Snowboard Blog - 01/17/09

To Lake Harmony for Big Boulder Ski Resort in the Poconos; PA’s terrain park specialty.

 

Excellent:

n      Terrain Parks – Actually called Board Parks because they dedicate much of their time and energy to creating so many.

n      Conditions – Big Boulder touts being the first resort to open and the last to close for a reason; it opened prior to Thanksgiving and will probably have its last run in March thanks to Old Man Winter’s frequent snow breath.

n      Price – at $48 for their most expensive lift ticket and $30 for a night pass, not many resorts rival Big Boulder’s price

n      Two Mountains – though not many will travel to and fro, one can spend the day at Jack Frost and then maneuver to Big Boulder for the evening.

 

Satisfactory:

n      Food – The cuisine is below standards of other resorts, but at least it’s more reasonably priced.

n      Not Many Beginner Runs – The emphasis on Board Parks has pinched out many of the Green Circle trails for the beginners, oftentimes pushing them into more advanced trails.

n      The Lodge – There’s enough room to maneuver but not enough to enjoy a drink; but the most frequent patrons are young, high-school aged kids so this is adequate for Big Boulder.

 

Needs Improvement:

n      Short Runs – By the time you take the lift to the top and come back down, it feels as if you could easily time it on a stopwatch.

n      “Normal” trails – Again, the emphasis on board parks has limited the amount of Black Diamonds to three, so if you’re visiting the mountain just for an explosion of speed or for variety, you may walk away disappointed.

n      Busy Nights – The low price for a night ticket and the traversing of many of Jack Frost’s day skiers make for crowded trails at night.

 

Final Grade: B

If you love to do tricks and hit the Board Park, you’ll entirely disagree with my assessment and rank Big Boulder as an A. I’m quite fine with compromising with a B for Big Boulder, as the excellent conditions and great price make Big Boulder a wonderful stop for any mountain traveler.

Snowboard Blog - Blue Mountain 01/11/09

A fresh four inches of snow were a siren to visit Blue Mountain located in Palmerton, PA. After driving back roads to reach this small haven, my day was underway. The report card:

 

Excellent:

n      Majestic views – after the snow and ice storm fell a few trees and clung to those both living and dead, Burma Road housed one of the most glorious landscapes for a skier / snowboarder. Much of the remainder of the mountain was similarly remarkable.

n      Long runs – any rider can lift to the top and have a lengthy ride down, three of which eclipsed a mile. Lazy Mile with the Terrain Run Park / Halfpipe at the bottom are one of my favorite runs in the state.

n      Ski & Board Check – cautious riders will rest easy with the free board / ski check located at each lodge and rest area.

 

Satisfactory:

n      Food – while fare was overpriced as it is at most resorts, the amount of choices and the quality were better than most. I particularly enjoyed the roasted almonds to the rear of the bottom cabin.

n      Conditions – in the beginning of the day, the fresh powder was great, especially once the groomers pulled through. However, many of the lift loading and unloading areas were ice-filled, as were large portions of the black diamonds.

n      Price - $52 allowed me to ride all day and night on the weekend.

n      New Trail – Dreamweaver – the new trail is very representative of the park and places another lengthy trail on the east side of the park that every one can enjoy.

n      Board Parks – what was once a neglected part of the mountain is now very reasonable. With five board parks, Blue is moving in the right direction.

 

Needs Improvement:

n      Ticket kiosks – I arrived at 11:45a and the ticket kiosk would only allow us to purchase a ticket for 12:30p. Needless to say, when we tried to enter the mountain, we were stopped by the attendants.

n      Trail off-shoots – friends and I love to go venture off the path through the woods. I can count on one hand the amount of places one can do this at Blue.

n      Lodge comfort – the lodges could use a facelift and better setting, especially to serve adult beverages from a bar rather than a cooler adjacent to the bathroom.

 

Final Grade: B

Blue Mountain has always housed some of the longest runs in the state and is now complementing that with a variance of board parks. In addition, they possess friendly customer service and excellent crossovers between trails.

Teaching to the Test Extinguishes Fire of Learning

KeystonePolitics.com, January 22nd 2008

Allentown Morning Call, January 24th 2008

Lehighton Times News, January 26th 2008

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

While a student at Bloomsburg University, I remember stumbling across this banner, and being floored by its message. These words, which I later learned was a quote by Irish poet William Bulter Yeats, have served as the flag to my classroom.

I am a firm believer that students learn by doing, but more importantly by wanting to do. Give them a torch and a sense of guidance, and they will find their way. But give them a pail, and you’ll find how much they hat being compared to other students on assessments such as the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).

