Science Project Ideas
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Saturday, November 14, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Which College Graduates
Make the most money.
Labels: education
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Monday, July 6, 2009
How to Ace The SAT
I dusted off an essay I wrote about five years ago on how to do well on these miserable tests. This October, my boy will be taking the PSAT in California where we will be on fall break. I picked up Kaplan's 2010 prep book for $15.06. It seems solid, with a diagnostic test and three full-length practice tests. In places, I've updated the essay with comments in italics.
Aptitude tests include such tests as the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and others. They, of course, do not measure aptitude, if by aptitude we mean inherent intellectual ability and potential. I deny that there is such a thing as an “IQ”—a relatively constant numeral that represents your “intelligence.” Top grades were for me a grind. I aced Social Studies and English, but I struggled in Physics and Geometry. When I look at myself, it makes me question where the intelligence of someone can be reduced to a number or a couple of numbers, and I suspect there are as many kinds of mental capacity as there are people. I cannot carry a tune, catch a football, do calculus, or give a speech. To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan, in things arithmetical and mechanical, I’m far from the model of a modern Major General! But teachers liked me. I did my homework, enjoyed class discussions, took leadership roles when the opportunities arose, allied myself with brighter kids, and was highly motivated. All of that helped me to succeed in school.
What these tests do measure is your understanding of how to take the test—a meaningless skill in itself but an essential skill for differentiating yourself from others throughout your life. I’ve yet to go on a job interview where someone has quizzed me on the Binomial Theorem or has asked me to do analogies. And in all my years as a computer programmer, I’ve never used mathematics beyond that of what an eighth grader would know. I consider such tests a perversion of our meritocracy and yet another characteristic of our unfair society. It is a doorway that filters out talent. Economic advantage allows wealthier families to take the test prep courses and, more importantly, have a parental and peer ethos where high scores are respected. It is their kids that go on to the elite schools and careers. A child from a slum who has a SAT of 1000 and a child from a prep school with a SAT of 1000 don’t have the same intelligence, and it is the latter who is the dunce.
You're entering a never-never land where you must learn an artificial language, suspend common sense, and never use your knowledge and judgment. The premium is not on answering questions deeply but answering those questions with the answer that ETS wants—which isn’t always the correct or appropriate answer. To do well in these tests, it helps to understand how these tests are constructed, with what one prep course book calls Joe Bloggs answers-- superficially appealing but wrong answers that appeal to the credulous Joe Bloggs.
The most important thing you need to understand is that is possible and likely for you or anyone else to get a top score. The Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey, will deny that there is a system for getting high scores on these tests. Here is a typical nugget of misinformation from ETS about the GMAT, and it will be your loss if this is what you believe: “The GMAT is an aptitude test rather than a test of knowledge. It is not designed to test specific knowledge in business or other specialized subjects. Cramming, therefore, is neither advisable nor recommended.” The mere fact that test prep companies and publishers year after year make millions of dollars from students who want to get high scores is proof that ETS is mistaken. On that basis alone, I would say that cramming is both advised and recommended. I hasten however to define cramming as something more than memorizing lists of words and formulas the night before the test.
The difference between my SAT and my GRE was 230 points and my MAT score was above the 98th percentile. My intelligence didn’t change. All that changed was that I didn’t took the SAT seriously whereas I did take the GRE and MAT seriously. For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I was in Mensa, the so-called high-IQ club. When I was at Manhatten’s Williams Club where the monthly meeting was held, I met F. Lee Bailey, Isaac Asimov, the Australian ambassador and other interesting people. In the five years that I was in the organization, I came to realize two somewhat contradictory things. First, that there is quite a gap from being smart and testing smart, especially after meeting many Mensans who believe in astrology and other such nonsense. Secondly, if you can test smart, door to opportunities will open for you. For example, I met my book agent through Mensa and not a few people met their spouses in Mensa as well.
Perhaps at the end of the day aptitude is nothing more than awareness, will, and effort. This essay will give you the awareness. It is up to you to marshal the will and effort. Whenever I find out that I have to take a test by ETS, my confidence soars, as I know that these tests have a common parentage and test-writing methodology.
Here is what I would do to get a top score on any aptitude test:
1. Get as many copies of the ETS test that you can get. ETS publishes these. It is important that you get old copies of the ETS test, not tests published by test prep companies, who for copyright reasons must write their own tests.
2. Survey the geography of the test. Deconstruct the test. What kinds of questions are they asking? What kind of knowledge do they require? Do you understand all the terms that they use? This is especially important in mathematics. For example, consider this question: If the radius of a circle is 33 feet, what is the area of the inscribed hexagon? We cannot begin to solve this problem until we first decode terms used in the question, such as radius, inscribed, and hexagon. What formulas or short-cuts are you expected to know? Take the time to thoroughly master all terms that you don’t understand. Commit all basic formulas to memory. Slowly, and without consideration to time and with all definitions and formulas available, work through all problems, trying to be as accurate as possible.
3. Search the internet for braindumps of questions posted by those who have taken the test.
4. I had a college friend who got into the Harvard MBA program after taking a prep course. However, some people have been disappointed by test prep companies. They can bring someone who was at 50 percent level to the 75 percent level. They are not quite so good at bringing someone at the 75 percent level to the 95 percent level. On the other hand, some people need the structure prep companies provide and appreciate the self-confidence they get from going through such companies. But they can be expensive—sometimes several thousands of dollars.
5. About two months before you take the test, put yourself on a disciplined schedule of taking one full-scale test each week. This will take between two and three hours to take the test and another hour or so to review the results. Take the first test without consideration to time. Try to logic out every question and note those questions that confound you. For all subsequent tests, put yourself under realistic test conditions—number two pencils, no distractions, candy bars, and an alarm clock. You may find that the first few tests are difficult. But before long, you will find that you are entering what athletes call the zone—a mental state when excellence is effortless.
6. Keep track of your progress and remember that the good is the enemy of the best. Don’t settle for a mediocre performance. Keep pushing yourself to do better or to understand why you are not doing better.
At the end of each test, evaluate what you did right and what you did wrong. If there are subject areas that need study, spend the week studying that area. Develop a personal strategy for answering different kinds of questions, such as chart or geometry questions. Think out loud if necessary. Ask yourself lots of questions. Don’t jump to conclusions. Break the problem down into sub-problems. Think step by step. Note fine distinctions. Be as mentally flexible as you can. Look out for distracters. Keep track of any new terms used within the problem. Develop a guessing strategy; despite what ETS may say, the evidence is that it pays to guess. Analyze your own thinking. Work systematically. Be meticulous. Answer every question. The approach in solving a question is as follows: decode terms à apply formulas à solve the problem à verify the solution. In the week before the test, summarize everything thing you learned and commit it to memory. Take two more tests under realistic test taking conditions.
7. Have a good sleep the night before the test and a light breakfast on the day of the test.
8. Arrive on time. Bring a water bottle and some snacks for energy bursts, a calculator and a handful of number two pencils, and everything else you need for the test. Put yourself into a mode of focused self-confidence, akin to a basketball layer at the top of his or her game. player
9. Take the test with utter confidence that you’ll get the highest score possible.
Some college aptitude tests will now include an essay section. This will test a number of qualities that the gatekeepers think are important, such as grammar, creativity, vocabulary, and possibly Palmer Method penmanship.
I’ve never taken an aptitude test that has an essay section, so you will need to pay attention to the instructions. An essay, a sally of the mind, is your effort to express a point of view. But facts and illustrations must buttress your opinion. Make sure you understand the question, and pay particular attention to such words as “explain” or “contrast.” Before you start writing, spend a few minutes organizing your thoughts by writing notes of the margin of test booklet. These can be nothing more than lists of facts or ideas. The construction of the essay should generally follow this format:
I. Strong introduction or opening topic sentence
A. What I’m going to write about
B. How I’m going to describe that
II. Body with illustrations, facts, and anecdotes that support the topic sentence
III. Strong conclusion or closing statement
A. What I just wrote about
B. How the facts, illustrations, and anecdotes have supported the topic sentence
Write carefully and concisely, with nouns and verbs. Avoid generalities or clichés. Try to express a clear point of view. Be careful about presentation. Make sure your pencils are sharp and that you write a neatly and as accurately as possible. If you must erase, be sure that you erase the mistake completely so that your don’t smear the paper. Leave yourself a few minutes so that you can review your essay before time has run out.
A reading comprehension test is a bit like an essay test, except that someone else has written the essay. Read the questions first. Underline the topic sentence, which is usually in the paragraph, and the conclusion, which is usually in the last paragraph. Circle key facts-- names of places or people, numbers, and statistics. Look for assumptions—what the author believes but doesn’t necessarily state—and implications—conclusions that we can infer but the author doesn’t necessarily state. Read slowly and try to comprehend the thrust of the essay before you answer any questions.
A good vocabulary starts with curiosity. If you encounter a word you don’t know, make an effort to find out what it means and then look for opportunities to use it yourself. Words you find in aptitude tests are words you would find in the New York Times or TIME. On occasion, read those publications. Be alert for any new words that you see. Try to figure out what they mean from the context. If you still don’t know what they mean, get out your dictionary and find out for yourself.
Mathematics is a staple of most aptitude tests. To do well on these tests, familiarize yourself with the kinds of questions that will be asked. Take as much algebra and geometry that you can get by tenth grade. The best approach is to master the mathematical principles that will allow you to solve an application of that principle by breaking down the resolution into logical steps.
Here are five typical examples.
Note the step-by-step process of logically moving from principles through resolution.
Algebra
A coin collector has 1000 old coins. Some of them are worth $10 each, the rest are worth $5 each. If the total value of the 1000 coins is $6000, how many are worth $10 each?
