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July 16th, 2010
I saw this the other evening and “awww-ed” at it the way one does when something really cute needs a friend or a hug (ie baby seals, pigeons, grad students…)
In other news, grad school is over for the summer, work is hectic, and I’m writing this from my iPhone 4g. Signal is so far…good.
More posts hopefully to come.
May 26th, 2010
We’re reading about blogs and wikis and blogging in general for one of my grad classes this summer, so I figured I’d mosey on over to my own blog to see what’s happening. Oh, yeah – that’s right; I’m the one who needs to keep this thing updated. That’s how blogging works! *shamed grin*
Since May 11th, I turned in my last grades for the Spring 2010 semester (you’re welcome, students), kissed my husband goodbye as he started a new job (we don’t work for the same institution anymore, but we’re definitely still together!), registered for 3 summer classes for grad school (I had the sudden urge to be done), found a new place for us to live (we’re moving back to Burbank), got increased hours at work, and did the dishes.
It’s going to be a busy summer.
But as I sit back in my awesome office chair (at home) and think about how life is going, I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything. One thing I have learned recently is to treasure the seasons of life as they come and learn from all experiences, both good and bad. Sure, it sounds like I got bitten by the self-help bug recently (I blame my EDUC 268 class and all we have to read on leadership), but I’m really beginning to see how past experiences have shaped me as a person and are continuing to shape me. I hope they shape me into a better person.
On another note, I am loving my iPad and wishing I had an Evo like my coworker (grrr, people who went to Google IO). Honestly, though, a Nexus One would suffice.
iPad review to come soon. :-)
Cheers to all my classmates in all my different classes this summer. We will survive!
May 11th, 2010
A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University
Months and months ago, an acquaintance of mine mentioned this book. Then, another one did. And another. Then one more, and I finally reserved it at the library. From what I was told, I had some idea of what to expect, but I wasn’t prepared to be utterly encouraged by this book. Let me start out by saying that if you can’t handle honest discussions about Christian educational experiences, the book (and this blog post) are not for you.
I reserved the book about a month ago and did not pick it up until near its due date. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. Kevin Roose is a talented writer, but it was what he had to write about that really drew me in.
In summary, during his sophomore-ish year, Kevin chose to leave “free-spirited, ultra-liberal” Brown University to check out what it’s like to study and live at a “conservative Baptist school” – Liberty University. Before I read this book, I had heard of both Brown and Liberty, but I had never heard of Jerry Falwell or Liberty’s political and spiritual background. (I’ll blame this ignorance on not growing up 100% in the U.S.) It was really interesting to read of Kevin’s experiences, but instead of thinking worse of him for “tricking” a Christian college into letting him “spy” on what it’s really like (some Christians feel that way), I applauded him. He gives a pretty fair evaluation of what it’s like to eat, drink, sleep, study, and breathe in a Christian educational bubble. Believe it or not, I was even encouraged.
(If you don’t know, I went to a Christian college for my undergraduate work and currently teach at the same college as well.)
Here are some things that stood out to me:
There is so much more I could write about, but why should I? Kevin Roose has already crafted his fine book, and I would recommend that all believers involved in Christian higher education read through it at least once.
April 25th, 2010
Capital gains, incentives, etc.
For the past few months, my “policy discussion group” in grad school has been eating, drinking, and sleeping on the issue of the “unsatisfactory reading levels of homeless children”. Believe me when I say we have been fully immersed in this topic – our current reference list as of 7:55pm on 4/25/10 is four pages long. We have been pouring over journals, magazines, websites, and government publications, trying to learn more about 1) this issue and 2) crafting informed policy proposals. After starting with a rather broad focus, we decided to narrow our focus to homeless children in Washington State.
Our final project is to craft a policy proposal that could reasonably be submitted for implementation. We were to propose two different policy responses: one from a “constrained” view and the other from an “unconstrained” view (see Thomas Sowell’s A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles for more on constrained/unconstrained visions of society”). I ended up working on our “constrained” proposal – paying homeless students for positive behavior and academic achievements.
