Lemming Tracks: 'Voting Our Way = Ice Cream'

The basic idea is okay: giving students an idea of what voting was like.

How that idea was executed? Well, the Lemming has discussed "apathy" before.

"Lawsuit: CPS pushing Democrats"
OH Courts, Cincinnati.com (October 18, 2010)

"Three van loads of Hughes High students were taken last week – during school hours – to vote and given sample ballots only for Democratic candidates and then taken for ice cream, a Monday lawsuit alleges.

"The complaint was made by Thomas Brinkman Jr., a Republican candidate for Hamilton County auditor, and the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes against Cincinnati Public Schools.

" 'They plan to bring four more high schools (to vote) this week,' Christopher Finney, COAST attorney, said Monday after filing the suit.

"It seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent school officials from participating or helping students participate in partisan politics during school hours or with school property or employees involved.

"But the school district's lawyer denies any school connection.

" 'No CPS personnel engaged in the promotion of candidates or any political party, CPS attorney Mark Stepaniak noted in a written release.

"CPS spokeswoman Janet Walsh said taking students on school time to vote has been done before. 'It has to be scrupulously nonpartisan,' Walsh said...."

Given the sort of Monty Python logic the Lemming has come to expect from American courts, Cincinnati's government schools may very well win this one.

Particularly if the ballots just happen to be destroyed, and someone speaks with the students and their parents about graduation requirements. No evidence? No testimony? No conviction.

Is it unthinkable: that a school system, or some folks in the system, would destroy evidence and threaten witnesses? The Lemming would like to think so.

But then, the Lemming would like to think that 'religious freedom' day wouldn't be celebrated by banning Bibles. (A Catholic Citizen in America (July 1, 2010))

We live in interesting times.

Rewarding Desired Behavior: That's Smart

The idea of associating ice cream with voting, though: that's smart. And makes sense. Providing some sort of treat after a child has performed action is a way to reinforce desired behavior. Parents used that sort of practical psychology for a very long time. Up to around 50 years ago. What's fashionable in child-rearing now, in America, the Lemming doesn't know.

'Non Partisan,' 'Educational,' and Voting With Your Feet

This sort of 'non-partisan,' 'educational' activity is one reason why this family home schooled (and are home-schooling, in one case) our kids in graded 7 through 12. Their choice, by the way.

Posts touching on American education:

• "Beaten High Schooler to be Home Schooled"
  (April 9, 2008)
• "School District Celebrates Religious Freedom Day: By Banning Bibles"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (July 1, 2010)
• "Home Schooling: Students Miss the 'Socialization' "
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 28, 2010)
• "Home Schooling: It May Not be What You Think"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 20, 2010)
• "Police Handcuff Dangerous Student! School Protected From Erasable Marker!"
  (April 6, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: Home Schooling isn't What You May Think"
  (March 31, 2010)
• "Home Schooling, Religious and Moral Instruction, and American Culture"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (March 6, 2010)
  Particularly
  NOT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE DOLTS

Using Facebook Can (Hey! That's Cool!) Result in - Something

"Using Facebook 'can lower exam results by up to 20%' "
MailOnline (September 7, 2010)

"It is what parents of teenagers who 'revise' in front of the computer have long feared.

"Students who use Facebook while they study get significantly lower grades than those who do not, according to psychologists.

"A study has found that the exam results of those who used the social networking site while working, even if it was on in the background, were 20 per cent lower than non-users.

"Researchers say the findings undermine the theory that young people's brains are better at multitasking on digital gadgets.

"Study author Professor Paul Kirschner said: 'The problem is that most people have Facebook or other social networking sites, their emails and maybe instant messaging constantly running in the background while they are carrying out other tasks.

" 'Our study, and other previous work, suggests that while people may think constant task-switching allows them to get more done in less time, the reality is it extends the amount of time needed to carry out tasks and leads to more mistakes.'..."

The Lemming wishes to point out that this blogger has nothing against Facebook, or social networks in general. On the other hand, I don't pretend to "multitask."