1. X = the number of coins worth $10 each
2. 1000 – X = number of coins worth $5 each
3. 10x dollars = value of all the $10 coins
4. 5(1000 – X) = value of all the $5 coins
5. 6000 = 10X + 5(1000 – X)
6. 6000 = 10X + 5000 – 5X
7. 6000 = 5X + 5000
8. 5X = 1000
9. X = 200
The Pythagorean theorem
The legs of a right triangle are in the ratio 1:2 and its area is 36. What is the hypotenuse of the triangle?
1. X and 2X = legs of the triangle
2. 36 = area = ½(base X height)
3. 36 = ½(2x)(x)
4. x squared = 36
5. x = 6
6. 2x = 12
7. hypotenuse squared = 6 squared + 12 squared = 36 + 144
8. hypotenuse squared = 160
9. hypotenuse = square root of 180 = square root of (36)(5) = 6 square root of 5
Distance and Rate
A man drives a distance of 120 miles at an average speed of 40 MPH and then returns at an average speed of 60 MPH. What is his average spending in MPH for the entire trip?
1. 120/40 = 3 hours
2. 120/60 = 2 hours
3. 240 miles in five hours or 48 MPH
If X = Y, then 2X = 2Y
2 + 1 + ½ + ¼ + 1/8 + 1/16 + … = X
1. 2X = 4 + 2 + 1 + ½ + ¼ + 1/8 + …
2. -X = -2 – 1 – ½ - ¼ - 1/8 - …
3. Add both equations
4. X = 4
Simplification
Simplify 7/y + y/7
1. 7y is the common denominator
2. y/7 = y squared/7y squared
3. 7/y = 7 squared/7y = 49/7y
4. y/7 + 7/y = y squared/7y + 49/7y = (y2 + 49)/7y
How can you ace a grammar test? You won’t be asked to parse a sentence. I don’t even know how to parse a sentence, despite my command of English. Rather, you will usually have to identify errors within a sentence. The best preparation for this is to read, so that you can distinguish a well-written sentence from a poorly written sentence. I don’t think knowledge of grammar in itself is as important as having a sensitive ear for words in sentences that just don’t sound right.
Here are some examples. I have put in parenthesis the correction. Read these sentences and try to understand what is wrong and why it is wrong.
1. There seem (seems) nowadays to be little of the optimism that imbued our ancestors with courage and hope.
2. The high school graduate, if he is eighteen or nineteen, has these alternatives: attending college, finding a job, or (joining) the army.
3. Since it was an unusually warm day, the dog laid (lay) under the tree all afternoon.
4. There was (were) only an apple and three pears in the refrigerator.
5. The Chairman of the Board made it clear that that meet that he will (would) not step down from his position as chairman.
6. I have no doubt about my being able to run faster that him (he) today.
7. These kind (kinds) of people are not the type I wish to associate with.
8. After the critics see the two plays, they will, as a result of their experience and background, be able to judge which is the most (more) effective and moving.
9. Each of the hotel’s 500 rooms were (was) equipped with high quality air conditioning and television.
10. The lilacs smell sweetly (sweet) at this time of the year.
Some Miscellaneous Advice
1. Think clearly. Work systematically. Be meticulous and focused.
2. Don't get bogged down. Be aware of the CATS-- correct answer to time spent ratio. This is especially import on essay questions, where perfectionism can be costly. (In essays, there is research that suggests a positive relationship between the word count and a favorable score. In other words, it pays to write as long an essay as you can.)
3. If you can definitely eliminate even one of the multiple choices, it is better to guess on the remaining answers than to leave it blank.
4. When four relatively simple answer choices appear together with a large or complex fifth choice, you want to avoid the latter. The complex choice is almost always a distractor.
5. Try to backsolve. When in doubt about selecting from two or more answers, try each answer out experimentally. Attempt trial solutions by plugging in arbitrary values.
6. For reading comprehension, read the question before reading the passage. Circle crucial information requirements in the question and corrspond that to circles in the passage. Answer the factual questions first and the inferential questions later. Frame the reading of the passage by asking: what is the premise or theme; and what are the implications of the passage.
7. Generally, questions are weighted the same. Math questions are ranked from the simplest to the most complex. If you have time, review your answers. If there is time remaining in the test, stay with the test until the procter calls STOP!
Aptitude tests include such tests as the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and others. They, of course, do not measure aptitude, if by aptitude we mean inherent intellectual ability and potential. I deny that there is such a thing as an “IQ”—a relatively constant numeral that represents your “intelligence.” Top grades were for me a grind. I aced Social Studies and English, but I struggled in Physics and Geometry. When I look at myself, it makes me question where the intelligence of someone can be reduced to a number or a couple of numbers, and I suspect there are as many kinds of mental capacity as there are people. I cannot carry a tune, catch a football, do calculus, or give a speech. To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan, in things arithmetical and mechanical, I’m far from the model of a modern Major General! But teachers liked me. I did my homework, enjoyed class discussions, took leadership roles when the opportunities arose, allied myself with brighter kids, and was highly motivated. All of that helped me to succeed in school.
What these tests do measure is your understanding of how to take the test—a meaningless skill in itself but an essential skill for differentiating yourself from others throughout your life. I’ve yet to go on a job interview where someone has quizzed me on the Binomial Theorem or has asked me to do analogies. And in all my years as a computer programmer, I’ve never used mathematics beyond that of what an eighth grader would know. I consider such tests a perversion of our meritocracy and yet another characteristic of our unfair society. It is a doorway that filters out talent. Economic advantage allows wealthier families to take the test prep courses and, more importantly, have a parental and peer ethos where high scores are respected. It is their kids that go on to the elite schools and careers. A child from a slum who has a SAT of 1000 and a child from a prep school with a SAT of 1000 don’t have the same intelligence, and it is the latter who is the dunce.
You're entering a never-never land where you must learn an artificial language, suspend common sense, and never use your knowledge and judgment. The premium is not on answering questions deeply but answering those questions with the answer that ETS wants—which isn’t always the correct or appropriate answer. To do well in these tests, it helps to understand how these tests are constructed, with what one prep course book calls Joe Bloggs answers-- superficially appealing but wrong answers that appeal to the credulous Joe Bloggs.
The most important thing you need to understand is that is possible and likely for you or anyone else to get a top score. The Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey, will deny that there is a system for getting high scores on these tests. Here is a typical nugget of misinformation from ETS about the GMAT, and it will be your loss if this is what you believe: “The GMAT is an aptitude test rather than a test of knowledge. It is not designed to test specific knowledge in business or other specialized subjects. Cramming, therefore, is neither advisable nor recommended.” The mere fact that test prep companies and publishers year after year make millions of dollars from students who want to get high scores is proof that ETS is mistaken. On that basis alone, I would say that cramming is both advised and recommended. I hasten however to define cramming as something more than memorizing lists of words and formulas the night before the test.
The difference between my SAT and my GRE was 230 points and my MAT score was above the 98th percentile. My intelligence didn’t change. All that changed was that I didn’t took the SAT seriously whereas I did take the GRE and MAT seriously. For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I was in Mensa, the so-called high-IQ club. When I was at Manhatten’s Williams Club where the monthly meeting was held, I met F. Lee Bailey, Isaac Asimov, the Australian ambassador and other interesting people. In the five years that I was in the organization, I came to realize two somewhat contradictory things. First, that there is quite a gap from being smart and testing smart, especially after meeting many Mensans who believe in astrology and other such nonsense. Secondly, if you can test smart, door to opportunities will open for you. For example, I met my book agent through Mensa and not a few people met their spouses in Mensa as well.
Perhaps at the end of the day aptitude is nothing more than awareness, will, and effort. This essay will give you the awareness. It is up to you to marshal the will and effort. Whenever I find out that I have to take a test by ETS, my confidence soars, as I know that these tests have a common parentage and test-writing methodology.
Here is what I would do to get a top score on any aptitude test:
1. Get as many copies of the ETS test that you can get. ETS publishes these. It is important that you get old copies of the ETS test, not tests published by test prep companies, who for copyright reasons must write their own tests.
2. Survey the geography of the test. Deconstruct the test. What kinds of questions are they asking? What kind of knowledge do they require? Do you understand all the terms that they use? This is especially important in mathematics. For example, consider this question: If the radius of a circle is 33 feet, what is the area of the inscribed hexagon? We cannot begin to solve this problem until we first decode terms used in the question, such as radius, inscribed, and hexagon. What formulas or short-cuts are you expected to know? Take the time to thoroughly master all terms that you don’t understand. Commit all basic formulas to memory. Slowly, and without consideration to time and with all definitions and formulas available, work through all problems, trying to be as accurate as possible.
3. Search the internet for braindumps of questions posted by those who have taken the test.
4. I had a college friend who got into the Harvard MBA program after taking a prep course. However, some people have been disappointed by test prep companies. They can bring someone who was at 50 percent level to the 75 percent level. They are not quite so good at bringing someone at the 75 percent level to the 95 percent level. On the other hand, some people need the structure prep companies provide and appreciate the self-confidence they get from going through such companies. But they can be expensive—sometimes several thousands of dollars.
5. About two months before you take the test, put yourself on a disciplined schedule of taking one full-scale test each week. This will take between two and three hours to take the test and another hour or so to review the results. Take the first test without consideration to time. Try to logic out every question and note those questions that confound you. For all subsequent tests, put yourself under realistic test conditions—number two pencils, no distractions, candy bars, and an alarm clock. You may find that the first few tests are difficult. But before long, you will find that you are entering what athletes call the zone—a mental state when excellence is effortless.
6. Keep track of your progress and remember that the good is the enemy of the best. Don’t settle for a mediocre performance. Keep pushing yourself to do better or to understand why you are not doing better.
At the end of each test, evaluate what you did right and what you did wrong. If there are subject areas that need study, spend the week studying that area. Develop a personal strategy for answering different kinds of questions, such as chart or geometry questions. Think out loud if necessary. Ask yourself lots of questions. Don’t jump to conclusions. Break the problem down into sub-problems. Think step by step. Note fine distinctions. Be as mentally flexible as you can. Look out for distracters. Keep track of any new terms used within the problem. Develop a guessing strategy; despite what ETS may say, the evidence is that it pays to guess. Analyze your own thinking. Work systematically. Be meticulous. Answer every question. The approach in solving a question is as follows: decode terms à apply formulas à solve the problem à verify the solution. In the week before the test, summarize everything thing you learned and commit it to memory. Take two more tests under realistic test taking conditions.