Paying students for behaving or getting good grades is not a new phenomenon (albeit, it may be novel…and very appealing to students. I would love to still be paid for good grades. Oh, wait. Is that what scholarships are all about?). I remember my mother giving me $5 for every “A” I got on my report card in 4th grade. When she realized I was most likely going to be a straight-A student for the rest of my academic career (this epiphany happened at the end of 5th grade), she stopped paying me. It was a sad day, but I wasn’t the only one in my class who had parents who tried to motivate them through cash payments or plain old special activities and items. I knew this kind of motivation was going on, on a small scale, but I had no idea until now it was being considered and implemented on a district-wide scale, and had, in fact, been implemented for some time.
TIME magazine recently published an article entitled Should Kids Be Bribed to Do Well in School?, examining the different programs and experiments being conducted in different cities. One of the largest studies is being conducted in Washington DC – 14 schools in collaboration with Harvard economist and researcher Roland Fryer and Harvard’s Education Innovation Laboratory. Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade earn up to $100 every two weeks ($1500 per year) for various criteria: attendance, homework completion, and other achievements. Similar programs exist in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta (similar, but not the same).
It seems to be working so far.
![image6121450[1]](http://www.cgthomas.com/blog/wp-content/image61214501.gif "image6121450[1]")
In January 2010, CBS News conducted a survey as part of the “Where America Stands” series that found that most Americans oppose paying students for good grades, behavior, etc. The poll also found that older Americans (65+) strongly oppose the practice, but parents who had children in K-12 tended to support it more. The article doesn’t really state why such opposition exists, but the biggest critique of incentive programs always seems to end up on one thing: paying students will kill their intrinsic motivation to learn for the sake of learning.
I’m not sure I agree, and I think there is a bit of hypocrisy present in telling students they should learn for learning’s sake without the possibility of tangible rewards.
Should you be working for working’s sake, and your employer not give you a paycheck?
“Well, that’s different!” I’m not so sure. We are told to aim for “A’s” in school…why? So we can get into a good college/university. We want to graduate from those universities with degrees…why? So we can get a job…a well-paying job (at least we hope. I ended up a teacher. I must have missed the memo about well-paying jobs). Every little motivator counts, and when it comes to money, the motivation increases dramatically.
And what’s so wrong about money? Why do we feel differently when the motivator isn’t money? No one questions a teacher who promises the class a special field trip if they behave all semester. Or if a professor says they will cancel a quiz if everyone performs well on a project. Or if a parent says they will start saving up as a family for a special vacation if their kids do well during the school year. But why the (almost) hostile reaction when money is involved?
Back on track…
Of course, when the money starts dwindling (you aren’t being paid enough or at least what you think you’re worth), you look for other options…or quit altogether. Sure, some students may stop working hard if the monetary incentives decrease, but here’s something I’ve noticed about students in my years (albeit few) as a teacher: students who want to learn and want to do well tend to do so regardless of the motivators placed before them. I don’t know why. Maybe their parents instilled a great work-ethic in them, maybe they already have intrinsic motivators (self satisfaction) to keep them going, but overall, I think it’s a choice. Students make a choice to do well, we make a choice to be good employees, and those choices can distinguish us from the rest regardless of the situation.
So, should students be paid for good grades? I don’t know yet. My current opinion is that it depends on the situation. I see the pros and cons, and my opinion may change in the coming months and years.
What do you think?
Related Articles and Sites:
March 29th, 2010
[Sometimes, I really wish we had a lake nearby where I could sit, dip my feet in, and ponder life’s mysteries.
Alas, the closest thing to a “lake” we have here in Santa Clarita is Bridgeport which is 1) too far away from where I am, and 2) too toxic-looking at the moment to ever consider dipping one’s feet in.
But, in a few days, I shall dip my toes into the cold ocean. I shall relish it.]
A few months ago, I discovered a rather useful tool called InstaPaper. It’s free and ridiculously easy to use. It also has a free, downloadable app for my Android phone which makes reading articles so much more convenient on the run. This article is one of those I saved awhile back.
Did you see the research paper on First Monday entitled, How today’s college students use Wikipedia for course-related research? Written by Alison J. Head and Michael B. Eisenberg of the Information School at the University of Washington, the paper focuses on how students really use Wikipedia. I agree with how they start off their introduction – “Want to stir up a room full of college faculty and librarians? Mention Wikipedia.”
I mentioned Wikipedia as part of my presentation at the CA-AAFCS State & Western Region conference a few weeks back, and I saw some smirks in the audience. My point wasn’t Wikipedia itself but the wiki software; it didn’t matter for a few of the attendees. Wikipedia was Wikipedia, bastion of misinformation that it is.
