Every Monday afternoon for the past few months I’ve helped run an after school rugby program in Poughkeepsie with my aging college coach.  Tony Brown is a 50 something Brit and bit of a curmudgeon–dominating in conversations and stubbornly anti-PC.  From 4 to 5 each week, we take a handful of students outside and run them around, attempting, without much success, to impose some sort of shape on the chaos that make look something like rugby.  We often resort to playing keep away.

The children congregate in the cafeteria after their tutoring sessions where Tony and I collect them and take them out to the field.  We arrived early one day and found only one student in the cafeteria.  He was wandering between the collapsible tables, ear buds firmly in place.  He didn’t hear Tony the first time he asked him to sit down and only after he took the headphones off of the child’s head did he begrudgingly sit down with us.

The most obvious topic of conversation was music and Tony barged right in.  The only sense of Tony’s taste in music is what I get from the short car trips we share going to and from the school.  He doesn’t have a CD player in the car, nor does he have tapes to play so we amble down the streets of Poughkeepsie listening to Lite FM.  Sufficiently out of touch with anything relevant in the past twenty years, Tony wanted to talk about bands from the 60’s and 70’s.  The kid wasn’t interested.  Unwilling to compromise, Tony forced the poor kid to name classic rock bands.  He couldn’t name one.  Not even after much prompting, including sing alongs and a stunning air trumpet riff from Tony, could the boy come up with The Beatles.

So I asked him if he listened to Drake.  His ears pricked.

“What’s your favorite song?”  I asked.

“Forever.”

“Who do you think has the best verse on that?”
“Wheezy!”

“What about Em?”

“Hc comes AFTERRRR Wayne” he crooned in a Wheezy-esque drawl.

Tony looked confused.  Luckily the track was on the kid’s mp3 player and Tony plugged in the ear buds.  He furrowed his brow and lasted about thirty seconds.  He nodded, handed the player back to the kid and said to me,

“Well, now I have something to talk about with the youngsters.”

The image of my coach wearing those headphones has stuck with me.  Some much time and culture was being bridged in that moment and was more than a little farcical.  The music of our generation has mined Tony’s for so long.  The two share so many aspects and yet, when you sit them down at a table, you get nothing.  The sounds are in such constant dialogue but it is not forced upon us as listeners.  We are not confronted with pastiche and influence.  It certainly is there if we are aware of it and chose to pay attention to it, but it is by no means a requirement of consuming the music.

***

You know that Beatles’ song, “I Will”?  You know, that short little beauty of a track on the White Album where Paul sings the bass line.  Reggae artist John Holt covered it and his track was, years later, sampled by Kanye West for Jay Z’s “Encore,”  his faux swan song from the Black Album.  Before you get too lost in the sample from a cover, Danger Mouse’s critically acclaimed mash-up of Jay’s Black and the Beatles’ White, fittingly dubbed the Grey Album, must have realized this link and paired the two tracks together right?  No luck.  It would have been too perfect, contrived even.  Or maybe Mouse just didn’t know the back story of the source material, never having been forced to investigate.

Watch a new video where John Holt, Cobalt founder and CEO, talks about how dealers should optimize their media budget in the current economy.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

Over the past 14 years, Cobalt has grown from a small business to a leader in digital marketing for the automotive industry. With innovations such as unique display advertising, used car lead generation programs and owner marketing, Cobalt has proven to be a strong and effective company even in the recession.

The “DieHards”
On St. Patrick’s Day 2010, Cobalt will be celebrating its 15th anniversary, honoring its exponential growth as well as its hardworking and dedicated employees.  Within Cobalt there are 50 people who stand out and truly encompass the energy and drive of the company and its employees. These individuals have worked at Cobalt for nine or more years and are lovingly called the “Cobalt DieHards.” They are committed to the success of the company and focused on growing and learning with it. In total, the DieHards have given over 480 years of combined devotion to Cobalt.

As John Holt, Cobalt’s CEO, said, “Some of them have fancy titles; lots don’t. It doesn’t matter… they’ve given us sweat/commitment/contribution from their hearts for a long, long time… and that makes all of them the same… and very special.”

Remembering the Old Days
DieHards bring a unique factor to the Cobalt equation, offering unification as well as a wealth of knowledge about the industry and its transformations. When asked how they felt about being DieHards, many responded with “proud,” “old” and “excited.” To honor them, every summer for the past three years, Holt opens his home to the DieHards in celebration of their longevity and friendship, as well as in welcome of the newcomers to the group. They are given special DieHard name placards, jackets and, best of all, one extra personal day off each year.

“When I started working at Cobalt [in the late 1990s], most dealers didn’t have an Internet connection and many were using fax numbers to dial in. In order to present to a dealer or a group of dealers, I had to bring hardcopies of websites and a telephone line that was long enough to stretch from the fax machine to the conference room!” recounted Melissa Satterwhite, senior operations analyst and Cobalt employee for eleven and a half years.

The Drive for More
The DieHards have seen the company through many years of good times and some frustrations, including growing pains and winning large accounts like Lexus, GM and Volkswagen. Regardless, the excitement and motivation for the future is ever-present.

“We are constantly doing new things, working with new clients, growing and innovating. Cobalt is simply the very best at what we do. I am a firm believer of working hard and keeping your eye on the prize. If you’re looking to stretch your imagination and grow, then Cobalt is the place to be. Being a Diehard, we stick to it. I hope there is more of this as the years continue. More, bigger and better,” said Scott Sabo, director of enterprise sales operations and a Cobalt employee for eleven years and nine months.

For me, it was inspiring to speak with several of the DieHards. Their voices are strong and founded with pride in their individual accomplishments as well as in the success of the company. Getting to know Cobalt employees, young and old, long-standing and new, I have grown to recognize their motto of “work hard, play hard,” whether they are volunteering for charities, getting the job done or developing new and creative ways to cater to their customers.

Prepared for the Transformation
“A lot of companies don’t value seniority or longevity. It’s fascinating and honoring to be a DieHard at Cobalt. I receive so much support from the company, and I am dedicated to seeing this company be victorious. We’ve been waiting for the transformation when dealers and OEMs think about marketing online first, not third or fifth. The switch is happening; and I want to see it take place at an even greater degree,” said Alden Hopkins, creative director and a Cobalt employee for ten years and two months.

It’s safe to say that many Cobalt employees share the same sentiments. In the past year, Cobalt has succeeded in many ways by gaining large accounts and being recognized as one of the best digital marketing providers for dealers and OEMs. The upcoming anniversary party will be a celebration of past accomplishments and a welcome to the next big year.

Alyse Speyer
Contributing Editor
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

Halloween is the time of year when all are welcomed to dress up in costumes and trick for a treat. It is a favorite holiday for many, including John Holt, CEO of Cobalt. Every year, Cobalt employees are cordially invited to the annual Halloween Party, where everyone is encouraged to dress up and enjoy Halloween-themed food, drink and, of course, contests! This year, Cobalt set out to “do it big.”

Party Planning
“Halloween is one of the big holidays where we really go all out. It took a month-and-a-half to plan the party. This year, I had a team of people helping with food and decorations and I couldn’t have done it without them. I really enjoyed managing the décor and hand-making the chandeliers,” said Sarah Morrison, executive assistant.

Cobalt Halloween began the week before the party with cube decorations and roaming witches brooms, chasing all who entered the lobby. Also included was the annual Poster Contest where employees were enticed by prizes to design this year’s poster featuring the pirate-themed company party. Allison Maslow took the win for her outstanding design.

A Graveyard Fit for a Pirate
Finally at 3pm last Friday, costumed employees gathered in the auditorium where spooky decorations of skull chandeliers and black draperies, as well as, pizza and drinks awaited them.

“We had a candy graveyard with tombstones where people dug up candy, pirate dog tags and stress balls. Many of the departments had themed costumes. There was a lot of sport and competition. Our department did the Roaring 20s and HR did a monopoly theme,” said Jeremy Helstrom, web builder.

Holt came dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow as he does every year; however, this year the Seattle Children’s Theatre added the final touches. Luckily for Holt, the makeup artists were well-versed in pirate makeup as they had been preparing for the Theatre’s production of Peter Pan. Other costumes included vampires and devils, a treasure chest and Elliot with ET.

Cobalt’s Costume Creativity
That’s not all. No Halloween party would be complete without friendly competition. There were several costume contests including Best Large Group, Best Small Group, Most Creative Individual and Best Cube Decoration. Best Large Group had stiff competition with Roaring 20s accepting the win and Monopoly as a close second. Best Small Group went to Iris Laband and Brian Hagins, the web analytics vampires. Kambrie Balser won Most Creative Individual Costume for her rendition of Betty Boop and Morrison won for Best Cube and her efforts in planning the party. Prizes included group Happy Hours and gift cards to various local merchants. All in all the party was a howling success.

