Obama's Absurd & Unnecessary CS/Computer Science Mandate

I'm wondering how much computer science President Obama knows ... or ever needed to know. Can he code? Does he know Java? Do those words mean anything to him? Are those ideas as foreign to him as the value of art history?

These questions are a signficant part of my irritation with the President naively wading into education policy again with very little knowledge of what kids need to be "successful" in the contemporary age. Truly, computer science and the entire concept of STEM are highly specialized areas that will appeal to many, but should not be forced on any. Education should be about opportunity - not mandate ... or even very strong urging and recommendations. We need fewer required classes and more options and autonomy for students. Greater flexibility in what kids learn is far more meaningful than mandates that everyone become "a digital age" worker.

In fact, the same idea can be applied to the entire idea of studying math ... or literature for that matter. Andrew Hacker has asked meaningful questions about the necessity of every high school student being forced to pursue and achieve proficiency in algebra and algebra II/trig. Hacker challenges the  conventional wisdom of numeracy instruction in his book The Math Myth: and Other Stem Delusions. Students would be equally well served - or even more so - with study of probability and statistics and financial literacy/economics and number theory and ... yes, even computer science.

Andrew Hacker’s 2012 New York Times op-ed questioning the requirement of advanced mathematics in our schools instantly became one of the paper’s most widely circulated articles. Why, he wondered, do we inflict a full menu of mathematics—algebra, geometry, trigonometry, even calculus—on all young Americans, regardless of their interests or aptitudes? The Math Myth expands Hacker’s scrutiny of many widely held assumptions, like the notions that mathematics broadens our minds, that mastery of azimuths and asymptotes will be needed for most jobs, that the entire Common Core syllabus should be required of every student. He worries that a frenzied emphasis on STEM is diverting attention from other pursuits and subverting the spirit of the country.

Math Counts State Championship in Colorado

On March 19, Colorado held its state championship for the MathCounts competition, which is one of the top contests for middle school math. MathCounts is sponsored by the Raytheon Corporation and the National Society of Professional Engineers. The national championship is on May 7-9 in Washington DC. Here's is my write-up of the competition, which was won by my son and his team:

Mazenko, Campus Middle School Win MathCounts State Championship

On a beautifully brisk and sunny Saturday morning in March, the top middle school math minds in the state met to match wits and problem solving skills at the Colorado School of Mines. It was the state championship and national qualifying tournament for the national MathCounts Competition. For the second consecutive year, Austen Mazenko won the individual countdown round and his team from Campus Middle School in Greenwood Village won the team competition. Mazenko will be joined by the team of Rahul Thomas, Edward Lim, and Anudeep Golla for the national tournament in Washington DC on May 7-9.

MathCounts competitors are called “math-letes,” and they attack complicated algorithmic challenges with the same speed and ferocity as a sprinter or a blitzing linebacker. Nowhere was that more evident than in the Countdown Round to decide the national team. In Countdown, the top ten competitors from the morning’s written rounds are called to the stage where they go head-to-head in a “lightning fast” challenge to answer complicated questions like “Integers p and q are both prime and p 2 + q 2 = 53. What is the value of p + q ?” in 45 seconds or less. This year’s Countdown posed a huge challenge for Anudeep Golla of Southern Hills Middle School. Golla, a finalist and member of the Colorado national team in 2015, was the first name called to the stage. That meant he would have to beat five straight opponents to earn a trip to DC for nationals.   “It was pretty intense,” Golla said, “I just kept hoping for one more question.” After reaching the final four, he succumbed to Eddie Lim of Lesher World IB Middle School in Ft. Collins.

Once the final four team was set, the competition became a battle for second place, as most of the competitors in the room knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, to dethrone last year’s champion Austen Mazenko of Campus Middle School. After Lim knocked out Golla, he was bested by Rahul Thomas of Campus MS. But as a teammate of Mazenko’s, Rahul knew he drew the short straw. That challenge became clear when Mazenko answered his first two questions in less than two seconds. The third question which clinched Mazenko’s second state title took a little longer at roughly four seconds. The speed and accuracy surprised even the most veteran of MathCounts observers, among them was Matt Bixby of The Challenge School. “That was amazing,” Bixby said. “I mean study and preparation certainly plays a role, but that sort of speed is something else altogether.” As winner of the team round, Campus Middle School gets to take their coach to the national competition. That means Amy Bainbridge, the Gifted & Talented Coordinator at Campus, will travel with the team to DC in hopes of competing with roughly 220 of the top middle school mathletes in the country.

