by Victoria Elliott, Spring 2013 Intern
Starting with the 2013–2014 school year, students in
five states will be spending 300 more hours per year at their desks. Schools in
Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee will extend their
time with students, individually choosing to accumulate the extra hours through
longer days, longer school years or a combination thereof.
Advocates claim that this extra time, by providing more
student–teacher contact hours, will give a needed boost to underperforming schools.
Kuss Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts, evidences this boost.
In 2005, Kuss was labeled as “chronically
underperforming.” When Massachusetts began to subsidize longer days with an
extra $1,300 per student in 2007, Kuss put the extra 300 hours into place as a
test run. The test run proved positive, and Kuss has kept up with the extra
hours, starting the school day at 7:10 a.m., much earlier than most schools.
This early first bell gives students an extra ninety minutes with their
teachers every day and has dramatically increased results on standardized
testing scores in math and reading. Additionally, the longer day has allowed
more time for extracurricular activities, such as art, dance and music. Since
2007, Kuss’s reputation as underperforming has faded away, and enrollment has
increased dramatically, even extending to a wait list.
Another school that employs this extra hours method is
Saltonstall School in Salem, Massachusetts. Saltonstall was developed in 1995 as
a “break the mold” type of school, a K–8 that has completely turned away from
the regular school schedule. At Saltonstall, days run from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The school year is longer as well, modifying the calendar to stretch all the
way until the end of July. With this method, students attend school in six- to
seven-week sessions, taking a weeklong break in between. Longer days have also
allowed Saltonstall to create Friday Clubs, two hours a week that students
participate in a chosen special interest club run by parents or volunteers.
Though some believe that schools simply need to make
better use of the time they already have, the benefits for students of a longer
school day appear to be myriad. Many schools are already working together with
teachers to make longer days viable and working with unions to make longer days
voluntary and with better pay.
With the nineteen schools in Massachusetts and a good
deal more throughout the country that already employ the longer days, there
seems to be promise that the initiative will become customary. Fall River
Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown has already seen a change in her own child, a
student at Kuss Middle School, since the added hours. She says she is “able to
see as a parent how engaged [her] child was at school. He wanted to go each and
every day.” Hopefully, this positive change for Mayo-Brown’s child will be observed
in other students as the initiative begins more trials next school year.
Further Reading
Kelsey Sheehy, “Experts Challenge High Schools to Revamp
Outdated School Day, Year,” U.S News
& World Report, December 2, 2012, http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2012/12/12/experts-challenge-high-schools-to-revamp-outdated-school-day-year.
Phil Hirschkorn and Jeff Glor, “Longer School Days Take
Hold in Massachusetts,” CBS Evening News website, March 10, 2013, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57573499/longer-school-days-take-hold-in-massachusetts/.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
YA Novel Transforms on Big Screen
by Jessie Miller, Summer Intern 2013
Judy Blume: one of the most prolific and influential writers of the young adult (YA) novels publishing craze. Her books, which explore sensitive and real-life topics applicable to many teens, have been both incredibly popular and controversial. Released June 7, the movie adaptation of Blume’s 1981 Bradbury Press novel Tiger Eyes features the first of her books to hit the big screen, yet it remains true to Blume’s original story—including controversial material that awarded it the number 78 spot on the American Library Association’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000.
The YA books-turned-movies industry has recently been dominated by widely popular, fantasy fiction, dystopian world stories, including series such as The Hunger Games, Twilight and Harry Potter. But Tiger Eyes could not be more different from these cult franchises: Blume’s film presents the realistic plot of a teenager dealing with her father’s sudden death and its effect on her family. Willa Holland, as protagonist Davey, embodies the perfect film version of a classic Blume teenager, yet the film takes on a very different tone.
Having been originally released over three decades ago, Tiger Eyes demanded an updated portrayal of Davey and her tragic story; the result is an edgier, off-the-wall film that appeals to an entirely different audience than its previously mentioned YA counterparts. Instead of an action-packed, unrealistic story featuring dramatic heroic teens, Tiger Eyes is a refreshing look at the inner world of a teenage girl who is wrestling with the emotions of loss, confusion and adolescence.
