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google_sites"/><category term="google_glass"/><category term="google_goggles"/><category term="google_groups"/><category term="google_hangouts"/><category term="google_maps"/><category term="google_plus"/><category term="google_sites"/><category term="google_video"/><category term="graduation"/><category term="grammar"/><category term="greg_mortenson"/><category term="growth_mindset"/><category term="high_tech_high"/><category term="history"/><category term="honesty"/><category term="horizon_project"/><category term="hot_flat_and_crowded"/><category term="humanities"/><category term="hyperconnectivity"/><category term="hyperlinks"/><category term="iPod"/><category term="iTunes"/><category term="imagination"/><category term="immigration"/><category term="independent_project"/><category term="investing"/><category term="jackie_ballarini"/><category term="james_holman"/><category term="james_surowiecki"/><category term="jason_ohler"/><category term="jean_claude_bradley"/><category 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term="learning_and_understanding"/><category term="learning_ecology"/><category term="learning_spaces"/><category term="lesson"/><category term="lesson_plans"/><category term="library"/><category term="literacy"/><category term="long_tail"/><category term="longevity"/><category term="mac"/><category term="magazines"/><category term="map"/><category term="marlys_ferrill"/><category term="matt_townsley"/><category term="meaning"/><category term="meaning_of_life"/><category term="media_specialist"/><category term="metacognitive"/><category term="michele_davis"/><category term="microsoft"/><category term="microsoft_office"/><category term="miguel_guhlin"/><category term="mindset"/><category term="mla"/><category term="modeling"/><category term="modern_learners"/><category term="modern_learning"/><category term="mooc"/><category term="moritz"/><category term="musing"/><category term="n07s616"/><category term="n07s713"/><category term="nature"/><category term="ncaa"/><category term="nctm"/><category term="new_orleans"/><category term="nwp"/><category term="online_instruction"/><category term="online_safety"/><category term="open_source_information"/><category term="opencourseware"/><category term="opener"/><category term="opt-out"/><category term="pam_moran"/><category term="pangea_day"/><category term="papers"/><category term="parent-teacher-conferences"/><category term="patrick_larkin"/><category term="personalized_learning"/><category term="phillip_toledano"/><category term="photography"/><category term="picasa"/><category term="play"/><category term="podcasting"/><category term="policy"/><category term="poll_everywhere"/><category term="polynomials"/><category term="population"/><category term="power"/><category term="principal"/><category term="probability"/><category term="purpose_of_school"/><category term="questions"/><category term="race_to_nowhere"/><category term="randon_ruggles"/><category term="rap"/><category term="ray_kurzweil"/><category term="recess"/><category term="relationships"/><category term="renewable_energy"/><category term="respect"/><category term="reverse_classroom TED_Talks"/><category term="risk"/><category term="rmsla"/><category term="robert_patterson"/><category term="rootstrikers"/><category term="rti"/><category term="rules"/><category term="rup"/><category term="sara_kajder"/><category term="sarah_mclachlan"/><category term="sbg"/><category term="scheduling"/><category term="school_board social_media social_networking cover_it_live ustream"/><category term="schools"/><category term="scott_mcnealy"/><category term="screencast"/><category term="scribe_post"/><category term="shane_koyczan"/><category term="sharing"/><category term="sharon_peters"/><category term="sheryl_nussbaum-beach"/><category term="shift_happens"/><category term="slope"/><category term="slos"/><category term="software"/><category term="solar"/><category term="special_ability"/><category term="spelling"/><category term="spikyworld"/><category term="sports"/><category term="standardized_testing education_change"/><category term="state_department"/><category term="steve_dembo"/><category term="steve_hargadon"/><category term="stoodle"/><category term="stopcyberbullying"/><category term="student20"/><category term="student_conferences"/><category term="student_learning_outcomes"/><category term="study_abroad"/><category term="suicide_prevention"/><category term="superintendent"/><category term="sustainability"/><category term="sylvia_martinez"/><category term="tagging"/><category term="tcap"/><category term="tcpk"/><category term="teacher_effectiveness"/><category term="teacher_preparation"/><category term="teacher_salary"/><category term="teacher_tube"/><category term="teaching"/><category term="tech_support"/><category term="terry_sale"/><category term="texasa+m"/><category term="the_economist"/><category term="the_singularity"/><category term="theater"/><category term="three_acts"/><category term="tim_stahmer"/><category term="tom_hoffman"/><category term="tradition"/><category term="uip"/><category term="understanding_by_design"/><category term="unschooling"/><category term="ustream video anne_smith poetry"/><category term="vicki_davis"/><category term="video_editing"/><category term="vimeo"/><category term="virtual_worlds"/><category term="visual_representation"/><category term="vlc"/><category term="vocabulary"/><category term="washington_post"/><category term="wcydwt"/><category term="weather_channel"/><category term="wellness"/><category term="whole_mind"/><category term="why_blog"/><category term="wii"/><category term="windows"/><category term="wireless_electricity"/><category term="wolfrom_alpha"/><category term="wordle"/><category term="world_book 21cliteracy"/><category term="yahoo"/><category term="zoho"/><title type='text'>The Fischbowl</title><subtitle type='html'>The opinions expressed here are the personal views of Karl Fisch and do not (necessarily) reflect the views of my employer.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default?alt=atom'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default?alt=atom&amp;start-index=26&amp;max-results=25'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>896</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-1338749746882269021</id><published>2021-12-01T08:31:00.002-07:00</published><updated>2021-12-01T08:31:40.987-07:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="grades"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="grading"/><title type='text'>Grading For Whom?</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Back in the day I wrote a time or two about &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/search/label/grades&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;grades and grading&lt;/a&gt;. I&#39;m currently reading a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Wallet-Activism-Tanja-Hester-ebook/dp/B09366HYHJ/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;seemingly unrelated book&lt;/a&gt; that made me think about grades and grading through a new lens. &lt;b&gt;For whom are we grading?&lt;/b&gt; The most common answers seem to be for colleges, for parents, and for students. Perhaps we should take a little time and look at each of those more closely.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;For Colleges&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is certainly true that college admission&#39;s officers like them a good GPA. But it&#39;s also true that there are quite a few high schools that don&#39;t use grades and their students still get into college. So clearly grades aren&#39;t required to get into college, they are just a convenient shortcut for admissions officers (and perhaps also for high school counselors and teachers). And, of course, only about 30% of students in the United States complete a four-year degree, so we&#39;re definitely not grading for college for the other 70%.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;For Parents&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many parents certainly do seem to care about grades. Or do they? I think many parents want to know the following:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;li&gt;Is my student learning?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Are they working hard?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Are they being a good human?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Is my kid going to be okay?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Grades really don&#39;t answer any of those questions particularly well, especially in comparison to other information we can provide to parents.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;For Students&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While there are certainly some students who don&#39;t appear to care about grades, most teachers would say that a large number of students care about grades on a scale from moderately to intensively. But, much like their parents, I think what they really want to know is the following:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;li&gt;Am I learning?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Do you think I&#39;m being a good kid?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Do my teacher and my peers like me and do I fit in? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How can I keep my parents off my back?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Am I going to be okay?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Grades certainly can be used to keep parents off your back, but do a really poor job of addressing the other four, again especially in comparison to other kinds of feedback we can give them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So for whom are we grading? Perhaps it&#39;s for us, &lt;b&gt;for teachers&lt;/b&gt;. If that&#39;s the case, then why is that? Maybe it&#39;s for some of the following reasons:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;li&gt;Because we&#39;ve always done it that way.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Because it&#39;s really hard to give more meaningful feedback and if we didn&#39;t have grades we&#39;d have to figure out a better, more difficult, more time-intensive way to fulfill the various purposes of grades.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Because grades are one way to help control and manage a classroom of students who often don&#39;t want to be there.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Because if we got rid of grades, what else might we have to take a look at and perhaps change? We might have to examine all of the assumptions we currently hold and even reexamine what we even believe to be the purpose of school (or, perhaps more accurately, the purpose of education). That&#39;s scary.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;I wonder how you would grade those answers?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/1338749746882269021/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2021/12/grading-for-whom.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1338749746882269021'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1338749746882269021'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2021/12/grading-for-whom.html' title='Grading For Whom?'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-841448832591380881</id><published>2018-06-03T12:52:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2018-06-03T12:52:21.090-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="personal"/><title type='text'>Retired</title><content type='html'>If there is anyone out there who is still subscribed to this blog via RSS, which may be unlikely given the dearth of posts in the last year or two, this is just a heads up that I retired from teaching last week so there will likely be no further posts on this blog. I suppose it&#39;s possible I will get inspired to write some more about education, or even find an encore job related to education that gives me fodder to write some more here, but I wouldn&#39;t count on it.&lt;br /&gt;
2. <br />
3. Thanks for all the learning on this blog over the years, and thanks for all the retirement well wishes I've received via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/karlfisch" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. After 31 years of teaching (and being Director of Technology at AHS for most of those as well), I felt like I was no longer contributing as much to my school as I wanted to. I didn't feel like I was adding that much value, nor was I learning that much myself, so I felt like it was time.<br />
4. <br />
5. For those who have asked "what's next?", my immediate plans are to help my (aging) parents and to get my daughter to <a href="https://www.fortlewis.edu/" target="_blank">Fort Lewis College</a> and be available to support her during her freshmen year if she needs it. After that, we'll see. I have lots of interests that I might choose to pursue, either in a volunteer or paid capacity. particularly in the area of sustainability (if you're interested in hiring me, <a href="https://karlfisch.github.io/resume/" target="_blank">here's a resume</a> I made as an example for my web design students). In the meantime I'm still offering <a href="https://fischfinancial.org/" target="_blank">free financial advice</a> to Colorado educators and I hope to start blogging there more often around financial topics.<br />
6. <br />
7. Thanks for letting me process and think out loud here over the last 13 years, and thanks for helping me become a better teacher and person.<br />
8. <br />
9. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
10. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD12RijYvZc_U8PIg-4NVIsmQuQ9TCPOTjPvhhz3SYgkQYuPdJoFwymInLyAXScUb3ayOyb3xsxQf2-2bP0j2hAoLRBS50OjQtgeffaJGMxLOd20H8ud_uj0D2yNlmX7RecGA/s1600/abbygrad2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1529" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD12RijYvZc_U8PIg-4NVIsmQuQ9TCPOTjPvhhz3SYgkQYuPdJoFwymInLyAXScUb3ayOyb3xsxQf2-2bP0j2hAoLRBS50OjQtgeffaJGMxLOd20H8ud_uj0D2yNlmX7RecGA/s320/abbygrad2.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
11. <br />
12. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
13. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodjdMW8hF6OmuBsPKqHT9tySXRORrT174CV25Qy3M2RUQhB4P0ZGaZ7A3_Afz14AZmMKuxlLTXZBqS9mCjfl5zhoJCNw6LM7kj6ZKn9W_LyPxGPbW4aosRH4jOCEsxfAp7nE/s1600/retired.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodjdMW8hF6OmuBsPKqHT9tySXRORrT174CV25Qy3M2RUQhB4P0ZGaZ7A3_Afz14AZmMKuxlLTXZBqS9mCjfl5zhoJCNw6LM7kj6ZKn9W_LyPxGPbW4aosRH4jOCEsxfAp7nE/s320/retired.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
14. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/841448832591380881/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2018/06/retired.html#comment-form' title='10 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/841448832591380881'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/841448832591380881'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2018/06/retired.html' title='Retired'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD12RijYvZc_U8PIg-4NVIsmQuQ9TCPOTjPvhhz3SYgkQYuPdJoFwymInLyAXScUb3ayOyb3xsxQf2-2bP0j2hAoLRBS50OjQtgeffaJGMxLOd20H8ud_uj0D2yNlmX7RecGA/s72-c/abbygrad2.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>10</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-2048636219063297702</id><published>2017-09-10T10:47:00.002-06:00</published><updated>2017-09-10T10:47:56.143-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="social_media"/><title type='text'>Social Media: Abstinence Only?</title><content type='html'>There has been a lot of discussion in my neck of the woods lately regarding the effect of social media use on our students (I teach in a high school). This is partially due to our own experiences dealing with teens and social media, partially due to some &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/01/littleton-student-suicides-social-media-posts/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;recent tragedies in our community&lt;/a&gt;, and partially due to a recent &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;article in The Atlantic&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
15. <br />
16. This is an important and necessary conversation to have with our students, and one we should be having all the time, not just when tragedy strikes. But one response that some folks have been advocating concerns me - the idea of having "technology-free" days or weeks. To be perfectly clear, I am not saying this is always a bad idea and, for some folks, this is probably a good thing. But that's the key idea, it's good for "some" folks. But I worry that this is another case of the "adults" suggesting a one-size-fits-all solution in the hopes of <a href="http://www.digitalnutrition.com.au/blog/5-rebuttals-to-that-smartphone-article-in-the-atlantic" target="_blank">solving a complicated problem with a simple solution</a>.<br />
17. <br />
18. My concern is that instead of focusing on how to use social media well, we may be sending the message that the solution is to get off of social media for some amount of time (and perhaps do that on a regular basis). To be sure, that may be a good strategy for some of our students, but if we don't focus more on how they handle social media when they are not taking a break from it, I think we are missing the bigger picture.<br />
19. <br />
20. The analogy that comes to mind is sex education. This is obviously a controversial topic for many folks, but I think the parallels are pretty striking. Teenagers are going to use social media, just like many teenagers are going to have sex. Our choice is to ignore it completely, address it with a simple solution that is unlikely to work, or address it with a more complete, complex and complicated approach that might actually make a difference.<br />
21. <br />
22. The obvious comparison is to the "abstinence only" approach that is advocated by some folks for sex education. The argument is complicated, but many folks suggest that the only 100% effective "solution" to teenage sex is to avoid having sex altogether. Longtime readers of this blog won't be surprised that I don't agree with that approach, but agree with the much more comprehensive approach of talking about healthy relationships (including sexual relationships), as well as talking about practicing safe and responsible sex.<br />
23. <br />
24. Part of my concern around "abstinence only", whether it is applied to sex or to social media, is the implied moral judgment that comes with it. It is not just that we are trying to protect our students, but that we are implicitly making a judgment on their behavior and trying to apply our own moral code to all of our students (some of whom may disagree with our moral code).<br />
25. <br />
26. I'm a parent of a teenage daughter, so this is not just a theoretical situation for me. Like most parents, I would prefer that she not have sex until after I'm dead. But, barring unforeseen accident or illness, that is pretty unlikely, so we have had many conversations with her about healthy relationships, the physical and emotional impacts of having sex, and our belief that sex goes along with long-term, stable, and healthy relationships (note: there is still some moral judgment there, but we also talk about how she may come to her own conclusions that are different than ours), and that practicing safe and responsible sex is important.<br />
27. <br />
28. While I am by no means a historian of this topic, I feel that much of the response to teen sex - and now to teen social media use - comes from our Puritan heritage in the United States. I would suggest this is not all that helpful for our students today, and that there is a fair amount of hypocrisy in some of the positions we take. By definition, almost all parents have had sex and, in the United States at least, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17236611" target="_blank">majority of them had sex </a>before they were married. Similarly, when we wring our hands in angst over teen social media use, how many of us are doing that wringing via Facebook or Twitter? (Quick quiz - how many of you first came across that Atlantic article via some form of social media?) Plus we seem to be mighty picky in what solutions we advocate. As a friend of mine pointed out, we know that homework also has tremendous mental health implications for our students (and arguably more than social media), yet very few schools are advocating for a "homework-free" day or week (or month, or year).<br />
29. <br />
30. So, what&#39;s my solution? Well, like the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.digitalnutrition.com.au/blog/5-rebuttals-to-that-smartphone-article-in-the-atlantic&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;articles &lt;/a&gt;I linked to above demonstrate, as well as &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Its-Complicated-Social-Lives-Networked/dp/0300166311&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;danah boyd&#39;s book&lt;/a&gt; - it&#39;s complicated. But I fear that when we advocate for &quot;technology-free&quot; days or weeks, we lose many of the nuances and are perhaps hoping for a &quot;solution&quot; that is quick and easy instead of being willing to do the hard (and on-going) work necessary to help our students be safe, responsible, and productive users of social media.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/2048636219063297702/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/09/social-media-abstinence-only.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2048636219063297702'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2048636219063297702'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/09/social-media-abstinence-only.html' title='Social Media: Abstinence Only?'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-1088539195836706701</id><published>2017-07-31T17:20:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2017-07-31T17:20:15.576-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="acceleration"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="gifted"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="kindergarten"/><title type='text'>Should My Child Start Kindergarten Early?</title><content type='html'>So, I thought I might be done with posts on this blog, but an acquaintance asked a question recently that got me going, so I thought I&#39;d share here as well. The question was, &quot;My child will be 4 years and 9 months at the time Kindergarten starts, should I start Kindergarten &#39;early&#39; or wait another year?&quot; I, of course, had some thoughts. Here was my response:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My wife wrote a long email the other day in response [to the question]. She lays out some of the pros and cons of the different options. We pretty much agree but, not surprisingly, I will state my opinion a little bit more forcefully.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Short Answer&lt;/b&gt;: Wait&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Longer Answer&lt;/b&gt;:&lt;br /&gt;
31. <ol>
32. <li>    It totally depends on the kid. For a student to start Kindergarten early, they need to not only be intellectually ready, but also socially and emotionally. Somewhere north of 99.7% of kids are not ready in all 3 areas. (That’s a totally made up number, but one I feel confident is roughly accurate.)<br /></li>
33. <li>    For the three out of a thousand kids who are ready in all three areas, the answer is not necessarily to start them early, but to ask yourself the question, “What would the different outcomes be in starting them early versus waiting a year.” There are three possible answers: Starting them a year later would be worse for them, about the same for them, or better for them. I know of no research that really answers this question, mainly because it would be very difficult to do good research on this topic. So, assuming an equal split among those three possible outcomes, we’re now down to one in a thousand kids who should start early. The question to ask, “Is your kid that one in a thousand?”<br /></li>
34. <li>    From a “risk management” perspective, it also makes sense to wait. There is little or no downside to waiting (perhaps better for one in a thousand), and lots and lots of possible upsides. There is little upside to starting early (perhaps one in a thousand), and lots and lots of possible downsides. Statistically, it’s a no brainer.<br /></li>
35. <li>    This one falls under philosophical or, if you prefer, my pinko commie liberal bias. What are we “accelerating” them toward? They start Kindergarten a year younger, so what? That means they start first grade a year younger. Then second grade. They graduate a year younger from high school and, if they go to college, perhaps a year younger from college. Which means they start a full time job a year younger. Which means they conceivably retire a year earlier sometime after 2090… What’s the effin point? <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hurried-Child-Growing-Fast-Third/dp/0738204412" target="_blank">The Hurried Child</a> by Elkind is an oldie but a goodie, and I think even more relevant today given the rapid pace of change today and going forward. Let kids be kids, there’s plenty of time for them to have a good life.</li>
36. </ol>
37. So, like I said, a little bit more forcefully than my wife :-). Here’s what she wrote the other day:<br />
38. <br />
39. <br />
40. ---<br /><br />Hi,<br /><br />Okay, my personal opinion (and I know that Karl feels even stronger about this than I do and he agrees) is that I would wait. My experience has been that it has been better for those kids who do wait than for those who go early but again every child is different. I am also heavily influenced by the research coming out of Finland that shows great results in holding off on school until later and then even when they do start, not beginning reading instruction until age 7. However, there are many people who disagree with that.<br /><br />Here is a list of things to consider that might be more personal to you:<br /><br />1. the emotional, social and academic maturity of the child<br />2. your local school's thoughts on this issue<br />3. what the child will do instead of going to Kindergarten for that year<br />4. your reasons for going either way - some parents hold boys out a year so that they are bigger for sports, some parents start earlier because they feel like their child is gifted and would be bored if they waited a year, etc.<br />5. how your child fits into the neighborhood social group if he will be going to a neighborhood school<br />6. how interested your child is in school<br />7. your child's size - will they be very small in their class or if they wait will they be very large<br />8. how does it impact your family - other siblings, cost of daycare, convenience of drop off and pick up, length of day (either in school or daycare), financial benefit of not going to daycare, mature enough to feel comfortable on a daycare bus to and from school<br /><br />
41. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Outliers&lt;/a&gt; and he had a section on &quot;redshirting&quot; kids for Kindergarten. He did lots of research and feels like it is always better to wait but there are plenty of people who disagree with him. Here is a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.google.com/search?q=malcolm+gladwell+kindergarten&amp;amp;ie=utf-8&amp;amp;oe=utf-8&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;link to my search&lt;/a&gt; for his thoughts, research and the research of those who disagree with him - good place to start.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hope this helps! Let me know if I can answer more questions or explain my thinking better.&lt;br /&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/1088539195836706701/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/07/should-my-child-start-kindergarten-early.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1088539195836706701'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1088539195836706701'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/07/should-my-child-start-kindergarten-early.html' title='Should My Child Start Kindergarten Early?'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-1355968544266130203</id><published>2017-06-27T09:06:00.003-06:00</published><updated>2017-06-27T09:06:50.373-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="fisch_financial"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="investing"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="solar"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="sustainability"/><title type='text'>Why You Should Go Solar</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
42. </div>
43. <div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
44.   </div>
45. <br />
46. <br />
47. <i><a href="https://fischfinancial.org/2017/06/26/why-you-should-go-solar/" target="_blank">Cross-posted at Fisch Financial</a>.</i><br />
48. <br />
49. Let me be clear up front, I'm passionate about sustainability, particularly the use of sustainable energy, and I believe climate change is a very serious threat. I think everyone should be concerned, not just for themselves, but <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/03/preparing-future-for-our-students.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">for their children as well</a>, so I of course think you should go solar. But, even if I didn't believe all of those things, you should still consider going solar for financial reasons.
