Success Warrior: The Blog That Embraces ADHD

Parent-Teacher Conference

So,

We just had parent-teacher conference for Trey, which has renewed my conviction to finish getting my degree so that I'm free to home-school.  The teacher, who is a friend that we trust to be honest with us, announced that there isn't much more that she can do for Trey.  He's in second grade and his last test scores show that he's doing fourth grade math and at least fourth grade reading.  The reading test only covered the first quarter of fourth grade and he scored 100% on the test so next time, she's going to give him a higher level test to see where he tops out.  All of this sounded fantastic to me since we've been teaching him math and reading at home.  In fact, she pointed to some of the things and said that she knew he didn't learn this stuff in school. 

Then she hit us with the bad news.  In math, he's so far ahead of everyone that she won't be able to spend time teaching him.  In reading, there is one other student that is in the ballpark with Trey that she can pair up with him and have them work as a team.  Other than that, she said he'd just be sitting in class nodding his head and jumping through boring hoops showing that he understands what she's teaching him and this was not likely to improve until he gets to junior high school where they have advanced classes for students.

She did give us some advice for things to work with him that would make him stronger, things that they barely scratch the surface of in school, like science and nonfiction reading comprehension (wtf?).  She suggested that he be in some kind of music training because of his ability there.  He loves art too and every couple of weeks, we have to go visit his art teacher after school so he can show her what he has done.

Before school that day, we were out shooting hoops.  When we came home, we played Magic: The Gathering (which he is now obsessed with since he found out how many Magic cards there are in the house).  His nightly "homework" takes him about 5 minutes tops to complete.  He reads quite a bit each day because there is a reward for the top reader each month, which he announced on Friday would be him this month.  The student who consistently beat him in amount of time reading each month moved.

It would be disingenuous to blame just the competition for his reading since both of my daughters are outstanding readers and were reading several grades above their level when they were in school.

This is obviously a proud-dad post but there is more to it than that. 

The American school system is a failure in both its stated purpose and now, even its actual purpose.  The American school system is about indoctrination and not education.  The graduation rate is about 75%, which isn't saying much given the standards, and means even less for people in urban areas where the graduation rate is 25%.  There are over 1,500 high schools that are labeled "dropout factories" because less than 60% of the students graduate.  Less than 60% is an "F".

Knowing this about the school system gives parents the power to change things, to some degree.  I realize that the system has been set up to encourage single parent families (although I believe the UK may actually have a better system in place for destroying the nuclear family) and that corrupt practices of the government puppets of the 1% mean that many people have 2 or 3 jobs so school is more of a tax-paid babysitter than an educator.  However, for those of us that can find any time at all to spend with our children, it is possible to actually teach them.  It is possible to counter the government's dumbing down of generations of children. 

I've already covered the increasing failure to indoctrinate.  I certainly don't take part in it.  Most of the students in this city refuse to say the pledge of allegiance.  I don't know if Trey knows it or not.  I've never asked.  I suppose I should so I can tell him that it's bullshit to pledge allegiance to a flag or to a gang of criminals.  I think he's picking some of that up already, just in the little bits of ethics that he asks about. 

Speaking of ethics, how about a "Homework Help" question for the week?  I'll be posting my answer after I get some sleep but I'd love to hear your answers:

Where do individuals get their basic ethical instincts?  Small children are taught in the home, school, church and community.  The things they learn there are hopefully to do the right and ethical thing whatever the situation.  Now, as individuals mature and become decision makers in corporate world at mid and higher levels....where bonuses, incentives, etc. are tied to their performance appraisals....do you think they will bend those early childhood ethical convictions for that extra dollar?  If so....why?

Homework Help: Future of Brick-and-Mortar Stores

So,

In a rare occurrence, I have managed to finish the primary homework assignments for the week.  For the record, it is always my goal to complete everything except the minor follow-up tasks by Thursday afternoon but it has been a rare occurrence when this has happened in the last 6 months or so.  Too often, homework has carried over to Friday or Saturday and even into Sunday, which is the usual due date at 11pm.

I'm going to take advantage of this week's oddity to get a jump on next week's work, which includes tossing out the Homework Help question of the week:

Will brick and mortar shopping disappear?  Why or why not?

I'm actually not going to ask you to answer this question unless your answer is a resounding "Yes!"  If that's the case, I would love to hear your answer.

Instead, I'll answer this one and ask a question of my own that is a variation of the given question because (1) this one seems too simple and (2), as has been pointed out previously, I'm not the kind of person that just accepts what's given.

