The use of the word “I” in academic writing, that is writing in the first person, has a troublesome history. Some say it makes writing too subjective, others that it’s essential for accuracy. This is reflected in how students, particularly in secondary schools, are trained to write. Teachers I work with are often surprised that I […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
We should use ‘I’ more in academic writing – there is benefit to first-person perspective
Critical theory represents the power, not the corruption, of the humanities
It would seem as if the Trump era has been especially bad for the humanities. Sure, in the years before 2016 there was constant worry about “the crisis in the humanities”, with the disciplines’ supposed descent into jargon, specialisation and obscurity. Undergraduate enrolments fell. Literature and language departments closed. Even President Obama, a former law […] … learn more→
Why it is more lazy to read poetry than narrative in school
The main literary genres (lyrical, narrative and theater) have survived in our modern history and it seems that their future does not present doubts as to their permanence in cultural uses and in the processes that concern the formation of people. However, it is inevitable to consider what is the use made of each of them […] … learn more→
A largely female teaching force is standing up for public education
Across Canada, issues related to education are regularly making headlines. Ontario teachers have been on rotating strikes, B.C. teachers have been without a contract since last June and both Manitoba and Alberta are reviewing their education systems. In our research, we are examining the language, stories and messages that are being generated by governments, the media and the public at large about […] … learn more→
Schools don’t feel like safe spaces for LGBT teachers
From September 2020, schools in England will be required to teach relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) that includes LGBT relationships. This means that pupils will, for the first time, learn about all kinds of families and relationships, not just those that are heterosexual. Some parents and people in faith communities have protested outside school gates opposing the efforts […] … learn more→
Looking like a scientist
I have a wardrobe full of food-print dresses, hundreds of pairs of food shaped earrings, a collection of food-themed hair accessories, and even a handbag shaped like a lemon wedge. If you follow me on social media, you will see a new combination of foods multiple times a week. But I’m not a fashion account […] … learn more→
Tutoring kids who don’t need it is a booming business in affluent areas where parents want to stack the deck
Many relatively well-off parents drive their kids to special activities after school. On top of trips to soccer practices and games or piano lessons and recitals, they increasingly make one more stop: a trip to their local after-school tutoring center. In most cases these children don’t attend underfunded schools or need help competing with those in […] … learn more→
Understanding emotions is nearly as important as IQ for students’ academic success
The ability to understand emotions contributes almost as much to students’ grades as their IQ. Past studies show two personal qualities are important for student academic success – intelligence and conscientiousness. IQ scores explain about 15% of the differences between students’ grades. Conscientiousness, such as having the diligence to do enough study, explains about 5%. Our recent research has found […] … learn more→
Writing advice – caveat emptor
Advice. Loads of it. Coming out of our ears. And on every possible topic, including research and writing. Advice needs readers. But we readers also need to be, as Ernest Hemingway put it, “crap detectors”. Howard Rheingold has worked up this idea, using Hemingway’s terminology. Rheingold has developed a little protocol that can be used to […] … learn more→
Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law
A bill pending in Missouri’s legislature takes aim at libraries and librarians who are making “age-inappropriate sexual material” available to children. The measure, championed by Ben Baker, a Republican lawmaker, calls for establishing review boards who would determine whether materials in libraries contain or promote “nudity, sexuality, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.” In addition, […] … learn more→
