Bad Math

From: hercampus.com

At my first school, I generally would have one bad class and two good ones each semester.  One of the reasons I changed schools last year is to get better kids, but five weeks into my third semester at school #2 I have found the ratio to be two bad classes for every good one.

I'm not really liking that math.  I just turned 40, which means I would have to teach 20 more years to get full retirement.  I don't use the word "can't" much, but I know I can't teach that long.  I'm not sure I can last to the end of my National Board certification, which ends in 7 years.

And yes, it is the usual reasons: I'm burned out from working all the time for kids who are disrespectful.  I've had good jobs outside of teaching before, and if this economy ever turns around, I'll be taking hard look at them, even it comes with a pay cut.

End of an Era

From: illinoisstate.edu

From: wikipedia.org

Just finished watching the series finale of Breaking Bad.  I would like to say that I was watching this outstanding show from the beginning, but it was only due to a friend's urging that I started watching it prior to its last season.  It's great to see a show go out on top.

Another show that just ended was Burn Notice on USA Network.  I started watching it prior to its second season.  I liked it because it really reminded me of the A-Team: former government operatives use their training and skills to help the powerless.  Burn Notice started off as a procedural-like drama, where each episode could stand on its own, but in later years it turned into a serialized show.  It got hard to keep all of the spies and double-crossing that went on.

What do you do when a series is over?  I guess you have to clear its scheduling history out of the DVR, or reflect, or something.

At Bat is Awesome!

From: tech.co

Last Christmas, someone gave me $40 in iTunes gift card money.  I didn't know quite what to spend it on, but I figured it out once baseball rolled around--the At Bat app from MLB.

For a baseball fan that lives out of market, it is awesome!  I spent the whole season listening to the same radio play-by-play guy that I had tuned into while in middle school.  And then my daughter and I watched the highlights after each game was over.

The best part--my daughter is now an Orioles fan!

I'm 40

Turned 40 a few weeks ago.  I was all set to play this clip in class, but I gave myself a birthday present: a guest speaker.

I remember the money quote from this episode, but I had forgotten that Mike Gundy spent the entire press conference ignoring the assembled media horde to focus his wrath on one columnist--classic!

Making GIFs for Tumblr

I follow several sports teams and leagues on Tumblr just to see how they are using the site.  I've noticed that MLB and a lot of baseball teams like to use funny GIFs to catch attention.  I'm trying my hand at that myself this year.

There are several free video to GIF sites that I looked at.  At first, I was to export directly from my video editing software (Sony Vegas) to a GIF, but that didn't work.  Then I realized a lot of GIFs are made from videos that are already online, so I tried a YouTube to GIF creator, GIFSoup.  That seems to work much better.  The proof will be the increase (or lack thereof) of followers this year.  We'll see...

Is the Internet Broken?

From: zeebone.com

In the last week, I've seen three of the dumbest opinion pieces I've ever read.

1. It's OK for teachers to have sex with students.
2. There was nothing wrong with Miley Cyrus' VMA performance.
3. It's immoral to send your kids to private schools. 

Oy vey!

180 To Go

From: 4.bp.blogspot.com

Monday is our first day of school.  We had five days of workdays, and that still wasn't enough time to get ready.  I had electricians in my room all day the first day I came back to school, then had furniture delivered on Friday, right as I was about to go to our football game.  Right now, I have no computer or printer hooked up in my room, so I had to spend Sunday night printing Monday's material--on my dime!

This is the most prepared I've been content-wise since I've started teaching.  Both the preps I have this fall are for classes I taught last year, so I don't have to do any daily scrambling to have something ready to go for class.  In the spring, I'll have to teach the regular marketing class for the first time, but I won't worry about that until Christmas break.

Other than not having working computers, the only thing I'm not looking forward to this week is having giant classes.  In the spring, my principal told me my department barely avoided the chopping block, yet I have 30 kids in both my sports marketing classes.  Huh?  If my classes are bursting at the seams, then where is the problem?  My career high for students in a class is 29; I hope something happens this week that keeps me from breaking that record.

Why I'll Be Watching Fox Sports 1 This Weekend

From: chicagonow.com

One of people I follow on Twitter posted this list from BuzzFeed on all the stupid things ESPN has aired over the years.  I had already grown tired of the Tebowthons and LeBronathons that seem to rule ESPN's rundowns (prior to those two, it was Farveathons), and had forgotten about many of these doozies. This list sums up why I'll at least give Fox Sports 1 a chance when it begins airing this weekend.

I See a Pattern

From: cloudfront.net

In light of the suicide of a reality TV show cast member, The Hollywood Reporter put together a photo gallery of 25 (!) reality TV show personalities that have died of unnatural causes.  Damn!