Yes, Katniss (from The Hunger Games series) and Davey are completely different characters, but the parallels and disparities between both girls’ lives point out an interesting trend in novel publishing and film production: The majority of today’s YA films are based around adrenaline rushes and unrealistic situations, while Blume’s film falls perfectly into a different genre of Bildungsroman plots. Upon watching Tiger Eyes, I was instantly reminded of films like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Never Let Me Go, and upcoming release The Fault in Our Stars—all of which originate in novels.
So why did it take so long for Blume’s books, which transformed the young adult genre and touched millions of young girls’ lives, to reach movie production? The answer remains unclear—and I still don’t understand why now—but I believe Judy Blume’s need for creative control and the desire for her own son to direct the movie were determining factors. Though the movie version may be long overdue, I’m glad the Blumes stayed true to their own vision, because the final product is remarkable. Judy Blume’s dedication to the movie and Lawrence Blume’s long-time love of the book have created a film that transcends and transforms the original message of Tiger Eyes. Davey is no longer an adolescent teen—she is a passionate force leading the publishing fight back to its roots, something I greatly look forward to.
Further Reading
Jeannette Catsoulis, “Young Girl Grapples with the Facts of Life: ‘Tiger Eyes,’ Directed by Lawrence Blume,” June 6, 2012, The New York Times, http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/movies/tiger-eyes-directed-by-lawrence-blume.html.
“Judy Blume Hits the Big Screen with ‘Tiger Eyes’ Adaptation,” June 7, 2013, NPR website, http://www.npr.org/2013/06/07/189271315/judy-blume-hits-the-big-screen-with-tiger-eyes-adaptation.
Nicole Sperling, “Judy Blume’s Road to ‘Tiger Eyes’ the Movie and Her Next Chapter, June 7, 2013, Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-ca-judy-blume-20130609,0,3932030,full.story.
Sara Vilkomerson, “Are You There Hollywood? It’s Me, Judy Blume,” May 13, 2013, Entertainment Weekly, http://shelf-life.ew.com/2013/05/13/judy-blume-hollywood-tiger-eyes/
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Actively Ignoring Bad Behavior
by Ashley Alongi, Intern Spring 2013
Instead of calling attention to students who misbehave, teachers in some schools are now practicing a technique called “active ignoring.” The idea behind it is simple: Teachers are no longer reprimanding students for their bad behavior but instead waiting for them to correct it on their own. When a student exhibits good conduct, they are verbally praised. For example, a teacher won’t acknowledge a student who calls out an answer. Instead of telling them to raise their hands or that they shouldn’t call out, teachers only acknowledge students with their hands in the air and who are doing the right thing.
This technique is similar to one used with parents and misbehaving children, and psychologists are curious about how well the idea will adapt to being used in a group setting. These Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) programs are being tested in several schools and are focused on preschool children; early findings suggest that not just the regularly misbehaving students improve, but the behaving students improve as well.
The principle behind active ignoring is that teachers and students need to build strong positive relationships. To do that, teachers need to acknowledge positive behavior, which in addition to building those positive relationships, also reinforces that the behaviors are the right thing to do. The goal of TCIT is to have students hear three positive comments for each negative one.
Active ignoring doesn’t only help students when in the classroom. Through active ignoring, children learn how to calm themselves down when upset. It also shows students that there are consistent consequences for their actions and helps them to establish limits and learn what is right and wrong to do.
Discipline actions are still taken if a child is seriously misbehaving. However, instead of being yelled at in front of the class, students are asked to move somewhere else until they have calmed down. The student is then told that when they are calm they can return to class. This method still allows serious issues to be addressed but also gives control to the students about when they feel they are comfortable to return, and doesn’t cause them to feel embarrassed by the extra attention discipline sometimes gives.
