Outside Knowledge on the VR Section - MCAT

Outside knowledge is definitely a big no-no on the Verbal Reasoning section, whether on natural science passages or any other type. There have been times when some of my students have known enough about a passage topic to be able to argue the point with the author; don’t do this. For the purpose of the MCAT, go with what the author says, even if you believe that s/he is full of, ahem, excrement. You are being tested on your ability to understand the author’s argument and apply it to new scenarios, NOT on the objective validity of the argument. So stay focused on the point the author is making, and don’t ever think about your own beliefs on the topic.

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Peruvian teachers on strike

This has been interesting to watch around here. There are loads of teachers on strike, and they have been since July 5. Remember, since we’re south of the equator, it’s cold here and school is not on summer break like it is in the states.

Here is a Forbes.com article that is worth the read.

I have seen the teachers (!) marching around the city. Here are some facts I have gathered by listening to the radio and reading the news online, as well as talking to loads of taxi drivers. These may not be right, but they are presented in good faith.

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Linkin? (B)Logs: A New Literacy of Hyperlinks

Bud pointed to a new article, Linkin’ (B)logs: A New Literacy of Hyperlinks, in the English Journal column “New Voices” by Tiffany J. Hunt and Bud Hunt. They are the column editors for the EJ column. It is a terrific article speaking about the read/write Web  in this participatory culture. The article posts about the obstacle of filtering and how it “blocks” us. I really like reading the story of Bud’s learning from blogging and the community of readers and writers he has met along the way. I identify with that and also with the teaching of blogging being hard. It is the building of a different type of community and this article helps us define the literacy development better. It is so encouraging to me to see this quality of writing about the learning with students. We need more articles where work with students is shared.
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Reading gap is nation’s worst

Reading gap is nation's worst Average ability of state's black students ranks lowestBy ALAN J. BORSUK
aborsuk@journalsentinel.comPosted: Sept. 25, 2007

The average reading ability for fourth- and eighth-grade black students in Wisconsin is the lowest of any state, and the reading achievement gap between black students and white students in Wisconsin continues to be the worst in the nation.

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A Bit Of A Breakthrough

On Their Own

I know this may not seem like that big a deal to many, but for me this was a bit of a breakthrough. Last Monday morning I took my wife to the doctor for a check-up on her broken knee, so naturally I had a substitute teacher. The breakthrough was that almost the entire morning was done on their laptops with a substitute that knew nothing about using them. My plans involved them using our class wiki to access online math activities and later to do schema building pre-reading activities and writing activities and the students were able to handle that on their own.

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College Degree Still Worth Investment, Economists Say - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"What's worse than being 12 years out of high school and on your way to having $40,000 in debt?Being 30 years old, with no college degree, making $15 an hour.That's why Jesse Mullan has taken a risk and gone back to college, sitting in classrooms with college juniors who were 8 years old when he graduated from high school in St. Paul, Minn., in 1994.Mullan, who expects to graduate from college in 2008, figures that taking on debt to further his education Read the rest of this entry »