Hugely Disappointing Finale of American Ninja Warrior

First the unfair elimination of Kacey Katanzaro, and now an incredibly boring and ultimately disappointing season finale with two decent runs and no champion on NBC/Esquire's American Ninja Warrior. Just like a competitor who has swung too far on the chains to have a chance to move on to the next challenge, I am thinking of calling it quits. The show is entertaining enough ... until it's not.

Last night's season finale of the toughest obstacle course competition in the world ended with only two competitors - Joe "the Weatherman" Moravsky and Elet Hall - even making it to Stage Three. Elet went out on the third challenge, the Hanging Boards, while Joe surpassed his last year's performance to ultimately run out of arm strength on the inverted climbing wall. Those two runs happened in the last fifteen minutes of a two-hour show in which 16 of 18 finalists never really got anywhere in Stage One - the hanging ropes that were poorly designed, not entertaining, and ultimately slowed down and tired out competitors to the point that they really had no chance to finish. And that new obstacle slowed down and tired out the show, which is coming "dangerously close to a point where the entertainment of the competition won't outweigh the ongoing lack of a champion."

ANW has lasted for six seasons without producing victory - and while that was cool and mysterious for a while, it's reaching a point of futility. Who wants to watch a show that can't be completed by athletes of exceptional skill at the top of their game? That ropes challenge didn't defeat them - it just stupidly interfered with their ability to shine. And why create new challenges when the old haven't been defeated? Americans love competition, but we also value success and achievement. And no other sports seeks to get harder and put the prize out of reach just for the heck of it. The Olympic games don't change the course - they just wait for people to complete it even faster. The NFL isn't wildly popular because they changed the rules - players have just gotten better. True, spectators enjoying watching people attempt the impossible - if only for the novelty. But that wears off, and we won't continue to watch without some hope.

NBC and Esquire and American Ninja Warrior offered us two hours of surprisingly mundane entertainment, yet kept us teased and interested based on hope of victory. It was never going to happen - and I can't say I will commit that time again. Additionally, the producers are wasting the time and insulting the talents and dedication of the contestants with a measly $500K for what is arguably the most impossible achievement in the world. If it's really that hard, then the prize money should be a cumulative pot, and they ought to be offering a couple million dollars by now. Goodness knows the ratings generate enough revenue to support that. And, while no one wants the course to get harder, the producers should address the issue of the challenges, so the goal is not simply watching someone fail or waiting to see how far they get before the inevitable failure happens.

If ANW creates a course where Kacey can legitimately compete, and epic contenders like Brian Arnold aren't ousted on a really boring challenge that never allows his talents and endurance to truly be test, then I may be back. But don't count on it.

I may just wait for a victor and then watch the re-run on YouTube.

Get it together ANW. We all deserve better.

Join the H&R Block Budget Challenge - $3 Million in Prizes

"You've got to show me the money."

That request never gets old. And, that phrase can still bring smiles to the faces of my students. Financial well being - the kind that Cuba Gooding Jr.'s "Rod Tidwell" was looking for as a client of Jerry Maguire - is on the minds of everyone these days. We are all looking for information on how to make good decisions that will give us stability. And, parents and teachers know that today's young people need this information as much as anybody. That's why H&R Block is promoting financial sense to young people.

H&R Block thinks "personal finance education is so important" that they are "paying people to learn" it. That sentiment is the gist of a new educational opportunity from the company that has been providing sound financial advice to people for more than fifty years. Everyone can use some good advice on managing their money these days, and young people just starting out are most in need of skills in financial literacy. To that end, H&R Block has created the H&R Block Budget Challenge, which is an "interactive financial education competition for high school students" that promises $3 million in prizes.

For many years, I have promoted financial literacy to my students, encouraging them to read books like David Bach's The Automatic Millionaire, where they will learn the magic of compound interest and the value of simple tricks such as "saving 10%" of what they earn. Lessons about managing a check book and deciphering credit card offers were a mystery to me until I was well into adulthood, and I could have benefited greatly from the opportunity to practice making adult financial decisions before I was actually an adult and risking my own money. That's why I have always been impressed with the high school social studies teachers I know who make economics and personal financial literacy are part of their standard curriculum. And, those who seek opportunities like the H&R Block Budget Challenge have the greatest impact by using a game and the spirit of competition to engage young people with possibly the most important and immediately useful information they'll learn in school - the ability to manage their financial lives.