I'm not a watcher of most reality shows, so I wasn't familiar with most of the names.  It was shocking, however, to see how many of the 25 who had died by their own hand--11, by my count.  I'm not sure what the national suicide rate is, but has to pale in comparison to the rate of suicide by these folks.

So, what's the deal?  Is there something about being a part of these shows that drove these people to suicide, or are people with mental issues drawn to being on these shows?

What Are We Here For?

From: bloguin.com

Poor NCAA.  They seem to get battered from left to right, from the BCS setup to unfair enforcement of rules to making gobs of cash.  The last issue seems to be the one that many people have an issue with.  It goes like this: it's not fair that colleges rake in all of this money from TV deals, ticket sales, merchandising, etc. and the student-athletes can't even get "walking around money."

Yes, the poor student-athlete: the one that has multi-million dollar facilities (see: Oregon) to work out and study in, an army of tutors and academic support specialists to help with homework, and instant name recognition when applying for a job after school.  Oh, and going to school itself is free.

For the anti-NCAA crowd, even the notion of a free education is poo-poohed.  To many of them, the education is worthless if the student-athlete doesn't value it.  I would buy that argument 10 years ago, but not today, with the APR keeping a huge name like UConn out of the basketball tournament because its team graduation rate is too low.

Yes, it's disconcerting that the NCAA and its member institutions make and spend as much money as they do.  But, at the end of the day, who's fault is that?  Mine, and every other ticket buyer and donor that demands that coaches win...or else.

Dear Famous White People,

It may not be obvious yet (Paula Deen, Riley Cooper), but you can't say the "n" word without serious repercussions. You can lose your job (Deen) or lose face with your teammates (Cooper).  As I tell my students, there are several words which will get you in immediate trouble in 2013, one of them being the "n" word.

As a handy reference, here are some other words you need to avoid in contemporary society:

• the "f" word (when describing homosexuals or effeminate behavior)
• the "g" word (see above)
• the "r" word (when describing stupid acts or stupid people)

Even black guys (Rob Parker, Hugh Thomas) get in trouble for not toeing the line when it comes to using racial language.  Keep that in mind when you attempt to touch the third rail of American language.

Sincerely,

Rambling CTE Teacher

Bring Your Own Toy

From: relaventchildrensministries.com

Just finished three days of training on Mobile Learning Communities and Bring Your Own Device.  This was after I had taken six online classes this summer on the same topics.

I took these classes because...I will sign up for anything!  But seriously, if our students are bringing computers to school everyday in their purses and pockets, the least I can do is help them do something useful with it.  It's still shocking to me how little my students know how to do with technology (e-mailing attachments, researching, etc.).  During this new school year, I hope that I will figure out some way to help my students gain employable skills with their lil' computers.

Just As I Suspected

From: deadspin.com

One of the primary complaints about ESPN's coverage of sports is that they hype the same athletes and teams over and over again.  You know, the Heat Index, Tebowmania and all that.  It was always something you knew they were doing, but couldn't (or didn't take the time to) prove.  Until now...

A team of Deadspin writers watched SportsCenter with a critical eye for the last year and compiled some fascinating results.  It shouldn't surprise any ESPN watchers that LeBron James was the most-mentioned athlete on SportsCenter last year, but it was interesting how the mentions of Jeremy Lin came at a torrent and then quickly faded away, especially after Lin moved to the Rockets.

Speaking of teams, the ones mentioned the most weren't necessarily the ones that won the most, but the teams that were the most valuable.  No surprise there: it seems like SportsCenter covered the popular teams no matter what.  If they won, then the stories focused on how great they were; if they lost, the stories were about the fall and potential rise.

There's too much to get into here--for the full scoop, definitely check out the article.

My Little Presentation at Summer Conference

For the fifth straight year, I have presented something at my summer conference.  I was really stretching to bring something this year, so I talked about how I use Twitter and Tumblr in my classroom.

In the last year, I've used both sites to amass cool marketing pictures and then turn them into PowerPoints that provide a leaping-off point for class discussion.  I really enjoyed having those PowerPoints in class, and using social media to create them has proved to be easy-peasy.

I just wonder if I what I discussed at my conference is useful enough for many teachers to use.  I guess I'll find out next year when I see these teachers I presented this to.  Maybe five years is long enough for me to be presenting something...

Mad As Hell

From: drafthouse.com

I've never been one of those "woe-is-me" teachers (or employees) who thinks everything in the world is awful.  In fact, I've been able to keep myself relatively sane by focusing on the positive aspects of my job.

• Only two raises in the last seven years?  At least I've got a job!
• Really crappy class?  At least I don't have to deal with them during the summer!
• Spend too many hours working? At least I get to talk about sports in class!

