Question – What concerns would you have about school rankings like those of the Fraser Institute based on achievement test results? If you are passionate about education and feel like you need some quick adrenaline check out this video by the same organization. Holy not educators Batman…

Here are some thoughts I expressed on this.

Point 1 - Academics are only a fraction of what makes a good school. As a parent and an educator, I am most concerned that my own kids and my students learn how to learn and how to love learning. While some fundamental skills are undoubtedly necessary, I would argue a case for the “intangibles” of a school as making the key ranking differences.

Such typically unconsidered factors would include: how interested are students (yes even high school) in going to school. How all school community members would rate the rapport between faculty and students. How satisfied the teachers are with their jobs. The quality and number of the extracurricular activities offered. The access the school provides to technology and web 2.0 tools. How varied the classroom practices are. Among others…

Point 2 - If the goal of education is to create people who perform well on standardized tests, then a system that is oriented toward that outcome is exactly what should be created. Performing well on standardized tests, however, is a near useless life skill as far as I am concerned. At this point, I am almost sick of the hype around 21st century education but considering the arcane nature of ranking schools based solely (soulessly) on test performance doesn’t the following make more sense?

“21st century education is flexible, creative, challenging, and complex. It addresses a rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new problems as well as exciting new possibilities” (Possibilities for 21st Century Education, 2008).

I am not worried about professional evaluation. I can teach students to do well on a test or I can help people develop into imaginative, motivated, voracious learners who know how to learn what they will need to know when they create the future. Unfortunately the differences between the two with regard to style of teaching, learning, and what it means to perform do not work well in tandem. One is teaching people how to succeed in a box that was created in the past. The other is teaching people how to succeed outside the box that hasn’t been created yet.

Possibilities for 21st Century Education. (2008). Retrieved July 05, 2010 from 21st Century Schools: http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/​what_is_21st_century_education.htm.

Images: As far as I could tell these images are open source. If I am mistaken please post a reply to this post indicating that and I will take them down.

Like many others I am working on finishing my masters degree. As such, there is a heap of required reading much of which is in the form of academic journals in pdf. Due to the design of my program, I am carrying two courses at present which is a nightmare at the end of the school year not to mention two small children and a high need for physical exercise. I regularly struggled to get the reading done then I had an idea about using technology for the visually impaired for my own gain and found Ghostreader.

This program simply converts text files to audio mp3 files to play on my blackberry or ipod to listen to as I wash dishes, drive, or walk the dog. It is sophisticated enough to phrase words and sentences naturally (listen to the file). It makes long academic journals or any other text you don’t have time to read accessible. When I am really exhausted and my mind tends to wander, I find I can study later and with more focus if I play the audio and read the pdf along with it.

Ideally I wouldn’t need this but like many I am stretched too thin. This program has given me back not minutes but hours of sleep. It has a free 2 week trial and is only $50 if you decide it is useful for you.

Now Nordic skiing for a guy who lives in hot and humid Yokohama, Japan is not exactly the most accessible sport. As a kid I used to either XC ski or play hockey almost every day after school during the winter. Here the options for snow are non-existent but roller skiing would be a definite possibility. I started the quest for the perfect equipment set-up.

The locations where I knew I could ski were the country roads in Nagano where we spend much of the summer, the docks out in Isogo not far from home, and the cycling road out at symbol tower overlooking Tokyo bay. I knew from cycling that none of these locations are particularly smooth. I also knew I wanted skis with some hefty speed control features for the hills in the country and brakes for the people you suddenly encounter living in a city of 9 million.

It didn’t take long reading blog articles and forums to hone in on Jenex’s V2 Roller Skis. They had everything I was looking for including a skate/classic model that would enable me to take the sport in any direction I felt like. 

The other detail to sort out was the boots. The most important thing was to get something for skating that wouldn’t be too hot during the summer months. I came across Alpina’s roller ski skate boot and once I accepted fate about the price tag I ordered up the whole set including Swix poles with the roller ski tip replacements.

After a few sessions in one of the biggest parking lots in the area to bring back what little muscle memory I had from when I was a kid, I was ready to tackle some more open terrain and a bit more of the public eye. I can accept that a guy with ski poles and gear charging down the road is going to get some stares but even well into my mature adulthood, my ego wouldn’t allow me to look like a horse with ice skates on. I practiced up until I was ready then hit the open tarmac.

Now several months into this new hobby I am loving everything they bring to my fitness training. I love the fluid side to side skating motion and the opening extension upward into the glide. I love the challenge to balance. I love double poling with my arms and abs propelling me forward. I love the fact that in well under an hour I can crank through over 1000kcal and feel a quad burn like no other. On days when I am back on the bike, I can feel the power I am picking up with these as cross-training and can audibly hear the curses coming from the guys in my cycling club as they wonder where all the speed is coming from.