H&R Block's program seems like a great opportunity for students and teachers alike. Classroom materials are readily available, and the program offers grants and scholarships for participating schools. Teenagers participate in the competition as "recent college graduates" just starting out in life. They will gain experience managing their money and facing personal financial decisions. I can remember the uncertainty of those first few months out on my own - and I was doing it half-way around the world after travelling abroad for my first job. My first paycheck was serious business, as I tried to envision how much I needed each month to cover rent, food, bills, etc. Teens these days face more challenges with cell phone bills and ubiquitous credit offers. Thus, the more experience they have, the better.

One of the best things about this opportunity is that it is FREE. That will certainly appeal to teachers dealing with ever tighter school budgets. Teachers who use the H&R Block Budget Challenge will receive a full starter kit of information and prepared lesson plans to get their kids on the right financial path. I've trusted my tax return to H & R Block for years, and I believe in the guidance they provide. And the Block Budget Challenge seems like a great opportunity for teaching personal financial literacy to young people. Being well informed on issues of credit and bill paying is invaluable.

Eat Real Food - Take the 10-Day Real Food Challenge with Lisa Leake

Roughly a year ago, my wife and I considered pursuing an "un-processed life." After realizing the negative impact that processed foods and sugars have on our health - and our environment - we planned to separate ourselves from the pack. It was more difficult than we thought, but we still try to eat as naturally as possible. And, now, there is a great resource and a best-selling book on eating mainly "real food." Blogger, writer, and mom Lisa Leake had our idea four years ago when she launched the 100 Days of Real Food blog.  Now, the idea has gone big time with a book sitting atop the New York Times bestseller list. Here's the story of how it all happened:

Thanks to Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, Lisa Leake was given the wake-up call of her life when she realized that many of the foods she was feeding her family were actually "foodlike substances." So she, her husband, and their two young girls completely overhauled their diets by pledging to go 100 days without eating highly processed or refined foods—a challenge she opened to readers on her blog. What she thought would be a short-term experiment turned out to have a huge impact on her personally. After wading through their fair share of challenges, experiencing unexpected improvements in health, and gaining a preference for fresh, wholesome meals, the Leakes happily adopted their commitment to real food as their "new normal."

Now Lisa shares her family's story, offering insights and cost-conscious recipes everyone can use to enjoy wholesome natural food prepared with easily found ingredients such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, seafood, locally raised meats, whole-milk dairy products, nuts, natural sweeteners, and more.

Filled with step-by-step instructions, this hands-on cookbook and guide includes:

• Advice for navigating the grocery store and making smart real food purchases
• Tips for reading ingredient labels
• 100 quick-and-easy recipes for such favorites as Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Whole Wheat Pasta with Kale Pesto Cream Sauce, Cheesy Broccoli Casserole, The Best Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker, and Cinnamon-Glazed Popcorn
• Meal plans and suggestions for kid-pleasing school lunches, parties, and snacks
• A 10-day mini-starter program, and much more.

100 Days of Real Food offers all the support, encouragement, and guidance you'll need to make these incredibly important and timely life changes.

Considering the challenges America faces, and the continued bad habits of the way we eat, we could probably all stand to take the "Real Food Challenge." The keys are recognizing the words on ingredient lists and asking yourself if the food you're eating occurs naturally. A plan to eat more "from scratch" cooking would be far more effective at reducing diet-related health problems than misguided efforts to micromanage the diets of school children. Ultimately, it all begins and ends at home.

A Teacher's Case For Summer Vacation.

Though, I've discussed the issue with - and mis-conceptions about - summer vacation before, Salon.com recently published my piece about "Education Reformer New Craze: A War on Summer Vacation." As education critics and reformers look for new ways to chip away at public education, the summer break is an easy target because of the "summer slide," or regression in learning while away from school. However, the "solution" of a longer school year is just more of the myopic, narrow-minded focus of a one-size-fits-all education system.

A few points to consider:

Our school calendar is based on the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working in the fields today.” This is fundamentally not true. Summer vacation is not a leftover relic of America’s agrarian past, and it is not a result of our farming history or an “agrarian calendar” that released kids in the summer to work in the fields.  In fact, the opposite is more likely true, as American students in the 19th century were generally in school during the summer, but often took breaks in the spring and fall.

