence is one level below Homer Simpson.

Summer Conference Day 1: Whew!

I got to kick off our summer conference by leading a four hour workshop on the new SEM I curriculum.  I was nervous about the session would go well...turns out I shouldn't have been.  My group was wonderful and we got a lot of work done.

I spent about a month working on the Sliderocket above.  It was a useful tool for the workshop, especially since I don't have PowerPoint on my personal computer.  The only drawback--the convention center's wireless connection was so slow that the YouTube videos I embedded would barely play.  That was a bummer, but if it's the worst thing that happens, then so be it.

Failure to Lead

From: startribune.com

With the recently released Freeh Report, all college football fans (and Americans in general) have yet another example of leaders failing to lead.

One of the core leadership principles I learned in the Marine Corps is to know your troops and look out for their welfare.  In the Penn State case, the welfare of the victims was obviously of low or no priority to the president, athletic department administrators and Joe Paterno.   It became clear after the report that the senior staff knew Jerry Sandusky was being investigated by the cops all the way back in 1998.  So when an assistant coach tells you in 2001 that he catches the same guy in a shower with a kid, you're supposed to...what?  Tell him not to do it again?

To the leaders at Penn State, it's very apparent that the reputation of the school and the football program was of greater importance than the well-being of the victims of Jerry Sandusky.  Shame on those men for failing to act.  It's too bad that Joe Paterno has already passed--he could join his fellow "leaders" in prison when the time comes.

School is Too Easy

From: splgrafton.org

So, USA Today has an article on a survey of students.  The students report that school is too easy.  Yup, all of my students that graduated with a sub-1.0 GPA or 10th from the bottom in their graduating class--it was all because school was too easy.

Make sure you read the comments under the article.  There are actually a few teacher-defenders out there!

Common Core Exposed?

From: wikipedia.org

Our district devoted 3 days (18 hours) of training last year to Common Core standards.  I feel like I got off easy--our elementary teachers had to endure 54 hours of it.

It's not that I'm against Common Core standards per se.  There's always going to be some buzzword that will have administrators chasing their tails, as well as ours.  It's just that, after 18 hours of this training, plus more at our school, I really couldn't tell you what Common Core is all about.  It seems like most of our time was spent talking about how CTE already does the stuff that Common Core requires.  We ended up spending a lot of time working on our classes, which was fine, but it makes me wonder what good all of this does us.

Enter the story in the Washington Post this week:  a good indictment of the whole Common Core program.

Not Even a PhD Helps

From: biosulf.org

A surprising article from the Washington Post, at least for me: people with PhDs in science are struggling to get employment after getting their doctorate.

How much hype have we heard about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) in the last few years?  Politicians and administrators alike have funded courses and buildings and encouraged students to pursue careers in these fields.  Now it turns out that we have more scientists than jobs available.

I'm all for students pursuing their dreams, especially when it comes to (theoretically) high-paying, stable career fields.  But what's not cool is when we over-emphasize these occupations at the expense of others.  Those of us in business and marketing say hello!

Why Are Middle School Students Bastards?

Well done, middle school students of America!  I can't decide which is worse.

This:


or this:

How is This Guy Still on TV?

I've decided to avoid ESPN for at least two weeks in the wake of LeBron James' first NBA title.  The jock-sniffing at that network is just too much for me to handle at times, especially when it comes to BronBron.  It's amazing that some commentators on ESPN wonder why LeBron gets the hate that he does, after their own network hosts "The Decision" and has a Heat Index on their web site.  And the watchers at Deadspin can tell you how much time SportsCenter has spent on LeBron and the Heat in the last month.

One of my main reasons to avoid ESPN right now is Skip Bayless.  Now, normally I don't get a chance to watch Skip anyway, but with the summer here, I can pick and choose what I want to watch.  And I choose not to watch Skip.  I can remember a segment ESPN used to do on SportsCenter called Old School/New Skool, where Bayless used to debate Stephen A. Smith.  Five years later, they're doing the same schtick on First Take, throwing opinions and predictions around with no accountability...until Mark Cuban called him on it.  Enjoy the show!

