All Blog Comments

Michael Moreland - A Blow For The Compressed Air Car

Michael Moreland — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:26:55 +0000

That was a confidence builder, the statement at the top of this box saying, "Replying to Jerry." I was hoping to reply to you but got a little lost in the exchanges. I realize this is a pretty late reply to something you started in 2007, but hopefully something pops up to tell you there's a late comer out there. Where do you get the phrase, "a stepping cascade of interlocked pressure-vessels?" What do you think it means? I'm often amazed how many dissenters there are out there ready to pounce with such authority and vehemence on every sort of hopeful look at a possibility, but has your inquiry into compressed air driven cars dried up? Now, two years later, do you know any more? Just wondering. Michael Moreland

Katie - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

Katie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:47:09 +0000

You are so right! I am appauled at kids being rewarded, applauded, given awards for JUST doing what they should. We are creating a nation of people who expect to be patted on the back and given awards, promotions and recognition just for showing up. We are taking away kids' ability to develop self-motivation, to gain a feel of accomplishment becase they are satisfied intrinsically by a job well done. I'm "only" 40 but I've managed some younger people at work who 6 months into the job expect a raise just for showing up most days. No wonder other countries are starting to surpass us!

scott quigley - Mastercard and a Guy Named Scott Quigley

scott quigley — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:16:34 +0000

my name is scott quigley, i live in mich. know some weiss' but i did not do this vid. seen it few times sent to me by some friends..later dude

Fielding - The Post American World

Fielding — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:41:51 +0000

Fareed Zakaria is an effete, anti-American snob with a head too large to get through a set of double doors. His pseudoacademic double speak doesn't play in middle America. He reminds me of the character in 1984 who mindlessly spouts Big Brother's talking points as a matter of obsessive (twitchy) habit rather than actual thought. I once saw Peter Jennings have to cut him off and shut him up in an interview because he was babbling about nobody knew what. It bothers me a little that our president read this book while campaigning, but it comes as no surprise. Barack Obama is a narcissist, a race-baiting Kenyan impostor and a would-be dictator, bent on trashing America to gain favor with world of jealous nations. To ruin with the both of them.

chacon - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

chacon — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:46:05 +0000

Agreed.

doug cornelius - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

doug cornelius — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:02:43 +0000

Your experience sounds much more over the top than my son's ceremony. We didn't have mortar boards, tassels or pomp. I think we need to better draw lines between celebrations of achievement and celebrations of transition.

chacon - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

chacon — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:31:28 +0000

Doug: Thanks for visiting. It's been a while and I hope you and your family have been well. On your points, I don't, of course, know what your son's ceremony was like. My daughter's ceremony...as can be gleaned from our Flickr ( http://u.jc.vc/wxats ) stream ...was pretty close to the one described by Daniel Zwerdling in the NPR piece. In fact, the picture on the NPR site looks pretty close to some of the pictures of my daughter on Flickr -- gown, mortar board, and tassel. Looking back at my daughter's graduation, I think that a party would have been fine. Sitting in a big circle with families with each kid in turn telling a story about the prior year or their hopes / fears regarding the coming year could have been a lovely closure for that chapter in my daughter, Malena's life. Heck, even a little performance / play / sing along would have been lovely too. Instead, Malena's ceremony was accompanied by the graduation anthem...names were called...the kids walked across a long stage...the tassel moved from one side to the other. It made me slightly uneasy. As such, I resonated with the NPR piece a bit more that I might. In any event, I am not planning to ignore other transitions in my kids' lives...I'm just hoping to not mislead my kids too much as they formulate their own "perspective" on these events in their lives. As I look back, I wonder if all the fanfare at Malena's "graduation" was a bit misleading. I'll probably never know, but I can certainly tell you that I wonder. Thoughts?

Doug Cornelius - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

Doug Cornelius — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:56:48 +0000

Having recently sat through my son's preschool "graduation" this story resonated with me. It sounds like Scott Simon's grandson had much more of a graduation feel than my son's ceremony. I do think it is wrong to think of it as a graduation or an accomplishment. We treated it like a transition point in their lives. Many of the kids had been together for many years. This was a celebration of that time and experience. It's hard to get all the kids and their parents together. This ceremony did that. I agree that it is wrong to treat it as some kind of achievement. After all, there are no grades, no scoring, no indicators of achievement. They are just older. But it marks a major transition point in the kids' lives. They are off to new schools, with new adults in charge and need to make some new friends. We call it graduation just because that is the easiest label.

chacon - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

chacon — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:53:48 +0000

Janet: I presume you mean "what a difference a year makes". I absolutely agree with you. I felt a bit uneasy then...the robes seemed a little much, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. And then, this last year was a year in the Waldorf system...what an eye opener. I am sure I will continue to offer recognition / rewards to my kids that in retrospect will make me cringe, but I will try to keep Botstein's (and the narrator's) comments in mind. Thanks for visiting! -- Jerry

chacon - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

chacon — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:53:09 +0000

Thanks bud!

Janet - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

Janet — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:50:52 +0000

But your pictures last year of your daughter at her preschool graduation were cute. ; P What a difference a day makes, yes?

Ben Daniel - Rewarding Kids for the Wrong Things

Ben Daniel — Sat, 8 Aug 2009 18:15:32 +0000

You get an AMEN! from this corner.

akhmad rosadi - Apple Service: ProCare = Happy Customer

akhmad rosadi — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:32:33 +0000

how to create new account apple id please

ming - Successful Jailbreak of an iPod from 1.1.3

ming — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:25:41 +0000

works great

Jack - Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants

Jack — Fri, 8 May 2009 06:42:50 +0000

Thanks, I enjoyed reading your post. It's nice to see someone writing something worth reading. Take care. - Jack

Jack - Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants

Jack — Thu, 7 May 2009 14:44:58 +0000

I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more articles from you in the future. - Jack

Ben Daniel - The U.S. Torture Memos

Ben Daniel — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:40:22 +0000

Amen!

Ben - A Few Scary Statistics

Ben — Thu, 9 Apr 2009 15:52:48 +0000

....Shift happens... ? nice way to end it buddy! NOT!

Charger - Apple's New Vista Ad

Charger — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:27:09 +0000

I don't think that was every shown here in the UK. I know it's from a couple of years ago but I haven't seen that. Thanks for the heads up.

irving - A Few Scary Statistics

irving — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:44:28 +0000

SCARY GOOD JOB !!! im mean ill never forget these statistics DANG