No Child Left Behind – Except The Gifted Ones

I admire the liberal, egalitarian goal helping all America's children to achieve academic success. Unfortunately, in our zeal to leave no child behind, we may in fact be leaving the entire nation behind.

With our limited resources, common wisdom now dictates that the special needs of gifted students be sacrificed in order to provide for those of lower achieving kids. Programs and energies previously directed at nurturing the best and brightest in our schools have now all but dried up, blown away by the erratic and often irrational winds of political correctness.

Certainly our culture benefits by raising the floor, but doesn't it also benefit by raising the ceiling? Isn't it just as important to make sure that the next generation's great thinkers, planners, inventors, and creators in all fields be given the educational stimulation and support they need throughout their early academic careers to fully develop their special abilities? Is it not the extraordinary capabilities of these individuals at the far right end of the bell curve – when their exceptional talents are not allowed to atrophy as in our current educational environment – that create many or most of the breakthroughs powering the progress of nations? Do we not still need to rely on the promise of such breakthroughs in fields such as medicine, computer science, energy production, etc. if our country is to continue to remain a world leader?

From a recent Washington Post article by Joann DiGennaro:

The ugly secret is that our most talented students are falling through the cracks. Not one program of such major governmental agencies as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation or NASA specifically targets the top 5 percent of students who have demonstrated academic excellence and have the greatest potential for becoming our inventors, creators and groundbreaking scientists. An international assessment of math problem-solving skills of 15-year-olds in 2004, along with more recent studies, found that the United States had the fewest top performers and the largest percentage of low performers compared with other participating countries. By the time students reach 12th grade in math and science, they are near the bottom or dead last compared with international competition, according to the Education Department. These are the critical years for supporting students in science and math, for it is when they make career-determining decisions for college studies.

The blade must be strong, but the cutting edge must also be sharp in order for a tool to be truly useful. Sacrificing one necessary outcome for the sake of another is a foolish strategy, one that's bound to fail.

We as a nation should be willing (eager, in fact) to invest the resources necessary to accomplish the twin goals of leaving no child behind and holding no genius back.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Starting Salaries For The Multi-lingual Exceed $100K

I'm the father of a teenager, and I often wonder how to advise my daughter about her future.

As the 20th century fades away, what can we expect of the era that will replace it? How best to play her cards as an American student at this point in time? What ought to be the emphasis of her education? Which careers should she investigate, and what specific skills must she acquire, in order to be best positioned to profit personally and professionally in the coming decades?

Of course, no one really knows. But it seems fairly certain that being multi-lingual is going to be hugely beneficial to any American professional or would be world-citizen in the first half of the 21st century. The trend toward the globalization of economies and the "mashing" of cultures is accelerating and expanding exponentially, as the internet continues to transform international commerce and communication. The end of the "age of English" may in fact be at hand. As new economic and political realities challenge the hegemony of English speaking nations, which languages are poised for ascendancy? Aside from obligatory Spanish, which foreign languages are likely to most greatly benefit Americans of the future? Mandarin? Hindi? Japanese? Russian? German?

Two "sleepers" worth considering are Indonesian and Arabic.

I've chosen to mention Indonesian not just because I'm married to an Indonesian national and speak some Indonesian myself, but because Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation and the fourth most populous nation overall, and is fast becoming "China's China" (the country to which China now outsources much of its own manufacturing). A country rich in natural resources (an OPEC member, etc.), Indonesia is set to become the next big economic player on the world stage, if only a way could be found to overcome the rampant, systemic corruption that so discourages foreign investment there.

Arabic, however, has more immediate drawing power. Those fluent in Standard Arabic can now attract starting salaries well above $100,000 per year, following the recent explosion in demand for Arabic translators. An article last year in Newsweek highlighted this hot new college course of study:

"'Once upon a time, studying Arabic would have placed a student squarely in the "What are you gonna do with that?" camp. But enrollment in U.S. college Arabic courses grew 92 percent between 1998 and 2002—and, spurred by 9/11 and the Iraq war, has probably doubled since then,' says Gerald Lampe, president of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic.