I've Got a Bad Feeling About This

From: umich.edu

The woman I'm replacing at my new school was famous (or infamous) for having up to five preps a year.  So I guess I should have gone into this with my eyes wide open, but...damn!

I'm only teaching three different classes this year: SEM I, Strategic Marketing and Web Page Design.  SEM I's curriculum is changing this year, which I knew about because I piloted the new curriculum last year.  I taught Strategic Marketing once (four years ago), but it has been radically rewritten since that time.  And I've never taught Web Page Design, and need to figure out exactly how to do this html stuff.

I was hoping that I'd teach two SEM I classes a semester, with a new class sprinkled in each semester.  Then my department told me I was teaching SEM I, Strategic Marketing and Web Page Design all in the fall.  Yikes!  On the flip side, I'll be teaching nothing but SEM I in the spring.

At least SEM I is not changing from my pilot days--wrong!  I just saw the new curriculum on Friday, and it's changed (slightly), too.  Basically, I'm going to have a long 18 weeks starting August 27th.

It's a Scam

From: trafficticketteam.com

When I was first hired as a teacher, I had to get my license through our state's lateral entry program, since I didn't get a degree in education.  It took me three years to take the five classes I needed and pass the Business Education Praxis test--key word being business.

It took me a long time to figure out that there was a difference between a business license and a marketing license.  I still don't understand why.  I've never heard of a School of Marketing.  If you want a degree in marketing, you go to the School of Business and take marketing classes.

Anyway, for the last three years, I haven't even taught a business; it's been exclusively marketing classes.  I began to wonder at the end of this year if I should take the marketing ed Praxis just to be on the safe side.

Then my CTE director mentioned I should take the test.  Then when I interviewed for my new job last week, my principal asked me about taking the test.  Then my new department head asked me about taking the test. Then my CTE director mentioned again.  And she mentioned I needed to pay $55 for a provisional license until I pay $80 to pay for the Praxis test this year.

If you're keeping score, I am a certified business that's not certified to teach marketing, even though: 

A) my minor as an undergrad was marketing

B) I have an MBA with an emphasis on marketing

C) I worked in marketing in the television business for four years (and spent three summers in sales while in college)

D) I'm being paid to present a four hour presentation at our summer conference on...wait for it...marketing

Back to the story: I e-mailed my county's licensing guru and asked her about getting that provisional license.  Her response--I had enough marketing credits in my transcripts to add a marketing certification to my license.  For a mere $55, she could add that to my license...and I wouldn't even have to take the Praxis.  That almost made me madder than hearing that I would have to take the Praxis.  So, I write a check for $55, and now I'm suddenly OK to teach marketing?  

C'mon, man!

Getting Traded

From: sportssavvy.com

I just finished my sixth year in teaching, all at the same school...until now.

In the spring, I submitted my intent form saying that I would be interested in a job at three schools, all of which are closer to my home than where I currently work.  I've had some rough years at my school, but this past year was fantastic--I had the best group of kids I've ever had.  I really had the best teaching gig in the county, teaching Sports Marketing I & II and being my school's technology facilitator.

Which meant I wasn't going to leave my old school for any job at one of the other schools.  I decided I was only going to leave if any one of three people left their jobs.  Three teachers...out of nearly 10,000.  As late as Tuesday morning, I had it in my mind that I wasn't going anywhere.

But then...one of the three teachers left.  Again, three out of 10,000. So I fired off the resume on Wednesday morning, got called for an interview on Thursday, and then interviewed/received an offer/accepted the offer on Friday morning.  This is about the fastest I've seen the school system work.