7. Have a good sleep the night before the test and a light breakfast on the day of the test.
8. Arrive on time. Bring a water bottle and some snacks for energy bursts, a calculator and a handful of number two pencils, and everything else you need for the test. Put yourself into a mode of focused self-confidence, akin to a basketball layer at the top of his or her game. player
9. Take the test with utter confidence that you’ll get the highest score possible.
Some college aptitude tests will now include an essay section. This will test a number of qualities that the gatekeepers think are important, such as grammar, creativity, vocabulary, and possibly Palmer Method penmanship.
I’ve never taken an aptitude test that has an essay section, so you will need to pay attention to the instructions. An essay, a sally of the mind, is your effort to express a point of view. But facts and illustrations must buttress your opinion. Make sure you understand the question, and pay particular attention to such words as “explain” or “contrast.” Before you start writing, spend a few minutes organizing your thoughts by writing notes of the margin of test booklet. These can be nothing more than lists of facts or ideas. The construction of the essay should generally follow this format:
I. Strong introduction or opening topic sentence
A. What I’m going to write about
B. How I’m going to describe that
II. Body with illustrations, facts, and anecdotes that support the topic sentence
III. Strong conclusion or closing statement
A. What I just wrote about
B. How the facts, illustrations, and anecdotes have supported the topic sentence
Write carefully and concisely, with nouns and verbs. Avoid generalities or clichés. Try to express a clear point of view. Be careful about presentation. Make sure your pencils are sharp and that you write a neatly and as accurately as possible. If you must erase, be sure that you erase the mistake completely so that your don’t smear the paper. Leave yourself a few minutes so that you can review your essay before time has run out.
A reading comprehension test is a bit like an essay test, except that someone else has written the essay. Read the questions first. Underline the topic sentence, which is usually in the paragraph, and the conclusion, which is usually in the last paragraph. Circle key facts-- names of places or people, numbers, and statistics. Look for assumptions—what the author believes but doesn’t necessarily state—and implications—conclusions that we can infer but the author doesn’t necessarily state. Read slowly and try to comprehend the thrust of the essay before you answer any questions.
A good vocabulary starts with curiosity. If you encounter a word you don’t know, make an effort to find out what it means and then look for opportunities to use it yourself. Words you find in aptitude tests are words you would find in the New York Times or TIME. On occasion, read those publications. Be alert for any new words that you see. Try to figure out what they mean from the context. If you still don’t know what they mean, get out your dictionary and find out for yourself.
Mathematics is a staple of most aptitude tests. To do well on these tests, familiarize yourself with the kinds of questions that will be asked. Take as much algebra and geometry that you can get by tenth grade. The best approach is to master the mathematical principles that will allow you to solve an application of that principle by breaking down the resolution into logical steps.
Here are five typical examples.
Note the step-by-step process of logically moving from principles through resolution.
Algebra
A coin collector has 1000 old coins. Some of them are worth $10 each, the rest are worth $5 each. If the total value of the 1000 coins is $6000, how many are worth $10 each?
1. X = the number of coins worth $10 each
2. 1000 – X = number of coins worth $5 each
3. 10x dollars = value of all the $10 coins
4. 5(1000 – X) = value of all the $5 coins
5. 6000 = 10X + 5(1000 – X)
6. 6000 = 10X + 5000 – 5X
7. 6000 = 5X + 5000
8. 5X = 1000
9. X = 200
The Pythagorean theorem
The legs of a right triangle are in the ratio 1:2 and its area is 36. What is the hypotenuse of the triangle?
1. X and 2X = legs of the triangle
2. 36 = area = ½(base X height)
3. 36 = ½(2x)(x)
4. x squared = 36
5. x = 6
6. 2x = 12
7. hypotenuse squared = 6 squared + 12 squared = 36 + 144
8. hypotenuse squared = 160
9. hypotenuse = square root of 180 = square root of (36)(5) = 6 square root of 5
Distance and Rate
A man drives a distance of 120 miles at an average speed of 40 MPH and then returns at an average speed of 60 MPH. What is his average spending in MPH for the entire trip?
1. 120/40 = 3 hours
2. 120/60 = 2 hours
3. 240 miles in five hours or 48 MPH
If X = Y, then 2X = 2Y
2 + 1 + ½ + ¼ + 1/8 + 1/16 + … = X
1. 2X = 4 + 2 + 1 + ½ + ¼ + 1/8 + …
2. -X = -2 – 1 – ½ - ¼ - 1/8 - …
3. Add both equations
4. X = 4
Simplification
Simplify 7/y + y/7
1. 7y is the common denominator
2. y/7 = y squared/7y squared
3. 7/y = 7 squared/7y = 49/7y
4. y/7 + 7/y = y squared/7y + 49/7y = (y2 + 49)/7y
How can you ace a grammar test? You won’t be asked to parse a sentence. I don’t even know how to parse a sentence, despite my command of English. Rather, you will usually have to identify errors within a sentence. The best preparation for this is to read, so that you can distinguish a well-written sentence from a poorly written sentence. I don’t think knowledge of grammar in itself is as important as having a sensitive ear for words in sentences that just don’t sound right.
Here are some examples. I have put in parenthesis the correction. Read these sentences and try to understand what is wrong and why it is wrong.
1. There seem (seems) nowadays to be little of the optimism that imbued our ancestors with courage and hope.
2. The high school graduate, if he is eighteen or nineteen, has these alternatives: attending college, finding a job, or (joining) the army.
3. Since it was an unusually warm day, the dog laid (lay) under the tree all afternoon.
4. There was (were) only an apple and three pears in the refrigerator.
5. The Chairman of the Board made it clear that that meet that he will (would) not step down from his position as chairman.
6. I have no doubt about my being able to run faster that him (he) today.
7. These kind (kinds) of people are not the type I wish to associate with.
8. After the critics see the two plays, they will, as a result of their experience and background, be able to judge which is the most (more) effective and moving.
9. Each of the hotel’s 500 rooms were (was) equipped with high quality air conditioning and television.
10. The lilacs smell sweetly (sweet) at this time of the year.
Some Miscellaneous Advice
1. Think clearly. Work systematically. Be meticulous and focused.
2. Don't get bogged down. Be aware of the CATS-- correct answer to time spent ratio. This is especially import on essay questions, where perfectionism can be costly. (In essays, there is research that suggests a positive relationship between the word count and a favorable score. In other words, it pays to write as long an essay as you can.)
3. If you can definitely eliminate even one of the multiple choices, it is better to guess on the remaining answers than to leave it blank.
4. When four relatively simple answer choices appear together with a large or complex fifth choice, you want to avoid the latter. The complex choice is almost always a distractor.
5. Try to backsolve. When in doubt about selecting from two or more answers, try each answer out experimentally. Attempt trial solutions by plugging in arbitrary values.
6. For reading comprehension, read the question before reading the passage. Circle crucial information requirements in the question and corrspond that to circles in the passage. Answer the factual questions first and the inferential questions later. Frame the reading of the passage by asking: what is the premise or theme; and what are the implications of the passage.
7. Generally, questions are weighted the same. Math questions are ranked from the simplest to the most complex. If you have time, review your answers. If there is time remaining in the test, stay with the test until the procter calls STOP!
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
2:32 PM
0 Comments
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The Wonder and Glory of FAFSA
I'm starting to dig into getting college financial aid for the boys. Here is a great five minute tutorial.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
9:16 AM
0 Comments
Saturday, April 25, 2009
On Becoming A Renaissance Person
A reader asks:
The term ‘Renaissance Man’ suggests a wo/man of many accomplishments. S/he is a person who is not a specialist but a generalist, a person who knows a significant amount about many domains of knowledge rather than knowing more and more about less and less as does the specialist.
Some will whine that today, with all of our knowledge, it is impossible for anyone to become a Renaissance Person. I say non-sense! With the world’s accumulated knowledge at our finger-tips anyone who has practiced the art and science of navigating knowledge can quickly gain an educational acquaintance with any domain of knowledge in a matter of weeks rather than a matter of years as would be required in ancient times.
Is a modern day Renaissance man or woman impossible?
I do not think that is impossible. Today becoming a Bacon or a Thomas is, relatively, a piece of cake.
I reply:
Since I am myself a Renaissance man, I can say that a modern day Renaissance man is not impossible. :) But nor is it a piece of cake. It is a difficult journey and those that make the journey are like Bacon and Thomas exceedingly rare.
A Renaissance person is not merely someone with a command of information at his fingertips. With google and wikipedia, that is true with almost everyone. It is not someone who is merely very smart. Those who wrote torture manuals and planned the holocaust were erudite, but they are not exemplars of the humane tradition of the Renaissance. Nor is it someone who is able in different areas-- someone, for example, who can ride horseback, write poetry, raise children, and manage a corporation. A person can do of of that but lack ethics, empathy, and humanity. I think a lot of it has to do with disposition, humility, and balance-- looking for ways to wisely integrate knowledge in such a way so that it illuminates the human condition in wholesome and meaningful ways.
Another reader's response:
"Since I am myself a Renaissance man, ...................I think a lot of it has to do with ... humility--"
Nice one.
The term ‘Renaissance Man’ suggests a wo/man of many accomplishments. S/he is a person who is not a specialist but a generalist, a person who knows a significant amount about many domains of knowledge rather than knowing more and more about less and less as does the specialist.
Some will whine that today, with all of our knowledge, it is impossible for anyone to become a Renaissance Person. I say non-sense! With the world’s accumulated knowledge at our finger-tips anyone who has practiced the art and science of navigating knowledge can quickly gain an educational acquaintance with any domain of knowledge in a matter of weeks rather than a matter of years as would be required in ancient times.
