Swickard: Using Carrots on Students

© 2014 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. There is a lot of talk about getting students to attend school out of a sense of duty and to avoid the truant officer. We can get students into schools using a stick. And, there is a slim chance that some students will thank us in their prayers for teaching them discipline. Don’t hold your breath. Student outcomes usually worsen rather than improve.
     It has been years since I was smacked for being a slacker in high school. I remember the time well. Also I was an English teacher at Albuquerque High School a long time ago. Carrot or stick: I understand both sides of the issue and it is my opinion that carrots work so much better than sticks. 

     Even though there is mandatory attendance, there is not mandatory buy-in. Schools may have their body, but not their mind. Students have free will and many are incredibly shortsighted. They should eat right, do homework, drive responsibly and not hang with the “wrong” kids.

     Each day they should rush to school and sit all twitterpated to hear what words of wisdom the teacher has to say. My father said, “The military cannot make someone do something, but it can make that person sorry they did not.” That is the philosophy of the stick. And it works some of the time. 

However, it does not work with those students who, when told that if they do not graduate they will end up living under a bridge. They usually roll their eyes and say, “Oh, well.” For those students that stick is just a waste of time. At least a third of high school students do not graduate from a free public school education.
     What do we want? We want the students to enthusiastically embrace education and apply themselves to it, and graduate. So why not cut to the chase and use a carrot? Charlie Munger in Poor Charlie’s Almanac wrote, “When you do not get what you want, check the incentives that you are using.”

     These students who do not come to school can learn all of the words to a hundred rap songs with ease. They learn elaborate skateboard tricks. Many are multi-talented in art and music. Why? Because the reward **THEY** want is within their control.

     The secret to getting what we want them to do is to use a carrot they want. What do they want that we can ethically provide? Cars rate high on the student “cool” meter. What if at graduation a new car is given away by a drawing? The keys are given right then to a graduate. That would get their attention. Read full column

Swickard: Using Carrots on Students

Republican primary candidates at odds over email hacking claims

Allen Weh, left, and David Clements

From KOB-TV.com - By: Caleb James and Elizabeth Reed, KOB Eyewitness News 4 A serious legal battle is brewing in the Republican primary race for one of New Mexico's U.S. senate seats, and it's pitting members of the same party against each other.
     David Clements and Allen Weh are both Republicans fighting for their party's nomination to challenge Democrat Tom Udall for his seat in the senate. But on a website called BernalilloCoverup.com, Clements accuses Weh's campaign manager of hacking Clements' campaign email account.
     A lawyer for Weh's campaign manager, Diego Espinoza, confirmed he will file a defamation lawsuit against Clements before the end of the week. He sent us a statement that reads:
     "David Clement's accusations are absurd. His intentions were clearly to disparage Diego Espinoza to benefit his struggling campaign. Diego denies every accusation leveled at him and Mr. Clements will be held accountable for his publicity stunt in court."
     On Thursday morning, Clements' campaign released a statement in response to the possible defamation lawsuit: "It is astounding to watch Allen Weh sacrifice his own campaign manager in hopes of driving the story away from the fact that he underperformed and underwhelmed Republican delegates at Saturday's pre-primary convention. Announcing a lawsuit, via press release, before the case has even been filed is a clear indication that Allen Weh and Diego Espinoza's case is nothing but a publicity stunt. Nonetheless, we look forward to setting a trial date immediately, as truth is an absolute defense to the claim of defamation." More

Republican primary candidates at odds over email hacking claims

Tests show 'no health risk' for WIPP workers exposed to radiation

From KOB-TV.com - By: Elizabeth Reed, KOB.com - Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant have released more information about the amount of radiation released after a leak at the site near Carlsbad.
     According to the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring Research Center, the plant released about a month's worth of radiation in a period of four and a half days. Thirteen WIPP workers were exposed to radiation at the low-level nuclear waste site.
     Officials note that follow-up testing of the employees showed exposure levels were extremely low and that the employees were unlikely to experience any health effects as result. The testing came back negative for plutonium and americium.
     The amount of airborne radiation detected at WIPP was also below the EPA's acceptable level, according to the research center. "We have sent samples to the Center for Disease Control for validation," said Farok Sharif, president and project manager of Nuclear Waste Partnership. "Biological testing continues on other workers who were at the site following the initial exposure event, and there is always the possibility of positive exposure results from that testing. The ability to detect extremely small amounts of radioactive material also means there may be false positives that occur throughout the testing process."
     The radiation leak was detected last month. The plant is allotted a certain amount of airborne radiation per year. There is no word yet on what caused the leak. More

Tests show 'no health risk' for WIPP workers exposed to radiation

Feds set aside NM land to protect the jaguar

From KRQE-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Federal wildlife officials are setting aside almost 900,000 acres of land in New Mexico and Arizona as critical habitat land for jaguars. The protected area includes Hidalgo County in New Mexico’s Boot heel.
     The last time there was a jaguar sighting in New Mexico was eight years ago and federal biologists are aware of only one male jaguar that frequents southern Arizona. The hope is that setting aside land will contribute to the cat’s recovery across its entire range, which stretches into South America.
     Jaguars were placed on the federal endangered species list in 1997. More

Feds set aside NM land to protect the jaguar

Governor's petition said to contain derogatory term

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez

NewsNM Swickard - I use the term "without legal status." I am not offended by the term illegal since I have a friend who has documentation that she is a "legal immigrant." Illegal Immigrant is not correct because we do not know the intention since they have not indicated they wish to immigrate. All we know is that they do not have legal status which is a better descriptor. 

