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.