Is a modern day Renaissance man or woman impossible?
I do not think that is impossible. Today becoming a Bacon or a Thomas is, relatively, a piece of cake.
I reply:
Since I am myself a Renaissance man, I can say that a modern day Renaissance man is not impossible. :) But nor is it a piece of cake. It is a difficult journey and those that make the journey are like Bacon and Thomas exceedingly rare.
A Renaissance person is not merely someone with a command of information at his fingertips. With google and wikipedia, that is true with almost everyone. It is not someone who is merely very smart. Those who wrote torture manuals and planned the holocaust were erudite, but they are not exemplars of the humane tradition of the Renaissance. Nor is it someone who is able in different areas-- someone, for example, who can ride horseback, write poetry, raise children, and manage a corporation. A person can do of of that but lack ethics, empathy, and humanity. I think a lot of it has to do with disposition, humility, and balance-- looking for ways to wisely integrate knowledge in such a way so that it illuminates the human condition in wholesome and meaningful ways.
Another reader's response:
"Since I am myself a Renaissance man, ...................I think a lot of it has to do with ... humility--"
Nice one.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
7:21 PM
0 Comments
Thursday, April 2, 2009
AZCollege Planning Seminar
I heard a good seminar at our local library last night. There were a lot of take aways. He mentioned that he had one client with a net worth of $7 million dollars who was able to nevertheless collect ample Federal and college aid, because he understood the process. It is a process that penalizes people that cannot navigate tests, forms, and the bureaucracy.
Here is an e-mail that came in yesterday from the person who gave the lecture.
Subject: College makes students cry, twice!
Hello friends,
Did you see the news last night? Had to pass this article on to all of you to show you another example of Colleges & their staff being on OVERLOAD.
They make mistakes, sometimes huge colossal mistakes.
Last year a college in New York made an enormous blunder. They handed out thousands of dollars of financial aid and when the IRS came knocking on their door, the New York University in Buffalo (I won?t mention which one but you can figure it out). Anyway the college had to call back several hundred students who had to give back upwards of $12,000.00 of aid. Ouch!
Now another college in California is in the news because of their slip-up.
UCSD sent an email out to every student who applied with a note that said welcome to UCSD, even to those 29,000 students that received denial letters. This is a heart-wrenching slap in the face. First your child is out, now you are in, no you are really out.
Here is the link http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Youre-Out-Youre-In-No-Youre-Out.html?yhp=1
This is the same in the Financial Aid Office (check out my web blog and type in Buffalo in the search window) and in the Admissions Office (as evidenced in the news article).
They are over-worked & under-manned.
They have Students doing Work-Study assisting in the Admissions & Financial Aid Offices.
Mistakes Do Happen, Consistently.
You must follow-up with them. You must stay on top of them.
Expect mistakes throughout the Process. AZCollegePlanning.com is here to help.
J.D. Wyczalek (why-zall-ick) founder AZ College Consulting, LLC
1-888-237-2087
The seminar motivated me to do some more research.
List of US Colleges and Universities By Endowment
A high ranking endowment engineering school
SAT books we need
FAFSA
Profile
Scholarships
Finally, here is an essay I wrote a few years ago on how to ace the SAT.
Aptitude tests include such tests as the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and others. They, of course, do not measure aptitude, if by aptitude we mean inherent intellectual ability and potential. I deny that there is such a thing as an “IQ”—a relatively constant numeral that represents your “intelligence.” Top grades were for me a grind. I aced Social Studies and English, but I struggled in Physics and Geometry. When I look at myself, it makes me question where the intelligence of someone can be reduced to a number or a couple of numbers, and I suspect there are as many kinds of mental capacity as there are people. I cannot carry a tune, catch a football, do calculus, or give a speech. (An eleventh grade report card shows me with ‘C’s in Geometry and Physics.) To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan, in things arithmetical and mechanical, I’m far from the model of a modern Major General! But teachers liked me. I did my homework, enjoyed class discussions, took leadership roles when the opportunities arose, allied myself with brighter kids, and was highly motivated. All of that helped me to succeed in school.
What these tests do measure is your understanding of how to take the test—a meaningless skill in itself but an essential skill for differentiating yourself from others throughout your life. I’ve yet to go on a job interview where someone has quizzed me on the Binomial Theorem or has asked me to do analogies. And in all my years as a computer programmer, I’ve never used mathematics beyond that of what an eighth grader would know. I consider such tests a perversion of our meritocracy and yet another characteristic of our unfair society. It is a doorway that filters out talent. Economic advantage allows wealthier families to take the test prep courses. It is their kids that go on to the elite schools and careers. A child from a slum who has a SAT of 1000 and a child from a prep school with a SAT of 1000 don’t have the same intelligence, and it is the latter who is the dunce.
You're entering a never-never land where you must learn an artificial language, suspend common sense, and never use your knowledge and judgment. The premium is not on answering questions deeply but answering those questions with the answer that ETS wants—which isn’t always the correct or appropriate answer. The most important thing you need to understand is that is possible and likely for you or anyone else to get a top score. The Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey, will deny that there is a system for getting high scores on these tests. Here is a typical nugget of misinformation from ETS about the GMAT, and it will be your loss if this is what you believe: “The GMAT is an aptitude test rather than a test of knowledge. It is not designed to test specific knowledge in business or other specialized subjects. Cramming, therefore, is neither advisable nor recommended.” The mere fact that test prep companies and publishers year after year make millions of dollars from students who want to get high scores is proof that ETS is mistaken. On that basis alone, I would say that cramming is both advised and recommended.
The difference between my SAT and my GRE was 230 points and my MAT score was above the 98th percentile. My intelligence didn’t change. All that changed was that I didn’t took the SAT seriously whereas I did take the GRE and MAT seriously. For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I was in Mensa, the so-called high-IQ club. When I was at Manhatten’s Williams Club where the monthly meeting was held, I met F. Lee Bailey, Isaac Asimov, the Australian ambassador and other interesting people. In the five years that I was in the organization, I came to realize two somewhat contradictory things. First, that there is quite a gap from being smart and testing smart, especially after meeting many Mensans who believe in astrology and other such nonsense. Secondly, if you can test smart, door to opportunities will open for you. For example, I met my book agent through Mensa and not a few people met their spouses in Mensa as well.
Perhaps at the end of the day aptitude is nothing more than awareness, will, and effort. This essay will give you the awareness. It is up to you to marshal the will and effort. Whenever I find out that I have to take a test by ETS, my confidence soars, as I know that these tests have a common parentage and test-writing methodology.
Here is what I would do to get a top score on any aptitude test:
Get as many copies of the ETS test that you can get. ETS publishes these. It is important that you get old copies of the ETS test, not tests published by test prep companies, who for copyright reasons must write their own tests.
Survey the geography of the test. Deconstruct the test. What kinds of questions are they asking? What kind of knowledge do they require? Do you understand all the terms that they use? This I especially important in mathematics. For example, consider this question: If the radius of a circle is 33 feet, what is the area of the inscribed hexagon? We cannot begin to solve this problem until we first decode terms used in the question, such as radius, inscribed, and hexagon. What formulas or short-cuts are you expected to know? Take the time to thoroughly master anything that you don’t understand.
Search the internet for braindumps of questions posted by those who have taken the test.
I had a college friend who got into the Harvard MBA program after taking a prep course. However, some people have been disappointed by test prep companies. They can bring someone who was at 50 percent level to the 75 percent level. They are not quite so good at bringing someone at the 75 percent level to the 95 percent level. On the other hand, some people need the structure prep companies provide and appreciate the self-confidence they get from going through such companies. But they can be expensive—sometimes several thousand dollars.
About two months before you take the test, put yourself on a disciplined schedule of taking one full-scale test each week. This will take about three hours to take the test and another hour or so to review the results. Take the first test without consideration to time. Try to logic out every question and note those questions that confound you. For all subsequent tests, put yourself under realistic test conditions—number two pencils, no distractions, candy bars, and an alarm clock. You may find that the first few tests are difficult. But before long, you will find that you are entering what athletes call the zone—a mental state when excellence is effortless.
Keep track of your progress and remember that the good is the enemy of the best. Don’t settle for a mediocre performance. Keep pushing yourself to do better or to understand why you are not doing better.
At the end of each test, evaluate what you did right and what you did wrong. If there are subject areas that need study, spend the week studying that area. Develop a personal strategy for answering different kinds of questions, such as chart or geometry questions. Think out loud if necessary. Ask yourself lots of questions. Don’t jump to conclusions. Break the problem down into sub-problems. Think step by step. Note fine distinctions. Be as mentally flexible as you can. Look out for distracters. Keep track of any new terms used within the problem. Develop a guessing strategy; despite what ETS may say, the evidence is that it pays to guess. Analyze your own thinking. Work systematically. Be meticulous. Answer every question. The approach in solving a question is as follows: decode terms à apply formulas à solve the problem à verify the solution. In the week before the test, summarize everything thing you learned and commit it to memory. Take two more tests under realistic test taking conditions.
Have a good sleep the night before the test and a light breakfast on the day of the test.
Arrive on time. Bring a water bottle and some snacks for energy bursts and everything else you need for the test.
Take the test with utter confidence that you’ll get the highest score possible.
Some college aptitude tests will now include an essay section. This will test a number of qualities that the gatekeepers think are important, such as grammar, creativity, vocabulary, and possibly Palmer Method penmanship.
