I have listened for many years to people who believe ADHD is a myth. One would think that with brain scans and MRIs showing different brain functioning between “normal” and “ADD” brains would put the myth to rest. It still lingers on. Is Attention Deficit Disorder a new disorder, discovered and hyped in the 70s and 80s? The condition was actually first described by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman in 1845. He was also a poet as well as a medical doctor, and he wrote a “book” of poems and stories called “The Story of Fidgety Phillip”.
Full Story »Thanksgiving thoughts from Tam
My son is on a plane as I write, heading home for Thanksgiving. He is a freshman at the University of Redlands, and he is loving every moment of it. Sadly, my daughter won’t be home this year, she is in Maine with family, and we will miss her. She is doing a postgrad program in photography at BU. I will also see many of my “other children”, friends of my children and students both past and present. I am looking forward to seeing them all, but I am also reflecting on Tracy Fisher, my student and blogger who passed away so suddenly just a month ago.
Full Story »Get Answers about Community College
Dr Kay McClenney has been answering reader questions on the NY Times Choice Blog this week about Community Colleges. I blogged earlier in the week about Dr McClenney, she is the director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas in Austin. This report is a measure of student engagement at community colleges as the National Survey of Student Engagement is to four year institutions. The findings are important: the most critical factor for success at a community college is connection.
Full Story »A Lazy Saturday
It is an absolutely gorgeous day in sunny Dallas. I would even venture to call it PERFECT. So why am I working instead of outside enjoying this day in the great outdoors? Dedication? Well, partly that. Mostly, I just love what I do.
Full Story »Colleges are like people!
They have distinctive personalities. I just returned from visiting four wonderful universities in and around Austin, Tx….each is a great school for the right fit student, but these four colleges have very different personalities. Colleges and universities are not “one size fits all”.
Full Story »My Thoughts are with Tracy
I received a call about an hour ago that one of my students, Tracy, who also has blogged for me as “a budding journalist”, passed away today.
Full Story »College with a personal concierge? Give me a break.
Please. Give me a break. In case you haven’t seen the article in the Boston Globe, let me clue you in: a freshman from California was sent to Boston University with a personal concierge, instead of a parent, to move her in. In addition, the concierge continues to “take care” of the student, compliments of mom and dad. As I said, GIVE ME A BREAK.
Full Story »America: Falling?
The news about American education and the standard of living in our country is rather grim. The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that the dominance of American higher education is eroding.
Full Story »Students who “buy” grades instead of earning them
US Students buy, instead of try, to excel in school. While President Barack Obama, an example of the benefits of education, exhorts students to work hard in school, some students purchase essays online. This article on Yahoo gives examples of how students get caught doing this, but it ignores the larger issue, I think. The issue of character and integrity.
Full Story »On the road, again…
I am currently in Boston helping my daughter get settled into her new apartment and her new life as a photography student at Boston University’s Center for the Digital Imaging Arts in Waltham, Ma. Today we stopped by the facilities which are located on Moody Street, a funky and eclectic street and the focus of [...]
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