But now my state legislature has gone too far: they are taking away the financial bonus for having a master's degree.  In my case, it's going to be a pay cut of more than $5K.  How am I supposed to be motivated to remain in teaching when my salary takes a significant hit, the students behave increasingly worse and the pressure to have good test scores increases.  What's the incentive to stay when the situation gets increasingly worse?

New and Old New

I'm looking forward to the new competitor to ESPN, Fox Sports 1.  Although I watch plenty of live sports on ESPN, the other shows (with the exception of Outside The Lines and 30 for 30) are unwatchable.  After the NBA Finals, I have to avoid the network entirely to avoid their Lebron-a-thon.

I should be watching more NBCSports, but unless it's hockey or minor sports, I haven't thought to flip over there.

On the other hand, ESPN has piqued my curiosity by bringing back a face from their glory years with the re-hiring of Keith Olbermann.  His '90s SportsCenters with Dan Patrick, aka The Big Show, were great and something that ESPN has run into the ground.  I plan on watching his new show next month just to see what's changed since the mid-90s.

Yes, It Is A Big Deal

From: yahoosports.com

...for an NFL QB to wear another team's gear out in public.

Colin Kaepernick, QB of the San Francisco 49ers, wore a Miami Dolphins hat to a July 4th party last week.  I've seen various columnists and pundits say this is no big deal, but it is.

I used to bite my tongue when my students would claim to root for one team and then show up for class with another team's gear on.  I'm as big a sports fan as anybody, and only the teams I root for have a place in my closet. I don't even wear swag from my former employer anymore.  What if a member of the Bloods decided to wear blue one day because it went with his jeans?

How to Prepare Students For The Workplace

From: youngupstarts.com

By the time students have spent 18 weeks with me, I want them to pick up employable skills above anything else.  So I read this article with interest about how schools are not preparing students for the workplace.

The employers in the article made some interesting points about how important soft skills are in their fields, and I would agree.  In fact, it seems like most of the problems I encounter with student behavior is their stunning lack of the aforementioned soft skills, like being on time, keeping promises and making eye contact; you know, the little stuff.

The article did disappoint me when it mentioned the "21st century" skills our students need to have.  None of the skills listed struck me as ones a worker didn't need to have in the 20th century.  Collaboration, for example, is not a new concept.  Oh, well: at least others are thinking about soft skills having the same importance that I attach to them.

The Ultimate Bootstrap

There's pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, and then there's what these two guys did (with the help of an ESPN producer).  No words for this...

Entertain Us

I had to read a national news web site to find out what happened 30 minutes down the road this weekend: over 400 youths turned into an unruly mob on Saturday night and started fighting.  Only 11 kids were arrested, and the report was that no one over 20 was there.

Again, where are the parents?  I understand that not all parents have absolute control over their kids, but are there 400 parents in one town that can't be bothered to keep an eye on their kids?  Because it's their job, maybe?

Good luck on that curfew!

I'm Fat

Recently, my local paper ran a story about the obesity rate in our school system.  The interesting aspect of the article was its breakdown of the obesity rate by school.  The author grouped all Title I schools together and all non-Title I schools together.  I think the point was that poor kids are fatter than rich kids, and there must be some kind of program to help balance the rising obesity inequality in our schools...

More than a decade ago, someone remarked to me that America is the only place in the world where poor people are fat.  From what I've read, we've got some company in those regards now.  I wonder when it was where we went from girth denoting a person's wealth to it now revealing the lack thereof.  Why should poor people be fatter than rich people?  Aren't the rich the ones with money to spend on food?

Not only did that part of the article bother me, but it seemed like yet another education article written with the "parents-as-bystanders" perspective.  If we can't get parents involved in their own children's education, then how effective are teachers and administrators expected to be?

End of an Era (Again)

From: chapelboro.com

I grew up watching an 8 team ACC, so I remember all the grumbling from the Tobacco Road folks when the conference expanded to 12 teams in 2005.  The main issue was that the four schools in North Carolina weren't going to play each other twice a year in basketball.  I understand that complaining, and think the league could have kept home-and-homes if they were to realize that no one cares if BC and Virginia Tech don't play twice a year.

I wonder how this new 15 team league will operate.  The future conference schedules have already been released, and it's bad enough that every team doesn't play every other team in its conference every year--we're long past that point.  The new ACC is so big that players won't even see every venue in the conference by the time they graduate.

In the new world (post-2003) of conference alignment, it's poach or be poached, so I don't blame the ACC for bringing in three new teams.  But I wish there was more of a commitment to having every team in the league play each other more regularly than they are planning to, especially when there is a way to do it.

