[njtosd]

Has anyone on this board ever heard of the Marshmallow test? Here’s an article from the New Yorker that describes it in more detail: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer?currentPage=2

The gist of it is that 4 year olds were subjected to an experiment where they were offered a treat (cookie, marshmallow, etc.). The researcher told the child that he/she was going to leave the room, but if the treat was still there when the researcher returned, the child could have two of the treat. This was a basic test for delaying gratification. For various reasons, the researchers followed up with the test subjects much later in life and found that the kids’ ability to delay gratification hadn’t changed much over the years. Furthermore, the ones who had been able to resist the treat until the researcher returned were much more successful in life overall (higher achievement, higher SAT scores, etc.) This suggests that will power is established early on, important to a variety of life’s challenges, and, in my opinion, may well be inborn.

[njtosd]

Has anyone on this board ever heard of the Marshmallow test? Here’s an article from the New Yorker that describes it in more detail: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer?currentPage=2

The gist of it is that 4 year olds were subjected to an experiment where they were offered a treat (cookie, marshmallow, etc.). The researcher told the child that he/she was going to leave the room, but if the treat was still there when the researcher returned, the child could have two of the treat. This was a basic test for delaying gratification. For various reasons, the researchers followed up with the test subjects much later in life and found that the kids’ ability to delay gratification hadn’t changed much over the years. Furthermore, the ones who had been able to resist the treat until the researcher returned were much more successful in life overall (higher achievement, higher SAT scores, etc.) This suggests that will power is established early on, important to a variety of life’s challenges, and, in my opinion, may well be inborn.

[njtosd]

[quote=LesBaer45][quote=njtosd]According to the South Carolina tobacco board, tobacco farming still is alive and well in the northeast, but doesn’t seem to be as common in the northwest (Greenville) area. This is an important difference, as nicotine is very volatile – if you stand in a tobacco field and breath it in, you can get a significant dose of nicotine. Not something I’d want next door . . .[/quote]

I swear I couldn’t stop laughing for 20 minutes.

. . . .

Don’t worry, it won’t run out of the field and force you to smoke it or bite you in your ass.

Some people…..[/quote]

Umm. . . . what are you laughing about? Nicotine is well know to be very volatile – my husband used to work for a company that made nicotine patches and the vials of nicotine that were used for the patches was treated with the same laboratory procedures as radioactive substances. Furthermore, I knew someone who grew up on a tobacco farm and he couldn’t get away from it fast enough – he said the smell made him sick. I think you’re over reacting a little . . .

[njtosd]

[quote=LesBaer45][quote=njtosd]According to the South Carolina tobacco board, tobacco farming still is alive and well in the northeast, but doesn’t seem to be as common in the northwest (Greenville) area. This is an important difference, as nicotine is very volatile – if you stand in a tobacco field and breath it in, you can get a significant dose of nicotine. Not something I’d want next door . . .[/quote]

I swear I couldn’t stop laughing for 20 minutes.

. . . .

Don’t worry, it won’t run out of the field and force you to smoke it or bite you in your ass.

Some people…..[/quote]

Umm. . . . what are you laughing about? Nicotine is well know to be very volatile – my husband used to work for a company that made nicotine patches and the vials of nicotine that were used for the patches was treated with the same laboratory procedures as radioactive substances. Furthermore, I knew someone who grew up on a tobacco farm and he couldn’t get away from it fast enough – he said the smell made him sick. I think you’re over reacting a little . . .

[njtosd]

[quote=LesBaer45][quote=njtosd]According to the South Carolina tobacco board, tobacco farming still is alive and well in the northeast, but doesn’t seem to be as common in the northwest (Greenville) area. This is an important difference, as nicotine is very volatile – if you stand in a tobacco field and breath it in, you can get a significant dose of nicotine. Not something I’d want next door . . .[/quote]

I swear I couldn’t stop laughing for 20 minutes.

. . . .

Don’t worry, it won’t run out of the field and force you to smoke it or bite you in your ass.

Some people…..[/quote]

Umm. . . . what are you laughing about? Nicotine is well know to be very volatile – my husband used to work for a company that made nicotine patches and the vials of nicotine that were used for the patches was treated with the same laboratory procedures as radioactive substances. Furthermore, I knew someone who grew up on a tobacco farm and he couldn’t get away from it fast enough – he said the smell made him sick. I think you’re over reacting a little . . .