I’ve never taken an aptitude test that has an essay section, so you will need to pay attention to the instructions. However, I think I can give you some guidelines on how to write a good essay, as this book is nothing but essays. An essay, a sally of the mind, is your effort to express a point of view. But facts and illustrations must buttress your opinion. Make sure you understand the question, and pay particular attention to such words as “explain” or “contrast.” Before you start writing, spend a few minutes organizing your thoughts by writing notes of the margin of test booklet. These can be nothing more than lists of facts or ideas. The construction of the essay should generally follow this format:
I. Strong introduction or opening topic sentence
A. What I’m going to write about
B. How I’m going to describe that
II. Body with illustrations, facts, and anecdotes that support the topic sentence
III. Strong conclusion or closing statement
A. What I just wrote about
B. How the facts, illustrations, and anecdotes have supported the topic sentence
Write carefully and concisely, with nouns and verbs. Avoid generalities or clichés. Try to express a clear point of view. Be careful about presentation. Make sure your pencils are sharp and that you write a neatly and as accurately as possible. If you must erase, be sure that you erase the mistake completely so that your don’t smear the paper. Leave yourself a few minutes so that you can review your essay before time has run out.
A reading comprehension test is a bit like an essay test, except that someone else has written the essay. Read the questions first. Underline the topic sentence, which is usually in the paragraph, and the conclusion, which is usually in the last paragraph. Circle key facts-- names of places or people, numbers, and statistics. Look for assumptions—what the author believes but doesn’t necessarily state—and implications—conclusions that we can infer but the author doesn’t necessarily state. Read slowly and try to comprehend the thrust of the essay before you answer any questions.
A good vocabulary starts with curiosity. If you encounter a word you don’t know, make an effort to find out what it means and then look for opportunities to use it yourself. Words you find in aptitude tests are words you would find in the New York Times or TIME. On occasion, read those publications. Be alert for any new words that you see. Try to figure out what they mean from the context. If you still don’t know what they mean, get out your dictionary and find out for yourself.
Mathematics is a staple of most aptitude tests. To do well on these tests, familiarize yourself with the kinds of questions that will be asked. Take as much algebra and geometry that you can get by tenth grade. The best approach is to master the mathematical principles that will allow you to solve an application of that principle by breaking down the resolution into logical steps.
How can you ace a grammar test? You won’t be asked to parse a sentence. I don’t even know how to parse a sentence, despite my command of English. Rather, you will usually have to identify errors within a sentence. The best preparation for this is to read, so that you can distinguish a well-written sentence from a poorly written sentence. I don’t think knowledge of grammar in itself is as important as having a sensitive ear for words in sentences that just don’t sound right.
Here is an e-mail that came in yesterday from the person who gave the lecture.
Subject: College makes students cry, twice!
Hello friends,
Did you see the news last night? Had to pass this article on to all of you to show you another example of Colleges & their staff being on OVERLOAD.
They make mistakes, sometimes huge colossal mistakes.
Last year a college in New York made an enormous blunder. They handed out thousands of dollars of financial aid and when the IRS came knocking on their door, the New York University in Buffalo (I won?t mention which one but you can figure it out). Anyway the college had to call back several hundred students who had to give back upwards of $12,000.00 of aid. Ouch!
Now another college in California is in the news because of their slip-up.
UCSD sent an email out to every student who applied with a note that said welcome to UCSD, even to those 29,000 students that received denial letters. This is a heart-wrenching slap in the face. First your child is out, now you are in, no you are really out.
Here is the link http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Youre-Out-Youre-In-No-Youre-Out.html?yhp=1
This is the same in the Financial Aid Office (check out my web blog and type in Buffalo in the search window) and in the Admissions Office (as evidenced in the news article).
They are over-worked & under-manned.
They have Students doing Work-Study assisting in the Admissions & Financial Aid Offices.
Mistakes Do Happen, Consistently.
You must follow-up with them. You must stay on top of them.
Expect mistakes throughout the Process. AZCollegePlanning.com is here to help.
J.D. Wyczalek (why-zall-ick) founder AZ College Consulting, LLC
1-888-237-2087
The seminar motivated me to do some more research.
List of US Colleges and Universities By Endowment
A high ranking endowment engineering school
SAT books we need
FAFSA
Profile
Scholarships
Finally, here is an essay I wrote a few years ago on how to ace the SAT.
Aptitude tests include such tests as the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and others. They, of course, do not measure aptitude, if by aptitude we mean inherent intellectual ability and potential. I deny that there is such a thing as an “IQ”—a relatively constant numeral that represents your “intelligence.” Top grades were for me a grind. I aced Social Studies and English, but I struggled in Physics and Geometry. When I look at myself, it makes me question where the intelligence of someone can be reduced to a number or a couple of numbers, and I suspect there are as many kinds of mental capacity as there are people. I cannot carry a tune, catch a football, do calculus, or give a speech. (An eleventh grade report card shows me with ‘C’s in Geometry and Physics.) To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan, in things arithmetical and mechanical, I’m far from the model of a modern Major General! But teachers liked me. I did my homework, enjoyed class discussions, took leadership roles when the opportunities arose, allied myself with brighter kids, and was highly motivated. All of that helped me to succeed in school.
What these tests do measure is your understanding of how to take the test—a meaningless skill in itself but an essential skill for differentiating yourself from others throughout your life. I’ve yet to go on a job interview where someone has quizzed me on the Binomial Theorem or has asked me to do analogies. And in all my years as a computer programmer, I’ve never used mathematics beyond that of what an eighth grader would know. I consider such tests a perversion of our meritocracy and yet another characteristic of our unfair society. It is a doorway that filters out talent. Economic advantage allows wealthier families to take the test prep courses. It is their kids that go on to the elite schools and careers. A child from a slum who has a SAT of 1000 and a child from a prep school with a SAT of 1000 don’t have the same intelligence, and it is the latter who is the dunce.
You're entering a never-never land where you must learn an artificial language, suspend common sense, and never use your knowledge and judgment. The premium is not on answering questions deeply but answering those questions with the answer that ETS wants—which isn’t always the correct or appropriate answer. The most important thing you need to understand is that is possible and likely for you or anyone else to get a top score. The Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey, will deny that there is a system for getting high scores on these tests. Here is a typical nugget of misinformation from ETS about the GMAT, and it will be your loss if this is what you believe: “The GMAT is an aptitude test rather than a test of knowledge. It is not designed to test specific knowledge in business or other specialized subjects. Cramming, therefore, is neither advisable nor recommended.” The mere fact that test prep companies and publishers year after year make millions of dollars from students who want to get high scores is proof that ETS is mistaken. On that basis alone, I would say that cramming is both advised and recommended.
The difference between my SAT and my GRE was 230 points and my MAT score was above the 98th percentile. My intelligence didn’t change. All that changed was that I didn’t took the SAT seriously whereas I did take the GRE and MAT seriously. For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I was in Mensa, the so-called high-IQ club. When I was at Manhatten’s Williams Club where the monthly meeting was held, I met F. Lee Bailey, Isaac Asimov, the Australian ambassador and other interesting people. In the five years that I was in the organization, I came to realize two somewhat contradictory things. First, that there is quite a gap from being smart and testing smart, especially after meeting many Mensans who believe in astrology and other such nonsense. Secondly, if you can test smart, door to opportunities will open for you. For example, I met my book agent through Mensa and not a few people met their spouses in Mensa as well.
Perhaps at the end of the day aptitude is nothing more than awareness, will, and effort. This essay will give you the awareness. It is up to you to marshal the will and effort. Whenever I find out that I have to take a test by ETS, my confidence soars, as I know that these tests have a common parentage and test-writing methodology.
Here is what I would do to get a top score on any aptitude test:
Get as many copies of the ETS test that you can get. ETS publishes these. It is important that you get old copies of the ETS test, not tests published by test prep companies, who for copyright reasons must write their own tests.
Survey the geography of the test. Deconstruct the test. What kinds of questions are they asking? What kind of knowledge do they require? Do you understand all the terms that they use? This I especially important in mathematics. For example, consider this question: If the radius of a circle is 33 feet, what is the area of the inscribed hexagon? We cannot begin to solve this problem until we first decode terms used in the question, such as radius, inscribed, and hexagon. What formulas or short-cuts are you expected to know? Take the time to thoroughly master anything that you don’t understand.
Search the internet for braindumps of questions posted by those who have taken the test.
I had a college friend who got into the Harvard MBA program after taking a prep course. However, some people have been disappointed by test prep companies. They can bring someone who was at 50 percent level to the 75 percent level. They are not quite so good at bringing someone at the 75 percent level to the 95 percent level. On the other hand, some people need the structure prep companies provide and appreciate the self-confidence they get from going through such companies. But they can be expensive—sometimes several thousand dollars.
About two months before you take the test, put yourself on a disciplined schedule of taking one full-scale test each week. This will take about three hours to take the test and another hour or so to review the results. Take the first test without consideration to time. Try to logic out every question and note those questions that confound you. For all subsequent tests, put yourself under realistic test conditions—number two pencils, no distractions, candy bars, and an alarm clock. You may find that the first few tests are difficult. But before long, you will find that you are entering what athletes call the zone—a mental state when excellence is effortless.
Keep track of your progress and remember that the good is the enemy of the best. Don’t settle for a mediocre performance. Keep pushing yourself to do better or to understand why you are not doing better.
At the end of each test, evaluate what you did right and what you did wrong. If there are subject areas that need study, spend the week studying that area. Develop a personal strategy for answering different kinds of questions, such as chart or geometry questions. Think out loud if necessary. Ask yourself lots of questions. Don’t jump to conclusions. Break the problem down into sub-problems. Think step by step. Note fine distinctions. Be as mentally flexible as you can. Look out for distracters. Keep track of any new terms used within the problem. Develop a guessing strategy; despite what ETS may say, the evidence is that it pays to guess. Analyze your own thinking. Work systematically. Be meticulous. Answer every question. The approach in solving a question is as follows: decode terms à apply formulas à solve the problem à verify the solution. In the week before the test, summarize everything thing you learned and commit it to memory. Take two more tests under realistic test taking conditions.
Have a good sleep the night before the test and a light breakfast on the day of the test.
Arrive on time. Bring a water bottle and some snacks for energy bursts and everything else you need for the test.
Take the test with utter confidence that you’ll get the highest score possible.