Local MathCounts director and coordinator Noelle Cochran of the Colorado chapter of the National Society of Professional Engineers again coordinated the state event, and she was responsible for organizing the competition of the eight regional winners and dozens of other qualifiers from around the state. She had high praise for all the competitors and volunteers, and she was especially appreciative of the former MathCounts competitors who return to help out. “We couldn’t do this without the work of so many volunteers,” Cochran said, and she urged the crowd to continue to promote and support MathCounts. The world of competitive math “is a great way to engage kids,” Cochran explained, and she spoke with competitors afterward about opportunities in fields like engineering and data science. MathCounts is a national organization , and the competition is open to all middle school students. Interested parties can obtain more information at MathCounts.Coloradomath.org.

  

Soda Consumption Falls to 30-Year Low - It's About Time!

Have you noticed more Coca-Cola commercials now than you have in recent years? It certainly seems that way - and it may be a result of the soft drink companies feeling a financial pinch from the news that "soda consumption dropped to a 30-year-low" in recent months. If that were true, it could be an amazing development in the fight against obesity and type-2 diabetes. Let's face it - soda is one of the worst products we can consume because it is basically "sugar water" with a bunch of chemicals thrown in to make it even more addictive. I know that when I cut daily soda consumption out thirteen years ago, I lost a good 15+ pounds in about six weeks. While I certainly enjoyed a pop every once in a while, I enjoy much more feeling healthy and fit. And, there is no reason that we can't adapt our tastes to products like unsweetened Arizona Tea, or better yet, some Coconut Water. That said, I dilute those products for a variety of reasons. And, even if consumers are switching from high-fructose corn syrup laden soft drinks to something as simple as Vitamin Water, at least they are cutting their sugar and calorie consumption.

CO Civics Test Bill Barely Passes Committee

SB/HB-148 - the "civics bill " from Senator Owen Hill and inspired by the work of The Foss Institute - barely cleared the Senate Education Committee today on a 5-4 vote. It was a fascinating day of discussion and testimony as the committee worked through amendments and discussion. There were several stops and starts as Senator Kerr introduced numerous amendments, and Senator Merrifield tried to replace the 9th grade PARCC test with the civics test in an "amendment that should satisfy everyone." That comment was, of course, one of many moments of levity and humor during almost two hours of discussion. But, the most interesting point of the debate came very early on when bill sponsor Owen Hill basically exposed his own bill to the widest interpretation possible, implying that teachers and schools have complete "local control" and autonomy in how they administer the test. When pressed on this issue from a quizzical Senator Mike Johnston, he said he "trusts teachers and principals"to do what is right for their communities, even if that means the exam can be taken as "an open book" quiz with the teacher "projecting the quiz on screen." Basically, it can be a group test with all students passing it together. The point, he explained, was to "start the conversation" about civics and citizenship. It was a truly, uh, interesting point of discussion, and at the end of the day, none of us listening in can be really sure whether students have to take the test or not.

The new exam would be on top of a longstanding state requirement that every student “satisfactorily complete” a civics class to graduate. Disabled students wouldn’t have to take the test, and principals or superintendents could waive the requirement for students who meet all other graduation requirements and can show “extraordinary circumstances.” And test results would not be used for teacher evaluations or district and school ratings. Committee members asked Hill if the bill would allow principals or superintendents to waive the test for whole groups of students. He indicated it would, to the quiet surprise of several people in the room.

In the end, Senators Kerr, Todd, and Merrifield were joined by Committee Vice-Chair Marble in voting against the bill. Marble commented that she was unsettled by the implication of this bill that by "passing the test" students could in some way feel like they were competent in their knowledge of civics and government. She was also disappointed by bill opponents who criticized the content as trivial. Ultimately, the bill will go to the floor and then the House committee where it will be target for more amendments.