 Both President Obama and Secretary Duncan have perpetuated the argument that the American “school day, week, and year” are too short. Their agenda for more school is based on the erroneous idea that Asian and European kids who beat American kids on international tests, such as the PISA exam, succeed because they spend more time in school.  Yet, like the myth of our “agrarian school calendar,” the persistent belief that other countries’ students spend more time in school is also not true.

The reality is that not all learning, or even the best learning, happens in the classroom. Many Americans know the irreplaceable value of summer camp and summer athletics. Summer is, or can be, filled with organized activities that provide opportunities for teamwork and leadership and creativity and problem solving and simple cultural enrichment. While the benefits of such activities are not instantly recognizable on a standardized test, they are the foundation for the type of social-emotional development that is every bit as significant in children becoming successful adults. Beyond that, the simple benefits of free play are the best part of summer vacation – and they contribute to making kids into better students as well as happier people overall.

However, many others are actually well-served by the numerous summer activities that enhance and add to their education as well-rounded citizens in ways that more classroom time drilling for standardized tests doesn’t. Many American high schools have large numbers of students taking Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Concurrent Enrollment college classes while still in high school. These students earn college credit while in high school, and do so with the current 180-day schedule and a lengthy summer vacation. If anything, many students can get through K-12 effectively in less time, not more

Ultimately, summer vacation is not "the problem" with public education. And shortening it or ending it is no panacea.

Free the children.

Education Wars Are Not New - We've Been Arguing Tenure for 100 Years

As a young educator who was just beginning to understand the role politics played in the public perception of my profession, I gained my first real insight into the complexity of the "Public Education Wars" when I read Diane Ravitch's seminal school reform work Left Back: a Century of Failed School Reforms.  After that I began my education as a school policy geek, and I began to challenge much of the conventional wisdom about public education and teachers. It was, for example, the first time I realized that Rudolph Flesch's book Why Johnny Can't Read was published in 1951. Thus, all the hooey about a Golden Age of Education, and the idea that kids literacy and math skills were getting worse, became exposed to me for all the myths and lies that it was.

And, now, a new voice steps out front and center to remind us all of the myth of the Golden Age of public education. Journalist and researcher Dana Goldstein interrupts the nonsense of the education reform debate to remind us that "The United States Has Had the Same Arguments About Teachers for Years." Goldstein has been researching the truth about tenure and unions and standardized testing and value-added measures and more, as she seeks to expose the truth about public education reform myths. And, she offers, perhaps, one of the most insightful comments on education reform I've heard yet.

The first reason has to do with the role that we expect teachers to play in our inequality debate. We're having this huge national conversation about socioeconomic inequality and to somewhat of a lesser extent about poverty, especially childhood poverty. And really we see teachers held up as people who can help us solve this problem. Because we have a relatively weak social safety net, we're really asking them to close these gaps between life outcomes for middle-class kids and life outcomes for poor kids. We are in a way setting ourselves up to be somewhat disappointed. That's not to say that teachers don't make an impact. We know from the latest economic research that teachers do have a big impact on kids. But as big as the impact is, it is a secondary impact. The home, the parenting, the neighborhood and the socioeconomic status of the family are still the primary impact.

Goldstein's book - Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession - should be on the reading list for anyone remotely involved in public education. And that means parents of students, too.

American Ninja Warrior Kacy Catanzaro Eliminated for Being Too Short

OK, I'll say it: NBC's American Ninja Warrior is biased and unfair.

On Monday night's finals competition in Las Vegas, where contestants tried to complete stage one of Mt. Midoriyama, this year's sensation Kacy Catanzaro - #mightykacy - was eliminated on just the fourth obstacle, the dreaded "Jumping Spider." She was strong enough, fast enough, skilled enough, disciplined enough ... she just wasn't tall enough. And that's just wrong. Catanzaro, a skilled gymnast who was a national champion in college, stands just five feet tall. And that wingspan did not offer her an even field on which to compete in an obstacle course where she bested numerous stronger and taller men in the city finals.

The American Ninja Warrior competition should be accessible to people who are strong enough and skilled enough. Granted, there are numerous challenges and obstacles that can be easier or more difficult based on height, weight, and strength. Certainly, a larger person faces greater difficulty in any "pull up" or grip-sensitive exercise simply because he/she has more weight to lift and hold. But that can be managed through discipline, training, and brute strength. The jumping spider challenge - which requires contestants to brace their arms between two walls and "scale" them - is simply impossible for a person who is only five feet tall.

