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By jamie, April 6, 2012 7:54 pm

So, as it turns out, alcohol never really was prohibited in the U.S. Some might have done without, but if you wanted it, there were ways – and it wasn’t too tough, really. I know I would not have been a rum rummer, but it sounds like it was probably kind of fun. Loading up boats and keeping ahead of law enforcement, traveling, creative bookkeeping – at the very least, it would have been exciting. And lucrative. The key was to find the right people to bribe. But even if you had to hand out a lot of bribes, it really didn’t make a dent in the bottom line. I read through Chapter 11.

It wasn’t hard to find customers either. Some of them were even law enforcement (although some law enforcement planned raids for when they ran out of their own personal stash, so they could stock up for free. See, selling alcohol was illegal, but having it was not. Some made it themselves, but the very wealthy used the time before Prohibition took effect to build extra wine cellars or storage rooms and stock up on as much legal alcohol they thought they would want.

Others purchased stills and made their own. Every time I think about “moonshine,” I think of Miss Hannigan from Annie, with her bathtub gin. I always thought she was breaking the law by making her own alcohol. Now I’m wondering – did Daddy Warbucks have a private alcohol stash somewhere in that mansion of his? Was this addressed in the film? I don’t remember – do any of you?

The President of the United States had a stash – in this section of the book, the president was Warren G. Harding, and evidently he had plenty of alcohol-filled parties while in the White House. Reading about one hypocrite after another made me think of marijuana – I wonder how many politicians vote against legalization and enjoy at least a puff every once in awhile.

It was also legal to take alcohol through the United States on the way somewhere else. Some rumrunners would officially transport liquor from, say Canada to South America – if something (wink, wink) fell off the truck on the way down, well – that wasn’t anyone’s fault. One woman in Canada made her own alcohol – really, her own, just for her own use – that was what she told investigators anyway; it’s common for a single person to drink ten bottles a day, isn’t it? Another story Okrent tells is of a U.S town just across the Canadian border. There was a raid, so the people went out in the snow to hide their bottles of wine, but law enforcement found some of it. They started breaking the bottles and dumping out the alcohol. What would you do if you witnessed something like this? We are told that some dropped to the ground and started eating snow.

Honestly, to me it is a wonder that we kept up the pretense of prohibition for as long as we did. I guess the Anti-Saloon League must have been really powerful for so many politicians to vote for it when they very clearly had no intention of following the law. I feel as though the theme for this post is “history repeats itself” – so many politicians get into trouble (at least by being publicly humiliated because they did something they politically object to.

One more bit of trivia – some of the words we use today came out of this period in our history. My favorite example of this (and yes – I fact checked it) is the term scofflaw. The word was the winning entry in a radio contest to come up with a word to refer to the countless rumrunners/bootleggers who deliberately broke U.S. law in this regard.

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By jamie,

I remember back in high school, receiving tons of mail from various college. I was always being asked to fill out some sort of survey about what I was looking for in a college, and soon after I submitted it, more mail would arrive. The funniest one I received was from a college I had never heard of, thinking me for asking for information about their riding program (riding, as in horses) – I had to laugh, because I had never ridden a horse (still haven’t) and certainly hadn’t requested information about any riding programs. We concluded that someone had read my survey out loud and the persons stuffing envelopes had heard “riding” instead of “writing.” Or maybe they were just really working hard to recruit horse enthusiasts and sent it to everyone on their list. In the end, I attended a community college for my general ed requirements, a decision I do not regret, and may even suggest for my kids when they reach that stage (don’t hurry, Little Mama – you’re getting big much too quickly as it is!).

According to Robbins, studies show that Ivy League grads don’t earn more money than the rest of us, on average. Also, and perhaps the most important thing, is that teaching quality is not better at Ivy League schools. (One major study found Harvard to be nearly at the bottom based on student surveys of teaching quality “[availability] of faculty, the quality of instruction and advising, the [presence of] sense of community, and the campus social life.”) I know a little something about teaching in college, and I completely understand why this would be the case. At the more prestigious schools, the main job of a professor is to conduct research. Some of the more famous professors don’t actually step into the classroom at all, and their classes are actually taught by graduate students. Others just spend the minimum amount of time necessary to deliver a lecture/lesson without allowing their research to suffer. The rest of their time is spent writing for publication, speaking at various places, securing funding for future research, and other assorted non-classroom-related duties.