Alyse Speyer
Contributing Editor
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

john holt
– one of the founders of the unschooling movement –
is another author i read
back when i was first just thinking about homeschooling.
he was very encouraging to me
and help me understand
and put into words
why i felt how i felt.
when folks have questions about homeschool,
here is where i get many of my responses.

holt has several books but start with these two:
how children learn

(the companion book is how children fail.)

and teach your own

John Holt – Police in helicopters

Pistas

1.Police in Helicopters

2.Private Doctor

3. Last trian from the ghetto

4.Beach Party

5.Reality

6.Fat She Fat

7.Chanting

8.Sugar and Spice

9.Can´t use me

10. Igot Caught

Descargar aqui

Chris Reed
Chief Marketing Officer, Cobalt

 I was talking to a close friend about a call I had received from a recruiter about an opportunity at a company called Cobalt in Seattle. We both had spent our careers at the cutting edge of technology and analytics, working with the world’s most sophisticated companies as clients. Our impression of the automotive industry was one of slow moving behemoths in decline. The idea of focusing my energies on that industry was just a non-starter; how could I stay on the cutting edge in such an industry? I told the recruiter that I wasn’t interested.

The recruiter was persistent. Did I understand that Cobalt was a leader in digital marketing, one of Google’s largest partners? Did I know that Cobalt had pioneered new practices in coordinated marketing across thousands of independent businesses? It seemed Cobalt was actually a digital marketing company that happened to specialize in the auto industry. What could it hurt to talk with them? I did talk to them and I’m glad I did. The auto industry is different. Buying a car, after buying a house, is one of the largest investments many of us make in our life. The car itself is more than a hunk of metal and plastic, it is symbolic of freedom and a means to express ourselves – whether that be to signal our status or our commitment to the environment. The industry has a rich history and many characters. What I discovered was that Cobalt was leading a quiet revolution within the industry, working with forward-looking manufacturers, Internet firms, agencies and dealers to exploit the rapid adoption of the internet by auto shoppers, lowering costs and bringing objective measurement to new areas of marketing.

As a marketer, I was fascinated by the opportunity to understand a specific shopping process in great depth, to deliver tailored experiences to the shopper to speed their decision, and to have the analytic insights to optimize their experience over time. Cobalt’s culture was also appealing. Having been in large companies and start-ups I knew I liked organizations that were still dynamic enough to create personal opportunity, but had sufficient scale to have market impact. Cobalt was in that “sweet spot” – I felt I could make a difference. The company’s culture was still guided by its founder, John Holt, and had a solid foundation of integrity and mutual respect, values that are important to me. I did make the move to Cobalt and I can honestly say there hasn’t been a boring day since. It is a pleasure to consult with a diverse set of clients and partners – independent business owners growing their businesses, advertising agencies and digital marketing leaders like Google and Yahoo! – to develop new cost-effective marketing approaches ideally suited to the times.

Today, Cobalt is ideally positioned within an industry in re-birth. The last year has shaken the industry to its core, challenging long held assumptions, opening minds to new approaches. There is absolutely no doubt that one of those new approaches will be the active embrace of the internet as a primary marketing channel for the industry. J. D. Power & Associates projects that the automotive industry’s spending on digital marketing will increase by 150% from 2008 to 2011. Cobalt is the clear leader in digital marketing for automotive retail networks – where the majority of this spend will occur. The industry itself is almost guaranteed to grow by 50% in the next few years from today’s depressed sales levels, as the market returns to the rate it needs to support population growth and vehicle replacement. If you are considering an opportunity with Cobalt don’t let the media image of the auto industry deter you. Here at Cobalt we are excited about the opportunity to transform and strengthen one of the world’s largest industries – come and join us!

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

The Obsession with Possession          Fencing the Sky

By JOHN HOLT

I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don’t want to waste the trip

Robert Traver–Anatomy of a Fisherman

John Holt

My difficulties with fences began some years ago, a delicate transmutation arising from problems I had and still have with gates. Either my hands get scratched from trying to latch the ragged compilations of weathered tree limbs and barbed wire that block passage to some exotic fishing water or I pinch my fingers in the workings of the newer hook-type mechanism or I become inextricably tangled in the wire while crossing through. And with the certainty of an eastern-horizon sunrise, I find myself on the wrong sides of these gates after closing them. Coming or going, it doesn’t matter. The Suburban is always beyond the gate waiting for me to figure things out.

When I turned fifty crossing fences turned into a struggle. I’m in fairly good shape, not too much overweight, and manage to totter around with a modest degree of authority, but now I cannot get over, under or through a fence, particularly barbed wire ones, without some sort of mishap. All of the shirts I wear fishing or bird hunting are torn along the shoulders and back. My sweaters have loops pulled from their tight knitting large enough to hold ice axes, and my waders leak, doing little more now than visually announce that I’m about to chase some fish.

One time along the Shields River I became entangled while stooping and grunting through some wire that silently guarded a delightful stretch of prime water. Frustrated – I could hear trout splashing after caddis less than 30 feet away- I jerked free only to have the tip guide of my fly rod hook on a rusty barb. Jerking the rod sharply I lost my footing, the rod separating at mid section. I slid to the bottom of the embankment with line humming off the reel as though I’d hooked a five-pound brown. Nothing serious came of this calamity. I lost a few minutes of my life during regrouping. The tip guide was bent into a narrow oval and my torn shirt was now more torn. I was dusty and bedraggled, but that’s how I wind up looking after fishing anyway. I went on to have a pleasant day catching a few browns, but that incident was the beginning of my firm dislike for fences and an beginning of an awareness concerning our obsession with closing land in, delineating, and not so tacitly stating that, a given piece of property that is owned is now longer a part of what’s left of free range in the West.

We’re all obsessed with possession. Relationships between the sexes are often defined by the scars of these emotional turf wars. That’s to be expected. We’re a flawed species. And purchasing a piece of land is overt possession, but controlling this land is absurd. Yeah, I understand that if someone pays the bucks they can do what they want with the acreage. Cattle must be managed. And riffraff such as myself needs to be kept at bay. A dwindling few ranchers still allow access to their land if a person politely asks and remembers to thank them with a Christmas bottle of rye whiskey or such. But the whole ownership thing is out of control on the high plains. Orange spray-painted fence posts by the millions, “Keep Out” signs swaying in the wind and “No hunting or fishing. No trespassing” warnings. How a person can do the former two without committing the latter is a mystery. This variation seems a case of restating the obvious. If you can’t pass, you logically can’t fish or hunt.

And I love the entrances to many of the newer ranches or ranchettes, the ones marked by a pair of enormous Ponderosa pine trunks topped by an equally large trunk across the top. And dangling below the top brace in clear examples of human hauteur are signs that dance to the tune of “Smith’s Ponderosa” or “Jones’s Wild West Retreat” or, my personal favorite, “Wall Street Retreat.” Thankfully the plains Indians never adopted this insecure form of territorialism. Visions of “Plenty Coups’ Palace” or “Dull Knife’s Estancia” come shakily to mind.

All of this makes sense to me. Let’s all hem in the land and its spirit with miles of barbed wire and then announce to the world who exactly is responsible for this self-absorbed mayhem. Like we own the good country in the long term. Recent wildfires in Montana and now California say otherwise, as do drought, earthquake and the inevitable ice age. I’ve never been a wannabe Indian. Not my style, and quite sensibly on the tribes’ part, they don’t want me, but whatever happened to respecting the land that can never be truly owned? What about honoring and submitting to the long-running buzz that is the electric spirit of the West?

Sure fencing one’s property ensures at least the illusion of privacy and security. We can all drive down our private, dusty lanes, sit on the front porch and arrogantly say while sipping some expensive single malt, “I’ve got mine. You can’t have it. I’m really living now.” The mentality that made us great hideously guts the essence of open space.

Up until a few years ago I couldn’t imagine what Montana or the Dakotas would have been like 150 years ago. A land of no fences, few people and a vastness filled with wild animals that rivaled Africa’s now ravaged Serengeti. For the past several years I’ve been drifting up to the far north of the Yukon and Northwest Territories with increasing frequency while researching a book. When I first drove through the hundreds of miles of uncut boreal forest and crossed rivers like the Mackenzie that are more than a mile wide and 40 feet deep, when I saw thousands of woodland bison grazing by the dirt roads that are called highways up there, I was blown away. To finally experience such an immense wealth of wilderness, an area many times the size of Montana, with so few signs of people was staggering. To catch countless grayling of several pounds from one small stretch of river was stunning. One day last June as I cruised up to the First Nations Dene De Cho settlement of Pedzah Ki, I watched the Mackenzie flow, not flow but power, its way north to above the Arctic Circle and finally into the Beaufort Sea. The Canyon Range, then the Mackenzie Range, then other mountains rolled away to the west for hundreds of miles. Moose ghosted through stands of dwarf birch. Black bears were all over the place feeding on the green, rich grasses of a short, intense summer. Through binoculars I sighted grizzlies wandering the slopes of the McConnell Range. Fifty miles to the south, Nahanni Butte shimmered silvery blue. For days I saw only a few settlements of maybe 100 people each. No phone or electric lines. No fences. The difference in the energy, in the feel, of this land was palpable. The countryside sizzled and seemed to flicker with a light that is not seen by the eyes. This must have been what the Big Sky felt like a couple of centuries past. Montana is home in my heart, but the North in its, for now, untamed radiance owns my soul.

