Returns on Investment

This is an example of the work we want to do Togha Tix.

What we can learn from Khan Academy:

1.) There is an amazing opportunity to teach the technical skills through online videos.

2.) There is something naturally engaging about a presentation with the subject removed.

3.) The 'pen effect' as I call it, is also naturally engaging.  If you have ever taught for more than 2 years, you have probably already learned about the art of simplicity.  Students watch the marker as long as you don't say the word first.  Guessing is fun!

4.) Someone fumbling with their words or veering in and out of ideas can be distracting.

Imagine the future of these videos with people who have been trained by an actual classroom to use distraction as a tool for engagement!

Profit, Planet, People

Thank you to Malaika Thorne for dedicating part of her Saturday AM to teaching me about the concept of the Triple Bottom Line.

Check out some of her work here.

Faith is an island in the setting sun, but proof is the bottom line for everyone - Paul Simon

  

Listen to the interview here:

Download the complete interview here.

Cash May Move Everything Around Me...

But it still won't get you rich!

I would like to say Thanks very much to Brando Rich at cashortrade.org for humoring me with this interview today.  I learned a lot, and I'm happy to share our conversation in case others might enjoy our discussion.

There is a lot of potential to teach economics here.  We are breaking down walls of information asymmetries.  If you want to be a part of it, join the movement! 

Download the complete interview here.

What speaks louder than huh?

Harmony in the face of Sinusoids

Sometimes I like to tell myself to start writing.  Sometimes I like to believe that one day, people might start taking my advice.  I try to walk softly and carry a big stick.  I like to think that one day the world will wake up, smell its own shit, and realize there ain't nothin' rosy about it.

Until then, all I got is that stupid old Obama washout that preaches hope.  Who is Shephard Fairey anyways, and where did he come from?

Have you seen Exit Through the Gift Shop? 

Do you wonder why the same guy who brought us hope also gave us obey?  Have you been trained by a system designed to build factories to think like a robot?  Are you ready to go Office Space and Rage Against the Machine?  I am. Fear sucks. Let's elevate our game.

What can you believe in? Hmmm, why is that such a hard question to you? Do you think you are an Avatar or something?  No one aksed you to save us. 

Have you ever had a pair of Chuck's?  Or Vans? I just got a pair of Chrome's, and they look kind of fly, but what is left to prove?  I can be a pretty cool cat out on the streets, but I just want to be one in my family.

I balled my eyes out in the streets of Puerto Rico.  It was the first time I cried, I mean, well, really cried, since Thankgiving. I used to cry a lot on Thanksgiving Weekends.

I'd put a bullet in my head, like Harry did in the back room, but my mom is in that room sleeping.  What makes her so tough?  What do I have to do to make her proud of me?  How can I let her know how proud of her I am? 

My Uncle Burt gives me wisdom, my sister Jill shows me toughness, and my cousin Will gives me resolve.  I'm not Kurt Cobain, I'm a giant Payne.

And, of course, there is my Soul Mate.  She couldn't even say a bad word to a fly, never mind harm one.  I'd like to go bad on her bosses, all at once.  And it would be so easy for me.  When you've gone bad on a bunch of kids in Oakland, it is easy to trap anyone who has been trained by an evil system to lock their feelings in a vault.  I'm sorry Mr, will your wife let you talk about your feelings?

I think Eminem understands how I feel.  I like to think he is reading my blog.  "You are a very brilliant thinker, Marshall", I say in my overeducated white male voice.  That voice always wraps up with an awkward chuckle.  I got the metaphor Marshall.  I hear you.  You were cleaning out your closet, and you weren't sorry.  You were trying to lead by example.  8 mile, that was a good movie.  Purr of a kitten, eye of a Tiger, I got it.  If I were in a tribe or on some quest for love, you would be my bunny rabbit.

I don't know your story, and still, I do know.  I think I am the one you were waiting for.  But this ain't about a moment, and you can't lose yourself.  It takes discipline, and this is a long journey, and it will be a struggle.  But, let's think of this as the tipping point, and give me a straw and something to sip on, and we just might break Camel Joe's back.  But bartender, make it a Shirley Temple, wink, smile cuz I still know how to flirt like a muthafucka, and you always know you can trust someone you can share a look with.

- White Thought

Stuff We Like

These guys are really amazing.  If you haven't had a chance to see their stuff, you're missing out.

Two roads that too often run askew, math and pop culture, intersect here.  Their data analysis is both clever and accessible.  If you don't find their insights interesting, well, I don't want to find myself talking to you at a cocktail party.

I finally worked their material into a lesson plan.  It came from their latest post.  I posted stuff black people like on the board, and asked my students to guess what it was showing.  I got some interesting guesses. I explained how these guys run a free online dating service so they can research dating trends. I told them this was from an article called "The real stuff white people like"...They chuckled.  I told them they were looking at the things that were most likely to come up in the profiles of black males.  I asked them what they noticed.  Within minutes, we were talking about font size.  They were polishing their estimating and proportional reasoning skills.  I was asking questions like how many times more likely a black male was to list Lupe Fiasco to Busta Rhymes.  We examined the trends in the races represented in my class.  

I asked what this had to do with math.  One of my classes played right into my hands: 'NOTHING!'
I told them I'd prove to them it has everything to do with math.  I gave them an index card, asked them to write a survey question down about interests, hobbies, or something fun. I got a lot of good questions, ones that I wouldn't have thought of on my own.  I turned it into an online survey.  I found out surveymonkey doesn't offer all of the features we'd need, unless I forked over some chedda.  I found a place where I could get all that stuff for free.
They will take the survey.  They will look at their individual class results compared to the results for all my students.  We'll use proportional reasoning.  We'll create a poster.  Hopefully they'll be fresh.  I'll have wall decorations for the year.

The Excitement of Teaching

Teaching is the girl that can't help breaking hearts.  When she gives you her number, you don't wait two days to call.  You rehearse what you will say, but the words still come fumbling out your mouth.  And she doesn't call you right back.  Just when you've given up hope, her name shines through on your caller ID.   You drop everything to see her for just few minutes.  Teaching is high maintenance.  She needs you to be there for her all day long.  She doesn't need anything in 3 days, she needs it in 5 minutes.  When she has a problem, everything else in your life gets put on hold.
She may be high maintenance, but she's not a gold digger.  She'll take one hand knit scarf over 5 diamond rings.  She prefers a homemade meal and a late evening stroll to a fancy dinner and a night on the town any night of the week.   When you try to be conservative with teaching, when you start taking her for granted, you end up sleeping by yourself.  She likes risks.
She's a roller coaster.  She has you singing Love you Madly one day, and It ain't me Babe the next.  She's a rose that will prick you the second you think you have her in your grasp.  With teaching, there's no silver lining; no fairy tale ending.  You bust your hump for her all day long, and then lay awake at night wondering about her.  If she likes you, resistance is futile.  You can try to get out, but she'll just suck you back in, somehow.  She's like a Catch-22 squared.

But she always keeps you on your toes. She makes you feel alive.  She turns your logarithmic curve of self-discovery exponential.  And she takes you on a great vacation every summer.  And most of all, when you look back on the time you spent with her, you might question every move you made, but you regret none.  If you've ever felt trapped by the monotony of a risk-free relationship, you love the passion and excitement she brings to the table.  Yup, I'll take teaching over my old corporate gig even on her worst days.