My daughter asked me what I would do with all of my clothes with my old school's logo on them.  Good question.  I pulled all of the t-shirts out of the drawer, the collared shirts off the rack and the hats from the shelf.  I think I've got about a dozen items with my old school's logo.  Looking at the stack, I wondered: is this what being traded feels like? A baseball player must have plenty of gear and knickknacks from their team--what do they do with it all after they get traded?  What did Albert Pujols (above) do with all of his Cardinals stuff?

Not to mention whether they get nervous or not--I'm nervous about starting at a new school; it's the fear of the unknown.  We'll see...

You're Not Special

I guess every teacher with a blog has to talk about this graduation speech, right?

I'm assuming that many teachers (and adults) in general agree with the premise of the speaker's message: if everyone is special, then no one is special.  We seem to have a generation of kids that want to hear praise for a good effort, not good results.  That's all well and good, but the real question to me is, who are these people that praising these kids constantly, and do they know that they're doing it?

We still seem to have a steady stream of parents that come to our school, telling us that there is no way that Little Johnny could have done what he has been accused of--despite the video evidence to the contrary.  When Little Susie fails a class, let's blame the teacher.  When Little Johnny doesn't start for the basketball team, it's the coach's fault.  I can imagine that if the parents of the graduates were close enough to their children, they would whisper in their ears to let them know that, in fact, they are special.  Maybe not the kid to the left of them, maybe not the kid to the right, but you, Little Johnny, are.  No matter what that mean teacher at the podium is saying.

I'm glad that someone finally said what needs to be said regarding students and their special-ness, but I would imagine that things won't change once students (and their parents) come through the doors in August.

Graduation

From: aub.edu

Graduation:  that annual rite were many deserving (and some undeserving) youngsters pass through high school for the last time.

Another annual rite is the dissection of the list of graduates by teachers, pointing out which ones don't deserve to graduate.  I try not to engage in such snarkiness, but I can't help it.  Why?  I imagine that it is borne out of frustration: we see kids that do nearly nothing, slide by with a sub-1.0 GPA, get recognized at awards day for completing some anti-dropout program and then get the same piece of paper that their harder working peers get.

I'm convinced that one thing that keeps administrators awake at night is the graduation rate in their school/district.  And an easy way to keep the graduation rate up is to open the net up so wide that almost everyone gets to walk across the stage on graduation day.  But my question is this: if we raised the standard for graduation (2.0+ GPA, more credits required), wouldn't it make the diploma mean more?  Yes, I know that the graduation rate would probably drop, but if we let nearly everyone graduate, then what's the point of any of this?

For years, I've had my students comment on a job of the week, no matter what class I teach.  I decided today to take the requirements of each job I had listed this quarter and make a Wordle out of it.  The result is above.

I wanted to see which terms popped up the most during the last nine weeks.  I kinda messed this up--it was my first time using Wordle, and I should've edited some of the words that were used over and over again that really were just fillers, like "ability" and "including."

It's hard to read in this blog--you can click on it to see it full-size.  You can make some other words out that are repeated frequently: marketing (obviously), experience, fast-paced, communication and skills.  I'm going to try this again with some editing to see what comes out.

Making the Case for CTE

From: thevillagenews.com

I love to read the education writers' blogs in the Washington Post.  Many of them are very thought-provoking, even if they aren't always relevant to my situation.

So when I saw the title of this blog post, I dropped my interest in the basketball game on TV and read all of it, including the comments.  Surprisingly, nearly every commenter agreed with the premise of the post: not every student should go to a four year school and vocational education plays an important role in public education.

All I can say is yes, yes, yes!

Now, if only the leaders in DC and at the state level would see the value that we provide all students, four year college-bound or not.

Upfront Analysis Day 4

The last network we looked at was Fox.  Fox also had nearly as good a year as CBS, so they don't have many  new shows to launch, either.  In fact, we only looked at videos of two: The Following (above) and Mob Doctor.

Mob Doctor looks cheesy to me--it even has Michael Rappaport in it.  I don't expect it to last through February.  The Following is an intriguing show starring Kevin Bacon (!).  I hope that it does well, even though I think one Criminal Minds is enough.