[njtosd]

[quote=LesBaer45][quote=njtosd]According to the South Carolina tobacco board, tobacco farming still is alive and well in the northeast, but doesn’t seem to be as common in the northwest (Greenville) area. This is an important difference, as nicotine is very volatile – if you stand in a tobacco field and breath it in, you can get a significant dose of nicotine. Not something I’d want next door . . .[/quote]

I swear I couldn’t stop laughing for 20 minutes.

. . . .

Don’t worry, it won’t run out of the field and force you to smoke it or bite you in your ass.

Some people…..[/quote]

Umm. . . . what are you laughing about? Nicotine is well know to be very volatile – my husband used to work for a company that made nicotine patches and the vials of nicotine that were used for the patches was treated with the same laboratory procedures as radioactive substances. Furthermore, I knew someone who grew up on a tobacco farm and he couldn’t get away from it fast enough – he said the smell made him sick. I think you’re over reacting a little . . .

[njtosd]

[quote=LesBaer45][quote=njtosd]According to the South Carolina tobacco board, tobacco farming still is alive and well in the northeast, but doesn’t seem to be as common in the northwest (Greenville) area. This is an important difference, as nicotine is very volatile – if you stand in a tobacco field and breath it in, you can get a significant dose of nicotine. Not something I’d want next door . . .[/quote]

I swear I couldn’t stop laughing for 20 minutes.

. . . .

Don’t worry, it won’t run out of the field and force you to smoke it or bite you in your ass.

Some people…..[/quote]

Umm. . . . what are you laughing about? Nicotine is well know to be very volatile – my husband used to work for a company that made nicotine patches and the vials of nicotine that were used for the patches was treated with the same laboratory procedures as radioactive substances. Furthermore, I knew someone who grew up on a tobacco farm and he couldn’t get away from it fast enough – he said the smell made him sick. I think you’re over reacting a little . . .

[njtosd]

[quote=AN]Interesting article. I can totally see teachers trying to cheat to get a bonus. But that to me is not a knock on the standardize test as much as some teachers/people willing to do anything for a few grand. A simple solution would be to have a SAT like test where teachers get removed from the testing site during the test taking period.

[/quote]

Another way to do it is using statistics, as described in “Freakonomics” where cheating was proven (and teachers successfully fired) by looking at the rate of correct answers at the end of the test. One way teachers cheat is to fill in correct answers at the end of test for kids who didn’t finish – so the rate of correct answers on those last questions, when compared to the rest of the test, can prove that someone tampered. The authors of that book also seem to think the DC teachers are possibly cheating:

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/03/30/have-d-c-s-best-schools-been-cheating-2/

[njtosd]

[quote=AN]Interesting article. I can totally see teachers trying to cheat to get a bonus. But that to me is not a knock on the standardize test as much as some teachers/people willing to do anything for a few grand. A simple solution would be to have a SAT like test where teachers get removed from the testing site during the test taking period.

[/quote]

Another way to do it is using statistics, as described in “Freakonomics” where cheating was proven (and teachers successfully fired) by looking at the rate of correct answers at the end of the test. One way teachers cheat is to fill in correct answers at the end of test for kids who didn’t finish – so the rate of correct answers on those last questions, when compared to the rest of the test, can prove that someone tampered. The authors of that book also seem to think the DC teachers are possibly cheating:

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/03/30/have-d-c-s-best-schools-been-cheating-2/

[njtosd]

[quote=AN]Interesting article. I can totally see teachers trying to cheat to get a bonus. But that to me is not a knock on the standardize test as much as some teachers/people willing to do anything for a few grand. A simple solution would be to have a SAT like test where teachers get removed from the testing site during the test taking period.

[/quote]

Another way to do it is using statistics, as described in “Freakonomics” where cheating was proven (and teachers successfully fired) by looking at the rate of correct answers at the end of the test. One way teachers cheat is to fill in correct answers at the end of test for kids who didn’t finish – so the rate of correct answers on those last questions, when compared to the rest of the test, can prove that someone tampered. The authors of that book also seem to think the DC teachers are possibly cheating:

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/03/30/have-d-c-s-best-schools-been-cheating-2/

[njtosd]

[quote=AN]Interesting article. I can totally see teachers trying to cheat to get a bonus. But that to me is not a knock on the standardize test as much as some teachers/people willing to do anything for a few grand. A simple solution would be to have a SAT like test where teachers get removed from the testing site during the test taking period.

