Education
Khan Academy highlights deficiencies in conventional teaching methods
Why our existing educational support system isn’t enough Have you ever prepared for an exam, only to realize that you didn’t understand what was taught in class? How often do you rely on Khan Academy to learn the material that you didn’t understand from your lectures? Khan Academy has truly changed who we are as…
Read MoreWhy a decision that lasts a lifetime for students should receive more attention and assistance
Students are settling for majors they are not happy with just to make a decision. Thinking back, most can relate to the ambitious change that occurred when moving into college. You felt eager to take on the challenges of the unknown and try new things. It is a foreign experience that is difficult to fully…
Read MoreGiving credit where credit is due
As I headed into this semester’s midterms, I tried to figure out how I was going to study for my four exams. The stress of the semester had culminated in the challenge of attempting to ready myself for my tests while keeping up with regular class work, as well. Most of this semester has been…
Read MoreWriting Never Gets Easier — That’s the Point
You’re sitting in Bobst Library between classes, being the responsible student that you are and actually using your only break of the day to start that essay due at 8 a.m. tomorrow. But almost immediately, you find that your brain decides to fry itself and forget the entire English lexicon. You end up staring at…
Read MoreReflections on Navigating the High School Admission Process
It typically begins in seventh grade. Sometime in March or April. Unfamiliar feelings. Wandering eyes. Vague insecurities. Burgeoning cases of FOMO, or the “fear of missing out.” A dim awareness that other people are watching you, wondering what you’re thinking. This isn’t the first sign of puberty. These are not the hormone-induced emotions of fragile…
Read MoreSailing Through High School: A Nautical Alternative
When my kids were little and needed to get out of the house, I took them down to the water. There was much to do: skip rocks, play in the sand, and make dams to hold back the tide. If the tide was low, we looked for creatures under the rocks. We had a dory…
Read MoreFinding Your Voice
Writing is difficult – especially when what you’re writing will be published on the Internet, where anyone and everyone can read it. I started this column last fall hoping that it would help me improve my writing. I’d always enjoyed the rewarding feeling that comes with putting your thoughts down on paper, and I’d reached…
Read MoreThe Tune of the Hick’ry Stick: An Apology
“What part of this don’t you understand?” the judge asked, frustration edging her voice. “You’re fifteen. The law says you need to be in school. Do you think the rules don’t apply to you?” The boy looked at her, swiveling slightly in the green, high-backed chair. He tugged a couple of times at his long…
Read MoreWere our textbooks really that helpful?
Before break, some friends in my dorm and I were discussing the different types of educations we received from elementary school through high school. There were the expected differences that arose between private and public schools, but we also realized there were stark differences based on where we grew up. Three of us — from…
Read MoreHow Coming Out as a Gay Teacher Helped My Students
Being out only endeared this teacher to his adolescent charges. As a gay high school teacher, I often ask myself how to best navigate my sexual orientation in my classroom. I believe that at a time when cultural conversations about what it means to be a man or a woman are not so clear, LGBT…
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