Nine Shift

Education war: objective testing versus subjective evaluation

What do you think?  Should students be measured based on objective testing, or on subjective evaluation? 

The war is on! Educators are battling it out, fighting hard on both sides.

Objective testing.  Have an outside assessment measurement independent of the teacher measure learning.  Base it on knowledge.

Subjective evaluation.  Have the teacher evaluate a student's learning based on critical thinking and emotional intelligence.

Let us hear your thoughts. What do you think? 

Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture yearbook, 1962.

Recession key: Invest now

More lessons from sitting in the hot tub at the Retlaw Hotel in Fond du Lac with a manufacturing guy.

Factories are just trying to get jobs to break even and keep the lights on and their core or essential employees on payroll, he tells me.  This appears to be the best strategy for organizations right now.

But now is also the best time to retool, reinvest, and buy.  The reasons:  1. All materials are cheap, all the metals are cheap, all the commodities are inexpensive.  2. There's no waiting line.  You can get it made now.

The recession will end when everything wears out and business will have to buy new equipment, computers, software and so on.

There will be a rush to purchase goods after the recession ends. So factories will be backed up with orders, prices will rise,  business will get their new equipment later than they want or need. 

Lesson: Invest now.  Whether it is cheaper goods, or the best employees, get them now.

Economy: Now a critical time for business organizations

Now is a critical time for business organizations to position themselves for success in the 21st century. 

We know this because it happened 100 years ago, in 1909. 

Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. Before 1909, Edison's company was the leading seller of phonograph machines and recorded music. Then came the Banker's Panic of 1907 (sound familiar?) and a recession hit the country. (sound familiar?)

Edison's sales dropped 30%. Edison's main competitor, Victor or Victrola records, saw their sales drop 40%. (sound familiar?) But Victrola repositioned itself, running mass advertising, putting the phonograph player in a beautiful wood cabinet. The public also like Victrola discs or records, with music lasting 4 minutes instead of 2 minutes on Edison's music cylinders.  As a result, 1909 was the first year that Victrola sales beat Edison's.   From then on, Victor/Victrola was dominant. Edison's phonograph faded and went out of business in 1929. 

The Lessons:  1) with all organizations experiencing a drop in sales, the playing field becomes more level;   2) after the current recession, some organizations will move quickly forward, others will be too slow to catch up;   and 3) NOW is the time for organizations to reposition themselves for the new economic environment of the 21st century.

Why the economy is in recession

I found more evidence this week about the cause of the economy going into recession. More importantly, what it will take to get the economy going again.

Business is not investing.  Even in my nonprofit sector, business organizations are not investing. They are hoarding (and sometimes losing) cash and assets. But they are not investing in their own future.

Visited a large successful association this week with a 90 million dollar budget. And 18 million in the bank. They desperately need to upgrade their software system.  Yet the leadership is failing to invest, even when it is clearly in their own best financial interest.

So looking to consumers to spend more is not the answer.  Government is spending, thank goodness, because business will not.  But it will take business investing in its own future again to get the economy back on track. 

Is a return to wilderness possible?

Is a return to wilderness possible? What do you think?
We have a cabin in the northwoods in the township of Presque Isle, Wisconsin, which advertises itself as Wisconsin's Last Wilderness.

It is a beautiful area, with lakes, national forests, wolves, bear, and other wildlife.  But could we return currently developed areas to wilderness?  I never thought it possible until I discovered how our landscape has changed in the last century, how farm houses were torn down, how previously clear cut forests have returned to the trees.  So I'm thinking there will be a big movement to return developed land to wilderness in this century.  What do you think?  Is it possible to return developed land to wilderness?
Photo: lake in Presque Isle township in protected wildnerness area.

Update on the food animal vet shortage

Just got nice email from the executive director of the association of veterinary medicine schools.

She says that it's not just males who go into food animal vet med, but rural males.  Since only 20% of the population lives in rural America, that makes the challenge five times as harder, but still do-able. There's no reason we can see why gender equity in vet med schools won't solve the problem. Hope for more info later.

Food epidemic predicted

Nine Shift is predicting a food epidemic within the next 0-5 years that will kill at least 100 Americans.

The prediction is easy. Lots of other sources, from USA Today to the GAO to the American Veterinary Medical Association, is warning of one too.  Here's a story on the latest scary report from the GAO.

The difference is that Nine Shift knows WHY the food epidemic is coming: gender inequity in vet med school.  The vet med schools do not have gender equity in admissions. And neither the American Veterinary Medical Association nor the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges support gender equity in vet med school admissions. 

In fact, Lisa Greenhill of AAVMC told me bluntly that while female vet med graduates have not gone, and do not go, into food animal vet med practice "it would be dangerous" to assume that female vet med graduates won't go into food animal practice in the future.  Really?  The assumption is more dangerous than a food epidemic?  Preserving gender inequity is more important than protecting the public?  Really?

Female vet med graduates: prove us wrong. Go into food animal vet medicine.  But until you do, only gender equity will solve our impending food safety crisis.

No penalty for late work

The fight for not penalizing late work goes on.  Here's today's enlightened educator:

Thank you so much for the paper.  I am currently at a middle school site.  One of our vertical teams for secondary is looking at a policy that will give all AP, and Pre AP students grades 6 through 12 a zero for late work.  I am obviously opposed to this idea.  Therefore I am looking for any research on how policies of late work affect student performance and grades.  Therefore, if you have any other research that might helps us with this decision would be greatly appreciated.  Once again, thank you.

 

Leslie Sexson

School Counselor

Central Middle School 

Thanks for attending Nine Shift webinars April 8

More than 200 people attended the Nine Shift Fifth Anniversary free webinars on April 8.

Thanks to everyone who attended.