This is the conversion rig for the kid trailer that I use to bring my skis out to the docks where pavement is plenty but car parking not so much. Inventions like this are almost reason alone to get into something new. AC

The workouts were identified and recorded by location including: office, home, gym, or yoga. In practice those distinctions proved excessive as workouts were really were of three varieties: (a) 10 minutes of stretching that could be done anywhere without breaking a sweat (b) 30 minutes of more intentional stretching related exercise that included changing into looser fitting clothing and the use of a yoga mat or (c) 60 minutes of yoga class with basic yoga equipment and an instructor (see Table 1).

The first week total minutes aligned with the time investment I anticipated at three-four hours per week entering into the self-change project. Part of the time spent during the first week was wasted, as I had to keep referring to diagrams and lists of stretches that I hadn’t yet memorized. After the gym session on Tuesday of week one, I went for a short 25km ride on the bike and reported “feeling really good, with legs surprisingly loose and strong. I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t connected to the past two days of stretching”. I went into the first yoga class inspired by the first few days of success but was surprised by pain in my left wrist. I noted in the log “I might need to come up with an additional coping strategy if the pain persists next week.” I missed a Saturday session due to family commitments.

The second week saw a slight decrease in total duration but was marked by daily stretch exercise. This week involved four evenly distributed home stretch sessions, three office sessions, and the weekly yoga class. In the workout journal, following a 20-minute brief home session I commented, “This week has felt balanced. I have enjoyed each session and none of them has felt like a burden. I intentionally cut today’s home session short to remind myself that I am in control of the time. That control is important to me”. Suggestions from my yoga instructor and from a reply posted to my blog helped me manage my wrist pain more effectively.

The third week was the most difficult. I was traveling so no stretch program occurred on Monday. I did regain a few minutes of free time the following morning before breakfast. In the training log Tuesday March 2nd I recorded, “Phew, yesterday I didn’t have a moment of free time and was worried today would be the same. Fortunately breakfast isn’t until 8:30am. I should be able to manage 15-20 minutes for stretching each morning if I use my study breaks for the course well”.

Week four was characterized by a backlog of work because I had been away for four days the previous week. One of the coping strategies I had set-up was “do something, no matter how small, and it will be better than nothing”. I retreated to this strategy for four days in a row doing portions of the office stretch series as breaks. The qualitative reflection during this period was brief with sometimes only a word or two, “relief” appeared in the training log during that period as the stretching had become one of just a few study/work break options.

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Attributed to French Author Anais Nin

This quote can apply to “seeing” but can also apply to eating and tasting as well. This re-scripting exercise may help you enjoy the food you are eating at home just as much as the food you enjoy out at a restaurant.

You will need a nice quiet place where you will be able to concentrate and feel comfortable. It may also be helpful to do this exercise shortly before you have a meal so that your natural desire for food is high. You will need a pen or pencil and a small piece of paper or notebook. You will also need to have been out to a recent delicious meal at a restaurant. If you can’t think of a recent positive experience, take this as an excuse to treat yourself to a nice dinner out before continuing.

Part 1

A night out for Japanese

Start the exercise by taking a few deep breathes to calm your body. Let your mind settle down. Think back to the last time you went out to a favorite restaurant. Remember the atmosphere. Think back to whom you were with or if you were by yourself, the sights you saw. Remember the atmosphere of the restaurant and how you felt as you went in to eat.

Recall how the plate looked when it arrived and how you felt as you tasted the first bite. Without being critical of the words, write down the words that come to mind on a small piece of paper. Keep thinking back on this positive experience of what a meal can be until you have 5-10 words written on the paper. After you have completed your list, spend a few minutes looking over the words. Are there any words there that surprised you? Which of the words hold the highest impact for you?

Part 2

Now, change the setting of this reflection to your home. You are sitting down to the table in front of your favorite meal at home. Everything is presented just like you’d want it. Imagine how it smells. What are you going to eat first? Imagine this meal at home providing the same enjoyment as the meal in the restaurant. Describe this meal with some of the satisfying words you used to describe the meal you enjoyed earlier. Now envision this meal as complete and yourself as satisfied. How do you feel?

Reflection:

“We see the world as “we” are, not as “it” is

Through this exercise you have begun to change. Do you think you can use this experience and the positive thoughts associated with the “at home” imagery when you next approach a meal at home? Tonight when you are at home eating look for where those positive experiences play a role.

http://www.topendsports.com

For my stretching related self-change project for graduate school I ended up doing a fait bit of research trying to find electronic resources to use as I worked to increase my flexibility. Other than being cheap, I wanted to have an easy-to-follow list of stretches with diagrams that I could have available as a link embedded in the reminder messages I set up through Google calendar to my blackberry.