I'll have social networking active in the background during some tasks - while I'm 'doing research' (surfing the Web) for these posts, for example. That's partly because I'll occasionally see something interesting mentioned. Like this MailOnline article. (Thanks, RBLevin!) But when the Lemming is writing one of these things, social networking goes off the screen.

My guess is that talking on the phone while reading that statistics textbook, or watching television while studying algebra isn't a terribly good idea, either.

Appealing - even tempting - as the idea is.

---

A tip of the hat to RBLevin, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this article.

American History Textbooks: Good for Schools, Good for Home Schooling

Project Special Education

"For teachers who are not scientists, historians, or experts in sex education: but are teaching these subjects to special students anyway, Project Special Education (PSE) offers a solution.

"Project Special Education's DATELINE: America, PROJECT EXPLORE and IMAGES are a fresh and effective way to teach your special students about American history, science, and human sexuality.

"Content-rich texts, reinforcement-oriented exercises, and exciting reading keep students interested, and help them learn...."

I'm Biased: I Think This Stuff's Good

I worked at Project Special Education's sister company, Vocational Biographies, for about 20 years, so my opinion that parts of this website, like the 'multilogo' over there, are pretty cool.

Of course, I would think so: I assembled the thing from pre-existing artwork.

And I think that Project Special Education's Dateline: America product is pretty good. Again, I would: I had a small part in producing the original.

That was then, this is now.

I haven't worked at Vocational Biographies since the spring of 2006, but I get called back now and again when one of the companies have something for me to do on their websites. I was back this week, with a little updating on their page about Dateline: America.

Somebody Publishes History Textbooks: So What?

The whole Project Special Education line of products is, I think, valuable for people teaching secondary-level students who are fairly smart, but didn't keep up with reading skills. There's a sort of explanation on the P.S.E. "What is Project Special Education?" page.

I'm particularly interested in the American history series, because my first major was in history - and in my opinion the subject often isn't handled all that well. Sure: it's possible to kill interest in history by reducing it to a dusty series of unrelated names and dates. (Imagine how popular soccer might be, if kids were forced to memorize the names of every team to make the world cup, before they were allowed to see a grainy photo of a soccer ball.)

Dateline: America isn't like that. It probably isn't the ultimate resource for teaching history to high schoolers. But until you find that academic El Dorado, I think it'll do. And checking it out won't take more than a minute or two:

• Dateline: America

Am I 'pushing' Dateline: America? Yeah, actually, I am.

Most of Project Special Education's customers when I worked for the companies were traditional schools. Dateline, America is a pretty good resource for parents who home school their kids, too. It's designed for teachers, by people who were teachers themselves - or at least understood what's involved - so most of the preparation is already done.

And yes: it works for home schooling. That's not a guess: all four of our kids have been (or are being) home-schooled from seventh grade through high school graduation. And we're using Dateline: America for the American history units. It works.

Don't let the "special education" part of the name fool you: it's not 'dumbed down' geared for stupid kids.

What sets the Project Special Education products apart from most high school texts is that they're designed for easy reading.

Let's put it this way: although utilizing polysyllabic vocabulary and assemblages of sentences whose structures are not only of unnecessary, but of superfluously elaborate, complexity may impress and bedazzle - Writing simple statements is better.

Better, that is, if the idea is to inform.

Dang! I was going to work "pleonastic redundancy" into that jaw-breaker of a sentence. Oh, well: You get the idea, I think.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Police Handcuff Dangerous Student! School Protected From Erasable Marker!"
  (April 6, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: Home Schooling isn't What You May Think"
  (March 31, 2010)
• "Ötzi, Tattoos, Acupuncture, and Things We Don't Know"
  (March 5, 2009)
• "Worst High School Analogies, plus Gilbert and Sullivan"
  (August 29, 2007)

Police Handcuff Dangerous Student! School Protected From Erasable Marker!

"US girl sues for $1m over arrest for desk scribble"
BBC (April 3, 2010)

"A 12-year-old US schoolgirl is suing the New York City authorities for $1m (£650,000) in damages after she was arrested for writing on her desk.