Upfront Analysis Day 3

We continued last week with a look at CBS' new shows.  CBS has been dominating the competition for a long time, with long-running shows like CSI and The Big Bang Theory.  With so many successful shows already on the air, the net doesn't have a whole lot of work to.  They're only debuting a few new shows.

The show I'm most interested in is Vegas (above).  It's a coup for CBS to get Dennis Quaid to do TV (network, no less), and I've been a fan of Michael Chiklis since The Shield.  I think Vegas is different enough that it will find its own place on the schedule at least for a year or two.  We'll see...

Upfront Analysis Day 2

So my students looked at NBC's new shows last Monday.  On Tuesday, we looked at ABC's new shows.

"The Last Resort" looks pretty good--in class, I called it a cross between "Lost" and Crimson Tide.

On the flip side, "Neighbors" looks like a cheesy twist on "ALF," which was cheesy in and of itself.

Upfront Analysis Day 1

About this time of year, I like to show my students the same shows that are being previewed in NYC at the upfronts.  I like to get their opinions on what shows they think will be successful.

First up is NBC.  My students seemed to like "Go On" the most and "Chicago Fire" the least.  In the fall, I'll have my SEM I students create a presentation about one of the new shows.

Happy Birthday, Star Wars!

From: traileraddict.com

Friday was the 35th anniversary of the premier of Star Wars--I was wondering why it was on Spike that night!

A blog on the Washington Post's web site describes the cultural impact perfectly: the movie was one of the first summer blockbusters (along with Jaws).  Not only did it make money on ticket sales, the movie generated billions of dollars in merchandise.  I was one of those kids that had the action figures, lunch boxes and Halloween costumes.

Nowadays, it's a given that a summer movie will have a ton of licensing tie-ins, but let's take a moment to salute the pioneering money-making of Star Wars!

Mo' Money

I showed my SEM II class this ACC-produced video on the new TV contract extension between the ACC and ESPN.  Schools will make nearly triple the annual revenue from these fees that they did five years ago.

Despite the new deal, it must not be enough for some Florida State fans.  Maybe they should try beating Wake Forest before they attempt to jump conferences.

Sport of Kings

In my years of teaching, I've never talked about the sport of polo...until now.  60 Minutes had a great story on the world's best polo player.

I learned that polo was relatively popular 80 some-odd years ago.  Now it's a sport dominated by people that sit at $50,000 tables to watch.

The most interesting item in the video was the fact that a team's sponsor will play with the team.  Imagine an NBA owner (besides Michael Jordan) or NFL owner suiting up for his team!

High and Outside

Showed my students this e:60 video about Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, who pitched on the 1986 Red Sox team that came thisclose to winning the World Series.  I already knew that he had issues with drugs after his playing career was over, but I had no idea that Boyd was pitching while he was high...since Little League.

Oh, and that comment about Jackie Robinson didn't seem to go over well...

Teach, or Else

From: teachinginterview.com

I opened up our local paper on Sunday to see a front page story on our state senate leader's effort to take away teacher tenure and put everyone on one year contracts.  Two thoughts on this:

1. Do other state employees work on one year contracts?  Troopers, bureaucrats, etc.  If not, why not? 
2. Is a one year contract going to make teachers work harder?  I'm guessing that's the reasoning behind this effort--a perception that teachers get comfortable with a guaranteed-for-life job.  I will anyone that no contract will make me work harder than I already am:  seven days a week for ten months, plus work over the summer (for free).

As a political conservative, I'm disappointed that Republicans in our state think that the way to make education better here is to cut spending and blame teachers.

A Different World

Everyday, I watch my students during the Pledge of Allegiance, and only one out of 12 of them says the pledge with any consistency.  That's one reason I showed the video clip of how soccer players and F1 employees were blacklisted after protesting the Arab Spring in Bahrain.

The video was surprisingly (for ESPN) intense: several scenes including possible homicides of protesters by government forces.  After the video was over, I asked my students to construct a similar scenario for here in America.  The most famous athlete in America going to jail for a protest and then having to play in a minor league.