You're No OJ, Aaron

Note to aspiring (alleged) murderers: if you plan on murdering someone, here are some things you may avoid:

• Being seen on multiple surveillance cameras with the deceased the last night he is seen alive
• Leaving spent cartridges in the rental car
• Taking selfies with a Glock in your hand
• Having character issues that cause NFL teams to refuse to draft you

Other than that, Aaron Hernandez did everything just fine!

How NOT to Apologize, Take 2

From: cnn.com

Dear Paula Deen,

After admitting in an open court that you use the "n" word, instead of compounding the error by blaming your upbringing and your age, just apologize and say you said something stupid and you won't do it again.  You may even get to keep your job if you do it right.

Sincerely,

2013

How NOT to Apologize, Take 1

From: celebritynetworth.com

What is it about the Steubenville rape case that brings out the dumbness?  First, it was the blame-the-victim comments from my students.  Now's it Serena Williams and her "mis-quoted" self.  Of course, she had to apologize, but I wonder if someone had to tell her to do that.  Serena sounded like she had pretty clear opinions on what happened.

The money quote:

“Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don’t know. I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you—don’t take drinks from other people. She’s 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn’t remember? It could have been much worse. She’s lucky. Obviously I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin, but she shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”

End of the Year Musings

From: discoveryeducation.com

What did I learn this year?

1. Be mean (aka take cell phones).  The phones were out of control this year, to the point of kids taking videos of outbursts in my class.  Next year, there's going to be a cell phone jail.
2. Teaching three new classes in one semester will drive one crazy.
3. Kids are kids.  I left my old school to get to a better one, but I still dealt with the crazies (and not as many smart kids--they took the AP courses).
4. Administrative support makes a difference.  It was rare that one or more principals was not on my hall during class change.  And they actually enforced most of the rules!
5. Some parents correct their children's behavior.  I didn't think I was ever going to see that one.

What a Waste

From: recruiterchicks.com


So we are about to finish our testing period, which took 11 days to complete.  We started with some English II common exams before Memorial Day, and then kept testing and testing and testing.  We've been testing so long that the seniors have already graduated...and we're still testing.

These last two days of school have been for makeup exams only; athletes that can't afford to miss any more days are around, too.  Other than that, our school is empty.  I had four of my students today, which was great, but...we still ran ALL of the busses we would for a normal school day.  Even if the bus had NO students on it, it still had to make its rounds.  The cafeteria workers still had to fire up the school lunch machinery and we still got paid for a full day of "teaching."

Is there not a better way to do testing?  Do we really need 11 days of testing when most kids only have 4-5 classes?

Just Study!

From: insulinsinvolved.blogspot.com

We're at that time of the year where students determine 25% of their grade in a single day: the final exam.  Logic would tell you that a student should spend a great deal of time studying for that exam, and should work hard in class when a teacher provides time for review.

Yes, logic.

Yet no matter the year, the class, or the school, the vast majority of my students seem to find reviewing a task that they can gaff off because "they'll do fine."  In fact, more of them are interested in doing makeup work that affects less than 5% of their total grade than having anything to do with preparing for  that final.

Yes, logic.

You Can Do It

Watch Fast Times at West Philly High on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

This video was long and paced at a "PBS" tempo, but I thought it was important to show my students at the end of the year.

A group of high school students from Philadelphia built two hybird cars in order to compete in an international contest to win $10M.  The team goes on the Today Show and 60 Minutes, gets a visit from the mayor and get mentioned by the president.  The video is a great example of not letting excuses get in the way of your dreams.  That's a lesson that even someone out of college can heed.

Still Making Bank

I never was a big Michael Jackson fan, but there was no denying the man's talent.  Unfortunately, he went from being a performer to being a circus act the last 15 years or so of his life.

In the months after he died, I kept reading stories about how in debt MJ was.  He was spending money like a drunken sailor, even when his album sales and tour dates dried up and ended up incurring a massive debt.

Apparently, after his death, Jackson is making more money than ever.  My kids were quite impressed with his 20,000 square foot warehouse that houses all of his old cars.  See what you think.

Is It That Hard?

From: egusd.net

Is it THAT hard to get to school on time?  I live 25 minutes from school and get to work about an hour before the first bell.  My students live in the same zip code and get to school when they feel like it--with Chick-Fil-A in hand.

Some of my first period students have racked up nearly ten tardies.  On one day alone last week, six of my ten first period kids were late to class.

Apparently, tardies are an issue that nearly every school has.  My current school, my last school, my principals' previous schools, etc.  The high school I attended, however, didn't have that problem.  Why?  Because nine tardies were an automatic F.  Of course, you can't do that nowadays--it would repress somebody.  But are committed to having students come on time or not?  I think I already know the answer.

