A recent claim to friends, that my 18-year old self wouldn’t stand a chance of getting admitted to my alma mater today, turns out to be utter nonsense.
This according to Stanford University economist, Caroline M. Hoxby. In The Changing Selectivity of American Colleges [pdf], Hoxby reassures applicants that, “Typical college-going students in the U.S. should be unconcerned about rising selectivity. If anything, they should be concerned about falling selectivity, the phenomenon they will actually experience.”
In fact, at least 50 percent of colleges are substantially less selective now than they were in 1962 with only the top 10 percent, such as members of the Ivy League, Stanford, and Duke, demonstrating rising selectivity. So, perhaps that seemingly unattainable college is actually within reach.
“Youth who are most likely to need mentors are least likely to have them.”
Disadvantaged teens who get mentored are twice as likely to attend college. A new national study reveals the power of mentors, particularly those in the teaching profession:
Adult mentors give teens a 50 percent greater likelihood of attending college
Mentorship by a teacher nearly doubles the odds of attending college for disadvantaged students
“Potential is sometimes squashed by the social environment, and the data show that mentors can overcome those forces,” said Lance Erickson, a sociology professor at Brigham Young University and the study’s lead author. The information on more than 14,000 adolescents who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health shows less than half of disadvantaged students report having any adult mentor and only seven percent had a mentoring relationship with a teacher.
Mentors proved pivotal in whether students make the jump to college. For example, students whose parents do not have even a high school degree are normally 35 percent likely to enroll in college. The rate jumps to 66 percent when the youth considers one of their teachers to be a personal mentor. “Teacher-mentors close the college gap for disadvantaged kids [and] participants indicate that their mentors weren’t necessarily doing anything extraordinary, just being involved and treating the young person as an important human being,” adds Erickson.
President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign is a nationwide effort to move American middle and high school students to the top of the pack in science, technology, engineering & math (STEM) achievement over the next decade.
“Reaffirming and strengthening America’s role as the world’s engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation is essential to meeting the challenges of this century,” said President Obama. “That’s why I am committed to making the improvement of STEM education over the next decade a national priority.”
The administration has identified three overarching priorities for STEM education:
Increase STEM literacy so all students can think critically in science, math, engineering and technology.
Improve the quality of math and science teaching so American students are no longer outperformed by those in other nationsI.
Expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and minorities.
Speaking to key STEM leaders and local students, President Obama announced a series of high-powered partnerships totaling over $260 million in support from leading companies, foundations, non-profits, and science and engineering societies dedicated to motivating and inspiring young people across America to excel in science and math.
Supporters include the MacArthur Foundation, Time Warner Cable, and Discovery Communications. With an investment of $7.5 million in mathematics and science education for preschoolers, Sesame Street, in partnership with PNC Bank, shows students are never to young to engage in STEM. Gary E. Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop, explains,”Ensuring today’s children are prepared with the mathematics and science skills they need to compete in a global world must be a national priority.”
Like other types of performance anxiety, such as stage fright, math tests can lead to panic and cause the mind to go blank. Students overcome by math anxiety may feel a disabling frustration that can lead to full-fledged panic. Math anxiety is real, but can be brought under control with understanding and practice.
Prevent math fright by gaining perspective:
Think of math as a foreign language that requires daily practice to master.
Spend time working on math. Don’t just memorize or follow examples blindly.
Be stubborn and tenacious about solving math “puzzles” correctly.
Stay positive about your ability. Avoid negative self-talk. You can do math.
Math is cumulative, so make sure you’re in the right level class for your experience.
Reduce math anxiety by improving your study habits:
Don’t rush through math homework. Slow down and work at your own pace.
When you get stuck, read your math textbook and refer to example problems.
Ask for help from a teacher or tutor as soon as you need it.
Practice math every day, even if no homework is assigned.
Check each answer and try again if you make mistakes.
Math is cumulative, so don’t avoid the work or fall behind.
Don’t fall for these age-old math myths. See how they are soundly debunked in this Platonic Realms MiniText.
