The Best Paragraph I've Read...

The Midwest!!! Why Does Everyone Believe they Live There? Are Montana, Idaho, & Colorado Midwest? What's So Special About Identifying As Midwest? Which States Should Not Be Considered Midwest?

The Best Paragraph I've Read: "Lynn Shelmerdine passes oil rigs and tumbleweed on her way to work. Most men she knows drive pickup trucks and quite a few wear cowboy hats. But she’s emphatic that her part of Montana, despite being in Mountain time, is the Midwest rather than the Wild West. It’s “family, family, family and I think that’s what Midwestern people are—family comes first and working hard and providing for your family,” says Shelmerdine, a 60-year-old retired teacher who runs Elks Lodge #1782 in Sidney, Mont., a small oil and agricultural city about 10 miles from the North Dakota border.  “Meat and potatoes…county fairs and we definitely have lots of casseroles—we call them a hot dish,” she says. Don’t forget marshmallows in salads. “You got a church potluck, you’re gonna get that.”  Everyone knows places such as Ohio and Minnesota are solidly in the Midwest. But a recent poll finds that the Midwest is more a state of mind than just a place you can point to on a map." This paragraph comes from the Wall Street Journal. The article is titled: "It's Amazing How Many Americans Think They Live in the Midwest. When they Don't." The authors are Ben Kesling and Jennifer Levitz. You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/midwest-u-s-survey-west-geography-97c18794 Zac & Don discuss the borders of the Midwest. They wonder why so many Americans want to see themselves as part of the Midwest. They also share their thoughts on which states should be included in the Midwest.  

Is Fun Dead? Did Americans Forget How to Have Fun? Do We Need Fun Coaches? Are We Too Busy Acting Our Fun on Social Media? Why Does Fun Feel Like An UnFun Slog When It's Over? Are There Any Solutions?

The Best Paragraph I've Read: Sometime in recent history, possibly around 2004, Americans forgot to have fun, true fun, as though they’d misplaced it like a sock. Instead, fun evolved into work, sometimes more than true work, which is where we find ourselves now. Fun is often emphatic, exhausting, scheduled, pigeonholed, hyped, forced and performative. Adults assiduously record themselves appearing to have something masquerading as “fun,” a fusillade of Coachellic micro social aggressions unleashed on multiple social media platforms. Look at me having so much FUN! Which means it is nothing of the sort. This is the drag equivalent of fun and suggests that fun is done. When there are podcasts on happiness (“The Happiness Lab,” “Happier”); a global study on joy (The Big Joy Project); David Byrne offering reasons to be cheerful; workshops on staging a “funtervention”; fun coaches; and various apps to track happiness, two things are abundantly clear: Fun is in serious trouble, and we are desperately in need of joy. This paragraph comes from the Washington Post. The article is titled: "Fun is dead." The author is Karen Heller. You can read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2023/12/23/fun-is-dead/ Zac and Don discuss whether fun is dead. They wonder if maybe people have expectations for fun that are unreal. They wonder if maybe fun is about who you are with and not what you are doing. They also wonder if specific age groups struggle with fun more than others...

What Happened to Sports Illustrated!? Why the Decline? Is Sports Journalism Dying? Is this Just An Issue for People Over Age 40? Former Free Press Reporter & Author Mark Snyder Shares His Insights!

The Best Paragraph I've Read: S.L. Price was a newspaper guy, making his bones as a young reporter at the Sacramento Bee and Miami Herald in the ’80s and ’90s. He covered sports, but those publications also allowed him to dip in on other beats; one day he might be reporting from the Olympics, the next he would be in thick of hurricane coverage. “I loved working for newspapers so much,” Price said. But in 1994, enticed by a significant salary bump, he left the world of dailies for a job at Sports Illustrated. It didn’t take long for Price to realize that he had reached a promised land. “It was the gold standard,” he recalled. Price spent the next 26 years at Sports Illustrated, authoring 47 cover stories and profiling the likes of Serena Williams, Lionel Messi, and even Barack Obama. For much of that time, the magazine hummed with all of its editorial horsepower. “Everybody in the building was smarter than you, and they made you look better,” he said of Sports Illustrated’s salad days, when the magazine was still flush with advertising revenue, and its pages rich with high-quality journalism. Price and his colleagues were supported by a deep newsroom infrastructure and empowered by the financial strength of the magazine, allowing it to become “a hub of great ideas and daring journalism.” Whereas “the problem with journalism today,” he added, is that “so much of it is undermined subtly by this lack of confidence, fueled by a lack of money.”   This paragraph comes from Vanity Fair. The article is titled: "The Worst That It's Ever Been": Inside Sports Illustrated Winter of Discontent." The author is Tom Kludt. You can read the full article here: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/sports-illustrated-future Reporter and Author Mark Synder joins Zac and Don to talk about the decline of Sports Illustrated. They talk about what Sports Illustrated used to mean and how it has declined. They also talk about how the business of sports journalism has changed.

The President Election Begins! What Statistics Are Most Interesting: Enthusiasm Gap? Approval Ratings? Economy? Age? Ad Spending in FL & OH? 3rd Party Candidates? Government Teacher Kevin Kopec Joins!

The Best Paragraph I've Read: Is a collection of interesting numbers and statistics surrounding this year's presidential election. These numbers come from Politico. You can read the full article and all of the numbers here: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/30/2024-election-numbers-00133327 Government teacher Kevin Kopec joins Zac and Don to discuss the political statistics they found most interesting as election season begins.

Are Boys Struggling in Middle School? Is It An Engagement, Organization, Academic, or Maturity Issue? Should Schools Rethink Their Instructional Programming & Philosophy? Principal Dave McKay Joins!

The Best Paragraph I've Read: The roots of boys’ problems are complex. Things that once benefited boys in school, including male teachers, recess and vocational classes, have dwindled in recent years. The post pandemic ubiquity of technology also has contributed to boys’ problems—and parents’ frustration. “If you have the option between studying for boring chemistry and playing a videogame, who would choose the chemistry homework?”  And with Chromebooks in tow throughout the school day, boys are accessing YouTube and games during class. Girls have their share of tech problems, too. But the desire for likes and connection that makes social media so appealing—and at times harmful—can benefit girls as they pursue positive feedback from teachers and peers, psychologists say. Parents, tutors and education experts say boys need extra encouragement to understand the payoff of working hard in school. Basically, they need a bigger reason than letter grades. This paragraph comes from the Wall Street Journal. The article is titled: "Boys Are Struggling. It Can Take Coaches, Tutors and Thousands a Month to Fix That." The article is written by Julie Jargon. You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/middle-schoolers-academic-success-innovation-40e8456d Zac and Don are joined by middle school principal David McKay. The three share their thoughts on middle school boys and their learning needs. They discuss whether the national trends of boys struggling to learn are true. They debate the merits of potential solutions. The following article is also referenced during the podcast: Inside the Schools Where Boys Can Be Boys