"Alexa Gonzalez was led out of her school in handcuffs by police after she was caught scribbling a message to her friends with an erasable, green marker.

"Miss Gonzalez and her mother are suing the police and education departments in New York City.

"They are claiming for excessive use of force and violation of her rights.

"Miss Gonzalez was caught scribbling 'I love my friends Abby and Faith' on her desk during a Spanish class in February...."

Well, from a certain point of view, I can see why the school staff wanted to be protected from 'that sort of person.' To their credit, now that they're making international news, school officials are blaming the police.

And this is one of the reasons I decided to give my kids the option of being home schooled from grade 7 up. All of them took me and my wife up on it.

That's right: I'm one of those people. The ones who home school their kids.

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Home Schooling isn't What You May Think"
  (March 31, 2010)
• "Dead Monkeys, Emotions, and Studying the News"
  (March 19, 2010)
• "Athletes, Social Media, Rules and the 2010 Olympics"
  (February 6, 2010)
• "Pat Robertson, the Devil, Haiti, and an Alternate Reality?"
  (January 14, 2010)
• "Yogi Yorgesson's 'I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas' and the Hamms Bear"
  (December 15, 2009)

Newark Schools Protected From Dangerous Six-Year-Old and His Cub Scout Gadget

"It's a Fork, It's a Spoon, It's a ... Weapon?"
The New York Times (October 11, 2009)

"Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy. But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mother's fiancé by his side to vouch for him.

"Zachary's offense? Taking a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch. School officials concluded that he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district's reform school...."


(by Mustafah Abdulaziz for The New York Times, used w/o permission)

I hate to think what will happen when the Newark school system administrators discover the weapons potential of human teeth and fingernails.

It's not just Newark, of course. After Columbine and other school killings, "zero-tolerance" became a wonderful way for people in leadership positions to 'solve the problem.' So, teachers who are either as ditsy as the administrators or who want to keep their jobs turn in dangerous thugs like Zachary.

Eventually, I suppose that enough Americans will get fed up with this particular sort of nonsense.

(As I've been explaining quite often lately, the Lemming is "apathetic" only in the sense that I don't care intensely about the, ah, correct things. Kids being sent to reform school for carrying a big, bad camping utensil: that I care about.

Which reminds me of an incident, quite a few years ago, involving the local school, a skunk, a wood pile and some dynamite.

---

A tip of the hat to irish_brigid, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this.

Interior Design: Yes, it Can be Taught

"Interior Design Fact Sheet"
College of Human Development and Education, NDSU (North Dakota State University)

"A professional interior designer is one who is qualified by education and experience to identify, research and creatively solve problems relative to the function and quality of people's interior environments. The course of study in interior design leads to a first professional degree.

"Background Information

"Students pursue courses in aesthetic awareness, visual communication and technical skills that enable them to successfully complete studio projects in residential and commercial interiors including: institutional, entertainment, educational, hospitality, health care, retail and office space. Students learn how to approach design problems through a methodology that includes data gathering, product specification, identification of details, contractual documents and design business procedures...."

I don't think that training will make everyone into good interior designers, any more than I think you can train anyone to be a good auto mechanic or brain surgeon.

On the other hand, a program like what NDSU describes might help someone who wants to become an interior designer pick up skills and knowledge more quickly and efficiently than trying to learn on-the-job.

This fact sheet is a pretty good resource, intended for someone who is considering an interior design career. And, by some of the entries, apparently for someone who is still in high school.

This isn't one of the more exciting pages I've linked to. Actually, the content's a tad on the dry side. I picked this because I'm rather interested in design - interior and otherwise - and this NDSU fact sheet has a very good fact-to-sentence ratio.

Fluffy, it isn't.

High School Students' Metaphors: Strangely Inspiring

"Funny metaphors used in high school essays"
Help.com (January, 2008)

"Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year’s winners:..."

From

"1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master."

to

"25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up."

My favorite, today, is "6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever."

To Make Lightning: Take One Vat of Liquid Nitrogen ...

