"SAT scandal shows tyranny of standardized testing"

In Great Neck, New York, a town in Long Island, twenty students have been arrested for their involvement in an SAT testing scandal.  Samuel Eshaghoff and many others have been arrested on criminal charges for impersonating high school students to take the SAT.  The author of the article, Nicolaus Mills, argues that "if colleges and high schools sit back and regard the Long Island scandal as primarily a security issue to be corrected by better policing, they are failing in their mission. They bear a huge responsibility for the degree to which a high score on a standardized test has become disproportionately important for college admission."  To Mills, this is representative of a greater issue in the college admissions process, and that is that high SAT scores are a student's ticket into their first-choice college.  He argues that "this obsessive focus is exactly the opposite of the generous ideal that in 1934 led Harvard president James Bryant Conant to pioneer the use of the SAT, Scholastic Aptitude Test, for admission to Harvard. Conant's aim was to find worthy students in schools across the country who were not part of the elite private school system from which Harvard traditionally drew most of its students."  Mills believes that admissions offices should try to more effectively balance an applicant's SAT scores with a more complex look at the overall applicant. 
With the number of applicants to undergraduate colleges increasing rapidly, especially at big-name state schools, admissions officers are left with no choice but to rely on SAT scores and GPA.  There are simply too many applicants to assess for them to spend more time on each applicant.  With this recent scandal, I think that we do need to examine the nature of organizations like The College Board, and how much of an influence their tests are having on college admissions.  Should admissions committee's treat the test with less influence, or should they continue to rely on it heavily as a measure of admission for incoming students?  Some schools are now test-optional, and they continue to admit some of the most intelligent students in the nation.  Maybe the SAT will someday be totally gone.

NFL to refs: Be aware of head injuries

In a story on ESPN, referees in the NFL are now being instructed to look for player's concussions on the field.  Recently, San Diego Chargers guard Kris Dielman suffered a concussion in a game versus the Jets, and he had a seizure upon landing back in San Diego.  Dielman clearly looked shaken up on the play, but he stayed in on his own account, so there was no way the officials could have stepped in to remove him from the game.  The NFL has been moving to protect its players, specifically against concussions, and this movement will hopefully help prevent concussions.  However, many people argue that it should be up to the players own judgment to take themselves out of the game.  They should be smart enough to protect their own health.  Nothing bad should come from this movement, because the referees are now only another pair of eyes looking out for the players.  The only way it could be a problem is if a referee uses his own judgement to take a player out of the game, even though the player makes it clear that he does not have a concussion.  There has not been commentary from the players on this issue yet, but I do not know if they are in favor of it or not.  I would think that they would like to have control over taking themselves in or out of a game, concussed or not.  Hopefully this prevents future concussions.

Sean Avery

A fan-favorite at Madison Square Garden is making a comeback, as the Rangers have called up Sean Avery from the Hartford Whale.  Avery has been a fan-favorite because of his playing style.  He does everything possible to annoy the other team, and it seems to work.  The NHL even imposed the "Avery rule"after he interfered with goalie Martin Brodeur during a game by standing in front of him and waving his stick in his face, distracting him, which led to a Rangers goal.  The ESPN "Cross Checks" blog is saying that Avery's return to the Rangers won't be very significant.  Avery's play has deteriorated with his age, but I still think that he'll be a spark plug for the Rangers. The author of ESPN's blog thinks that Avery won't appear in many games for the Rangers, even though tons of fans will be chanting his name.  He's a character, and the fans love him.  John Tortorella, the head coach of the Rangers, does not view Avery as an impact player, even though many of the fans do.  It will be interesting to see how much playing time Sean Avery gets, and if the fans chanting will affect Coach Tortorella's decision to play him.

False Sense of Reality in "True Enough"

Farhad Manjoo’s True Enough exposes the American public’s inability to think objectively, and how biases are subconsciously formed as individuals are fed information from different forms of media.  Now more than ever, Americans are forced to question reality, as theories that seemingly have no factual evidence are accepted.  Individuals with prestigious credentials speak persuasively and others believe them, even though they may be speaking “gobbledygook”.  Manjoo does not provide us with a solution for overcoming the false sense of reality that the media has created; he simply exposes us to the dangers of technology and globalization.  He describes how “no longer are we merely holding opinions different from one another; we’re also holding different facts” (2).  The most that we can do is recognize that this false sense of reality is tearing society apart.  By recognizing how information is constantly mangled to appeal to the biases of certain individuals, we can strive towards living in a society that eliminates making decisions based upon a false sense of reality.