In my view, it should be enough for the legislature to turn this bill into a resolution that "strongly encourages" the incorporation of this test into the current civics class. Students should be given the opportunity to take the test and receive some sort of endorsement for doing so successfully. That promotes the idea without creating the most high stakes standardized test in the state.

Testimony Opposing Colorado Citizenship Test Bill

Today, I testified before the Colorado Senate Education Hearing, asking them to oppose and reject SB/HB-148, which would require that all high school students pass the citizenship test as a graduation requirement. Here is the text of my testimony:

My name is Michael Mazenko, and I’m an educator and school administrator with nearly 25 years in education both here and abroad, in public and private schools. I am speaking as a private citizen and on behalf of SEEK, the grassroots group of parents and educators, and I am urging you to reject the idea of a citizenship test as a graduation requirement. I am not opposed to standardized tests – in fact, as an AP teacher, I teach to them. But this bill is unnecessary and will do nothing to improve educational outcomes for kids. On the surface, the test seems innocuous or even "a good idea," but we must not diminish a student's entire academic body of work to a single standardized test, regardless of subject. And, let’s be clear: if you pass this bill, you are stating that a single test of civics knowledge is equal in value to all other subjects combined. That is a sad dismissal of the idea of a well-rounded education.

The problem with this bill is it naively and mistakenly equates facts with knowledge. Colorado already requires students to pass a government class, and a standardized test neither proves nor guarantees a person is an informed citizen. Being able to cite the Mississippi River as the country’s longest or knowing that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration will not make citizens more informed voters. It's easy to argue that an educated person should know the same facts about American government that aspiring citizens do. But, what do those facts really prove about knowledge of citizenship and government?

Our opposition is not simply about "over-testing,” though that does create a slippery slope toward an increasing battery of tests. The problem is the significance placed on this test. No single test should be a graduation requirement. A student’s education consists of numerous subjects and varied skills with thousands of hours of class time and credits. And CDE has spent years developing the 2021 requirements that contain multiple pathways to demonstrate proficiency across curricula. Placing one test above all that is ridiculous. This test is a symbolic red herring that deceives the public into thinking passing the test will guarantee "an educated electorate." It will not.

Taking a punitive approach that threatens kids with no graduation if they don't pass a single objective test will not inspire a love of country or a deeper understanding of government. Many students will memorize the info for the test only to forget it a short time later. But this test could negatively impact struggling students who could see their entire academic record tossed aside over the inability to regurgitate facts. Many people forget civics facts after they leave high school. Will you also mandate that adult voters pass a refresher test every couple years to prove they are competent to vote? If not, then this whole idea is hypocritical. Mandating the Pledge of Allegiance does not make people love their country, and mandating a citizenship test won’t either. Let’s inspire kids with civics knowledge, not threaten them with it.

If you want to improve civics knowledge, you should promote and fund programs like Model United Nations. You should promote and fund debate classes because, let’s face it, debate kids are often the most well-informed voters in the state. This bill does not promote democracy and education, it’s not in the best interest of kids, and it should be rejected.

Overall, the hearing went well, and I believe the committee received a lot of insightful information from both sides to consider. I have to thank the committee for graciously receiving our comments and engaging in thoughtful discussion of the issue. Specifically, I want to thank Senators Andy Kerr, Nancy Todd, and Mike Johnston for their questions and comments. And I would like to thank Senators Kerr, Johnston, and bill sponsor Owen Hill for taking the time to speak with me and my son after the hearing. This was democracy in action, and for my son, that was the best civics lesson of all.

Millenials Need McLuhan

Though he wasn't a member of Generation X, cultural philosopher and pop culture critic Marshall McLuhan was a prophetic voice in response to the encroaching consumer culture that has created a world driven by info-tainment. McLuhan is best known for an insightful quote from his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man where he explained "The medium is the message."  In a post-modern world saturated by media and advertising McLuhan saw vividly how man would come to be manipulated by the very media he actively sought for clarification and truth. 

