Learning at school can seem like a simple equation: teacher presents material + students listen (including taking notes) + students complete the homework assignments and tests = learning. Yet, in practice, learning can be more complex. The following is the first in an on-going series of posts that will discuss the intricacies of learning in…
Tag: Balance
Ever Wonder Where The Day Went?
The following chart represents the average time spent each day on a variety of activities for ALL American adults (people aged 15 or older), from the Bureau of Labor Statistics most recent American Time Use study. Might give you some answers to “where did all my time go today?” pondering. Some highlights: Only .47 hours of…
Purposeful Failure
“I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison I am the anti-Thomas Edison. I fear making mistakes. I fear mistakes will expose me to others’ (mis-)judgements, like being seen as stupid. I’ve evolved into a cautious reactor, preferring to watch others from the sidelines go first, make my…
Learn HOW to Learn: The Legacy of Mr. Coombs
At this time of the school year–after first semester grades and well-into the next semester–I receive increased requests for tutor referrals. Parents and students naturally assume that a less than expected grade in a class is due to content deficit–that somehow the student just “isn’t getting it”; “it” being the ideas and concepts presented in…
Education is a Delicate Balance
I have never met a parent who didn’t want the absolute best for their children. The idea of helping one’s offspring become more independent often is part of that “wanting what’s best.” When toddlers can’t immediately get up after a non-injuring fall, parents will often be mindful not to rush in and swoop up the…
Academic Cheating: No Simple Explanations
Harvard recently required 60 students to withdraw for up to two years, after being found responsible for cheating on a take-home final essay exam last spring. (The students will be eligible to re-enroll after the forced withdrawal period is over.) Is it surprising that Harvard students cheat? Or surprising that 125 students, about half the…
New Year’s Resolutions: Willpower is Not Enough
Many of us, myself included, make New Year’s resolutions, then promptly forget them – only to find myself at the end of the year, shocked again that I hadn’t accomplished my goal. After decades of this annual ritual, I decided to investigate why the hopes from the beginning of the year often go unfulfilled.
The Classroom Transition from Anonymity to Known
The dictionary defines teaching as, “showing or explaining”, and explain in its simplest terms is “to make clear, make plain.” Making plain takes time and a dialogue to be sure each person within the exchange is in agreement, so with a class of 35 students and one teacher, one can come up with creative ways…
The College Freshman Holiday Homecoming
The first time (or maybe first extended time) home for college freshmen during the Thanksgiving break can be simultaneously exciting, and frustrating for both parents and kids. College students may be looking forward to hot, home-cooked meals–not served on a tray–sleeping in their own (quiet) bedrooms and a private bathroom with a door that…
Peace Comes to the Old Dog Via The School of Hard Knocks
We are told that states of being at peace and happiness are our divine right–just reach out and grab them and struggle no more. Peace and happiness, though, seem difficult when it comes to the everyday job of making choices within a sea of possibilities. The default logic for living is that we achieve peace…
“ARRRRGH! Why is High School So Stressful?!?”
The worry that comes with trying to understand how actions today will affect one’s unknown future can create stress for anyone. Now, add that one is 15, 16 or 17–with limited life experience–trying to predict their future based on their academic performance on one class assignment today, and there’s even further cause creating stress. …
Who’s Choosing Transfer Admissions?
The students who choose transfer admissions over starting at a 4 year college right after high school graduation is changing. While money has been a factor in choosing transfer admissions in the past, it’s been more like, “Well, Junior doesn’t know what he wants to do (i.e. declare as his major or job he wants…
IMAGINE and Then RE-IMAGINE
Everything can be re-imagined. Our creativity is limitless in its natural state. We only limit ourselves. Education gives us tools and helps expose us to options. After that, its our responsibility to build on those experiences to produce (or re-produce) something new. Here’s another “re-imagining” of a classic icon, Julia Child, who wrote that through…
The Benefits of “Frenemies”?
Reading about Helen Gurley Brown’s death today inspired the following post. (No matter your opinion of Ms. Brown and her positions on social issues–she was the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years and wore mini-skirts into her 80’s, according to the New York Times–she stirred discussion.) A discussion does not happen when everyone agrees…
Back To School…More Complex Than Buying New Notebooks
BACK TO SCHOOL: Three words that can send excited nerves through a student’s, parent’s and teacher’s bodies. Students may lament, yet their friends are waiting on campus, after all. At the same time, there’s a frenzy of last minute summer reading and assignment completion while parents buzz in the background, brimming with “I told you…