I'm not sure it sunk in with all of my students, but I'm hoping that one or two of them take it to heart.

RIP, Dick Clark

Showed my students the Today Show's story about Dick Clark's life.  Without him, there would be no Total Request Live or 106 & Park.  Truly a pioneer of television (with a production company to boot).

Teaching is Stupid

From: signpictures.net

...or so said one of my 12th graders last week.

My response: "So, what are you doing when you get out of here?"

Hers: "I'm going to be a pediatrician."


Good luck with that...

RIP, Mike Wallace

If anyone set the standard for television interviews, it was Mike Wallace.  Many shows have followed in the style of Mike Wallace and "60 Minutes"--"20/20," "Dateline," "48 Hours" and more.  But no one asked questions quite like Wallace.

I showed the clip above to my students today.  Even most of them paid attention!

Bombs and Balls

I didn't realized it had been so long since my last post.  Between the end of the quarter and being out of town for spring break, it was too long in between posts.

Showed this video in class before the break.  To me, it's the story of the ultimate bad neighborhood, as well as concentrating on the normal when nothing around you is normal.

Tebow Time in a New York Minute?

So Tim Tebow gets traded to the Jets the same week the Broncos (his former team) signs future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning--now what?

The question posed on CNBC: will Tim Tebow be more marketable in NYC?  I'm not sure that he will be.  If he spends his time in New York as a backup who never sees the field, Tebow's not going to see any more endorsements.  However, if Tebowmania emerges like Linsanity did, look out!

The Ultimate Group Project

I was watching this 60 Minutes segment on Aerosmith, and after hearing all of the comments from the band about lead singer Steven Tyler (and all of Steven Tyler's comments about the rest of the band), I came to realize that rock bands are really the ultimate group project.

Aerosmith has been together for 42 years.  I had my students think about being in the same group for 40 years--living together, working together, partying together.  I know:  some of our students can't even work together for 42 minutes.

Those Tweets Get You Every Time

After UNC had their punishments handed down by the NCAA last week, it was a good exercise to remember back to how this whole saga began--before the lawsuit that revealed massive plagarism, before the coach getting fired, before players getting suspended.

Remember, all this started with Tweets from a future NFL draftee regarding the free stuff he was getting at an agent's party in Miami...oops!  This story shows that what athletes post on Twitter and Facebook are serious enough that college athletic departments are devoting resources to monitor their athletes.

Of course, my students don't think it's fair.  Too bad!

Passing an Opportunity

I showed my students this video about a star women's basketball player who left the premier program in the country (UConn) to play at a school closer to home (Delaware).  Delaware has never one an NCAA tournament game.

So, why did she leave the Huskies and certain national championships?  It was fun to have my students guess the reason before watching the video.

Anger Management

Showed my kids an ESPN interview with Kurt Busch.  Busch left on bad terms with powerhouse Penske Racing and got a job with a low-profile, low-funded Phoenix Racing team.

I remember Busch having rants on the radio, but I didn't recall them sounding as bad as the ones featured in the video.  This is definitely Exhibit A of how not to control your temper.

Dirty Pool

I showed my students a video similar to the one above about the hockey dad who shined the laser into the eyes of the goalie of the team his daughter was playing against.  Sadly, I knew this was coming: what's the big deal? I don't see what he did wrong; I had a laser flashed in my eyes--it didn't hurt.

I guess these responses would make me even sadder if I didn't know they were coming...

These Guys Are Crazy

Showed this video to my kids last week.  Took me a couple of days to get through the first two segments.

Not surprisingly, many of my students said they would do the stunts they saw in the video...kids!

The Company Line

From: specialedandme.com

I was at our third district-mandated training for common core standards this week.  We finished our 18 hours of training-whew!  I didn't think I could take any more of this, but then I think of our poor elementary school teachers who get to endure 54 hours of this.