Experiencing all of this up north made me see that we don’t improve things for ourselves or, more importantly, for the good country when we attempt to stamp our designs of control on the landscape. Instead we cut out the heart of the place and in the process slice away chunks of ourselves. In a few years my children will be off to college and I’m going to move out of Livingston and back into the empty, open spaces. I’d like to believe that I’ll tear down all of the fences on whatever place I find, but knowing myself, I doubt it. I want my piece of paradise just like anyone else.

Last October while returning from another day fishing on the Shields I crossed several fences on the way back to the Suburban. Angus cattle were casually grazing on the last of the year’s good grass. As is normal these days, I fought with a fence near the highway. When I finally passed through I looked up and saw a lone cow standing on the road-side of the fence. Cattle do this. They always want what they see on the other side, then decide that they really need to return to their original side of the obstruction. The animal was pushing against the barbed wire trying to rejoin its herd. The cow bawled in its frustration. A large gash ran along its flank. Blood from the wound glistened in the sunlight. I turned away, unlocked the back doors of the rig and started to put away my gear. I looked down at my right hand. A long scratch ran from the base of the little finger to the wrist. There was a good deal of blood that, too, glistened in the light.

John Holt has been called the Hunter Thompson of Montana. He is the author of numerous books, including the gripping novel Hunted, and Coyote Nowhere: In Search of America’s Lost Frontier. He lives in Livingston, Montana and can be reached at: jholt@msn.net

Found this 2004 piece by a writer I have no familiarity with but should. Anyone likened to that renegade Hunter Thompson is worth a look see. Here are some additional pieces by Holt re Montana.

Keeping You In or Keeping You Out?

A Ghastly Disneyland with High Rise Outhouses Gating Montana

The Feedback Loop Gating Montana: Part Two

By JOHN HOLT

Album bonito pra quem aprecia a batida do rocksteady. Trata-se de uma compilação de clássicos gravados entre 68 e 73 de John Holt, um dos principais músicos do Rocksteady em seu auge e do Early-Reggae quando fez parte dos Paragons (onde gravaram “The Tide is High”, gravada pela blondie Debbie Harry e o Blondie =p).

Como praticamente todos os grandes músicos da ilha, trabalhou com Leslie Kong, Studio1 e Trojan Records… fez parcerias com individuos batráquios como é o caso  de Prince Buster…

Destaques para as faixas: “I’m the one to blame”, “Ali Baba”, “I see your face” e “Tonight” =D

John Holt like a Bolt

I´m The One To Be Blamed
Tonight
Write Her A Letter
I´m Your Man
Ali Baba
I´ll Be Lonely
I See Your Face
I Want You Closer
I´m Coming Home
Time And The River
Have You Ever Been To Heaven?
Let´s Build Our Dreams
All My Life
Thief In The Night
Darling I Love You
What You Gonna Do Now
Working Kind (Chokin´ Kind)
Sister Big Stuff (Mr. Big Stuff)

DOWNLOAD

obs. Este album foi upado originalmente no Y&M, mas novos links nunca são demais ;D

In the month of October, Cobalt was recognized on two lists for the fastest growing companies in Washington state. Last week it was announced that Cobalt ranked on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 – for the ninth time!

Earlier in the month, Cobalt also made the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies List. Over the last four years Cobalt has experienced more than 216% revenue growth thanks to its continued innovation and strong customer relationships.

Cobalt is a leader in automotive digital marketing, with over 10,000 automotive retail websites, and thousands of auto dealers using Cobalt’s paid search, display advertising and email marketing solutions. Cobalt is continuing to grow and is currently hiring, with more than seventy open positions in Seattle and around the country.

In August, Cobalt also ranked on the Inc. 5000 list, a list of the fastest growing companies in the United States, for the third year in a row.

“Cobalt is honored to receive these recent recognitions,” Cobalt CEO John Holt said. “I am extremely proud of our continued efforts to bring high-ROI, measureable, digital media marketing services to the automotive industry. Cobalt is committed to providing our clients with the very best technology and services to help them succeed and grow their businesses.”

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

Olá a todos!

Como, em grupo (entre homeschoolers), temos falado algumas vezes nas dificuldades acrescidas quando é apenas um dos pais a cuidar do(s) filho(s) sozinho praticamente durante todo o dia, sinto que talvez seja útil e interessante estes exemplos dados no livro “Teach Your Own” de John Holt & Pat Farenga, no capítulo “Politics of Unschooling” e no subcapítulo “Unschooling and the Single Parent”.

Nesse subcapítulo estão excertos das cartas de três pessoas que escreveram para a “Grow Without School” (revista implementada e dinamizada por John Holt) contando a sua experiência.

Um caso em que um homem, vivendo sozinho, adoptou uma criança e praticam o ensino doméstico, onde conta como coincilia o seu trabalho, que é maioritariamente desenvolvido a partir de casa, com o homeschooling; o caso de uma mãe homeschooler que conta como sentiu necessidade de se sentir bem com ela própria e de como conseguiu “criar” algum tempo para si própria, para se sentir em condições de, no resto do tempo, estar presente e serena em conjunto com os filhos; e este caso, que vou transcrever, de uma mãe que ficou viúva bem cedo e como teve êxito a resolver esse facto inicial em que se viu sozinha com a filha, de três anos:

“Christine Willard, whose husband died when their daughter was three, wrote about the isolation and financial stress she feels as a single mom, and how she is successfully working through these issues:

As a mother and a daughter, we are the absolute minimum family group, and sometimes it is rather claustrophobic. We are always with each other. On the other hand, we have simply had to learn to get along with each other. Issues can’t go unresolved, because all we have is each other and we just have to be able to find common ground…

As my daughter grows up, she is branching out to other adults for relationships. She has always loved horses. After we moved, we were able to find a ranch where she could take lessons. She often wanted to spend time just hanging around the ranch, and we gradually got to know everyone who keeps a horse or take lessons there. She became friendly with the ranch manager and helped him feed all the horses. Then one day, a rather neglected old mare needed a home, and since we needed a pony, we found each other.

Having a horse has been a wonderful experience for us. It gives us a focus other than each other, and we have made many friends who share this interest.”

Nós cá em casa somos muitos, isto é, somos uma família grande, então este tipo de situação não se nos tem posto. Daí que quando falamos deste tipo de situações, com amigos também dando os primeiros passos no ensino doméstico, embora sinta que também em famílias normalmente designadas por monoparentais ou mesmo nas famílias onde apenas um dos pais fica a maior parte do tempo com os filhos o ensino doméstico é possível e pode também ser muito rico, não tenho como falar por experiência própria. Como há noutros países, como nos EUA e no Reino Unido, uma maior quantidade de famílias a praticar Homescholling e Unschooling e já longos anos de experiência, porque não aproveitarmos e ouvirmos e reflectirmos sobre os muitos casos diferentes, uma multiplicidade de experiências, podendo, a partir daí, surgir-nos ideias para resolver com sucesso as particularidades que vão surgindo a cada família?

Belas leituras para todos e belos momentos de reflexão e belas soluções! Até para a semana, dia 2 de Novembro, Lua Cheia!

x

Caderno Verde

O que chamo de Geografia Aplicada

A dada altura nas férias passadas, tivémos que dar um pulinho à Guarda.

Aproveitámos para ir visitar de novo Monsanto (já lá tínhamos ido há uns anitos atrás _ coloquei fotos neste post, na parte do Caderno Verde) e depois dirigimo-nos à Guarda.

Enquanto esperávamos pelos nossos acompanhantes de viagem que tinham por lá um assunto para resolver, fomos dar um passeio pelo centro histórico.

