Back to the grind

It can be tough to get back in the swing of things after a quick break, especially with enthusiasm about the upcoming break building ever higher. Anticipation and excitement about the holiday break and what it might hold in store for us can lead to daydreaming and inefficient use of time. This compounds our being out of routine from the Thanksgiving break.

Like sprinters headed down the final stretch, it can help us to keep the finish line in sight and make sure each stride has a purpose. If we slow down and coast into the finish, we're unlikely to be pleased with our results.

What is one specific thing that you can do to maximize each day in school before the next break?
(The more specific you are, the more easily you'll be able to evaluate your process and assess how well you did at a later date. Hint, hint.)

Thanksgiving

When I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to have parents who made me eat all kinds of different food. Even if I didn't want to try something, I had to have at least a taste. Now that I'm older I appreciate the broad array of foods and flavors to which I was exposed. Many things that I didn't like at first I ended up enjoying. If I had been given my way, I would never have taken a bite!

While I acquired a taste for many different foods, I never grew to like sweet potatoes. I think this is partly due to their texture and partly to their flavor. If they are buried under enough butter and brown sugar I can stomach sweet potatoes, but I would prefer not to have to deal with them. This makes Thanksgiving somewhat problematic because sweet potatoes are almost always a featured item. I don't want to seem rude to the person nice enough to prepare them, but I also don't want to eat them.

What is your least favorite food at Thanksgiving? Are you able to avoid having to eat any? What tricks do you use to get out of eating this food?

Musical inspiration

One of my favorite groups these day is Flobots. I like their music because many of the tunes are catchy but have substance below the catchy surface. Since they have more depth, I find that I can listen to the songs over and over without growing tired of them. Their lyrics have some important, socially significant points. While I don't necessarily agree with everything the group says, I do like the idea of groups using musical arts to express opinions about important social issues.

What artist or group have you been particularly enjoying recently? What do you especially like about her/him/them?

Open for suggestion

What should next week's blog comment be? Submit a topic that you think would

a) be interesting.

b) provide opportunities for explanation.

c) be an entertaining topic.

Make sure to explain why YOUR submission should be the one.

Writing

Calvin seems to be voicing an interesting opinion about the purpose of intricate and jargon-filled writing. What is he actually saying? Do you agree with him? Why or why not?

You should click on the comic to get a version of it that is large enough to read clearly.

Evaluating processes

Even major league baseball players look silly occasionally. In order to remain in the big leagues, they constantly evaluate their processes. For example, in the picture above Russell Martin has taken a horrible swing, and has missed the pitch badly. Rather than evaluating his result ( a swing and a miss), he will evaluate his process - when he decided to swing, how he distributed his weight, where his hands were, etc.

Often we are tempted to evaluate our results. We think of successes and failures as the grades we earned rather than the process we used. It will be more helpful for us to evaluate our processes - for example, what specific strategies we used to study. Instead of thinking about homework in terms of doing it or not, we can evaluate the process we used to make sure we completed it and had it with us.

What is one process you think you should either change or adapt to achieve better results in one of your classes?