I actually had one really useful session, but since this is a blog, let me complain: during a Q-and-A with our department leaders, I got the distinct impression that nothing will matter much than test scores soon.  Us CTE teachers seem to be late to the party that EOC teachers have already been to.

So what if:
Your student is EC?  Doesn't matter
You teach your students real skills? Doesn't matter
Kids hate week-long reviews? Doesn't matter
Your student had a lobotomy? Doesn't matter
Your student missed 50 days? Doesn't matter
Your student had no arms with which to hold a pencil for said test? Doesn't matter!

Second Concussions

This video didn't really have to do with any content, but I had to let them see the story of a guy that looked like he had it all (good looks, great body, football scholarship) and had two concussions.  The second concussion changed his life.

Fun While It Lasted

From: doin-work.com
 
Just saw an article that said CBS' March Madness on Demand (MMOD) will no longer be free...unless you have cable.  It's OK: you'll still be able to watch the local affiliate's game online for free, but for the other games being played simultaneously you're out of luck.

I guess this was too good to continue.  It reminds me of the early days of the Internet itself, when e-tailers tried to compete with brick-and-mortar stores by offering free shipping, or deep discounts.  Those deals went away in time as well.

The real question:  can I get to MMOD (or NCAA March Madness Live, as it will be called this year) at school?

Grammy Grabber

Showed my students this 60 Minutes segment on Adele--she of the 6 Grammys on Sunday.

Couple of interesting things:

• She suffers enormous stage fright
• She went to work at a record store after winning her first Grammy

I was surprised that some of my students could sing along with Adele's songs.  She's kind of the anti-whatever they listen to.  Adele's not runway model skinny, poster girl beautiful or super flashy--she just belts out tunes with the best of them.

What a Week!

From: huzpages.com

When I first started teaching, I heard a lot of complaints about teaching to the test, numerous outside-of-the-class burdens, etc.  Those things really didn't bother me at first--I didn't know better.  But I became increasingly frustrated this week with all of the duties that have popped up in recent years:

*Professional Learning Communities (1 hour per week)
*Professional Development Plan (several times a year)
*Common Core Essential Standards (3 teacher workdays)
*CTE Completer surveys (a barrage of phone calls)
*NC Falcon (not even sure how much time this is going to take)

I'm sure most of this is in response to the dropout rate/test scores/etc., but I'm not sure how much of this makes me a better teacher.  I've gotten almost nothing out of the above list that gives me tools to use in the classroom, and blaming me for the test scores of kids that have 30-50 absences per semester is liking blaming a doctor for his tobacco-using patient's acquisition of lung cancer.

Underwhelming Super Bowl Ads

Here's a message to all those people that claim they watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials:  why bother?

For all of the hype about the ads in this year's game (including the ones that went viral prior to the game), many of the spots failed to make a dent in my mind.  To be sure, we'll be talking about this in class on Monday.  There were some highlights, like Clint Eastwood and Chrysler (bad ass!) and the Doritos-bribing dog, but I was less than impressed with some of the major advertisers.  Coke and Budweiser, I'm looking at you!  Play like you've been there before!

Killer Soccer Fans

I showed photos from a BBC gallery in my class today, re: the 70+ fans who died at a game this week. 

Another black eye for soccer--I still don't get what incites violence on a scale this massive.  It seems like I would've studied this when I took sociology classes in college, but I guess I missed that lecture.

Super Bowl Ads

From: itnetwork.us

Guess I should be talking about the Super Bowl at some point.

Freakanomics (one of my favorite web sites) and the NFL teamed up to produce a video about what Super Bowl ads are worth.  I'll be playing this in my class on Tuesday.

The Commish

"60 Minutes" had another great segment on the business of sports Sunday, this time with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

My students and I discussed whether they would be interested in having Goodell's job.  Most didn't--too much responsibility, and I'd have to agree.  Working for one boss can be enough; I can't imagine having 32 of them.