The false sense of reality that is present in American society is heightened by “the burrowing underground of propaganda, the transformation of salesmanship from a flashy, street-corner affair to a quiet, dressed-up sport of cunning and deceit” (201).  Subconsciously, individuals are fed information that they process without even recognizing it.  VNR’s are implanted into newscasts, as advertisers have discovered that people are more likely to remember a product in this medium than in an actual commercial.  This creates an emotional response that appeals to the senses.  We suddenly feel like we need to buy Snickers, for example, as a Halloween snack. 

          Manjoo further exposes us to our vulnerability in accessing reliable sources of information through the Dr. Fox experiment.  In this experiment a comedian said “a whole lot in a style that suggested something of great import but that was actually complete nonsense” (113).  Someone who knew absolutely nothing about a subject could convince listeners that he was an expert on the subject, based on pure humor and personal style.  He managed to fool actual experts in a field, just by talking persuasively.  In fact, “students who were shown lectures that were high in both content and expressiveness reported the most satisfaction with their professor” (116).  As a society, America seemingly appreciates “style over substance” (116).  This certainly highlights our inability to perceive information correctly, and how a false sense of reality affects our ability to make decisions.  

Bias in "True Enough"

From reading the first half of "True Enough", Manjoo has showed me how biased we all are.  Nearly everything that is presented to us is formulated by a biased opinion, and then we formulate our own biased opinions.  Statistics are analyzed in a biased manner, in order to present facts that seem to support a certain view.  The major news networks, such as Fox and CNN, only present biased viewpoints to us now.  

Reporters like Anderson Cooper have made it big by voicing their opinions.  Cooper went after government officials during Hurricane Katrina because of their slow response time and urgency to aid disaster victims.  As viewers, we like to listen to the viewpoints of those who agree with us, as they reinforce our already existing biases.  

The way in which a person presents information is often more influential than what they are actually saying.  The Dr. Fox experiments show us that we are more tuned in to accepting peripheral cues than actually processing information and forming our own opinions.  Because Dr. Fox lectured students in a very expressive manner, they rated him very highly, even though there was no relevant content within his speech.  Just because he appeared to be knowledgeable, and he presented his argument in a persuasive manner, everybody loved him.  This is similar to how patients took incorrect advice on cold treatment because the doctor seemed warm and trustworthy, whereas they ignored a doctor's proper advice because he seemed careless and boring.  Our biases affect our decisions everyday. 

"True Enough" Reaction

          "True Enough" by Farhad Manjoo has been an eye-opening read so far.  Over the last few years, I have become aware of some of the conspiracy theories around the world.  Manjoo further examines these conspiracies when he describes how these theories actually gain momentum.  He describes a movement during World War II in which a shortage of protein would occur unless housewives began serving organ meats for their families.  The government persuaded housewives to serve this meat by changing what was acceptable for them.  This revealed that "what we understand to be the "truth" around us-is defined through our interactions with other people" (52).  Just because the housewives engaged in "organ-meat discussion groups", they were able to change their habits because they mutually agreed to serve organ meat. 
          Additionally, with the constant evolution of technology, it's becoming harder to understand what actually is real.  Manjoo describes this perfectly when he states "To light, the real danger of living in the age of Photoshop isn't the proliferation of fake photos.  Rather, it's that true photos will be ignored as phonies" (82).  Will photots someday lose all of their credibility?  Someone could easily photoshop an entire gallery of fake photos, in which they boast achievements that they never actually achieved.  At what point will we have to question how real our own photos are?  And when will every photo out there be suspect to investigation?  It's amazing how much technology can help us, yet at the same time hurt us.  How much of what we see in the media is true, and how much is false? And how much is technology separating what we perceive to be the truth, and what actually is the truth? 

"True Enough" First Glance

After reading the first 25 pages of "True Enough" by Farhad Manjoo, I am excited to see how the book will play out.  Manjoo brings up some very interesting points, such as how we are no longer "holding opinions different from one another; we're also holding different facts."  How can we deny scientific fact and take a position that isn't backed by empirical evidence?  And how are so many people drawn towards some opinions that seem so foolish?
Though Manjoo gave mention to many examples throughout the introduction, the one that struck me most was about the three-and-a-half-year-old girl, Eliza Jane Scovill, who died from the AIDS virus because her mother "had come to accept the unconventional views of a set of activists who argue that HIV does not cause AIDS."  Her mother refused to give her treatment because she saw validity in some bogus views of other activists.  I saw a Law and Order SVU episode exactly like this where the mother refused treatment for her daughter.  What's worst is that the mother is the one passing on the HIV virus, but she feels as if her daughter should not receive treatment.  Manjoo's stance, that now more than ever we are holding different facts, is a little bit scary.

