We have all heard the saying that life is just the “hand we are dealt,” but is that completely accurate? Certainly, there is an element of truth to it because we cannot control all our circumstances (I know, hard pill for someone that is a control freak like me to handle). However, after that element is acknowledged, we can admit that it is up to us on how we “play” the hand we have been dealt. We can either victimize ourselves and throw a big pity party or we can choose to rise above it and become more than what the cards had first appeared to promise.
I think I realized this concept in my young adult life. I would listen to others complain and pitch in my own moaning of how unfair life was treating me. Wrapped up in a mentality of “woe is me” is actually pretty easy considering a large portion of society seems to cater to that pattern of thinking, without even realizing it is doing so. Look at how social media now offers an immediate soundboard for us to “air” all our frustrations the moment they happen. That can be even more dangerous because in the moment we might not think of the long-term consequences of telling the world our dirty laundry so to speak. When is the last time you sat in a group at your work and did not hear a pattern of sob stories on what all is going on in each person’s life: the boss is being hard, they had to work too many hours, their mom is acting a fool, their kid is breaking curfew, their marriage is crumbling and the list goes on. Sadly, we have not only learned to accept this without even being conscious of the fact it is happening, but we also contribute to it as well. Adding our own list of “slights” we feel need to be heard.
I do want to stop for a moment to admit that feeling ALL of our emotions is not only necessary, but emotionally healthy. So, we do need to feel our emotions around the events that are not so good, but once we feel them and acknowledge them…it is necessary to detach from them. Once we detach, we can shift our focus onto the things in life that need it the most. Finding that sweet balance can be hard as we begin to practice that. Often wanting to linger on the negative emotions can be tempting, but self-sabotaging nonetheless. Taking away our power to “play” the cards we have been dealt; we instead just accept them as they are and fold.
Shifting our focus on the good and positive things does not mean we are living in a bubble of absolute happiness. It means that when things happen, we acknowledge them, feel them if needed and accept the lesson that is being given to us as a positive constructive criticism handed straight to us from the universal way of life. Recently, I had some annual health testing done and the results were not what I wanted to hear. It meant I would need to shift. It meant things would need to be implemented. It meant that I would need to alter my thinking. Of course, I am human so the immediate response to the news was an overwhelming sense of emotions. The usual crying and despair that comes with hard news. As I sobbed to a friend, they gently reminded me I was stronger than any health issue. I had the power, but it was up to me to play the hand. Certainly, I have my days where discouragement seems to override my winning attitude towards life’s game of poker. However, the good days far outweigh the bad now. I learn to lean in and find my lesson. I learn to relish each day and the moments I am given. I learn to take life and make the most of the hand I am dealt. Thankfully, I am surrounded by friends who also uplift and choose to use life’s lessons as a ladder granted to us to level up in our playing field of life.
Next time you are tempted to linger at the pity party just a bit too long…put those shades on and remember the strong person you are. The one who has risen above all odds and fought to be where you are today. Remember that the game is not over until you fold and that power of playing falls on you.
It is best summed up by the famous words of Kenny Rogers:
Yvonne Moore, left, and Christy Carmichael collect specimen for COVID-19 testing outside of the Aaron E Henry Community Health Services Center in Clarksdale, Miss., Wednesday, March 29, 2020.
On multiple occasions this month, state and national leadership have either downplayed or neglected the positivity rate of COVID-19 testing. Yet in Mississippi, that rate continues to grow, as the increase of new cases outpaces the increase of new tests.
Known as the “test positivity rate,” that measure over a seven-day average is now higher in Mississippi than in any other state.
When Fox News asked President Donald Trump on July 19 about rising cases across the United States, he said, “If we tested half as much, those numbers would be down.”
During a press conference last week, Gov. Tate Reeves questioned the significance of the test positivity rate, saying, “I can go into virtually any community right now, and significantly reduce our test positivity rate by going and testing randomly throughout that community.”