... Nawar Saddi, 23, received daily calls after posting his résumé on Monster.com. "Last year I was getting offers of $130,000," he says. "This year it's $180,000."

Wow!!

Read the entire article here.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

The Stanford Laptop Orchestra

The personal computer has transformed the world of music.

Just as iTunes transformed the commercial music industry, new hardware and software tools have fundamentally changed the way in which university music departments teach the art of musical composition and performance.

The Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrK ) is a bold experiment by Stanford researcher/programmer Ge Wang that combines the flexibility of Apple MacBook laptops, multi-channel speaker arrays made out of Ikea salad bowls, creative computer programming, and visionary imagination into an intriguing mix that makes for some pretty interesting sounds.

Paul Craft writes in the Stanford Daily:

The set-up is relatively simple. Members of the SLOrk operate black Apple Macbooks, which are connected via a series of cables to a spherical speaker system and control box for volume, among other things. Depending on the piece being played, the set up can include a joystick and other accessories.

The laptops themselves are, as the group’s title suggests, the heart of Wang’s vision. Ensemble members — the “musicians” — use a variety of different programs and configurations to create a variety of different sounds, ranging from a human-like voice to percussion to the ambient noises of a casino. SLOrK relies on a coding language that Professor Wang developed while at Princeton known simply as “CHUcK.” The language is made specifically for music and sound use, prototyping an instrument in a matter of minutes. “The computer itself is not an instrument. We have to craft it into one,” Wang said.

Read the rest of Craft's article here.

An interesting posting in the Pro section of the Apple site further details SLOrk's innovative joining of laptop and audio technology.

For video articles on SLOrk, and to hear the orchestra live in concert, click here and here.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Save Thousands On Textbooks

Textbooks demand scandalously high prices these days. It's nothing for math and science texts to cost more than $150 apiece, and list price on some books has soared to more than $200! That means that today's college students can easily spend well over $1000 or more on textbooks alone in a single year.

Excerpts from a recent article in the Pittsburg Post-Gazzette:

Like college tuition, the price of textbooks has soared faster than inflation. From 1986 to 2004, textbook prices nearly tripled, according to a Government Accountability Office report in 2005.

Nationwide, the GAO figured that textbooks were about a fourth of the cost of tuition and fees at four-year public colleges and universities and as much as three-quarters of the cost of tuition and fees at two-year public institutions.

Fortunately, there's a simple way to avoid falling victim to the college textbook extortion racket: ditch the college bookstore ... and buy new, used, or previous editions online!

Over the course of a four year college education, this tip plus a little disciplined research could easily save students and parents thousands of dollars.

Start by putting together a reliable list of the exact titles and ISBN numbers of all textbooks you'll be required to obtain for your classes during the upcoming semester (give yourself more time to save money and avoid problems by doing this as far in advance as possible).

To begin shopping, first search for the books you need by title, author, and/or ISBN on Amazon. It's possible to save nearly 30% or more when buying new books through Amazon or other online book dealers instead of at college bookstores, and even more (over 70%!) by buying used books online (at amazon, just click on the "... used" link a few inches below the title on the book's product page).

In addition to amazon, a host of online textbook price comparison sites like DealOz, CheapestTextbooks, and BookFinder enable one to directly compare prices of new and used textbooks offered for sale online at drastically reduced prices.

The latest edition of a given text is, of course, going to be the most expensive. But if the course instructor will allow students to use a previous edition rather than the most current one (it doesn't hurt to ask!), you could save nearly 70% on a brand new book by buying it online.

When buying textbooks online, whether new or used, it's a good idea to buy only from highly rated merchants (DealOz and Amazon provide this important information when doing book searches; CheapestTextbooks and BookFinder do not); otherwise, if your books don't arrive in a timely fashion or in acceptable condition, you may have to procure them again in great haste and at full retail price through the college bookstore.

And don't forget the option of selling your textbooks after you no longer have a need for them! Amazon makes this easy, and doing so could recoup much of the money you've had to spend (even after highlighting and marking your books, you'll still be able to get something for them by passing them along to another buyer).