Reebok Sneakers

          I found an article on The New York Times website about how Reebok needs to pay $25 million dollars over health claims, because they falsely advertised their toning shoes.  The argument is that even though Reebok guaranteed "sneakers that promise better legs and a better behind with every step", the shoes are practically like every other sneaker, with not enough evidence to suggest muscle toning or calorie burning. Reebok has decided to avoid a legal battle as well, setting with the F.T.C. “In order to avoid a protracted legal battle, Reebok has chosen to settle with the F.T.C.,” said Daniel Sarro, a company spokesman, in an e-mail.  Still, Reebok is standing by its EasyTone technology, and they claim to have gained tons of positive feedback from buyers.  However, there have also been reports of injuries, such as snapped ankles.  

            These reebok shoes were developed based on an idea that came from Bill McInnis, a former Nasa engineer, who thought of implementing the same technology that balance-balls use.  It seems like a good idea to me, and apparently to the people who purchased these shoes in stores.  Yet,  regardless of all of these claims that the shoes don't actually tone your legs, the customers still enjoy wearing them.  If they're comfy, why not buy them?  Just don't expect to have an advantage whenever you're going to the gym. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/business/reebok-to-pay-in-settlement-over-health-claims.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=health

Michael Vick

            In the Philadelphia Eagles' most recent game versus the New York Giants, the Giants defeated the Eagles 29-16.  Michael Vick left the game with a bruised right hand (his non-throwing hand).  The week before, he left the game with a head injury.  After Sunday's tilt versus the Giants, Vick was pretty banged up, and he had some words to say to the media about it...

            "I just think more precautions should be taken when I'm inside the pocket. If you look at all the replays, I'm on the ground every time and it's unfortunate for myself and it's unfortunate for my team and I'll be lying if I said I wasn't, if I were to sit here and say I wasn't frustrated right now because of that."

            These comments left many people outraged.  For him to publicly say that he has been unfairly treated, and unfairly tackled by opposing teams, has only made him an even bigger target.  In one article, Mike Pereira, who is the former NFL vice president of officiating, called Vick's comments "ridiculous", and said that he has put officials in an uncomfortable position because they may feel pressure to call penalties a certain way.  If a ref calls a defensive player for roughing the passer, then it appears that he has given in to Vick's rants.  However, if he doesn't make any calls on penalties that concern Vick, then he is seen as just another ref who Vick can rant and complain about. 

            Because Michael Vick is a constant running threat on the field, he is bound to be hit more often by opposing defenses.  For this reason, many analysts believe that he will continue to be hit hard.  It is amazing how comments made in the public sphere resonate into the people's minds so quickly.  Vick obviously made these comments out of frustration, but because they were made publicly, they were that much worse.  Though most analysts say that he was making a direct dig at the officiating crew, I think that he was just frustrated about losing to the Giants, and getting knocked out of the game for the second straight week.  Still, he made the comments, and all he can do now is move on. 

1984 Post 2

           1984 by George Orwell was an exciting read, as the plot turned in completely new directions on several occasions.  At first, I was convinced that Winston would somehow lead the proles and his fellow citizens towards independence by breaking them free of the rule of the Party.  Orwell did an excellent job by showing us Winston’s transformation from a confused and lonely man, into an emotional and loving one who discovers the reality of the Party’s terrorism and the reality of human nature, “The terrible thing that the Party had done was to persuade you that mere impulses, mere feelings, were of no account, while at the same time robbing you of all power over the material world… What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoken to a dying man, could have value in itself” (p. 169). 

            So, after convincing me that Winston would somehow find justice and defeat the Party, and live a happy life with Julia and show us a happy ending to the story, Orwell soon shows us that Winston will not be able to lead his fellow citizens toward freedom, because even the strongest of humans, like Winston, crumble under pressure.  He shows us that humans only care about themselves.  Even as a young boy, Winston betrayed his mother and his sister by taking their food ration, leading them to starve because he was too ignorant to realize that they were starving too.  “He knew that he was starving the other two, but he could not help it; he even felt that he had a right to do it. The clamorous hunger in his belly seemed to justify him” (p. 166).  Even O’Brien, who seems to be on Winston’s side from the beginning of the book, turns against Winston and reveals to him the truth of human nature, and Winston realizes that “You think there’s no way of saving yourself, and you’re quite ready to save yourself that way. You want it to happen to the other person. You don’t give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself” (p. 303).  I couldn’t believe that Winston even betrayed Julia, who he undoubtedly loved more than anything in the world.  He seemed so happy, almost like a teenager falling in love for the first time, disobeying whatever rules the Party threw at him.  Julia showed him how to find pleasure in life’s simplest activities, and it disappointed me that as soon as he was in danger, he tried everything he could just to save himself.  All of his morals went right out the window.

