Student performance matters. Students who perform well have better health, earn a larger income and contribute more to society than those who perform poorly. As a consequence, psychologists, teachers and even parents have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to understand what makes or breaks success. Personality factors that explain how people differ may […] … learn more→

PhDers sometimes find writing the thesis methods chapter a pretty tedious business. But the methods chapter is a key part of the examination process – it shows that the researcher knows how to research. You see, examiners make their decision – yes or no, this person can be Dr – on the back of this […] … learn more→

The whole “global warming” nonsense (hint: cooling is more credible) really is remarkable. Time and again when I bring this up with my low-information friends, I’m told (among other talking points to be sure) how scientists by and large agree the world is burning up into a cinder unless we do something about it right […] … learn more→

The comic constitutes a unique cultural phenomenon: until very recently, it barely raised academic interest. Due to the satirical tone and the caricatural bias that cultivated in the nineteenth century; or to the childish character, often moralizing, that was in the XX; or the popularity – not free of vulgarity – that reached between 1930 and 1960, has […] … learn more→

Two dozen students sat at a circle of desks, engaged in a heated discussion about whether race or class was the most significant disadvantage in our society. These students, like the majority of those who attend the City College of New York, come from working-class families. Most are from racial minorities, several are immigrants themselves […] … learn more→

Weaving and hoarding There’s a striking moment in George Eliot’s 1861 novel, Silas Marner, when the miserly weaver is described as being so entirely reduced to the “functions of weaving and hoarding” that his face and figure shrink and bend themselves into “a constant mechanical relation to the objects of his life”. Marner works his loom […] … learn more→

From the choice of books in original formats to the sharing of stories or playful workshops around writing, parents and educators compete to help the young generations to forge strong links with books. Promoting reading as a pleasure is the leitmotif that drives libraries, book fairs and Ministry of Culture campaigns . How does the school support this relationship to the […] … learn more→

Democratic presidential candidates are proposing bold new approaches to the federal government’s role in public education. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Cory Booker want to triple the US$15 billion spent annually on Title I, a program that sends federal dollars to high-poverty school districts. Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to go further and quadruple funding for that same program. She also wants to make quality child care […] … learn more→

Definition Translation just indicates the particular rendering of text from source to target language. You ought to additionally know that your text will just be read by the translator whose work is to translate your text. Often the written texts are a bit tough for the individual reviewing it thus that individual seeks the aid […] … learn more→

Half of the world population is bilingual, but only 25% of Americans can hold a conversation in another language. Changing that is one of the goals of language advocacy efforts, such as the Lead with Languages campaign. As the author of a book on what I refer to as America’s language deficit, here are what I see as seven of […] … learn more→