Good Luck on That

Last week were the annual network television upfronts, where new shows are introduced to advertisers with a bunch of superlatives and flowery language.  The upfronts remind me of spring training: every team is optimistic about its squad and thinks it can play for first place...until the real games begin.  Same thing here.

My classes started by looking at NBC's new shows.  Some look better than others.  Many of my students remarked that the show featured above looks more like a movie than a TV show.  I'm going to guess that a comment like that is a good sign.

The Wrong Profession?

From: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

I consider myself an easy-going guy.  I'm generally in a good mood.  But I've had a couple of episodes in the last week that make me wonder if I'm in the right profession.

Last Sunday, I was leaving church when I ran into a retired teacher in the parking lot.  She asked me how the job was going, and I answered "26 days!"  My response changed her mood.  She said she was sad that a young (ha!) teacher was that disillusioned, and that I should get out of teaching.  I thought she was wrong until...

Tonight, when my wife asked me why I left the gangster magnet school I had taught at for the last six years when I was so unhappy at my new school.  I told her things should get better next year--I still believe that guidance departments haze new teachers by giving them crappy classes.

So was the old lady at church right?

That's Nasty

There are not too many rules in my class, but one of them is "No food and drinks."  One of my classes is really bad about breaking this rule.  I take points off their grade, but they seem to be undeterred in their quest to eat in my class.

Last week, there was a roach in my classroom.  After that, I decided that my classes should watch a segment of the show "Hoarders." These kids don't think they're nasty, but they are:  pick up your trash!

How to Cope

From: psychiatrist.blogspot.com

For whatever reason, the last six weeks of school have been painful.  My previously well-behaved classes are acting like circus rejects, and my horribly-behaved class is acting like...a horribly-behaved class.

How to cope?  I've decided my crazy students need nicknames based on the medication or substance I need to cope with them.  Johnny "Valium" Smith and Freddy "Prozac" Jones have a nice ring to them. I decided to do this after leaving a class two straight days with a splitting headache due to the noise level.  I'm crossing my fingers this works.

How to Sell a $100K Car

I stumbled across a tweet this week about Jaguar's 13 minute short film that features Emmy Award-winning actor Damian Lewis.  How else do you sell a car that expensive?  Radio and TV spots are out, and print doesn't do the car justice.

When I played the film for my rowdiest class, I thought they would get bored quickly, but they stuck with it.  I think they enjoyed the bad guy, who they had seen in Bad Boys II and other movies.

I remember that BMW made shorter films about a decade ago, directed by John Woo and starring Clive Owen.  Those were good films, and so is this one.  Does it move Jaguars?  Debatable.

Gone But Not Forgotten

From: egyptsaidso.com

This isn't a story you hear about every day.  Lorenzen Wright was a guy who played 13 years in the NBA, then quietly retired to his hometown of Memphis.  Sadly, he was shot to death on a deserted road while he making a distress call to 911.  Three years later, there are still no arrests.

The NBA and TNT had a great story about the case this week.  My classes were very interested in it.  Wright's mother and sister were prominent in the video.  Unfortunately, Wright's ex-wife wasn't in the video to tell her side of the story.  The case has now grown cold; we can only hope there is a break in the case that leads to an arrest.

I Keep Forgetting About This Show

When I taught Strategic Marketing last semester, I went to Bloomberg.com quite a bit to pull short videos to show in class.  I forgot about their site when I moved on to teaching Sports & Entertainment Marketing exclusively this semester.

Oops!  I forgot about the Sportfolio show!  It doesn't come out nearly as frequently as I'd like--I'm not even sure when or how often the show gets produced.  But when it does, it's really good.  I was able to take the clip above and play it during the LGBT support day on Friday.  I'll have to remember to check Bloomberg more often in the future.

Bastards

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

Immediately after the Boston Marathon bombing, speculation (rightfully) turned to who did it and why. It could have been domestic terrorists, or Muslims...again.  Even some gun control arguments were tossed about.

I wondering about how much to discuss in class--the bombing was less about a sporting event and more about general current events, but I usually err on the side about talking about something.  My kids did a good job of asking questions and bringing up facts even I hadn't heard yet.  I hope we never have to talk about something like this again.

Knuckleball 101

This is a great segment on 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, who didn't find success in the majors until he was 37 while using an unlikely pitch, the knuckleball.

I had vaguely remembered some story last year about his sexual abuse as a child, and the segment goes into that, too.  My students were interested in both the baseball story and the criminal part of his background.