"Liquid Nitrogen Experiment"
YouTube (January 30, 2007)

"It is a Science project to produce Thunder and ..."

From the sounds of the audience, at an elementary school.

Quite an impressive demonstration.

Video 3:20

Writing a Resume? This Might Help

"Resume Action Verbs"
Boston College.

Pretty good resource, but use good judgment. Otherwise, you might write Diblertesque prose like this:

I prioritized goal-oriented outcomes, facilitated horizontal and vertical communication strategies, and motivated resource allocation decision-making.

Seriously, the verbs are broken out into overlapping functional categories, like "Management skills" and "Helping skills."

Essay Assignments: Ingredients Needed

"What Ingredients Must an Essay Contain?"
Language for You (July 2, 2008)

The author of this post claimed, in a BlogCatalog discussion thread, that this post was "The Most Boring Blog Post Ever." With all due respect, that claim is patently false. I've read much more boring posts. Can't remember which they are, though, since I fell asleep before short-term memory could plague me with a lasting record.

I'll grant that I'm biased. As a recovering English teacher, I find the details of writing a good essay much more interesting than the typical American.

I was going to say that this post won't help you write an outstanding essay. Actually, it might: the advice is intended to help students write coherent, organized essays that address the topic assigned.

In some educational settings, an essay like that would be outstanding.

I'm getting off track.

"What Ingredients Must an Essay Contain?" is short, well-organized, and addresses the basics of essay writing, like:

• Transition sentence
• Topic sentence
• Sentences that develop the topic
• Concluding sentence

and

• Introduction
• Body paragraphs
• Conclusion

Plus, there are 'for more information' links at the bottom.

"Most boring blog post:" Ha!

Death Hoax Puts El Camino High School in International News

"Teachers defend shock tactics in DWI program"
Guardian (UK) (June 12 2008)

I'm going to quote a longer excerpt than usual from this AP article, as it appeared in the Guardian today.

• "OCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP) - On a Monday morning last month, highway patrol officers visited 20 classrooms at El Camino High School to announce some horrible news: Several students had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend.
• "Classmates wept. Some became hysterical.
• "A few hours and many tears later, though, the pain turned to fury when the teenagers learned that it was all a hoax - a scared-straight exercise designed by school officials to dramatize the consequences of drinking and driving.
• "As seniors prepare for graduation parties Friday, school officials in the largely prosperous San Diego suburb are defending themselves against allegations they went too far.
• "At school assemblies, some students held up posters that read: 'Death is real. Don't play with our emotions.' "

[emphasis mine]

Generally, the Apathetic Lemming takes a light look at the world.

This is going to be an exception.

I have no idea what sort of local conditions the teachers and administration of El Camino High School may have been reacting to, or why the Highway Patrol cooperated with this despicable fraud.

One of the high schoolers is putting the best possible light on the systematic deception: " 'You feel betrayed by your teachers and administrators, these people you trust,' said 15-year-old Carolyn Magos. 'But then I felt selfish for feeling that way, because, I mean, if it saves one life, it's worth it.' "

Human life is precious, but so is truth.

Perhaps the roughly 3,100 students needed to learn that it feels bad when a fellow-student dies. And perhaps this brutal hoax will 'scare them straight.'

They may also have learned a few other lessons:

• Law enforcement tells lies
• People in authority must not be trusted
• Teachers lie when it suits their purposes
• Deception is regarded as a virtue, when used by those with power and authority

My guess is that these aren't the lessons that El Camino High School intended to teach, but I'd be surprised if that isn't what some of the students have learned. That's too bad, because each of those lessons is as big a lie as what El Camino High School's administration and teachers told their students. At least, I hope so.

Ms. Magos felt betrayed for a good reason. She and the thousands of other high school students were betrayed. By their teachers, the school's administration, and at least a few officers of the California Highway Patrol.

I think the El Camino High School staff and administration would do well to learn a lesson from that sign: "Death is real. Don't play with our emotions."

More at:

"School defends drunken driving hoax"
CNN (June 12, 2008)

"Fairness" Run Amok in Japanese Schools?