50.  
51. We put solar panels on our roof at the end of 2009. That's only 8 years ago, but there's been tremendous change in the solar energy industry since then. In 2009 solar panels were much more expensive <a href="http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data" rel="noopener" target="_blank">than they are now</a> (and the continue to get less expensive), and they weren't as <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2014/02/06/technological-advancements-drove-solar-panel-prices/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">efficient as they are now</a> (and still getting incrementally better each year). On the flip side, the incentives (at least in Colorado) were much better then than now. <br />
52. <br />
53. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
54. <a href="https://fischfinancial.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/roof.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="roof" border="0" class="  wp-image-162 aligncenter" height="378" src="https://fischfinancial.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/roof.png" width="399" /></a></div>
55. <div style="text-align: left;">
56. <br /></div>
57. <div style="text-align: left;">
58. We purchased a 5.04 kW system from Standard Renewable Energy (SRE) and they installed it. (They've since been bought by GridPoint and no longer do solar installations, at least in Colorado.) The total cost was listed as $38,307, but then there was an "instant rebate" from SRE of $10,080, which took what I would consider the real cost down to $28,227. But we didn't even have to pay that as, at the time, the combined utility and state rebate for that size installation was $17,020, which means our out-of-pocket cost (the check we had to write) was $11,207.</div>
59. <div style="text-align: left;">
60. <br /></div>
61. But it gets even better, because that doesn't take into account the federal rebate, which turned out to be an $8,693 tax credit on our 2009 taxes, so we effectively paid $2,514. At the time SRE showed the break-even point to be between 3 and 4 years, but we estimated it at more like 5 (they had built in 10% electricity rate increases each year). We didn't track it exactly, but we estimate the break even point was at about 4.5 years, which means that since mid-2014, our electricity has been close to free (not completely free, as we still pay a grid-access charge).<br />
62. <br />
63. So what's our "return on investment" on solar? Well, that's a bit hard to tell, as the solar panels are still operating great and effectively generating income for us, and we don't know how long that will continue or what electric rates will do. We spent $2514 at the end of 2009 and, so far, have "made" probably more than $4,000 in saved electricity bills. That's currently around a 6% compounded yearly return (with no associated tax liability).
64. <br />
65. <blockquote>
66. Plus keep in mind with all of the solar options I discuss in this post, these returns are tax-free, unlike the equivalent equity or bond investment so, depending on your tax bracket, that could significantly close the difference in returns between going solar and investing the money in the markets.</blockquote>
67. As part of the agreement with the utility company, solar systems are generally sized to generate approximately the same amount of electricity you use in a year, plus or minus a bit. (You can choose to install a smaller system and generate less, but they don't like you to overshoot the mark.) Ours was sized at about 98% of our usage, although over the subsequent years we have actually used a bit less electricity (we installed new windows and replaced some appliances), so each year we typically have received a small rebate check from Xcel at the end of the year for the excess we've generated.<br />
68. <br />
69. That was true until the beginning of this year, when we started again using more than we generated. This is because at the end of December we bought a used 2013 Chevy Volt, which is a plug-in hybrid. Much more on this in a future post, but basically because we are charging it each night, our electricity use has gone up and now surpasses what we generate. (To keep that "cost" in perspective, however, we still haven't had to put gas in the car, having driven it more than 3,800 miles and only used 3.2 gallons of gas so far.)<br />
70. <br />
71. Being the sustainability guy that I am, I of course wanted to figure out a way to make that new energy clean energy as well. We still had some room on our roof (perhaps not the ideal orientation, but still okay), but it turns out that most solar companies don't want to add on to an existing system (I'm sure for liability/insurance reasons) and, since our system is still working great, we certainly didn't want to tear it off the roof and put a whole new system on.<br />
72. <br />
73. So we began looking at alternatives and ended up purchasing 4 panels at a community solar farm operated by <a href="http://www.rooflesssolar.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Clean Energy Collective</a>. Community solar farms are big arrays of solar panels, typically installed in big open fields, that generate electricity and feed it back into the grid. Individuals or businesses can then buy a portion of the array and get credit for the electricity generated to offset their own usage. It's often called "roofless solar" and, in many ways, it's better than solar on your roof. Solar farms are generally more efficient (they can align the panels perfectly) and cost effective (cheaper to install on the ground than on a roof, as well as economies of scale). I still prefer putting solar panels on roofs, as then I know for sure it's new energy generation and it provided at the source, not simply purchasing already existing solar farm panels and feeding into the grid, although by purchasing those you are using up existing farms and therefore they are likely to build additional ones. But, because we couldn't easily add any more to our roof, this was a great solution for us.<br />
74. <br />
75. <div style="text-align: center;">
76.  <img alt="cec" class="  wp-image-529 aligncenter" height="313" src="https://fischfinancial.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/cec.png" width="514" /> </div>
77. <br />
78. The cost of this, of course, varies, but let me share the specifics in our case to give you an idea. Because we only needed to generate the additional amount of electricity we were using by charging the Volt, we only "purchased" 4 panels (which is the minimum) at the solar farm (located in Arapahoe County). We are effectively leasing the panels for 19 years (for initial customers it was 20, but because this farm has been in use for a little while, I guess we only have 19 years left). The cost for those panels was $3,050 out of pocket (ironically, more than our entire solar system after rebates in 2009).<br />
79. <br />
80. Those 4 panels will generate 1.22kW. The way we get "paid" is that we get a credit on our utility bill from Xcel each month, currently 7.6 cents per kWh (that rises and falls with whatever the current rates are), as well as an 8 cent per kWh renewable energy credit (REC) that gets paid quarterly. The estimated yearly savings for 4 panels comes out to about $322. CEC then estimates that electricity rates will rise 4.8% per year. This is more realistic than the 10% SRE used back in 2009, but still perhaps a bit too high (unless a carbon tax is eventually passed, in which case it might be much too low). Using those assumptions they calculate a 9.5 year break-even point and a total return of "187%" after 19 years. Assuming no increase in electric rates, the return is about 4% per year compounded. Given that electricity rates will likely rise some, I'm going to guess it will turn out to be about 4.5% per year compounded.<br />
81. <br />
82. Is that a great return on investment? Well, no, not compared to investing it in equities (but, again, keep in mind there's no tax liability, so that boosts the return up some). If I was just trying to maximize my return, this would be a bad idea, investing $3,050 into an index fund would likely generate more return. But since I can generate clean energy, help combat climate change, and still earn a return that's better than a money market account and probably pretty equivalent to what bonds would return, I think that's a pretty good trade-off (as well as diversifies my investments a bit).<br />
83. <br />
84. Now, if you don't already have solar on your roof, you should definitely first investigate the cost and return on investment for that (more on that below). But, if you don't own a house, or if you can't or simply don't want to put solar panels on your roof, then this is a great option. If you are interested, I'd recommend contacting Pete Stein at CEC (<span class="go">pete.stein@easycleanenergy.com or 720-623-0618), he was very thorough and helpful. </span>
85. <br />
86. <blockquote>
87. <span class="go"><b>Full disclosure</b>: If you mention my name and end up purchasing from CEC, I will receive a $200 referral fee. If you feel icky about that, don't mention my name :-). But keep in mind that if you do, you also will receive a $200 check after completion of your purchase and $100 will be donated to charity, which is why I decided to go ahead and include it in this post.
88. </span></blockquote>
89. Since we already had solar on our roof, I couldn't get a quote for what it would cost to install solar now. Luckily, I have a friend who just installed solar in my neck of the woods in Colorado and he was willing to share his information. As I mentioned previously, much has changed in the solar industry since we installed in 2009. In addition to the changes in cost and efficiency, you now have many more choices of installers and many of them now offer solar leasing in addition to up-front purchasing.<br />
90. <br />
91. My friend ended up going with <a href="https://ionsolar.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Ion Solar</a> and, so far at least, he's been very happy with them. Let's take a look at some of the details for his install. They installed a 4.85kW system, so roughly equivalent to the system on our roof. Their total system cost was $18,896, less the federal rebate of $5,669, for a net system cost of $13,227. There are no longer the huge state/utility rebates like when we installed ours, instead you now get a minimal REC from Xcel for the energy generated. (From the information shared with me, I can't tell how much this is or exactly where it figures in the calculations, but I know it's often less than 1 cent per kWh).<br />
92. <div style="text-align: center;">
93. <img alt="ion" class="  wp-image-525 aligncenter" height="495" src="https://fischfinancial.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/ion.png" width="478" /> </div>
94. <br />
95. My friend chose to finance the system, which is basically a solar lease. The amount financed is the full amount of $18,896 at 4.99%, and they'll make payments of $79 per month for the first 16 months, then $91 a month thereafter for the remainder of the 20 years of the lease (this assumes that the $5,669 tax credit is then applied to the loan when it's received). In their calculations Ion assumes a 4% yearly increase in electricity rates and, based on this information, after 25 years they will end up $20,667 ahead.<br />
96. <br />
97. How does that work? Well, each month the (average) amount they save on their electric bill is more than their loan payment, so they come out ahead. Ion even does a calculation where if you apply that savings to the loan payments, the loan is paid off in 15 years and the 25 year accumulated savings is then $22,743.<br />
98. <br />
99. So what's the return on investment? Well, since there's no money put down up front, it's complicated. But for the sake of argument, let's assume they had decided to purchase the system for the net cost after federal rebate of $13,227. Ion estimates that over 25 years (factoring in the estimated 4% yearly increase in electricity rates) they will save $42,280, which is about 4.8% per year compounded (again, tax-free). Again, compared to investing in equities, that's not a great return. But given the good that you're doing, along with diversifying your investments and earning a bond-like return, I think it's more than worth it.<br />
100. <br />
101. So what should you do? If you own a house, I'd suggest getting bids from several vendors for installed solar and compare, and perhaps also contact Pete at CEC to compare roofless solar as well. There are lots of vendors to choose from, but I would certainly include <a href="https://www.tesla.com/energy" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tesla Energy</a> (formerly Solar City), because I anticipate with their new <a href="https://electrek.co/2017/02/22/tesla-christens-buffalo-solar-factory-gigafactory-2-will-finalize-locations-of-gigafactory-3-4-and-possibly-5-this-year/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gigafactory 2</a> coming online shortly their prices will be very competitive. (In addition, if you happen to need a new roof sometime in the future, look into their new solar roof option. It's more expensive because it's tile, but when you factor in the electricity savings, it ends up being cheaper than an asphalt roof, plus it has an <i>infinite</i> warranty on the tiles themselves - you'll never have to replace the roof again.) If you don't own your own home, or for whatever reason don't want to install solar panels on your roof, then definitely contact Pete at CEC and get all the details.<br />
102. <br />
103. Any of these options will give you a decent, but not great, return on investment, as well as contribute to a better world. In future posts I will talk more about the used Chevy Volt we recently purchased, electric cars in general, and why your next car should be electric, as well as about the opportunity to invest in solar directly.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/1355968544266130203/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/06/why-you-should-go-solar.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1355968544266130203'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1355968544266130203'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/06/why-you-should-go-solar.html' title='Why You Should Go Solar'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-2462288846963013037</id><published>2017-06-24T13:34:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2017-06-24T13:34:12.233-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="fisch_financial"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="personal"/><title type='text'>Introducing Fisch Financial</title><content type='html'>&lt;i&gt;Sorry for the departure from education-focused posts, although this is focused on financial education.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
104. <br />
105. Introducing &lt;a href=&quot;https://fischfinancial.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Fisch Financial&lt;/a&gt;. Financial advice for Colorado educators (and those they love). Absolutely free.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/2462288846963013037/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/06/introducing-fisch-financial.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2462288846963013037'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2462288846963013037'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/06/introducing-fisch-financial.html' title='Introducing Fisch Financial'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-1246343415194088904</id><published>2017-03-05T15:40:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2017-03-05T15:40:35.467-07:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="#LeadOnClimate"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="climate_change"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="climate_reality_project"/><title type='text'>Preparing the Future for Our Students</title><content type='html'>We spend a lot of time in education circles talking about preparing our students for the future. And rightfully so (a large portion of this blog over the years has focused on exactly that). But I think it&#39;s important to also realize that we as educators &lt;b&gt;need to be doing more to make sure the future is one our students can live, learn, and thrive in&lt;/b&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
106. <br />
107. Most of you are probably aware that former Vice President <a href="https://www.algore.com/" target="_blank">Al Gore</a> has devoted his post-elected-office life to addressing the issue of Climate Change. What you may not be as aware of is that he has an entire team of folks dedicated to helping him, and that that team is expanding all the time. I spent the last three days being <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training" target="_blank">trained</a> as a Climate Reality Leader by Vice President Gore and the other amazing folks at the <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/" target="_blank">Climate Reality Project</a>.<br />
108. <br />
109. I was one of over 900 people from 32 countries that attended this training in Denver. We experienced three intense days, hearing from speakers including Al Gore himself (many, many times) and former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (<a href="http://cnee.colostate.edu/" target="_blank">Center for the New Energy Economy</a> at Colorado State University), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pollack_(geophysicist)" target="_blank">Dr. Henry Pollack</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_E._Trenberth" target="_blank">Dr. Kevin Trenberth</a> (climate change science experts), Kevin Klein (director of <a href="https://www.colorado.gov/dhsem" target="_blank">Colorado's Homeland Security and Emergency Management</a>) and Don Whittemore (former Incident Commander for the Rocky Mountain Interagency Incident Management Team), Leah Greenberg (one of the co-founders of <a href="https://www.indivisibleguide.com/" target="_blank">Indivisible</a>), Jules Kortenhorst (CEO of the <a href="http://www.rmi.org/" target="_blank">Rocky Mountain Institute</a>), and many of the previously trained Climate Reality Leaders.<br />
110. <br />
111. These presentations included the latest science of climate change (things are even worse than what was predicted), the current political climate (not great at the federal level, much better at the state and local level), and the road ahead (very optimistic, the solutions are available, we just need the will to implement them, and quickly). We got to see Vice President Gore present the latest version of his famous slide show - in fact, we got to see it twice. Once the long version (2+ hours), then the next day a shorter, approximately 60-minute version.<br />
112. <br />
113. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
114. </div>
115. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
116. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBuHzBgqGt6LnIhZM1__rf1fgtWo2dGFYs9EoH7TF0tPvpoO9WsmsoG0vmO-IrCOf414jzUu7vI58WLrw8VFKamkJJx42c3w2_Hnj0uaB4FDKZDySucifgIRPDlIEjk1KpsY/s1600/gore.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBuHzBgqGt6LnIhZM1__rf1fgtWo2dGFYs9EoH7TF0tPvpoO9WsmsoG0vmO-IrCOf414jzUu7vI58WLrw8VFKamkJJx42c3w2_Hnj0uaB4FDKZDySucifgIRPDlIEjk1KpsY/s400/gore.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
117. <br />
118. Now that I've completed the training, I'm officially a Climate Reality Leader (joining 11,700 others).<br />
119. <br />
120. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
121. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AwIStYNGV7HPXX1W69QkL1CAECxNePk9yhYTnlK9ybkO4P9kLyd8pnsAxjN-QCIXSAzLDy-boRVCVNBAHttVMxQGDyicxGNMKH7KoLJKqdMrC9yAQsL-NoO149I0mXownk0/s1600/cert.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AwIStYNGV7HPXX1W69QkL1CAECxNePk9yhYTnlK9ybkO4P9kLyd8pnsAxjN-QCIXSAzLDy-boRVCVNBAHttVMxQGDyicxGNMKH7KoLJKqdMrC9yAQsL-NoO149I0mXownk0/s400/cert.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
122. <br />
123. <br />
124. What exactly does that mean? Well, first and foremost, it means I can go out and give the presentation, which is where I need your help. If you're in Colorado, I would love to come speak to your "group", giving the presentation (can be modified for just about any length of time, although anything shorter than 20 minutes would be tough) and providing whatever resources you need to extend the conversation. (If you're not in Colorado, I can connect you with another Climate Reality Leader who can come present.) Your group can be just about anybody, including:<br />
125. <ul>
126. <li>the teachers/staff at your school, your class(es), your school club, your entire school community</li>
127. <li>your church, mosque, synagogue or other religious institution</li>
128. <li>your book club, bowling team, softball team, etc.</li>
129. <li>your family or neighborhood</li>
130. <li>your civic organization</li>
131. </ul>
132. This list is not exhaustive, any group, of whatever size, that is interested, I'll come and present (no charge!).<br />
133. <br />
134. Second, I'll be involved in organizing to influence citizens, policy makers, and office holders on what they can do to mitigate climate change and accelerate our transformation to a sustainable economy. This can include everything from smaller, individual/family acts (think anything from LED lights to solar panels) to convincing your school, business, city or community to become <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/pro-snow" target="_blank">100% Committed</a>. In fact, I'm organizing a Douglas County group right now so, if you're in (or near) Douglas County and want to help, let me know.<br />
135. <br />
136. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
137. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMnvTNgv68mYKKtN5Q2ICcDv3Rdb7U5BkmbQ6IzN9J3M_GIHsrsOpHAOGkkT03Ykwaf9bF6dIfUK2QptBOQ6anLk8wdtIgiy8ASJ688sZ-LjB7SXHAie6nGw06mNQPYirB3o/s1600/ProSnowOffical_100_Final_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMnvTNgv68mYKKtN5Q2ICcDv3Rdb7U5BkmbQ6IzN9J3M_GIHsrsOpHAOGkkT03Ykwaf9bF6dIfUK2QptBOQ6anLk8wdtIgiy8ASJ688sZ-LjB7SXHAie6nGw06mNQPYirB3o/s400/ProSnowOffical_100_Final_0.png" width="400" /></a></div>
138. Finally, I'll also help you get more involved if you'd like to. That might include joining me in the <a href="http://marchforsciencedenver.org/" target="_blank">Denver March for Science</a> on April 22nd (unless, of course, you'd rather go to the March in D.C.), the April 29th <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/events/peoples-climate-march-on-denver" target="_blank">People's March for Climate in Denver</a> (or D.C.), applying for a future <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training" target="_blank">Climate Reality Leadership Corps training</a> yourself, or volunteering for any of the many fine organizations that are working to address these issues.<br />
139. <br />
140. I know there are many, many issues that you could devote your time to, and I encourage you to do so. But I feel that this is truly an overarching issue for all of us, as it literally impacts every single person on the planet, and will have an impact on all the other issues that you care about as well. It's also an issue that's solvable, the amount of optimism in the room was incredible, because we have all the solutions we need, it's just a matter of how much damage is done before we implement them.<br />
141. <br />
