Was reminded again how powerful the teacher can be for evil (by mistake). Often I talk about the need in my calculus class for students to study and make sure they treat the course like the college class it is (4 credits - is 8-12 hours per week in 1 semester, we do it over 2 semesters - so 4-6 hours per week).
But I accidentally ended a sentence with "you cannot get an A in this course." And that is what is remembered. Now that ending sentence fragment was part of a speech that you need to study to do well. And the whole sentence that ended the speech was "If you do not study, you cannot get an A in this course."
But that is not what gets remembered. I made sure to correct it and made sure students understood that everyone in the course can get an A. And I reflected on how I talk about studying and Calculus - knowing now it would be better to say "If you do not study, it makes this course extremely difficult typically" or something like that.
It is the details that count and we must remember the power we, teachers, have. And even after a decade I still trip up. That is why reflection is so important....
So to all my calculus students - studying is important and As are completely possible.
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2015
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Solar - Big Business Tries To Bite Back
The front page article for Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal was Wisconsin utility companies take aim against solar power. The article reported on two Wisconsin electric suppliers requesting major changes in how they charge changing the economics of solar.
The major electric suppliers rate proposal is an all out war on solar by changing the structure on how power is billed. By moving away from kilowatt per hour charge with a reasonable connection fee, charging mainly on usage, to a large grid connection charge with negligible kW/hr charges the electric suppliers want to change how power will be created and consumed.
The proposal wants to move away from kilowatt per hour charge with a small connection fee (charging mainly on usage) to a large grid connection charge (with negligible kW/hr charges). They actually proposed lowering kw/hr charges from 15 cents to 4.5 cents but moving connection charges from roughly $10 to nearly $50!
Low kW/hr charges do not motivate people to conserve but to use. Saving some does not equal much money and thus people will be less inclined to conserve.
That does not help move our dependance from fossil fuels but makes us more of addict.
This proposal is not about the people's or the world's good but a simple attempt to shut down competition - solar competition. It is simply a proposal to guarantee coal and natural gas power plants remain the electricity leaders -- it is hiding the cost of power in a connection fee versus the usage.
Most damaging - solar project’s pay back disappears. This is not good for Wisconsin, the USA or the world.
I hope the board fights this proposal. We need to have a system that charges by the kW hour and rewards conservation and innovation -- not a move that protects profits and status quo.
Read more: http://host.madison.com/business/wisconsin-utility-companies-take-aim-against-solar-power/article_cd1fb31a-c1ad-56a4-a71b-375830d5b6e1.html#ixzz38gabJtmi
The major electric suppliers rate proposal is an all out war on solar by changing the structure on how power is billed. By moving away from kilowatt per hour charge with a reasonable connection fee, charging mainly on usage, to a large grid connection charge with negligible kW/hr charges the electric suppliers want to change how power will be created and consumed.
The proposal wants to move away from kilowatt per hour charge with a small connection fee (charging mainly on usage) to a large grid connection charge (with negligible kW/hr charges). They actually proposed lowering kw/hr charges from 15 cents to 4.5 cents but moving connection charges from roughly $10 to nearly $50!
Low kW/hr charges do not motivate people to conserve but to use. Saving some does not equal much money and thus people will be less inclined to conserve.
That does not help move our dependance from fossil fuels but makes us more of addict.
This proposal is not about the people's or the world's good but a simple attempt to shut down competition - solar competition. It is simply a proposal to guarantee coal and natural gas power plants remain the electricity leaders -- it is hiding the cost of power in a connection fee versus the usage.
Most damaging - solar project’s pay back disappears. This is not good for Wisconsin, the USA or the world.
I hope the board fights this proposal. We need to have a system that charges by the kW hour and rewards conservation and innovation -- not a move that protects profits and status quo.
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