Since July 1, when Mississippi’s positivity rate was 13 percent over a seven-day average, that number has doubled, peaking at 27 percent on Sunday.
Because daily new test totals vary greatly — just this week ranging from 3,000 one day to 10,000 another day in Mississippi — public health experts look toward seven-day averages for easier-to-read trends.
Mississippi now leads all states in that measure, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project analyzed by a group of public health experts on the website COVIDExitStrategy.org.
The analysis, last updated Tuesday, has Mississippi’s seven-day average at 23 percent; Arizona is second with an average rate of 21 percent, and every other state is under 20 percent.
Framed in another way, Mississippi’s total test positivity rate — the number of all positive cases divided by all tests since March — has reached new peaks in 11 out of the last 12 days, now at 12 percent.
As seen in the chart above, there is some correlation between new tests and new cases; but new cases have increased more steadily since June, whereas new tests vary greatly, even over a seven-day average.
Gov. Tate Reeves, the only official who can issue a statewide mandate that postpones school or forces virtual learning, finds himself in a tough political position as schools across the state are just days from resuming in-person instruction.
As coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are skyrocketing in Mississippi, many parents and teachers are rallying across the state and asking Reeves to postpone the start of school. They say already cash-strapped school districts can’t handle the demands of virus preparation and warn that students, teachers and staff will suffer.
Meanwhile, many parents are worried about how they’ll keep their jobs or handle childcare if their kids don’t start school on time. Parents and teachers alike express deep concern over students’ wellbeing if they miss school and in-person interaction in a rural state where many districts lack the ability to provide adequate distance learning.
The state’s 138 districts have been asked to decide for themselves when and how to reopen, and they face a Friday deadline to submit their plans to the state.
For now, Reeves is holding off on any statewide edicts about public school operations as most schools are set to return to the classroom the first full week of August.
“It has long been the view of Mississippians that we want local control of education,” Reeves said this week.
Though he has made clear he expects schools to reopen soon and to provide in-person classes, Reeves said he will review the districts’ plans carefully and decide if any statewide mandates for schools are required.
“It’s not something I want to do, and it’s not something I can tell you with certainty I will have to do,” Reeves said. “… Those of you who have watched me over the last 16 or 17 years will know that I am not scared to make a decision.”
No matter his decision, Reeves will face criticism.
Erica Jones, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, said that while schools face an unprecedented challenge, “our state’s leaders are nowhere to be found.”
“There’s no standardized guidance,” Jones said. “There is no mask mandate in schools. There is no plan in place to support districts who lack the resources to have an effective distance-learning model. Teachers are being asked to sanitize their own classrooms. And educators across the state are terrified to go back into schools, afraid for their own health and the health of their families and their students.”
The Mississippi State Medical Association and state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatricians have called for the state to not reopen classrooms until pandemic cases are on a “downward trajectory,” which does not appear to be in the offing any time soon. They urged a delay until at least Sept. 1, and called for a mask mandate for everyone in schools.
But Reeves indicated the state is not likely to waive the “180-day rule,” a state law that requires schools to provide at least 180 days of instruction each year by June 30. And, he said, those schools contemplating 100 percent virtual classes “are ignoring the reality that we are going to have testing that occurs in the 2020-2021 school year.”
All states are struggling with similar questions and debate over school restart. State plans are mixed, with some having strict statewide mandates and others allowing local decisions as Reeves wants to do.
In Alabama, the state’s superintendent has urged all schools to reopen on regular schedule, but individual districts will ultimately decide. Arkansas’ governor has called for in-person classes to open in the fall, but urged schools to be ready with virtual classes as well. Florida’s top education official issued an order for all schools to reopen and provide normal services. Many states are still trying to figure it out.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs this week was asked if the Mississippi Health Department could provide schools COVID-19 case metrics for when it’s safe to reopen, when to close buildings and teach remotely.
“There’s not an easy answer,” said Dobbs, “not a specific number.”
Dobbs noted that given the current trajectory of the virus in Mississippi, school reopenings may be short lived.
