The Ideal English Major
Author and professor Mark Edmundson reports in The Chronicle of Higher Education why he believes English represents for many the ideal choice for a baccalaureate major. He makes many excellent points, including the observation that there are things more important than money, including the ability to think and act — and live — for one’s self and selves. “It’s the character-forming—or (dare I say?) soul-making—dimension of the pursuit that counts.”
Cursive Writing Makes Kids Smarter
Dr. William Klemm reports on the positive benefits of learning cursive writing for young brains in Psychology Today. “Much of the benefit of hand writing in general comes simply from the self-generated mechanics of drawing letters. During one study at Indiana University to be published this year, (3) researchers conducted brain scans on pre-literate 5-year olds before and after receiving different letter-learning instruction. In children who had practiced self-generated printing by hand, the neural activity was far more enhanced and “adult-like” than in those who had simply looked at letters. The brain’s “reading circuit” of linked regions that are activated during reading was activated during hand writing, but not during typing. This lab has also
School's Out…Now What?
Congratulations! Students, your parents and teachers know that you worked hard this year. Taking tests. Memorizing formulae. Writing essays and book reports. You endured too many early mornings and the late nights studying. That’s not to mention the daily lunchroom scramble. And, you still found time to practice your instruments, play your heart out for the team, and do volunteer work in the community. All that takes brains, hard work, and dedication. Our students’ schedules are so full. It seems that as soon as one test, one paper, or one quarter was over, the next goal sprang into view and the process of study preparation began again. We would encourage everyone to take a breath
Grit is more important than IQ when it comes to Test Scores
University of Pennsylvania researchers have determined that the best predictor of success on academic tests isn’t determined by how talented students are. Rather, performance is best predicted by how much “grit” they possess. Grit, for their study, was defined as self-discipline and measured by a student self-assessment, a behavioral delay-of-gratification task, and a survey of study and lifestyle habits. IQ was measured through a group test. They found that “self-discipline predicted academic performance more robustly than did IQ. Self-discipline also predicted which students would improve their grades over the course of the school year, whereas IQ did not.”
Measuring the Value of a Degree and the Purpose of College
Education writer Jeff Selingo brings up some of the new ways to approach post-secondary education. While there are advantages in alternative programs for many students, the Huff Post scribe stresses the importance of college for a person’s intellectual and social maturation. He also makes clear the importance of a four-year degree in the workplace and its role in marking the possessor as an achiever who is ready to become a contributing member of society.
Bad decisions arise from faulty information, not faulty brain circuits
Our brains may be better at decision making than we once thought possible. In fact, it may be more likely that we make mistakes in judgement due to faulty data rather than through a fault in our brain’s decision-making processes. Researchers at Princeton University have found that erroneous decisions tend to arise from “noise,” errors in the information coming into the brain, rather than from errors in how the brain accumulates information. The results underscore the importance of using good information when making a decision, such as when choosing a college and selecting a course of study, or when determining the reputation of an institution or the quality of future job prospects in a given field.