"Japan's 'monster' parents take centre stage"
The Times (London) (June 7, 2008)

"The stage was set, the lights went down and in a suburban Japanese primary school everyone prepared to enjoy a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The only snag was that the entire cast was playing the part of Snow White.

"For the audience of menacing mothers and feisty fathers, though, the sight of 25 Snow Whites, no dwarfs and no wicked witch was a triumph: a clear victory for Japan's emerging new class of 'Monster Parents'.

"For they had taken on the system and won. After a relentless campaign of bullying, hectoring and nuisance phone calls, the monster parents had cowed the teachers into submission, forcing the school to admit to the injustice of selecting just one girl to play the title role...."

A stage full of Snow Whites.

That image isn't going to leave my mind for a while.

This article goes (briefly) into the history of Japanese schools and parents. It's an interesting tale of a transition from a culture of tradition and respect to what the parents call 'consumer rights.'

I sincerely hope that Japan's schools - and families - get past the idea that a stage full of Snow Whites is a good idea.

'Let Them Shop Walmart' - Good Point, Stupid Message

The Apathetic Lemming doesn't do 'issue' posts very often, but I'm going to make an exception for this matter.

"E-mail fires up Florida parents"
Unoffical E-mail message from Jay Wheeler, Osceola County School Board
MyFox Orlando (April 25, 2008)

School Uniforms Required

Here's the deal. The Osceola County School District decided that they'd insist on school uniforms. Nothing particularly fancy:

"--Navy blue or khaki pants, walking shorts, slacks, skirts, skorts, jumpers, or similar clothing made of twill, corduroy, or denim fabric. (A small logo is acceptable)

"--White or navy blue shirts with collars such as a polo, oxford, or dress shirt (A small logo is acceptable)"

School Board Member Knows About Parents

An Osceola county school board member, Jay Wheeler, says that parents complained, saying they can't afford the uniforms.

Jay Wheeler knows better. He sent an email to parents, saying:

"Everyone can afford Wal-Mart and if they cant they need to think about turning of their cable TV or stop buying alcohol or cigarettes and spend their money on their children." [emphasis mine]

Reality Check, Please!

Two points.

1. Spool bored minters shad chick they're spilling:
   • The contraction of can not is "can't" - not "cant"
   • One turns off cable TV, one does not turn of much of anything
   (I'll concede that we could be looking at transcription errors at the Orlando station, but two? When it would be easier to copy and paste?)
2. The assumption that "Everyone can afford Wal-Mart" - if only they'd lay off booze and smokes - may not be completely accurate

Here's a Look one Underclass Household

This family buys at Walmart, when we have to go upscale, but most of our clothing budget is spent at rummage sales (garage sales, or yard sales, in some parts of America) - and at second-hand clothing shops.

I will admit that we have cable TV (this part of central Minnesota isn't exactly inundated with broadcast channels). We also fritter our money away on telephone service, and (obviously) an Internet connection.

Booze and smokes? We can't give those up, since this household is dry and smoke-free.

Given what seems to be the attitude toward people like us, I'm glad we don't live in Osceola County.

We could cobble together a school uniform or two, as defined. The correct colors could be hard to get, since there'd be a run on appropriate clothing, but we might be able to bleach and dye our way into compliance.

It would take work, though.

Your Attention, Please! Not All Poor People are Shiftless

What irked me about the email is the apparent assumption that there were two sorts of parents:

• Those who simply go to a retail store and purchase the required clothing (several sets for each child, unless the household does overnight laundry)
• Shiftless ne'erdowell spendthrifts who waste their money on liquor and fast living

The possibility that there might be people who don't make as much money as he does - and are not wastrels - apparently never occurred to him. And still doesn't.

Mr. Wheeler "says its time for parents to focus on their kids. Saying it's time to stop being politically correct and start being serious about education.

"Finally adding, "I just told the truth and parents need to take responsibility and put their children first!' "

Urging parents to be responsible, and put their children's education before their own pleasures: Good idea.