At first behaviors can worsen as students begin to adjust to the change and teachers begin setting new and different limits. According to those in the program, the hardest part is for teachers to ignore the bad behavior. But teachers participating in the TCIT programs find themselves reporting positive effects about two weeks into the program. Since one school has adopted the program, disruptive behavior has dropped 32 percent in the last school year. Any progression in the learning environment is beneficial to all involved, and sometimes that means trying methods that may seem odd at first but reinforce what really matters in the classroom.
Instead of calling attention to students who misbehave, teachers in some schools are now practicing a technique called “active ignoring.” The idea behind it is simple: Teachers are no longer reprimanding students for their bad behavior but instead waiting for them to correct it on their own. When a student exhibits good conduct, they are verbally praised. For example, a teacher won’t acknowledge a student who calls out an answer. Instead of telling them to raise their hands or that they shouldn’t call out, teachers only acknowledge students with their hands in the air and who are doing the right thing.
This technique is similar to one used with parents and misbehaving children, and psychologists are curious about how well the idea will adapt to being used in a group setting. These Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) programs are being tested in several schools and are focused on preschool children; early findings suggest that not just the regularly misbehaving students improve, but the behaving students improve as well.
The principle behind active ignoring is that teachers and students need to build strong positive relationships. To do that, teachers need to acknowledge positive behavior, which in addition to building those positive relationships, also reinforces that the behaviors are the right thing to do. The goal of TCIT is to have students hear three positive comments for each negative one.
Active ignoring doesn’t only help students when in the classroom. Through active ignoring, children learn how to calm themselves down when upset. It also shows students that there are consistent consequences for their actions and helps them to establish limits and learn what is right and wrong to do.
Discipline actions are still taken if a child is seriously misbehaving. However, instead of being yelled at in front of the class, students are asked to move somewhere else until they have calmed down. The student is then told that when they are calm they can return to class. This method still allows serious issues to be addressed but also gives control to the students about when they feel they are comfortable to return, and doesn’t cause them to feel embarrassed by the extra attention discipline sometimes gives.
At first behaviors can worsen as students begin to adjust to the change and teachers begin setting new and different limits. According to those in the program, the hardest part is for teachers to ignore the bad behavior. But teachers participating in the TCIT programs find themselves reporting positive effects about two weeks into the program. Since one school has adopted the program, disruptive behavior has dropped 32 percent in the last school year. Any progression in the learning environment is beneficial to all involved, and sometimes that means trying methods that may seem odd at first but reinforce what really matters in the classroom.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Digital Outreach Brings Scientific Research into the Classroom
by Grant Bradley, Summer Intern 2013
The burgeoning use of Internet technologies in the classroom has enabled students to explore a nearly limitless reservoir of human knowledge. In the past four years, however, major research organizations from across the globe have begun to offer students not only access to their findings but also a way to actively participate in gathering, sorting, and analyzing scientific data.
The burgeoning use of Internet technologies in the classroom has enabled students to explore a nearly limitless reservoir of human knowledge. In the past four years, however, major research organizations from across the globe have begun to offer students not only access to their findings but also a way to actively participate in gathering, sorting, and analyzing scientific data.
Open Air Laboratories, or OPAL, is a British organization that strives to spark people’s interest in the outdoors and gain valuable insights into the health of Britain’s forests. Backed by a coalition of universities and museums and led by Imperial College, London, OPAL offers a variety of downloadable surveys that encourage students to go out in the field and document their natural surroundings. As part of OPAL’s Tree Health Survey, for instance, students can measure things such as trunk girth, foliage density, root structures and more.
Whereas OPAL prompts students to examine their external environments, a crowdsourced initiative from Cancer Research UK inspires them to look to the world within. The ingenious website ClicktoCure.net asks participants to identify and evaluate photos of real cancer cells. Alongside hundreds of thousands of fellow citizen scientists, students learn to differentiate between cancer cells, tissue cells, and red and white blood cells, all while tracking their progress on individual web profiles.