Myth #1: Aptitude for math is inborn.
Myth #2: To be good at math you have to be good at calculating.
Myth #3: Math requires logic, not creativity.
Myth #4: In math, what’s important is getting the right answer.
Myth #5: Men are naturally better than women at mathematical thinking.
Mastering math is not about having a natural gift. Instead, learning math takes time and effort along with trial and error. As your knowledge and ability increase, so too will your confidence and test performance.
Posted 8 December 2009 by Deb Kohnstamm Comments (0) | Tags: math
Applicants will focus on participatory learning experiences that incorporate the principles of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Participatory learning, as defined by the competition, is a form of learning connected to individual interests and passions, inherently social in nature, and occurring during hands-on, creative activities.
“Lifting American students from the middle to the top of the pack in STEM achievement over the next decade will not be attained by government alone,” said President Obama. “I applaud the substantial commitments made today by the leaders of companies, universities, foundations, non-profits and organizations representing millions of scientists, engineers, and teachers from across the country.”
The competition is open to designers, inventors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and others interested in building digital media experiences that help young people interact and explore in new and innovative ways.
Information about past winners and the current competition is available at www.dmlcompetition.net.
With all the hoopla about interactive math and science learning, who’s looking out for the poor humanities?
I found countless static websites to help students make sense of the classics, identify themes, or gain historical insight, but nothing interactive until I stumbled across Dr. Roger Travis. This Associate Professor in the Modern and Classical Languages department at the University of Connecticut uses online gaming as a course requirement when teaching the classics.
Dr. Travis, who first noticed a connection between modern video games and the classics while teaching Virgil’s Aeneid, suggests that the bards’ audiences were interactive with epic poems in much the same way that today’s video gamers interact with a software-generated adventure tale.
He has gone so far as to turn his course, “Classics in Ancient Mediterranian Studies” into an online class he affectionately refers to as, “gaming Homer.” Students are assigned to read Homer as well as secondary sources about Homer’s improvisational tradition. They then play video games to grasp that myth is not just something from 2,500 years ago.
“Like today’s gamers, the bards’ audiences didn’t know what was going to happen next, so they were immersed in the story and were interactive with it in a very real way,” Travis says. “The popular notion that video games are unique in their interactivity overlooks a tradition well over 2,000 years old.” Video games “bring back to life an essential part of the sort of storytelling to be found in the epic tradition of the Homeric bards.”
In her acclaimed novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery captivates with a stop-you-in-your-tracks answer to the question of why grammar matters.
To usher in this eloquent grammatical tirade, twelve-year old character, Paloma Jesse, writes Profound Thought No. 10 in her journal. In this entry, the youngster tells of a schoolmate who puts voice to the question on every student’s mind, “What’s the point of grammar?”
As the teacher huffs, “The point is to make us speak and write well,” Paloma’s blood boils. “I thought I would have a heart attack then and there. I have never heard anything so grossly inept.”
She, or rather Barbery, proceeds to defend the wondrous essence of grammar as if it were a smell or taste to be savored. “Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you’ve said or read or written a fine sentence. You can recognize a well-turned phrase or an elegant style. But when you are applying the rules of grammar skillfully, you ascend to another level of the beauty of language. When you use grammar you peel back the layers, to see how it is all put together, see it quite naked, in a way. And that’s where it becomes wonderful, because you say to yourself ‘Look how well-made this is, how well-constructed it is! How solid and ingenuous, rich and subtle.”
As Barbery illuminates the nuance of grammar, her reader is enticed to delight in the way beautifully crafted language, like a dazzling sunset or moving sonata, can enrich the senses and soul. When composed as “end in itself,” grammar is magically transformed from basic tool to work of art, “…it becomes obvious that grammar is an end in itself and not simply a means: it provides access to the structure and beauty of language, it’s not some trick to help people get by in society.”
My son recently asked if he could sign-up for Challenge Day at his school. He had no idea what the day was about, but said other students had highly recommended the program and, more importantly, attending would get him out of an entire day of class.