My answer:

No, and here are a couple of reasons (feel free to add your own).  First, there are some things that have to be experienced before purchasing.  Clothing seems the obvious choice to me, especially shoes.  Sure, companies have increasingly generous return policies but it's much simpler to just go to a shoe store and try them all on right then and there and walk out with the pair that feels right.  Websites can have virtual models with your measurements but even if they make them into 3D images or holograms, it won't tell you what it feels like.  Cars would be another choice that I would throw out there.  Test driving seems mandatory.

Let me amend my intitial answer by adding an "at least not in the near future" behind the "no".  This is a class centered on the Internet taken by students who are attending via the Internet.  It could be very easy to jump to the assumption that everyone has access to the Internet and a way to make payments over the Internet.  However, this is obviously not the case and it may be sometime until everyone has the Internet at their fingertips.

Now it's your turn.  Look into your crystal ball and tell me what you see for the future of e-commerce in relation to brick-and-mortar businesses?  What is on the horizon?  What do you see as highly probable?  More interesting to me, what do you see in the realm of incredible but possible?

Homework Help: The Internet and Copyright

So,

As you may have noticed, Typepad's new and improved image uploader is change that you can believe in so let's move on to the homework help questions and hope they get the dang thing fixed in the near future (even though I know you all visit for the articles).

First, the basic questions, then I'll ask my own question:

How has the Internet changed the meaning of copyright and intellectual property? 

What are the limits to what you can "own" and "sell" online?

Now my question:

What do you envision for the future when it comes to the Internet and copyright?  Both from the side of the users as well as from the side seeking protection.  If you mention enforcement, what tools do you see being used and how effective will they be?

I am incredibly curious to hear your thoughts on this issue so please take a moment to toss in some feedback.

Homework Help: Internet Sales Tax

So,

The homework help blog posts have made a return and today's topic is Internet Sales Tax.  What do you think the impact will be consumers, providers, supply chain, the growth of e-commerce, and the economy as a whole?

Currently, businesses only have to collect sales tax in states where they have a physical presence. 

California took an interesting stab at this wording a passed a law stating the businesses such as Amazon.com who pay referrals to people within the state have a physical presence and must pay sales tax but a 1% lower than normal state tax.  You would think that if the law already states that a company must pay taxes if it has a physical presence and referrals constitute a physical presence, no new law would have to be passed.

Amazon's response is also interesting, both in the context of the question for today and in terms of the power of lobbying.

Amazon and Overstock are going to stop paying referrals in California to remove their "physical presence".  California was hoping to raise over $3 million a year with this new (old?) tax.  Referral participants will need to move to another state to continue to take part in the program.

To buy some time to make the changes, Amazon threatened to fund a vote on the issue to have the bill tossed out by the people.  Lawmakers aren't going to enforce the law until September, which is a compromise that they obviously need to make.  There would be absolute chaos in the streets if voters got to vote on things that affected them.

There are proposals at the federal level to enact some kind of Internet sales tax.  The latest that I was able to find in a very brief search was the so-governmentally-named Marketplace Fairness Act.  The law would allow states to collect sales tax from online businesses who pull in more than $500,000 a year (which doesn't seem fair to brick and mortar business but laws are usually named the opposite of what they will actually accomplish).

The bill is opposed by a lot of businesses of course but it's just a matter of time before it's passed.

What do you think the effects of an Internet Sales Tax will be?

Contract?

 
So,

Does anyone out there have an interesting contract case (good or bad) that they were personally involved that they would like to share?

Anyone?  Bueller?

Butt Lickers and Defamation

 
So,

Here's the case:

Sharon Yeagle was assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs at a University where one of her duties was to help students apply to the Governor's Fellows Program.  Apparently she was very good at it and the school newspaper did a story on her.  Part of the article had a block quotation with Yeagle's name and beneath that, the title, "Director of Butt Licking."

Yeagle sued the paper for defamation.

Questions:

1. Is this defamation?

2. Where do you draw the line between Freedom of Speech and defamation?

3. What effect has the Internet had on defamation in areas such as frequency of occurrences and the possibility of redress?

Homework Help: First Amendment

 
So,

This term's homework help starts off with a subject near and dear to a blogger's heart - The First Amendment.  These words are supposed to somehow restrict the government from infringing on a person's right to speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition for redress of grievances.