Gen X writer Douglas Coupland was heavily influenced by the views and criticism of McLuhan. And, Coupland was inspired several years ago to research and compose another biography of McLuhan which clarifies and synthesizes his ideas for a new generation. Coupland's work Marhsall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work  explains the background of McLuhan's life which enabled him to so astutely and presciently predict the internet and information, along with plenty of inherent warnings about the damaging power of media saturation.

As a fan of pop culture and pop culture criticism, I am just beginning to delve into the brilliance of McLuhan.

Oh, the Joys of Banjo

It was in Taipei around 1993 that I first heard the intricately funky but captivatingly cool sounds of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. A musically gifted roommate - you know, the type of guy who always had a guitar and could craft a song out of any givent moment - was introducing me to a variety of new and ecclectic sounds he'd discovered in college. But Bela Fleck wasn't the first banjo player to intrigue me - that distinction goes back to my youth in the 70s, and the cool and seemingly out-of-place but amazingly appropriate sounds of the Coolest Man on Earth, Mr. Steve Martin, playing the banjo on Saturday Night Live. Only recently have I started listening to banjo again, as I discovered this beautiful little diddy called "Freddie's Lilt" from Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers. I had created an Avett Brothers station on Pandora, and one day on a whim I added Steve Martin, and the magical sounds he gets out of a Deering Clawgrass Banjo. There is something so whimsically beautiful and folksy about the sounds of bluegrass that just oozes the best of Americana.

So, take a seat in the rocking chair and kick back to a wonderful song.

Infinitely Behind on the Infinite Winter

It seemed like such a brilliant idea at the time. Join an online book club celebrating the 20th anniversary of David Foster Wallace's brilliant post-modern magnum opus Infinite Jest. While the book can certainly be intimidating with the Pynchon-esque feel and the daunting 1079 pages, including 150+ pages of footnotes, I was in. After all, how hard could it be to read 75 pages a week. And, it being 1991 and the quarter-century mark for the establishment of "Generation X," via three brilliant pieces of pop culture from Coupland, Linklater, and Cobain, the reading of IJ seemed so poetic. How hard could it be?

Apparently, quite the challenge.

I am now hundreds of pages behind in my reading, and feeling overwhelmed by the mere thought of trying to keep up with the posts at InfiniteWinter.org, which were going to be the key to making sense of this beautifully intricate but infinitely challenging novel. That said, you haven't lost me yet peeps. This week is my spring break, and while I have a tremendous amount of work to do, and plenty of reading and writing I want to catch up on, this could be my chance to make a run and catch up with the story of Hal Incandenza and the Enfield Tennis Academy.

That much I know so far. There is the brilliant savant-like and tremendously athletically talented Hal - love the connection to both 2001: A Space Odyssey and the young prince of Shakespeare's Henry IV. The intricate tale of these talented athletes and the complicated world of being elite is somehow wrapped up in a conspiracy tale of Quebecois separatists, drug addiction, and a movie that no one can stop watching. I'm getting there ... slowly.

But, I'm trudging back in.

Boyz in the Hood to Straight Outta Compton

Last night my son and I sat down and watched Staight Outta Compton, and as a forty-six-old Gen Xer and pop culture afficianado, it was a riveting and ironically nostalgic trip into the history of "reality rap." Certainly, growing up in a small town in southern Illinois, I wasn't an early listener or even remotely aware of the rise of "gangsta rap" when NWA first began to make waves in 1986. But by 1991, when Ice Cube debuted in John Singleton's powerful work Boyz in the Hood, I was fascinated by this new genre that was an artistic view into a world I knew nothing of, but could no longer remain ignorant to. As a future educator who was just beginning to understand the challenges of poverty in poor African-American communities, the movie was an important piece of my education. And, becoming attuned to the voices of the street that were now impacting contemporary America in hard and unignorable ways, I was educated by these works. Soon, I was asking classmates for CDs and names of DJs to look up. To this day, the power of early hip-hop and hard-core reality rap resonates with me in the same way that any educational medium can impact students.