I believe Wikipedia has its good points, but many faculty members and teachers cling to their distrust of the site and its contents. They encourage students to stay away from it during their research lest a student “quote” misinformation from it, but are students really using Wikipedia for their research?
According to Head and Eisenberg, maybe not. “A majority of respondents frequently used Wikipedia for background information, but less often than they used other common resources, such as course readings and Google.” Their initial findings suggest that those in the “hard sciences” tend to use Wikipedia more, and those that do use Wikipedia use it “in combination with other information resources.”
A couple of interesting points from their research (my comments in parentheses):
So what’s Wikipedia’s true appeal? According to the authors, “Wikipedia’s information utility is tied to four C’s it delivers – currency, coverage, comprehensibility, and convenience.” (emphasis added) I think we can learn from that.
I would encourage you to read the article for yourself and not be overwhelmed by the technical nature of the writing.
And check out InstaPaper.com while you’re at it.
March 22nd, 2010
If you haven’t heard, the Health Care bill passed in the House yesterday. The world didn’t end, but tempers definitely flared. That’s to be expected with something so revolutionary occurring in a nation that hasn’t really had any big changes since segregation, 9/11, and…and…oh, wait. A black president being elected. Nevermind. I guess change has been happening progressively for quite some time.
All the change isn’t what surprises me. Life is never static. What surprises me are some of the responses to the changes, specifically those related to the Health Care bill.
Especially the responses of those who call themselves Christians.*
*Disclaimer: by saying “call themselves Christians, I am not questioning their salvation. I literally mean – those who call themselves Christians. Myself being one.
Most of the dissent from my Christian friends and contacts has centered around three major themes:
I’ll take #3 for a few minutes here, and please remember, I’m talking about Christians (not the general public).
Is your money really yours?
That’s the question I have for my fellow believers. Before your blood boils at the thought of having to pay taxes to fund someone else’s medical condition, consider:
Are you still in the category of those who will pay taxes? Even if you are…
Is your money really yours?
As a believer, is your money really yours?
What bothers me is the dichotomy believers force on certain aspects of politics and their faith (I am guilty of this, too, at times). We say that we don’t own anything in this world – anything we have is a undeserved gift from God:
…and then when we are called upon to give of those things (missions? charity?) or, in the case of government, required to give up some of those things, we panic. We rant. We call down God’s wrath on those who would dare tred upon our rights as American citizens (government mainly – we wouldn’t dare call down God’s wrath on missionaries or charities asking us for our “hard-earned” money because that sounds bad, and besides – it’s not required. Or is it? Not by your government, but by God Himself…).
Why do we try to hold on so firmly to earthly possessions that we really have no right to as believers? If you truly view everything as a gift from God, it will sadden you to part with said possessions, but it should not infuriate you and cause you to run around screaming about your freedom being taken away.
No one can ever take away your salvation and freedom in Christ. Isn’t that what truly matters?
“He said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’.” – Luke 20:25
“Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly, it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.” – Proverbs 23:4-5
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21
March 10th, 2010
It is currently 6:38 pm on Wednesday night.
That means I have 2 days and 21 hours (or 4186-ish minutes) before my presentation at the State Conference on Saturday.
Never mind. The minutes went down.
I have always told my students never to wait until the night before to prepare their speeches. Most people can work well under pressure, but when it comes to public speaking, most who prepare their presentations under time pressure generally do not do well. Why?
Because they rushed their gathering of information.
Because they did not practice.
Because they are generally thinking of their deadline instead of their topic.
Because they won’t get much sleep (less than normal, probably).
Because they won’t meet my outline submission deadline. *wink, wink*
…but mainly because they won’t be as familiar with their content as they could have been if they had started sooner. (There are some exceptions)
According to my timer, I’m down to 4183 minutes.
I’ve got two days before my presentation, and I’ve been working on my PowerPoint and content intermittently over the past few days now. But I’m not done yet.
And I’m feeling the pressure.
Even if I have a couple days left.
Because those days will be full of other responsibilities.
And then I’ll present.
I’ll get up before my audience (thanks in advance for coming!).
And I’ll present my content.
I’ll present my thoughts.
I’ll present what I’ve been eating, drinking, sleeping (metaphorically, of course) for the past few days (but truly, for several years of my life).
4178 minutes.
Confession #1 – I should have started preparing sooner.