I didn’t want something fancy or revolutionary. I wasn’t looking for a whole new approach to stretching but, more or less wanted, a turn-key series of stretches I could follow almost without thinking. I wanted something with enough guidance so I’d be inspired to do it correctly but not so regimented that I’d have to pay close attention to do it right. For those who haven’t found it yet, Top End Sports has heaps of good information ranging from testing, training, nutrition, sport psych, sports medicine, and some basics about sports biomechanics.

If you get too far into an area you know a lot about you will probably find the site accurate but a little short on detail as I did about the biomechanics of cycling. However, for general information, some fitness tests, and a list of basic stretches with helpful diagrams this is a very useful resource.

In the message reminders to my phone I have included a link to http://www.topendsports.com/medicine/stretches . While I vary the routine whenever I want to, I basically just work through the stretches 3 to 5 cycles each until I get through the whole list. Sometimes I skip upper body stretches or mix and match for shorter workouts but the list is invaluable as I mix it up to keep my flexibility training program fresh. If you’re looking for information to help inspire you to greater flexibility this site has been my number one ally as I move forward.

Helpful Graphics

Scene from my daily run in Yamanashi

When I was on faculty at Hopkins School in New Haven, CT, I worked with a guy called Dean Nicholson. He was an avid NORBA Masters class racer and 15 years later probably still is. At the tender age of 24 he taught me to schedule an appointment with myself every day. I still remember him giving me an overview of the strategy.

Think about it, he said. If people call up and ask if they can meet you at 1pm and you have a conflicting appointment, it is easily accepted when tell them you aren’t available – after all you have a conflicting appointment. The same thing doesn’t hold if you tell them, ’sorry I can’t make it, I’m going cycling, running, or climbing’ take your pick. None of those reasons fly. People take offense to being turned down so you can work out. Why is that so? Why are we any less important than other people? The solution is to schedule in an immovable appointment with yourself.

Don’t tell anyone what you’re doing and honor it as if it were an appointment with the dean of faculty from Yale University. You wouldn’t miss an appointment with an administrator from Yale and why are they any more important than you are.

Dean was a very fit and very wise man. I haven’t forgotten his words and in this self-change project I have taken “the appointment with yourself idea” further with Prestwich, Perugini, and Hurling’s (2009) smart-phone reminders.

Everyday I get a message on my phone thanks to google calendar and google sync for blackberry that corresponds to an open block of time. Depending on the time availability and location I either do a simple workplace stretch or a more full-blown flexibility workout. Also included in these messages are various motivational phrases such as Tommy Lasorda’s

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”

Dean gave me an easy to implement tip on facilitating determination. Google Calendar and Blackberry makes is easy to remember and even lets me know if I try to schedule something over one of my workouts with the simple phrase, “Conflict with another appointment on this calendar”. This is every bit as matter of fact and firm as Dean would have loved to see. I’d like to write more on the topic but I have another appointment.

Prestwich, A., Perugini, M., & Hurling, R. (2009). Can the effects of implementation intentions on exercise be enhanced using text messages?.

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As part of my flexibility self-change project I enrolled in a Yoga class that meets once a week in the dance studio at school. It is reasonably priced but I did find a less expensive class with the same instructor up at a local sports club on a different night of the week. Convenience is more valuable than money sometimes so I’ve opted to go with the class that fits into my schedule.

Yoga was one of my action planning strategies for increasing flexibility. I am motivated to go by the people in the class and enjoy the sessions. There are no other men in the class which is interesting from a demographic perspective but not a factor either way for me. As part of the HAPA process I intended to identify action coping strategies to barriers. The barriers I anticipated before diving into the project were more around scheduling and I admit having back up strategies in mind when the time just disappears has been useful. I am having trouble with my left wrist, however, in yoga which is very frustrating. I experience sharp shooting pain across the top of the joint during some of the repeated core poses of Vinyasa yoga. Fortunately my instructor today offered some alternative pose suggestions that focus the force across my forearms and not directly onto that wrist. This was not a barrier I anticipated however, so it was much more troubling than the scheduling issues I thought would be the real difficulty.

As the caption above says, I am stiff but am feeling better and better. I will carry on with home stretching between now and next Wednesday so hope to see some improvement between now and then.

3 Sun Cycles to Warm-Up

After the warm-up more intense focus on these poses (Smeaton, 2009)

Intense Forward Bend – Uttanasana
Stand upright and, exhaling, bend forward from the waist keeping the legs taut and body weight equal on both feet. Aim to touch the floor and, if possible, place the palms on the floor. Breathe evenly and try to increase the stretch on each out-breath. Hold for one minute. This intense stretch is wonderful for the hamstrings and spine. Those who find it easy to rest the palms on the floor can increase the stretch still further by placing the hands behind the feet.