Assuming that parents who can't afford multiple sets of school uniforms don't care about their children: Mind-numbingly, world-class-stupid idea.

Beaten High Schooler to be Home Schooled

"Family To Home-School Victim Of Videotaped Attack"
TBO (Tampa Bay Online) (April 8, 2008)

"Questions Remain About Beating"
The Ledger (April 9, 2008)

You may have run into this in the news: Victoria Lindsay was an honor student and cheerleader at "Mulberry High School," in Lakeland, Florida.

Victoria Lindsay had been staying at the home of an alleged friend, Mercades Nichols, on March 30, 2008, when about a half dozen other teens showed up, beat the cheerleader up, and videotaped their little party. Apparently they wanted to post the video online.

Victoria's mother was quoted in a Tampa Bay Online (TBO) article: "I think it's trash. Simple trash that people want to feed off of and it's sick." I'm inclined to agree.

Victoria Lindsay will live, but she got

• A concussion
• Hearing loss
• Blurred vision

I suppose I should add "allegedly."

The TBO article adds that Victoria Lindsay will be home-schooled for the rest of the year.

Smart.

At least one of the parents of the alleged attackers in the alleged incident is smart, too.

"According to the mother of one of the suspects, the victim of the beating, Victoria Lindsay of Lakeland, posted numerous MySpace bulletins, or public messages, insulting the girls. Lindsay called them names and claimed the girls wouldn't fight her because they were too scared, said Christina Garcia, mother of Mercades Nichols." The Ledger (April 9, 2008)

Not a bad idea: blame the victim. Casting the alleged teenage attackers as victims of "cyberbullying" might get the kids off with a stern talking-to.

---

None of my children were subjected to the sort of abuse that those Florida teens videotaped assault.

But then, none of my kids have gone to public high schools. Three of the four voluntarily chose to be home schooled following elementary school, and the fourth has stated an intent to follow suit.

More about home schooling at "California Outlaws Home Schooling: Yes, I'm Biased"
Through One Dad's Eye (March 21, 2008)

Writing is Important: Who Knew?

"National Commission on Writing"

"... founded by the College Board in an effort to focus national attention on the teaching and learning of writing. ... Its first report to Congress, The Neglected "R", called for a writing revolution to return writing to its proper place in the American classroom."

Looks like there are a few grants here, too.

And You Think You Had a Bad Teacher?

"Teacher steals boys' undies at knifepoint"

Eight boys, age 12 and 13, were playing on a Tokyo playground.

He forced them to take of their pants and underwear at knifepoint, taking the skivvies.

He's 'suspected' of taking a cellphone from one of them, and making "nuisance calls" to the boy's home afterward.

"The principal of the school where he taught was shown on TV saying he was a dedicated teacher."

No doubt: but dedicated to what?

(In fairness, I'm no expert: There may be something in Japanese culture that makes this a a reasonable response for a teacher who saw boys playing.)

Forty Years of: Progress??

"That Was Then, This Is Now"

School, 1967 vs. 2007

The first example is:

"Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1967 - Vice principal comes over to look at Jack’s shotgun. He goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, and FBI is called. Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers."

There's a lesson here, I think.

Blogs About School, More or Less

In America, at least, the school year either has started, or is bearing down on students-to-be like a mudslide.

In recognition of this reality, here are some school-related blogs:

• "Bowllan's Blog" on School Library Journal - "Get the buzz about libraries, learning and technology" - or so they say.
• "ePALS SchoolBlog^TM lets you manage a safe, protected place on the Internet that enables collaboration and participation among teachers, students and parents." Not a bad idea
• "NeverEndingSearch" on School Library Journal "My sweet digital natives, their information spaces, and trying to Yoda" I'll let you figure that out.
• "school library blog" the most recent posts are "The Digestive System," "Mad Libs Online," "Reading Online," and "Human Body Quiz."

Have a good school year!

A Scholastic Toy Blog

"The Art and Craft of Toy Design," "a blog for two classes at the Parsons New School for Design, "Making Wireless Plush Toys" and "Toy Concept Development and Design."