E bem, esta foto é um exemplo de como muitas vezes a Geografia anda de mão dada com a História:

Ao Alexandre, enquanto lhe falávamos de  reis e de como antigamente houve reis em Portugal, saltou-lhe logo à vista que o “rei” usava uma espada (dá um bocado de trabalho explicar a uma criança que desde cedo não tem contacto com filmes ou desenhos animados com pistolas ou espadas, que não sabe quem é o homem-aranha (falo neste, porque por exemplo, dois dos meus sobrinhos um pouco mais velhos que o Alexandre, aos 3-4 anos só queriam “saber de coisas do homem-aranha”…), que não tem tido brinquedos bélicos (fez seis anos no Verão) nem nunca nos pediu para os comprarmos _  até este ano agora, que, encantado com nave espaciais, lhe foi oferecida uma em peças de lego para ser construída, o que ele adora, e que, bem, é uma réplica de uma das naves do Starwars; daí ele ter reconhecido a espada, que os bonecos réplica dos personagens do starwars e que vinham com o kit da nave, usam_ dizia eu, deu um certo trabalho explicar que os reis promoviam e entravam em batalhas, que usavam espadas, tentando manter uma imagem mais construtiva dos nossos reis, quando ele próprio reconhece e diz das cenas de espadas e lutas _ e mesmo de cenas de discussões que eventualmente assista entre as pessoas de hoje em dia _ que “não são lindas”, é a expressão que usa).

Bem, foi o seu primeiro contacto com a História e o seu enésimo com a Geografia que eu chamo de Aplicada, isto é, aquela que nos faz sentido, que é a observação directa de vários locais, características geográficas, para depois falarmos de outros e irmos extrapolando, ou vendo fotos, caso não possamos lá ir, aproveitando o seu interesse, desde muito cedo, pelo globo terrestre (aqui, no Caderno Verde).

Ainda estas fotos:

I’m going to start from a context that already exists so for those of you who are completely new to this phrase, you won’t be completely lost.

“Birds fly, fish swim, man thinks and learns………… What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world as we can into [their lives]; give children as much help and guidance as they ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do the rest.” – John Holt, How Children Learn.

In applying organic learning in teaching ESL, let’s not focus on every single tiny aspect of John Holt’s unschooling philosophy. Let’s take some parts we can integrate with other parts of what’s going on in ESL and add a dose of what’s our own personal teaching style and philosophy. Here are the parts I’m taking and integrating with other ideas.

Learning in the world instead of in schoolFor an ESL learner, “the world” is a big, scary, intimidating place where rapid speech and figure of speech abound and direct translations misdirects their comprehension while school is a place teaching to exams and teaching nothing about the world these learners are going to step out into. Let’s imagine we could build a bridge from school to the world – in a sort of incubator; a safe environment to learn, make mistakes and gain confidence. So instead of learning in a highly structured exam-oriented environment, whether it is in a public system or a private language center or cram school,they will be in “an incubated world of learning” outside of school. Follow?

Organic Learning is about living joyfully with trust and freedom.

I eventually realized that  young people have so few adults to depend on for some hope, some direction, some insight, some sense of self-worth. How often have we seen students unable to finish what they started due to personal problems or distractions from learning; a loss, a sickness, a financial challenge, an inability to manage stress, inability to co-ordinate themselves, being drowned by a sense of worthlessness and so on.

To learn well, learners need to feel they are in an environment of low stress and high trust and often that feeling of being able to trust the authority, in this case, the language facilitator, spills over to their personal need to ask for help in their lives.  They need to have a sense of freedom to both make mistakes and talk openly with their facilitator and other members of the learning team.

I’m a believer that paid-teaching shouldn’t involve “feel-good teaching and self-esteem nurturing” but if parents and society were doing their job, we could be doing ours a lot more efficiently.  Give me a class of learners who do not suffer varying degrees of PTSD and I will show you accelerated learning of the genuine kind.

Follow their passions, explore their world, live inquisitive lives and think freely.

Question : WHY do you want to learn English?

To have a better life and better prospects in the future.

Question : Why do YOU want to learn English?

So I can talk to anyone and travel around the world, know what other people are talking about, learn their culture, understand how we are the same or different.

Question : Why do you want to LEARN ENGLISH?

I want to think like an educated person. All the information out there is in English and if I can’t understand, I can’t learn. I don’t want to feel like I cannot learn anything or express my ideas freely.

Do any of the above sound like answers a majority of ESL learners would give you? Aren’t they telling you, in simpler terms, that they would like to live to their fullest potential, have opportunities to discover their passion, explore their world, live inquisitive lives and think freely?

The core themes of Organic Learning, are to include CONTENT that would help them achieve all of the above. Like Organic gardening, we start by listening and respecting the way a learner learns, what’s preventing them from learning and how we can provide the soil (environment) rich in resources and nutrients for them to discover learning.  The rest is up to them.

The content evolves from things they need to learn in order to make learning happen in order to acquire the scaffolding to build the sort of knowledge that would enable them to interact, understand and work with others while fulfilling their passions.

You can see the CONTENT involved here as a manifestation of CLIL. An example of content that could arise from interaction : You notice students are not asking questions. You explore the inner world of a learner and what reasons they feel are preventing them from asking questions and how they feel about that. Learners will struggle to first reflect on their own thoughts, then find the words to articulate their feelings. They will turn to a stronger partner and ask for words to be filled, reminding themselves, then trying to put it together, each helping the other. They will use their electronic dictionaries to find that one word, noting it down in their notebook for future use; “This is what I’ve always wanted to say in English and now I know the word… was at the tip of my tongue yet I couldn’t recall. Let me note it here.” Obviously, different groups of learners will come with different sets of knowledge, background and abilities.  And that’s when I integrate Krashens’ input hypothesis and CLIL.

This is not much different from using a textbook based approach because all ESL course books are structured around the 4 worlds of a learner : their inner world (thoughts, feelings, emotions), their immediate world (family, friends, classroom), the world outside (neighborhood, country, current issues, legends, bizarre) and the rest of the world (social issues, ethical issues, marketing, sociology, art, music, …). The only difference between an organic approach and the coursebook approach is that content is developed as the need arises. Even science and history and geography can be taught, if the students are interested in a particular aspect.

I remember a lesson where upper-intermediate students picked a topic to present. Topics ranged from, “Cluetrain Manifesto”, “English or Esperanto”, “Frederick Taylor’s Management System and other HR theories”, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. See how diverse the topics can be as long as it’s something interesting and relevant to the students in the preceding discussions. The students are willing to go home and find a way to get the information and present it with visual aids (Powerpoint, hand-drawn chart, photos, illustrations, show & tell, etc)

For elementary or beginner level students, so much learning has happened just because students saw an Atlas or Google maps for the first time. For quite a few students, they discover that Singapore is so tiny compared to Malaysia and that “fei chou” (Africa) is an entire continent and not a country! They finally realize where zebras and giraffes come from (Oh! I thought it was the zoo!) and that the orangutan is native only to Malaysia and the part of Indonesia bordering Malaysia. These learners are aged 14 -17. And we wonder what our schools teach them?

Of course, to be able to wing-it organically requires a teacher to be knowledgeable, articulate, eloquent, creative and passionate about ensuring learning takes place – but as opposed to what? A teacher who is not knowledgeable, inarticulate, clumsy, dim-witted, apathetic about learning?

I am treating all my writings on my blog as exactly what they are – blogs. Blogs for my own thinking out loud and perhaps touching some points and engaging with others. I am not going to defend anything I write regarding teaching and learning as if it was meant to be a postgrad thesis and I hope that’s OK with you. I welcome questions on the subtleties of what I am saying but I cannot give you documented statistics as my classroom was not controlled for and observed by an accredited, neutral professional.

Here’s what I’m saying : I know I’m in a very privileged position to match methods to my philosophies and my style, to have the freedom to design curriculum and judge outcomes, to control for classroom sizes, time, frequency, material, etc etc etc. Every single factor that can be controlled for (except what sort of parents learners have) to maximize my potential and maximize learning, I will put in place and refine myself as I gain more experience and insights.

I’m sure I could be harder on myself but it’s a marathon, not a sprint and I’m doing it the most transparent way I can. I’d be glad to answer any questions or clear any doubts. I’m not saying I’m doing everything perfect but I’d need to have questions in order to know which areas to look at and reflect upon.

Cobalt and its Dealix division will join key industry leaders at this week’s J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas. Cobalt is a proud long-time sponsor of the annual roundtable.

This year, Cobalt president and CEO, John Holt will be a member of the event’s October 14th panel, “Juggling the Customer – Don’t Drop the Ball.” This panel will examine who is responsible for maintaining the customer relationship and how effectively manufacturers and dealers are coordinating efforts to deliver valuable information to the right people at the right time. Holt will join executives from AOL Autos, General Motors, Sonic Automotive and American Honda Motor Co., Inc on the panel.

On day two of the Roundtable, Anna Zornosa, general manager of Cobalt’s Dealix division and a Cobalt EVP, will join the panel, “Beyond the RFQ: Optimizing the Purchase Process for All Online Shoppers,” along with executives from AutoTrader.com, Kelley Blue Book, Kia Motors America and OneCommand. The panel will discuss the current state of the automotive lead industry and the best ways to address the challenges and goals of the vertical.