The movement to lower textbook prices is growing fast. Some university professors are fighting back, opting to use free and low-cost online resources rather than force students to get ripped off at the college store. Aside from saving a pile of wallet green, buying used books online is also environmentally greener than purchasing brand new books to be used only for a short time and then discarded.

Save a bundle ... buy texts online!

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Tutoring Gets Outsourced

It had to happen.

With rates for in-home tutors in the U.S. averaging around $60 per hour, and video conferencing software that allows people across the globe to hold productive meetings on each other's computer screens, it was only a matter of time until enterprising companies found a way to outsource private tutoring of American students to India.

Now, for about $25 per hour (less than half price), a student in San Francisco can work with a tutor in India over the internet utilizing modern voice and conferencing software to communicate essential academic questions and concepts.

Apparently, the arrangement works quite well for many students, especially for those whose parents are unable to afford the higher cost of hiring a private tutor to work in person with their son or daughter.

Of course, nothing beats a face-to face one-on-one sit down with an expert private teacher. So much of communication is non-verbal, and many students will find internet tutoring to lack the fullness of instruction and personal quality that only live sessions with local tutors and coaches can provide. Students with learning differences or disabilities will almost certainly find that impersonal online sessions with tutors untrained and inexperienced in handling these difficult issues are inadequate to meet their specialized needs. Still others will want to be able to go into greater depth and detail than is possible through a remote, online connection with a teacher continents away.

But for simple questions, occasional sessions, or a low cost way to meet the needs of struggling students, online tutoring offers a viable alternative that may be worth considering for many families.

An excellent article recently appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, and offers a starting point for those interested in finding out more (to go to the article, click here).

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

U.C. Berkeley For Free

Made possible by the miracle of the internet, a movement is now well underway among some of the greatest universities in the world to make their courses freely available to anyone with an internet connection – not for profit, but simply to disseminate knowledge for the betterment humankind. (See earlier post on the "OpenCourseWare Movement" titled: M.I.T. for Free.)

Today, those interested in learning informally and independently from some of the best colleges and professors on the planet can essentially audit many courses at institutions like M.I.T. and U.C. Berkeley online. Whether done in one's spare time for the pure pleasure of learning, or in a more structured way to gain greater expertise in a particular academic area, the potential for personal and professional growth is tremendous. Whether an advanced high schooler in Larkspur, California, a budding computer genius in Helsinki, Finland or a poor villager in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, the collective knowledge of mankind is now beginning to be offered online without cost or registration, worldwide, for the benefit of all concerned.

Additionally, by taking these online peeks under the hood at the engines that power famous universities in the U.S. and abroad, one begins to get a feel for what it may be like to attend this or that college, to take a course with this or that professor, a valuable plus for anyone soon to make critical decisions about which university, major, or professors to select.

Below is a short sample of U.C. Berkeley courses that anyone can audit, for any reason, for free, online:

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Title: Introduction to Nonviolence
– PACS 164A: Lecture 14

Date: Fall 2006

Instructor: Michael N. Nagler (Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature)

I spent an hour late this morning peeking into a terrific U.C. Berkeley class given by renowned professor Michael N. Nagler, as he delivered an enthralling lecture about the successful efforts of the 1930's Pashtuns, who, lead by Abdul Ghaffar Khan in what is now Pakistan, manned the "army without guns" that nonviolently fought and finally helped defeat the British colonizers and win their people's freedom.

I learned that Ghaffar Khan, an ardent Muslim and follower of comrade and contemporary Mohatma Ghandi, was a strong believer in the absolute compatibility of Islam with the tactics and philosophy of nonviolence, a belief that carries with it critical importance and special relevance today:

"I am going to give you such a weapon that the police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it."

– Abdul Ghaffar Khan

I find it hard to describe what a thrill it was to listen to Professor Nagler, a remarkable instructor and world-class expert in this particular field, teach on the power of nonviolence as a political and cultural force ... to be able to sit in on this fascinating class.

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Title: Physics for Future Presidents (Physics C10)
– Lecture 04: Gravity and Satellites II

Date: 2/2/2006

Instructor: Richard A. Muller (Professor of Physics)

From the course description:

"The most interesting and important topics in physics, stressing conceptual understanding rather than math, with applications to current events."