From KOAT-TV.com - SANTA FE, N.M. —Gov. Susana Martinez has a new immigrant driver's license petition going around social media that some said includes a derogatory term. he petition reads, "Repeal the dangerous law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses." "When you classify a human being as illegal that's very degrading to humanity, very degrading to the culture, and the race and the heritage," Ralph Arellanes, New Mexico director of The League of United Latin American Citizens, said.

"It's not good for New Mexico. It's not who we are," State Representative and House Speaker Ken Martinez said. For years, organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have denounced the use of the term illegal immigrant, calling it a slur and derogatory.
"It has a dehumanizing effect, which is something we have to be careful with," Ken Martinez said. The Associated Press even banned the use of the term to keep it out of media coverage. Ken Martinez has pushed to keep the term out of politics.
"One is you're innocent until proven guilty. Two is there are many immigrants here who have lawful status in the United States, such as the dreamer children," Ken Martinez said. KOAT-TV asked the governor why she still uses a term widely known as derogatory and offensive. "I simply use the term because, as a lawyer, I try to quote the law as it is written, as it is written by them -- not me," Susana Martinez said. Read more

Governor's petition said to contain derogatory term

An ungrateful government gives veterans little respect

© 2014 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “You haven’t an arm, you haven’t a leg, you’re an armless, boneless, chickenless egg. You’ll have to be put with a bowl out to beg. Oh Johnny I hardly knew ya.” 19th century Irish anti-war song 

      The flower of our youth march off to war carrying the honor of our nation into battle. Some come back only to be buried; others come back with the ravages of war still upon them. Then tragically over the years the grateful nation that sent them into war with the bands playing becomes an ungrateful nation because of the cost of dealing with those war injuries.
     I was thinking about this because the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced thirty years later than they should have that a clinic is opening in Las Cruces to allow the large population of veterans in the area easier access to services.
     Several veterans spoke last week with guarded optimism about this development. They have every right to be guarded in their optimism about what the Department of Veterans Affairs is going to do for them. Many have spent years not being treated with respect by an ungrateful nation despite their service to our country.
     Politicians who did not ever serve in the military themselves are fond of saying, “Thanks for your service.” But do they mean it? Less than twenty percent of the current Congress served in the military. Recently I quoted in another column the saying, “A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.”
     That is what I think of our current crop of politicians locally, statewide and nationally. Most, not all, spout their support for the military and veterans but then vote otherwise. They try to get the vote of veterans without actually supporting them. Read full column

An ungrateful government gives veterans little respect

Recent winters hurting local wine production

From KOB-TV.com - By: Jorge Torres, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - It's older than the state itself and even older than the good old USA: New Mexico wineries. It's a symbol of our history that goes back to the Franciscans in the 1600s. Corrales Winery has added to that history since 2000. Like most vineyards in the state, it has gone through some rough patches, including the recession.
     "The last thing people give up even in a down economy is chocolate and alcohol, so we're hanging in there," said Keith Johnstone, Co-Owner of Corrales Winery. He would never quit on the grapes that are beginning to bud, but cold weather has been tough on him recently, especially the last two winters.
     When Corrales got down to -17F, the winery couldn't yield a crop that year. The grapes are beginning to bud in Corrales. The same thing occurred last year, but Johnstone is concerned because in 2013 a couple of spring freezes destroyed the crops.
     "Every class of shoot that the grapevines sent out actually got frozen so 2013 was another year that we didn't get a crop," he said Johnstone is holding his breath for this year's crop since the grapes are budding already. As long as it doesn't freeze in the next couple of months, the grape crop could produce up to eighty percent of its potential. More

Recent winters hurting local wine production

Seven legislators to retire from the House

Republican Rep. Bill Gray of Artesia is the seventh legislator to announce plans to retire from the 70-member House.

Gray said Tuesday he will not seek re-election. He says he's proud of his accomplishments but it's time to move on. He plans to spend more time with family. Gray has represented parts of Chavez, Eddy and Otero counties since 2007. He served on the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Legislative Finance Committee.

 Legislators previously announcing their retirement are Reps. Anna Crook, a Clovis Republican; Ernest Chavez, an Albuquerque Democrat; Nathan Cote, an Organ Democrat; Tom Taylor, a Farmington Republican; Henry Kiki Saavedra, an Albuquerque Democrat; and Rick Miera, an Albuquerque Democrat and House majority leader. 

Legislative candidates file for office on March 11.

Seven legislators to retire from the House

NMSU's endowment sees big increase

The New Mexico State University Foundation's endowment is now valued at $197 million. 

University officials say the endowment saw an 11.4 percent increase in returns over the last fiscal year. That's slightly below the average total net return for institutions with endowments that ranged between $101 million and $500 million.

NMSU Foundation President Tina Byford says growing the endowment is critical for advancing the university's mission. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that manages and invests private gifts to benefit teaching at NMSU, extension research and public service programs. 

The university says the foundation's asset allocation model is heavily weighted to domestic stocks, international equities and fixed income. Less than one-quarter is invested in the alternative market.

Information from The AP.

NMSU's endowment sees big increase

NM health exchange rated as "high risk"

New Mexico was among the states rated as "high risk" after government security experts reviewed the vulnerability of computer systems being used to roll out President Barack Obama's health care law.  

Documents show more than two-thirds of states had potential security problems with systems designed to tap into federal computers to verify sensitive personal information. But officials in charge of implementing New Mexico's insurance marketplace questioned those findings Tuesday. 

They say New Mexico is still developing a state-run exchange for individuals, and the marketplace created for small businesses, employees and insurance providers isn't linked to the federal data system. New Mexico exchange spokeswoman Debra Hammer says there's still an opportunity to learn from the experience of other states as New Mexico prepares to bring its individual exchange online in October.

Information from The AP.

NM health exchange rated as "high risk"