“There may be some schools that have to close pretty quickly after they open,” Dobbs said. “It just depends on if there are outbreaks.”
He said that what appears to be less transmission among younger children and experience from day cares shows some promise, particularly for younger grades.
“We never closed down the day cares,” Dobbs said. “I’m not saying we never saw cases in day cares, but there were no major outbreaks.”
Reeves last week vowed: “I am going to do what I think is best for kids, and let the politics play out however they play out.”
As to criticism about the state not providing standardized rules and mandates for school reopenings so far, Reeves said: “Many of these are the same people who for years said stay away from them and stay out of their business.”
“Now they are calling me, asking, ‘Hey, will you please make these decisions for us?’,” Reeves said.
Still, the political rhetoric hasn’t eased the concerns of many educators across the state.
“Make no mistake: Schools will eventually close,” Jones said. “It can happen safely now, with a comprehensive plan in place, or it can happen when the first outbreak happens, or when the unthinkable happens and we lose a member of a school community. This is quite literally an issue of life or death, and the ripple effects of this absence of leadership will be felt far beyond the confines of a school building.”
A model for reopening?
The Corinth School District, known for innovation and its “year-’round” school schedule, has already reopened on its normal start date, July 27. Reeves said he will be watching Corinth schools closely over the next few weeks to see if the district offers lessons that can be applied statewide.
Corinth is offering in-person school, with optional virtual classes. Superintendent Lee Childress said he expects about 13% to 18% of parents will have chosen virtual teaching for their kids this fall.
Children and school staff in Corinth each morning walk through thermal temperature scanners set up at strategic locations so everyone is checked. Many are checked again during the school day. So far, Childress said after the first couple of days, no one had an elevated temperature or symptoms.
Corinth schools are requiring face masks, and providing them to students and staff. All students have to wear them as they are transported to and from school and moving within buildings. For pre-K through third grades, masks are not required during instruction — although many are still wearing them — but teachers are working to maintain social distancing. For grades four through 12, students are required to wear masks all day unless there is a setting allows them to maintain social distancing.
Hand sanitizer is available throughout the schools, classrooms and other spaces are being reconfigured for distancing students and teachers are disinfecting classrooms at the end of each day, among many other safety protocols, Childress said. Meals are being eaten in classrooms instead of cafeterias.
If a teacher or student comes down with COVID-19, Childress said, the district has plans in place, including contact tracing and notification of anyone potentially exposed. Childress said a positive case would not necessarily mean whole classes or grades being dismissed and quarantined.
“It will depend on the circumstances,” said Childress, who added that the Health Department has given schools guidance, provided published guidelines, webinars and video conferences for school leaders.
Childress said he, his school board and staff have worked diligently on reopening plans and safety protocols since the pandemic hit Mississippi in March. He said his district involved the community in the decisions and he has kept them informed of the plans with regular Facebook live chats. He said MDE and the Health Department offered guidance and assistance, and he had no criticism of lack of state mandates or leadership.
“Ultimately, when it gets down to making those decisions — when to reopen, what strategy will be in place — that is a local school decision and should be left up to the local school district board,” Childress said. “… A school is a reflection of its community. Every community is facing a different situation, different transmission rates … Those different things should allow for the flexibility for you to make the decisions for what is best for your districts.”
As for pushing school start dates back much further this year, Childress said, “I think whether you open in July or August or September or October, we’re still going to have to deal with it.”
The virtual approach
Last week, Jackson Public Schools, the second largest school district in the state, announced it would provide completely virtual learning in the fall. When asked about Jackson Public Schools plan to reopen with online-only teaching, Reeves said he didn’t want to discuss a specific district’s plan yet but doubts some schools have the ability to provide an adequate education with distance learning only.
Reeves said he has reviewed some districts’ plans and, “Some of them look very good, and some do not.” He said he expects to make a decision late this week or early next on any state intervention or mandates.
Reeves has urged school leaders to “think outside the box,” and be innovative with reopening plans.
