It’s estimated that it will take 100 years to close the achievement gap between white and minority children and those of different economic situations in Washington state. However, education reformers think they can speed up the process if they get serious about incorporating technology into the curriculum.
US News & World Report released their Best Colleges list this week with Harvard and Princeton Universities in first and Yale in third. This is the second year in a row that high school counselors opinions have been included in the rankings. In The Chronicle of Higher Education article “US News Keeps Courting High-School Counselors,” Eric Hoover explains the inclusion of counselor ratings is highly controversial because it is believed these votes make the rankings list more of a “popularity contest” than offering a helpful perspective to inform college applicants.
How do you answer the math student’s favorite question: When are we ever going to use this?
Mind/Shift writer Audrey Watters points to New York Times op-ed writers Sol Garfunkel and David Mumford who say if we want better scores and want students to be more interested, make math more applicable to the student’s life. Garfunkel and Mumford say it’s a fact that different careers need different math skills, and that our education systems should be adjusted to value this.
What does it mean to be emotionally intelligent?
Psychologist Daniel Goleman defined emotional intelligence as being self-aware. An emotionally intelligent person is someone who can recognize their feelings and the feelings of others. It’s also someone who knows how to manage emotions, like anxiety, anger, and sadness. Emotional intelligence is a must to succeed at school and work, in social circles, and with family.
800 million people are unable to read and write. Yesterday was International Literacy Day, an occasion created by the United Nations to increase awareness of the amounts of people affected by illiteracy and the harm it does to any advances made in improving poverty and sickness in nations around the world.
By Carson Carter
Our program here in Prague shuttled four of us, who were arriving at the same time, by mini-bus into the city from the airport, and I was immediately thrilled about the views of the city and the apartment location. My roommates were outside flying through cigarettes when I disembarked, (quite the welcoming party, wish I had a photo!) but I’ve already gotten used to that as everyone here smokes in public/bars/clubs/restaurants. Thankfully, my roommates only smoke outside and are really courteous about it.
Lessons on the events of 9/11 are not included in social studies standards for more than half of American classrooms. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, students will be hearing many stories about the tragedy on the Internet, radio or television, around the dinner table, or possibly in conversations with friends. These students have spent most or all of their lives in an America where terrorism is a real threat, but how much do they know about it and have they ever been taught how to cope with it?
By Maureen Breeze
Images, stories, and reflections of 9/11 will surround us as we approach the tenth anniversary of this tragic day. And how each of us discusses the topic with our children, especially our young ones who’ve grown up with this grave reality, will differ. Some families may pledge to never forget, some may turn away and focus on better times, while others still clamor for answers.
What better time to start implementing new healthy work habits than the beginning of the school year?
After a long Labor Day weekend, students may have lost some of the motivation they gained over the first weeks of school. Pick up the momentum by doing an activity with your class that gets them thinking about the habits they need to exercise to succeed during this semester.
By Maureen Breeze
For many students the first weeks of school involve understanding the expectations of new teachers and classes, discovering the best times to go to the locker, making new friends, and establishing different routines. Usually by the time Labor Day weekend rolls around, the demands of school step into high gear.
It’s at this point, we as parents, can help our students develop the best habits possible to promote their academic, emotional, and social success. Perhaps you have a high school student who comes home late from activities, studies until the wee hours of the morning, and by November is unable to sustain the schedule. Or maybe you have an elementary school student who rarely remembers her folder and looses most papers handed to her. Or, perhaps your middle school student is far more interested in staying plugged into his social world through texting and Facebook than completing his math homework.