For more information about the 2009 Automotive Internet Roundtable please visit www.jdpower.com/corporate/about/roundtable/. To learn more about Cobalt and its Dealix division please visit www.cobalt.com and www.dealix.com.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

Yesterday homeschooling activist lawyer Chris Klicka died after a 15 year battle with multiple sclerosis.  Klicka was hired by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) in 1985 before it had really gotten off of the ground, and he helped grow it into the powerhouse advocacy organization that it is today.  In my book on homeschooling history Klicka gets extensive treatment because of his central role at HSLDA.

Klicka also wrote one of the first histories of the homeschooling movement, Home School Heroes: The Struggle & Triumph of Home Schooling in America.  Though it has its flaws, it contains some great first-person accounts of pivotal moments in the legal history of homeschooling and some revealing insider information about HSLDA.

As you can see from the in memoriam page posted by HSLDA, Klicka was a pious Christian and a devoted family man.  He leaves behind his wife Tracy (read her journal describing Chris’ last days here) and their seven children, all of whom were homeschooled.  Though many people with whom I spoke in the course of my research do not share all of Klicka’s political or theological opinions, he was universally regarded as a generous and compassionate human being.

Klicka’s death is a real loss for the movement and a milestone in the history of homeschooling.  I tend to interpret the history of the homeschooling movement thus far as having had three phases.  Phase one was the era of Holt and the Moores.  Phase three is the recent trend toward a more mainstream and hybridized movement.  It would not be an overstatement to call phase two, when HSLDA was the dominant force in American homeschooling, the era of Chris Klicka.

Bom dia a todos!

Para se situarem (e para quem não leu!), podem ler o primeiro post sobre o Ábaco aqui.

Estes são alguns acessórios que vêm com o ábaco:

Por volta de duas ou três semanas depois do seu primeiro contacto com o ábaco, descrito nesse post, o Alexandre, continuando sempre entusiasmado com os números continua a perguntar vezes sem conta quanto são mil vezes um milhão, dez vezes mil e coisas que tal. Lembro-me que quando era pequena também me fascinava o facto de “os números serem infinitos” e queria saber sempre qual o número que vinha a seguir…

Nós simplesmente lhe respondemos a cada pergunta e nada mais.

Uma das sua perguntas favoritas dessa semana era “Qual é o número antes do 100? É o 99?”

E então lembrou-se do ábaco e foi juntar dois cartões com o algarismo nove para “escrever o 99″ e a seguir representou-o com as “rodelinhas” e a dizer “são 9 vezes dez e mais 9″. Sem qualquer intervenção da nossa parte.

Na mesma altura, andava muito interessado no 500, que nós achamos muita piada e gostamos de o ouvir nas suas variações com o 500, por que ele pronuncia “quinentos”: “Quinentos é cinco vezes cem?”, “Quinentos é mais que seiscentos? Mais que mil?”

“Não, filho, é menos que mil… mas quinhentas coisas já são muitas coisas, queres ver?” E pusémo-nos a contar as peças de lego pequeninas que estão separadas numa caixa (lembrei-me de ter lido num dos livros de John Holt uma passagem em que ele conta que um dia, com a sua classe do 5º ano, resolveu ir assinalando num rolo, juntamente com os alunos, centímetro a centímetro, até perfazerem um quilómetro, se bem me lembro, no intuito que eles vissem e sentissem, fisicamente, a extensão real de um quilómetro).

Contámos as peças até quinhentos, uma a uma e percebemos o que é contar quinhentas peças. E a quantidade que é, de facto, equivalente a quinhentas unidades.

Depois continuámos a contar todas as peças da caixa e chegámos ao belo número de setecentas e onze peças. Para recordarmos e contarmos ao pai eu escrevi no papel mais à mão:

E o Alexandre foi representar o número no ábaco.

Mas não achou lá muito interessante, pois queria era representar o “quinentos” e como era muito fácil colocar cinco rodelinhas no pauzinho que simboliza as centenas, disse-me que ia fazer de uma maneira mais difícil. “Adulta” e formatada e “levada” por outras representações que ele já me tinha mostrado antes, disse-lhe, “Alexandre, não vai dar, não temos 50 rodelinhas para colocares no pauzinho das dezenas… é melhor pores as cinco nas centenas!” e fiquei a olhar para ele. O pequeno não desistiu, queria mesmo representar o “quinentos” de outra maneira. Pensou um pouco e mostrou-me, “Estás a ver, mãe, que dá?”

“Quatro vezes cem mais dez vezes dez!”

Fiquei de boca aberta, palavra… e ele também quiz  juntar os cartõezinhos para representar o “quinentos” por escrito.

O que mais me impressiona e no início me custou um pouco a confiar que assim era, apesar de ter lido e relido John Holt, é o facto de não precisarmos de lhes ensinar nada, apoiar apenas com os recursos e o acesso à ainformação e deixá-los por sua conta no que respeita à aprendizagem. Só que funciona mesmo, é só confiar e estar atento que nos vamos apercebendo de todo o seu desenvolvimento. Para além de que assim é tudo muito menos stressante e muito mais fluído e natural.

Então até para a semana, dia 11, Quarto Minguante, belas actividades para todos…

x

Caderno Verde

Enjoos e Matemática

Já apontámos neste Caderno Verde as peripécias da Matemática do Sumo de Laranja (quase que lhe chamaria “Matemática Expontânea do Sumo de Laranja           

Este é um apontamento diferente… o que é que enjoo terá a ver com Matemática? Não a resposta não é que a Matemática é um enjoo    

Vou explicar: o Alexandre não gosta de andar de carro. Dêem-lhe todos os transportes para viajar menos o carro. Enjoa. A sua característica automática para não enjoar é adormecer. Ou então ir deveras entretido com algo.

Então numa destas últimas viajens perguntou-me : ” Mãe, o teu telemóvel também tem aquela coisa em que nós lhe perguntamos as contas e ele acerta sempre?”

Pelos vistos andara a experimentar a calculadora do telemóvel da irmã…

“Sim, filho (entre risos meus e do pai… acerta sempre!), é a calculadora. O meu também tem.”

E lá escolhi a função no telemóvel e dei-lho para a mão, antes de entrar no carro.

Foi quase todo o caminho entretido “a fazer perguntas ao telemóvel” sobre quanto é 100+1000? 12+15? e outras que tais e a ver as respostas garantidamente certas.

In June and July of 2009, John Holt, co-founder and CEO of The Cobalt Group and his fourteen year-old daughter Gemma climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is the highest peak in Africa at 19,340 feet, providing dramatic views of Tanzania and southern Kenya.

“Don’t allow any obstacles to stop you. With a full-hearted commitment you can make your dreams can come true personally and professionally. It is seriously valuable to dream, to put your dreams in writing, and then begin to take the actions needed to make them happen. It’s a strong belief of mine that life is about the pursuit and attainment of a continuing set of self-created goals. It’s about understanding and utilizing your own unique set of capabilities, to the fullest extent possible. I have been given many blessings… if I don’t use them to the fullest I am somehow dishonoring myself.”

John Holt – CEO and Co-Founder- The Cobalt Group

Part Three: Summit Day

John Holt: We awoke at 4am on a very cold morning on July 5th, 2009, to begin walking in the dark to make the 4000 foot climb to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro at 19,340 feet. The trail is switchback after switchback after switchback doing mountaineering style hiking; after each step you stop and straighten your leg to put your weight on your skeleton instead of your muscles, which makes for a pretty slow way to climb 4000 feet. We were all in Alpine gear at this point, cold and filled with trepidation.  It doesn’t matter if you’re in great physical shape; you’re fighting off inner thoughts wondering “Is something bad going to happen”.  At no time can you be fully confident that you’re going to reach the summit!

About a quarter of the way up Gemma began experiencing leg cramps.  She tore her MCL in late March and couldn’t start training with intensity until the very end of May, so cramping wasn’t that surprising. We pulled out her climbing poles to take some strain off her legs and she continued forward and upward, toughing it out every step. I was so proud of her and I will always remember the time we spent on this trip and in the tent each night as climbing peers and as father/daughter. To cope with this degree of challenge and do something so remarkable at 14, it will give her so much confidence throughout the rest of her life. To climb so high with my (once) little girl was incredibly poignant for me; it was truly one of the great things I have done in my life… I suspect it will sink in for Gemma over some number of years.

The first goal was to reach Stella Point at 18,800 feet, from there you can see Crater Camp, a number of glaciers, and the lava dome. You have a choice to go down to Crater Camp and spend the night and make the summit attempt in the morning, taking the risk that something bad could happen overnight. Or, you can summit right then and there.  There wasn’t much doubt for us; we decided to carry on and go for the summit. We knew when we reached Stella Point that we were going to summit, and it was a very emotional moment for everyone in our group.