142. As Al Gore said near the end of our training (paraphrasing), &quot;I suddenly realized, this problem isn&#39;t going to take care of itself. I&#39;m going to have to get involved and do something.&quot; Please get involved and do something - let me know how I can help.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/1246343415194088904/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/03/preparing-future-for-our-students.html#comment-form' title='7 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1246343415194088904'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1246343415194088904'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2017/03/preparing-future-for-our-students.html' title='Preparing the Future for Our Students'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBuHzBgqGt6LnIhZM1__rf1fgtWo2dGFYs9EoH7TF0tPvpoO9WsmsoG0vmO-IrCOf414jzUu7vI58WLrw8VFKamkJJx42c3w2_Hnj0uaB4FDKZDySucifgIRPDlIEjk1KpsY/s72-c/gore.jpeg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>7</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-2160344683544455424</id><published>2016-09-05T14:22:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-09-05T14:22:23.404-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Did_You_Know"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="education_change"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="shift_happens"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="the_shifts"/><title type='text'>Ten Shifty Years</title><content type='html'>Ten years ago this month* (*now last month because I haven&#39;t been able to get this written) I &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/08/did-you-know.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;wrote about a PowerPoint I showed to the staff at my school during a faculty meeting&lt;/a&gt;.
143. I don't have anything really profound to say (never have), but I did
144. think it might be interesting to look at what has changed in those ten
145. years. In a word: everything. And nothing. (Okay, three words.)<br />
146. <br />
147. Here are a few things I've noticed:<br />
148. <ul>
149. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc5-2fc0-5668-01291595d380" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 we had No Child Left Behind (NCLB). </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc5-59f2-1a19-26a7b61f66ac" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 we have Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).</span></li>
150. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc5-89a1-3959-d96b469c6cc3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 in Colorado we had </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/03/march-madness.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">CSAP</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and ACT for our mandated state testing. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc5-cd1f-7643-0b57077abf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 we have </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">CMAS</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (based on PARCC), PSAT and SAT for our mandated state testing.</span></li>
151. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-240a-f235-35d24c557811" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 my daughter was 6 and starting first grade (part of the impetus for Did You Know?). </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 my daughter is a Junior in high school.</span></li>
152. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2006
153. was one of the warmest years on record. Much of the world denies that
154. climate change is occurring, that human activity is contributing to it,
155. and subsequently decides to do little to change our behaviors. </span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Every
156. year since 2006 has been the warmest year on record. Much of the world
157. denies that climate change is occurring, that human activity is
158. contributing to it, and subsequently decides to do little to change our
159. behaviors.</span></span></span></li>
160. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Louisiana was beginning to recover from Hurricane Katrina and Representative Mike Pence held disaster relief funding for areas affected by Katrina hostage. In 2016, Louisiana is recovering from a storm we didn't even bother to name and Mike Pence is the Republican nominee for Vice President. </span></span></span></li>
161. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 we purchased a Toyota Prius. </span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 we put down a deposit on a Tesla Model 3.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
162. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 police shootings of unarmed African Americans was in the news. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 police shootings of unarmed African Americans was in the news.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
163. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 there was no iPhone (or anything similar). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By 2016 more than a billion iPhones have been sold, and hundreds of millions more of similar phones.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
164. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-2a2c-2437-2d45cee17141" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/09/what-if.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">signs about cell phones appeared</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> in my school. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-4054-4033-ca51ff54bed7" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 </span><a href="https://twitter.com/karlfisch/status/762741455257341952?lang=en" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">pocket cell phone holders were made available</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> to teachers in my school.</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
165. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 we used Microsoft Office in my school and Google Apps for Education was announced (just apps, no Drive). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
166. 2016 some adults in my school still use Microsoft Office and every
167. student and staff member not only has access to the apps, but unlimited
168. storage on Google Drive.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
169. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 gay marriage had little political support and was extremely controversial. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-5f69-e0dc-4f450c1d363c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 marriage is marriage.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
170. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-5f69-e0dc-4f450c1d363c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-7d8d-1cb0-b73822c7f3ce" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 more than 30,000 Americans were killed by gun violence. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-5f69-e0dc-4f450c1d363c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-7d8d-1cb0-b73822c7f3ce" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-94f4-e63d-73c0dc4f3ad6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Since 2006, more than 300,000 Americans have been killed by gun violence, including two within the walls of my school.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
171. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-5f69-e0dc-4f450c1d363c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-7d8d-1cb0-b73822c7f3ce" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-94f4-e63d-73c0dc4f3ad6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-c7ea-c237-1182666d7835" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 there was no iPad (or anything similar). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-5f69-e0dc-4f450c1d363c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-7d8d-1cb0-b73822c7f3ce" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-94f4-e63d-73c0dc4f3ad6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-c7ea-c237-1182666d7835" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-e2f8-257d-a83bfdffd711" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By 2016 more than 300 million iPads have been sold, and hundreds of millions more of similar tablets.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
172. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-5f69-e0dc-4f450c1d363c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-7d8d-1cb0-b73822c7f3ce" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-94f4-e63d-73c0dc4f3ad6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-c7ea-c237-1182666d7835" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-e2f8-257d-a83bfdffd711" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbca-3b41-5db4-9c26b149da1e" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
173. 2006 we purchased all of our electricity from the utility company (and
174. paid a little extra each month to get some of that from wind energy
175. through the utility).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-43ea-b3e3-ebee3cc66781" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-5f69-e0dc-4f450c1d363c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-7d8d-1cb0-b73822c7f3ce" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-94f4-e63d-73c0dc4f3ad6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-c7ea-c237-1182666d7835" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-e2f8-257d-a83bfdffd711" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbca-3b41-5db4-9c26b149da1e" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbca-5359-55d0-f2bd88947df2" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> We paid over $1800 for electricity and gas. Starting at </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2009/12/be-change.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">the end of 2009</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
176. we started generating our own. On a yearly basis we generate
177. approximately 400 kWh more than we use. We paid less than $700 (new
178. windows, better insulation, new furnace, on-demand water heater ... in
179. addition to solar panels.)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
180. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcc-59f5-fe7f-8d199b9fb73d" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/07/necc-one-laptop-per-child-negroponte.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) was going to change the world</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> with $100 laptops, although they cost more than $200 at that point. It didn’t. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcc-7be3-5923-d869475b843b" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016, we have sub-$200 laptops.</span> </li>
181. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcb-d486-bdbd-b1562a9ecb33" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 we had just completed t</span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/06/about-this-blog.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">he first year of staff development</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> in my school that included several demonstration classrooms that had carts of laptops in them. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcc-0360-e11c-6f803c0236a7" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 every student at my school has a laptop computer 24-7-180.</span></li>
182. <li> <span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcc-f558-ee67-fcfd3bfda6bd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Twitter launched. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 Twitter has over 300 million active users.</span></li>
183. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-3abd-ccbe-397e83ab891c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Facebook was 2 years old and had about 10 million active users. </span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-3abd-ccbe-397e83ab891c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-5215-86f1-71c4c13447e5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 Facebook has over 1 billion active users.</span></span></span></li>
184. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-c447-bed8-45b5c5fe219f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-e727-2c82-6031cc6279cd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-1919-c72f-70e7c51f039f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 both The Denver Post and The Rocky Mountain News still </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/01/stock-prices-in-denver-newspapers.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">printed stock prices</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> in the print edition.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 they don’t, and The Rocky Mountain News doesn’t exist.</span></li>
185. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-3abd-ccbe-397e83ab891c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-5215-86f1-71c4c13447e5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-7789-78c6-c5e99ec1b4d8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 newspapers and TV are prominent in both breaking news and political coverage. </span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-3abd-ccbe-397e83ab891c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-5215-86f1-71c4c13447e5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-7789-78c6-c5e99ec1b4d8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-9a0b-6f04-8c229c7f21f0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
186. 2016 the websites of some newspapers and TV stations are prominent in
187. both breaking news and political coverage, but most of the news breaks
188. on Twitter and Facebook first.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
189. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-3abd-ccbe-397e83ab891c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-5215-86f1-71c4c13447e5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-7789-78c6-c5e99ec1b4d8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-9a0b-6f04-8c229c7f21f0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbce-0b88-ecdc-eb218ce32dd8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 every U.S. President had been a white male. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-3abd-ccbe-397e83ab891c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-5215-86f1-71c4c13447e5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-7789-78c6-c5e99ec1b4d8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-9a0b-6f04-8c229c7f21f0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbce-0b88-ecdc-eb218ce32dd8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbce-2bbe-eec2-4c417a5d69ea" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 we’ve had an African American President and odds are we are about to elect a woman President.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
190. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-0cec-f79c-490173ff7a9c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-3abd-ccbe-397e83ab891c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-5215-86f1-71c4c13447e5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-7789-78c6-c5e99ec1b4d8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcd-9a0b-6f04-8c229c7f21f0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbce-0b88-ecdc-eb218ce32dd8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbce-2bbe-eec2-4c417a5d69ea" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbce-cdde-4b05-5ac86cac73ae" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
191. 2006 housing prices were going through the roof, unemployment was at
192. 4.6%, and the stock market was setting records almost daily.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcf-3c72-e6ea-922abfd54a4d" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
193. 2016 housing prices are going through the roof, the unemployment rate
194. is 4.9%, and the stock market is setting records almost daily.</span></li>
195. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbcf-e4cf-484e-9646044e16f3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
196. 2006 there were many sites where people went to find viral videos,
197. including Glumbert.com, Break.com, MySpace.com, IAmBored.com, and
198. YouTube. In 2016</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> it’s mainly YouTube and Facebook.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
199. (As a side note, this makes it hard to track historical views of older
200. videos. I stopped estimating at about 60 million for various versions of
201. Did You Know? - my guess is probably close to 100 million now - but
202. it’s just a guess.)</span></li>
203. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Instagram was still four years from launching. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 Instagram has over 500 million active users.</span></span></span></li>
204. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-cb18-935b-365f7b57605f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
205. 2006 Hillary Clinton was a Senator from New York and the presumed
206. Democratic nominee for President in the 2008 election, Barack Obama was a
207. little-known Senator from Illinois, and Donald Trump was an obnoxious
208. developer who was </span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/19/politics/donald-trump-2006-hopes-real-estate-market-crashes/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">hoping the real-estate market was going to tank</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
209. 2016 Barack Obama is a two-term President, Hillary Clinton is the
210. Democratic nominee for President, and Donald Trump is an obnoxious
211. developer who is also the Republican nominee for President and thinks <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/us/politics/donald-trump-scotland.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Brexit is good for his golf course</a>.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
212. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-07b3-cd43-4be3d807892c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
213. 2006, President George W. Bush gave the first ever prime time
214. Presidential address on Immigration and stated, ""We're a nation of
215. laws, and we must enforce our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants,
216. and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in
217. so many ways." </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-07b3-cd43-4be3d807892c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-251b-a3d5-e1c2140af988" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 the Republican nominee for President wants to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it.</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
218. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-b9d9-ed9a-38a16ad182fc" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Al Qaeda was the greatest threat to western civilization. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-b9d9-ed9a-38a16ad182fc" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-d9b7-504b-1f62a21cd971" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
219. 2016 ISIS (ISIL) is the greatest threat to western civilization. (Some
220. folks would argue that it’s actually second to Donald Trump.)</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
221. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-8678-d8dd-29fcceec96d3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
222. 2006 U.S. public schools are “failing.” This was also true in 1996,
223. 1986, 1976, 1966, 1956, 1946, 1936, 1926, 1916, and 1906. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-8678-d8dd-29fcceec96d3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-9d3b-9f30-7956e3f792f7" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 U.S. public schools are still “failing.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
224. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-78bd-d04c-ca7975a816e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-8b56-46d1-e8d9b453dc09" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd0-fa7f-6f02-e5130548dd4f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-8678-d8dd-29fcceec96d3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd1-9d3b-9f30-7956e3f792f7" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-4735-ad5e-4a33fcae5ee7" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Colorado spent $551 less per pupil than the national average. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-6918-19c5-39ec917c9c8c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1GSC0Gj1mY&feature=youtu.be" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Colorado</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> spends more than $2500 less per pupil than the national average.</span></li>
225. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 NASA was still using the Space Shuttle and would be for 5 more years. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 NASA uses SpaceX, ULA and others to launch into space.</span></span></span></li>
226. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 self-driving cars were thought of something out of the Jetsons. </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 self-driving cars are already here (and will be ready for mass adoption in the next five years).</span></span></span></span></span></li>
227. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-1275-d77e-44aaaaf05483" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 I was asking about </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-are-our-or-your-core-values.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">core values</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> at my school. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-2827-8433-447c88aada76" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 I’m </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/01/tradition.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">still</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> asking about it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
228. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-465a-f811-b26440b7ee5e" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 I posted </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/11/2020-vision.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">2020 Vision</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, the third part in a </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/12/fischbowl-trilogy-link.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">trilogy</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> of sorts. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-6078-97b7-438d6aaa58af" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 just about every organization has a 2020 vision document, but schools are still </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing-part-2.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">focusing on the wrong things</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
229. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-c447-bed8-45b5c5fe219f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Snapchat was still five years from launching. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-c447-bed8-45b5c5fe219f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-e727-2c82-6031cc6279cd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 Snapchat has over 1 million active users.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
230. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-c447-bed8-45b5c5fe219f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-e727-2c82-6031cc6279cd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 it was estimated that 40 exabytes (4.0 x 10<sup>19</sup>) of new information would be generated. By 2016 it's estimated that much is <a href="https://storageservers.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/how-much-data-is-created-daily/" target="_blank">generated each day</a> (rounding a bit here).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
231. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-c447-bed8-45b5c5fe219f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-e727-2c82-6031cc6279cd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 there were about 2.7 billion google searches performed each month.  It's now more than 3.5 billion per day.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
232. <li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-c447-bed8-45b5c5fe219f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-e727-2c82-6031cc6279cd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe1-e624-4793-86246a13621b" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 I </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/01/graduation-requirements.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">wrote about graduation requirements</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> several </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/01/exit-standards.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">times</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-c447-bed8-45b5c5fe219f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-e727-2c82-6031cc6279cd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe1-f977-e6f3-0d2e8f2081e8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 my district has a </span><a href="http://littletonpublicschools.net/content/graduation" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">graduation task force</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> that is looking to revise our graduation requirements in light of changes to the state requirements.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
233. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-9e47-7231-23c89514ed97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-cc1a-050a-e6ac5bbefd8e" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 a </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/08/im-more-than-just-number.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">student commented on my blog</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> about being seen as more than just a number. </span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-9e47-7231-23c89514ed97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-ecde-0783-3b3e540379b5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 we seem to still be </span><a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/goals-gone-wild.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">all about the numbers</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
234. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-9e47-7231-23c89514ed97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-16a8-0c8d-6ccc10eac938" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 “You” was Time's Person of the Year. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-35db-3101-64e0f6866feb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 it’s likely to be “I” in the form of Donald Trump</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-35db-3101-64e0f6866feb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></li>
235. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-788b-7bf3-4e47d92da614" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If I said “drone” in 2006 most folks thought military or talking for a long time. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-9291-0478-379eb96962bd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If I say “drone” in 2016 most folks think military or Amazon delivery.</span></li>
236. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-9291-0478-379eb96962bd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-ba82-e7a6-bcd858062b1f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 the typical microprocessor clock speed was </span><a href="http://www.singularity.com/charts/page61.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">approximately</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 5,631,000,000 Hz. </span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-9291-0478-379eb96962bd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-d188-6b72-ef79dd7ba68c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016, it is approximately 28,751,000,000 Hz.</span></span></span></li>
237. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-9291-0478-379eb96962bd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-d188-6b72-ef79dd7ba68c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe4-0b72-e31c-c9c94d5a7489" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 a TI graphing calculator cost around $100 and was the preferred tool for high school mathematics. </span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-9291-0478-379eb96962bd" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-d188-6b72-ef79dd7ba68c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe4-0b72-e31c-c9c94d5a7489" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe4-270d-6fbe-6f95607910f2" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016 Desmos is <span style="font-family: "arial";">(my)</span>
238. preferred tool for high school mathematics and is free (but many high
239. school teachers still require their students to purchase a $100 TI
240. calculator because they can use it on “the tests”).</span></span></span></span></span></li>
241. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 if I said “the cloud” everyone thought I was talking about the weather.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
242. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-3d54-a968-543ea13878e4" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-9232-b7f9-49f6f0d1c793" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-ae0b-f874-f38ac1d43e96" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc6-f5cd-543d-82bc376b8105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-0ca0-36b2-1595e25aeed6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-7f4d-0014-9267a66b3ad1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-95c7-21e9-f78c231bcfcb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-c6e7-2755-135662d999cf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc7-e06c-0ccc-c4819a6ea683" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-a983-1e07-48c0260daf72" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc8-c976-927d-8717a17d5ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbc9-25de-bdda-ce24c1fdafdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-9045-7d13-fdb19a2cbe2c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-a84a-ca06-f3d2992f8c1a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-c31a-b5d7-618740dff9a8" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd2-e495-3cf2-abaaf2f38376" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbd3-81d2-49a0-a132893eac39" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 no one had heard of binge watching.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
243. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-6647-79ac-072bc15114c5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Uber was a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cber_%28album%29" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">newly released album</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></span></li>
244. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 people bought paper maps and dedicated GPS devices.</span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe3-35db-3101-64e0f6866feb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></li>
245. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-9e47-7231-23c89514ed97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 a human was still the best Jeopardy player.</span></span></span></span></li>
246. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-9e47-7231-23c89514ed97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 if I said "artificial intelligence" most people thought I was talking about aliens.</span></span></span></span></li>
247. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-9e47-7231-23c89514ed97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 Shift was happening. In 2016, <a href="https://shift.newco.co/the-real-reason-this-elephant-chart-is-terrifying-421e34cc4aa6#.e2ncg438n" target="_blank">it still is</a>.</span></span></span></span></li>
248. <li><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-2f4b-c3b4-b92b882721d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-8583-44f0-b96fa3b21c26" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a387f7c-fbe2-9e47-7231-23c89514ed97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2006 I was worried that we were preparing students for our past, not their future. In 2016, I still am.</span></span></span></span></li>
249. </ul>
250. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/2160344683544455424/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/09/ten-shifty-years.html#comment-form' title='9 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2160344683544455424'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2160344683544455424'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/09/ten-shifty-years.html' title='Ten Shifty Years'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>9</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-2849809724591352921</id><published>2016-09-03T12:58:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-09-04T09:23:41.392-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="absences"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="assessment"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="grading"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="philosophy"/><title type='text'>Inexcusable</title><content type='html'>I was reminded of something this week that&#39;s been bothering me for a while. My school takes attendance, of course, and then parents are required to excuse their student&#39;s absences. If a student misses class and isn&#39;t excused by their parent, their absence is marked as &quot;unexcused.&quot; I imagine that&#39;s the way most schools do it, and I don&#39;t have a problem with that. We have a legal requirement to keep track of attendance and, more importantly, if a student starts to have unexcused absences it&#39;s often a signal that they need extra support (although excessive excused absences are also often a sign of that as well).&lt;br /&gt;
251. <br />
252. My concern, however, is how that translates to the teacher's grade book in some classrooms. Many teachers have classroom policies that allow for a certain number of days to make up work missed for an excused absence, and students are not allowed to make up work for an unexcused absence. That's never really made sense to me. From my perspective, an absence is an absence in terms of the learning that the student is missing. It doesn't matter whether it's excused or not, if the student isn't there, they are missing out. When a student is absent, I want them to do whatever they can to "make up" for that missed learning and, if that learning is being graded in some fashion, that should be represented in the grade book.<br />
253. <br />
254. I've typically heard two main arguments for treating unexcused absences differently. The first is the "responsibility" argument (with it's silent cousin "punishment" tagging along). As I mentioned, I don't have a problem at all with the school noting that the absence is unexcused and perhaps checking in with the student to see if we can help. Similarly, I don't have a problem with the teacher noting that as well and having a conversation with the student. But that shouldn't impact their grade in the class. The transcript says "Algebra" (or whatever), not "responsible", or "good kid", or "complies with adult rules."<br />
255. <br />
256. The second argument stems from the fact that, at the high school level at least, unexcused absences tend to be more prevalent on test days. Many teachers deduce that students are missing class either because they aren't prepared for the test, or because they think they might gain an advantage by taking the test later than the rest of the class. I don't doubt that that is often the case (although we shouldn't assume that), but again I don't see the justification for transferring that into the grade book. I think if anything it points out our skewed priorities when it comes to assessment. Implicit in this argument is that tests are somehow more important than learning, and that translates both into student behavior (skip the class because the stakes are higher) and teacher behavior (bring the hammer down, both to "teach the student a lesson" and to assert our authority).<br />
257. <br />
258. I believe that as teachers we are capable of designing assessments that assess what the student currently knows, and that those assessments are equally valid if given on a different day. The student still has the responsibility to arrange that assessment time and then show up to take it. There may be some small inconvenience to the teacher because of this, but I worry about teachers who consider this inconvenience more important than assessing the student's learning and ultimately helping the student to learn. (And specifically at my school, we have a variable schedule that means that most students can find a way to come in and re-assess during a teacher's unscheduled hours, so it's not even a case of having to stay longer after school than normal - although I don't see that as a huge burden either if it's arranged in advance.)<br />
259. <br />
260. I think this is another instance when many of us are equating compliance with learning, and assessment with accountability. They are not, and should not be, the same thing. That&#39;s not to say we ignore a student&#39;s behavior when we are concerned about how it might be impacting them, but it is to say that we don&#39;t hold their learning hostage to it. So if your policies currently penalize students for absences, and particularly penalize them extra for unexcused absences, I would ask you to reconsider those policies. I&#39;d ask you to consider your ultimate goals for students and whether those policies actually help you achieve those goals, or whether they might actually undermine them. It&#39;s possible your policies are actually inexcusable.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/2849809724591352921/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/09/whats-your-excuse.html#comment-form' title='12 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2849809724591352921'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2849809724591352921'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/09/whats-your-excuse.html' title='Inexcusable'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>12</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-2112298218835320713</id><published>2016-08-28T14:55:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-08-28T14:55:32.763-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="college"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="michael_wesch"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="podcasts"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="slos"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="standardization"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="standards"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="student_learning_outcomes"/><title type='text'>SLOs for a Real Education</title><content type='html'>Really &lt;a href=&quot;http://life101.audio/episodes/episode-001-professors-night-out/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;interesting podcast&lt;/a&gt; (first in what is hopefully going to be a series) from Michael Wesch. I&#39;m still processing what I think about the entire podcast (there were certainly parts that made me uncomfortable, which probably means it&#39;s something I need to think about more), but I wanted to pull out this quote about what real Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) should look like (about 6:53 mark):&lt;br /&gt;
261. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
262. And we have to help them achieve all this within a bureaucratic structure that demands that we frame our goals in a few neat bullet points at the top of our syllabus in a section called: Student Learning Outcomes, often called SLOs. I've never been satisfied with these, they never reflect the complexity or necessity of a real education. If I were to write SLOs for a real education, they might be something like this:<br />
263. <br />
264. Students will be able to:</blockquote>
265. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
266. <ol>
267. <li>Ask questions that burn in their soul and take them farther than they ever thought possible.</li>
268. <li>Open themselves up to others and new experiences, to challenge their taken-for-granted assumptions.</li>
269. <li>Cross rivers of doubt and conquer mountains of fear to set themselves free.</li>
270. </ol>
271. </blockquote>
272. I think this very nicely identifies the tension between the SLOs we are supposed to write (and achieve) and the ones that really matter. I know there are many that will read the above and completely dismiss them as late-night-college ramblings (which, indeed, they are), but I think we need to take the time to reexamine our "taken-for-granted assumptions".<br />
273. <br />
274. Yes, there are more specific, down-to-earth learning outcomes for our courses that I think should be part of the discussion, but I think very few of those should be (or even can be) standardized for all students. These "late-night college ramblings", however, are the types of outcomes that I can support being a requirement (or at least a worthy goal) for all of our students.<br />
275. <br />
276. So I wonder why it is that we shy away from discussions around outcomes such as these, and obsess over measuring how our students do on discrete, isolated skills that very few of them will ever need to actually use. Perhaps it's because we are afraid of what we will discover. As Wesch says (about 49:50 mark):<br />
277. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
278. You can't just think your way into a new way of living; you have to live your way into a new way of thinking.</blockquote>
279. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/2112298218835320713/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/08/slos-for-real-education.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2112298218835320713'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2112298218835320713'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/08/slos-for-real-education.html' title='SLOs for a Real Education'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-7200525718571619448</id><published>2016-07-12T12:44:00.003-06:00</published><updated>2016-07-12T12:44:42.367-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="algebra"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="MTBoS"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="planning"/><title type='text'>Algebra: First Semester Lesson Plans 16-17</title><content type='html'>As I indicated in my &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/im-going-to-have-to-mtbos-sht-out-of.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;last post&lt;/a&gt;, I&#39;ll be teaching a section of Algebra again next year. Please read that post for all the context, but I&#39;ll just reiterate here that I like to make an overall comprehensive plan in advance, fully realizing that I&#39;ll have to adjust almost daily based on how it goes with students.&lt;br /&gt;
280. <br />
281. For anyone who&#39;s interested, here are my (draft) &lt;a href=&quot;https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hna7XVLjRreFPAQLF-RUe0D04Jg7C26q8KbA7U2qdC8/edit?usp=sharing&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;first semester lesson plans&lt;/a&gt;. My attempt to &lt;a href=&quot;http://crowdsourcedalgebra.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;blog my lesson plans&lt;/a&gt; didn&#39;t end up generating any feedback (so I stopped), but if you have any feedback now feel free to leave them in the comments or contact me directly.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/7200525718571619448/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/07/algebra-first-semester-lesson-plans-16.html#comment-form' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/7200525718571619448'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/7200525718571619448'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/07/algebra-first-semester-lesson-plans-16.html' title='Algebra: First Semester Lesson Plans 16-17'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-5837604117233580621</id><published>2016-05-22T16:37:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-05-22T16:37:00.467-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="algebra"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="crowdsourcing"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="MTBoS"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="planning"/><title type='text'>I&#39;m Going to Have to MTBoS the Sh*t Out of This</title><content type='html'>This year I got the opportunity to start a Computer Science program at my school, which ended up meaning I got to teach two semester-long sections of Intro to Computer Science in both the fall and spring semesters (and teaching myself Python last summer). The plan was that we were going to try to hire a real computer science teacher for 2016-17 but, since that didn&#39;t happen, I&#39;ll be teaching the Intro class again next year, along with an Advanced Python class and a Javascript class (and a colleague will thankfully be teaching a Java class) as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/schools/arapahoe-high-school/computer-science-courses-added-2016-17&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;we try to grow the program&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
282. <br />
283. None of that preceding paragraph is really relevant to this post, other than to give some context as to why I'm asking for your help. Not that it needs context, because asking for your help is a good thing in and of itself, but I'm hoping to make you feel a little bit sorry for me and guilt you into helping. (Hey, it's worth a shot.) Because in addition to learning some more Python, and teaching myself Javascript, I'll also get the opportunity to teach a section of Algebra 1 again next year.<br />
284. <br />