Paying Attention to Golf

For the first time, I had my students pick golfers to follow at the Masters this weekend.  They received extra credit based on how their two golfers finished.  I noticed the rise in interest on Friday versus their lack of interest in years past.  I guess I should have thought about offering extra credit sooner...

Linsanity

Last year many of my NBA-following students (and ESPN) descended into the frenzy of Linsanity.  Jeremy Lin came from nowhere/Harvard to become a sensation for the Knicks before moving on to the Houston Rockets.

There haven't been that many Asian basketball players, hence part of the curiosity towards Lin's career. Nor are there that many NBA players hailing from Harvard.   Based on what I saw in the video, no matter how his career turns out, Lin is already a winner.

Drugs Are Bad, Mmmmmkay?

Just finished reading the report on ESPN's web site regarding synthetic drug use in Auburn's football program.  So many lessons to be learned or reinforced from this saga:

• Winning covers up a lot of blemishes
• Organizations move slowly
• Athletes get a lot of second (and third and fourth) chances
• Drugs are for losers

Pumpkin Eaters

File this under If It's Too Good to Be True:  over 30 Atlanta Public School employees, including the retired superintendent, get arrested for changing their students' answers on exams.  The payoff for the cheating included receiving big bonuses.

So, how much longer until we see that end-of-grade testing is not a way to evaluate teachers?  Some columnists are actually starting to ask this question.

An Ode to Trash

From: crossfitretribution.com

I've gotten tired of telling students not to eat or drink in my class.  There was a time where students only did that in the cafeteria; however it seems like they can do it whenever and wherever they want to nowadays.

The worse thing about them eating and drinking in my room is the trash they leave behind.  C'mon: you don't have the decency to clean up after yourselves?  Now I have started a Tumblr tribute to my students (mainly in my second period) that I have to clean up after.

Fab Five

Speaking of videos that are two years old, ESPN's 30 for 30 crew produced a documentary that aired two years ago on the the Fab Five--Michigan five freshmen who started together, went all the way to the national championship game (twice) and started new trends in shorts, socks and on-court demeanor.  I hadn't shown the video to any class until last week.

It was interesting to see reactions to the video, especially mine.  I figured my students would enjoy a story about a group of brash young trash talkers, who turned out to be nice guys.  What I didn't expect is that I would gain an appreciation for the group.

The Fab Five arrived in Ann Arbor in the fall of 1991, the same semester I went off to college, so we're all the same age.  And I liked to follow the careers of people who were the same age as me, like Marshall Faulk.  The Fab Five were an anathema to me, though, for all of the reasons my students today liked them--baggy shorts and the trash talking...especially the trash talking.  I was overjoyed to see them lose to Duke and UNC in the tournament (and I now know I would never root for those two schools in that manner again).

Why the change? I'm not sure.  Maybe I'm more tolerant of self-expression.  Maybe we all grew up.  In any case, it was an entertaining tale all the way around.

March Money Madness

Watch Money and March Madness on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

This PBS Frontline video is nearly two years old, but much of it still rings true today.  The Ed O'Bannon lawsuit against the NCAA is still making news, and UConn's low graduation rate kept it out of the Big East and NCAA tournaments this month.  Still, it's only two years old.

I used to be dead-set against players making any kind of money off their athletic prowess in college.  College sports started with the same intent that high school sports did, to offer young men a worthy athletic pursuit in the midst of their academics.  Of course, that model's been dead for a long time now--the first cheating I heard of happened in the '40s when World War II vets came home and given cash to play for one school instead of another.

What really turned me into a recent concert of compensation for players is the warp speed in which conferences are re-aligning, and how schools are leaving behind decades of tradition for a few more million dollars of a more recently negotiated television deal (looking at you, Texas A&M and Maryland). It's gotten to the point that my students look at a conference map and can't understand how schools from such different part of the country can be part of the same association.  And they're right, it doesn't make sense.

I don't support paying college players while they're in school--they still get a scholarship, and everyone not getting a 'ship bemoans the high cost of higher ed. I do think they are entitled to some post-school compensation for their likeness being used in video games (see the O'Bannon case) and a cut of jerseys sold with their number on them.

The odds of any of this happening.  Well, it depends on the lawsuit, I believe.  Looking at the video, I don't see the NCAA changing its mind in the near future.

Guilty

I showed my students reports from CNN on the Steubenville rape case.  As I suspected, several kids thought the girl should get in trouble for being drunk.  Well, guess what--they were all drunk.  As I preached about knowing your limits and the bad decision-making of most 16-year-olds, I wondered if anything would sink in to the minds that needed it the most.

It did make my day to get an e-mail from a parent the next day, thanking me for bringing this up in class.  Her son was among those who blamed the victim, and they had a chance to talk about it.  At least someone is listening.