We turned left and headed up the edge of the caldera. Finally up ahead to the right we spotted the sign that marks the summit. Gemma was walking slightly ahead of me, and she waited for me to catch up so we could touch the sign together. Tears streamed down our cheeks as we stood at the highest point in Africa, viewing the magnificent glaciers, realizing that commitment and achievement had taken us to the top together. The summit is an other-worldly place, maybe like the moon, magnificently beautiful in a really austere way. The feeling was something I have never experienced before and it made me want to climb higher mountains. But none may be as special as this first.

Our entire group and all the guides made the summit.  It was magical as we were alone on the summit in warm sunshine and no wind; no one else came along for the next 45 minutes. We took every possible combination of pictures possible, sat and talked and laughed, elated over our accomplishment. Then we headed down to Crater Camp, at 18,800, to spend the night. Gemma and I were feeling strong so we went on another hike to see the lave dome and view the glaciers. You can smell sulphur coming out of the crater; there’s no question it’s a real volcano. Then we then hiked over to the Western Breach and looked down at Lava Tower where we’d been four nights earlier. We had come a long way!

We returned to camp and I was feeling so good I went back out and climbed up on top of a glacier to take more photos, but then I realized this might be pretty dangerous if I slipped and banged my head since no one knew where I was. I took some wonderful photos of the glaciers with a very bright almost-full moon in the background, and then I rejoined Gemma at our tent. That night we could hear the glaciers cracking from the pressure, echoing off the rim of the caldera, it was just magnificent.

We woke in the morning to a zero degree dawn, our water bottles frozen solid. We had a quick breakfast and began to head down the mountain. That day we went from 18,000 feet back down to 10,000 feet, and then the following day down to 6,000 feet and the exit gate. These were the two hardest days of the entire trip, believe it or not, as the jarring on your legs and knees causes a real pounding. With Gemma’s recent knee injury and my old ACL repair, we were both pretty uncomfortable with swollen and sore knees, but it was a small sacrifice!

We arrived at the Kilimanjaro National Park Headquarters and signed the official registration book to certify the completion of our journey. At a farewell lunch we celebrated with our guides and our porters and our climbing compatriots, and then we received our official certificates documenting our successful summit. The porters gathered to sing “The Kilimanjaro Song” in Swahili, and then they congratulated us one by one for our success. I said a few words to the entire group thanking them for supporting us and letting them know we would never forget our experience. And then we headed back to Arusha for our first shower in nine days, which meant even more to a 14-year old girl than it did to me!

Visit the Flickr Photo album for more photos of the entire trip here.

Go Here to read Part One
Go here to read Part Two

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

Time Is The Master
Everybody Knows
Riding For A Fall
Looking Back
Love Is Gone
Stick By Me
Lost Love
It May Sound Silly
Again
Oh Girl

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In June and July of 2009, John Holt, co-founder and CEO of The Cobalt Group and his fourteen year-old daughter Gemma climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro is a dormant stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania rising 15,100 feet from its base and approximately 16,700 feet from the plains near Moshi. It is the highest peak in Africa at 19,340 feet, providing dramatic views of  Tanzania and southern Kenya.

Can you give us an overview of the route you and Gemma took?

John Holt: Western Approach Route (9 Days)

Day 1 – Londorosi Gate to Forest Camp: 3-4 Hrs. to 9,261 Feet
Day 2 – Forest Camp to Shira 1 Camp: 5-6 Hrs. to 11,439 Feet
Day 3 – Shira 1 Camp to Shira 2 Camp: 3-4 Hrs. to 12,795 Feet
Day 4 – Shira 2 Camp to Lava Tower Camp: 4-6 Hrs. to 15,213 Feet
Day 5 – Lava Tower Camp to Karanga Camp: 6-7 Hrs. to 13,340 Feet
Day 6 – Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp: 5-6 Hrs. to 15,331
Day 7 – Barafu Camp to Crater Camp: 8-10 Hrs. to 18,802 and 1-2 Hrs. to the Summit at 19,340 Feet
Day 8 – Descent to Mweka Camp: 5-7 Hrs. to 10,065 Feet
Day 9 – Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate: 2-3 Hrs. to 6,000 Feet

What were some of the challenges of days four to six?

John Holt:Acclimatization is essential, and most people suffer some degree of altitude sickness. About 10 Kili climbers die from this each year, together with a number of local porters – figures for these are guessed at between 10-20. We saw the first memorial to someone who died taking this journey on our day four climb, and it was a reminder of to us of how serious the altitude issues can be. Kilimanjaro’s summit is well above the altitude at which high altitude pulmonary edema or high altitude cerebral edema can occur. Any climber can suffer considerable discomfort, typically shortage of breath, hypothermia and/or headaches.

It was very warm and bright during the days and cold at night. The terrain became more and more like a moonscape with no plants or animals, just lots of lava rocks and dust. At night the stars were so bright I needed no light at all to move about camp. We were far from civilization and ambient light; it was magnificent. When we reached Lava Tower camp at 15,213 feet, we had sufficient strength to climb the vertical rock face; Gemma and I enjoyed the challenge and some magnificent views together. We both had experienced brief waves of nausea, and we decided it was time for Gemma to start taking Diamox, otherwise known as acetazolamide, to help her cope with the various effects of altitude sickness. I had read that younger people often have a tougher time with altitude. I was now higher than I’d ever been and I wanted to wait and see how my body would adjust without medication.

That night I woke at 1am and thought my brain was going to explode; I could hear every pulse in what felt like a big artery in my head! Since I didn’t know what would happen next, and I didn’t want to cost Gemma a chance at the summit, I decided to end my human biology experiment; I started taking Diamox. Day five took us lower to Karanga Camp at 13,340 feet; I knew I would feel better as soon as we started to descend and did. Hiking up a narrow trail with enormous cliffs on one side (and porters passing you from time to time), we had to use our hands and feet to climb up the Barranco Wall. Most of it is manageable but there are a few spots that are quite vertical and steep. Gemma was having a tough time on this leg of the hike. Against her protests I offered to carry her pack and mine. I told her we were engaged in a ‘team sport’ and she needed to focus on getting strong for the summit. It was just three months since she tore the medial collateral ligament in her left knee and she’d been in a brace until the middle of May. I was already so proud of her; there weren’t many younger kids on the mountain.

Later that day after we arrived in camp we had a funny moment. I felt really strong and took a walk to get a look at our surroundings. As I returned to camp I was was alerted that Gemma was having a nose bleed. As I approached I stopped, pulled out my camera and started snapping pictures of her and her nose bleed, blood trickling down her face and all over her hands. Gemma called out, “Hey, aren’t you going to come help me?” I said, “I need to take pictures first, I am creating a documentary of our trip!” We had a good laugh over this.

Our climb to Barafu Camp, where we would stay the night before our summit attempt, took us back up to 15,300 feet. I felt really good, probably from a combination of the Diamox and continued acclimatization.  We were going to summit one night before the full moon, a good omen we hoped. At Barafu we met people descending who had not made the summit. One young man had to have a shot of cortisone because his legs had stopped working. The young German woman climbing with him looked really rung out and said it was the hardest thing she had ever done. Hearing stories like this caused some anxiety in our group, but there wasn’t much to do except get some sleep.

I had no doubt about our physical ability, Gemma and I were in great shape and we had the energy and stamina to make the climb. But condition doesn’t have much of anything to do with how your body reacts to altitude, so at no point in time did we feel over-confident about making it to the summit. We knew plenty of people who’d made it, but I also knew quite a few who’d had to turn back.

Our campsite that last night was so steep that our sleeping bags kept sliding towards the downhill edge of our tent. It was also bitterly cold. Plus we knew we had to get up at 4:30 am to begin the 4,000 foot climb to the summit.  It would be the steepest day of our climb, and it was also all new altitude.  Every step took us higher than we’d ever been before.

Part Three and the Kilimanjaro Summit attempt coming soon…

Go Here to read Part One.

The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive

1.Police in Helicopter

2.Private Doctor

3.Last train from the Ghetto

4.Beach Party

5.Reality

6.Fat She Fat

7.Chanting

8.Sugar & Spicey

9.Can’t Use Me

10. I Got Caught

One million girls on bikini… jaja…

http://rapidshare.com/files/280218890/John_Holt-_Police_In_Helicopter__1983_.rar.html

On June 26, 2009, 52-year-old John Holt, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of The Cobalt Group and his 14-year-old daughter Gemma stood in flip flops and shorts on a warm summer day in Tanzania, Africa, near the western gate to the 19,340-foot summit of Kilimanjaro. What began as a dream had become a daunting reality as they hydrated themselves with plenty of water, double-checked equipment, ran through the pre-trip orientation, rechecked the 15- to 20-pound packs they would personally carry and prepared physically and mentally for the nine-day trek to the top of Kilimanjaro. Though the climb doesn’t require technical gear or training, you do need to be in top physical condition, and high altitude and low temperatures increase the difficulty and danger. Acclimatization is essential, and even then, most people suffer some degree of altitude sickness.