Maurice Smith, superintendent of North Bolivar Consolidated School District, said his district is “going all virtual.”
“We’re going to open August 20, but that is subject to change and we will reevaluate where we are depending on the number of cases coming out of Bolivar County,” Smith said. “We chose the virtual route because of concern for our students and staff. About a week ago Bolivar county was added to a list of counties that had a high coronavirus positive rate. So for those reasons, we felt like it was the prudent choice.”
Smith said he’s glad his school board had autonomy to decide what’s best locally.
“I would have preferred that the state would have been a little more helpful with guidance as it relates to receiving funding and timely order of electronic devices,” Smith said.
Reeves said Mississippi schools are receiving a total of “half a billion dollars” in federal funds through the CARES Act and other measures to defray pandemic costs. He said that after conversations with the vice president and others in Washington this week, he expects a fourth round of federal funding will include “a significant portion” for school restart expenses.
Childress said purchasing personal protection equipment and making changes has not caused his district any financial hardship so far, and that federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding has helped cover expenses.
But some are concerned that poorer districts, already struggling financially, will have a tougher time coping with reopening safely.
“I don’t anticipate a problem there,” Reeves said. “Will there be challenges? Yes. I don’t want to minimize those, but I don’t think they will be financial in nature.”
Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America
Toni Coleman, Center Hill High School economics teacher, talks her 12th grade economics class as they work on a class project in Olive Branch Tuesday, May 7, 2019.
As Gov. Tate Reeves works to save the School Recognition Program, critics say it ‘intensifies already serious inequality.’
The Legislature created a program in 2014 to reward teachers for student achievement. It was meant to incentivize educators, but many say it’s unfair and inequitable.
CLARKSDALE — Five years ago, New York native Nicole Moore graduated from college in Atlanta, packed her bags and moved to the Mississippi Delta to teach. The Teach For America member was placed at Coahoma Early College High School, formerly an agricultural school deemed low performing.
The new teacher had her work cut out for her at a school where less than a third of students were proficient in reading, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.
Aallyah Wright, Mississippi Today
Nicole Moore, Coahoma Early College High School teacher
Moore and her colleagues made a commitment to improve student achievement at the school, and in a two-year period students saw results. Originally rated a D, the school’s accountability rating climbed to a C — a marked improvement. As a testament to her hard work, two years later, the high school English teacher received a one-time $1,000 reward in 2019.
Moore was one of thousands of teachers to receive money from the School Recognition Program, a merit pay program the state Legislature created in 2014. It rewards schools and educators for student performance. Government officials tout the program as a performance-boosting incentive for all teachers.
Today, the program is at the center of a power struggle between the executive and legislative branch, and it’s the reason why the K-12 budget has not been appropriated this year. Gov. Tate Reeves partially vetoed about $2.2 billion of the appropriation last month because, he said, the budget bill did not fund the program.
“Our schools are improving in many areas. Our education attainment levels are up. And this School Recognition Program is a big reason why!” Reeves wrote in a Facebook post ahead of the veto.
“It is our only performance reward program in the state,” he said. “And it works.”
But critics of the program say it causes confusion and in some cases actually decreases morale for educators. There are also questions about who receives the money and whether the program is racially equitable.
A Mississippi Today analysis shows 53% of the program’s funds have gone to school districts where at least half the student body was white. Of the ten districts receiving the most money from the program, Jackson Public Schools is the only predominantly Black district on the list.
“I have strong objection to policies that use public funds in a way that intensifies already serious inequality,” said Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville. “The School Recognition Program is one of those policies. From its inception, the program has been inequitable from a racial and socioeconomic standpoint.”
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, is vice-chair of the Senate education committee and a firm opponent of the program who says “it should be done away with” because it increases inequity in the system.
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson
“The way the money is allocated on a building-by-building basis … there’s little accountability,” Blount said. “I think it’s flawed in its basic concept and it gives a disproportionate amount of money to the wealthier school districts in the state.”