285. Now, the good news is, I don't have to teach myself Algebra 1, I sorta, kinda already know Algebra 1. Long-time readers of this blog may remember <a href="http://transparentalgebra.blogspot.com/2010/08/welcome-to-blog.html" target="_blank">about 6 years ago</a> when I got the opportunity to teach Algebra 1 after many years of being completely out of the classroom in my role as technology coordinator for my building. At that time I tried to blog my planning and did great for a couple of weeks and then petered out. This time I hope to do better, and to hopefully do a better job of tapping into the online community of teachers to get your help.<br />
286. <br />
287. Six years ago I <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2010/04/transparent-algebra-homework.html" target="_blank">experimented with what's now almost universally called the "flipped classroom"</a> (at the time there was still some debate about what to call it). While there are strong opinions on both sides of the flipped debate, I still feel like it was a worthwhile approach for me at the time because it allowed me to free up class time to do better things than I would be able to do otherwise if I had to "cover" the material in class. I was trying to bridge the gap between the expectations of my school and the rest of the math department and where I was hoping to take my Algebra class, and flipping allowed me to do that to some extent.<br />
288. <br />
289. Well, now it's six years later, and I haven't taught Algebra the last two, and some things have changed. My district has transitioned completely to a common-core based Algebra course, using Agile Mind as the "<a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2014/04/burden-of-proof-textbook-example.html" target="_blank">textbook.</a>" But, more importantly, I'm more willing to go even further away from the mainstream (at least what the mainstream is in my building), and the resources available to me are even better, including even more teachers blogging about math, Desmos has gotten even better, and technology in general has gotten easier for students to use in the classroom. I think I can do better than flipping and, while at least some of the lessons/activities I used in class before are still great, I think they can be improved on.<br />
290. <br />
291. So I'm sitting here planning my summer (last official day of work is this Tuesday) and trying to figure out how best to structure learning a bit more about Python (I have a rough outline for my new advanced course, just need to make sure I know it well enough to teach it), teaching myself Javascript and planning that course, and planning my new-and-improved Algebra class. I'm worried because the easiest thing for me to do is to focus on the computer science stuff that is new to me, and to slack off on the Algebra planning, because I know I can just rely on what I've done before and do an okay job.<br />
292. <br />
293. But I don't want to do an "okay" job, I want to do a really good job, and take advantage of all these great resources (and my additional willingness to diverge from the traditional in my building). As I was thinking about how to do this, <a href="https://youtu.be/Ue4PCI0NamI?t=1m19s" target="_blank">a line from the movie The Martian</a> kept going through my head:<br />
294. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
295. I'm going to have to science the sh*t out of this.</blockquote>
296. So the way I'm framing planning for Algebra is,<br />
297. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
298. I'm going to have to MTBoS the sh*t out of this.</blockquote>
299. For the uninitiated, MTBoS stands for the <a href="https://exploremtbos.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">MathTwitterBlogosphere</a>, which is the self-given name of all the math folks who are sharing their thinking, asking questions, challenging each other, and generally discussing ways to improve their math teaching. My hope is twofold: first, I'm going to tap into (borrow/steal) all the wonderful resources the MTBoS has collectively created and, second, that by publicly blogging my planning I will not only encourage feedback from the MTBoS, but guilt myself into not slacking off on the Algebra planning part of my summer.<br />
300. <br />
301. We&#39;ll see how that goes. If you&#39;re interested in helping, I would appreciate it if you would follow along with &lt;a href=&quot;http://crowdsourcedalgebra.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;the blog I set up for this&lt;/a&gt; (right now the only post is a cross-posting of this one, but beginning on Wednesday I will start in earnest - &lt;a href=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/CrowdsourcingMyAlgebra1LessonPlans&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;RSS&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=CrowdsourcingMyAlgebra1LessonPlans&amp;amp;loc=en_US&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Email&lt;/a&gt;). Fair warning that there is at least a 50% chance that this will flame out but, if everything goes swimmingly, perhaps this will not only help me tremendously, but serve as a resource for other Algebra 1 teachers.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/5837604117233580621/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/im-going-to-have-to-mtbos-sht-out-of.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/5837604117233580621'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/5837604117233580621'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/im-going-to-have-to-mtbos-sht-out-of.html' title='I&#39;m Going to Have to MTBoS the Sh*t Out of This'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-8716026407708365863</id><published>2016-05-22T11:42:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-05-22T11:45:05.900-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="assessment"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="feedback"/><title type='text'>Student and Parent Evaluations of Me: Spring 2016</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/12/student-and-parent-evaluations-of-me.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Similar to last semester&lt;/a&gt;, I asked parents and students to evaluate me at the end of the semester via a google form. I think it&#39;s always good to ask for this feedback, even though sometimes
302. you're not sure how honest and accurate it is. Even so, I learn
303. something from it each time.<br />
304. <br />
305. I also think it's important to be transparent, so here are the links to
306. their responses. These responses are verbatim, except for some slight
307. editing where personal information was included. Both students and
308. parents could choose to leave their name if they wished (totally
309. optional), and some of the parent comments included their student's
310. name - I edited all of that out.<br />
311. <br />
312. <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cMh4Y4VsFNMaDRk7Cgw27nZyTw8cJSAViHBk0kyGlzw/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Student Feedback</a> (36 out of 45 completed the survey)<br />
313. <br />
314. <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kQS209ifqP9VmWLgW9ZsiZauUvzMoYKfrS3uLODNGrY/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Parent Feedback</a> (16 responses to the survey)
315. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/8716026407708365863/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/student-and-parent-evaluations-of-me.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/8716026407708365863'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/8716026407708365863'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/student-and-parent-evaluations-of-me.html' title='Student and Parent Evaluations of Me: Spring 2016'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-7891976351442492948</id><published>2016-05-12T19:24:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-05-12T19:24:13.084-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="common_core_state_standards"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mathematics"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="online_courses"/><title type='text'>A Defective Method</title><content type='html'>No system is perfect. And no school will ever be perfect. But there&#39;s a difference between not achieving perfection and purposely creating a system that you know won&#39;t work. My school currently has a system for &quot;credit recovery&quot; that is designed to fail.&lt;br /&gt;
316. <br />
317. Like just about every school, we have some students who struggle in our classes. For a small number of those students, we have a "credit recovery" system in place, where they work with an <a href="http://www.edmentum.com/products-services/plato-courseware" target="_blank">online learning platform </a>to make up classes they have failed. I have a ton of problems with this, not the least of which is that it's completely designed around the idea of "recovering credit" and not around the idea of learning (or what the student even needs). But even with those concerns, I would be willing to give it a pass if it provided a viable way for these students to jump through the hoops, graduate and move on with their lives.<br />
318. <br />
319. I haven't ever had any interaction with our system but, yesterday, I had the opportunity to help one of our students who was working on their Geometry class on the platform. I was a tad bit surprised when the problems I was helping her with involved the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines. Back when I was a full-time math teacher we taught that in Trig, but I figured perhaps with the changes due to Common Core that too had moved down into Geometry.<br />
320. <br />
321. When I had a chance to look later, however, I discovered that while it's an <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/HSG/SRT/" target="_blank">option in Geometry</a>, it falls in the "+" category, which means it's "Additional mathematics that students should learn in order to take advanced courses such as calculus, advanced statistics, or discrete mathematics." That hardly seems appropriate for a student who is struggling in mathematics and is participating in our "credit recovery" option as sort of a last-chance.<br />
322. <br />
323. But, again, I thought perhaps it was something we had decided as a school was to be included in our Geometry classes in which case, while I still didn't think it was appropriate for this student, it would at least be consistent with our regular classes. So I went and talked to our Math Department and we don't teach Law of Sines and Cosines in our Geometry classes. Which means this struggling student, who is in our <b>online-only, credit recovery</b> option, is being asked to do <b>more</b> than the students in our <b>regular, teacher-led classes</b>.<br />
324. <br />
325. But it gets worse. Because after the relatively straightforward Law of Sines and Law of Cosines problems (assuming that's not an oxymoron), she was presented with a problem something like the following. (Because it's in the online platform, I don't have access to it to see exactly what it said but, for reasons that will become clear in a moment, I feel relatively confident that this is essentially it.)<br />
326. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
327. Using the defects method, which relationship represents the Law of Cosines if the measure of the included angle between the sides a and b of ΔABC is less than 90°?</blockquote>
328. Well, I read that a few times and was stumped. I had never heard of this "defects method." The student couldn't help me with what it was, so I asked her if we could go back and look at the "instruction" she had presumably had over this method previously on the platform. She said we couldn't because she was "locked out" now that she had finished that part. (I can't independently verify whether that is accurate, but she certainly thought it was.) So I googled "defects method Law of Cosines" . . . and found nothing.<br />
329. <br />
330. Well, that's not entirely true. I found four or five links for it - all with various versions of that same problem that students had posted to various sites looking for answers (like <a href="http://openstudy.com/study#/updates/53d17b3fe4b0f2f7e5e8836f" target="_blank">this one</a>). Unfortunately, I had a meeting to get to so I couldn't investigate further at that point, but later I spent more time googling and still came up with nothing. I did find something similar when talking about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_defect" target="_blank">hyperbolic triangles</a> (and I'm pretty sure even Common Core doesn't include that in high school Geometry), but nothing for 2D geometry. That night I asked on Twitter, and no one knew. And the next day I went in and asked our Geometry teachers, and they had never heard of it.<br />
331. <br />
332. Now, none of that necessarily means it doesn't exist or that there perhaps wasn't some instruction in the online platform that would help explain it, but it does again make you wonder why it's being included in a credit recovery course for struggling math students. We don't cover it in our regular Geometry classes, none of the math teachers in the building (or who saw my tweet) have ever heard of it, and Google can't seem to find it either. Why in the world was this question there?<br />
333. <br />
334. There are larger problems here, of course. How and why did my district select this platform? Who is overseeing the content and ensuring that students are actually getting content similar to the courses they are theoretically "recovering credit" for? Why do we think that students who struggled in a regular classroom, with a teacher and classmates to help them, is suddenly going to be successful as a learner in a learn-on-your-own online platform (even if the platform wasn't serving up the wrong content)?<br />
335. <br />
336. Clearly, this "credit recovery" option is not at all about what the students need. It's not about what they want or need to learn to be successful in their future, it's not even about them being successful right now. It's just a desperate attempt by the adults in our system to somehow, some way, get these students to pass our required courses. As I said earlier, as horrible as that sounds, given our current system, if it actually accomplished that then I'd be okay with looking the other way (while still vigorously arguing to change the system). But it doesn't. We're taking these students that we've already failed and setting them up to fail again.<br />
337. <br />
338. I still don&#39;t know what the &quot;defect method&quot; is in relation to triangles and geometry, but I have a pretty good idea what a defective method looks like in practice. If &quot;defective method of instruction&quot; was a standard, we would &quot;exceed expectations.&quot;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/7891976351442492948/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-defective-method.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/7891976351442492948'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/7891976351442492948'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-defective-method.html' title='A Defective Method'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-5496450452871575041</id><published>2016-05-01T10:56:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-05-01T10:56:58.223-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="21cliteracy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="goals"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="literacy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="standardized_testing"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="uip"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="writing"/><title type='text'>Goals Gone Wild</title><content type='html'>Back in February my school district changed platforms for our websites. As a result, we had to make all the usual design decisions, figure out workflow, and move content over. As part of that process, I realized that we did not have a link to our Unified Improvement Plan (UIP), an &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cde.state.co.us/uip&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;annual improvement plan required by the Colorado Department of Education&lt;/a&gt;. I then asked for a copy and &lt;a href=&quot;https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EPIcBdMJunMlFSLXhCb2hnaUk/view?usp=sharing&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;posted it on our website&lt;/a&gt; (pdf). And then I read it.&lt;br /&gt;
339. <br />
340. Our UIP has two goals (Priority Performance Challenges), and I thought it might be worthwhile to look at each one individually.<br />
341. <br />
342. <b>Goal 1: To improve writing skills building-wide</b><br />
343. At first blush, this is a goal I can strongly support. I think writing is critically important for our students. It allows them to express and communicate ideas, interact with others and their ideas, and refine their own thinking through the writing process. I also appreciate how it says "building-wide", which implies that the adults in the building will be working on this as well.<br />
344. <br />
345. Now, while I strongly support this, that doesn't mean I don't have suggestions on how to improve it. As much as I support "writing", I think that's way too limiting of a concept. As Dr. Richard Miller, the English Department Chair at Rutgers University <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2009/06/we-can-do-this-we-should-do-it.html" target="_blank">says</a>,<br />
346. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
347. To compose, and compose successfully in the 21st century, you have to
348. not only excel at verbal expression, at written expression<i>, </i><span class="diigoHighlight a_style id_2b1f405f7ec675ff11acbf697109fb5c type_0 yellow commented">you have to also excel in the use and manipulation of images.</span> That's what it means to compose.<i class="diigoHighlight a_style id_2b1f405f7ec675ff11acbf697109fb5c type_0 yellow commented"></i></blockquote>
349. So I think a significant improvement in this goal would be to replace the word "writing" with "composition." It's not enough for our students to improve their "writing", but they have to be able to "consume and produce in the media forms of the day" (Jason Ohler - <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2011/02/no-one-right-way.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-read-news-today-oh-boy.html" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2009/07/digital-footprint-growth-model.html" target="_blank">3</a>). Writing (in the traditional "text" sense), is still a hugely important component of that, and the writing process is also critical. But it's not enough. For students to communicate ideas, express opinions, interact with others and their ideas, and even refine their own thinking in 2016 (and beyond), they need not only text, but images, and sound, and video, and hyperlinks, and infographics, and storify's, and . . .well, you get the idea.<br />
350. <br />
351. So while I like the idea of improving our students' (and staff's) abilities in this area, I think we are missing the boat when we limit it to simply "writing." But as I read further in the UIP, I was dismayed to see the "Action Steps" we were going to take to try to achieve this goal.<br />
352. <br />
353. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
354. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthXZraveGYPzmjhgiWFUW4vC40r1-TQBENVzyAy6YKYKK-D4DRKRNmTuZ__W96LJT_RAIVyLBMignAZ-vGK9UT0W_1Z0IXSvNJdNCdf7VTyvH-qadz5P3UPj996kRYnTGwVA/s1600/uip1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthXZraveGYPzmjhgiWFUW4vC40r1-TQBENVzyAy6YKYKK-D4DRKRNmTuZ__W96LJT_RAIVyLBMignAZ-vGK9UT0W_1Z0IXSvNJdNCdf7VTyvH-qadz5P3UPj996kRYnTGwVA/s640/uip1.png" width="515" /></a></div>
355. <br />
356. While these are all well-intentioned, I have serious concerns about our conception of what "good writing" (or I would prefer "good composition") looks like. In the first section, I think it's great that we're making sure all students have technology (of course I would), that we will utilize PLC time to discuss writing strategies, and that we will "imbed" (sic) writing more frequently (although I'm not sure that's actually happening in many of our classes). But the emphasis on "Data Days" and working on "skills missed in common assessments" is a bit worrisome. That seems to place more emphasis on how we're doing as a school and on specific, school-defined "skills" as measured by common assessments, and less emphasis on developing each student as a writer. (Those don't have to be mutually exclusive, but I worry about the focus there.)<br />
357. <br />
358. I also really like some of the ideas in the second section focused on Mindset, but the implementation of that third item, "alter grading practices," seems to be lacking. While some individual teachers have certainly done this, our grading practices across the faculty are very much not aligned with a growth mindset (<a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-grade-should-they-get.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/06/idea-1-eliminate-letter-grades-gpa-and.html" target="_blank">2</a>)<br />
359. <br />
360. It's the third section that really, really concerns me. While "SLO" has the word "Student" in there, I think that again the emphasis here is on "results" as viewed from the school perspective. The use of "common assessments" and "MAP data" almost necessitates a narrow focus on "academic" writing skills and less of an emphasis on the actual purpose of writing for our students. Again, these are not mutually exclusive, but where is the student, their ideas, and their reason for writing in any of this? If our students were writing for a purpose, about things they care about, with audiences that matter, then those "academic" aspects could help achieve their goals. But when we focus on the "academic" aspects and ignore the <i>reason and purpose</i> for writing, I don't think it works at all. It actually turns off and discourages our students from writing for themselves. It focuses on the "performance" of writing for an assignment, instead of the "purpose" of writing for oneself (and others).<br />
361. <br />
362. Plus, by focusing on "common assessments" and "MAP data", we ignore something else <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2009/06/we-can-do-this-we-should-do-it.html" target="_blank">Miller had to say</a>,<br />
363. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
364. That's writing in the 21st century. It's multiply authored, it's multiply produced, and that's where English is going.</blockquote>
365. Multiply authored. Multiply produced. We, of course, would call that cheating on a common assessment or on MAP testing.<br />
366. <br />
367. Finally, I would point out that none of these implementation strategies seem to involve developing the adults in the building as better writers (composers).  There appears to be no effort to ask staff to compose on a regular basis, or participate in any "writing in the 21st century" as Miller puts it, or to improve their skills and abilities in this area. If we don't model for our students, then we are not only missing an opportunity, but are pretty darn hypocritical.<br />
368. <b><br /></b>
369. <b>Goal 2: To decrease the number of students that opt out of testing</b><br />
370. Okay, read that again.<br />
371. <br />