            Orwell reveals this sense of betrayal and selfishness in the human race in the novel, and in reality.  In the afterword on p. 326, Orwell describes the First World War (the real war) how “This war, in which millions died for the territorial ambitions of the European powers, although under the illusion of fighting for peace and democracy, was the beginning of that development which tended in a relatively short time to destroy a two-thousand-year-old Western tradition of hope and to transform it into a mood of despair.”  1984 was an interesting read that made me think about our race and the issues Orwell predicted.  Are we all really driven by selfish motives that come out when our greatest fears are staring us in the face?

Sports: Chad Ochocinco

            I’m one of the sports ambassadors in our class, and I’ve been following professional athletes who frequently interact with the fans.  The athlete who I’ve been focusing on is Chad Ochocino of the New England Patriots.  Besides being a wide receiver for the Patriots, Chad is also an avid user of social media, specifically twitter and Facebook.  Much of the press has called him a “social media fiend.”  It is not uncommon for his comments to be considered controversial, and for him to be criticized for publicly expressing his opinions.

            Only one week into the National Football League season, Chad has already made headlines with his most recent tweet.  The tweet was posted in response to the Patriots latest victory, in which Tom Brady set a Patriots record by passing for 517 yards and leading the Patriots to a 38-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.  The tweet read “Just waking up after a late arrival, I've never seen a machine operate like that n person, to see video game numbers put up n person was WOW."

            Tedy Bruschi, a former Patriot who helped the franchise to win three superbowls and who is currently a football analyst for ESPN, expressed harsh disapproval in Ochocinco for his tweet.  Bruschi commented:

            "You're not someone who's on another team or watching TV.  You're not an analyst. You're a part of it. They want you to be a part of it. So get with the program because obviously you're not getting it and you're tweeting because you're saying, 'It's amazing to see'? It's amazing to see because you don't understand it. You still don't understand it and it's amazing to you because you can't get it. "Wake up! If you're just waking up now -- I don't know when this was, six minutes ago? -- get out your bed and get to the stadium and watch some film if you still think it's amazing. If you're in it and you know what you're doing and you execute out there, you don't think it's amazing. You know why? Because it's what you're supposed to do."

            I do not agree with Tedy Bruschi in this situation.  In my opinion, Chad Ochocinco was praising his teammate for the record-breaking performance.  Even though Ochocinco had only one catch for a fourteen-yard gain, the team won.  Ochocinco knows that he’ll need to step up his play and be a contributor in the future, but it was his first game with a new team.  I don’t understand why Bruschi felt the need to publicly call him out. 

            Interesting was Tom Brady’s response to Bruschi’s comments.  Brady stated "Everyone has an opinion on everything, and none of it really means anything.  The only thing that means anything are the guys in this locker room and what we do every day in practice."  Brady, as the leader of the Patriots, protected his teammate by making it clear that others could criticize Ochocinco all they wanted, but that the team had his back.  Brady acknowledged that Ochocinco has been working hard and preparing himself to be an important factor in the run for another superbowl.  It will be interesting to see if Ochocinco’s offensive production increases, and how the media will react to his tweets.  Will Brady be getting on his back if his offensive struggles continue into week 12?  Will he keep tweeting if his offensive struggles continue into week 12?  It will be interesting. 

Reaction to Part One of "1984"

            Part one of “1984” by George Orwell has been an interesting read, as Winston’s character is progressively changing around the horrible lives of the people of London.  Most interesting is Winston’s internal struggle.  He is torn between giving in and accepting a life of falseness in which the government sabotages the minds of its citizens, or breaking loose and recognizing that Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police are hindering civilization.  I hope that Winston will continue his research of the past, and that he can somehow will the Proles to rebel against civilization, because “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious” (73). 

            In the beginning of the reading, we first see Winston show signs of mixed emotions during a “two minutes hate,” in which the citizens riot and scream at a picture of Goldstein.  “Thus, at one moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police” (15).  Winston soon begins writing freely in a notebook, another rebellious move that the Party would surely punish him for doing.  Eventually, he begins forming his own conclusions, for example, “the past, he reflected, had not merely been altered, it had been actually destroyed. For how could you establish even the most obvious facts when there existed no record outside your own memory?” (37).  We also see the ineffectiveness of this government on page 50, when “At any given moment there was some necessary article which the Party shops were unable to supply.”