Mississippi Today spoke with educators across the state who said they appreciate the money, but the money alone wasn’t their sole motivating factor to improve student outcomes.
Honey LeBlanc, a veteran teacher in the Long Beach School District who received $1,500 every year, said her friends refer to the awards as “the Delta book money” because it gives already high performing schools in privileged districts money, “when Delta schools need textbooks.”
“I’m very conflicted. Is it enough to recognize what we do day in and out? No. Is it done fairly? No,” she said. “To give money and be recognized is good … but me getting this money? There are other districts that are in need.”
Oxford Middle School teacher Amanda Reiser, who formerly taught in Ocean Springs, said the program is “completely flawed” and doesn’t motivate teachers.
“We’re inspired to keep our students growing and improving,” she said. “Would money be helpful? Absolutely … I feel like it needs to be across the board. Take all of that money and divvy it up to everybody and keep our teacher (shortage) rate low.”
In the Western Line School District, O’Bannon High School teacher Tyjawanda Kirk, a 21-year classroom veteran, received around $1,000 in 2018. Although she believes the program motivated teachers in her district to do more, she understands how it can be unfair to educators whose hard work might not correlate in test results.
“I know in the past I have worked hard to help my students to pass the state tests and achieve goals we set at the time,” she said. “We felt like we weren’t getting recognition or rewards for that. I do think it is a good idea to reward teachers for working and helping students to achieve.”
Research shows merit pay systems have no effect on student outcomes. A 2013 study that examined teacher incentive pay programs in New York, Texas, and Tennessee found most teachers wanted the incentives but felt the programs were unfair. In the survey, 80% of respondents agreed teachers should be rewarded for demonstrating outstanding teaching skills. Ninety percent felt rewarding teachers based on test score gains is problematic. Fifty-five percent agreed the method was fair, whereas 48% didn’t have a clear understanding of the criteria for earning a bonus.
Matthew Springer, co-researcher on the studies and associate professor of education, evaluation, and public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said there must be a more robust system to evaluate teachers, teams and school performance.
“The metric of an overall school accountability grade is probably not the best system to use, which I am cautious about,” he told Mississippi Today. “The other issue is giving resources to schools is important and we know teachers are the most important determinant in schools for students … I’m really focused on getting high quality teachers in high performing schools.”
In Mississippi, schools and districts receive an A-F letter grade based on several factors like proficiency in math, reading, science, graduation rates and other components. The letter grades are a way to easily convey to parents and the public how each school is performing. The ratings are also used to incentivize teachers and administrators.
Under the School Recognition Program, teachers in A-rated schools or schools that improve from a ‘F’ to ‘D’ or a ‘D’ to ‘C’ receive $100 per student, and ‘B’ rated schools receive $75 per student. Since 2017, the Legislature has funneled about $71 million into the recognition program. In fiscal year 2020, nearly 21,000 certified teachers and staff in more than 500 public schools collectively received $25 million, according to Mississippi Today’s analysis of program records. No administrators can receive an award.
Over the past three years, the program’s intent to incentivize teachers based on accountability ratings has caused problems, including infighting at the district level about how the money is distributed and who is eligible to receive the funds, school officials, lawmakers, and education advocates say.
“When you talk about merit pay, you have to be cognizant there’s so many factors that play into a school and an individual’s teacher success,” said Kelly Riley, executive director of Mississippi Professional Educators. “Whatever we do, we don’t need to do anything that endangers teacher morale, and we’re already having a teacher shortage.”
For the first two years of the program, local districts created a teacher committee to decide how to disseminate the funds and to whom. One of the frustrations, educators say, is that schools don’t see the money until the next year’s accountability ratings come out, which doesn’t promote retention.
Year after year, teachers in Desoto County, Rankin County, Madison County, Harrison County, Lamar County, Jackson Public School, Jackson County, Ocean Springs, and Biloxi schools receive most of the earnings. For the first two years of the program, it is unclear the total number of teachers and staff that received rewards, or how much they received because not all districts submitted that information.