This year, 1991, marks the 25th anniversay of Singleton's film and Cube's big screen debut. It is also the quarter-century mark for the Rodney King beatings that are reflected aptly in Compton, and which served as a powerful call to action for the cause of race in policing. Yet, it was a poignant moment for my teenage son to see the footage in the film from more than two decades ago and try to reconcile that with the Trayvon Martin murder, the Michael Brown tragedy, the Eric Garner story, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Groups like NWA, individuals like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, and artists like John Singleton put a spotlight on a corner of America that mainstream America would just as soon not know about, or easily dismiss with priviliged comments about "personal responsiblity." Yet, a quarter-century later, how far have we come to realistically be almost nowhere in the race discussion.

Generation X has been a group forged by the challenges of a disconnect between the narratives we heard and the realities we lived and witnessed. Films like Boyz and music like Compton  and F--- the Police are simply more examples of generation of Americans searching for authenticity in a world seemingly devoid of it.

Straight Outta Compton is a bold attempt to remind us of that quest.

Ross Izard Perpetuates Myths about Civics/Citizenship

The nice thing about the Denver Post is that they publish community views and op-eds. The downside is that they occasionally give platform to questionable claims like those made by Independence Institute writer Ross Izard in "Make Civics Test Mandatory for Colorado High School Grads." There are countless problems with Izard's argument, not the least of which is that he mistakenly equates facts with knowledge. And, he seeks to support his call for a single mandated test by pointing out that a required class doesn't guarantee understanding of civics. If a semester in a class doesn't resonate with kids in terms of memorizing arbitrary facts, how will the test change that? Certainly he is aruging that a punitive approach to threaten kids with no graduation if they don't pass the test will have the effect of inspiring a deeper pursuit of civics knowledge. And, that, of course, is a bit ridiculous. Might many students memorize the info simply for the test ... only to forget it a short time later ... until they show up on video for a late night talk show unable to answer the same questions? Sure. Might this test also have a negative impact on struggling students who could see their entire academic record tossed aside over the inability to regurgitate facts for a test? Most definitely. Might this entire exercise be a waste of time that will unnecessarily cause civics and government teachers to shift attention of an already short class to contain a unit of "citizenship test" cramming, so students can simply pass this test ... and then forget the facts later? Of course.

Despite Ross's belief that a single test is not a big deal, it's not really about the testing time. It's about the naive emphasis and misguided faith placed on standardized tests. Ross Izard's argument lacks the precise type of critical thinking that we hope students and voters display. Objective standardized tests - especially ones that emphasize arbitrary factual knowledge like length of rivers or numbers of justices - do not in any way validate knowledge. Facts are not knowledge, and mandating memorization of them will not improve civics knowledge or understanding. This test is a symbolic red herring that seeks to deceive the public into thinking that passing the test will guarantee "an educated electorate." It will not. As a representative of the Independence Institute, Ross Izard should himself be much more knowledgeable about the basic ideas of civics, government, and education. Many people forget civics facts after they leave high school? Would he and Senator Owen Hill mandate that adult voters pass a refresher test every couple years to prove they are competent to vote? If so, has he forgotten how the Jim Crow South used "poll tests" to deny citizens basic suffrage. This whole bill reeks of faux patriotism and naive advocacy. "Mandating" the Pledge of Allegiance does not make people love their country, and mandating a citizenship test of arbitrary facts will not make people more knowledgeable or wise.

Colorado Should Reject "Civics/Citizenship Test" as Graduation Requirement

Just when you thought Colorado had gained some sanity around standardized testing, a lone state senator caves to pressure from an out-of-state organization and introduces a completely unnecessary new bill which would mandate that all high school students pass a "civics/citizenship" test as a graduation requirement. This bill could not be a bigger waste of time for the state legislature, and Coloradans should call upon their state legislators and the Governor to reject Sen Owen Hill's bill HB148 and the idea of a civics/citizenship test as a graduation requirement in Colorado. 

While on the surface, this required test seems innocuous or even "a good idea," it's a problem for myriad reasons, not the least of which is we don't diminish a student's entire academic body of work to the result of a single standardized test, regardless of subject. Even the pro-testing Denver Post has editorialized against this bill. Colorado already requires that students pass a government class, and a standardized test neither proves nor guarantees anything in regards to a person being an informed or astute citizen. Exit exams only assess arbitrary factual knowledge and provide no measure of the type of critical thinking we expect of an educated electorate.