In this lecture, Prof Muller talks about escape velocity, and other topics germane to the space program, etc.

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Title: General Human Anatomy (Integrative Biology 131)
-- Lecture 30: The Eye

Instructor: Marian Diamond

Professor Diamond takes a look at "the cells that built the Golden Gate Bridge, that built the pyramids, that built the Palm Pilot ... the two main cells in your cerebral cortex that are responsible for all of your behavior."

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Click here to see the complete catalog of U.C. Berkeley courses available on YouTube.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Top Universities Liberalize Financial Aid Policies

The outrageous cost of higher education in America just got knocked down a few notches.

In tow with Stanford University, both Yale and Harvard have recently announced plans to make tuition at their institutions much more affordable for Americans with low and middle incomes.

At Stanford, students whose parents make less than $60K per year will soon pay no tuition and nothing for room and board, while those those whose families earn up to $100K per year still still pay zip for tuition.

Under the new plans, the average student attending Yale will pay half what he or she paid before. Students at Harvard with less than $60K in annual parental income will now pay zero to attend (though work study will be required), and parents with incomes up to $180K will pay only 10% of their combined incomes for each child in attendance.

Other major universities nation-wide are following suit, increasing aid to middle and low income families and substituting grants for student loans so students can graduate without having to shoulder a crushing debt burden.

On Planet Earth in 2008, access to higher education divides countries that "have" from those that "have not." While other developed nations offer a free college education to any citizen who can cut the mustard academically, here in the U.S. the unmanageably high cost of college has been shutting off economic and cultural advancement to large segments of our population for some time, now.

It's about time this untenable situation was addressed and remedied. Let's hope the recent trend toward making higher education affordable for all qualified students in America continues and accelerates. Fixing this problem is clearly a matter of national economic competitiveness, and therefore, ultimately, a matter of national security.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Test Dates: 2009-2010

Having a clear test preparation plan is crucial in achieving success on major standardized tests like the SAT, SAT Subjects Tests, ACT, PSAT, SSAT, and HSPT.

Testing dates scheduled during the 2009-2010 school year have now been released for most of these tests.

As soon as possible, select the test dates that work best from the list below, and arrange your plans accordingly.

For further information about a particular test, click the "more information" link provided at the end of the appropriate list of dates, below.

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ACT Dates: 2009-2010

9/12/09

10/24/09

12/12/09

2/6/10

4/10/10

6/12/10

See the ACT web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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HSPT Dates: 2009-2010

Test dates vary. The most common dates are in the spring and fall.

Contact high school admissions departments to confirm test and registration dates.

Click here for more information.

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PSAT Dates: 2009-2010

10/14/09 or 10/17/09

(10/13/10 or 10/16/10)

Contact the student's high school to confirm test and registration dates (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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SAT Dates: 2009-2010

10/10/09

11/7/09

12/5/09

1/23/10

3/13/10

5/1/10

6/5/10

See the College Board web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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SAT Subject Test Dates: 2009-2010

10/10/09

11/7/09

12/5/09

1/23/10

5/1/10

6/5/10

See the College Board web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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SSAT Dates: 2009-2010

10/17/09

11/14/09

12/12/09

1/9/10

2/6/10

3/6/10

4/17/10

6/12/10

See the SSAT web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Are Private Student Loans Too Risky?

Not all student loans are created equal. Are private student loans too risky?

In a word, yes.

Increasingly popular, highly marketed private student loans now make up a very large part of educational debt taken on by parents and students across the country each year. Unfortunately, these private student loans may have serious drawbacks and carry additional risks not associated with federal student loans, reported the USA Today's Sandra Block in a recent article on the subject.

These days, it seems that college costs are putting the word "higher" in "higher education," and deep educational debt is fast becoming a real concern for many American families. Although it's a truism that a college education is the single best way to ensure prosperity in our culture, many graduates could find themselves under the thumb of a crushing educational debt burden unless they're able to quickly cash in on their expensive university educations and find gainful employment. Those who cannot may come to regret their decision to opt for many of the private student loans so common today, which, though plentiful and easy to obtain, are often much less affordable, flexible, and forgiving than standard federal loans.