The lack of clarity stems from teacher committees’ decisions on how to parcel out funds the first two years of the program, meaning there’s no specific record of how much money went to an individual teacher or staff member, said Pete Smith, Mississippi Department of Education chief of communications and government relations.
A district response form from the Holly Springs School District. Not every district fills out how many teachers receive school recognition money, meaning in many cases it can be difficult to determine how much a teacher received.
“I don’t think the forms asked how many teachers would receive the money,” Smith said. “It was more or less … we just needed something on record to determine how they were going to disperse that money.”
This is a common complaint from the program’s detractors, who argue the School Recognition Program is problematic.
Erica Jones, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, said teachers did not have much guidance on how to distribute the money.
Mississippi Association of Educators
Erica Webber-Jones
“They are concerned with how funds have been getting out,” Jones said. “I have a colleague in Hinds County, and they decided to distribute the funds by grade level.”
North Bolivar superintendent Maurice Smith said in his district, two high schools merged to form Northside High School and during consolidation, the principals didn’t submit the district response form in time. As a result, the teachers received the same amount rather than specific amounts to specific teachers, Smith said. This caused frustration among teachers because they didn’t get to make the decision themselves.
Though he felt the program is a good idea, it “needs tweaking,” Smith said.
Lawmakers are aware of the scrutiny around the program.
In 2017, the attorney general’s office issued an opinion stating licensed and non-licensed school district employees could receive the award, meaning all other employees like librarians, counselors, specialists, alternative school teachers, but still no superintendents or principals.
The MDE issued new guidance per the Legislature’s request last year clarifying that the money should only be awarded to current and certified staff of the eligible school and the award must be distributed evenly. In the most recent year, 60% of school districts evenly dispersed the money whereas 36% didn’t. Less than 4% did not submit information. There is also no requirement to pay staff who are no longer employed in the school district.
Former Rep. John Moore, the House education chair who co-authored the 2014 bill, said the program was inspired by a pilot program for performance pay during Gov. Phil Bryant’s tenure. However, this caused “too much competition with teachers” at individual schools, so they wanted to reward schools collectively.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP
Former Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, in House Chamber in 2015 photo.
Moore called it “a great program,” and those schools who don’t get the money should just “raise their letter grade.”
“If you’re a teacher in a D school and you’re wanting that bonus, then you would be a team leader and encourage teachers in their school… then bonuses could be $2,000 or more, that’s nice Christmas money,” he said. “Some of the teachers actually give some of the money to their (teaching) assistants.”
The future of this program remains uncertain as lawmakers still need to address the education budget, but cannot return to the Capitol yet because of a legislative COVID-19 outbreak.
If the program does survive, teachers feel the program should reward those “who need to see it the most.”
Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America
Toni Coleman, Center Hill High School economics teacher, gives instructions on her senior class’ final project in Olive Branch Tuesday, May 7, 2019.
“Those teachers that did not get money … I don’t even know them but I can vouch that they’re doing the absolutely best with what they have, and they are being punished,” Toni Coleman, a Center Hill High teacher said. “When they are continually getting chastised from funds and pay raises and any sort of recognition other than bad recognition, what’s left?”
Imagine you’re on your daily commute to work, driving along a crowded highway while trying to resist looking at your phone. You’re already a little stressed out because you didn’t sleep well, woke up late, and have an important meeting in a couple hours, but you just don’t feel like your best self.
Suddenly another car cuts you off, coming way too close to your front bumper as it changes lanes. Your already-simmering emotions leap into overdrive, and you lay on the horn and shout curses no one can hear.
Except someone—or, rather, something—can hear: your car. Hearing your angry words, aggressive tone, and raised voice, and seeing your furrowed brow, the onboard computer goes into “soothe” mode, as it’s been programmed to do when it detects that you’re angry. It plays relaxing music at just the right volume, releases a puff of light lavender-scented essential oil, and maybe even says some meditative quotes to calm you down.
What do you think—creepy? Helpful? Awesome? Weird? Would you actually calm down, or get even more angry that a car is telling you what to do?
