Author Archives: Tom Miles

David Foster Wallace Classic Commencement Address

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David Foster Wallace Commencement Speech

In 2005, writer David Foster Wallace stood before the graduates of Kenyon College and delivered a memorable and impactful commencement address.

The speech, later turned into a book titled This Is Water, has become a classic to many, up there with Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford address. Videogram company The Glossary has revived Wallace’s words with a video visualizing the concepts described by the writer, who died in 2008.

The Glossary describes the speech as “the most simple and elegant explanation of the real value of education.”

What do I need to know about middle-school

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From a Google search: What do I need to know about middle school

These kind of stood out on the first page … and … there were 528,000,000 results!

http://www.education.com/grade/middle-school/

Seems to be a right comprehensive site covering:

  • Adolescent brain development
  • How to talk to
  • What to expect for writing and math
  • Social life
  • Gender differences
  • Supplies list
  • Activities and worksheets

 http://fvms.peachschools.org/content/what-parents-need-know-about-middle-school-kids

Nice summary for parents discussing:

  • They crave structure, but push against it.
  • They need to feel a sense of independence and safety at the same time.
  • They don’t think before they act.
  • Parental discipline
    • Be consistent with what you say and do.
    • You are not their friend and they don’t need you to be their friend.
    • They can rationalize things, but they are not necessarily rational.
    • Always get to know your kids friends.
  • Be in touch with your child’s teachers throughout the school year
  • Make your child bring their work home for you to see it every night.
  • Check the school website to know what’s going on.

(This website is worth a visit just to see how nicely set up and informative one can be.)

http://www.wikihow.com/Know-What-to-Expect-in-Middle-School

Written by middle-schoolers for middle-schoolers – a bunch of observations and tips. Could be supportive reading for your middle-schooler,

http://www.ask.com/answers/12429171/what-are-the-top-5-things-you-need-to-know-about-middle-school

A bunch of comment posted by middle-schoolers. The variety of viewpoints is interesting and insightful.

Two articles on today’s student/society challenges

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Here are two articles that seemed to me to go towards explaining what we are reading about, experiencing, and trying to come to grips with in education today:

What Do U.S. College Graduates Lack? Professionalism

What are employers and society in general finding problems with? National Association of Manufacturers surveys of “Skills Gap” notes some problems coming out of high schools and colleges that may shed some light:

  • Work ethics, timeliness and attendance are as important as verbal, math and technical skills – and are not being taught
  • High school and college grads’ general “sense of entitlement” causes problems
  • Grads don’t understand what hard work really is
  • A belief that multi-tasking is effective actually diminishes focus on task at hand
  • American culture (see the next article for some possible explanations) and lack of focus in general, combined with high school grade inflation, causes problems in the workplace
  • The main incentive seem to involve just moving kids through a system
  • But … a bad worker/employee jeopardizes an entire unit, division or company
  • “As employers and government officials put more pressure on colleges to produce employable graduates, this message should reach students before they collect their diploma.”

Click here to read the article.

and

How many companies are cooking the books?

According to the latest Ernst & Young survey of employees, boards of directors and top managers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India, the following systemic cultural problems were noted:

  • 1 in 5 employees are aware of their company’s financial manipulations
  • 42% of board members are aware of their company’s financial manipulations
  • Wal-Mart allegedly bribed Mexican zoning officials
  • These activities undermine U.S. parent companies and markets
  • 3 major banks have been fined for manipulating LIBOR; 13 others are under investigation
  • In general, anti-bribery/anti-corruption policies are not being implemented or enforced

These activities lead to “Wild West” attitudes and cultures, a general sense of entitlement and invitation/incentive to take increased financial, managerial, societal, moral risk.

Click here to read the article.

 

No Rich Child Left Behind

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This is a summary of a lengthy article in the New York Times Online, discussing why and how wealth and early child preparedness has affected, is effecting, schools and society.

Society … that’s you and me, by the way.       Click here to read the article.

  • Children of the rich perform better than middle-class or poor children (all grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, leadership, graduation, higher education).
  • While this has always been so, the test scores gap is 40% larger than in the 1970s.
  • NAEP scores (National Assessment of Educational Progress) have been rising for all populations since the 1970s.
  • The gap isn’t much affected either positively or negatively by K-12 school experiences.
  • It boils down to this: Rich students are increasingly entering kindergarten much better prepared to succeed in school than middle-class students. This difference persists through to high school.
  • The rich have more money and can (and do) focus more of it on early childhood education/experience.
  • It would be supportive to somehow improve the quality of parenting and early child environments.
  • Expand Nurse-Family Partnerships for single parents.
  • Provide greater support for maternity leave and day care.

One commenter named Howard, summed it up nicely, ” … to use another metaphor, the odds are against the seeds that fall on stony ground, no matter how good their genetic makeup.”

Click here to read the article.

Hector Slim Seade TELMEX CEO on education

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“Education is the mainstay of modern society.”

So says Hector Slim Seade, COE of Telefonos de Mexico (TELMEX) in Time Magazine’s special advertising section.

“Nowadays, digital education represents one of the best means of overcoming poverty. We are convinced Mexico needs to be transformed into a technological society, one in which human capital will be key to growth.”

And this is also true(er even) for Mexico’s northern neighbor, New Mexico.

 

30 Years Later Nation Remains At Educational Risk

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President Ronald Reagan’s Education Department issued the report “A Nation at Risk”  30 years ago.

This article describes what has, and hasn’t, happened since 1983, and provides interesting historical contexts for conversations about education today.

I’m linking to it rather than copying it to honor Philip Elliott’s AP copyright.

Hope you enjoy it.

Q&A site keeps parents up-to-date with emerging technologies

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Quib.ly is a Q&A site that aims to help parents learn more about the devices their kids are currently using and will need to use in the future.

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United States 15th April 2013 in Education.
New devices can help bring family members together in ways previously not possible. Take the TinyTap iPad app for example – which gets kids and parents to work together to create a game. However, children whose parents aren’t tech-savvy may not have as much of a head start as others. Quib.ly is a Q&A site that aims to help parents better understand the new equipment their kids are currently using and will need to use in the future.

The site acts as a community for members to keep each other informed about new technologies that will shape how today’s children work and create once they begin to take their first steps on the career ladder. Parents can ask questions, which are answered by community experts. Users can follow the topics that interest them or experts whose explanations they find useful. They can also apply to become an expert if they are a technology or family professional.

The speed at which technology is changing how we go about our daily activities is underlined by a US Department of Labor statement that says: “65 percent of today’s grade school kids will end up at jobs that haven’t been invented yet.” Quib.ly could give parents the knowledge they need to ensure their children aren’t left behind.

Website: www.quib.ly
Contact: www.quib.ly/contact

Spotted by: Murray Orange