Here are links to two articles in today’s The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/education/using-the-arts-to-teach-how-to-prepare-for-climate-crisis.html?rref=us&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&pgtype=article and http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/us/us-students-strong-at-problem-solving-but-trail-other-nations.html?ref=us (only online for now) The first article seems to be about how a professor, one of many, is using a creative new approach to teaching about climate change issues. I looked at ratemyprofessor.com for her. Here is what I found. She is tremendously […]
New York Times Conflates Teaching with Marketing and Then Notes Students Could Do Better?
April 1, 2014 by
The SAT Essay Test is This Bad????
March 7, 2014 by
I started reading http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=1 in the New York Times Magazine and I was stopped dead in my tracks with amazement, even for me. You will see why when you read my comment. Here it is: “This tale from the article (that I have copied and pasted below) is outrageous. Unfortunately, from my observations as a former professor, […]
Former Dep’t. of Education official “…thought we were doing God’s work…” when they were WHAT?
January 3, 2014 by
When they were strengthening collection of students loans through what the New York Times characterizes as “ruthless tactics”. (See today’s NY Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/us/loan-monitor-is-accused-of-ruthless-tactics-on-student-debt.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=us) Here was my response, “The former Department of Education official “…thought we were doing God’s work…” when they were strengthening collection of money from students, many of whom had paid that […]
MOOC’s Setback? But Online Still Very Useful, I Believe
December 12, 2013 by
There is this in yesterday’s New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/us/after-setbacks-online-courses-are-rethought.html?hpw&rref=us but I believe that online access can be very informative when used the way I described. (Also, I just finished an excellent book on the role of the internet in education. It is “Abelard to Apple: The Fate of American Colleges and Universities” by Richard A. DeMillo.) “Online […]
“U.S. Colleges Finding Ideals Tested Abroad” in Today’s New York Times Article
December 12, 2013 by
Here is the link http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/education/american-colleges-finding-ideals-are-tested-abroad.html?hp&target=comments#commentsContainer I made a comment that refers to a paper by Clark Kerr that I just read and will post a link to in my Reisman, Kerr, etc… page. Here is the comment. “Though some academics are giving these subtle ethical problems some serious thought, the general public, when reading articles like […]
American 15-Year-Olds Fall Further Back in Math
December 3, 2013 by
The New York Tims and the Wall Street Journal both reported the results of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/education/american-15-year-olds-lag-mainly-in-math-on-international-standardized-tests.html?ref=us&_r=0 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304579404579234511824563116) I commented on wsj.com and I wll follow up with a post that contains another personal story. Here is my comment. “I am a former math professor who taught at an […]
Gina Kolata’s New York Times Article Gives Helpful Insight for Flawed Cholesterol Calculator
November 19, 2013 by
Gina Kolata wrote again today about the cholesterol calculator that exaggerates “…the true risk of a heart attack or stroke by an average of 100 percent…” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/health/flawed-gauge-for-cholesterol-risk-poses-a-new-challenge-for-cardiologists.html?ref=us This article gives more insight into the statistical/mathematical problems: “…Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a medical professor at Dartmouth [says] the calculator, like many others used in medicine, is […]
New SAT: As Usual I Worry But…
I better learn more before I comment. To see why I worry go to On Mark Bauerlein’s Commentary in “The Chronicle of Higher Education”. Here are some links to articles I will be reading http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?hp http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/this-is-what-the-new-sat-will-be-like/284245/ http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303369904579421141753757748?mod=WSJ_hppMIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond&mg=reno64-wsj http://chronicle.com/article/Plans-for-New-SAT-Spark-Mixed/145141/