The question of how best to finance the costs of college is of urgent importance to more and more people each year, and if you would like more information about the potential dangers of private loans, I highly recommend Ms. Block's article on the subject.
Click here to read the entire article.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Princeton Review's Best Colleges

Any serious college search should include a look at what students themselves are saying about the various aspects of campus life at schools across the nation.

The folks at the Princeton Review have done their homework, and have put together a well-sorted list of what they say are the best 361 colleges in America (selected according to carefully compiled student feedback data).

The Princeton Review “Best Colleges” study is always an important piece of research to review before making important college decisions or while considering which schools to target for admission, since it is based on the opinions of a huge sample of students currently attending the most popular colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Factors included in the rankings include: quality of professors and class discussions, diversity of student populations, party scene vs. “stone cold sober” environments, political leanings, social and cultural life, happiest students, extracurriculars, etc.

Search categories include: academics, politics, demographics, quality of life, etc.

Click here to go to the Princeton Review's list of the "Best 361 Colleges in America" (get the most current edition available).

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Chat-Speak Takes Over The World

Am I showing my age? Really, young people today ...

Like Mary Kolesnikova in her opinion piece for the L.A. Times, I regard the invasion of chat-speak into our culture as more than a bit annoying:

Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between a person LOLing and crying – but I am definitely weeping. The cause for my earth-shattering depression is an April 25 Pew Research Center study that polled 12- to 17-year-olds on their attitudes about writing. A heart-stopping 38% said they let chat-speak – such as LOL (for "laughing out loud"), ROFL ("rolling on the floor laughing"), BRB ("be right back"), TTYL ("talk to ya later") – slip into essays and homework.

Read Kolesnikova's entire piece here.

But honestly, much of the angst I feel about this is probably just my own resistance to change.

Chat-speak is the abbreviated form of English made popular by text messaging in which, due to the inefficiency of thumb-keyboards, less is definitely more when it comes to aggregate character counts.

Here are few examples for the uninitiated:

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ASAP - As Soon As Possible
BBL - Be Back Later
BRB - Be Right Back
BTW - By The Way
CU - see you
CUL8R - see you Later
EZ - Easy
F2F - Face to Face
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
FWIW - For What It’s Worth
FYI - For Your Information
GG - Good Game
GTG - Got To Go
HTH - Hope That Helps
IAC - In Any Case
IIRC - If I Remember Correctly
J/K - Just Kidding
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO - In My Not-So-Humble Opinion
IMO - In My Opinion
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
NBD - No Big Deal
NRN - No Reply Necessary
OMG - Oh My God
OTOH - On The Other Hand
ROFL - Rolling On the Floor Laughing
THX - Thanks
TTYL8R - Talk To You Later

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Certainly, technological adaptations mustn't be allowed to replace or ruin students' use of and mastery over standard written English. However, I have found that habitually abreviating words does in fact make text entry into hand-held devices like my Treo 650 PDA phone a whole lot faster and easier.

Times change. Technology advances. The march of progress continues.

IMHO it's really NBD.

GTG. CUL8R!

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

NYC Bribes Students To Improve Academic Performance

Parents paying little Johnny or Suzie for each "A" on their report cards is a tried and true motivational strategy well known within America's more affluent families.

But when New York City herself gets into the act, it's natural to wonder if this practice has gone just a bit too far. Under a new system, high school students getting high scores on advanced placement exams could earn thousands of dollars in prize money!

From an article in the New York Times:

The city is expanding the use of cash rewards for students who take standardized tests with a $1 million effort financed by philanthropists who will pay students who do well on Advanced Placement exams.

High school students who get a top score, a five, on the exams will earn $1,000. A score of four will be worth $750, while a three will earn $500.

What do I think?

America has, in so many ways, devolved in recent decades into a culture of middling results and expectations based on the luxury of denial that affluence affords. Nowhere is this more evident than in our schools. In my opinion, the sorry state of education in our nation is so dire and desperate that we should do whatever works, whatever it takes, to turn things around. And if this means local governments colluding with private benefactors to bribe students into working harder on academics, so be it!