What was the catalyst and motivation for you to climb Kilimanjaro?

John Holt: “For me it was an affirmation of personal possibilities and personal vigor coupled with a desire to do things I want to do while I’m on the planet, like climb big mountains. After I turned 50 I realized I needed to start doing some of the things I’ve always wanted to do while I am still physically able to do things as I have always done them. While planning our family safari to the Serengeti I realized the mountain would be ‘right there’ and I just did not want to miss the opportunity to make the attempt.”

Why climb Kilimanjaro with your daughter?

John Holt: “I needed a companion and my daughter Gemma is very strong physically and more importantly mentally and emotionally capable, even though she’s only 14. Gemma ski races competitively, loves to rise early, and doesn’t mind extreme cold. I felt the experience would catapult her self-confidence forward and empower her for the rest of her life and we would also enjoy a great time together as climbing peers and father/daughter. My wife and I are committed to raising our three daughters with ‘there are no limits’ attitudes and philosophies. Climbing Kilimanjaro for Gemma would give her the opportunity to learn some lessons very early in life few young people get a chance to learn on how to reach your goals and what kind of planning, commitment, and endurance excelling takes. Sharing this experience with her was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done as a parent.”

What kind of planning and preparation was needed?

John Holt: “I trained for a year to prepare for the climb and I was in the best shape I have been in as an adult. The preparation included extensive reading and research; along the way we needed to eat good food and carry the right clothing, boots, equipment and emergency supplies. There are lots of reasons people don’t reach the summit, altitude sickness being number one. I thought through all the possible scenarios so we would be as prepared as possible. Altitude sickness is a constant threat no matter how physically fit or how prepared climbers are, it can strike you at any point along the route. Interestingly, young men who tend to try to charge right up the mountain are the most likely to fail.

I found out that reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro takes more planning, patience, and the ability to pace oneself than brute strength and speed. The more days — even hours — on the mountain, the better your chances of reaching the top. There is a strong correlation between the number of days on the mountain and success. A successful summit is usually more a question of how well a climber can acclimatize to the high altitude, rather than the climber’s physical ability to ascend. How one reacts to high altitude is uncertain. Some people’s bodies adjust well to the decreased oxygen levels; others do not. Being physically fit and in good health is necessary but no guarantee of your ability to acclimatize. This uncertainty was my constant companion over the course of the climb.”

Did you travel with a group?

John Holt: “Yes we were very fortunate to be in a group of eight that were all coincidentally Americans. There were two mother/daughter teams, a very nice couple from New York, and Gemma and me. It was great: Gemma had two other young women aged 18 and 22 to share the trip with. Out of this random pairing we formed a strong social network. After nine days of sharing meals, sleeping in tents next to each other, climbing together each day, and watching each other cope with the challenges we became by the end a close family unit. Experiencing those nine days together created a bond that will last a lifetime whether we ever see each other again in person or not.”

Of course we had wonderful guides and porters. Once on the mountain our well-equipped guides and porters carried everything except our day packs – hiking ahead to make camp for us each night. The porters transport your gear and the supplies up and down the mountain. Our guide Wilfred and assistant guides Loshi and Edward were big contributors to our successful summit attempt. For the duration of our Kilimanjaro climb they said us to us over and over Pole’, Pole’, (Swahili for SLOWLY, SLOWLY). At times we went so slowly it seemed like we were making no progress at all. Yet this wisdom and experience keeping us at such a slow pace created precious time for our bodies to acclimate to the altitude – and that paid off big for us on summit day.”

Can you share some of the highlights of the climb and the route you took?

Day I – Londorosi Entrance Gate to Forest Camp – 5,900 ft to 9,281 feet

Day 2 – Forest Camp to Shira One – 9,281 ft to 11,499 feet

Day 3 – Shira One to Shira Two – 11,499 ft to 12,795 feet

John Holt: “We took the Western Route which starts at an altitude of 6,000 feet. We camped each day at a different altitude. Day one we registered at the main entrance gate where we met our porters; 32 of them gathered to carry our gear and all the other equipment and supplies needed to make the trek. We left at 1pm that first day; the altitude is as much in your face on day one as it is all the rest of the days.

I live in Seattle at sea level, so the first night’s camp at 10,000 feet requires a pretty sudden altitude adjustment. I experienced slight nausea that first day which was the first indication what a challenging task lay ahead. The route passes though six climate zones; you spend the first day and a half in the rain forest. The first camp was perched between huge trees and thick undergrowth. We knew elephants were around us though we didn’t see any; we were already too high for most other animals, including poisonous snakes.  Civilization was already far behind including the conveniences of indoor plumbing – we would now take what our guides called “monkey breaks” to relieve oneself. We had many good laughs over that! And monkey breaks came often as we needed to drink an abundance of water each day to stay hydrated and help us stave off altitude sickness – they recommend three to four liters per day.

We didn’t see the mountain that first day, but the stars were unbelievable that night.  There is no light pollution at all, and there was no electricity at all in camp.  Shortly after leaving the camp the second day, the forest starts thinning and is replaced by heather, the next climatic zone. After a long day’s hike of around six hours we turned a corner and for the first time we could see the peak of Kilimanjaro, with magnificent glaciers hanging off the top. It was an unbelievably moving moment, even though it was still 30 miles away. It reminded me of a line from a poem I read a long time ago, ‘the object of our desire,’ which is how I thought about the summit of the mountain the rest of the trip. The object of my desire was making it to the top.

Our camp on night two was situated in the Shira Plateau at just over 12,000 feet.  If we had any thoughts of staying clean on the trip, they were spoiled by the microscopic volcanic dust that covers the area. For the rest of the trip this dust covered everything and made its way all the way down to the base of our finger nails. In the morning when we rose for breakfast there was white frost on the ground and it was quite cold; we wore hats and gloves to breakfast.  From this day forward we stayed above the clouds the entire time as we made our way to the east, around and up the mountain. We were surrounded by white clouds below us and the glaciers above us, it was really quite magical.”

To be continued…..Part Two coming soon….

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(This article is part of a series about writing, inspired by a column written by Stanley Fish on NYT.com.)

I have long felt that the only purpose of writing is discovery.  Writing helps me to look at my topic in a new light, to clarify my thinking on the topic, and to explain my ideas to others.  I, of course, have not read the same essays Mr. Fish cites as inspiration for his column: the papers for a “graduate literature” course that had no “clean English sentences.”  But from my personal experience as a college student and a writing tutor for high-school and middle-school students, the real reason students can’t write is because the process of School has disconnected them with the most compelling reason to write: discovery.

John Holt, in How Children Fail, claimed that in Schools, children are distracted from learning their subject matter by the politics of the classroom: namely, their status in relation to the other students, and the teacher’s behavior.  He argues that students mainly learn how to please the teacher.  As I mentioned in a previous article, many teachers spend a lot of class time trying to get students to jump through an exact sequence of hoops so that they can “interactively” learn what the curriculum dictates.  This does not encourage original thought.  Instead, it encourages students to guess what the teacher wants to hear.  By the time these kids get to college, where professors ask them to “choose your own topic” and “develop an original thesis,” they FIRST: wonder what the catch is, and SECOND: become really, truly confused.  They have never had to do this before.  So they fall back on a tried-and-true method (guessing what the professor wants to hear), and they produce this vaguely literary-sounding mumbo-jumbo without actually using proper English or critical thinking skills, because they have no idea what they’re talking about.  They don’t know what original thoughts or ideas they have on their subject, so they have no real motivation to explain these ideas to another.  At least, that was the case with me.

Although I considered myself to be a pretty good writer in high school, I stumbled through my first two writing courses in university.  I used proper English, for the most part, but my professor kept saying that my thesis wasn’t really a thesis, and that I didn’t even manage to support it very well.  I reviewed each revised draft with her, trying to pinpoint exactly what I was doing wrong, but I didn’t get the grade I wanted in that class because there was a fundamental disconnect in our communication: I kept trying to figure out what she wanted, when all she wanted was to know what I thought about the subject.  At the time, I didn’t even know how to think about the topic, let alone what I thought about it.

For my second “writing-intensive” course, I wound up in a class about Kafka.  At first, I thought Kafka was intriguing.  Then I thought he was challenging.  Then I started to panic as I realized the man was completely inscrutable.  I mean, I could kind of understand how the guy turning into the bug was a metaphor for isolation in the Industrial Age, but we weren’t allowed to write about that one.  We had to choose another of his short stories for our essay.  So I did what any desperate-to-keep-her-slipping-academic-status student would do: I decided to cheat.

Find out how well that worked for me next week, in How I Learned to Write, Part 2!

