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Dear Parents and Students,

As of March 15, there are no openings in the regular schedule for extra lessons or make-up lessons. However, I will be happy to attempt to find a special time for you. Just send me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Here is the 2017-2018 SFUSD calendar for your convenience.

Congratulations, high school seniors!

Because I tutor students from fifth grade through college, I always work with a handful of high school seniors each year — which means I am highly involved in the college admissions process every fall, and highly interested in the results of my seniors’ applications. And I thought some of you might be interested in how my seniors did this year.

In short, they did great. Understand, for some students, doing “great” does not necessarily mean an offer to attend UCLA, UC Berkeley, or NYU. Different schools suit different students. But I am proud—extremely proud—of every one of my students, for each one has gotten the most out of their ability, and each is well positioned to thrive in college.

With the preceding note in mind, I am pleased to report that my handful of seniors have received admissions offers from:

UCLA (multiple offers), UC Berkeley, UC San Diego (multiple), UC Davis (multiple), UC Santa Barbara (multiple), UC Irvine (multiple), UC Santa Cruz (multiple), New York University, Boston University (multiple), University Of Washington (multiple), University Of Oregon, Cal State San Jose (multiple), Harvey Mudd (waiting list), Willamette University, Marquette, SMU, Fordham, University of Santa Clara (multiple), and Marquette.

I am super proud of each and every one of my kids, and so very happy for their caring, devoted parents!

Congratulations seniors and families!!!

Jon

The Value of the Humanities — Including Their Practical Value

Dear Parents and Students,

This note was inspired by a wonderful panel discussion of the humanities on the KQED program Forum on November 19, 2013. A link to the discussion appears below.

The study of the humanities is vital to a student’s development as a well–rounded, deep–thinking, effectively communicating citizen with a broad understanding of the world we live in, a high–functioning moral compass, and the ability to understand and get along well with others. The humanities are essential to the development of empathy and are, in many ways, the true heart of a great education. And recent research suggests, contrary to the belief of many, that a humanities education has tremendous tangible value for those seeking a satisfying career.

What are “the humanities?”

The term “humanities” encompasses many of the subjects that students study every year in school before college. Broadly speaking, “the humanities” are those academic disciplines that study human culture, and include such core elements of a liberal arts education as literature, composition, rhetoric, the study of English and other languages, history, philosophy, government, and the visual and performing arts. For a truly shorthand definition, you can think of the humanities as most of the academic subjects other than math, engineering, and the non–social sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology.

My purpose in writing this note is not to celebrate the joys of a humanities education—and there is, to be sure, limitless joy in discovering the pleasures of great fiction and poetry, learning how to express oneself effectively orally and in writing, uncovering the story of mankind in all its glory (and shame), discovering how the gears of government work and what drives relations between nations and peoples, developing the ability to express oneself in the arts, and training one’s mind into an effective truth–seeking instrument—but to introduce parents and students to the practical value of a humanities–centered education.

There has been a great shift towards emphasizing “STEM”—i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—in education in recent years, including higher education, and many educators have become alarmed at what they see as a corresponding devaluation of the humanities. Many parents, with the best of intentions, have gotten the idea that only the STEM classes really matter to a student looking ahead to job and career.

I personally love science, and I enjoyed math back in school, but I think we need to turn our thinking around. And I wanted you to know that there is a growing movement to restore the humanities to their rightful place at the heart of our educational system. I specifically wanted you to know that those spearheading the movement point to research showing the practical value of a humanities–centered education.

The Humanities and Career Prospects

There is no doubt that advanced technical and scientific degrees can often lead to secure, lucrative employment.

However, the implied converse, i.e., that humanities degrees and a humanities education are of little value in the workplace, has much less weight than many seem to think.

I decided to write this note after listening to a wonderful discussion featuring prominent educators from Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Duke of the effort to revitalize humanities education. The entire program, entitled “Decline in the Humanities in Higher Education,” was aired on the KQED radio program Forum on November 19, 2013. I encourage every student, and every parent guiding a student, to listen to the program in its entirety. You may listen to it on your computer or download it to an MP3 player for a walk in the park.

Here are a couple of highlights:

* According to a survey of executives from major corporations, the abilities that they most seek when interviewing potential new hires are:

            * Critical thinking ability

            * The ability to solve complex problems

            * Effective oral expression

            * Effective written expression

I'm Will. I write.

As Richard Brodhead, the president of Duke University, points out in the program, these abilities are all nurtured most effectively by the humanities.

* Those anticipating a career in business might be interested to know that college English majors applying to business school outperformed college business majors on the business school entrance exam.

As a lawyer, I should add that a humanities education can lead naturally to a career in the legal profession.

I hope you will find the entire program instructive, and that you have found some value in my remarks.

Thank you for reading.

Jon Sindell

B.A., J.D.

Ding Dong STAR Testing's Dead!

  

Dear Parents,

To the relief of many teachers, students, and parents, Governor Brown has recently signed a bill that would end STAR Testing in the current school–year (except for science testing for fifth, eighth, and tenth graders), a year ahead of schedule. California has decided to shift to curriculum standards known as “Common Core,” which call for more in–depth teaching of fewer subjects and emphasizes real–world applications of material in an effort to prepare students for college and careers. You may read an October 2, 2103 news report on the topic.

My thoughts?

I’m thrilled.

Let me tell you why.

First and foremost, teaching is all about the three–way relationship between teachers, students, and the material. And most classroom teachers will tell you that they hated STAR Testing (how nice to use the past tense here!). Why? Because the intense pressure placed upon them to “teach to the test” severely restricted their freedom to inspire and enlighten their students. Under the STAR Testing regime, the school–year was a forced march to spring testing—and an often unpleasant march at that. Teachers lacked the freedom to delve deeply into areas that might have proved tremendously valuable and inspirational to their students, for they dared not depart from the scripted curriculum leading to the STAR Test date. We’ve all heard stories about inspiring teachers who ignited the lifelong love of learning in their students. STAR Testing made such stories too rare.

The testing regime shackled students’ imaginations just as it reigned in teachers’ freedom. Education should be joyous, not painful—the love of learning is the fuel that propels students to true achievement in school and in life. Unfortunately, the STAR Testing regime poisoned the love of learning and made the classroom as dull as a factory floor.

Nor was the test, according to legions of teachers, a valid assessment of the broad skills students need to achieve. The deficiency was perhaps not as great in terms of math, but the testing of reading, writing, and history did little to assess students’ creativity, ingenuity, social or emotional intelligence, originality, expressiveness, persuasiveness, resourcefulness, reasoning ability, understanding of the patterns of human history or the causes of historic events, or anything else, really, beyond the mere rudiments.

I am also happy for parents, for I have seen far too many needlessly stressed by the STAR Test regime. Many were unaware of the narrowness of the skills assessed by the STAR Test and became overly alarmed by disappointing scores; conversely, many were lulled by high scores that masked deficiencies in important skills not assessed by the tests. Many also held the misconception that the tests materially affected their children’s long–term future. In reality, the STAR Test was not the SAT, just an early assessment of a narrow range of skills at an early stage of a child’s academic career. I am so relieved to see it go.

A word of caution. We don’t know yet what the new assessment will look like. I fervently hope that it will be better than the STAR Test. It could hardly be worse. I do take heart, however, from the Common Core’s stated mission of promoting in–depth teaching rather than the bland sort of broad survey that has dominated classrooms during the STAR Testing era. Let us hope.

Faithfully yours,

Jon

Jon Sindell

B.A., J.D.