QUICK and FUN WINTER READING

Suggested Readings

The Northern Hemisphere still needs to deal with at least 8 more weeks of winter. If the most recent blast of Artic air isn’t enough to force you to hibernate, you’re hardier than the average person. For the rest of us, it’s a good time to catch up with some reading. Here are 5 suggestions that you’ll find amusing, enlightening and easy to squeeze in tight time schedules.
The Greatest Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer
Stories researched by the History Channel’s Timelab 2000, an acclaimed educational series. You’ll find 100 stories that are short, entertaining and can serve as reference material for future classroom assignments. Many times, the stories will dispel myths surrounding accepted historical accounts. For example, was George Washington really the first President?
The Essential 55 by Ron Clark
The Ron Clark Story was recently featured on the TNT TV network. Basically, here’s a story of an educator who refused to give up on kids that represented the most under-privileged students in the New York City School District. Clark has been recognized nationally as Disney’s Teacher of the Year. Here’s an uplifting quick read designed to light a fire under parents and teachers everywhere. Success is achievable even in the most underserved communities.
Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel
John Stossel is a Libertarian; he would prefer to be called a Liberal, but that tag has too many negative connotations presently. Regardless of the label, Stossel is against big government and its intrusions into our lives. He argues that the free market place can do a better job of serving Americans and government is in the way of real progress. Not to mislead you, government is not the only topic Stossel offers; he also discusses other myths about health, consumerism, the media, the legal system and parenting, just to name a few of the short chapters. You can read the book from cover to cover or, just skip around and read the areas of greatest interest first.
The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
Hodgman is the deadpan actor who plays “PC” in the MAC versus PC commercials on TV. He is the one who gets giddy over reading 600 page how-to manuals. He can also be seen on the Daily Show as one of the “expert residents.” With that build-up you should expect a funny and irreverent look at knowledge. For example, you will find hints on building snow forts or background on four famous monsters. The book is most funny when it hits upon a topic that you may know a lot about and hence, will see the comedy behind the presentation. This is the book you hope your students won’t reference when doing homework!
Brain Building Games by Allen Bragdon and David Gamon, PhD
Here is a 90-day mental exercise program that is fun. Plus you will get a helpful list of 92 insider’s tips to improve mental performance. Improve short and long term memory, do math in your head (again for those of us pre-calculator era) recall words, new names and faces. This is the kind of book that doesn’t wear out or over once you know the ending. To learn more about skill books such as Brain Building Games, visit http://www.brainwaves.com.

Who Said It?

“The war has been represented as unjust and unnecessary. The alacrity and promptness with which our volunteer forces rushed to the field on their country’s call prove not only their patriotism, but their deep conviction that our course is just.”
a) President Lyndon Johnson speaking about the Viet Nam War (1968)
b) President Harry Truman speaking about the Korean War (1951)
c) President George W. Bush speaking about the Iraq War (2007)
d) President James Polk speaking about the Mexican-American War (1846)
Here’s a clue: the more things appear to change and the smarter we think we are, the more history repeats itself.
Answer: next time

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Is it Really the Truth?

BLURRING OF REALITY

TV and the Internet allow unfounded facts to become reality much quicker and hence a growing problem for educators who try to distinguish myths from reality. In a recent issue of Time magazine, a column referring to 2006 “buzzwords” included a reference to Wikiality. This term refers to “truth based on consensus rather than fact.” Segments of populations have always had the ability to turn opinions and myths into “fact.” It used to be known as Urban Legends.

Today on TV, opinions turn to facts when pundits are given airtime to spew forth streams of opinions in such a rapid and “loud” fashion that viewers believe it to be true. After all, no one can say so much in so little time and it not is the truth, right? And since no one challenged the pundit, it has to be fact. On the Internet, literally millions of “bloggers” are writing stories every day; consequently, if so many people read and repeat them, then it must be true.

The explosion of unfiltered information is blurring the lines of reality. The Daily Show is now the leading source of news for a large segment of today’s youth. The show is about entertainment but the lines between news and comedy are so blurred that many people believe it is honest news reporting that is not part of the conservative establishment. Doesn’t the fact that this show appears on the Comedy Central network give people a clue that it is presented as a fun way to view the news and not a way to learn about the news? Of course it is fun to watch and the people on the show are top shelf, but it is still about news satire.

To make something seem like the truth, the trick is to frame the presentation so it is not possible to refute the content. The skill is in the “wordsmithing” and using the premise that the majority of people listening are under-prepared to deal with the infusion of unfounded facts and opinions in the presentation. If you dictate the rules of the game and change them as you play, you should win.

So-called political or pundit debates are fun to watch because they take on the resemblance of playground arguments. You know how that goes: when the 5-year old runs out of things to say, they resort to “Your dog is ugly.” There’s no way to respond to that because many dogs are ugly in a cute sort of way. Also, keep in mind that most playground arguments are about rules of the game.

So what is a teacher supposed to do to help their students? Create an atmosphere of “healthy skepticism.” Employ the scholarly art of Socratic learning, where questions are asked and asked again until the direction of the dialog is defined. Once there is consensus of what is being said, then the facts can be checked. If you can’t remember anything else, just ask “Why?”

So when someone says that troop “surge” will help gain control over hostile territories, ask “Why?” When the response is to secure American freedom, ask “How?” When an answer is offered, ask “When?” Then ask “Where?” And the final question should always be, “who?” as in “who benefits?”

From birth to age 10 or so, kids are constantly asking questions. They want to learn and they are persistent. As we get older, it seems like there is a notion that asking questions makes us look less intelligent. But the opposite is true: intelligent people ask questions.

People are manipulated not to ask questions because the presenter is concerned about any challenges. How often have you been in room where the person in charge will conclude their comments by asking, “Are there any questions?” and give the audience less than 30 seconds to respond? And the best tactic, the real kiss of death, is, “That’s a good question; let me get back to you on that.”

Teach your students that living in a free society means you have the right to ask questions. And the better prepared you are, the better your questions. The better your questions are, the less chance that you will be duped into accepting opinions for fact.

FINANCIAL FACT

If a person owes $10,000 on a credit card with an 18% interest rate, it will take 40 years to pay it off if only paying the minimum payment of 2% (plus there can be no more additional charges on this card). Is there a better reason to teach students about the perils of credit cards?

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC