Student Guide Corner

Before I get started today, I wanted to pass along a link to a great article (sent to me recently by a friend) titled �Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results�:      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304213904579095303368899132.html There was a lot that I loved about this article but here are two great observations: �An entire industry of books and consultants has grown up that capitalizes on our collective fear that American education is inadequate and asks what American educators are doing wrong.    I would ask a different question. What did Mr. K (a teacher that he profiles) do right? What can we learn from a teacher whose methods fly in the face of everything we think we know about education today, but who was undeniably effective?� �Studies have now shown, among other things, the benefits of moderate childhood stress; how praise kills kids' self-esteem; and why grit is a better predictor of success than SAT scores.� Read it � I�ll bet you�l...

Not long ago, I friend of mine who teaches English here at the University of Richmond asked me �is it possible that we are all in the buggy whip business and we don�t even know it?� In other words, has education changed so quickly and so dramatically that many of us are going to get left behind?  (or, have already been left behind?) It is easy to dismiss that idea (because we want to dismiss that idea). Of course, the times are changing. Everyone can obviously see in the newspapers, television, and Internet that the world of education is evolving. But there will always be room in this world for the kind of college teaching that you and I do. The core of a college education has not really changed much since I was a freshman in 1966. Some version of that model will surely continue on forever. Surely it is sustainable? Surely? Or maybe not. A friend of mine here at Richmond sent me a link to two videos at www.epic2020.org. I only watched the first one (I�m in the middle of preparing t...