HASSLINGTON TO ATTEND AN ELWYN TINKLENBERG FUNDRAISING RECEPTION (IN MINNEAPOLIS ON JULY 21)
I plan on attending a fundraising reception for Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg--who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Minnesota's Sixth District against incumbent Republican Michelle Bachman--to be held on Monday, July 21, at the office of Vance Opperman in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With endorsements from both the Democratic Party and the Independence Party, "El" will have a fair chance at winning that particular seat, which will be a good thing for two reasons: first, he is a strong, knowledgeable candidate; second, Representiative Bachmann has increasingly tacked to the right wing of her party, which is not exactly indicative of the politically independent views of the majority of people living in the Sixth District. (Though I do not reside in Minnesota's Sixth District, I met "El" in April, found him to be an impressive individual, and endorsed him on this website shortly thereafter.)
The event will be held at 8:30 a.m., which is admittedly early, but it will allow folks with day jobs to attend at least some of the event and still work half or even the majority of their hours during the day. Mr. Opperman's office is located in the Key Investment Office at 225 South 6th Street, Suite 5200, and the event will be co-hosted by Congressmen Jim Oberstar and Tim Walz. I know it's short notice, but if any Hasslington readers are able to attend, I'd love to meet you. If not, I certainly understand, and please keep in touch regarding similar events.
ANOTHER HASSLINGTON BASEBALL PREDICTION (OR PERHAPS JUST WISH): JUSTIN MORNEAU FOR MVP
After yesterday's game at the Metrodome (today's is just starting), the Minnesota Twins improved to 55 wins and 42 losses on the season. Not too long ago they were a few games below .500; now they are thirteen games above that mark and a half-game out of first place in the American League Central Division. A lot of players have contributed to the Twins' recent success--among them the superb young Alexi Casilla, the suddenly red-hot Delmon Young, the always-consistent Joe Mauer, and the entire pitching staff--but no one has meant more to that team than first baseman Justin Morneau, who is currently batting .325 and has driven in 73 runs thus far (he's in the top three or so in the American League in both categories). No one is complaining about the fact that he has hit "only" 15 home runs, particularly since he has been intentionally walked to an almost alarming extent of late, and when he isn't intentionally walked, pitchers are at least making sure never to put the ball in his wheelhouse (so to speak), because they know it would almost guarantee him a double to the outfield gap, if not a home run. Hence, they're staying away from pitching him inside (unless it's to bust him way inside), and he is therefore sending a lot of his hits to the opposite field. Tony Oliva once said of his success, "I hit the ball all over." Justin Morneau is doing the same thing, and as such has become a complete hitter.
I know that the Rangers have a certain Mr. Hamilton who seems to do nothing but drive in runs (he has an incredible 95 so far this season), so winning this year's MVP award will be a difficult thing for Mr. Morneau to achieve, but at this point the Rangers are struggling to put a playoff run together. The Twins, on the other hand.... Thus, a strong case can and should be made that, if the Twins make the playoffs, Justin Morneau deserves this year's American League MVP Award, which would be his second (he won it, and deservedly so, in 2006). Now I just have to hope the Twins can pull a playoff berth out of their collective hat again this year.
Hasslington Baseball Predictions Review:
--AL batting title: Joe Mauer (Minnesota Twins). So far, he's batting over .320 and is still very much in the race.
--NL batting title: Lance Berkman (Houston Astros). So far, he's batting over .340 and is still very much in the race.
--AL MVP: Justin Morneau (Minnesota Twins). So far, he's batting over .320 and has driven in 73 runs, and his team is a surprising playoff contender, so he's still very much in the race.
--NL MVP: Is Lance Berkman's team good enough? Will Albert Pujols have enough at-bats to pump-up his power numbers? Will Chipper Jones's Atlanta Braves make the playoffs? Will Prince Fielder go on a tear and help his team make the playoffs? Will someone else emerge? You're going to have to give me a bit more time on this one....
WHAT WILLIAM BROCK, LEADER OF THE NEW COMMISSION ON THE SKILLS OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE, SAYS OF THE STATE OF EDUCATION TODAY
Hasslington, from a recent (June) post titled "Learning and Teaching Today": "...[The situation in teaching today is one in which] so very few teachers...have a sense of intellectual adventurism; they seem desperate to be forced into teaching methods that are rigid and 'set' for them, as if they can't (won't) engage in the type of creativity and improvisation of which intelligent people are capable while still focusing on one or two areas of study...." *
* Note: I most certainly did not blame teachers alone for this scenario (I am a teacher, after all); rather, I stated what I perceive to be a problem with American education today, and then gave what I see to be various reasons, working in concert with one another, why this is the case.
William Brock (in Parade Magazine's July 6, 2008 issue): "We need the very best among us to become teachers, and we need to ensure that standardized tests of rote knowledge don't drive education away from the very things that have made America special: critical thinking, creativity, innovation, and teamwork."
Regarding Mr. Brock's comments, one of the ways one might teach lifelong critical thinking, creativity, and innovation skills (and, to a certain extent, teamwork) to students is by teaching in such a manner that the teacher constantly utilizes her or his own critical thinking skills. This can be done through the application of creativity and innovation (and team-building skills) in the classroom, which, when focused on the task at hand in different, thought-provoking, and sometimes surprising ways, can inspire even the most reluctant students to learn both objective knowledge and subjective innovation skills.
The way that such a scenario might just occur is if nearly all teachers are not simply automaton-esque individuals who are comfortable only with rote, "rubric"-driven methods of teaching, but rather intellectually curious individuals for whom learning is an adventure. The best and the brightest thinkers--people who seem to get high off of finding connections between ideas and applying Socratic thinking methods to their daily lives--need to be teachers; they can inspire students to reach for their own individual stars, too.
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