Relying on greed to motivate kids to do their work is a pretty miserable thing to have to do, and the need to do so says it all regarding the sad state of affairs in early 21st century America. Sure, learning for its own sake and for that of personal development and character building should be the norm. But this truly is an emergency, and we truly do need to find a way to climb out of the whole into which we've dug ourselves. Remembering that "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride," it's far too late for us to categorically say "no" to anything that might work to reverse our national slide into horrifying mediocrity.

If bribing students gets them to work harder and achieve more, and taxpayer money isn't involved ... I say that's fine, for now.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

M.I.T. For Free

A movement has recently begun within universities all over the world to make their course content available to anyone on Earth with an internet connection – for free! No fees, no application, no restrictions. Just knowledge, freely available to any and all. M.I.T. initiated the OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement in 2002, and now, 120 other universities from all over the world have followed suit, publishing the complete content of all or part of their course catalog.

College students, curious "self learners," and professors from countries as diverse as Dubai, France, Morocco, and New Zealand are benefiting from the free availability of the very best university level course material. From schools as prestigious as M.I.T., Tufts, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Tokyo, Hanoi Medical University, and Harvard Law School, published OCW content includes class syllabi, lectures in audio and/or video form, homework, notes, illustrations, etc. – literally all course material that can be transmitted electronically.

M.I.T. soon plans to have its entire course list (all 1,800 classes) freely available online. The Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore plans to offer half of its courses as OCW by the end of this year (40 of it's 200 classes are already available), and others are following suit.

The amazing generosity of these institutions of higher learning is simply stunning, and aside from realizing their commitment to the free availability of knowledge also serves to inspire true hope, sincere gratitude, and genuine pride in many.

Here's how one Parisian student put it:

"The MIT OCW program is a generous and far-sighted initiative that will do more to change the world for the better than a thousand Iraq-style invasions," the MIT site quotes Leigh Pascoe, a self-learner in Paris, as saying. "It does much to restore my faith in the enlightenment of the American people and their great experiment in democracy. This program should be emulated by every university worthy of the name."

While OCW materials don't come close to replacing on-campus classes at the world's best universities, where interaction among students and professors, commented homework, lab assignments, etc., will always ensure plenty of demand for "the real thing," the possibilities for independent study by individuals from around the world who seek to begin or supplement various academic pursuits are seemingly endless.

Bravo, M.I.T. – and thank you!

Click here to read an excellent article on this subject in the Christian Science Monitor Online.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

What's Finland Doing Right?

An article in BBC News tells of the extraordinary success of Finland's academic establishment.

Based on tests comparing 15-year-old students in 2006, the rankings released by PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) showed the Scandinavian nation in the top five for reading and math, and in the number one slot for science achievement.

Approaching in Finland's rear view mirror are competitors from Asia Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

From the BBC News article:

The latest findings also show the extent of global competition in education - with the northern European countries now challenged by and overtaken by Asian rivals, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

South Korea has continued to strengthen its position - after a remarkable rise in achievement against international competitors.

In the 1960s, the OECD says South Korea's national wealth was similar to Afghanistan's.

But a sustained drive in education has seen it rise to the upper ranks in international education leagues - both in subject scores and in completion rates in secondary school.

As with Finland, there has been an emphasis in South Korea on education as a key to economic success and the "knowledge economy."

Where did the U.S. rank? In the middle of the "below average" range for mathematics, lagging behind Spain, Hungary, and Azerbaijan (a test administration error precluded a reading result for the U.S.).

A Washington Post article elaborates further on American students' poor performance on this important international assessment.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Which Majors Net Highest First Year Pay?

An article on MSN's careerbuilder.com web site is a great resource for money-minded college students pondering the question of which major to select.

Listed are the "Top 10 Starting Salaries by College Major," along with brief descriptions of career paths open to graduates with academic emphases in those fields.

From the article:

Whether you're a recent grad who's been living in your parents' basement since Commencement Day or in the midst of your college career trying to figure out what you should major in, there's good news coming your way.

