Leonard Nimoy:  “I think it’s my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may.”

This is going to take some getting used to. I used to think that I was the retro-adolescent in the family, but now it looks like I may be lucky to come in second in that department. For the last half-dozen years I have been able to act freely on many of my youthful yearnings because I knew that if I ever went too far, Mrs. Ol’ P would be there to rein me in. I took comfort from the fact that she would be my safety net, and would prevent me from doing serious damage to myself should I happen to tumble while trying to be the daring young man on the flying trapeze. But suddenly things have changed. Mrs. Ol’ P has climbed onto her own trapeze, and hers seems to be flying even higher than mine. Yes sir, this is sure going to take some getting used to. Continue reading ‘Ma And Pa Kettlebell Join The Gym’ »

Christine Hoff Sommers:  “We are turning against boys and forgetting a simple truth: that the energy, competitiveness, and corporal daring of normal, decent males is responsible for much of what is right in the world.”

Brian McBride:  “Competition helps people figure it out.”
Last weekend, Mrs. Ol’ P and I spent eight hours standing, sitting, or milling about a parking lot situated several miles south of Lake Ontario. Though the day was mostly sunny, the temperature barely exceeded fifty degrees, and that explains the “milling about” part of our day. The sitting and standing parts take more time to explain, but fear not. It is well known that I have too much time on my hands, and that is a luxury that will allow me to explain in detail why we would spend an entire Saturday in a parking lot. For now, though, it is sufficient for me to say that we were present to view the Catalyst Games, and though our minds may have wandered while we milled about, our attention was absolutely focused while we stood or sat. The organizers had promised to deliver three separate events that included non-traditional feats of strength and endurance and were sure to challenge any athlete, and that was a promise they easily kept. The day was indubitably cool, both literally and figuratively. Continue reading ‘These Games Sure Were A Catalyst For Someone I Know’ »

George Foreman:  “Sure the fight was fixed. I fixed it with a right hand.”

Earlier this week, I wrote a post that some might have interpreted as being negative toward the concept of standardized tests. That certainly isn’t true. I view standardized tests as being a sort of fiber for the brain, and like fiber, I think that everybody should take them on a regular basis. Therefore, in order to promote that belief, I have prepared one of my own, and surprise, surprise, you’re going to get to take it. You don’t even need to own a number two pencil. All you need is an open mind and a spirit of adventure. Of course, there are some people who might be of the opinion that I’m not qualified to draft a standardized test, and to them I say this: I had help! First, I borrowed the infamous racing pineapple question as a guide. Oh, heck, let’s be honest here. I stole the whole darn question and then, using a cache of testing contraband I found on the internet, I supplemented the original test question with unauthorized performance enhancing details! I bet you sports fans are curious about those supplements, aren’t you? Well, just hold on for a minute, and I’ll explain. Continue reading ‘I Think I Fixed The Problem With Standardized Tests’ »

Philip Guedalla:  “History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other.”

In August of 2009, the paddlers of the Malden Yacht Club completed the fourth of five legs that would eventually see them kayak the length of Lake Champlain. This fourth segment of our journey started in Willsboro Bay, took us past Valcour Island, and ended in Plattsburgh. Although my companions would be justified in arguing otherwise, I considered this part of the lake to be its most scenic. Noted author, James L. Nelson, might also argue that it’s the lake’s most historic area, but I suppose I shouldn’t go putting words in his mouth. He is perfectly capable of voicing his own opinion, something some of us got to experience in person back in 2009. Well, guess what? It’s entirely possible that we may get to do so again. Continue reading ‘Lake Champlain Redux’ »

Benjamin Franklin:  “I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.”

During the last two weeks of April, you can find elementary and junior high school students all across New York State taking standardized tests. Having spent all of a half dozen hours a week, for two years, volunteering in an elementary school, I now know that I know just enough about education to know that I don’t know nearly enough about education to write an informed post on this subject. (But with a sentence like that, I bet I’m qualified to draft standardized tests.) Though I consider myself to be an educated person, I readily admit that I’m not an educator. Therefore, I can’t justify posing any questions or opinions on the subject of high stakes standardized tests. It wouldn’t be right for me to ask if, when it comes to young kids and testing, does one size actually fit all? Academically speaking, do we really have standard sized kids for our standardized tests? Nor will I wonder if the interests of our children would better be served if much, much shorter tests were given intermittently throughout the year, rather than marathon sessions at the end of the year. And I absolutely will not speculate about the possibility that periodic testing, calculated to measure learning, not endurance, might better measure the progress that students make, as they make it, and might even offer an opportunity for individual course correction long before the annual journey through the halls of education has been completed, unlike year-end tests which merely tell you how far off course you sailed. No, without having even the slightest grasp of the fundamental philosophical principles of education, it would be inappropriate for me to hypothesize harebrained heresies like that. Instead, let me pass on to you a couple of publicly reported anecdotes about standardized tests that I happened to run across this week, one of which proves that I‘m not the only harebrained writer out there. Continue reading ‘Standardized Tests Scare The Crap Out Of Me’ »