Another David to ESPN's Goliath

CBS and NBC have upgraded their cable offerings to offer a slight alternative to ESPN.  Now Fox is in the game with Fox Sports 1.  I like to complain about ESPN as much as the next guy; shows like First Take, SportsNation and PTI are not my thing.  SportsCenter was a great show, but has become too over-the-top with catchphrases and obsessions with celebrity-athletes, like Danica and Tebow.

I'm not sure that the other nets can get me out of my addiction to ESPN, though.  I did watch the CNN/SI channel back in the '90s, but I haven't switched to NBCSports or CBSSports yet.  Will FoxSports1 be worth checking out in August?  I hope so.

Old School

 This isn't the newest video--I showed it to my classes last year.  But it gives great insight to a successful person and what it takes to get to and stay at the top.  Get 'em, coach!

This

Thank you, local paper, for publishing a clear-headed article behind the discipline numbers in our system.

For the last two years, our administration has trumpeted the decrease in suspensions in our school system.  I think a lot of that decrease was in response to an NAACP complaint that led to a federal Office of Civil Rights investigation of why black males were being written up in a greater proportion to their percentage of the total population of students.

Well, it's easy for suspension numbers to go down...when students aren't written up.  It got to the point last year that I had to keep my own records of students I had written up.  I didn't trust my principals to follow through on suspending kids that I thought needed it, and I was right.  I'm glad to see that I'm not the only teacher that sees this.

Will Justice Be Served?

I showed this Outside The Lines video to two of my classes last week.  It's about the two high school football players accused to raping an unconscious partygoer last fall.

Sadly, the responses most of my students had were predictable:  it's her fault, she drank too much, she shouldn't have gotten drunk, etc.

I worry about the total lack of empathy most of these kids have. The mentality is, I'll get mine and the hell with anyone else.  How wonderful!

Not Adding Up

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Let's try this equation:

Prior domestic violence incidents + Dead girlfriend = Murder

Anger Management

From: eduoptimists.com

Once a week, I bring my lecture classes to the computer lab.  It's a break from me having to lecture, and it's a break for my students from having to hear me lecture.  I let my students know what they need to do, and they do it.   It's that simple.

Unless you're my fourth period class this semester.  The first time I took them to the computer lab, I had two faculty members come to the lab to ask my students to keep the noise down.  Embarrassing, but not  the worst thing that's happened during a computer lab day to me.

That was on Wednesday.  I had one (or several) students throwing staples and other assorted things across the room.  After 5 or 6 times, I told them if it happened again, we were leaving the computer lab to go back to the classroom.

It happened again. I had not been that furious in a long time.  The next day, one of my students told me I was so mad my lip was quivering.  I had my students write three paragraphs--one about being a professional, one about following rules and one about how to improve the behavior of the class.  The suggestions I got back were actually fairly reasonable.  Most of them involved sending kids to the principal's office quicker.  Maybe I should try that.  No matter what, things have to change in that class.

Lyin' Like It's 1999

Oh, how the mighty have fallen!  Lance Armstrong goes from one of the most admired people in sports history to a complete pariah in less than two years, and he may not be done.

It was interesting to watch the clip above with my students.  Many of them took the side of Armstrong, explaining away his cheating and making snarking comments about the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency.  It's almost like it's OK to cheat...wait a minute--it is!  Right?

Not Holding My Breath

These guys (and girls) are crazy.

That is all.

Is There Any Help?

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Sad news about Mindy McCready's suicide over the weekend.  I remember her hit "Guys Do It All The Time" back in the mid-'90s.  Like I told my classes, it's hard to maintain that kind of success.

That being said, it's heartbreaking that there are so many people with mental health issues that don't get the help they need.  McCready clearly had issues for years; even a stint in rehab didn't help.  Having a fiance die in the same house a month earlier obviously wasn't optimal, either.

It's too bad there's not an easy test for people to take where they could find the help they need based on the score they get.  It's never that simple, though, especially where the brain is involved.

Success!

When I moved schools and changed schedules and classes and all, I was wondering if the projects I was doing at my old school could be done at my new one.

The only way to know for sure is to just try, so we did a couple of weeks ago.  I had been producing a sports interview show for four years, so I wanted to continue to do that.  The video above is our first effort, but I think we're going to get better!

Without Limits

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How much exercise should pre-teens get?  The Rock Center clip from above tells the story of a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl who do extreme running, including marathons.

They don't train during the week, and often run two races a weekend (!).  Their father seems to be the typical "Little League Dad," but both girls seem happy.  One thing's for sure:  I definitely feel fat!