According to a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), members of the class of 2007 can expect to earn bigger starting salaries as they enter the workforce than their predecessors. Results show that the average starting salary has increased across many disciplines since last year, the result of increased competition among employers for employees fresh out of college. Furthermore, hiring managers expect this trend to continue for years to come.

Which college major led to the highest entry-level salary in 2007 (according to a study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers)?

Chemical Engineering: $59,361.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

The Elvis of Classical Music?

This young conductor is poised to change the history of music.

Slated to take over as director of the L.A. Philharmonic in 2009, Gustavo Dudamel knows how to communicate the essence and beauty of western classical music in a way no one seems to have seen in decades. He may, in fact, be the one who rescues classical music from increasing cultural irrelevance and puts it back at center stage on radios, ipods, and stages everywhere, where it belongs.

Dudamel was saved by music and the Venezuelan System (a government-sponsored initiative to train poor children to become accomplished musicians as an alternative to impoverishment and criminal street life). Who knows how many other game-changing individuals are waiting for a chance to fulfill basic survival needs so they can share rare and powerful talents with humanity?

Say what you want about Venezuelan socialism; Duhamel's magic is one of its fruits.

If you have a few minutes, give yourself a gift and watch the video piece on Dudamel produced by 60 Minutes. See another excellent Duhamel interview here.

Gustavo reveals, through his genius and passion, the creative artist within each of us. He reminds us, shows us, through music, that this is it! This is what it is to be human. This is what the struggle is for. This is why it all matters.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Best Education News Sites

The vastness of the internet notwithstanding, I've found relatively few sites that do a very good job of aggregating news on education.

Below is an annotated list of my favorite education news sites.

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Yahoo! News Full Coverage: Education

Breaking stories, feature articles, and op-ed pieces covering a wide range of educational topics and concerns:

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/US/Education

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Newsweek Education

An excellent site offering a very interesting selection of featured news stories about all aspects of education and learning:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8573372/site/newsweek/

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New York Times Education News

A good list of recent articles covering national and local NYC issues in education:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/education/

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National Science Teachers Association

A sizable collection of articles focusing mainly on matters of higher education:

http://newsite.nsta.org/educationnews/&category_ID=194

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Mathematical Mind Reading Revisited

Here’s another mathemagic trick you can learn that will astound your friends, neighbors, children, parents – and instill in them a new respect for the entertainment value of basic algebra. It's not hard to learn, and might work on your math teacher, as well.

Instructions:

Pick any number, and you must remember it (the victim thinks whatever, maybe 2, or 7 – but you think "x").

Multiply by 4. (Victim thinks: 8 or 28, you think 4x.)

Add 5. (Victim: 13 or 33, you: 4x + 5.)

Add 6. (Victim: 19 or 39, you: 4x + 11.)

Subtract 3. (Victim: 16 or 36, you: 4x + 8; notice both parts of “4x + 8” divide evenly by 4.)

Divide by 4. (Victim: 4 or 9, you: 1x + 2 or simply x + 2; notice that you've now returned to "x," the original number.)

Now ... SUBTRACT YOUR ORIGINAL NUMBER. (The “x” is taken away! victim: 2 or 2, you: 2.)

You now know exactly what your victim is thinking! So, now, you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to your heart's content, knowing with absolute certainty that you are accurately “reading” your victim’s mind. Finally, at the end of your list of instructions, announce with great fanfare (rubbing your temples, etc.) what number the victim is thinking of ... and notice with wry smile the dropped jaw and blank stare of amazement.

Note: to avoid mistakes that could spoil your performance, first hand your victim a calculator to use, and be sure that your first two instructions are to multiply and/or add; this way you'll avoid the possibility of your victims having to struggle with troublesome negative numbers.

This trick is especially effective with a group of victims (say, an entire classroom of fellow students, or the guests at a dinner party) all following your instructions simultaneously. No matter what numbers the various victims think of initially, as soon as you give the "subtract the original number" instruction, the variable is eliminated, and you are ALL now thinking of the same number, no matter what. VERY impressive! That's the beauty of algebra: that you can work with unknown numbers just as you do with known numbers, because numbers are numbers, whether known or unknown, and always obey the same rules.

