Do facts matter?

In a discussion with some liberal-minded friends of mine, it was mentioned, by one of them that our 55 mph speed limit law had been brought into law in the Carter years and overturned in the Reagan years. The subject quickly changed when it was pointed out that the law had begun during the Nixon years and repealed in the Clinton years.

Easy Rawlins'

Just saw the 1995 movie "Devil in a Blue Dress", based on a book by Walter Moseley. Seemed to have more gratuitous violence than a typical Moseley book, but since I haven't read it, I'll have to know.

Hand Washing at the Track?

In the last two weeks I had the opportunity to make a few cash donations at the flat track in Saratoga (the August place to be, or maybe the august place to be, I forgot which).  Naturally, during the three and a half hour time it took to see and wager on 7 or so races, there were a couple of times when I had to wash my hands. That was when I wish I had three arms and hands.

The wash room on the upper level in the grandstand has sinks with the automatics water shut-offs. No hot water at all, but every time you turned the water on you had a guaranteed one-thirds of a second to get the job done. That's it.  The guidelines for hand washing generally specify 20 seconds minimum of vigorously washing with soap AND WATER.  These sinks turned off so fast that if they were in Vegas the water would evaporate before it hit the bottom of the sink.

I used to think the attendant sitting at a table collecting money for handing men paper towels that could have been obtained from the dispenser was the strangest thing about the restrooms at the track. No more. The strangest thing now is trying to wash your hands, or, even better, watching other guys try. Some are real cool, going through the motions then actually shaking their hands over the sink as if there was excess water on them. Others bend over and try to do an elbow hold on the faucet lever. (I wanted to video them, but I think someone would have gotten the wrong idea if I had taken my cell phone out at that time.) They don't realize at first how hard it is to have your hand in the flow of water while using the elbow from that arm to keep the water turned on. Some guys just curse. The sorriest thing is that many don't even try. (Make sure you never touch a men's room doorknob on your way out after washing your hands: the last 5 guys to touch it probably didn't wash their hands.)

There are about two weeks to go at the track. Go try the grandstand men's room sinks.

For a primer on hand washing, click here.

Credit Recovery programs in Schools?

Recently there have been a number of articles, stories, and blogs in the media about the use of online credit recovery programs in public schools. Most report on the ease by which students can scam the system, and cheat their way to a credit.  In very few of them do I read much about what is perhaps the key ingredient in student performance: motivation.

Most would probably agree that motivation comes in two modes: intrinsic and extrinsic.  In the former, one is motivated to do something because they value the activity itself due to its being interesting or pleasurable.  Extrinsic motivation is when the spur to action is some outside goal or reward or other outcome. Quite often our motivations involve a blending of the two. Indeed, the level of motivation can vary: we may play a round of golf because we inherently find the game a fun challenge: the winning of the side bet just gives us a little extra "push".

After 30 years in high school classrooms, I can tell you that student motivations cover the whole spectrum. Most students who do well have strong motivations: some are motivated by a healthy interest in the subject itself, others by a desire to make the honor roll. Those last two motivating factors may seem to some people as having equal value. However, the student is motivated to make the honor roll is most likely after a high grade: the student who is truly interested in the subject may earn a high grade, but to him/her, that is secondary.

When a failing student suddenly "turns it around", it usually involves a change in motivation: either the student discovers a true interest in the subject or a new external motivator came into play. (Such as the student who is offered a car at the end of the year if they make honor roll.)

Credit recovery systems as described in the media have a big problem: they use a system that can be very successful with intrinsically motivated students, but apply it to a group that is largely unmotivated or motivated by external factors. When a student with no interest in a subject, but is motivated to raise a grade and get that credit, that student can fall into the cheating game quite easily. It's not that they are bad kids or dishonest students, it's just that they see an opportunity to take an action for which they are motivated. (Sort of an attractive nuisance).  Some articles report students actually googling the information thay need to pass a test or complete an assignment. We can condemn such actions if we wish, but most of us do not know how we would act should we be placed in the same situation.

I see the word "accountability" all over the place, but I think that misses the boat.  The key to improving education is a greater understanding of student motivations so we can strengthen the healthy ones and minimize the effects of the not-so-healthy motivations.  Motivations will never, and should never, disappear. They do need to be understood and that understanding needs to be utilized.

Such a Pleasure

Sunday afternoon on CBS an extremely refreshing and upbeat show was broadcast to the nation. By that I mean the PGA tour's Greenbriar Classic from West Virginia.

Earlier in this tournament both Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were eliminated when they missed the cut together for the first time since 1972.  Gone as well were Furyk and other major winners as well. Even Stuart Appleby, who shot a 59 in this tournament while winning two years ago, was somewhere else on the weekend.

This time the pleasure was brought to us by Charles Beljan, Troy Kelly, and Ted Potter, Jr.  The joy they showed in playing well was infectious.  The poise they showed was amazing.

Potter, the eventual winner, had missed the cut in 5 straight events leading up to Greenbriar. Kelly's best career event was a tie for 37th at Mayakoba back in February of this year.  Beljan had made 49 Fedex Cup points in his 12 starts this year, but picked up 163 at Greenbriar.

If someone had told me on Thursday at the start that these three would be involved in a mad dash coming down the stretch, I would have ignored the comment.

In the end, they provided one of the best tournament finishes one could desire.

Facebook? Again?

Yesterday Parade Magazine, the little Sunday paper insert in which Marilyn vos Savant had a column that is now a paragraph or two, had a small article about the cancellation of TV shows. I went to their website to add a comment about "Harry's Law" and "The Firm".

In order to register my comment, I needed to "Click "Agree" to sign in to www.facebook.com using your Yahoo! ID and allow sharing of Yahoo! info."

Another invasion by Facebook! Needless to say my comments will not appear at Parade Magazine's website.

I add this to a number of instances whereby in order to do something one had to join Facebook.

It's beginning to seem like "Big Brother" is really here, and it ain't the government.

Way to go, NBC

I just discovered that NBC has cancelled “the Firm” and “Harry’s Law”.
The only two NBC shows I watched.
Both gone.
The dumbing down of America continues.