Scientific American and the University of Oxford, among others, have teamed up to run Whale FM, an international research project that allows students to delve into a huge database of killer whale and pilot whale calls recorded using undersea hydrophones off the coast of Norway and the Pacific Northwest. Orcas maintain some of the most stable social groups in the animal kingdom, living in matriarchal pods whose unique calls form distinct dialects. Students can listen to the clicks and whistles of these creatures and document their similarities and differences in an effort to understand them.
Thanks to projects like these, students of all levels can become involved in cutting-edge scientific research and gain a hands-on understanding of the material. The classroom is no longer a place where students just learn from the scientific community—they can contribute to it, too.
Further Reading
Emeli Warren, “Students Get Hands-On Science Experience with Inquiry,” Publishing Solutions Group blog, March 19, 2013, http://publishingsolutionsgroup.com/blog/students_get_hands-on_science_experience_with_inquiry/.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Common Core Myths Revealed
by Hayley Gundlach, Summer 2013 Intern
As many schools across the country enter their final month, they are another year closer to a drastic change that has been looming for a while. In 2010, the Common Core State Standards (or just the “Standards,” as the Common Core State Standards website refers to them) were developed and introduced. Since then, 45 out of the 50 states, along with a number of US territories and the District of Columbia, have adopted the standards and are scheduled to fully integrate them in the next one to two school years.
The Standards are meant to revamp the curricula in US schools, which currently have no common standards across different states, and ensure that all the students in a single grade are following the same general principles. The Standards were developed with the intention of preparing high school students for achievement in college and successful twenty-first century jobs. Although the majority of the country has adapted to the new standards and is currently reforming its school districts, concerns are arising amongst the public as schools are coming closer to making the switch. Widespread nervousness and general misunderstanding over the Standards are causing people to question the 2010 decision. A few myths in particular seem to have seeped into the public mind; the following paragraphs will address these myths and provide the truth according to the authors of the Standards.
Myth #1: The new Common Core educational standards will bring higher state standards down to the lowest benchmark level across all adopting states.
Yes, one of the intentions of the Common Core is to more or less put all students on the same level, but that doesn’t mean they intend to put students on a lower level. In fact, when schools utilizing the Common Core Standards were compared to those using current state standards, scores in schools using the Common Core Standards were found to be superior to 39 states’ math scores and 37 states’ ELA scores. The new standards aim higher in order to improve scores for all students nationwide, not downgrade student standards to accommodate lower-achieving students and school systems, as some may think.
Myth #2: Classical literature will be left behind in the new curricula.
The Standards suggest that reading done in high school should be 30 percent literary and 70 percent informational, which makes it seem like there is little room for the classic literature that is commonly required and deemed fundamental in current ELA curricula. However, those who believe beloved classics will be forgotten are under the impression that 100 percent of reading will be done in ELA classes. In reality, the larger part of the suggested 70 percent informational reading will most likely be done in history and science classes, leaving plenty of room for classical reading to be done in ELA classes.
Myth #3: The Common Core will still not allow US achievements to match foreign countries’ achievements.
A primary US expert in international math performance, William H. Schmidt, claims that the Common Core math standards in the United States are comparable to those in the highest-achieving countries. While it will take time for US achievements to parallel the most accomplished countries, the Common Core seems to be a step in the right direction.The overall truth is that the success of the Common Core State Standards depends on effective reworking of curricula, appropriate instructional material and technological support, and proper professional development for teachers and staff. It also demands improved communication between parents, staff members and students. The achievement of US students is up to each individual school district implementing the standards in a valuable way.
Further Reading:
Barth, Patte, “The Common Core Standards: Truths, Untruths, and Ambiguities,” The Huffington Post, April 25, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patte-barth/the-common-core-standards_1_b_3149738.html.
“Myths v. Facts About the Common Core Standards,” Common Core State Standards website, accessed June 5, 2013, http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CoreFacts.pdf.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
From Homeless to Stanford
by Catherine Martin, Spring 2013 Intern
Chicago-based high school student Lane Gunderman will be one of the few kids starting their college career on a full scholarship at Stanford University this fall, but he is also one of the extremely few students in the history of the school who was homeless when he earned his scholarship.