Scenarios like this (maybe without the lavender oil part) may not be imaginary for much longer, especially if companies working to integrate emotion-reading artificial intelligence into new cars have their way. And it wouldn’t just be a matter of your car soothing you when you’re upset—depending what sort of regulations are enacted, the car’s sensors, camera, and microphone could collect all kinds of data about you and sell it to third parties.
Computers and Feelings
Just as AI systems can be trained to tell the difference between a picture of a dog and one of a cat, they can learn to differentiate between an angry tone of voice or facial expression and a happy one. In fact, there’s a whole branch of machine intelligence devoted to creating systems that can recognize and react to human emotions; it’s called affective computing.
Emotion-reading AIs learn what different emotions look and sound like from large sets of labeled data; “smile = happy,” “tears = sad,” “shouting = angry,” and so on. The most sophisticated systems can likely even pick up on the micro-expressions that flash across our faces before we consciously have a chance to control them, as detailed by Daniel Goleman in his groundbreaking book Emotional Intelligence.
Affective computing company Affectiva, a spinoff from MIT Media Lab, says its algorithms are trained on 5,313,751 face videos (videos of people’s faces as they do an activity, have a conversation, or react to stimuli) representing about 2 billion facial frames. Fascinatingly, Affectiva claims its software can even account for cultural differences in emotional expression (for example, it’s more normalized in Western cultures to be very emotionally expressive, whereas Asian cultures tend to favor stoicism and politeness), as well as gender differences.
But Why?
As reported in Motherboard, companies like Affectiva, Cerence, Xperi, and Eyeris have plans in the works to partner with automakers and install emotion-reading AI systems in new cars. Regulations passed last year in Europe and a bill just introduced this month in the US senate are helping make the idea of “driver monitoring” less weird, mainly by emphasizing the safety benefits of preemptive warning systems for tired or distracted drivers (remember that part in the beginning about sneaking glances at your phone? Yeah, that).
Drowsiness and distraction can’t really be called emotions, though—so why are they being lumped under an umbrella that has a lot of other implications, including what many may consider an eerily Big Brother-esque violation of privacy?
Our emotions, in fact, are among the most private things about us, since we are the only ones who know their true nature. We’ve developed the ability to hide and disguise our emotions, and this can be a useful skill at work, in relationships, and in scenarios that require negotiation or putting on a game face.
And I don’t know about you, but I’ve had more than one good cry in my car. It’s kind of the perfect place for it; private, secluded, soundproof.
Putting systems into cars that can recognize and collect data about our emotions under the guise of preventing accidents due to the state of mind of being distracted or the physical state of being sleepy, then, seems a bit like a bait and switch.
A Highway to Privacy Invasion?
European regulations will help keep driver data from being used for any purpose other than ensuring a safer ride. But the US is lagging behind on the privacy front, with car companies largely free from any enforceable laws that would keep them from using driver data as they please.
Affectiva lists the following as use cases for occupant monitoring in cars: personalizing content recommendations, providing alternate route recommendations, adapting environmental conditions like lighting and heating, and understanding user frustration with virtual assistants and designing those assistants to be emotion-aware so that they’re less frustrating.
Our phones already do the first two (though, granted, we’re not supposed to look at them while we drive—but most cars now let you use bluetooth to display your phone’s content on the dashboard), and the third is simply a matter of reaching a hand out to turn a dial or press a button. The last seems like a solution for a problem that wouldn’t exist without said… solution.
Despite how unnecessary and unsettling it may seem, though, emotion-reading AI isn’t going away, in cars or other products and services where it might provide value.
Besides automotive AI, Affectiva also makes software for clients in the advertising space. With consent, the built-in camera on users’ laptops records them while they watch ads, gauging their emotional response, what kind of marketing is most likely to engage them, and how likely they are to buy a given product. Emotion-recognition tech is also being used or considered for use in mental health applications, call centers, fraud monitoring, and education, among others.