It’s easier to find great teachers at less prestigious colleges that do not place their primary emphasis on research. Some community colleges are excellent places to find great teachers (some of the best professors from my undergraduate days were at community college, and I hope to be one of those great professors someday as well).

This section of the book discusses the U.S. News and World Report annual college ranking report. As it turns out, there is overwhelming evidence that the entire list is a big scam. Colleges blatently cheat to score higher on the list (anything from falsifying SAT averages to reclassifying non-donating alums as dead so they will have a higher percentage). Some also manipulate their selectivity rating by actively recruiting students they know they will deny. Here is a quote from the book:

When the magazine’s first rankings algorithm produced a number one school that wasn’t considered elite, the algorithm (which rewarded diversity) and the statistician who created it were dumped. Instead, U.S. News went with a formula that resulted in a top ranking for Yale. Washington Monthly reported that since then, U.S. News “essentially put its thumb on the scale to make sure that Harvard, Yale, and Princeton continued to come out on top, as they did every year until 1999.” [I checked the 2011 list: Harvard, Princeton, Yale...]

Robbins interviews admissions directors in this section. According to these decision makers, it’s not necessary to play multiple sports, head multiple clubs, and engage in hundreds of hours of community service in order to be accepted into a top school. One, Matt Lawrence, said, “We’re not looking for a well-rounded student; we’re looking for a well-rounded student body.” In other words, you are being compared with the other students in the applicant pool, but not in the sense that the person with the most activities wins, but rather, your skills and experience must complement and add to theirs.

Two other items in my reading were of particular interest to me, one because I am a parent and the other because I am a sociologist:

Helicopter Parenting (again recalling A Nation of Wimps): I had already read about kids being diagnosed with false developmental disorders so they could get unlimited time on the SAT (in A Nation of Wimps – how have I not finished that great book?!?) The part that really struck me this time was parents getting their “regular” kids labeled “gifted.” These parents link their personal self esteem to the success of their children and then devote inordinate amounts of time toward helping their children achieve parent-determined measures of success – “gifted” status -> advanced classes – > perfect SAT scores – > Ivy League college – > prestigious career…

I have been struggling with this one (public confession time): I am convinced that my daughter is gifted. I can’t imagine she wouldn’t be. It bothers me that she can’t read yet, because I could read well by age three, and I just KNOW she has it in her. There are other things I’m certain she could do (like using the computer to do more than watch Netflix, play mp3s, Angry Birds or – heaven help us – poker) if I just pushed a little. But I don’t want to push too hard and have her burn out by the tenth grade, so I’m hanging back and letting her set the pace (which is very hard to do). For her birthday, I got her several learning books, (actually, I’m holding them until her party, but since she can’t read, I can post this here) and I’m thinking that I’ll “home school” her this summer if she wants me to.

The other interesting bit is about teacher expectation and students: As I tell my classes, teacher expectation can doom a student. If they are convinced you can’t handle the material they might write you off by “dumbing down” the material instead of challenging you to succeed. I hadn’t heard examples at the opposite end of the spectrum until now. Robbins describes a kid who is a “stealth” overachiever, meaning that he doesn’t publicize his high test scores or college plans. Because his teachers don’t perceive him to be in the same league as the “Ivy bound” students, his subjective grades are not as high (his English teacher gives him lower grades on his essays than her grader does – the grader does not know the reputations of the kids, and grades them only on merit). Robbins also mentions teachers (even at the college level) being pressured to raise the grades of kids who are on scholarships and those who are perceived to be particularly smart/worthy of Ivy league acceptance. That’s terrible.

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By jamie, April 3, 2012 2:41 am

I remember falling asleep in class when I was in high school. One time a teacher told me off in front of everyone else – I had gone to class at 6 am for an optional study session for Honors Chemistry after only sleeping about three hours, and I pretty much slept through the whole thing. I was convinced that something was wrong with me, that maybe I just didn’t have the drive necessary to stay awake even though everyone else seemed to be able to. Another time I was so excited to see Nelson Mandela interviewed on television – I slept through the interview and felt like such a failure afterwards.

It turns out I was just a normal, sleep deprived teenager, trying to juggle AP classes and extracurricular activities and finding that there were not enough hours in a day. The author mentions (but does not link to – at least the digital version does not include many notes – to me this is a major flaw of the book) studies about sleep deprivation and teens. (By the way, I read through Chapter 7.) Teenagers who juggle too many activities on too little sleep are, according to Robbins, more likely to be depressed, have “negative moods, decreased school performance, increased likelihood to try stimulants, and a higher risk of accidents and death.” I am inclined to believe her, because we heard similar things, and more, in NurtureShock (for example, that SAT and math scores improve when teens gets more sleep).