Gunderman’s family had always been poor, but six years ago, they were forced to move into a shelter after their father left. Along with the move, Gunderman and his siblings also enrolled in public school for the first time—their mother had homeschooled them up until then. There wasn’t a lot of privacy and not much to do at the shelter, so Gunderman focused on his schoolwork. He originally enrolled at Burley Elementary School, but Gunderman’s teachers, noticing how bright and dedicated he was, suggested he apply to University of Chicago Lab High School, a selective private high school established by the University of Chicago.
Gunderman thrived at the Lab School; he made the final round of the Intel Science Talent Search, which is one of the country’s most elite high school science competitions, and was ultimately awarded the scholarship to Stanford.
Gunderman’s story is inspiring—he clearly worked hard, and it paid off—but it’s also, to some extent, a good illustration of his luck. Scholastic reports that there are an estimated one million homeless students in America, and the number of homeless students in the Chicago area has risen 22 percent in the past year. Gunderman exemplifies a strong dedication to and love of learning, but he wouldn’t have gotten to the Lab School without his teachers noticing and promoting his academic efforts, and he wouldn’t have gotten into Stanford without the Lab School.
Gunderman’s affection for school does not make him unique among other homeless kids. Denise Ross, a supervisor for homeless education programs in Maryland, says that for homeless students, “School is a safe haven.… They want to be in school.” Homeless students also often blend in with their fellow classmates either because they don’t want to be recognized as homeless or because their teachers don’t notice them. Sometimes, albeit less commonly, successful homeless education programs help homeless students blend in by providing kids with things like shoes, technological resources and showers.
The McKinny-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, enacted by the federal government in 1987, requires that every school district provide homeless students with equal access to public education. This means making school feel as normal for homeless students as it does for other students, and providing them with clothes, food or other essentials that they might not get anywhere else. However, the program is underfunded: $65 million a year goes to only 3,000 of the nation’s 15,000 school districts.
Gunderman’s unique situation helped him get noticed and ultimately propelled him to success. But, if anything, his story is a reminder of the importance of supporting homeless students, who just want—and deserve—the same opportunities as their peers.
Chicago-based high school student Lane Gunderman will be one of the few kids starting their college career on a full scholarship at Stanford University this fall, but he is also one of the extremely few students in the history of the school who was homeless when he earned his scholarship.
Gunderman’s family had always been poor, but six years ago, they were forced to move into a shelter after their father left. Along with the move, Gunderman and his siblings also enrolled in public school for the first time—their mother had homeschooled them up until then. There wasn’t a lot of privacy and not much to do at the shelter, so Gunderman focused on his schoolwork. He originally enrolled at Burley Elementary School, but Gunderman’s teachers, noticing how bright and dedicated he was, suggested he apply to University of Chicago Lab High School, a selective private high school established by the University of Chicago.
Gunderman thrived at the Lab School; he made the final round of the Intel Science Talent Search, which is one of the country’s most elite high school science competitions, and was ultimately awarded the scholarship to Stanford.
Gunderman’s story is inspiring—he clearly worked hard, and it paid off—but it’s also, to some extent, a good illustration of his luck. Scholastic reports that there are an estimated one million homeless students in America, and the number of homeless students in the Chicago area has risen 22 percent in the past year. Gunderman exemplifies a strong dedication to and love of learning, but he wouldn’t have gotten to the Lab School without his teachers noticing and promoting his academic efforts, and he wouldn’t have gotten into Stanford without the Lab School.
Gunderman’s affection for school does not make him unique among other homeless kids. Denise Ross, a supervisor for homeless education programs in Maryland, says that for homeless students, “School is a safe haven.… They want to be in school.” Homeless students also often blend in with their fellow classmates either because they don’t want to be recognized as homeless or because their teachers don’t notice them. Sometimes, albeit less commonly, successful homeless education programs help homeless students blend in by providing kids with things like shoes, technological resources and showers.