Her jump was clean. He landing was balanced. She did nothing wrong in sticking the landing. All the mistakes that eliminated other contestants don't apply to Kacy. She is just too short to reach the walls with any leverage to complete the challenge. And that is just wrong.

Great Food Truck Race Sends Military Moms Home

The Food Network's competitive food truck show the Great Food Truck Race hosted by Tyler Florence visited the progressive and eclectic town of Austin, Texas this week. Having narrowed the field to six trucks, Tyler challenged the contestants to compete and thrive in a town that already has a large and successful food truck culture. (Speaking of that - hope they come to Denver some time).

The food trucks faced a couple of new and interesting challenges, including serving up meals to an online dating match up from Match.com.  The singles in attendance were given a single $25 chip to vote their tastes. And, the food trucks also faced a speed bump which required them to "switch trucks" and sell the other truck's food. They kept the profits. This was, in my opinion, a really ridiculous challenge, especially for the team that had to sell the Military Mom's limited and mediocre food.

Ultimately, the Military Moms went home - albeit with a slim margin of $6 separating them from second-to-last Madres. While I certainly sympathize with the message of the Moms, it was clear from the beginning that they are not chefs - they were winning customers based on their MO. But it wasn't very good food. And they could not compete with people who can really cook and will thrive in a food truck market.

The show heads to Oklahoma City next week.

Is Technology Helping or Hurting in the Classroom

There is no doubt we live in a Wired world and are raising a Wired generation. As marketers peddle iPad attachments to baby cribs and teenagers can barely look up from their smartphones to actually speak with the person they are text ten feet away, the role of technology in our lives cannot be ignored and downplayed. But the question of how the use of tech - from smartphones and SmartBoards to iPhones and tablets - impacts learning is still at the forefront discussions on pedagogy and school structure.

The most significant manner in which technology is driving changes to education is in the area of standardized testing. And that is a problem. Teachers and administrators have long worried about the use of "bells and whistles" in the classroom as technology for technology's sake. The primary reason for any pedagogical change should be improved learning. However, in the era of online standardized testing via the PARCC and SmarterBalanced assessments, schools feel they must increase the use of technology simply for students to feel comfortable taking the tests on a laptop or tablet.

In Colorado the impact is being felt as the state prepares for the first round of online testing with its CMAS measures in the fall for seniors in science and social studies and the PARCC test for grades 3 - 11 in the spring. Thus, Colorado schools are finding ways to bring digital devices to the classroom in a meaningful way.

Common Core Losing Ground to Opt Outs & Lawsuits in the South

The Common Core Initiative - and more importantly the national standardized testing associated with it - took two big shots this week as one school district "opted out" of the tests in defiance of the state, and another state saw its governor sue the federal government over Common Core despite his state education board's support of it. The Lee County School Board in Fort Meyers, Florida voted this week to "opt out" of the FCAT, which is the state test aligned to measure progress on the Common Core Standards. One school board member noted that sometimes it takes "a little civil disobedience" to do what's right. In the Lee County community, there is division over the value and benefit of both the Common Core and increased standardized testing as a measure of school quality.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal holds similar beliefs, as evidence by his lawsuit against the US Department of education, charging the federal government with inappropriate and illegal intrusion into the protected local control of education. Governor Jindal is suing the federal government over Common Core because it has illegally misused federal funding to force states to adopt the standards and join one of two testing consortium, the PARCC or SmarterBalanced. Because the feds funded the testing corporations to the tune of $350 million dollars and then tied Race-to-the-Top funding to a state's adoption of the standards, Jindal argues the US Dept of Education is violating at least three federal laws that prevent it from managing or controlling classroom instruction.

Recess for High School Students

Teenagers are children, too.

This morning as I left my class and began walking across our school campus, I noticed two freshman students step out onto the quad with a soccer ball where they began to play. Classes were in session, but not for them. They were on their "off period." And that is one of the gifts of my school and a traditional bell schedule for high school students. They have some free time to play. And they need it.

My school has a traditional eight period school day, during  which most students take six classes. They have two free periods during which they can eat lunch, visit teacher's office hours, study, read, sleep, finish homework, and, of course, play. We have, as our principal noted to me early in my career, "recess for teenagers." And, it's wonderful. On our 80 acre campus with 3,500 students, there is a lot of freedom, as students are not assigned to be in a room during their "offs." And they handle this freedom with great responsibility ... and a little bit of childhood play, which is good for them.