The World of Reggae Music

The Ska Originals

The Jam-Tex selector presents a new chapter in the “Wolrd of Reggae Music Collection“ called The Ska Originals.

The Jam-Tex selector has been working on a study and organization of the essential tracks of reggae music called “The World of Reggae Music Collection.” The selector invites others to comment on the selected tracks and to join in on the conversation about the history of reggae music.  This collection of singles began with the greatest roots reggae hits in categories entitled “Reggae’s Superstars: The Lions of Jah” and “Reggae’s Superstars: The Lion Youth.”

Now the selector moves back in time to the roots of reggae, exploring the greatest singles from the early ska era. Please feel free to suggest your favorite singles. The primary examination of the “Ska Originals” genre focuses on the founders of ska music from the late 1950s to the 1960s. Later posts will explore “Two-Tone Ska” and “Third Wave Ska” forms of ska music of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

Some of the same Jamaican singers, musicians, and producers of the original ska music movement later became the fathers and mothers of rocksteady and reggae.  A young Robert Nesta Marley recorded some ska tunes and so did Bob Marley’s vocal group the Wailin’ Wailers, which later became the Wailers. Alton Ellis, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, John Holt, Ken Boothe, Derrick Morgan, Clancy Eccles, and Lee “Scratch” Perry all played ska as young lads. These Jamaican superstars all make this collection of ska singles. So do the classic ska bands and vocal groups like The Skatalites, the Ethiopians, The Pioneers, the Soulettes, The Paragons, The Heptones, and the Versatiles. Many of the great ska musicians have singles that made this chart, like Don Drummond, Roland Alphonso, and Tommy McCook.

Ska music is fun and fast, yet a very easy-going music that sends you skanking around the room. I love this music. There are some wonderful characters that came out of this musical genre, performers like Prince Buster, Sir Lord Comic, Lord Kitchener, Stranger Cole, Lord Creator, and the Folkes Brothers. Plus the dynamite sounds of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires make for some of the most classic ska tracks. The Jam-Tex selector invites you to comment on the list and make suggestions.

The Jam-Tex selector proudly presents…

World of Reggae Music Collection

The Ska Originals

1. The Skatalites – Guns of Navarone
2. Don Drummond – Don De Lion
3. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Simmer Down
4. Ethopians – Train To Skaville
5. Prince Buster – Hard Man Fe Dead
6. Jimmy Cliff – Miss Jamaica
7. Toots & the Maytals – Sweet & Dandy
8. John Holt & the Paragons – The Tide Is High
9. Byron Lee and the Dragonaires – Jamaica Ska
10. Folkes Brothers – Oh Carolina
11. Lord Tanamo – I’m In The Mood For Ska
12. Laurel Aitken & the Skatalites – Rude Boy Dreams
13. Baba Brooks – Watermelon Man
14. Desmond Dekker – King Of Ska
15. Freddie Note & the Rudies – Montego Bay
16. Derrick Morgan – Moon Hop
17. Lee “Scratch” Perry & The Soulettes – Doctor Dick
18. Tommy McCook & the Skatalites – Doctor Zhivago
19. Don Drummond & the Skatalites – Chinatown
20. Lord Tanamo – Iron Bar
21. Desmond Dekker – Rudy Got Soul
22. Gregory Isaacs – My Time
23. Tommy McCook & the Supersonics – Ska Jam
24. Bob Marley – Judge Not
25. The Maytals – Six And Seven Books Of Moses
26. Alton Ellis & Eddie Parker – My Heaven
27. The Pioneers – Jackpot
28. Prince Buster – Al Capone
29. Roland Alphonso – Blackberry Brandy
30. Stranger Cole – Rough and Tough
31. The Valentines – Blam Blam Fever
32. Justin Hinds and the Dominoes – The Ark
33. Ken Boothe – Uno Dos Tres
34. Delroy Byfield – Yagga Yagga
35. Amos Clarke – Chatty Chatty Woman
36. Val Bennett – Atlas
37. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Give Me Justice
38. Lord Kitchener – The Road
39. Alton Ellis – Mouth A Massy
40. Lord Tanamo – Come Down
41. Alton Ellis & the Flames – Blessings Of Love
42. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Duppy Conqueror
43. Roy Shirley & Ken Boothe – Calling
44. Lee “Scratch” Perry – What A Good Wood Man
45. Derrick Morgan – Blazing Fire
46. Roland Alphonso – Phoenix City
47. Baba Brooks – Duck Soup
48. Stranger Cole & Lester Sterling – Bangarang
49. Joanne Gordon & Roland Alphonso – Blow Roland Blow
50. Justin Hinds – Try Me
51. Lord Tanamo – Night Food Ska
52. The Skatalites – Latin Goes Ska
53. The Maytals – Someone’s Going to Bawl
54. Johnny Moore – South China Sea
55. Derrick Morgan – National Dance
56. Derrick Morgan and Patsy – Let Me Go
57. Sir Lord Comic and His Cowboys – Ska-ing West
58. Alton Ellis – Dance Crasher
59. Roy Shirley – Get on the Ball
60. Byron Lee & the Dragonaires – Watermelon Man
61. Owen Gray – She’s Going to Napoli
62. The Riots – Yeah Yeah
63. Derrick Morgan – Fat Man (1960 Version)
64. Ken Boothe & Stranger Cole – Arte Bella
65. Tommy McCook & the Supersonics – Train to Ska-Thedral
66. Baba Brooks – Girls Town Ska
67. Lord Creator – Hurry Up
68. The Maytals – Let’s Jump
69. Derrick Harriott – Monkey Ska
70. Desmond Dekker – Get Up Edina
71. Dave and Ansel Collins – Monkey Spanner
72. The Ethiopians – Free Man
73. The Techniques – I’m In Love
74. Lord Tanamo – You Belong to My Heart
75. Carlos Malcom – Bonanza Ska
76. Harry Johnson and the All Stars – The Dog
77. Baba Brooks – One Eyed Giant
78. Owen Grey – Jezebel
79. Don Drummond – Let George Do It
80. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Rub & Squeeze
81. Justin Hinds and the Dominoes – Over The River
82. Clancy Eccles – Sammy No Dead
83. Don Drummond – Man in the Street
84. Tommy McCook & the Supersonics – Out of Space
85. Roland Alphonso – On The Move
86. Ewan McDermott – Candy Ska
87. Granville Williams Orchestra – Honky Tonk Ska
88. Desmond Dekker – Pickney Gal
89. Jimmy Cliff – King Of Kings
90. Ken Boothe, Stranger Cole, & the Skatalites –World’s Fair
91. Owen & Leon Silveras – Next Door Neighbour
92. Tommy McCook & the Skatalites – Silver Dollar
93. Stranger & Patsy – When I Call Your Name
94. Carl Dawkins – Baby I Love You
95. The Paragons – Happy Go Lucky Girl
96. Derrick Morgan – No Raise, No Praise
97. Chuck & Dobby – I Don’t Need Your Love
98. Lord Brynner – Congo War
99. Eric Morris – Strongman Sampson
100. Drumbago’s Orchestra – Duck Soup
101. The Rulers – Wrong’em Boyo
102. The Tartans – What Can I Say
103. The Spanishstonians – Rudie Gets Plenty
104. The Techniques – Little Did You Know
105. Winston & George – Denham Town
106. Granville Williams Orchestra – The Third Man Theme
107. Frank Anderson – Musical Storeroom
108. Clive & Naomi – Open The Door
109. Stranger Cole & the Conquerors – Drop the Ratchet
110. The Heptones – Gunman Coming To Town
111. Eric ‘Monty’ Morris – Penny Reel
112. Alton Ellis & the Flames – The Preacher
113. Desmond Dekker – Honour Your Mother and Father
114. Andy Cap – Pop A Top
115. Dandy Livingstone – Reggae in Your Jeggae
116. Desmond Dekker & the Aces - Sabotage
117. Byron Lee & the Dragonaires – Soul Limbo
118. Derrick Morgan – Hold Your Jack
119. Nicky Thomas – Love of the Common People
120. Bongo Herman & Les – Dr. Who
121. King Stitt & the Dynamites – The Ugly One (AKA Lee Van Cleef)
122. The Versatiles – Push It In
123. The Rulers – Copasetic
124. Eric Morris – Solomon Gundie
125. Symarip – Skinhead Moonstomp
126. The Skatalites - Ghost Town
127. Jimmy Cliff – One Eyed Jacks
128. Lord Comic & the Skatalites – Lon Cheney
129. Cornell Campbell - Make Hay
130. The Skatalites – Kingston 11
131. Basil Gabbidon – Ena Mena
132. Lloyd Robinson – When You Walk
133. Jimmy Cliff - Hurricane Hatty
134. Roland Alphonso, King Sporty, & Justin Yap - El Cid
135. The Skatalites – Ringo
136. Vinley Gayle – Go On