372. Yep, that's what it says. 50% of our goals as a school for how to help our students learn and grow focuses on getting more of them to take state-mandated tests. This totally flabbergasts me. In fact, I hesitated to write this post because this goal reflects so poorly on my school (and, selfishly, on me). This is not only not a worthy goal, it's flat-out embarrassing.<br />
373. <br />
374. And then there's the way we are going to achieve this goal:<br />
375. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
376. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmIar5fL5k7OLf45AeYSOHrKS8knMNqTNOINnUas9wWvCFwYskK9bnAkbilpCwBLOIK1isWcm6DF_sGOjUzD_04vxw1Qevud9KEvkGiysHL4G_r2y6Z8svyu0tlz7-AOlS7k/s1600/uip2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmIar5fL5k7OLf45AeYSOHrKS8knMNqTNOINnUas9wWvCFwYskK9bnAkbilpCwBLOIK1isWcm6DF_sGOjUzD_04vxw1Qevud9KEvkGiysHL4G_r2y6Z8svyu0tlz7-AOlS7k/s640/uip2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
377. More "Data Days." More class time practicing standardized test items. More time spent trying to convince our students and their parents that these tests (and "test-taking practice) are helpful to them. Less time spent actually helping our students to learn and grow. (As a side note, because of a new state law, district's were required to formalize the opt-out procedure. Our district <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-I3R8TPaGg0d05nSnB6bXl0RFk/view" target="_blank">did so</a> (pdf), but note the attempt to coerce the parents by making them feel guilty. Even worse, when parents did opt-out, we sent them a follow-up letter trying to make them feel guilty <i>again</i> and encouraging them to change their minds.)<br />
378. <br />
379. I think our UIP is a pretty good demonstration of "<a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/goals-gone-wild-the-systematic-side-effects-of-over-prescribing-goal-setting" target="_blank">Goals Gone Wild</a>":<br />
380. <ul>
381. <li>The harmful side effects of goal setting are far more serious and systematic than prior work has acknowledged. </li>
382. <li>Goal setting harms organizations in systematic and predictable ways.</li>
383. <li>The use of goal setting can degrade employee performance, shift focus away from important but non-specified goals, harm interpersonal relationships, corrode organizational culture, and motivate risky and unethical behaviors. </li>
384. <li>In many situations, the damaging effects of goal setting outweigh its benefits. </li>
385. <li>Managers should ask specific questions to ascertain whether the harmful effects of goal setting outweigh the potential benefits.</li>
386. </ul>
387. It also is a pretty good example of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell's_law" target="_blank">Campbell's Law</a>:<br />
388. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
389. The more any quantitative social indicator (or even some qualitative indicator) is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.</blockquote>
390. Even when Campbell's Law doesn't rise to the extremes that we saw in the cheating scandals in <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/11/memo-washington-dc-schools-cheating/2074473/" target="_blank">DC</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Public_Schools_cheating_scandal" target="_blank">Atlanta</a> (and who got punished <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/21/wrong-answer" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/03/atlanta-educator-cheating-scandal_n_7001214.html?utm_hp_ref=education&ir=Education" target="_blank">2</a>) and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/school-cheating-scandal/" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>, it has a truly corrosive effect on the culture of learning (<a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/04/mission-impossible.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing.html" target="_blank">2</a>) in our schools.<br />
391. <br />
392. I&#39;m not questioning whether the folks who wrote our UIP were well-intentioned - they were. Or even whether they thought these goals would be good for kids - they did. But if we&#39;re going to be required to take the time to complete this plan, I think we should spend a lot more time thinking about this from our students&#39; perspectives, about what it means to be a good writer (composer), about whether participation rates in state-mandated tests are a metric that is useful for our individual students, and about what it really means to be educated and literate in 2016 and beyond (&lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2008/02/ncte-shifting-toward-new-literacy.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-it-okay-to-be-technologically.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/06/idea-2-eliminate-curriculum-as-we-know.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;3&lt;/a&gt;).</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/5496450452871575041/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/goals-gone-wild.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/5496450452871575041'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/5496450452871575041'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/05/goals-gone-wild.html' title='Goals Gone Wild'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthXZraveGYPzmjhgiWFUW4vC40r1-TQBENVzyAy6YKYKK-D4DRKRNmTuZ__W96LJT_RAIVyLBMignAZ-vGK9UT0W_1Z0IXSvNJdNCdf7VTyvH-qadz5P3UPj996kRYnTGwVA/s72-c/uip1.png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-6855525716446735082</id><published>2016-04-19T17:41:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2016-04-19T17:41:34.862-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="budget"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="common_core_state_standards"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="community_service"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="culture"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="money"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="philosophy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="standardized_testing"/><title type='text'>The True Cost of Testing: Part 2</title><content type='html'>My last post on &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The True Cost of Testing&lt;/a&gt; generated a couple of follow-up questions I thought I might address.&lt;br /&gt;
393. <br />
394. One of those questions was what would we do to replace final exams? Don't we need some kind of assessment at the end of a semester/year? Maybe, maybe not, but if you do believe we need some kind of assessment at that point, I suggest an alternative. I wrote about <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/06/idea-1-eliminate-letter-grades-gpa-and.html" target="_blank">this a while back</a>, I think we should replace final exams with conferencing with students. Meeting with them individually and actually talking with them to see what they know, what they are still struggling with, and what they would like to do next would be much more valuable for the student than a final exam.<br />
395. <br />
396. Another question focused on what should we do with that freed up time? We have about 175 instructional days with students but, as discussed in the last post, we lose about 17 or so to testing, which means we really have something more like 158. So one possibility is simply to give those days back to instruction. That effectively adds 11% (17/158) more days to our school year without actually increasing the number of days or spending any more money. That's an idea that everyone from Bernie to Donald could presumably support.<br />
397. <br />
398. Alternatively, we could stick with 158 days. That would save us about 10% of our current budget, so that means we could hire 10% more teachers. At my school, that equates to about 11 more teachers, which could either translate to lower class sizes or additional offerings (or both). Which is better for students, 17 days of testing, or 158 days of instruction with 11 more teachers in the building?<br />
399. <br />
400. Or perhaps we don't spend that saved money on additional teachers. Since we currently have 158 days of instruction that we're clearly satisfied with, then perhaps we use those 17 days differently. I'd suggest that the 2,150 students and 150 staff members participate in various forms of <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/07/idea-8-community-service.html" target="_blank">community service</a>. Think what we could accomplish in our community with 2300 people, 17 days, and $2 million. Think also what the students could learn.<br />
401. <br />
402. This undoubtedly would take many, many forms, some of them costing no money just donated time, and others taking both time and some money, but let me give just one example. What if we worked with Habitat For Humanity? With $2 million, 17 days, and that many volunteers, I think we could easily build 10 houses for families in need in our community. That's per year. Just from my school. Now only would it provide desperately needed affordable housing, but think of all the students would learn in that process. It could very much be an apprenticeship model, with students doing good while learning.<br />
403. <br />
404. Even with 10 simultaneous houses going up, and even if students and teachers were split into 3 shifts a day at 6 hours each, that still wouldn't take all 2300 of us, so there still would be plenty of other volunteer opportunities going on at the same time for those 17 days. Maybe reading with students in elementary schools, maybe tending a community garden, maybe visiting seniors living in assisted living. And, obviously, we're only limited by our imagination in terms of finding activities that benefit the community while simultaneously teaching our students valuable skills. Part of the learning process would presumably be the students researching what the best use of that time might be.<br />
405. <br />
406. So, once again, what would be the impact on the &lt;b&gt;culture of learning&lt;/b&gt; in our schools? What would be the message we send to students (and teachers) of &lt;b&gt;what we value and who we are serving&lt;/b&gt;?</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/6855525716446735082/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing-part-2.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/6855525716446735082'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/6855525716446735082'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing-part-2.html' title='The True Cost of Testing: Part 2'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-455889714862505218</id><published>2016-04-16T11:45:00.002-06:00</published><updated>2021-04-19T07:42:40.112-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="budget"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="common_core_state_standards"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="culture"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="money"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="philosophy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="standardized_testing"/><title type='text'>The True Cost of Testing</title><content type='html'>Next week my school is giving the state-mandated testing to our freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Colorado, like many states, has &lt;a href=&quot;http://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/12/23/goodbye-act-hello-sat-a-significant-change-for-colorado-high-schoolers/#.VxJk5D_EPaB&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;made some changes this year&lt;/a&gt;, and they are definitely an improvement. The overall amount of testing is decreased somewhat, and sophomores will no longer be taking the PARCC exam but instead will be taking the PSAT. While I&#39;m not a fan of PSAT and SAT either, they are at least somewhat useful to some students.&lt;br /&gt;
407. <br />
408. When the news was announced in December, the focus was primarily on three things: the reduced amount of testing, the switch from the ACT to the SAT, and the timing of the announcement. What was missing was much discussion of the merits of testing in general and the cost (both direct and indirect) of the testing. For this post, I'm going to just focus on cost.<br />
409. <br />
410. I've so far been unable to find anywhere on the Colorado Department of Education site the cost to the state of these state-mandated tests. (I'm sure it's there somewhere, I just haven't found it yet.)  This <a href="http://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/12/15/testing-giants-vie-to-provide-colorado-high-school-exams/#.VxJk4z_EPaB" target="_blank">article</a> seems to indicate that the current ACT for juniors costs about $2.1 million a year, and they are budgeting $1.8 million for the sophomore exam, plus an additional $432,000 for juniors who want to take the writing portion. The cost for PARCC/CMAS (9th graders and 11th graders in science) is harder to figure out, but <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27668486/new-parcc-assessments-arrive-colorado-cheers-criticism" target="_blank">this article</a> from about a year ago shows the state will pay Pearson about $27 million for PARCC and CMAS. If we assume that the high school portion of that is about 10% (very rough estimate), then add in another $2.7 million. So, somewhere around $7 million in direct costs to the state. That figure, of course, doesn't include the indirect costs of staffing, materials, time, etc., nor does it include the same types of indirect costs to school districts.<br />
411. <br />
412. But even what little focus there has been on that really quite large sum of money then ignores the opportunity costs that are ultimately paid by school districts (and kids). Let's look at my building as one example. Next week we will spend <a href="http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/schools/arapahoe-high-school/assessment-schedule-april-19-21-2016" target="_blank">three days on state-mandated testing</a>. While we run an abbreviated schedule in the afternoons, most folks will acknowledge that the classes held during that time are not optimal for learning. The students who took the tests in the morning are tired, and some students who do not have to take the tests in any given morning choose not to come to school just for the classes in the afternoon (definite surge in our absentee rate). Given all that, many teachers make the reasonable decision to limit their instruction during this time to less critical matters. Not that we don't try to make the time worthwhile, we definitely do, but it's tough to try to reach the same level of learning as in a typical day. So, for me, I consider those three days pretty much lost for instruction. (If you disagree, you can pro-rate the numbers I'm about to share accordingly.)<br />
413. <br />
414. So what does this "cost"? Well, according to <a href="http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/sites/default/files/2015-2016%20Budget%20Pocket%20Guide.pdf" target="_blank">district budget documents</a>, we spend $9597 per student per year (that's including federal, state, and local funds; the amount directly from the state is less than that). We have about 175 days of "instruction" (<a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/04/180-days.html" target="_blank">theoretically</a>), so $9597 divided by 175 works out to just under $55 per day per student. Since we have roughly 2150 students at Arapahoe, a single day of instruction costs roughly $118,000. That means that for each and every day of instruction we choose to "give up," we are "forfeiting" that money. So each day of testing is costing us $118,000, or roughly $354,000 for the three days of state-mandated testing. (Keep in mind that does not include the pro-rated cost of the $7 million the state is directly paying, or the indirect costs to the state and especially the districts that I'm sure adds several million more.)<br />
415. <br />
416. But, sticking to just the lost instructional time, we're now at $350,000 (just at my school). But there's more, of course. We currently choose to take a day of instruction in the fall to give the PSAT to all Juniors. (Yes, despite the fact that we're now going to be giving it to all sophomores in April, we are still going to turn around and give it to all of them again in October when they're Juniors. Why? National Merit.) So that choice means we're deciding to spend another $118,000 on testing. We're now up to $472,000 (just at my school).<br />
417. <br />
418. But, of course, there's still more if you don't limit it to state-mandated testing. What other types of testing do we have at my school? Well, we give MAP testing in language arts and mathematics to our students. That's a bit harder to quantify in terms of cost, since we don't devote parts of entire school days to it. Instead, students are tested in their language arts and math classes (twice a year in 9th and 10th grade, just once a year in 11th I think). Making a very rough estimate again, I'll say that equates to about half a day per year per student, so $59,000. We're now up to $531,000 (just at my school).<br />
419. <br />
420. We also have many students who take AP exams at the end of the school year. When students take an AP exam, they not only miss the 3 or so hours they are writing the exam, but they often miss the entire school day as they are pretty exhausted. There are certainly many arguments in favor of the usefulness, importance and value of AP Exams, but there are also arguments against. No matter which side you fall on, certainly those days are not available for instruction for those students. (And even for those students who are not taking an AP exam, teachers adjust what they are doing in class because so many students are missing due to the AP exams). I don't really have the data to completely quantify this, but our students write close to 900 AP exams in a given year, so if we take 900 times $55 per day per student, that adds $49,500. We're now up to $580,500 (just at my school).<br />
421. <br />
422. My school also requires final exams each semester. We devote four days each semester exclusively to final exams, so eight days throughout the school year. While there are certainly some folks who will argue that final exams are useful, necessary and important, there are also arguments that they are not. Whichever you believe, they certainly don't much resemble instruction. So eight days times $118,000 adds another $944,000, so we're up to $1,524,500 (just at my school). Since many teachers also take at least one day to review for the final exams, you could perhaps add in more here (although that review has some instructional value, so I'll leave that out for now).<br />
423. <br />
424. Then you add in the individual tests that teachers give. This is even murkier territory, since I do believe assessment - when it is done well - is very valuable, and how teachers give these assessments varies tremendously. But certainly there are a fair number of teachers who give "unit" tests multiple times a year that take an entire class period. That's time that is no longer available for instruction, so there is an opportunity cost associated with it. Let's make a conservative estimate and say that each students loses 4 days a year cumulatively to these tests. That adds another $472,000, so we're up to $1,996,500.<br />
425. <br />
426. Now, that's waaaaay too many digits of precision, so let's just say $2 million as a rough estimate. <b>We spend $2 million a year on testing . . . just at my school</b>.<br />
427. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
428. Two. Million. Dollars.</blockquote>
429. We can debate my estimates and I'll freely admit that I'm just ballparking all of this, but at least it gives us a place to start the discussion. If we ignore the $7 million the state spends in direct costs, and if we ignore the additional millions the state and school districts spend in indirect costs, and just focus on what my high school spends on testing each year, $2 million is a good number to work with.<br />
430. <br />
431. That's the cost of testing.<br />
432. <br />
433. Yet even that isn't the true cost of testing, or at least not the total true cost of testing. My daughter is a sophomore this year, and in her language arts and math classes they have been doing some practice PSAT items. They are not spending a lot of time on this, but they are spending some. And just because they are practicing for the PSAT doesn't automatically make it a poor use of time, the skills they are practicing may (or may not) be valuable.<br />
434. <br />
435. But I think we have to acknowledge that in addition to the actual time spent testing, we are impacting what we do in our schools. Even if you believe those practice items are valuable, keep in mind that those items change each year as the tests change. We used to do CSAP practice items, then TCAP, then PARCC, then ACT, and now PSAT and SAT. While those are certainly related, each time the test changes we change the prep we do. I think it's awfully hard to argue the high ground here about how valuable these items are when they keep changing based on which test we're giving.<br />
436. <br />
437. And it doesn't just influence those test prep items. We change what we do in our classes based on these tests. From major changes like adjusting the entire curriculum, to more minor changes like materials selection and the emphasis we place on different topics within that curriculum, the current test ends up driving a lot of what we do (even if we don't want to admit it). Again, that doesn't necessarily mean that the things we are doing are bad, but I think we need to be honest and acknowledge why we are doing them. The question we need to ask is what would we choose to do with our students in the absence of those tests? Instead of trying to do things better, we should <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2013/10/do-better-things.html" target="_blank">do better things</a>.<br />
438. <br />
439. It's not just the time (and dollars) spent on actual testing, it's the impact on the <b>culture of learning</b> in our schools. It's the message we send to students (and teachers) of <b>what we value and who we are serving</b>.<br />
440. <br />
441. That&#39;s the true cost of testing.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/455889714862505218/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/455889714862505218'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/455889714862505218'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-true-cost-of-testing.html' title='The True Cost of Testing'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-7408200244946565602</id><published>2016-03-31T18:18:00.002-06:00</published><updated>2016-03-31T18:19:11.025-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="deadlines"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="homework"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="responsibility"/><title type='text'>Deadlines Are For Kids</title><content type='html'>Anyone else remember &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3ApTwWRQNw&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Trix are for kids&lt;/a&gt;&quot;? Well, I&#39;m becoming more and more convinced that, today, deadlines are for kids.&lt;br /&gt;
442. <br />
443. I hear endless discussions about deadlines and due dates. About how we need to teach kids responsibility. And how they need to have "consequences" when they don't turn in their assignment on time. (Never mind that both the assignment and the deadline are often pretty arbitrary, but I digress.)<br />