It's not unusual to walk across our campus and see teenagers playing soccer, "wall ball," whiffle ball, frisbee, or, yes, even video games on their tablets. It is their time to do as they please. There are regular games of pick-up basketball in one of our unused gyms. And, as long as they are not getting into trouble, the students always have this time. They can leave campus, and many do to visit local stores for lunch or to hang out. But for the most part, our kids are free to use their time.

And that is the joy of our schedule, and that is just another downside and problem with "block scheduling." It gives teenagers no time to play.

Pediatricians Call for Later Start Times in High School

The American Academy of Pediatrics has an idea about how to improve high schools - and it doesn't have anything to do with the Common Core or PARCC testing or drug and alcohol awareness. It has to do with alarm clocks. Most high schools simply start too early for high school students, and the pediatricians recommend high schools start no earlier than 8:30. Oh, what a dream that would be. The reason behind the doctors' prescription is the science hormones and sleep patterns. Teens generally need 8-9 hours of sleep per night, and because of hormones and natural sleep cycles, most teens have a hard time falling asleep until about 11 pm. For students who then need to catch a bus at 6:20 to be at school for 7:00 start times, the school schedules lead to sleep-deprived teens. The primary drivers behind early starts are bus schedules and child care - it's cheaper to use fewer buses and start earlier. And many families depend on the schools and older siblings for child care. Thus, it's an economic decision that is not made in the best interest of the students. For that reason alone, schools should make the decision to "let them sleep." In a more perfect world, high schools would start and 9:00 or 9:30 and go until 4:30 or 5:00. That would enable a full night's sleep for students most of the time. Sports practices and activities and clubs, as well as other academic support and office hours, could be scheduled in the early morning before classes. That would limit most sports practices to a reasonable two-hour limit. And when school let out in the late afternoon, the students would be free. It makes a lot of sense, and works in numerous high schools with later start times.

The Great Food Truck Race Returns

**spoiler alert**

Now that Food Network foodies are moving past the debacle that was the finale of the next Food Network Star, it's time once again to take the show on the road. Tonight saw the return of the Food Network's Great Food Truck Race, a food truck competition hosted by celebrity chef - and true Food Network Star - Tyler Florence. Eight teams of three will compete in a cross country challenge of running a successful food truck. The winning team wins a brand new, state of the art food truck … and $50,000 in start-up money.

Each year, this show provides some inspirational stories of people looking for an opportunity for entrepreneurship in the growing field of food truck service. According to Tyler Florence, there are nearly 15,000 food trucks across the country, and they are changing the way Americans eat by bringing some high quality and even gourmet food to the customer. And there is something unique and charming about food trucks - so much that the surprise Hollywood sleeper hit of the summer was Jon Favreau's story of food truck redemption, Chef.

And, the Food Network has honored this phenomenon with a really quality food show centered around competition and culinary challenges. And, after the last two seasons of Food Network Star, I am realizing that I prefer this simple story of people trying to make a go of cooking in real world situations everyday. No gimmicks or goofy challenges or teasing the camera or cooking out of their element … or any of the nonsense that guides many Food Network shows. The Great Food Truck Race is just people with a dream to serve real food to real food and earning a living doing it.

The 2014 season features some interesting concepts and neat people. Of course, there are a few people who are clearly out of their elements and in over their heads. The fried chicken family from Tennessee set themselves up for failure by basically forgetting everything about cooking, most importantly in the area of food prep. They were so disorganized they lost hours of sales time by making numerous unnecessary trips to the store. Yet they only lost by $60, so it's clear that the Bacon Truck - who sold the whole time - are probably not long for elimination. And, I am a fan of bacon - but this food won't cut it. The Military Moms may have the emotional draw from their backstory - but the food won't take them far. I'm surprised they finished as highly as they did.

The story of the young family serving Mexican food won my heart, especially with the appearance of the dad - not to mention Tyler's advice to the young man about following his heart. And their food is clearly a winner two. Other favorite teams for me are the Beach Cruiser's selling fresh Cali food, and the Gourmet Graduates and the Middle Feast. The Texan group was the winner today, but they're not really my style. Can't wait for next week.