Some college aptitude tests will now include an essay section. This will test a number of qualities that the gatekeepers think are important, such as grammar, creativity, vocabulary, and possibly Palmer Method penmanship.
I’ve never taken an aptitude test that has an essay section, so you will need to pay attention to the instructions. However, I think I can give you some guidelines on how to write a good essay, as this book is nothing but essays. An essay, a sally of the mind, is your effort to express a point of view. But facts and illustrations must buttress your opinion. Make sure you understand the question, and pay particular attention to such words as “explain” or “contrast.” Before you start writing, spend a few minutes organizing your thoughts by writing notes of the margin of test booklet. These can be nothing more than lists of facts or ideas. The construction of the essay should generally follow this format:
I. Strong introduction or opening topic sentence
A. What I’m going to write about
B. How I’m going to describe that
II. Body with illustrations, facts, and anecdotes that support the topic sentence
III. Strong conclusion or closing statement
A. What I just wrote about
B. How the facts, illustrations, and anecdotes have supported the topic sentence
Write carefully and concisely, with nouns and verbs. Avoid generalities or clichés. Try to express a clear point of view. Be careful about presentation. Make sure your pencils are sharp and that you write a neatly and as accurately as possible. If you must erase, be sure that you erase the mistake completely so that your don’t smear the paper. Leave yourself a few minutes so that you can review your essay before time has run out.
A reading comprehension test is a bit like an essay test, except that someone else has written the essay. Read the questions first. Underline the topic sentence, which is usually in the paragraph, and the conclusion, which is usually in the last paragraph. Circle key facts-- names of places or people, numbers, and statistics. Look for assumptions—what the author believes but doesn’t necessarily state—and implications—conclusions that we can infer but the author doesn’t necessarily state. Read slowly and try to comprehend the thrust of the essay before you answer any questions.
A good vocabulary starts with curiosity. If you encounter a word you don’t know, make an effort to find out what it means and then look for opportunities to use it yourself. Words you find in aptitude tests are words you would find in the New York Times or TIME. On occasion, read those publications. Be alert for any new words that you see. Try to figure out what they mean from the context. If you still don’t know what they mean, get out your dictionary and find out for yourself.
Mathematics is a staple of most aptitude tests. To do well on these tests, familiarize yourself with the kinds of questions that will be asked. Take as much algebra and geometry that you can get by tenth grade. The best approach is to master the mathematical principles that will allow you to solve an application of that principle by breaking down the resolution into logical steps.
How can you ace a grammar test? You won’t be asked to parse a sentence. I don’t even know how to parse a sentence, despite my command of English. Rather, you will usually have to identify errors within a sentence. The best preparation for this is to read, so that you can distinguish a well-written sentence from a poorly written sentence. I don’t think knowledge of grammar in itself is as important as having a sensitive ear for words in sentences that just don’t sound right.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
4:12 PM
0 Comments
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Is School Today Easier?
Just read about a professor who, on the first day of his 4th year physics class, advised his students that they will all be getting an A+. Now the professor is fired from the university.
I'm in mid-50s with two teenage children. My sense is that their education is far more rigorous today than it was in my time.
First, you have the No Child Left Behind mandate of standardized testing through grade school and to college.
Secondly, they compete with children not only in their school district but from Asia, Europe, and Africa for slots in universities and good jobs.
Yes, kids today have Spell Check and Google. But school as a whole is tough-- tougher than what I experienced in the mid 1970s. On a case specific basis, there will always be unfair or mediocre teachers. So what? When those kids enter the work force, they will ecnounter unfair and mediocre managers. That's life.
Bright children from all over the world clamor to enter the colleges and universities of our country and they do so for a reason. The same is true with the conservative students of conservative parents. They too fight to be admitted to those so-called bastions of liberalism-- the Ivy League and the Big Ten. They know that such institutions give them the kind of education that they want irrespective of a professor here or there who may lean and little bit to the left of the lecturn. It is not by accident that the United States generates more Nobel Prize winners than any other country. The whole point of education is to teach critical thinking, and if they can only accept what is beautiful and familiar, then perhaps a church school is more to their liking.
As far as awarding students only 'A's, my response again is: so what. Stanford University's MBA program is generally regarded as amonth the best business school in the world, but its grading is pass/fail. The assumption, justified in my view, is that such kids don't need the additional incentive to master the body of knowledge that they are striving to learn.
I'm in mid-50s with two teenage children. My sense is that their education is far more rigorous today than it was in my time.
First, you have the No Child Left Behind mandate of standardized testing through grade school and to college.
Secondly, they compete with children not only in their school district but from Asia, Europe, and Africa for slots in universities and good jobs.
Yes, kids today have Spell Check and Google. But school as a whole is tough-- tougher than what I experienced in the mid 1970s. On a case specific basis, there will always be unfair or mediocre teachers. So what? When those kids enter the work force, they will ecnounter unfair and mediocre managers. That's life.
Bright children from all over the world clamor to enter the colleges and universities of our country and they do so for a reason. The same is true with the conservative students of conservative parents. They too fight to be admitted to those so-called bastions of liberalism-- the Ivy League and the Big Ten. They know that such institutions give them the kind of education that they want irrespective of a professor here or there who may lean and little bit to the left of the lecturn. It is not by accident that the United States generates more Nobel Prize winners than any other country. The whole point of education is to teach critical thinking, and if they can only accept what is beautiful and familiar, then perhaps a church school is more to their liking.
As far as awarding students only 'A's, my response again is: so what. Stanford University's MBA program is generally regarded as amonth the best business school in the world, but its grading is pass/fail. The assumption, justified in my view, is that such kids don't need the additional incentive to master the body of knowledge that they are striving to learn.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
9:04 PM
0 Comments
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Save Our Schools
I sent the following email to my representative as the Arizona legislature is contemplating education cuts.
Here are the cuts that will impact the Scottsdale Unified School District.
* First and Second year teachers will be RIF
* Blue Cross/Blue Shield will be the health insurance company. It will cost employees more money.
* SIP will be decreased by 18%
* Career Ladder will be phased out over 8 years
* Copy machines may not be in schools
* Assistant principals in elementary schools will become .5 FTE
* Elementary Schools will start first with different start times to help with school bus schedules
* Pay for sports
* Library aides will be reduced.
* Teachers will be locked out of schools during weekends and holidays.
* Class sizes will be increased by 4 students.
* The district will lose: 286 FTE administrators, 221 FTE certified teachers, 40 FTE classified
* Flex accounts will go from $2000 to $1000
* Principals will decide which specials will be offered at schools. The school can only have 3 specials (PE. music, library, for example)
Co-Interim Superintendents Katy Cavanagh and Dr. David Peterson are seeking ideas and input from the greater SUSD community as the District faces budget cuts imposed by the State Legislature in the amount of $21 million dollars. The Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board will discuss its final budget decisions at the March 3, 2009 Governing Board meeting.
Carolyn S. Allen, District 8 Representative
Dear Ms. Allen:
We are writing to you as constituents and as a parents of two children that are in the Scottsdale Unified School District. More than eleven years ago, we moved from Chicago to Scottsdale, largely because we were so impressed with the record of excellence from the schools in this area.
It is true that Arizona is experiencing hard times. Because of this, there is ample temptation to slash funding for public education. However, we suggest that this may be the wrong thing to do. Well-funded schools are fundamental to restoring the value of our homes. Good schools foster increasing home property values. A good education with quality programs and competitive salaries for superior, caring teachers can help Arizona recover from this bad economy and position Arizona to be competitive. Finally, for our children, such an education reduces opportunities for more expensive social programs to combat juvenile delinquency and premarital pregnancies.
It is for these reasons that we ask you to consider supporting vibrant public education funding in Arizona.
Representative Allen's terse but wise response to us.
I voted NO on the education cuts in this "slop-dash" budget thrown together without enough careful drilling down into the potential damages.
At the same time that information came out, we got another e-mail from teachers at one of the schools that has done so much to educate our children.
This is just a quick note to let you know how well Ben is doing on our team this year. We conferred as a group, and we all agree that Ben excels both academically and personally in each of our classes. He is a joy in class and is a wonderful young man. We are proud of him and know you are too.
Thank you for all you do to support our efforts at school.
We couldn't have done that by ourselves.
Here are the cuts that will impact the Scottsdale Unified School District.
* First and Second year teachers will be RIF
* Blue Cross/Blue Shield will be the health insurance company. It will cost employees more money.
* SIP will be decreased by 18%
* Career Ladder will be phased out over 8 years
* Copy machines may not be in schools
* Assistant principals in elementary schools will become .5 FTE
* Elementary Schools will start first with different start times to help with school bus schedules
* Pay for sports
* Library aides will be reduced.
* Teachers will be locked out of schools during weekends and holidays.
* Class sizes will be increased by 4 students.
* The district will lose: 286 FTE administrators, 221 FTE certified teachers, 40 FTE classified
* Flex accounts will go from $2000 to $1000
* Principals will decide which specials will be offered at schools. The school can only have 3 specials (PE. music, library, for example)
Co-Interim Superintendents Katy Cavanagh and Dr. David Peterson are seeking ideas and input from the greater SUSD community as the District faces budget cuts imposed by the State Legislature in the amount of $21 million dollars. The Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board will discuss its final budget decisions at the March 3, 2009 Governing Board meeting.
Carolyn S. Allen, District 8 Representative
Dear Ms. Allen:
We are writing to you as constituents and as a parents of two children that are in the Scottsdale Unified School District. More than eleven years ago, we moved from Chicago to Scottsdale, largely because we were so impressed with the record of excellence from the schools in this area.
It is true that Arizona is experiencing hard times. Because of this, there is ample temptation to slash funding for public education. However, we suggest that this may be the wrong thing to do. Well-funded schools are fundamental to restoring the value of our homes. Good schools foster increasing home property values. A good education with quality programs and competitive salaries for superior, caring teachers can help Arizona recover from this bad economy and position Arizona to be competitive. Finally, for our children, such an education reduces opportunities for more expensive social programs to combat juvenile delinquency and premarital pregnancies.
