I like the 'on-the-street' reporting.
As the article points out, Mr. Beberman can't be googled, or found in the telephone directory, so to have gotten this story the author must have done some pretty thorough research (or the issue could have been mentioned to the author at bleak, seltzerless dining table).
The story is refreshing and informative--I had no idea seltzer water still came 'fresh' like that. I thought Perrier, Pellegrino, and their relatives were it.
Maybe I'm a bit sentimental, but I appreciated the glimpse into a single person's life (who happened to affect the lives of many others). It's definitely important to receive news on global issues, but this, in my opinion, is equally important--it's soul food. It's reassuring that these community-serving businesses exist, and that their disappearance won't go unnoticed.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Here's a fireman's suit, now go learn!
I found this piece interesting because it offers an option to the military-style academic regimen that's employed in a lot of schools--the 'keep your nose in the books if you want to learn anything' approach. I attended high school in Saudi Arabia, where it was more about memorizing than actually understanding the material at hand, and I've already forgotten most of what was then drilled into my head.
As the article points out, the predominant route that kids have been pushed to follow in the past decade, the 'preacademic approach', has less positive effects than first hypothesized, No Child Left Behind being a poignant example, with ample data to support its ineffectiveness. (Maybe part of the reason I like this article is because I'm one of the few at MIT who didn't go this route, so it kind of justifies my being here, and rules out that I might have slipped through the admissions-cracks). This trend is something I too have noticed, and it does seem to churn out some pretty mechanical-type thinkers, so it rang true to me. The author also provides concrete, albeit recently acquired data on the effectiveness of this new approach-- with emphasis on how to think, as opposed to what to think about (content)--which further solidifies the argument, so to me, he makes his point. It even seems a more natural way to go about the 'learning' process, at least when compared to the 'study study study' alternative.
Although not directly related to the central topic of teaching/learning methods, I would've liked to see more on the relationship between the effects of the widespread use of stimulants in children, and their capacity to learn and function in this new environment.
The Tools Of The Mind approach is clearly an effective one. If only that was the only factor that played into the viability of its widespread implementation. I guess time will tell.
As the article points out, the predominant route that kids have been pushed to follow in the past decade, the 'preacademic approach', has less positive effects than first hypothesized, No Child Left Behind being a poignant example, with ample data to support its ineffectiveness. (Maybe part of the reason I like this article is because I'm one of the few at MIT who didn't go this route, so it kind of justifies my being here, and rules out that I might have slipped through the admissions-cracks). This trend is something I too have noticed, and it does seem to churn out some pretty mechanical-type thinkers, so it rang true to me. The author also provides concrete, albeit recently acquired data on the effectiveness of this new approach-- with emphasis on how to think, as opposed to what to think about (content)--which further solidifies the argument, so to me, he makes his point. It even seems a more natural way to go about the 'learning' process, at least when compared to the 'study study study' alternative.
Although not directly related to the central topic of teaching/learning methods, I would've liked to see more on the relationship between the effects of the widespread use of stimulants in children, and their capacity to learn and function in this new environment.
The Tools Of The Mind approach is clearly an effective one. If only that was the only factor that played into the viability of its widespread implementation. I guess time will tell.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Needle in a haystack, or behind a white picket fence?
For once, I appreciate the overcast Boston day that's unfolding outside my window. It's the appropriate setting for an article I stumbled upon today, both gray and depressing.
The story focuses on the sharp increase in heroin usage among middle and upper class kids, its pervasiveness, and (obvious) detrimental effects. The author clearly did his research, as I had heard about most of the drugs he mentioned--at parties, in university hallways, among friends even. So he would have had to really 'get in there' to get the facts.
However, what I would have liked to see is a comparison between usage among kids from different layers of society. Heroin is apparently pretty cheap now, as he points out in the article, which renders it accessible to people from most of the income-spectrum. Some contrast might provide a link to understanding its widespread use. The problem with the argument presented is that it's lacking; all we know is that apart from the sheer enjoyment of the euphoric high, the interviewees were inadvertently pushed to it by societal pressures to excel and succeed. I feel there might be more to it.
The story focuses on the sharp increase in heroin usage among middle and upper class kids, its pervasiveness, and (obvious) detrimental effects. The author clearly did his research, as I had heard about most of the drugs he mentioned--at parties, in university hallways, among friends even. So he would have had to really 'get in there' to get the facts.
However, what I would have liked to see is a comparison between usage among kids from different layers of society. Heroin is apparently pretty cheap now, as he points out in the article, which renders it accessible to people from most of the income-spectrum. Some contrast might provide a link to understanding its widespread use. The problem with the argument presented is that it's lacking; all we know is that apart from the sheer enjoyment of the euphoric high, the interviewees were inadvertently pushed to it by societal pressures to excel and succeed. I feel there might be more to it.
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