            Orwell is perfectly describing a government in which the people are being controlled, and they are completely ignorant of the situation.  It is interesting how so many people can be brainwashed, even to the point where “The only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party”, and even Winston’s own wife thought of sex as a duty.  Still, I like how Winston is becoming so interested in antiques such as coral paperholders, and even contemplates living in the attic of the old man’s shop because it gives him the idea of being free. Maybe Winston will be able to spread his influence to other people around him, and continue to learn about the past that the Party works so hard to destroy.   

Sports

I will be one of the Sports Ambassadors for our class.  Born and raised in New York, I root for many of the New York Sports Teams.  My favorites are the Mets, Rangers, Giants, and Knicks.  I will look to cover not only these teams, but also the leagues that they play in.  Instead of just reporting scores and highlights, I want to report on significant situations in the sports world.  One area that I would like to address is the player's interaction with the media, and ultimately the fans.  Many athletes are partially defined by their off-the-field demeanor and their dealings with the press.  Chad Ochocinco of the New England Patriots plans to live in the home of a Patriots fan for the first part of the season.  Some players, like Chad Ochocinco of the New England Patriots, are very humorous, and I look forward to following them.  I also want to focus on the NHL because I feel that the sports world does not appreciate ice hockey enough.  Most people know it as a violent fighting sport, but that isn't entirely the case.  I will use sources such as ESPN, Barstool Sports, and twitter.

"After Class, Skimpy Equality" Response

           Reading this article was very interesting, and has made me realize how much times have changed since our parents went to school. Nowadays, it seems normal for female college students to “dress to impress”. They slip on revealing clothing, short skirts, and whatever else they feel can show off their best assets. One of their goals is to catch attention of boys when they go out, and it usually works.  The ones who don’t dress to impress are usually in the minority, and sadly they don’t receive as much attention from their male classmates, especially the ones who are at the frat doors, selectively letting only certain people in.  Women are a big part of college life, especially when some frats demand a guy to have girls with him if he wants a shot at getting in.  Behavior like this makes a female junior at the University of Utah’s statement seem credible, when she says “It’s usually the guys who are throwing the social events and the girls are guests, so it gives them power over the girls.” This makes me wonder in some circumstances if girls are going after guys because they really like them, or if it’s because they’ll have a ticket in to their boyfriends frat every weekend.

            The Duke Halloween party invitation seemed offensive to much of the student population, but it appears that it wasn’t bad enough to keep girls from going.  This seems to suggest that language like this has become much looser on college campuses.  Because so many females attended, instead of feeling targeted, they must have seen it as a time to express themselves at the party.  The media was so concerned on targeting those who sent out the invitation for its inappropriate nature.  Yet, they failed to highlight how many of these females actually attended. 

            I’m sure that my current views will be much different in twenty years, perhaps when my own daughter is going to college.  I think that all of this has proven that college kids are using school as “the designated time to try new things and get stuff out of your system.”  And without any parents around, it seems like the ideal time to try something different.  Who knows how much will change in the next few decades, and what my generation will think of college students in the future?

Mountains Beyond Mountains

            Dr. Paul Farmer’s childhood in poverty molded him into a compassionate doctor with an addiction to helping the sick.  His numerous experiences as a boy, constantly relocating with his family, stayed with him as an adult doctor, as he developed the ability to perform in any setting, in front of anybody, no matter the consequences. He developed a “very compliant GI system… with the ability to concentrate anywhere (p. 54).  For instance, “he could sleep in a dentist’s chair, as he did at night for most of one summer in a clinic in Haiti, and consider it an improvement over other places he had slept (p. 54).  Farmer, accustomed to poor living conditions when he was younger, learned to appreciate what was given to him, and therefore gained the ability to work in any setting, no matter the distractions that surrounded him. Kidder even describes how Farmer was never shy in front of anybody, due to a lack of a “homing instinct because he never had a hometown” (p. 54).

            If Farmer had grown up in a more affluent community, I certainly believe that his adult life would have been much different.  Through every stage of his childhood, Farmer was guided by his strong-willed parents. And when he finally left home to attend Duke University on a full scholarship, and he came back saying that he could only wear preppy clothes, his father said to him “Pel the pretty can still clean the bilge” (p.55).  His family and his childhood in poverty greatly shaped his unique character and adult life.