Another challenge students increasingly face is the emphasis on test scores over actual learning. Sometimes they tell me about their experiences with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and, because we are in Florida, the FCAT. I have heard so many horror stories. It is extremely stressful, and there doesn’t seem to be any emphasis on actually retention of knowledge. And I wonder how much fun it is for the teachers? – if they have to devote the majority of their time to making sure one test goes well in order to keep their jobs, I don’t think we are best utilizing their skills and talents. how are your skills and talents. Here is a quote from the book:

No Child Left Behind has already changed the face of the United States classroom, and the results are disturbing. The exclusive emphasis on tests has left students sick with stress in even the youngest grades; some schools reported that on testing days, up to two dozen children vomit on their test booklets. In Florida, when a seventeen-year-old honor roll student failed the state test and was told she wouldn’t graduate with her class, she attempted to kill herself.

The book explains that NCLB was modeled after a program in Houston, which sounded as though it was extremely successful at increasing test scores and discouraging kids from dropping out of college. Evidently the program, which hasn’t been successful at the national level, didn’t work in Texas either – those impressive results that led to a national program turned out to be fraudulent. (Robbins gives specific evidence of this, but I haven’t fact checked her.)

There is so much in these chapters – I could go on and on. Here are a few more highlights:

Cheating is an epidemic among smart kids. One student explained it this way: “The whole reason cheating is popular is because it’s busywork, for the most part, and you don’t feel you need to learn the material because it’s not important. For teachers I respect, if they make the effort to teach me something useful, I’m not going to cheat.”

I try to make my assignments as engaging as possible, but I have caught some cheaters. It feels terrible to be the one the students don’t respect. On a positive note, I assign a lot of writing in my classes, and the blatant cheating has only happened a few times. And sometimes the student “accidentally” plagiarized by copying and pasting large passages of text, then slapping a citation at the bottom of the page. For me it is more common for students to speak to me about their papers as they are writing them – some show me drafts, other ask questions here and there, and sometimes they give me regular updates on papers they are particularly invested in.

Not only do we pressure kids too much in the classroom, we do it on the sports field as well. Robbins gives the following statistic: “Every year, more than 3.5 million children age fourteen and younger are treated for sports injuries.” That’s a lot, particularly because many of them are the types of injuries that can only occur with many hundreds of hours of repetitive activity. I remember reading about this in A Nation of Wimps, too, and I repeat that I don’t want to ever lose my head and make my children believe that being the best at any sports is worth permanent, irreparable injury. If this keeps them out of the Olympics or the “Big Leagues,” I’m alright with that.

This section also discusses private preschools for children, and highly competitive kindergartens that involve standardized testing and personal interviews with both parents and children. Naturally, I read these paragraphs with great interest. I’m not sure how Little Mama would do on the tests. As a parent, I know it’s hard to resist the urge to compare our kids to other people’s, so I tried to imagine our girl in the interview room when the author was describing the ones she got to witness. At nearly four, she is decent at math, and spends a great deal of time voluntarily filling pages with letter practice. She isn’t reading yet, but enthusiastically points out her sight words (from school) when I read to her. She can draw a few shapes (she has been practicing stars lately – her attempts look pretty much like “A’s”), and I think she is excellent with scissors. I’m proud of her, of course.

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By jamie, April 1, 2012 9:15 pm

I have a lot of commitments (and a lot of catching up to do – so much for spring cleaning before summer), but I have come to the realization that reading every day makes me a better teacher, mother, and overall person, so I’m making the time for it. Blogging also makes me better because I love it so much. So I’m adding some books to the list this month, aiming to finish at least four before May.

Coach Yourself Thin: Five Steps to Retrain Your Mind, Reclaim Your Power, and Lose the Weight for Good, by Gregg Hottinger and Michael Scholtz – My New Year’s Resolution this year is to lose weight, ten points a month until I’m happy with my size. January and February went extremely well, but I stalled/backslid a bit in March. I’m a stress eater, and March was a very rough month. (If you’re curious, I have lost and kept off 21 pounds so far this year, so I certainly don’t feel like a failure in this.) I hope this book helps me get back on track, and if any of you are struggling to meet similar goals, maybe we can help keep each other accountable. [Digital]

Matched, by Ally Condie – I’m on a young adult fiction kick and this book (the first in a trilogy) has been sitting on my shelf for over a year. [Hardcover]

