How every teacher can transform their under-performing classroom tomorrow

The headline of this month’s Harvard Education Letter is seductively simple: “Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions.” The advice is undeniably practical. But will asking questions alone suffice to create engaging classroom dialogues? The article highlights the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), a technique for encouraging students to direct inquiry in the classroom, engage with each other and develop critical thinking skills. A teacher whose students are under-engaged in the classroom would do well by her students to study the QFT technique and begin testing elements of it. If nothing else, QFT shows that “Any questions?” following a lecture will not provoke many questions. To engage students, questions must be engaging, too. Though effective, QFT is only half the equation. Students need to ask questions, yes. But they need to answer them, too. The teacher plays the role of guide, facilitator, and provocateur. Most teachers I had operated under the [...]

College Q&A: Why Learn A New Language?

Learning an additional language is a lot like learning how to paint with colors after a lifetime of using grayscale. I took Spanish and French in high school, and then Russian at university. Each one has helped me re-experience a world that was only ever monolingual. When I was given the opportunity to practice my Spanish skills, I took it. That opportunity was going to Mexico. Although I had just graduated from college and had several years’ worth of studying the language, I still only spoke Spanish like a grade-schooler. Being humbled was the best learning experience of my life. It was as if I was given a second chance to learn how to walk and talk.

Why Do We Go To College?

I want you to ask yourself a question. What does it mean to you to have a college degree? Some may say that it means they will have a better job or that they will be making more money. Others simply go because it was what was expected of them. Maybe to even attend the same school their elders did to keep with traditions. But genuinely, deep down, what will having a college degree mean for you and your life? Having a college degree does not guarantee a job, nor good pay. Especially not in this day and age, during which applicants are removing their well-deserved master’s degrees from their resumes to obtain entry-level positions. If this is what the economic downfall of the decade has in store, what is really the value? The truth is, I am writing an essay for a college course, and I came across an [...]

Why College? Part 6 — Rejecting College Rejections

How to turn that NO into a YES (sort of): Rejecting College Rejections.