444. <br />
445. So, let me share just a few examples from the last couple of weeks in my neck of the woods.<br />
446. <ol>
447. <li>My school district is implementing a new unified password system. As part of that, staff members have to answer 5 challenge questions in advance so that, if they need to change their password in the future, they can do it themselves via a web interface. The district sent out very detailed instructions for how to do this, a process that takes less than 4 minutes. A couple of weeks later 40% of staff still hadn't done it, so they sent me a reminder to send out to my staff, which I did. The "due date" was March 18th. Two weeks later (including a week off for spring break), and I've had multiple staff members come up to me and say, "Sorry, I didn't get to that, can I still do that?"<br /><br /></li>
448. <li>We're 12 weeks into the semester. In one particular class there are 3 grades in the grade book: Week 1 participation, Week 2 participation, and a grade from January 15th.<br /><br /></li>
449. <li>In another class, they took a test on March 18th. No grade (and, more importantly, no feedback, as of yet). Also three quizzes from before that that still aren't in the grade book.<br /><br /></li>
450. <li>In yet another class, last grade is from February 28th. <br /><br />With all three of these classes the problem isn't so much the lack of grades (although that is still problematic when students are held accountable for their grade), but the lack of feedback. How can students learn from their work if they don't get timely feedback?<br /><br /></li>
451. <li>We have a monthly newsletter for parents with articles that our submitted by many different staff members that is created in Publisher, then converted to PDF, and posted on our website. (I know, I know. Monthly. PDF. But this is progress, keep in mind that until two years ago we printed and mailed 2400+ copies of this 15-20 page newsletter each month.) I'm not sure the newsletter has ever been done on time. And, pretty much every month, there are at least two or three corrections that have to be posted because of mistakes (typos, incorrect information, etc.).<br /><br /></li>
452. <li>We're trying to get some new computer science courses approved in my district. Part of the process is to present the info to a committee in my building. The week before the meeting I sent all the information to them. Admittedly, there was a lot of information so, anticipating that might be too much, I specifically pointed them to the one (page-and-a-half) document they should definitely look at which summarized the courses, and then they could drill deeper if they really wanted to. I get to the meeting and it appears as though none of them have looked at it. They ask me to write the courses on the white board so they can see them.</li>
453. </ol>
454. Do I ever miss, or stretch, or forget about deadlines? Sure, of course I do. But I also don't enforce (often arbitrary) deadlines for students, then scold and punish them (including docking their grade) when they don't meet them. That's not to say that I don't think deadlines can have meaning or importance, but it means that I think we need to keep in mind the bigger picture of what we're doing here.<br />
455. <br />
456. So my question is, for all the teachers who are represented in numbers 1-6 above, what are you going to do the next time a student misses a deadline?</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/7408200244946565602/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/03/deadlines-are-for-kids.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/7408200244946565602'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/7408200244946565602'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/03/deadlines-are-for-kids.html' title='Deadlines Are For Kids'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-3950227728431019828</id><published>2016-01-05T18:00:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2016-01-05T18:06:20.733-07:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2020_vision"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mission"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tradition"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="vision"/><title type='text'>Tradition</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&quot;tr_bq&quot;&gt;
457. I think sometimes we use words assuming they mean one thing when they actually mean another. Much like <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/01/you-keep-using-that-word.html" target="_blank">accountability</a>, I think "tradition" is sometimes one of those words.</div>
458. <br />
459. When schools use the word "tradition" they usually mean it in the sense of school pride, a kind of institutional memory of the things the school has done well and wants to continue to do well. But I worry that - in practice - our use of tradition ends up meaning something quite different from that.<br />
460. <br />
461. Here's how <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tradition" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster defines tradition</a>:<br />
462. <ol>
463. <li>a:  an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)<br /><br />b:  a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable<br /></li>
464. <li>the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction<br /></li>
465. <li>cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions<br /></li>
466. <li>characteristic manner, method, or style <in best="" liberal="" the="" tradition=""></in></li>
467. </ol>
468. While there's nothing here that particularly <i>conflicts </i>with how schools define tradition, there's also much here that the school-ey definition <i>ignores</i>. Words like "inherited", "customary", "cultural continuity",  and "customs" all share a common element: they are accepted without thought. It doesn't matter whether the idea is good, bad, or in-between, because it's "tradition" it's what we do. Too often tradition ends up being - in practice - translated into "because we've always done it this way."<br />
469. <br />
470. I know that folks who like using the word tradition would protest that that's not what they mean. What they mean is all the "good" traditions that we have, all the things we're proud of and that we think define us. But the problem is that tradition is more than that. If there are certain traditions that we are referring to, we should be specific and enumerate them, because otherwise we are endorsing all the traditions that we have.<br />
471. <br />
472. For example, my school is (justifiably) proud of our <a href="http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/Default.aspx?tabid=5955" target="_blank">relationship with the Arapaho Nation</a>. Since 1993, we have had on-going dialogue and interaction with the Arapaho on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, including taking a busload of our students up to the reservation, and a large contingent of Arapaho coming to our school for an assembly and to visit our classes. But we should also acknowledge that our "tradition" includes the <i>29 years </i>prior to that when we didn't have the relationship, when our mascot was a caricature of an Indian (Native American) that we found out from the Arapaho in 1993 was actually closer to a Pawnee, and which (in addition to it being offensive in and of itself), we used in offensive ways (like putting it on the floor of the gym, offensive chants, etc.). What if in 1993 we had argued that "tradition" supported keeping our original mascot? (Which is the argument that many others are currently making, from high schools across the country to the professional football team in Washington D.C.)<br />
473. <br />
474. To be clear, we have many great traditions at my school and we have done many things well in the past. But that was the past; we should be asking ourselves what we should be doing for our students today, and tomorrow, and for what the <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/03/2020-vision-on-designshare.html" target="_blank">world is going to look like when they are our age</a>. As John Dewey famously said,<br />
475. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
476. If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.</blockquote>
477. That doesn't mean we just "throw everything out" or that we "don't respect our traditions". But it does mean that we can't blithely use the word tradition to unthinkingly continue on the way we've been going. It brings to mind the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj0KwNfLUds" target="_blank">song from Fiddler on the Roof</a>:<br />
478. <blockquote>
479. Hodel, oh Hodel, have I made a match for you.<br />
480. He's handsome! He's young! All right, he's 62.<br />
481. But he's a nice man, a good catch. True? True!<br />
482. I promise you'll be happy. <i>And even if you're not,<br /> There's more to life than that. Don't ask me what!</i> <br />
483. (italics mine)</blockquote>
484. <i>Don't ask me what.</i> Don't question. Don't think about it for yourself. Don't spend the time to figure out what you truly value. Just do it because it's tradition.<br />
485. <br />
486. We can do better.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/3950227728431019828/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/01/tradition.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/3950227728431019828'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/3950227728431019828'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2016/01/tradition.html' title='Tradition'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-1593292294320948215</id><published>2015-12-17T16:41:00.004-07:00</published><updated>2015-12-17T16:41:50.630-07:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="assessment"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="feedback"/><title type='text'>Student and Parent Evaluations of Me</title><content type='html'>We began offering an &lt;a href=&quot;https://sites.google.com/a/lps.k12.co.us/ahs-intro-to-computer-science/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Intro to Computer Science&lt;/a&gt; class this fall for the first time in a long time, and I had the, ahem, &quot;opportunity&quot; to teach it. (We are hopefully going to be hiring a teacher for the next school year who is a bit more qualified, but just didn&#39;t have the FTE to do that this year as we got it off the ground.)&lt;br /&gt;
487. <br />
488. As when I taught Algebra, I asked both the students and parents for feedback via a google form at the end of the semester. I think it's always good to ask for this feedback, even though sometimes you're not sure how honest and accurate it is. Even so, I learn something from it each time.<br />
489. <br />
490. I also think it's important to be transparent, so here are the links to their responses. These responses are verbatim, except for some slight editing where personal information was included. Both students and parents could choose to leave their name if they wished (totally optional), and some of the parent comments including their student's name - I edited all of that out.<br />
491. <br />
492. <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1m3977f_JImlm-A7aYzS3Url83FqFla0kRxpLEcjACos/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Student Feedback</a> (36 out of 45 completed the survey)<br />
493. <br />
494. &lt;a href=&quot;https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tUId1QlUrNOu3pIHMobGgOzUucpQrzdPUO7TaHZfpJI/edit?usp=sharing&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Parent Feedback&lt;/a&gt; (12 responses to the survey)</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/1593292294320948215/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/12/student-and-parent-evaluations-of-me.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1593292294320948215'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/1593292294320948215'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/12/student-and-parent-evaluations-of-me.html' title='Student and Parent Evaluations of Me'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-2121286595003153505</id><published>2015-12-15T09:00:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2015-12-15T09:00:38.600-07:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="education_change"/><title type='text'>We Have Met The Enemy</title><content type='html'>There&#39;s plenty of blame to spread around for what ills education. You can blame politicians, school board members, district and building administrators, parents. But, regrettably, I was again reminded today of the one principal obstacle standing in the way of meaningful education change. Teachers. (And, yes, I include myself.)&lt;br /&gt;
495. <br />
496. And that makes me incredibly sad.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/2121286595003153505/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/12/we-have-met-enemy.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2121286595003153505'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/2121286595003153505'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/12/we-have-met-enemy.html' title='We Have Met The Enemy'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-254521432130336281</id><published>2015-11-08T11:39:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2015-11-08T11:39:23.055-07:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="media"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="sexting"/><title type='text'>Mixed Messages</title><content type='html'>There&#39;s a sexting &quot;scandal&quot; in a local school that is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29082324/sexting-scandal-canon-city-could-lead-child-porn&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;getting a lot of media play&lt;/a&gt;. This is no doubt a serious issue and one that we should address with our students, but I also think there is a bit of puritanical reaction to anything related to sex and teenagers. I think it&#39;s also often a hypocritical one.&lt;br /&gt;
497. <br />
498. When I go to that story on the Denver Post's site, it of course generates some ads on the page that change each time. Interestingly, however, the ads often have quite a few things in common. For example, here are two screenshots from two separate visits to that page.<br />
499. <br />
500. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
501. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwSsOZ48Z7V_oosgTkfRlbYBGGVfN0IprU8zQGrWQW6shosXlB8iU5_bi_yUSjISOxCBCgK8k3R0hTA9eOYMHclZYNMB-7L0Z3S2RslqERpbYpx83gxNDHRnCEuoEnYwpF1Q/s1600/post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwSsOZ48Z7V_oosgTkfRlbYBGGVfN0IprU8zQGrWQW6shosXlB8iU5_bi_yUSjISOxCBCgK8k3R0hTA9eOYMHclZYNMB-7L0Z3S2RslqERpbYpx83gxNDHRnCEuoEnYwpF1Q/s400/post.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
502. <br />
503. <br />
504. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
505. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjti-8Mwwoz4rOGvUEbgKR9f1s1WOXX3ne6OOQKgzVQ1k-ny6LDHUQS714YsPYK8KPPpo6Z0kA6RmcIalKHTkKcTMDEeeG_3Tv4ZdDzpDETx4jzxZwYTc2mzj5tDUVs8EkTTM/s1600/post2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjti-8Mwwoz4rOGvUEbgKR9f1s1WOXX3ne6OOQKgzVQ1k-ny6LDHUQS714YsPYK8KPPpo6Z0kA6RmcIalKHTkKcTMDEeeG_3Tv4ZdDzpDETx4jzxZwYTc2mzj5tDUVs8EkTTM/s400/post2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
506. <br />
507. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
508. </div>
509. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
510. <br /></div>
511. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
512. Notice anything? Even ignoring the prominent Marijuana ads (Marijuana and the Broncos seem to be the primary revenue generators for the Post), every time I visit the page I get several prominent pictures of scantily clad women. </div>
513. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
514. <br /></div>
515. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
516. Thankfully, it does seem that law enforcement is proceeding carefully and is only planning on charging any students who perhaps coerced or bullied other students into sexting (as opposed to making any student who participated register as a sex offender, which the law does allow). But I certainly think we need to be careful of saying things like,</div>
517. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
518. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
519. <span id="redesign_default"><span id="MNGiSection">we've got a lot of work to do to get them to the moral and ethic level we think they should have</span></span></div>
520. </blockquote>
521. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
522. <span id="redesign_default"><span id="MNGiSection">If the flagship newspaper of our state is willing to put those types of ads on their site, then I think it's pretty hard to go after the "moral and ethic level" of our students. It's not just the Post, of course, take a look at the ads during the Broncos' game today (or your favorite NFL team). Or some of the shots of the cheerleaders that the networks like to include. Not to mention the new Hooters restaurant that opened nearby.</span></span></div>
523. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
524. <span id="redesign_default"><span id="MNGiSection"><br /></span></span></div>
525. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
526. <span id="redesign_default"><span id="MNGiSection">I'm certainly not defending sexting, but I think we need to acknowledge that teenagers are reacting to the culture we've created and promoted. At best we're sending mixed messages, so why are we surprised when our students respond to them in kind?</span></span></div>
527. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
528. <br /></div>
529. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/254521432130336281/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/11/mixed-messages.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/254521432130336281'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/254521432130336281'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/11/mixed-messages.html' title='Mixed Messages'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwSsOZ48Z7V_oosgTkfRlbYBGGVfN0IprU8zQGrWQW6shosXlB8iU5_bi_yUSjISOxCBCgK8k3R0hTA9eOYMHclZYNMB-7L0Z3S2RslqERpbYpx83gxNDHRnCEuoEnYwpF1Q/s72-c/post.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-5947544459243858538</id><published>2015-10-27T17:52:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2015-10-27T17:52:02.649-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="scheduling"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="student_centered"/><title type='text'>Student Centered . . . Or Not</title><content type='html'>There have been some interesting discussions going on recently at my high school. I think they are a result of a number of things, including a book study of Mindset (and now &lt;a href=&quot;https://sites.google.com/a/lps.k12.co.us/ahs-community-read/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;extending that to the community&lt;/a&gt;), starting an &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/07/idea-7-meaning-of-life.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Advisory program&lt;/a&gt; for the first time, discussing our &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-new-mission.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Mission and Vision&lt;/a&gt;, and having a once-a-month, drop-in &quot;Warrior Talk&quot; time when administration makes itself available to any staff who want to show up and discuss what&#39;s on their mind.&lt;br /&gt;
530. <br />
531. All of these things, plus probably some others I'm forgetting at the moment, have really centered around the idea of student growth, not just in the narrow sense of academic achievement (although that is certainly a big part of it), but also in terms of personal and emotional growth. I've heard more teachers having more discussions about students, and what they need (as opposed to conversations simply about curriculum or standards - although those are of course still happening as well), in the last month or so than I have in a long time. If I had to give an overall label to the discussions, it would have to be "student-centered." We really are talking about trying to make our school, our classrooms, our selves more student-centered.<br />
532. <br />
533. Which is why it was so incredibly disappointing to hear what apparently happened at our Department Chair meeting this week ("apparently" because I am not a Department Chair so was not there). (Department Chair is a group of all of our Department Chairs that meets every other week with an agenda set by administration.) This week the idea was suggested that before we schedule for next year, we perhaps should do a pre-registration with students to gauge their interest in certain courses. That's easy enough to do, just have students enter in their requests online and then look at the results, the idea being that we could perhaps tweak our Master Schedule a bit based on student interest.<br />
534. <br />
535. This suggestion was apparently met with tremendous resistance and immediately crushed. The concern seemed to be that if we ask the students what they want, they might tell us. Perhaps that's not a fair characterization, but from what I've heard that's seems like what it boils down to.<br />
536. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
537. "What if students request 10 sections-worth of <fill class="" in="" the="">?"</fill></blockquote>
538. Well, what if? It's amazing how much this parallels the discussions I've participated in with Seniors in Government class about school and education, and are there any ways to improve the system we have. They always start out agreeing that school should be about learning and that they think we do a pretty good job at this, but a significant number of them end up agreeing that much of our system is actually not designed with learning - or their specific needs - in mind. Almost always, partway through the discussion, a student will say something like, "Well, if we let kids choose their own classes, they'd take the "easy" way out and take a bunch of Art classes." (To be fair, sometimes it's "PE".) After much discussion about what "easy" and "important" and "core" mean, and then pointing out that if we didn't have grades how would they determine what "easy" meant, the discussion starts to get really going. (And then the bell rings. But I digress.)<br />
539. <br />
540. Now, let me be clear, I'm not suggesting that my school should immediately ditch all of our course offerings and just let the students do whatever they want. (However, to be just as clear, my <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/search/label/big_ideas" target="_blank">"big ideas" series</a> this summer shows that I don't think that's an entirely bad idea, just not what I'm suggesting we as a school do right now.) What I am suggesting is that perhaps we should at least consider our students' interests before building our master schedule, and we can perhaps make some small adjustments that would at least nudge us in a more student-centered direction, even if we still have a fairly rigid curriculum with many required classes. If a bunch of students indicate an interest in a particular Art class, or Law, or Woods, or even Computer Science (hey, a guy can dream), shouldn't we at least consider meeting them part way?<br />
541. <br />