The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to Be a Better Husband, by David Finch – I read about this on in a book newsletter a few months ago, and am super excited to read it. [Digital]

The Blessing Of A Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children, by Wendy Mogel, Ph.D. – My child turns four this month, and I have a shelf full of parenting books I have yet to read that were purchased when she was about two (specifically aimed at parenting small children). I’m going to try to get one in every month. Maybe I can get them done before she either starts kindergarten or gets the sibling she has been campaigning for and I need to order a new set of books. [Paperback]

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand – My mom read this one over a year ago, and she loved it – she still talks about it sometimes because it left an impression on her. One of my readers (who is also a friend, and whose book opinions I value) also recommends it. [Hardcover, courtesy of my mom]

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By jamie, March 31, 2012 5:42 pm

A couple of weeks ago when we were in California, we went to the roller derby. During half time, some little girls from a local dance studio got to perform. My daughter was mesmerized – I don’t even think she blinked. She watched one dancer with particular interest, a child maybe eight years old, doing some of the moves we see on our favorite show, So You Think You Can Dance. “Mommy,” she whispered, “I have to learn how to do that. Is my dance studio going to teach me how to do that?” She is in a tiny tot dance class for an hour a week – they do ballet, tap, and tumbling, and nothing as impressive as these dancers performed. Of course, the girls that night were much older than the preschoolers in Little Mama’s class, but I found myself wondering if I am going to become one of those moms who drives her kid all over the county in pursuit of a dream.

I keep thinking about Little Mama, of course, as I read this book about teenagers preparing to attend college. It’s about kids who sleep four hours a night, take every AP class they possibly can, and juggle so many extracurricular activities they it seems impossible that they can physically manage their load. Some of them can’t, of course, and three chapters in we already know about a girl with thinning hair, a boy (now labeled a “slacker”) who suffers such extreme test anxiety that he finally just gave up studying in order to avoid the physical and emotion torment, and kid who (although the book doesn’t use the word) sounds dangerously suicidal, even after being accepted to Harvard. We are told that some overachieving kids develop eating disorders as a means of having control over something in their out of control lives,, and that the majority of bulimics and anorexics get excellent grades in school.

As with everything, social class factors into the equation, of course: at a school in New Mexico, Robbins interviews overachieving kids who don’t expect to be able to pay for expensive Ivy League schools, while several of the lead “characters” [all of whom attend(ed) a prestigious D.C. high school] have parents who shell out upwards of $30,000 for private guidance counselors to help shape their high school careers with the aim of Ivy admission.

It all seems so contrived, like a ridiculous game, and I can’t help but think that the admissions boards should feel insulted that they are being manipulated this way – why do they allow it? Sometimes the applicants don’t even write their own college applications because the highly-paid college counselor writes it for them.

The saddest case study introduced in this section centers around “AP Frank” – a kid who took every single possible AP exam (his mom actually complained to the school because they didn’t have an AP physical education class so he could get an extra point on his weighted GPA). Robbins explains the unique cultural pressures felt by some Asian students, as well as other groups in other countries. Here is just one quote from that section:

In Korea, Mrs. AP Frank’s birthplace, a popular saying is “Four in, five out,” a reference to how many hours of sleep students can allow themselves nightly if they want to get into an elite university. Three-year-olds must display skills on a musical instrument before being admitted into some preschools. In a typical Korean schedule, students work straight through their waking hours, from classes to homework to “cram school”—costly private lessons to supplement classwork. Competition for grades can be cutthroat, as some students steal classmates’ notes to sabotage their test performance. The college tiers are so crucial that a Korean’s career, life, marriage, and family pride may depend largely on where he attended school. Even into middle age, an employee’s salary, position, and reputation can be based less on his job performance than on how he did on the college entrance exam he took as a teen. In China and Taiwan, a recent uptick in the number of student suicides was attributed to the intense pressure to succeed in school. Indian officials report increased student suicides as well as traumatic disorders and hysterical psychoses due to fear of exams.

For me, for my kids, I want them to be as successful as possible. If this means I have to push them a bit, I think that’s fine. But I don’t want it to be about my goals instead of theirs. Since the roller derby halftime show, Little Mama has gotten much more interested in dance practice. When we watch the singing competitions shows (our new favorite is The Voice), she spends a great deal of the show practicing her dance steps. Who knows? Maybe I WILL be that kind of dance mom – as long as they are HER dreams, I don’t mind helping her chase them.