Archives for May 2016

Frank Bruni Recognizes the “Customer” Mentality

May 11, 2016 by

“…It’s not only at Stanford and at Ivy League and Ivy­like schools that students have gone from being competitors to clients. That’s a shift that’s occurred over recent decades and over the last decade in particular at scores if not hundreds of colleges. And I think customers is a better word for it than clients, […]

Filed Under: Times Editorials and Op/Eds Tagged With: ,

What Does the Syllabus Really Tell You? And How to Find Out What is Really Taught.

May 5, 2016 by

A reader looked at this year’s syllabus for the course that I wrote about in A Tale Out of School. The reader commented that there was nothing wrong with what this year’s syllabus covers.  Let’s look deeper and ask what covers means. For those who have read A Tale Out of School,  you may have […]

Filed Under: Advice for students/parents Tagged With: , ,

A Quote to Keep in Mind

May 2, 2016 by

“…Franklin Roosevelt did not suddenly decide on his own to enact Social Security or grant union rights. Those ideas came up from below, through decades of frustration and struggle and conflict. If Americans want something different from their politicians, there is no alternative to this kind of exhausting and uncertain hard work…” (Italics are mine […]

Filed Under: Times Articles

Let’s Stop Worrying About the Wrong Problem (Dropping Out) and Address the Real Problem (Not Getting An Education Even IF They Stay In)

May 1, 2016 by

Simple steps raise the graduation rate, especially among minority students. Source: What Can Stop Kids From Dropping Out – The New York Times#commentsContainer I wrote: Let’s stop worrying about them dropping out and start worrying about them actually getting an education. With a couple of years of REAL education they can drop out and get […]

Filed Under: Times Editorials and Op/Eds