With practice, entirely new routines similar to the example above can be improvised on the spot, at will, several times in a row if necessary, to convince your victim of your uncanny psychic powers. You can then, if you wish, show your victims (preferably with pencil and paper handy) how easy it is to perform the trick using basic algebra.

Suggestions:

• First practice this trick by yourself several times, using paper and pencil, playing the roles of victim and mind reader, until you're very confident that you can easily and correctly perform it.

• It’s a good idea to give your victim a calculator to work with (so they don’t make mistakes – which will make you look bad).

• Make your second instruction an addition command, to avoid having to work with negative numbers.

• It's helpful to obfuscate the trick involved by instructing victims to "add the numbers of fingers in your left hand" or "divide by the number of A's in America" instead of merely saying "add 5" or "divide by 2."

Have fun!

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Test Dates: 2008-2009

Having a clear test preparation plan is crucial in achieving success on major standardized tests like the SAT, SAT Subjects Tests, ACT, PSAT, SSAT, and HSPT.

Testing dates scheduled during the 2008-2009 school year have now been released for most of these tests. As soon as possible, select the test dates that work best from the list below, and arrange your plans accordingly.

For further information about a particular test, click the "more information" link provided at the end of the appropriate list of dates, below.

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ACT Dates: 2008-2009

9/13/08

10/25/08

12/13/08

2/7/09

4/4/09

6/13/09

See the ACT web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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HSPT Dates: 2008-2009

Test dates vary. The most common dates are in the fall and spring.

Contact high school admissions departments to confirm test and registration dates.

Click here for more information.

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PSAT Dates: 2008-2009

10/15/08 or 10/18/08

10/14/09 or 10/17/09

Contact the student's high school to confirm test and registration dates (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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SAT Dates: 2008-2009

10/4/08

11/1/08

12/6/08

1/24/09

3/14/09

5/2/09

6/6/09

See the College Board web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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SAT Subject Test Dates: 2008-2009

10/4/08

11/1/08

12/6/08

1/24/09

5/2/09

6/6/09

See the College Board web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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SSAT Dates: 2008-2009

10/11/08

11/8/08

12/13/08

1/10/09

2/7/09

3/7/09

4/18/09

6/13/09

See the SSAT web site for registration details (plan to register at least one month in advance).

Click here for more information.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Are Teaching And Learning Gender-Neutral?

However politically incorrect it may be to say so, it appears that research is confirming yet again the important, innate role played by gender in human socialization and development – this time in an educational context, specifically, in the effect gender has upon essential classroom learning dynamics.

An Associated Press story published on August 28, 2006 discussed the controversial findings of a recent study concerning the effect of gender on teaching and learning.

Here's the introduction:

“For all the differences between the sexes, here's one that might stir up debate in the teacher's lounge: Boys learn more from men and girls learn more from women.

That's the upshot of a study by Thomas Dee, an associate professor of economics at Swarthmore College and visiting scholar at Stanford University. His study was to appear today in Education Next, a quarterly journal published by the Hoover Institution.”

For the complete text of the article, click here.

My two cents:

There is, in fact, a clear advantage to same gender instruction. It's common sense that most teenagers will be less distracted in such an environment, and, without the pressure to impress the opposite sex, more comfortable and therefore more open and able to learn. In general, instructors also experience enhanced rapport and ease with students of the same gender. Males and females have significant, innate differences in the way they perceive and communicate; recently discovered gender-based adaptations in brain physiology underscore these important distinctions. To deny these critical differences is to ignore reality – and this is certainly no way to effectively refine either pedagogy or educational policy.

It's a terrible fact that, in America today, we are fast losing the educational race. It's time to take a very serious look at anything and everything that could have a marked impact on the quality, discipline, and productivity of our public schools, including single sex education, school uniforms, et al. The time has long since passed for us to choose, as individuals and as a nation, between the nonsense of political correctness and the imperative of bona fide excellence in education.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.