They're Not Real...Or Spectacular

I showed my students this piece about counterfeit NFL jerseys.  I knew that they are out there, of course, but I thought fake jerseys were confined mainly to the outside of football stadiums.  I should've figured that some counterfeiters have their own websites that look remarkably like the NFLShop.com site.

It's a given that counterfeiting is wrong, but $200 for a jersey does seem a bit much.  Just as a 20-year-old CD shouldn't cost $17.99.  Some of these pricing decisions push consumers away from the real product and to a knockoff at a quarter of the price.

Super Bizarre

Well, that wasn't the Super Bowl I was expecting.

Growing up in the '80s, the game was a steady diet of blowouts.  The games were often over by halftime and this was looking to turn out the same way.  Who would have thought that a 35 minute power outage would breath new life into the 49'ers and make a game out of a game that looked like it was going to be a colossal bore.

The same praise can't be given to the commercials, however.  Other than the Paul Harvey/Dodge Ram ad, the spots were underwhelming as a whole.  There's only so many celebrities/talking babies/GoDaddy concepts out there.  I hope that next year, the ads are as good as the game.

You've Got To Be Kidding, Right?

Showed three segments from Katie Couric's interview with Manti Te'o to my class today.  Of course, some of them don't understand why she asked such probing questions, but anyway--the more I hear this guy talk, the more I believe he's just a galactically naive knucklehead.

Scratch that.  I'm not sure what to believe about this story any more.

Lies & Lying Liars

I don't consider myself a naive person; certainly not on the level of Manti Te'o.  But there have been times where I've wanted to believe whatever some of these athletes are selling--Pete Rose and the gambling deal and Lance Armstrong and the blood doping.

I mean, come on, the guy never failed a drug test.   Oops!  I guess I should've listened when guys like Greg LeMond said there was no way that an average cyclist could beat cancer, and then have the most dominant stretch in an insanely grueling test of physicality.  I guess I should've listened when papers like The Guardian and Le Monde had their doubts.  I doubted Barry Bonds and A-Rod; why not this guy.

Leave it to Oprah to get to the bottom of this!

Crash & Burn

From: theinspiredclassroom.com

Our state did a massive overhaul of the sports marketing curriculum this year.  Back in the old days, the state gave us PowerPoints, activities and practice test questions that were very similar to the state-issued final exam.  Final exam scores were good and teachers and students alike were happy.

No longer: now the state gives us a general idea of what we're supposed to teach, along with no PowerPoints nor exam questions.

The result?  My class averaged a 57%, and many other teachers across the state fared no better.  Judging by some of the reactions I've seen online, several of my colleagues are concerned that the bad test scores will depress future enrollment.  I'm not worried about that, but I am at a loss about what to do for the spring.  What do I do differently that will get my test scores higher in June?  I'm not sure that I know yet, or will ever know.  Hopefully, we'll get more support next year.

You Can't Be This Dumb...Can You?

From: juanelway.com


Manti Te'o.  The Heisman runner-up, All-American from college football's biggest brand.  Playing a monster game against Michigan State after his grandmother and girlfriend died on the same day.

You know the girlfriend.

The one in a car wreck...then a coma...and then died of leukemia.  The one that Te'o only knew from Twitter, texts, etc.  The one that he communicated with via Skype and FaceTime, but couldn't see because her image was always a black box.

The one that was part of stories by Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the local South Bend paper, none of whom ever interviewed her--or her family.

What a colossal fraud, by somebody.  Either Te'o is the world's most naive college student (who certainly had to have had girls throwing themselves repeatedly at him) or part of the seemingly never-ending hero worship that happens in sports media.  Let's just respect these athletes for their talents in the arena and not try to make their stories into a sports-as-life metaphor.

At least Deadspin wasn't completely fooled.

Sobering Stories About Texting & Driving

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Showed my students the above video about texting and driving.  It's more dangerous than drunk driving.  Pretty scary when you think about the number of teens that are doing it.

Blacked Out Means Yes?

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The story about two football players in Steubenville, OH being accused of rape (after seemingly getting away with it) has touched a national chord.  I first read about it on Deadspin, and they had picked up the story from The New York Times.

I showed my students the video above.  I shouldn't be shocked anymore, but I was--at how many students think the victim a) had what was coming to her and/or b) it wasn't rape because she was blacked out.  My main response: I hope you figure out what a felony is before you get to college...

Give Me a Break!

I showed this clip to my students about bounties being paid to kids in Pop Warner.  Predictably, they didn't see anything wrong with this.  "It's football."  "Don't play football if you don't like to get hit."  "Wouldn't you want your kid to make money playing Pop Warner?"

Are these the people that will be running our country in 30 years?

HTML is hard...

to teach.  Or maybe it's just me.

From: thenichereport.com