Additionally, it's important to know that opposition to this civics/citizenship is not simply about "over-testing." That is certainly an issue, as it creates a slippery slope toward an increasing battery of tests. The more serious issue, though, is the significance placed on this test. No single test should act as a graduation requirement - grad requirements consist of myriad subjects and skills with thousands of hours of class time and credits. And CDE has spent years developing the 2021 requirements that contain mulitple pathways to demonstrate proficiency across curricula. Placing one test above all that is ridiculous. Sen Owen Hill is simply bowing to pressure from an out-of-state organization that is pushing this agenda nationwide. There was no statewide interest in such a bill, and now the Senator is wasting the time and money of the state with this silly idea.

And, let's be clear: being able to cite the Mississippi River as one of the longest rivers or knowing that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence will not make citizens more informed voters. Ultimately, this bill is a diversion and a red herring in terms of assessing education. Certainly, it's easy to make the case that an educated person should probably have the same knowledge about American government that aspiring citizens do. But, then again, what does knowledge of a river's length really say about knowledge of civics?

As it stands, there are far more serious issues facing public education. Senator Hill should be focusing on narrowing the negative factor or finding funding for great programs like Blocks of Hope. He should be scrutinizing CDE's mishandling of the ACT/SAT decision. He should be out promoting the success of students at State MathCounts and State Speech and Debate and Destination Imagination and State Science Fair. He should be expanding support for the arts, and addressing school safety issues in response to the Claire Davis bill. He should be doing numerous things other than wasting the time of legislators, the media, and school administrators with this silly and arbitrary bill.

25th Anniversary of Douglas Coupland's Generation X

Generation X didn't even exist ... and then it did.

Twenty-five years ago today, St. Martin's Press released a small, quirky, unassuming, oddly-shaped novel by Douglas Coupland called Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. It launched a career and a marketing buzz, and it ultimately named (some might say stigmatized) an entire demographic of people. It wasn't even supposed to be a novel - Coupland had been contracted to write an updated "Yuppie Handbook for the 90s" - but in typical Xer fashion he went another route, moving to the desert of Palm Springs and crafting a novel about a trio of twenty-somethings who have fled the traditional career path of college/work/career/family to live on the fringes and work "McJobs" while telling each other stories as a way to find meaning in their lives.

Ironically, most members of what became known as Generation X have never even heard of, much less read, Coupland's seminal work of Xer identity - and that's a quality that makes the book and the generation all the more poetic. Coupland never intended to become the "spokesman for a generation," and he was so annoyed by the title that in 1995 he declared a moratorium on the use of the term, and he effectively declared the "death of Generation X." In fact, Coupland did not mean for the term to apply to an entire group of people born between 1961 - 1981 (which is what generational sociologists Strauss & Howe determine is Gen X). Coupland drew the title from a book by Paul Fussell called Class, in which Fussell referred to an "X-class" of people who live outside the traditional norms. Coupland was simply reflecting the collective feelings of ennui among his group of friends in the late 80s and early 90s.

Yet, the year of 1991 actually became a pivotal year of generational identity, much of which is framed as a general suspicion of and lack of faith in institutions and central authority. For a generation that came of age as latch-key kids amidst historic divorce rates, along with a failed "war," a resigning President, and an anemic economy, it's not surprising people approached the world with a jaded heart. Generation X is also defined by a quest for authenticity in a world which is increasingly defined by crass commercialism and superficiality. In 1991, these generational feelings were aptly reflected in three pivotal works of pop culture: the publication of Coupland's Generation X, the premier of Richard Linklater's art-house film Slacker, and the release of Nirvana's Nevermind anchored by the ironic teen anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

In terms of legacy, Coupland's novel may be much more significant for its title and terms it coined such as "McJob" than it is for literary value. It is probably more of a historical artifact and a reflection of a specific moment in time than a significant piece of literature. And, Coupland himself would most likely not disagree with either of those sentiments, for he has pretty much moved on from the novel to a career more defined by accomplishments in the visual arts. That said, few novels have entered the American lexicon the way Generation X has, and few novels have so effectively encapsulated the idea of zeitgeist, and, thus, it's worth noting for those qualities alone.