Today's question actually has several parts and is based on Texas v. Johnson.  Gregory Johnson burned an American flag in Dallas in protest against the policies of the Reagan administration.  He was arrested and convicted of a Texas statute against desecrating the flag.  The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the decision on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment.

Part 1 of the question is this:

Do you agree or disagree that flag burning is protected under the First Amendment?

Part 2 is to, as part of your answer, address the following questions.  Since this is a blog, you are of course not required to respond to all of the questions.  If you would like to address one or two of them though, it might be helpful.

2a - For those that agree that flag burning is protected.

• Isn't it very painful for veterans of foreign wars, some permanently disabled, to see someone burn the flag that they fought for?
• Did Johnson contribute any valuable ideas when he burned the flag?
• If he contributed nothing, why should a state be forced to permit his actions?
• If the majority of a state’s citizens want to outlaw flag burning, why shouldn't they be allowed to?

2b - For those that disagree that flag burning is protected.

• If a state could outlaw flag burning, could it also outlaw burning a copy of the Constitution? A photograph of the flag? A cross? A photograph of the President?
• Even if some people regard the flag as special, why should their opinion be the law of the land?
• Doesn't the anger created by flag burning indicate that it is effective speech? Should we outlaw effective speech and permit only speech that offends no one?

Nearly Puke-Worthy

 
No,

I'm not talking about the picture because I think I actually did throw-up a little when I saw it.

What I was originally talking about was this morning's leg workout.  For a couple of minutes there, I thought I was going to be running outside to heave into the desert.  Luckily for the scorpions on the other side of the fence, that did not happen.

After that, I have pretty much spent the day doing homework except during a homework break that I took to go play catch with Trey with his football.  It was windy enough that I was throwing curve balls to him (not on purpose). 

Now, I think I will work on getting some dinner to fuel the rest of the night.

Oh yeah!  Rick, next week's assignment is to "Choose a product or service you would like to offer to a particular audience, such as a window cleaning business" and write a letter proposal promoting it using components of formal and informal proposals. 

All We Are Is Dust In The Wind

 
So,

The dang wind is blowing like hell again.  My eyes feel like I need to pop them out and rinse them off good before putting them back in (hat tip to Rabies for the idea).  I've been holding off on any allergy medicine because I have a ton of homework to do and I don't want be tired or have a fuzzy (fuzzier?) brain.  On top of that, I had to go in to work for a few hours on my day off homework day so I'm way behind on where I should be.  And either the crap in the air or the stress in my neck is causing a nice size headache.

And don't forget to add that you're being a whiny bitch.

True dat.

I see how you guys are.  Fine.  I'm off to see about persuading my instructor to give me an "A".

Don't let him know how much of a sissy you're being.

Yeah, good persuasion requires an air of confidence.

Reader comments (not voices in the head comments) on persuasion are still welcome because I can use them until the end of the week.  As for this blog, we'll be moving on tomorrow to a new and unknown (even to me) topic.

Persuasion, Manipulation, and Force

 
So,

I have noticed that short shorts are back in fashion.  Does anyone know that average time it takes for a fashion cycle? 

I worked legs today so that I look better in short shorts.

Does he know that it's back in fashion for women?

No and I'm not going to tell him.

I haven't had a chance to get into this week's reading (tonight, with any luck) but I skimmed ahead to see if there were any highlights that I could share on my blog as potential talking points as I continued to explore persuasion and beyond.

Here are some headings from the section on effective persuasion techniques:

• Establish credibility
• Make a reasonable, precise request
• Tie facts to benefits
• Recognize the power of loss
• Expect and overcome resistance
• Share solutions and compromise

I asked about when persuasion becomes manipulation and the answers were that you know when you have reached manipulation level when there is a complete lack of concern in regards to the other person's wishes, when you have to resort to deceit, or when you chuck your honor in the dumpster.

CV mentioned force, which to me seems to be on a level above manipulation.  Where manipulation might be deceptive, a battle of the wits, wordplay, or some other mental chess match, force doesn't rely solely on such mental acrobatics.  Once you resort to force or the threat of force, you have chosen a "might makes right" path, where the more rampant sociopath with the biggest weapons makes choices on behalf of the other person.  Force shows a complete lack of concern in regards to the other person's wishes and the person using force must shit-can their honor but deception isn't a mandatory aspect.  Deception may still be used but it's not absolutely necessary as it is in manipulation.

Today's questions:

Do you have any thoughts (pro or con) on what the text defines as effective persuasion?

While manipulation and force seem to have a negative sheen to them, are there situations when their use would be appropriate?