It is for these reasons that we ask you to consider supporting vibrant public education funding in Arizona.
Representative Allen's terse but wise response to us.
I voted NO on the education cuts in this "slop-dash" budget thrown together without enough careful drilling down into the potential damages.
At the same time that information came out, we got another e-mail from teachers at one of the schools that has done so much to educate our children.
This is just a quick note to let you know how well Ben is doing on our team this year. We conferred as a group, and we all agree that Ben excels both academically and personally in each of our classes. He is a joy in class and is a wonderful young man. We are proud of him and know you are too.
Thank you for all you do to support our efforts at school.
We couldn't have done that by ourselves.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
6:17 AM
0 Comments
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sherri Viniard
Sherri Viniard, the Director of Public Relations for the Newton County School System, emailed a statement to 11Alive News Thursday that reads, in part: "Student safety is our primary concern, and although this was a toy gun, it is still a very serious offense and it is a violation of school rules. We will not tolerate weapons of any kind on school property.
This is in the wake of the arrest of a ten year old for having a cap gun in school. The boy was "charged with possessing a weapon on school property and with terroristic acts and threats."
Are there any thinking adults in the Newton Country School System of the great state of Georgia?
When you have school administrators, policemen, and judges that interpret the law autistically and literally without any sense of proportion, application, and common sense, than you should expect parents and students to look at such rules and the people that make and enforce them with corresponding contempt.
This is in the wake of the arrest of a ten year old for having a cap gun in school. The boy was "charged with possessing a weapon on school property and with terroristic acts and threats."
Are there any thinking adults in the Newton Country School System of the great state of Georgia?
When you have school administrators, policemen, and judges that interpret the law autistically and literally without any sense of proportion, application, and common sense, than you should expect parents and students to look at such rules and the people that make and enforce them with corresponding contempt.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
1:19 PM
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Friday, March 21, 2008
Way to Go!
Both my boys got straight As this quarter. You're on the run way!
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
6:31 PM
0 Comments
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Food Fights and Mohawks
"A kindergarten student with a freshly spiked Mohawk has been suspended from school. Michelle Barile, the mother of 6-year-old Bryan Ruda, said nothing in the Parma Community School handbook prohibits the haircut, characterized by closely shaved sides with a strip of prominent hair on top. The school said the hair was a distraction for other students. "
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_fe_st/odd_kindergarten_suspension
The suspension of the Indian-haired six year old coincided with a major food fight at my boys' middle school. The sporting of a Mohawk is less disruptive than throwing jello and sausages in the cafeteria. But in both cases, I come down on the side of the administration. There is much to dislike about school generally, such as the bored teachers, bureaucratic administrators, and the decaying buildings. However, there are many teachers and administrators who struggle to educate the bored children of indifferent parents day after day. And, for the most part, I think they do a fine job.
I tell my kids that their schooling should teach them out to think, and that sometimes that means thinking contrary to the status quo. There is much to celebrate about non-conformist, free thought. But there is a difference between thinking independently and acting foolishly and obnoxiously. In the later case, the kids are doing nothing to advance their long-term interests and their reputation. They are also violating the rights of others who want to learn. And, in the case of a food fight, they are also imposing on those who have to correct the situation, such as janitors, administrators, and teachers. The natural instinct of the child is to blend in and even get caught up in the emotions of the moment. But the more difficult thing is to defy the crowd and chose the hard right over the easy wrong.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_fe_st/odd_kindergarten_suspension
The suspension of the Indian-haired six year old coincided with a major food fight at my boys' middle school. The sporting of a Mohawk is less disruptive than throwing jello and sausages in the cafeteria. But in both cases, I come down on the side of the administration. There is much to dislike about school generally, such as the bored teachers, bureaucratic administrators, and the decaying buildings. However, there are many teachers and administrators who struggle to educate the bored children of indifferent parents day after day. And, for the most part, I think they do a fine job.
I tell my kids that their schooling should teach them out to think, and that sometimes that means thinking contrary to the status quo. There is much to celebrate about non-conformist, free thought. But there is a difference between thinking independently and acting foolishly and obnoxiously. In the later case, the kids are doing nothing to advance their long-term interests and their reputation. They are also violating the rights of others who want to learn. And, in the case of a food fight, they are also imposing on those who have to correct the situation, such as janitors, administrators, and teachers. The natural instinct of the child is to blend in and even get caught up in the emotions of the moment. But the more difficult thing is to defy the crowd and chose the hard right over the easy wrong.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
9:22 AM
0 Comments
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Fire Museum Director Jeff Hunt
The Arizona Republic reported today that the director of a Texas museum destroyed a diorama that was donated by high school students because it was "historically inaccurate." Jeff Hunt, executive director of the Texas Military Forces Museum, demolished the ten by five foot diorama of the Battle of Palmetto Ranch. Gilbert Highland students invested about $23,000 and hundreds of hours of effort to create the representation of the last land battle of the Civil War.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0214gr-diorama0214-ON.html#comments
Here is a picture of the Stalinoid Mr. Hunt.
http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/musnews.htm
And here is what he did:
I cannot imagine that any school would ever want to have their student's contribute to this museum. And nor can I imagine anyone wanting to donate a penny or even visit this museum under these circumstances.
If I was a volunteer to this museum, I would quit. If I was a paid employee, I would resign. If I lived in Texas, I would shun this outpost of ignorance. If I was a legislator, I would cut all funding to this institution. And if I was on the board of directors of this museum, I would immediately fire Jeff Hunt and compensate Gilbert High.
So many students look at history as something that is irrelevant, detached from their lives, and boring. Nothing can be further from the truth. History is as relevant as the shows we watch and inseparable from our lives and our future. I am reminded of the words of philosopher George Santayana: "Thosewho cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Hunt's impetuous, vainglorious actions, so remininscent of another alumni of the Texas military, can only deter students from showing any interest in remembering the past to avoid future mistakes.
Here is how to make your voice heard if you are disturbed by Hunt's actions:
Office: (512) 782-5659
Museum: (512) 782-6967
Email: museum@tx.ngb.army.mil
Executive Director: Jeff Hunt
Texas Military Forces Museum
P.O. Box 5218
Austin, Texas
78763-5218
Texas Military Forces. http://www.agd.state.tx.us/
Governor Rick Perry Information and Referral: 1-800-843-5789
Citizen's Opinion Hotline: 1-800-252-9600
Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Information and Referral: 1-800-843-5789
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0214gr-diorama0214-ON.html#comments
Here is a picture of the Stalinoid Mr. Hunt.
http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/musnews.htm
And here is what he did:
I cannot imagine that any school would ever want to have their student's contribute to this museum. And nor can I imagine anyone wanting to donate a penny or even visit this museum under these circumstances.
If I was a volunteer to this museum, I would quit. If I was a paid employee, I would resign. If I lived in Texas, I would shun this outpost of ignorance. If I was a legislator, I would cut all funding to this institution. And if I was on the board of directors of this museum, I would immediately fire Jeff Hunt and compensate Gilbert High.
So many students look at history as something that is irrelevant, detached from their lives, and boring. Nothing can be further from the truth. History is as relevant as the shows we watch and inseparable from our lives and our future. I am reminded of the words of philosopher George Santayana: "Thosewho cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Hunt's impetuous, vainglorious actions, so remininscent of another alumni of the Texas military, can only deter students from showing any interest in remembering the past to avoid future mistakes.
Here is how to make your voice heard if you are disturbed by Hunt's actions:
Office: (512) 782-5659
Museum: (512) 782-6967
Email: museum@tx.ngb.army.mil
Executive Director: Jeff Hunt
Texas Military Forces Museum
P.O. Box 5218
Austin, Texas
78763-5218
Texas Military Forces. http://www.agd.state.tx.us/
Governor Rick Perry Information and Referral: 1-800-843-5789
Citizen's Opinion Hotline: 1-800-252-9600
Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Information and Referral: 1-800-843-5789
posted by My Mall and News at
9:32 PM
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Education Today: A View From the Right
Here is a sample of opinions from Phyllis Schafly on education in the United States today.
College Isn't Necessary for many Careers
The flight overseas includes professional as well as low-wage jobs, with engineering jobs offshored to India and China. Thousands of bright Asian engineers are willing to work for a fraction of American wages, which is why Boeing just signed a 10-year, $1-billion-a-year deal with an Indian government-run company.
But it doesn't make sense for parents to mortgage their homes, or for students to saddle themselves with long-term debt, in order to pay overpriced college tuition to prepare for jobs that no longer exist. Tuition at public universities has risen an unprecedented 51 percent over the past five years.
Don't Major in English
When the classics are assigned, they are victims of the academic fad called deconstructionism. That means: pay no mind to what the author wrote or meant; deconstruct him and construct your own interpretation, as in a Vanderbilt University course called "Shakespearean Sexuality," or "Chaucer: Gender and Genre" at Hamilton College.
ACTA says "a degree in English without Shakespeare is like an M.D. without a course in anatomy. It is tantamount to fraud." College students: don't waste your scarce college dollars on a major in English.
Advice for Education Secretary Spellings
"The dropout rate for African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students approaches 50 percent. . . . Every year nearly a million kids fail to graduate high school. . . . The United States has the most severe income gap between high school graduates and dropouts in the world."
In her speech, Secretary Spellings coined an apt phrase and also borrowed a pertinent phrase from the immigration debate to describe urban public schools. She called them "dropout factories" and decried the fact that they have been "in the shadows for so long."
College Isn't Necessary for many Careers
The flight overseas includes professional as well as low-wage jobs, with engineering jobs offshored to India and China. Thousands of bright Asian engineers are willing to work for a fraction of American wages, which is why Boeing just signed a 10-year, $1-billion-a-year deal with an Indian government-run company.