The McKinny-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, enacted by the federal government in 1987, requires that every school district provide homeless students with equal access to public education. This means making school feel as normal for homeless students as it does for other students, and providing them with clothes, food or other essentials that they might not get anywhere else. However, the program is underfunded: $65 million a year goes to only 3,000 of the nation’s 15,000 school districts.
Gunderman’s unique situation helped him get noticed and ultimately propelled him to success. But, if anything, his story is a reminder of the importance of supporting homeless students, who just want—and deserve—the same opportunities as their peers.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
A Golden Anniversary: The Legacy of C.S. Lewis
by Victoria Elliott, Spring 2013 Intern
When asked by his lawyer where he wanted his earnings to go after his death, C.S. Lewis famously told the man, “After I’ve been dead five years, no one will read anything I’ve written.” Now, 50 years after his death, the C.S. Lewis Foundation is throwing a yearlong celebration to honor Lewis’s legacy.
The 50th Anniversary Celebration will last from July 2013 to August 2014, and will consist of seminars, speakers and conferences located both in England and the United States. The activities begin with a summer conference, the theme of which is Living the Legacy: The Vision, Voice, & Vocation of C.S. Lewis. Many notable speakers will discuss just what keeps C.S. Lewis relevant, breaking their lectures into the three themed sections. In addition to listening to speakers, attendees of the summer conference will be treated to performances by musician Steve Bell, actor Anthony Lawton and more yet-to-be-confirmed acts. If avid Lewis fans cannot attend the summer conference, there is another in the fall dedicated to the friendship between Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and that friendship’s effect on their respective creative impulses. For the truly dedicated, another Foundation program grants weeklong fellowships in the Kilns, Lewis’s main residence.
Holy Trinity Church, where Lewis was a congregation member for many years, is similarly celebrating its 50th anniversary, throwing a weekend jubilee in Oxford. The scheduled activities, though not as focused on Lewis’s legacy, consist of a walk around Lewis’s neighborhood, a premiere of a play about the author, a family day and nightly church services, among other events.
With so much celebration for Lewis, it stands to wonder why his work endures. There are many reasons why readers are still so captivated. Likely because he did not grow up in Christianity but came to it as an adult, Lewis employed clear, catchy descriptions about faith and religion. His work also lacks any concern with the political climate of the time it was written, thereby keeping it from seeming dated to modern readers. Of course, the most notable and compelling aspect of Lewis’s writing is his creation of rich, imaginative worlds. Regardless of any allusions to Christianity, the invented worlds are enthralling and unique. The fantasy world of Narnia certainly draws readers in, and though Lewis was indeed a practiced apologist, he was a storyteller first.
The C.S. Lewis Foundation is made up of those drawn-in readers, and they are dedicated to their motto, “living the life.” To continue to pursue this direction, the Foundation is working to open C.S. Lewis College, “a fully accredited, four-year ‘Great Books’ college with a School of the Visual and Performing Arts.” The school will be inclusive of Christians of all denominations and traditions. The school is currently “seeking benefactors of vision to raise the needed start-up funding to found the College” and has been looking into a campus in Northfield, Massachusetts. Following the start-up, the College will be funded both by regular tuition and charitable gifts and grants. Once established, the College will further the legacy of C.S. Lewis, allowing his words and vision to continue to thrive.
When asked by his lawyer where he wanted his earnings to go after his death, C.S. Lewis famously told the man, “After I’ve been dead five years, no one will read anything I’ve written.” Now, 50 years after his death, the C.S. Lewis Foundation is throwing a yearlong celebration to honor Lewis’s legacy.