Am I ever glad I said yes to this request! He came home from school bubbling with new insights into how people conceal their true selves, the importance of finding common ground, and “being the change” through acts kindness.
Since I still couldn’t quite get my arms around the purpose of this one-day event, I visited the Challenge Day website. Far more powerful than any words, these emotionally charged videos reveal the pain that undermines so many students, and demonstrate how Challenge Day strives to fulfill its vision for every child to live in a world where they feel safe, loved and celebrated.
“Challenge Day helps people learn to connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The day-long, interactive Challenge Day program provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect.”
Since 1987, Challenge Day has served more than 1,000,000 youth in grades 7-12. More information can be found in the program’s FAQ. To bring Challenge Day to your school, fill out their online program request form.
We can all remember that teacher who made a class or subject intolerable. Perhaps your children too have experienced a poor interpersonal relationship with a teacher, one that took a toll on their love for learning.
Fortunately, the flip side is also true, “If the teacher has a good relationship with the pupils then their interest for the subject taught is greater, and if the teacher exerts a large influence on what happens in class, the pupils learn more.”
According to a new study, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a teacher to fundamentally change a disrupted relationship with students once it occurs. It is therefore best for teachers to build a good relationship based on a large degree of influence (teacher dominance versus submissiveness) and proximity (teacher cooperation versus opposition) with a class right from day one.
A joint report by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and Utrecht University concludes, “The relationship between a teacher and class is important for the learning achievement of pupils and their pleasure in learning.” Dutch researcher Tim Mainhard discovered, “Teacher-class relationships are very stable over the course of a school year. Consequently if teachers get off to a bad start, it is almost impossible to put things right.” If, however, a single poor lesson occurs when the relationship is good, the situation often returns to normal over the course of a week.
When it comes to schoolwork, “Learning how to focus and get something done is about more than just good grades it’s the foundation for success in life.”
While many students have heard it before, these tips based on the TeensHealth.org article, Staying Focused on Schoolwork, serve as good reminders about how focusing not only helps get the job done, but gets it done well. As we like to say around our house (while hoping we’re not wasting our breath), “You’re going to do it anyway, so you might as well do it right.”
Get organized. Organization makes everything you do easier, focuses your efforts on what’s important, and keeps you from dropping the ball. Expect to try various techniques before finding find a system that works for you.
Plan ahead. Setting and enforcing your own deadlines helps you manage your time and makes it easier to stay focused on the task at hand.
Claim your workspace. A quiet, orderly environment is essential for focusing on schoolwork. Find ways to escape all distractions to get your work finished faster.
Don’t even think about multi-tasking! Studies show that all of us perform poorly on tasks when we try to squeeze-in additional activities such as talking on the phone, listening to music, checking email, texting, and IMing. If you want to absorb knowledge and retain information, do whatever it takes to avoid these temptations. Then give them 100% of your focus when the work is done.
If the hassle of getting organized, planning, and concentrating doesn’t seem worth the effort, it might help to know that students who train themselves to stay focused 1) perform better in school and 2) have more free time than those who allow disorganization and interruption to derail their work.
A recent claim to friends, that my 18-year old self wouldn’t stand a chance of getting admitted to my alma mater today, turns out to be utter nonsense.
“Youth who are most likely to need mentors are least likely to have them.”
President Obama’s “
Like other types of performance anxiety, such as stage fright, math tests can lead to panic and cause the mind to go blank. Students overcome by math anxiety may feel a disabling frustration that can lead to full-fledged panic. Math anxiety is real, but can be brought under control with understanding and practice.
“Reimagining Learning,” the 2010 
In her acclaimed novel 
We can all remember that teacher who made a class or subject intolerable. Perhaps your children too have experienced a poor interpersonal relationship with a teacher, one that took a toll on their love for learning.
When it comes to schoolwork, “Learning how to focus and get something done is about more than just good grades it’s the foundation for success in life.”
