The Persistence Of Memory
“The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali, oil on canvas, 1931 Neuroscientists report finding an important clue as to how our minds develop long-term memories, a newly identified type of robust protein that can not only turn itself on and off, it can direct other molecules to do the same. The ability to copy and sustain itself may be how the protein helps neurons hold specific memories. Jonah Lehrer, author of “Proust was a Neuroscientist” and a contributor to Wired.com, explains…
The True Cost of High School Dropouts
In 2012, it’s estimated 7 out of 10 ninth graders will drop out of high school before getting their diplomas. A pair of economist-educators tally up the costs to society in this New York Times op-ed. An excerpt: If we could reduce the current number of dropouts by just half, we would yield almost 700,000 new graduates a year, and it would more than pay for itself. We’re hoping that thanks to more access to things like this High School College and Career Guide, students will have a better idea of where their future could lead, and will, therefore, find more motivation to stay in school to achieve their goals. Studies show that the typical
Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System
In this startling analysis, author and former New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges spells out what he sees happening to the United States public school system, public libraries and public airwaves. The end result of de-funding and de-emphasizing the importance of learning is a misinformed citizenry and a democracy in peril. You may not agree with his conclusions, but Hedges makes excellent points about what it takes to become a capable learner and what it means for the country. Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System by Chris Hedges Published on Monday, April 11, 2011 by TruthDig.com A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries
Spotting Dyslexia Before a Child Starts School
Brain MRIs may provide an early diagnostic marker BOSTON, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Children at risk for dyslexia show differences in brain activity on MRI scans even before they begin learning to read, finds a study at Children’s Hospital Boston. Since developmental dyslexia responds to early intervention, diagnosing children at risk before or during kindergarten could head off difficulties and frustration in school, the researchers say. Findings appear this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool
A professor of physics says the lecture is good for conveying information in some subjects and for some students, but for science, a hands-on approach may work best. “Students have to be active in developing their knowledge,” David Hestenes, a physicist at Arizona State, said. “They can’t passively assimilate it.” NPR reports (or, if you prefer to gain information aurally, click here): by Emily Hanford National Public Radio Published: January 01, 2012 The lecture is one of the oldest forms of education there is. “Before printing someone would read the books to everybody who would copy them down,” says Joe Redish, a physics professor at the University of Maryland. But lecturing has never been an
Students Are Bored
Larry Strauss Huffington Post A former student of mine, now a police officer and one of my volunteer assistant basketball coaches, disappeared a few seasons ago for several months. When he resurfaced, he told me he had been assigned suddenly by narcotics to go undercover as a student in a local high school (he is 24 but looks like a muscular 16 year old). He told me he’d set up a few arrests and I couldn’t help but ask him how he had done academically in his classes. To that he gave me a long hard stare. He said, “It was worse than the first time I was in high school. Worse than your class,”