542. This doesn't mean getting rid of Algebra, Biology or American Lit. (Although, again, I think that's worth some discussion - after all, we <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/06/idea-2-eliminate-curriculum-as-we-know.html" target="_blank">teach <i>students</i> subjects</a>, not just subjects). But it does mean acknowledging that our students are real, live human beings, with real, live interests, preferences and needs, and that they should have some say over what they get to learn. More say then simply getting to choose from a pre-determined set of courses and electives that are offered at pre-determined times, meaning they may or may not be able to get in to their top choices, and those from a list of choices they didn't even help create.<br />
543. <br />
544. I think it comes down to this. We are either going to be student-centered, or we're not. We can't say in one context that we want to be more student-centered, but in another context (one that perhaps challenges our view of what school looks like as well as challenging what we "like" to teach) say, "Nah, just kidding." That doesn't mean throwing everything out and letting it be a free-for-all, but it does mean being open-minded enough to listen to our students, carefully consider what they have to say, and then making a well-thought-out decision about any changes we might want to make.<br />
545. <br />
546. Perhaps as a building we need to go back and review our own mindsets to see if we truly are willing to grow. If we want to be more student-centered, we&#39;re going to have to let go of some of our own teacher-centered beliefs.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/5947544459243858538/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/10/student-centered-or-not.html#comment-form' title='7 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/5947544459243858538'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/5947544459243858538'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/10/student-centered-or-not.html' title='Student Centered . . . Or Not'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>7</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-8096112825845361836</id><published>2015-10-17T10:37:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2016-06-09T09:13:48.421-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="arapahoe"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mission"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="vision"/><title type='text'>A New Mission</title><content type='html'>A little while back I &lt;a href=&quot;http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/04/mission-impossible.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;wrote about my frustrations&lt;/a&gt; with my school&#39;s mission and vision statements. As I said then, I doubted that very many (if any) of our students - or our staff - could tell you what our mission statement said, much less our vision statement.&lt;br /&gt;
547. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
548. That doesn't mean I don't generally like what's in our mission statement
549. (and, for that matter, our longer vision statement). You can read them <a href="http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=UWwQ569IyUw%3d&tabid=11819" target="_blank">here</a>
550. (pdf). I do want students to achieve their potential, collaborate and
551. be life-long learners, and contribute to society. The problem is that
552. when you have a mission statement that no one knows, and that has
553. generic statements like that, it ends up being pretty meaningless.</blockquote>
554. In other words, it's mission impossible.<br />
555. <br />
556. On our in-service day on Thursday we broke up into small groups to discuss our mission and vision statement, with the purpose of identifying things we wanted to keep, things we wanted to get rid of, or things we wanted to add/modify. Each group worked on that for a while and then submitted a summary of their thinking to administration, who will review it and then . . . well, I'm not sure what exactly the next step is, but I think the intent is to come up with a new (well, modified) mission and vision statement that would be applicable in 2020 (our current one was created in 2007).<br />
557. <br />
558. In my small group we had a great discussion and we all generally agreed with the sentiments I expressed in my previous post, that while there isn't really anything we disagreed with in our current mission and vision, it was pretty meaningless because it was way too wordy and tried to be all things to all people. We reached consensus that our mission needs to be something that is succinct and meaningful, and that all students and staff should not only know, but should refer to it often.<br />
559. <br />
560. I shared <a href="https://www.scienceleadership.org/pages/Mission_and_Vision" target="_blank">Science Leadership Academy's mission and vision</a> as an example of the direction I would like to see us head. I suggested that framing our mission and vision around a few (maybe 2-5) essential questions and a few (maybe 3-6) core values was a good way to really hone in on what it is we're about at Arapahoe High School. What we're trying to achieve, what we value, what's important enough to put up on the walls of every single classroom and refer to every single day.<br />
561. <br />
562. We had a great discussion around that, and my group was generally receptive, although I'm not sure they are necessarily as enamored of this approach as I am. The summary we turned in (on paper . . . sigh) included these ideas (although not the hyperlink to SLA's mission and vision). We'll see where it goes, and it will be interesting to see what other groups come up with (although I'm not sure we will see that, just the "results").<br />
563. <br />
564. I think it's sometimes tough for folks to get their minds around a mission and vision that is not exhaustive like our current one is. Because we think lots of things are important (and they are), we want to make sure they are all represented in the mission and vision so that nothing (and no one) gets "left out." But I think that really misses the mark on what a mission and vision should be. Our mission should really be our core purpose and our core values, and to be "core" they can't include everything. And our vision, while it should be aspirational and can certainly be a bit longer, still needs to be at a relatively "high" conceptual level.<br />
565. <br />
566. As in my "<a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/search/label/big_ideas" target="_blank">big ideas</a>" series of posts last summer, I thought I would take a stab at writing a mission statement for AHS. To be clear, I am not suggesting that this should be <b>the</b> mission statement for AHS (although I think it would be a good one :-), but I think it's helpful for folks to see one particular example of how it could look in order to help foster discussion. So here we go.<br />
567. <br />
568. <b>Essential Questions (PPSL)</b><br />
569. <ol>
570. <li>What does it mean to be literate?</li>
571. <li>How do you define "success"?</li>
572. <li>What is your passion and what is your purpose?</li>
573. </ol>
574. <b>What does it mean to be literate?</b><br />
575. This is a question that I have frequently asked during my speaking engagements. I talk about it a bit <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/06/idea-2-eliminate-curriculum-as-we-know.html" target="_blank">here</a>, but I want to be clear that I'm not referring to "literate" in the traditional sense of "just" reading and writing (although even in those areas I think this is vastly more complicated than we assumed it was when I was growing up and going through K-12). This includes mathematical literacy (sometimes referred to as numeracy), scientific literacy, artistic literacy, emotional literacy, and a whole bunch of other literacies (as <a href="http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/21stcentdefinition" target="_blank">NCTE says</a>, "many literacies" that are "dynamic and malleable.")<br />
576. <br />
577. At its heart, this is really a question about what it means to be competent, capable and empowered in a certain area. I also think a key component of this is how do you know that something you've created is good, not just by some external measure (although that can be informative), but how do you yourself know that it's a quality product? Some folks might prefer to reword this as "what does it mean to be educated?", and I think that would be okay, but I decided to stay away from that phrasing because I think it has too much baggage. By focusing on a new way of looking at the word "literate," I think it frees us up to really consider a broader array of skills and habits of mind.<br />
578. <br />
579. <b>How do you define "success"?</b><br />
580. We talk a lot about helping students be "successful," both in school and then in their lives after they leave school. Every school, every government official, every education reform group, every parent, and even every student will talk about needing to prepare students so that they can be successful, and who can argue with that? Well, I can. Because we never take the time to define "success." And if we don't agree on an operational definition of "success," then all those statements about preparing students to be successful are essentially meaningless.<br />
581. <br />
582. We just assume we all know and agree on what "success" is. I think that's not only incorrect, I think it's dangerous. First, it assumes that success looks the same for every single student, that each and every individual student should have the same goals and same metrics to measure what they accomplish. I think that's ludicrous, and I think that anyone who stops to think for even a minute about this would agree, yet that's the assumption baked in to so many of our statements about what students should be learning in order to "prepare" them for their future.<br />
583. <br />
584. Second, it assumes that success is defined by society, or at the very least by some combination of government, business, family and educators. Shouldn't success be defined by each student, for themselves? Certainly government, business and educators, as well as friends and family, will help shape and form each student's ideas around what success is but, ultimately, isn't that up to each student to decide? How often in K-12 do we allow students to define their own success? How much opportunity do we provide them to think about this ultimate issue of their lives? People scoff at "what's the meaning of life" discussions, often ridiculing it as idealistic and naive, something that only happens in late-night discussions during college. I think this is exactly wrong. I think this is the <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/07/idea-7-meaning-of-life.html" target="_blank">most important discussion our students could be having</a>.<br />
585. <br />
586. Finally, I think this is really dangerous. When we assume we all know and agree what success it, we then start making a series of decisions around students' educations that might be completely and utterly wrong if our first principle of what success is is incorrect. It's like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory" target="_blank">chaos theory</a>, where small changes in initial conditions can have drastic changes in end results. What if our initial condition assumptions about success, which are really also assumptions about the purpose of education, are slightly (or not so slightly) off? Then all those subsequent dependent decisions we've made around education are a giant house of cards, propped up on a faulty foundation. We can do better.<br />
587. <br />
588. <b>What is your passion and what is your purpose?</b><br />
589. This one relates closely to the previous one about success. I think there's a fundamental decision we have to make about school - is it designed to meet the needs of our students, or is it designed to meet the needs of adult society? I would agree with those that say this isn't necessarily an either/or question, but I still think it's important for us to decide which takes precedence. It probably won't surprise regular readers that I fall on the side that school should be to meet the needs of students. I feel if we truly meet the needs of each student, then ultimately we will also meet the needs of society. (I strongly believe that the inverse, however, is not true.)<br />
590. <br />
591. If we can agree (which is a big if) that we should meet the needs of students, then I think the issues of passion and purpose are critical. What is each student's passion in life? What do they want their purpose to be? How do we help them pursue those passions and achieve that purpose? Can they have more than one and/or can they change throughout their lives? I think so, but I think that's also part of the education of each student, helping them decide that for themselves.<br />
592. <br />
593. As a parent, I think I feel the conflict that most parents feel, that we want our child to make their own way in the world, yet we really, really, really want our child to also conform to our morals, principles, and ideas of success. I think school is that conflict writ large; that we say we want our students to become independent and critical thinkers, yet we really, really, really want them to independently come to the same conclusions we have. If we truly want them to be independent and critical thinkers, we have to give up some control.<br />
594. <br />
595. <b>Core Values (C3P3)</b><br />
596. <ol>
597. <li>Curiosity</li>
598. <li>Compassion</li>
599. <li>Community</li>
600. <li>Perseverance</li>
601. <li>Passion</li>
602. <li>Purpose</li>
603. </ol>
604. <b>Curiosity</b><br />
605. I think <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/07/idea-6-cultivate-curiosity.html" target="_blank">curiosity is the touchstone of learning</a>, and therefore should be perhaps the principal core value of our school.<br />
606. <br />
607. <b>Compassion</b><br />
608. The unifying phrase of my school is "Warriors, Always Take Care of One Another." If we believe that, we need to live that, and that is going to involve <i>intentionally</i> focusing on both compassion and empathy.<br />
609. <br />
610. <b>Community</b><br />
611. While I emphasize the individual a lot in this post, I think that meeting each student's need ultimately includes helping them form and build <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/07/idea-8-community-service.html" target="_blank">community</a>. The reason we come together as a society, as communities, is to make life better for all of us, so this must be included in our core values.<br />
612. <br />
613. <b>Perseverance</b><br />
614. I want to be clear that I'm not jumping on the "grit" bandwagon here. Like many, I have concerns with some of the assumptions and implications that some folks include in their grit narrative. Having said that, I think the idea of perseverance is still a fundamental one. I think where I differ from some of the thinking around grit is the idea that I value perseverance toward achieving one's own goals, not someone else's perhaps arbitrary ones. I want our students to pursue their passion and their purpose with perseverance, so it's a core value I think we need to explore with our students.<br />
615. <br />
616. <b>Passion</b><br />
617. Passion gets a bad name. Critics make fun of passion by either linking it with romantic passion or with students being passionate about something the critics feel is meaningless while living in their parent's basement. I think that there are some "puritan ethics" lurking in this conversation (at least in the U.S.), and I think this goes back to our societely-assumed definitions of success. Perhaps I'm too idealistic, but I think a life driven by passion is likely to be a key part of most people's ultimate definition of success. If we pursue something we feel is passionately worth pursuing, then it's a life well-lived.<br />
618. <br />
619. <b>Purpose</b><br />
620. I go back and forth on whether passion and purpose are two items or two sides of the same item. At the moment, I'm keeping them separate, because I do believe you can have some passions that perhaps do not rise to the level of purpose. Much has been written about living with purpose, so I don't have a lot to add here, other than the observation that we again tend to shy away from helping our students discover and determine their own purpose. A core value, a core purpose, of our school should be to help students do this.<br />
621. <br />
622. Again, I'm not suggesting this should be "the" mission for AHS - this needs to be a school-wide (and community-wide) discussion, but I thought laying our one possible vision of what it could look like might be helpful. So this would be what we put on posters all around AHS, to be referred to daily and for students and teachers to hold themselves <a href="http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/01/you-keep-using-that-word.html" target="_blank">accountable</a> to (the only form of accountability I think really matters.)<br />
623. <br />
624. <h2 style="text-align: left;">
625. Arapahoe High School Mission</h2>
626. <b>Essential Questions:</b><br />
627. <ul>
628. <li>What does it mean to be literate?</li>
629. <li>How do you define "success"?</li>
630. <li>What is your passion and what is your purpose?</li>
631. </ul>
632. <br />
633. <b>Core Values</b>:<br />
634. <ul>
635. <li>Curiosity</li>
636. <li>Compassion</li>
637. <li>Community</li>
638. <li>Perseverance</li>
639. <li>Passion</li>
640. <li>Purpose</li>
641. </ul>
642. <br />
643. <br />
644. <br />
645. &lt;br /&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/8096112825845361836/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-new-mission.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/8096112825845361836'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/8096112825845361836'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-new-mission.html' title='A New Mission'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16660456.post-3225092608741768975</id><published>2015-08-27T07:46:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2015-08-27T07:46:41.530-06:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="assessment"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="employment"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="feedback"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="growth_mindset"/><title type='text'>Staff Evaluation Of Me</title><content type='html'>Last spring I read &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Work-Rules-Insights-Inside-Transform/dp/1455554790&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Work Rules&lt;/a&gt; by &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/laszlobock2718&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Laszlo Bock&lt;/a&gt;, who&#39;s the Senior VP of People Operations (Human Resources) at Google. It was an interesting read in many ways, but one particular take away for me was the need to ask more directly for feedback. Like everyone I, of course, get informal day-to-day feedback from the folks I work with, and more formal feedback from my supervising administrator. But that&#39;s not the same as specifically asking for feedback, so I decided to ask my colleagues to complete a google form at the beginning of this school year. (I&#39;ve also posted a link to a Google Form for student feedback for me several places around the building but, so far, I only have one response. If I get some more I&#39;ll share that as well.)&lt;br /&gt;
646. <br />
647. When I sat down to create the form I quickly got into the weeds. I wanted specific feedback, yet when I tried writing specific questions I ran into two problems. I felt like the questions were both too "leading" and too "limiting", and to get at everything I wanted feedback on required so many questions that it made the survey way too long. So I eventually decided on a few open-ended questions that I hoped would get me some decent feedback but make the survey short enough that people would complete it.<br />
648. <br />
649. Here's a screenshot of the survey.<br />
650. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
651. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnPGtp_kRdMBhYuqVJSkPIc_wqYUnDwI7cwKdr7VzE0dubu8rsJ6EjwZINvFiHDcnvqo3xeT8Rvdts5jmgNV6Xn0c2jduPV1DQBiHZhKcNbBP_SUBigHGhHLO3q3bhn3G0dw/s1600/stafffeedback.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnPGtp_kRdMBhYuqVJSkPIc_wqYUnDwI7cwKdr7VzE0dubu8rsJ6EjwZINvFiHDcnvqo3xeT8Rvdts5jmgNV6Xn0c2jduPV1DQBiHZhKcNbBP_SUBigHGhHLO3q3bhn3G0dw/s640/stafffeedback.PNG" width="418" /></a></div>
652. <br />
653. Based on the suggestions in the book and some other things I've read, I decided to go with a simple ranking of 1 to 7, one question on what I do well, one on what I can improve on, and then the usual "anything else they want to add." I was hoping that this would give them enough to give me some valuable feedback without getting too specific or too long. The downside, of course, is that's it's not very specific. They could take it anonymously or give me their name if they wanted to.<br />
654. <br />
655. <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GO2ruexrY374Nr8I4mlHqECTd-WXaGglTQ51doQXr54/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Here are the results</a>. This is an exact copy of the actual results, except for the optional name column. In that column I replaced anyone's name with an asterisk for their confidentiality. So, as you look at that column, a blank space indicates that it was an anonymous response and an asterisk that they gave their name. (I received 62 responses. We have about 115 certified staff and about 40 classified staff.)<br />
656. I think there are a couple of caveats (at least) to keep in mind when looking at these results. First, I think they will tend to skew positive, both because people who were ready to say nice things were more likely to take the time to complete the survey, and just because educators are generally nice. Second, I think you can't read too much into the results (positive or negative) because the questions were so open-ended. I think that's a trade-off I had to make, but still something to keep in mind. <br />
657. <br />
658. So, I have my own thoughts on what the results mean, but I think I&#39;ll keep them to myself for now, because I&#39;d love to hear what other people see in the results without influencing your thinking. So please leave your thoughts in the comments - it would probably be most helpful if you would focus particularly on the &quot;things I could do better column&quot;, but all of it is fair game.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/feeds/3225092608741768975/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/08/staff-evaluation-of-me.html#comment-form' title='10 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/3225092608741768975'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/16660456/posts/default/3225092608741768975'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2015/08/staff-evaluation-of-me.html' title='Staff Evaluation Of Me'/><author><name>Karl Fisch</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnPGtp_kRdMBhYuqVJSkPIc_wqYUnDwI7cwKdr7VzE0dubu8rsJ6EjwZINvFiHDcnvqo3xeT8Rvdts5jmgNV6Xn0c2jduPV1DQBiHZhKcNbBP_SUBigHGhHLO3q3bhn3G0dw/s72-c/stafffeedback.PNG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>10</thr:total></entry></feed>

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