Chapter 7: The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes-“Captain, the weather radar has helped us a lot.”
Quote: “...a hint is the hardest kind of request to decode and the easiest to refuse." Gladwell talks about the importance of mitigation and uses the example of plane crashes. Most plane crashes happen because the most experienced pilot (the captain) is flying the plain and the co-pilot is his eyes and is supposed to communicate and warn him of anything. However, many co-pilots are less experienced than the captain so they tend to not want to step on their toes and "hint" instead of communicating directly and clearly.
Question: How can we get our students to communicate effectively and be assertive?
Connection: Many mistakes can be avoided if we simply communicate clearly instead of hinting at something. In our EDL600 & EDL680 classes, we have students that ask many questions during our virtual classes and it helps out so much because most of us may have the same questions. We don't hint, we communicate clearly so our leaders/teachers can guide us effectively. I also see this in my personal life, communicating effectively avoids a lot of stress down the road because we're being clear and assertive.
Epiphany: "One thing I personally try to do is, I try to put myself a little down. I say to my copilots, "I don't fly very often. Three or four times a month. You fly a lot more. If you see me doing something stupid, it's because I don't fly very often. So tell me. Help me out." (pg. 198)) I began to think about my second graders and their communication skills. Sometimes some of my students don't want to ask out of fear to speak. I should also try and put myself down from time to time to empower my students.
Chapter 8: Rice Paddies and Math Tests-“No One who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.”
Quote: “Hard work, shrewd planning and self-reliance or cooperation with a small group will in time bring recompense." (pg. 238) Gladwell talks about the Chinese rice farmers and how they are the hardest working people in the world and doing the most tedious of jobs. Any miscalculation can cost them time and money. They work about 3,000 hours per year, about 2,000 hours more than the average worker and based on Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule, they will become experts in about 3.5 years. In western civilization, it would be about 10 years.
Question: Should we teach the Chinese number system to students in America if it's proven to be successful for them?
Connection: Gladwell also backs up the stereotype that Chinese are better at math than any other race. Their number system remarkably brief, compared to the English equivalents. Due to their brief number system, Chinese can calculate a bit quicker than English speaking people which leads to more success and have more fun with math which leads to more practice time. Even though our number system is backwards, compared to the simplistic system of the Chinese, we've began incorporating more mental math in the classroom. Taking numbers apart and using a variety of strategies to come up with an answer to incorporate a more complex way of thinking.
Epiphany: I love the concept of hard work and accumulating the 10, 000 hours to master a skill. Gladwell talked about how the Chinese rice farmers loved working tireless hours because they found the job to be meaningful. That is the key to anything we do in life, to do something with passion and meaningful for everyone and not just for ourselves.
Chapter 9: Marita's Bargain-“All of my friends now are from Kipp.”
Quote: “KIPP academy seems like the kind of school in the kind of neighborhood with the kind of student that would make educator despair-except that the minute you enter the building, it's clear that something is different. (pg. 251) I related so much to this quote, according to Gladwell, KIPP has three quarters of the children come from single parent homes and ninety percent of the kids qualify for free or reduced lunch. It sounds exactly like our school, except ours is 100 percent free or reduced lunch and probably just as high a percentage of single parent homes.
Question: I currently teach at a traditional calendar school, long summers, how can we educate parents to do their best to continue teaching their children and the importance of routines during their long summer breaks?
Connection: "KIPP is, rather, an organization that has succeeded by taking the idea of cultural legacies seriously." (pg. 252) Such an amazing story, they've identified that schools do work, that kids do learn and succeed. They've just determined that low economic kids need MORE school and not longer summers.
Epiphany: "Poor kids may out-learn rich kids during the school year but during the summer, they fall far behind." (pg. 258) I still teach at a traditional school with long summers from the end of June through the beginning of August so I've seen these effects when the students come back in September. There almost has to be a re-teaching faze of everything they should've learned last year. Students that come from a low-economic and/or single parent household are at a disadvantage compared to their rich kid counterparts. Kids from high economic households get taken to summer camps, museums, special programs, etc. while the low-economic kids don't because of low finances. They still have fun summers by playing with friends and having a care free summer which is great but it doesn't help them in school.
Choice Book Final Reflection
I am so glad I picked up this book, there are so many principles and examples of things I could never think about on my own. From the Matthew effect, the 10,000 hour rule, the trouble with geniuses, the three lessons of Joe Flom and so on. Every chapter is something that either relates to my personal and professional life. My favorite chapters were the Matthew Effect, the 10,000 hour rule and Marta's Bargain. The Matthew Effect was great because I'm able to apply this knowledge to my teaching and personal life. The Matthew Effect is the phenomenon that the rich get richer and the poorer get poorer. Gladwell uses this phenomenon to explain how kids that are born at the beginning of the year, January-June have a greater advantage than kids their age that are born the same year but in later months simply because the early birthdays have lived longer, therefore more experience and maturity. The 10,000 hour rule is something I live by, I love working and staying busy. I love working on things I'm passionate about and not just for gain. I do it because I love it, such as teaching. Teaching makes me happy and I feel I can make a difference because I've logged in a lot of hours of self development and working on my craft. Lastly, I loved the chapter about Marita's bargain because Gladwell opened up my eyes about long summers and the effect they have on students. I personally love my long summers because I get to catch up on all of my side projects that I'm passionate about such as health, fitness, and a company my wife and I working on. However, what about the students that don't have financial and parent support during the summer? It makes me think how unjust it is for them and it's no fault of their parents at times, it's just that they have to work and put food on their table. It's a difficult thing to realize and I can see why most schools have switched to the common calendar with shorter summers. I highly recommend this book, so many epiphanies and "aha" moments.
