This page is for those who give considerable thought to the nature of education.
Topics Below:
* AP Classes
* College
* Creativity
* Homework
* Humanities
* Non–Native English Speakers
* Reading
* Teens
In this sensational “TED Talk,” renowned British educator Sir Ken Robinson discusses the failure of the worldwide educational establishment to nurture creativity—and the vital importance of correcting this error. I am confident that you will find the nineteen-minute talk thought–provoking and inspiring.
Topics Below:
* AP Classes
* College
* Creativity
* Homework
* Humanities
* Non–Native English Speakers
* Reading
* Teens
AP Classes
AP Classes: Worth It?
AP Classes: Worth It?
A mania for AP classes
has gripped the nation in the current generation, but are AP classes worth it?
There is a great debate around that question, and I think it behooves parents
and students to familiarize themselves with the terms of the debate. This
link to a radio discussion of the topic will allow you to begin doing so.
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College
College
Rethinking College
Kevin Carey’s 2015 book The
End Of College asks why, in an age in which technology allows a
hundred–thousand students to audit great professors’ lectures, we still do
college the age–old way. There is no doubt in my mind that we should reexamine
the current college paradigm through fresh eyes to see how we can improve the
educational value of college—while decreasing its devastating monetary cost—through the utilization of modern technology enabling online learning. I don’t
think we can or should eliminate brick–and–mortar universities, but I do think
the best of the traditional model should be supplemented with new modes of
teaching. You can hear an
outstanding interview with the author here, on Fresh Air, and you can read a
New York Times column about the book and its ideas here.
The University of California’s Proposed Tuition Hikes
UC Berkeley’s Chancellor, Nicholas Dirks, discussed UC’s
proposed tuition hikes and many other matters pertaining to the UC system and
UC Berkeley in particular on KQED’s Forum on March 9, 2015. Listen here.
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Creativity
The Importance of Nurturing Creativity
In this sensational “TED Talk,” renowned British educator Sir Ken Robinson discusses the failure of the worldwide educational establishment to nurture creativity—and the vital importance of correcting this error. I am confident that you will find the nineteen-minute talk thought–provoking and inspiring.
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The Nature of Creativity: Not a “Big Bang”
The great scientist Isaac Newton said: “I stand on the
shoulders of giants.”
The great inventor Thomas Edison said: “Genius is one
percent inspiration and ninety–nine percent perspiration.”
Creativity in any realm — science, the arts, engineering
— is less about the mythic “Eureka! moment—the apple falling on Newton’s head,
for instance—and more about steady labor building incrementally upon moments of
inspiration. Here are three programs that explore and illustrate that point:
In How We Got To Now,
author Steven Johnson does a beautiful job of illustrating how many of
humankind’s advances were incremental improvements upon existing ideas. Did you
know, for instance, that Gutenberg’s printing press was the modification of the
long–extant wine press? How We Got To Now
is available in book and dvd.
Speaking of building upon advances of the past, How We Got To Now was itself at least
partly inspired by historian James Burke’s classic series Connections, which likewise explores how one invention has led to
another throughout our history. This amazing BBC production
is now
available free online.
Finally, you can hear a fascinating interview with Kevin
Ashton, author of How to Fly a Horse: The
Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery, in the Forum archive for March
23, 2015.
So let’s all get to work creating!
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Homework
The Humanities
Homework
Homework: How Much is Too Much?
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Concentration is important — but let's not go overboard
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There is a lively and important debate in America about homework. How important is it? What is the optimal amount of homework to assign? I feel that every parent ought to examine the arguments in the debate—the findings of professional educators will surprise many parents. As for me, I will withhold personal comment for the moment other than to say that when it comes to homework, I feel that the quality of the work assigned, and the quality of the time spent by the student, are much more important than the quantity.
“What’s the Right Amount of Homework” reports the findings and views of top experts in the field of education. This really is a must–read for parents concerned with this issue.
An excellent panel discussion of this topic may be listened to on this podcast of the pubic radio program Forum entitled “Rethinking Homework.”
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The Humanities
The Value of a Humanities Education — Including Practical Value
This commentary 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
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I'm Will. I write.
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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.
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Non–Native English Speakers
Many of my students have parents who are not native speakers of English; many of these are Asian, especially Chinese. The following essay by the famed Chinese–American author Amy Tan, about her own Chinese–born mother, and the author’s journey in English, should prove insightful, inspiring, and encouraging to non–native parents and their children alike. Happy reading!
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The Value of Reading Literary Fiction
I flipped when I came across this
outstanding article about the value of reading literary fiction. I know in my bones it’s important, I have known it forever, and I write the darn stuff, for crying out
loud—but it’s gratifying nonetheless that psychological studies affirm that
reading fiction confers such tangible benefits as:
* short-term increases in
empathy
* improved decision–making
ability
* improved ability to resist
snap judgments
* increased comfort with
uncertainty.
In other words, as the author of the article states, “[t]he very
pursuit we use to distract us from real life might actually make us better at
living it.”
As if that weren’t enough, reading good fiction just plain feels so good.
Viva Shakespeare!
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Teens
Teens
How The Teen Brain Works
Does your teen drive you crazy? Only fair—chances are we
drove our folks crazy. This interview with nueroscientist Frances Jensen,
author of The Teenage Brain, will help you better understand your teen by
understanding the functioning of their brain—an organ that is not fully
developed until the early twenties. The interview took place on the NPR
program Fresh Air on January 28, 2015.
Since they don’t have separate archive pages for every episode, you may need to
navigate to find the program.
Your Teen May Not Be Getting Enough Sleep
“May” not be getting enough sleep? The title of this Forum
episode cracks me up, because I don’t know a single teen who regularly gets the
prescribed nine hours of sleep. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try our best
to ensure that our hard–studying, hard–playing teens get the sleep they
genuinely need. You can hear the program here, on the February 17, 2005
episode of KQED’s Forum.
By the way, we shouldn’t be so frustrated with teens who
sleep super late on the weekend. Not only are they catching up on their zzz’s,
but teens are actually biologically wired to stay up late and sleep late. It’s
a pity that school schedules are not designed to correspond with their nature.