But it doesn't make sense for parents to mortgage their homes, or for students to saddle themselves with long-term debt, in order to pay overpriced college tuition to prepare for jobs that no longer exist. Tuition at public universities has risen an unprecedented 51 percent over the past five years.
Don't Major in English
When the classics are assigned, they are victims of the academic fad called deconstructionism. That means: pay no mind to what the author wrote or meant; deconstruct him and construct your own interpretation, as in a Vanderbilt University course called "Shakespearean Sexuality," or "Chaucer: Gender and Genre" at Hamilton College.
ACTA says "a degree in English without Shakespeare is like an M.D. without a course in anatomy. It is tantamount to fraud." College students: don't waste your scarce college dollars on a major in English.
Advice for Education Secretary Spellings
"The dropout rate for African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students approaches 50 percent. . . . Every year nearly a million kids fail to graduate high school. . . . The United States has the most severe income gap between high school graduates and dropouts in the world."
In her speech, Secretary Spellings coined an apt phrase and also borrowed a pertinent phrase from the immigration debate to describe urban public schools. She called them "dropout factories" and decried the fact that they have been "in the shadows for so long."
posted by My Mall and News at
8:18 PM
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Sunday, January 6, 2008
Getting an Internship
Excerpts from an article by Lisa Belkin on getting an internship.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/education/edlife/interns.html?em&ex=1199768400&en=34f11f7b9097cf99&ei=5087%0A
“Internships are no longer optional, they’re required,” says Peter Vogt, author of “Career Wisdom for College Students” and an adviser to MonsterTrak.com, the student arm of the job-search Web site, which reports that 78 percent of students in college this year plan to complete one or more internships before entering the post-collegiate world.
"Recruitment for the most coveted 10 percent of internships starts 10 months in advance. And many of those, at places like Microsoft, Google, Disney and XM Radio, have filled their summer slots by New Year’s Day.
"Competition is further heightened because applicants are increasingly qualified. At Ketchum, a New York public relations company, more than 600 students applied for 16 positions last summer, with predictable results.
"There is almost always a side door — a makeshift slot created for a particularly qualified, determined or connected applicant. That’s where parents, acquaintances, alumni networks and local business owners and politicians can come in handy.
"A good number of internships serve as two-month-long job interviews, and just as the students hope to turn the experience into something good for the résumé, the companies hope to turn the students into future employees."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/education/edlife/interns.html?em&ex=1199768400&en=34f11f7b9097cf99&ei=5087%0A
“Internships are no longer optional, they’re required,” says Peter Vogt, author of “Career Wisdom for College Students” and an adviser to MonsterTrak.com, the student arm of the job-search Web site, which reports that 78 percent of students in college this year plan to complete one or more internships before entering the post-collegiate world.
"Recruitment for the most coveted 10 percent of internships starts 10 months in advance. And many of those, at places like Microsoft, Google, Disney and XM Radio, have filled their summer slots by New Year’s Day.
"Competition is further heightened because applicants are increasingly qualified. At Ketchum, a New York public relations company, more than 600 students applied for 16 positions last summer, with predictable results.
"There is almost always a side door — a makeshift slot created for a particularly qualified, determined or connected applicant. That’s where parents, acquaintances, alumni networks and local business owners and politicians can come in handy.
"A good number of internships serve as two-month-long job interviews, and just as the students hope to turn the experience into something good for the résumé, the companies hope to turn the students into future employees."
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
1:10 PM
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Strategic Notetaking
Here are excerpts from an article by Laura Pappano on how to take notes for a survey class.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/education/edlife/strategy.html?ref=edlife
"You won’t be missed if you skip class and download the professor’s notes online, but you will miss out. Being there and being alert lets you figure out which stuff the professor finds most important (hint: that’s what will be on the exam).
"Notice the lecturer’s gestures and volume of voice. “If he’s loud and he’s waving his arms, you’d better write that down.”
"While careful not to draw conclusions, he notes that students taking linked courses have done “a notch” better on his exams — a C+ instead of a C, the class mean.
"Mr. Miller believes that success is less about native intelligence than good study habits. He suggests spending time every day processing what you’ve learned, as if prepping for a pop quiz. One way is to copy lecture notes. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/education/edlife/strategy.html?ref=edlife
"You won’t be missed if you skip class and download the professor’s notes online, but you will miss out. Being there and being alert lets you figure out which stuff the professor finds most important (hint: that’s what will be on the exam).
"Notice the lecturer’s gestures and volume of voice. “If he’s loud and he’s waving his arms, you’d better write that down.”
"While careful not to draw conclusions, he notes that students taking linked courses have done “a notch” better on his exams — a C+ instead of a C, the class mean.
"Mr. Miller believes that success is less about native intelligence than good study habits. He suggests spending time every day processing what you’ve learned, as if prepping for a pop quiz. One way is to copy lecture notes. "
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
1:03 PM
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
They Lift Them Up
ROCK --->(Teachers)<--- HARD PLACE
Teachers have to try and keep the Parents happy, in order to try and keep their Administrators happy, in order to try and keep the school boards happy, in order to try and keep politicians from mandating any more requirements that will be underfunded, and virtually impossible to measure.
I taught public high school for two years and sought life elsewhere.
I can think of only a handful of teachers who really took me to another level, so much so that I've written to them sometimes decades letters expressing my gratitude. But, for the reasons you mention, I think that the best ones do indeed burn out. Under the circumstances, I'm sometimes amazed that anyone teaches.
I have two children. One is just finished fifth grade, and the other just finished seventh grade. Both of them got perfect report cards-- with quarter and year GPAs of 4.0 in both cases. My kids are both gifted and would do well most likely irregardless of who their teachers are. But there is no doubt that their teachers have made the difference as well. Some are kind and sensitive. Others are sticklers for detail and inflict a torrent of homework, projects, reports, and class participation. It would be overly self-depreciating to say that I had no role in their academic achievements. But my participation has been minimal, as their desire to achieve seems to be genuine and inner-driven. As a parent, I have few rules, but what few rules I do have I expect no deviation. These include: to tell the truth always; to do homework without fail and with excellence; to always aim high and do their best; and, above all, to treat their teachers with respect, demonstrating not just brilliance but graciousness as well. I want them always to feel that their teachers do indeed lift them up to more than they can be, in the words of the Josh Groban song:
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.
You raise me up... To more than I can be.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/227140/you_raise_me_up/
Teachers have to try and keep the Parents happy, in order to try and keep their Administrators happy, in order to try and keep the school boards happy, in order to try and keep politicians from mandating any more requirements that will be underfunded, and virtually impossible to measure.
I taught public high school for two years and sought life elsewhere.
I can think of only a handful of teachers who really took me to another level, so much so that I've written to them sometimes decades letters expressing my gratitude. But, for the reasons you mention, I think that the best ones do indeed burn out. Under the circumstances, I'm sometimes amazed that anyone teaches.
I have two children. One is just finished fifth grade, and the other just finished seventh grade. Both of them got perfect report cards-- with quarter and year GPAs of 4.0 in both cases. My kids are both gifted and would do well most likely irregardless of who their teachers are. But there is no doubt that their teachers have made the difference as well. Some are kind and sensitive. Others are sticklers for detail and inflict a torrent of homework, projects, reports, and class participation. It would be overly self-depreciating to say that I had no role in their academic achievements. But my participation has been minimal, as their desire to achieve seems to be genuine and inner-driven. As a parent, I have few rules, but what few rules I do have I expect no deviation. These include: to tell the truth always; to do homework without fail and with excellence; to always aim high and do their best; and, above all, to treat their teachers with respect, demonstrating not just brilliance but graciousness as well. I want them always to feel that their teachers do indeed lift them up to more than they can be, in the words of the Josh Groban song:
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.
You raise me up... To more than I can be.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/227140/you_raise_me_up/
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
11:00 PM
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Sunday, April 29, 2007
MIT Admissions
Marilee Jones, the dean of admissions of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, resigned after admitting that she fabricated her academic credentials. In a recent book, Ms. Jones warns stressed-out students competing for admission to elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect. It is, of course, more than a bit ironic that given her lack of even a baccalurate degree, no academic institution would have considered Jones for her present job.
Yesterday, my youngest son competed in a district-wide math competition for the gifted, in which he placed sixth. My buttons were popping when I saw Our Boy collect his medal and also a third-place trophy for the school's team. But I perceived that he may have been disappointed that he didn't do better, given his strong drive to excel. I asked him about that, and it turns out that he was happy where he was and I was happy where he was in the rankings.
I'm not unsympathetic to the thrust of Jones' desire to reduce student and parental anxiety over academic performance. On the other hand, as her own experience shows, it is false to say that grades, scores, and degrees don't matter. They do matter, as they open doors to future opportunities that would otherwise be closed.
I tell my boys that I ask only one thing: that they do their very best. If their very best is an average grade, that's fine to me. On the other hand, they also realize that in many respects they are not average and thusly they need to make the corrsponding effort. Both of them now get top grades and, more importantly to me, their motivation in getting those grades is inner-driven and reflects a genuine love of learning for its own sake.
Yesterday, my youngest son competed in a district-wide math competition for the gifted, in which he placed sixth. My buttons were popping when I saw Our Boy collect his medal and also a third-place trophy for the school's team. But I perceived that he may have been disappointed that he didn't do better, given his strong drive to excel. I asked him about that, and it turns out that he was happy where he was and I was happy where he was in the rankings.
I'm not unsympathetic to the thrust of Jones' desire to reduce student and parental anxiety over academic performance. On the other hand, as her own experience shows, it is false to say that grades, scores, and degrees don't matter. They do matter, as they open doors to future opportunities that would otherwise be closed.
I tell my boys that I ask only one thing: that they do their very best. If their very best is an average grade, that's fine to me. On the other hand, they also realize that in many respects they are not average and thusly they need to make the corrsponding effort. Both of them now get top grades and, more importantly to me, their motivation in getting those grades is inner-driven and reflects a genuine love of learning for its own sake.
Labels: education
posted by My Mall and News at
1:31 PM
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