Quote: “...a hint is the hardest kind of request to decode and the easiest to refuse." Gladwell talks about the importance of mitigation and uses the example of plane crashes. Most plane crashes happen because the most experienced pilot (the captain) is flying the plain and the co-pilot is his eyes and is supposed to communicate and warn him of anything. However, many co-pilots are less experienced than the captain so they tend to not want to step on their toes and "hint" instead of communicating directly and clearly.
Question: How can we get our students to communicate effectively and be assertive?
Connection: Many mistakes can be avoided if we simply communicate clearly instead of hinting at something. In our EDL600 & EDL680 classes, we have students that ask many questions during our virtual classes and it helps out so much because most of us may have the same questions. We don't hint, we communicate clearly so our leaders/teachers can guide us effectively. I also see this in my personal life, communicating effectively avoids a lot of stress down the road because we're being clear and assertive.
Epiphany: "One thing I personally try to do is, I try to put myself a little down. I say to my copilots, "I don't fly very often. Three or four times a month. You fly a lot more. If you see me doing something stupid, it's because I don't fly very often. So tell me. Help me out." (pg. 198)) I began to think about my second graders and their communication skills. Sometimes some of my students don't want to ask out of fear to speak. I should also try and put myself down from time to time to empower my students.
Chapter 8: Rice Paddies and Math Tests-“No One who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.”
Quote: “Hard work, shrewd planning and self-reliance or cooperation with a small group will in time bring recompense." (pg. 238) Gladwell talks about the Chinese rice farmers and how they are the hardest working people in the world and doing the most tedious of jobs. Any miscalculation can cost them time and money. They work about 3,000 hours per year, about 2,000 hours more than the average worker and based on Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule, they will become experts in about 3.5 years. In western civilization, it would be about 10 years.
Question: Should we teach the Chinese number system to students in America if it's proven to be successful for them?
Connection: Gladwell also backs up the stereotype that Chinese are better at math than any other race. Their number system remarkably brief, compared to the English equivalents. Due to their brief number system, Chinese can calculate a bit quicker than English speaking people which leads to more success and have more fun with math which leads to more practice time. Even though our number system is backwards, compared to the simplistic system of the Chinese, we've began incorporating more mental math in the classroom. Taking numbers apart and using a variety of strategies to come up with an answer to incorporate a more complex way of thinking.
Epiphany: I love the concept of hard work and accumulating the 10, 000 hours to master a skill. Gladwell talked about how the Chinese rice farmers loved working tireless hours because they found the job to be meaningful. That is the key to anything we do in life, to do something with passion and meaningful for everyone and not just for ourselves.
Chapter 9: Marita's Bargain-“All of my friends now are from Kipp.”
Quote: “KIPP academy seems like the kind of school in the kind of neighborhood with the kind of student that would make educator despair-except that the minute you enter the building, it's clear that something is different. (pg. 251) I related so much to this quote, according to Gladwell, KIPP has three quarters of the children come from single parent homes and ninety percent of the kids qualify for free or reduced lunch. It sounds exactly like our school, except ours is 100 percent free or reduced lunch and probably just as high a percentage of single parent homes.
Question: I currently teach at a traditional calendar school, long summers, how can we educate parents to do their best to continue teaching their children and the importance of routines during their long summer breaks?
Connection: "KIPP is, rather, an organization that has succeeded by taking the idea of cultural legacies seriously." (pg. 252) Such an amazing story, they've identified that schools do work, that kids do learn and succeed. They've just determined that low economic kids need MORE school and not longer summers.
Epiphany: "Poor kids may out-learn rich kids during the school year but during the summer, they fall far behind." (pg. 258) I still teach at a traditional school with long summers from the end of June through the beginning of August so I've seen these effects when the students come back in September. There almost has to be a re-teaching faze of everything they should've learned last year. Students that come from a low-economic and/or single parent household are at a disadvantage compared to their rich kid counterparts. Kids from high economic households get taken to summer camps, museums, special programs, etc. while the low-economic kids don't because of low finances. They still have fun summers by playing with friends and having a care free summer which is great but it doesn't help them in school.
Choice Book Final Reflection
I am so glad I picked up this book, there are so many principles and examples of things I could never think about on my own. From the Matthew effect, the 10,000 hour rule, the trouble with geniuses, the three lessons of Joe Flom and so on. Every chapter is something that either relates to my personal and professional life. My favorite chapters were the Matthew Effect, the 10,000 hour rule and Marta's Bargain. The Matthew Effect was great because I'm able to apply this knowledge to my teaching and personal life. The Matthew Effect is the phenomenon that the rich get richer and the poorer get poorer. Gladwell uses this phenomenon to explain how kids that are born at the beginning of the year, January-June have a greater advantage than kids their age that are born the same year but in later months simply because the early birthdays have lived longer, therefore more experience and maturity. The 10,000 hour rule is something I live by, I love working and staying busy. I love working on things I'm passionate about and not just for gain. I do it because I love it, such as teaching. Teaching makes me happy and I feel I can make a difference because I've logged in a lot of hours of self development and working on my craft. Lastly, I loved the chapter about Marita's bargain because Gladwell opened up my eyes about long summers and the effect they have on students. I personally love my long summers because I get to catch up on all of my side projects that I'm passionate about such as health, fitness, and a company my wife and I working on. However, what about the students that don't have financial and parent support during the summer? It makes me think how unjust it is for them and it's no fault of their parents at times, it's just that they have to work and put food on their table. It's a difficult thing to realize and I can see why most schools have switched to the common calendar with shorter summers. I highly recommend this book, so many epiphanies and "aha" moments.