Opinion

This time of year, the days are long, and the weather is hot. Ahh, summer.

If you met or were introduced to yourself, perhaps a clone, would you like that person? Would they be a good influence on you? Social media has provided a microphone to all users to express an opinion on everything, 24 hours a day. Long gone are the days of the adage, “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all.” These days many brag about the fact they have no filter.

Coffee by my side, I sit on the dock, overlooking North Arm Bay of Lake Minnetonka. It is 6:02 a.m. Everyone who writes about these sorts of times describes it as quiet and peaceful. They deliberately ignore the Hitchcockian quantities of birds hellbent on their morning song. It’s loud out here. A family of geese paddle somewhere slowly, honking. A loon calls someone, maybe his mother. I face east which means the sunrise is directly in front of me, just above the horizon. Sunrises are a bit like the Minnesota Vikings, best enjoyed with a gaze that I’ll call indirect. I do not wish to be the guy wearing sunglasses at six a.m., but I suppose we all have a cross to bear.

A friend told me he believes that women are more likely than men to multi-task while they drive—fix their hair, put on make-up, that sort of thing. I told him that is entirely possible since woman are also more likely to fix their hair and put on make-up when they aren’t driving.

The other day I read a quote that made me stop and take pause. It read, “Don’t ever work for someone you don’t want to become.” Now at first glance, it makes perfect sense. Some might read that and say to themselves, “Well, of course. That’s a no-brainer. I would never do that.” At closer inspection though, how many people do we all know who work for bosses or companies who exhibit qualities that are unbecoming or downright negative?

Summer is a time for kids to kick back, take a break from routine, and enjoy lazy days. It also, in many cases, is when learning loss- aka “The Summer Slide” can take place. Summer setbacks are nothing new regarding academics and the phenomenon has been researched by educators since the beginning of time. On average, student achievement can decline over the summer by up to a third of a prior year’s learning gains. Loss is usually greater in mathematics than reading, and higher grade leveled students are more noticeably affected than younger learners. The summer slide can be measured in both social skills and classroom discipline, in addition to academics.

Earlier this spring I attended a band concert at the high school. It was a lot of students plus alumni from years past at GEHS.

Dayton Moore has always been a vocal opponent of purposefully tanking a season for his Kansas City Royals. The former general manager, who is now the team’s president, has refused to sell off his roster in order to have the worst record and nab the top pick in the following summer’s Major League Baseball draft.