Confession #2 – I feel pressure, too!
Confession #3 – I will be in professional dress when I present.
Confession #4 – I feel nervous, too, before presenting. (It’s a good thing!)
Confession #5 – I really want you guys to succeed when you present…but your preparation does matter. Preparing two days in advance can actually help you more than a few hours the night before.
Confession #6 – I have a really cool, new clicker that I get to use when I present, and that makes me cooler than you. Just kidding. Y’all will get to use it for your informative speeches.
(Speaking of which, how are you guys doing?)
4175 minutes.
And I’m off to finish my PowerPoint.
Wish me luck!
Cheers,
Corinne a.k.a. “Prof. Thomas”
March 7th, 2010
I rediscovered my “tablet” tonight along with the fun program Inkscape. Unfortunately, the following ensued:
I call this one… “The Doodle Noodle”.
My new line of stick-figure “super” heroes. This is P.O. man. He’s not happy with you.
Super Slug!!!
Twitter replaced him. :( Poor bugger.
…and, the rest really shouldn’t see the light of day. I’m not sure these should have even seen the light of day.
I never claimed to be normal.
I also would like to blame my dad for these urges to draw – he was an illustrator/photographer.
Cheers.
March 1st, 2010
At the beginning of the year, Mike and I decided to try out the 365 Project. Let’s just say that Mike is doing much better than I am, considering he actually took pictures past day 18 of the project. Lesson learned? Taking one picture every single day is pretty tough. Maybe I’ll try again later…in the year.
…or, I should take more pictures with my camera phone.
February 7th, 2010
Sitting in this retro, little cafe has finally inspired me to drop my textbooks, notes, and grading and finally take some time to blog again. Retro, little cafes can affect a person that way, and while I’m at it, I highly recommend the Bourgeois Pig.
No, I’m not watching the Super Bowl today. I’m not a big football fan, but I am a fan of Super Bowl commercials. Thank God for Hulu!
It’s already February, which means a lot has already happened and a lot is about to happen again.
In summary:
Teaching – Classes have started back up at TMC, and I’m in the early throes of tormenting my new students. Just kidding. I don’t actually torment them. Being in a Public Speaking course is torment enough for some. We just finished the testimonies, and I must say – I have been impressed so far. I am very excited to watch them all improve and find themselves (as far as public speaking is concerned) as the semester progresses.
GWU – Grad school started a week before TMC started, and we’ve hit the ground running. I thought my class on Policy would be the death of me, but so far, it’s my Quantitative Research class that has me confused. The materials are familiar enough (thanks, Dr. Ennis!), but the structure of the class has me sighing at my screen. Several of us in the class have moved over to Google Groups and Google Wave to supplement the class, and that has been an experience in and of itself. Google Wave has been an amazing tool for us. Here’s to hoping neither class will usher in sudden death.
Free Time – This is a foreign concept to me, but I have still managed to get addicted to Mass Effect 2 and ‘Splosion Man. And I’m still trying to work my way through The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, a pretty good story that I’m mainly reading for the sparse pictures of the awesome birds. I should just watch the movie. That will give me more time to focus on saving the galaxy with my wicked biotic powers!
Conference – I’m speaking at a State Conference in March, and I am prepping for it slowly but surely. I am not anticipating a large attendance for my breakout session since 1) I have no name recognition, and 2) the organization’s members as a whole just doesn’t seem to place much stock in technology and its impact on education, society, etc. Actually, that’s a bit unfair, but I am still keeping my expectations low. I am going to prepare as quality a presentation as I can, and if anyone shows up (even one person), I will be as excited to share my vision with them as I would to 100+ people. Hey, no matter what people say, even one person can make a difference! (I am referring to that one, potential attendee, not myself.)
Work – We now have a plastic shotgun in our office. I would like it to be noted that I have come the closest to hitting the bulls-eye on the hand-drawn target on our whiteboard. Even the office gun expert hasn’t come close! (Yes, that was a challenge.)
…and, that’s it for an update as far as I am willing to share on the Interwebz. Haha. I have been hoping to post more substantial material, i.e. book reviews, movie reviews, thoughts on news articles, etc., but please see my comment about free time above.
Truth be told, we make time for what we think is important, right? ^_^
In parting, here’s a truncated movie review for you: Paranormal Activity was a disappointment.
Cheers,
Corinne