In a 2015 TED talk, Affectiva co-founder Rana El-Kaliouby told her audience that we’re living in a world increasingly devoid of emotion, and her goal was to bring emotions back into our digital experiences. Soon they’ll be in our cars, too; whether the benefits will outweigh the costs remains to be seen.
Good Thursday morning everyone!! Temperatures are in the mid to upper 70s under mostly cloudy skies across the area. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible again today, with a high near 88. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Showers and thunderstorms will be possible again Friday and some of those could be strong with gusty winds.
Tropical Storm Isaias formed south of Cuba last night. It is forecast to impact Florida the weekend into early next week. There is still much certainty in strength and the track after it passes over Hispaniola. We will keep our eyes on it because it could impact our weather some next week.
Mississippi Highway Patrol officers retire the state flag outside of the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
The commission charged with presenting a new Mississippi state flag to voters in November on Tuesday heard from a vexillologist, or expert on flags.
“Simplicity,” Mississippi vexillologist Clay Moss told the commission, is the first rule of flag design. “A small child should be able to draw it from memory. Less is more … Keep it simple.”
The other four basic principles of flag design are to use meaningful symbolism, use only two to three basic colors, refrain from using lettering or seals and to be either distinctive or related.
Moss noted that the Mississippi Legislature has mandated the commission violate one of the principles — the commission must include the words “In God We Trust” on whatever design it approves and puts before voters. Moss said this could still be done in an aesthetically pleasing way — perhaps in a ribbon or emblem — and noted both Florida’s and Georgia’s flags include the same words.
The Mississippi Legislature, after decades of debate, voted to remove the 1894 state flag with its divisive Confederate battle emblem. The legislation it passed created the commission to choose a new flag to put before voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. Voters can either approve or reject the new design. If they reject it, the commission will go back to the drawing board, and present another design to voters next year.
Tuesday was the flag commission’s second meeting. Its nine members are appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker.
“We have a challenge before us,” said former state Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson, who was elected commission chairman last week. “I can assure you of one thing: We are going to adopt and approve a flag Mississippi can be proud of.”
The commission plans to begin reviewing the more than 1,000 flag designs the public has submitted — which will be available for the public to see on the Mississippi Department of Archives and history website starting Aug. 3 — and each select their favorite 25 by Aug. 7. The commission is free to come up with its own designs, or tweak or combine submitted ones.
Commissioners will then each rank their top 10 picks around the middle of next month and vote to narrow the list to a final five. There will be a public comment period for the top five, then the commission will pick a final design at a Sept. 2 meeting and submit that flag to the Legislature and secretary of state to be put on the ballot.
“I’m jealous of you, as a flag nerd,” Moss told commissioners on Tuesday. He also urged them to “be wide open” to designs and “have fun.”
Moss in a slide presentation showed commissioners various designs — good and bad — from flags across the country and the world. He pointed out intricacies of design tenets, such as putting emblems closer to the “hoist” side of the flag as opposed to the “fly” side.
“Horizontal stripes are generally better,” Moss said. “It’s been scientifically proven that the human brain identifies a horizontally striped flag easier. That’s why about 50% of the world’s flags have horizontal stripes, and 12% vertical.”
Moss told commissioners, “A lot of U.S. state flags are mundane.”
“There’s state seal after state seal,” he said.
Mississippi horticulturalist, author and gardening radio show host Felder Rushing attended Tuesday’s meeting. He’s not pitching a particular flag design, but is urging the commission to include the magnolia blossom in the new design. He gave commissioners a brochure he made advocating the magnolia blossom.
The brochure notes that Mississippi, the Magnolia State, during the Civil War had a state flag that included the magnolia tree. He said the new design should use “the flower, not the tree.”
“It’s on everything in Mississippi,” Rushing said. “It’s even on our quarter.
“The rest of the country has already moved on, leaving us with the daunting challenge of agreeing on a new state flag that will fly proudly long after we participants are gone,” Rushing’s brochure said. “And we can choose a symbol that either says something, or not.”
