Nine Shift

Celebrate the 21st Century

Happy 150th anniversary to our many Canadian friends.  And congratulations on Canada's recent and continuing moves to position your country for success and prosperity in the 21st Century.

Happy Fourth of July to our many American friends.  And congratulations on our country's fight to keep our country democratic, our amazing Washington Post and New York Times investigative reporters. 

And since today is LERN's end to our FY17 year, and UGotClass end of fiscal year,
Thank you to the LERN Board of Directors, LERN members and LERN staff for continuing to support NineShift.  

Los Angeles to Grow In

An article in NYT recently suggested that more cities are growing out = suburbs, than are growing in = dense downtowns.

My respond is just you wait.  The cities that are growing in/up and becoming more dense are those cities leading the economy of the 21st century.  

Example:  New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago - our three largest cities, all are growing in/up,  not out.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric M Garcetti (NYT, April 12, 2017) says he is thinking hard about the new look of the city, and to "engage Angelenos at street lvel in a way the city had to when the car was king."  

I like that - - the car being reported in the past tense. 

100 Years ago Daniel Burnham, who redesigned Chicago for the new 20th century, said to "think no small thoughts."  Garcetti, to his credit, is thinking the same way.  He said he envisions "These are moments to inspire and connect.  We should seize that moment. I'm looking for some of those iconic moments" 

Garcetti is right. This is the time to dream and redesign how cities are constructed, and how we live. Trains, mixed used zoning, dense walkable neighborhoods are coming to both big and small cities nationwide. 

Fathers Fidget Too!

My brilliant co-author Julie Coates was at a Portland, Oregon, mall and noticed a new fidget toy store set up in the mall.

So the fidget toys are catching on.  She also noticed the customers:  ten year old boys and their fathers. 

I get the boys, the boys need the fidget toys.  But interesting it was the fathers who took them to the mall.  I'm guessing because fathers are just as fascinated by the fidget toys as their sons.  Fathers are into tech toys, but they also fidget too.  Buy one for yourself Dad.

Why a Top French Priority is Not Infrastructure

This week the BBC interviewed a new Macron party legislator. 

His top three priorities for France:

1.Jobs
2.Education
3.Revitalizing democracy and democratic institutions.

The second two are what America and possibly other countries need to do in the 21st century as well. But while infrastructure is a top American priority, it did not appear on the French list.  Why?  Because France already has high speed trains and good Internet. They have infrastructure, which is one reason why Europe is likely to be prosperous, maybe even more so than America, in this century. 

 

Is Gen Z Moving to the Suburbs?

A recent ad that kept popping up whenever I went online noted that Gen Z is Moving to the Suburbs.

There's only two things wrong with that statement:
1.Gen Z is at most age 17.
The only place Gen Z might be moving is to a larger bedroom when an older sibling goes to college.
I think they mean Gen Y.
2.It's no longer the suburbs.
What they mean is that some suburban communities are now gaining downtowns and train stations, and mixed use zoning with dense neighborhoods, offices, stores and apartments.  But that's not a suburb, that's a small town or small city.

If you buy a farm and build a high rise apartment building on it and everyone moves in, they do not live on a farm.

Stay tuned for more mixed up wrong interpretations of what's happening in the 21st century.

 

The Meaning of the French, English, Canadian Elections - - And Ours

As too few have said, the elections in North America and Europe are about the 21st Century versus the last century.

That obviously doesn't mean the 21st century wins all the time.  And it many situations, the people of the country are divided, basically old versus young. 

But the elections in Germany, France this week and last month, the United Kingdom last week, Canada earlier this year, and even the U.S. last November and this spring, are all about that struggle, that division, that dynamic. 

There you have it. 

 

The War Against Fidgeting

There's a new war against fidgeting.  The sides:  Learning vs. Behavior. 

Familiar of course.  A new Fidget Spinner aid, or toy - - you decide - - has caught on amongst students. 

The research shows that fidgeting is normal. It occurs more in males (less serotonin) and my experience - - 20% of females.

Fidgeting is a way learners focus or concentrate.  The last-century-behaviorists argue it disrupts others, and thus behavior outweighs learning.  Of course fidgeting does not have to disrupt others, witness any airport lounge where 80% of the men are fidgeting. 

So is this just another "battle" in the war against boys.  I vote yes. 

Senator Baldwin's Office Receives Our Book

No big deal yet, but at least Senator Tammy Baldwin, who serves on the Education Committee, has access to the research on the gender bias against boys, the resulting economic and social catastrophe, and what to do about implementing Title IX with respect to both females and males.

The Senator's education liaison and staff member, Brian Moulton, was kind enough to confirm receipt of our letter asking the Senator to investigate gender bias against boys in education, a clear violation of Title IX.  The request also came with a copy of our book, "Smart Boys, Bad Grades," with research on the problem, negative outcomes, and the solution. 

Photo:  My brilliant co-author Julie, in green, was an early volunteer and supporter of Tammy Baldwin when she ran for the U.S. Senate. 

Young People Alert: Watch "All The President's Men"

Julie and I were in a restaurant and asked our waitress if she knew about the current White House scandals.  "It has something to do with email,"  the recent college graduate guessed.  Wrong scandal, wrong politician. 

And with today's White House scandal being compared to Watergate, which is actually a good comparison, we suggest you watch the movie "All The President's Men,"  the easiest most fun way to learn about Watergate. It also portrays the mood and emotions of the time.

Then just watch history repeat itself, even if we don't know whether the ending will be the same.

 

Did the U.S. Give Up Being THE World's SuperPower This Week?

The U.S. will continue to be "a" world superpower, but did it give up being "the" world's superpower this week? 

100 years ago, almost to the year, Great Britain lost its role as "the" world's superpower.  

It took 40 years for Great Britain to realize it.  So Americans certainly are not going to cede now our possible diminishment as "the" world superpower.

Continue the discussion please. But this week let's praise, be thankful to, and support the leader of the free world - - Angela Merkel.