It was nice to point out that Goodell started out as an NFL intern and worked his way to the top.  So many of my students don't want to do internships because they want to get paid for every job.  Guess what, kiddos?  That's not the way the sports and entertainment industries work.

Workin' It, EduBlogs!

From: my blog

I had started using EduBlogs at the beginning of the school year with the intent of having my Sports Marketing I students use to write their own blogs, instead of just commenting on mine.  That didn't work out the way I hoped--I never even got student blogging off the ground last semester.

This semester, I jumped right in and had my Sports Marketing II students try their hand at blogging during our first week of class.  The result so far:  phenomenal!  I thought it would take my charges about 2-3 weeks before they got the hang of blogging, but they're even quicker studies than I thought.  It was definitely one of those moments that only teachers get.

What went right?  Several things:

• These students had read a year's worth of blogs from me last year, so they were at least familiar with the concept.
• I have a small class (10 students), so it's easier to ride herd on them and get them started.  Don't think they would get blogging this quick if I had to explain it to 25.
• Nearly all of the students in the class are super sports fans, and are very eager to share their opinions, which is great for an online discussion.

Out of Your Hands

I just noticed that I hadn't posted in five days.  Guess the start of a semester will do that to you.

Saw an interesting video today at my monthly technology facilitator meeting about sexting.  There a lots of stories out there about teens and naked photos gone wrong--I warn my students at the beginning of every semester about the dangers of doing stupid stuff online.  Sadly, I saw that one of my former students (whom I had three times) has a raunchy Twitter bio.  What can I say?

90 Down, 90 To Go

From: mytutorblog.org


We just finished our fall semester on Friday.  I'm not a big fan of being evaluated by the results of my final exams (of course), but since I have a chance to reflect:

• The percentage of students who reached proficiency in my Sports Marketing class was 70%
• Ways to get that number higher
• Have students put together a PowerPoint with pictures of terms
• Have students answer the review questions without the answers
• Incorporate review material into current events
• Ask for help!

Best Movie Review Ever!

From: mdprincing.wordpress.com

Can't say this any better than Mr. Teachbad.

I Love Final Projects!

 

From: my twitpic account

The first of my two classes gave their final project presentations on Friday.  Since my second year of teaching, I have used a final project in all of my marketing classes.  For Sports & Entertainment Marketing I, they create an expansion franchise based on the objectives in our course.  All semester long, they turn in parts of the project as we go over that competency in class.

Then, at the end of the year, they present the final project to the rest of the class, and turn in a binder with all of their old papers.  I require business attire on the day of the project presentations, and this year, three principals and three guidance counselors sat in on the first class's presentations.

I believe final projects are great for several reasons:

• They require students to explain the concepts they learn in class
• They require students to stay organized
• They require students to use presentation skills

I can't emphasize enough the benefits of doing final projects!

"The Wrestler" in Real Life

Showed my students this story from ESPN's e:60 today, about former WWE wrestler Scott Hall.  It was the typical rise-and-fall story, but what highs and lows!

Know When to Hold 'em

Teaching Sports Marketing puts a lot of athletes in your class, football players in particular.  Many of them believe they're going to the NFL, of course.

Before the NFL comes college football, though.  The question for my kids: how to get from high school to college.  Getting into college requires decent grades, and if you don't have decent grades, you have to go to a prep school, such as Fork Union or Hargrave.

ESPN's Outside the Lines show found one of these prep schools right down the road in Charlotte.  After teaching ethics in sports marketing last week, this is a perfect video to show.

Oops, They Did It Again

Unbelievable!  I'm sitting in front of the TV watching one of my shows, Hawaii 5-0, when I stopped in my tracks.  The episode's plot contains an investigation at a high school, and wouldn't you know it--the principal is sleeping with one of the students.  What's worse, he claims it's legal because the girl is 17 and the legal age of consent is 16 in Hawaii.

Wait, what?  Because some girl's a certain age, it's still OK to have sex with your students?!  Are these guys stealing a page from the Glee playbook?