[/quote]

Another way to do it is using statistics, as described in “Freakonomics” where cheating was proven (and teachers successfully fired) by looking at the rate of correct answers at the end of the test. One way teachers cheat is to fill in correct answers at the end of test for kids who didn’t finish – so the rate of correct answers on those last questions, when compared to the rest of the test, can prove that someone tampered. The authors of that book also seem to think the DC teachers are possibly cheating:

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/03/30/have-d-c-s-best-schools-been-cheating-2/

[njtosd]

[quote=AN]Interesting article. I can totally see teachers trying to cheat to get a bonus. But that to me is not a knock on the standardize test as much as some teachers/people willing to do anything for a few grand. A simple solution would be to have a SAT like test where teachers get removed from the testing site during the test taking period.

[/quote]

Another way to do it is using statistics, as described in “Freakonomics” where cheating was proven (and teachers successfully fired) by looking at the rate of correct answers at the end of the test. One way teachers cheat is to fill in correct answers at the end of test for kids who didn’t finish – so the rate of correct answers on those last questions, when compared to the rest of the test, can prove that someone tampered. The authors of that book also seem to think the DC teachers are possibly cheating:

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/03/30/have-d-c-s-best-schools-been-cheating-2/

[njtosd]

[quote=briansd1]
My cousin’s son lives in Bloomington, IN and works for the university there. He says that one of the best places in USA to live — a cultural oasis in midwestern desert. It’s on my list of places to check out, one of these days.[/quote]

Good heavens. You really do need to spend some time in the midwest. I spent the first 35 years of my life in Detroit/Ann Arbor/Chicago. I currently live 40 miles from NYC and culturally I’ve never lived in such a desert. The grocery store in Ripon, WI (birthplace of the Republican party) is a palace compared to the grocery store down the street. And I love Indiana, especially Indianapolis. (This is a beautiful picture of Monument Circle there: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc33569.php). Anyone old enough to have seen the movie “Cutters”? (Refers to the stone cutters in southern Indiana) It was filmed in Bloomington, I believe – gorgeous. Also, U of I Bloomington has a fantastic music school – according to Wikipedia, in 1981 it’s opera program was “the first non-professional company to stage an opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.”

You’re kidding yourself if you believe the standard spiel about the midwest – mostly just a result of the people on the coasts patting themselves on the back, IMHO.

[njtosd]

[quote=briansd1]
My cousin’s son lives in Bloomington, IN and works for the university there. He says that one of the best places in USA to live — a cultural oasis in midwestern desert. It’s on my list of places to check out, one of these days.[/quote]

Good heavens. You really do need to spend some time in the midwest. I spent the first 35 years of my life in Detroit/Ann Arbor/Chicago. I currently live 40 miles from NYC and culturally I’ve never lived in such a desert. The grocery store in Ripon, WI (birthplace of the Republican party) is a palace compared to the grocery store down the street. And I love Indiana, especially Indianapolis. (This is a beautiful picture of Monument Circle there: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc33569.php). Anyone old enough to have seen the movie “Cutters”? (Refers to the stone cutters in southern Indiana) It was filmed in Bloomington, I believe – gorgeous. Also, U of I Bloomington has a fantastic music school – according to Wikipedia, in 1981 it’s opera program was “the first non-professional company to stage an opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.”

You’re kidding yourself if you believe the standard spiel about the midwest – mostly just a result of the people on the coasts patting themselves on the back, IMHO.

[njtosd]

[quote=briansd1]
My cousin’s son lives in Bloomington, IN and works for the university there. He says that one of the best places in USA to live — a cultural oasis in midwestern desert. It’s on my list of places to check out, one of these days.[/quote]

Good heavens. You really do need to spend some time in the midwest. I spent the first 35 years of my life in Detroit/Ann Arbor/Chicago. I currently live 40 miles from NYC and culturally I’ve never lived in such a desert. The grocery store in Ripon, WI (birthplace of the Republican party) is a palace compared to the grocery store down the street. And I love Indiana, especially Indianapolis. (This is a beautiful picture of Monument Circle there: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc33569.php). Anyone old enough to have seen the movie “Cutters”? (Refers to the stone cutters in southern Indiana) It was filmed in Bloomington, I believe – gorgeous. Also, U of I Bloomington has a fantastic music school – according to Wikipedia, in 1981 it’s opera program was “the first non-professional company to stage an opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.”

You’re kidding yourself if you believe the standard spiel about the midwest – mostly just a result of the people on the coasts patting themselves on the back, IMHO.

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