After learning about the PA Board of Education’s decision to make PSSAs standard as a graduation requirement, I gave them the torch of my classroom to discuss the proposals. Here’s what I learned:

A mere mention of the acronym PSSA automatically conjured an array of emotions. Some students were filled with revile. They hate the PSSA. But they detest our school’s 4SIGHT remedial test, its evil step-brother, even more. Just yesterday one of my “problematic” 9th grade students was pulled from my class during a test review – which he was fully participative and thoroughly enjoying – to fulfill his 4sight requirement. He pleaded to stay, but I explained the state supercedes me as boss. His response? “Mr. Miller, I’m going to finish in 5 minutes.” He was back in four.

There are many students like this young man who have learned to be apathetic about tests. After years of taking tests with no review of their answers, they do not know how to improve themselves and achieve the coveted “Advanced” or “Proficient” rankings. So they’ve learned to be unconcerned.

Others are entirely consumed by them. One student told me that when he was in 3rd grade he “used to get nauseous the day before the PSSA because he had been brainwashed to succeed.” Instead of finding success, some unearth stress. Approximately 49% of students suffer from test anxiety; giving them more tests shows how little their apprehension matters.

Special education students are also a concern. One of my students explained to the class, “if we have these standardized tests, a student like me might be forced to drop out.” Her face turned sour as explained, “I need teachers’ help on tests, and I feel lost when I take the PSSA.”

What about vocational-technical students? “I’m not going to college,” professed one of my very blatant students. “I just want to learn a trade. But with this proposal, I’ll be forced out of something I love to do into college prep courses. That is crap.”

“Imagine that your son or daughter has problems the year they are to take one of the two English PSSAs (language arts and reading/writing, which must both be passed),” said another student. “It doesn’t matter the problem – whether a bad teacher, a teacher on maternity leave, or the student has personal issues. They’ll be forced to take a test they need to pass but are doomed to fail.”

I love feeling floored by statements like that.

But if teachers are forced to teach to tests, conversations – like this one where students discuss and solve problems – will be replaced by the memorization of answers. In effect, we will force a continual extinguishing of the fire by examining the filling the pail that is standardized testing. It’s a light we cannot afford to lose.

Dollars Over Democratic Justice

www.commoncause.org/PA
September 30, 2007

While most of America remembers Teddy Roosevelt for reining in the corrupt corporations, most are unaware that in 1907 the Republican worked across party lines to pass the Tillman Act. The Tillman Act was the first time where free speech – the type the common American owns – was promoted over the words of the wealthy.

Yet as America watched the Model-T Ford evolve into today’s modern automobile and the Wright Brothers’ plane transform into the jetliner, the American political system has changed from a democracy fed by 20th century dollars into a democracy fed by 21st century dollars.

Pennsylvania’s court system also sports an old fashioned fundraising system. The connection between fundraising and bad politicians has been obvious, but not much light has been shed on how money affects our “independent” Judiciary. Until now.

According to The Pennsylvania Legal Intelligencer, the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association raised $632,000 for three State Supreme Court candidates, nearly half the money these Juatices needed to win office. While this is legal, the venerable G. Terry Madonna of Franklin & Marshall College said this “is a poster child case for why there ought to be limits.”

One state in the nation already solved this problem. North Carolina adopted The Judicial Campaign Reform Act, creating a voluntary system of public financing for judicial candidates. Why? The driving factor behind the change was the people. A poll conducted by the N.C. Center for Voter Education revealed that:

- 78% believed campaign contributions influence judges’ decisions “a great deal” or “some.”
- 58% believed there is a system of justice for the rich/powerful and everyone else.
- 81% support electing judges while only 15% support appointment of judges.[i]

After the pay-raise scandal, budget delay, and an array of other issues the voters of this state have presented similar concerns in regards the Commonwealth’s direction. What PA voters need is a viable solution to all the corruption. They need a system where the judges’ loyalty is to the public, not special interests, before they are running, while they are running, and when they are elected. They need Voter-Owned Elections.

Those who believe it is impossible to introduce this measure should note Sen. Jeff Piccola (Chair, State Government Committee) and Rep. Bill DeWeese (Majority Leader) already co-sponsored a similar Voter-Owned Elections bill in 1985 (HB-1379). It is our hope they introduce an updated version of this bill.

While much has changed in Pennsylvania since 1985, the ownership of elections (by special interests) has not. Changing this is not only intelligent, it is imperative; otherwise a vital part of our government will be further wedged into the same 100 year-old regressive political state it had been.

While at the stump in 1907, Roosevelt decried that “No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.” The time has come to remove that distinction from our courts, and Pennsylvanians must seize the opportunity to take the money out of elections and place qualified judges back in.


Jake Miller is the Chair of the CC/PA Voter-Owned Elections Project Team and John Latini Jr. is a Staff Member of The Pennsylvania Delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.