The 50th Anniversary Celebration will last from July 2013 to August 2014, and will consist of seminars, speakers and conferences located both in England and the United States. The activities begin with a summer conference, the theme of which is Living the Legacy: The Vision, Voice, & Vocation of C.S. Lewis. Many notable speakers will discuss just what keeps C.S. Lewis relevant, breaking their lectures into the three themed sections. In addition to listening to speakers, attendees of the summer conference will be treated to performances by musician Steve Bell, actor Anthony Lawton and more yet-to-be-confirmed acts. If avid Lewis fans cannot attend the summer conference, there is another in the fall dedicated to the friendship between Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and that friendship’s effect on their respective creative impulses. For the truly dedicated, another Foundation program grants weeklong fellowships in the Kilns, Lewis’s main residence.
Holy Trinity Church, where Lewis was a congregation member for many years, is similarly celebrating its 50th anniversary, throwing a weekend jubilee in Oxford. The scheduled activities, though not as focused on Lewis’s legacy, consist of a walk around Lewis’s neighborhood, a premiere of a play about the author, a family day and nightly church services, among other events.
With so much celebration for Lewis, it stands to wonder why his work endures. There are many reasons why readers are still so captivated. Likely because he did not grow up in Christianity but came to it as an adult, Lewis employed clear, catchy descriptions about faith and religion. His work also lacks any concern with the political climate of the time it was written, thereby keeping it from seeming dated to modern readers. Of course, the most notable and compelling aspect of Lewis’s writing is his creation of rich, imaginative worlds. Regardless of any allusions to Christianity, the invented worlds are enthralling and unique. The fantasy world of Narnia certainly draws readers in, and though Lewis was indeed a practiced apologist, he was a storyteller first.
The C.S. Lewis Foundation is made up of those drawn-in readers, and they are dedicated to their motto, “living the life.” To continue to pursue this direction, the Foundation is working to open C.S. Lewis College, “a fully accredited, four-year ‘Great Books’ college with a School of the Visual and Performing Arts.” The school will be inclusive of Christians of all denominations and traditions. The school is currently “seeking benefactors of vision to raise the needed start-up funding to found the College” and has been looking into a campus in Northfield, Massachusetts. Following the start-up, the College will be funded both by regular tuition and charitable gifts and grants. Once established, the College will further the legacy of C.S. Lewis, allowing his words and vision to continue to thrive.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Why Some Kids Can Handle Pressure
by Ashley Alongi, Spring 2013 Intern
Everyone reacts differently to taking a test. There are the superstitious who wear charms or have rituals that must be done before test day. There are those who get nervous; just the thought of having to take the test makes them sick. There are those who don’t give the test a second thought until the day of. And there are even those who are excited for it.
Everyone reacts differently to taking a test. There are the superstitious who wear charms or have rituals that must be done before test day. There are those who get nervous; just the thought of having to take the test makes them sick. There are those who don’t give the test a second thought until the day of. And there are even those who are excited for it.
Why is it that some students thrive and other students
crack under the pressure of test day? New
research suggests that the way you react to pressure may be genetically
coded into you from the day you are born.
In Taiwan, where you go to high school—or if you even go at all—is determined by how well you do on the Basic Competency Test for Junior High School Students. Only 39 percent of students pass this two-day test, which covers subjects including chemistry, physics, advanced algebra and geometry. Needless to say, there is a lot of pressure on the students taking the exam.
People react to pressure in many different ways, and researchers wanted to understand the genetics behind it. In their study to uncover the answer, researchers took blood samples from 779 students across Taiwan. They then matched the students’ genotypes to their test scores.
Researchers were interested in one gene in particular: the COMT gene. This gene clears up dopamine from the prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain that makes plans, resolves conflicts and makes decisions. Ideally, your brain has a balance between too much and too little dopamine.
There are two different variations of the gene, and we all have either one or a mixture of the two. One variant creates enzymes that slowly remove dopamine, whereas the other variant builds enzymes that rapidly clear dopamine. Under normal occasions having slow-acting enzymes is better. But under stress, we experience the opposite reaction. The brain is flooded with dopamine, you can’t focus well and it takes too long for the dopamine to be removed. Findings of the study support this by indicating that the Taiwanese students who had the slow-acting enzymes scored 8 percent lower than those with the fast-acting enzymes.
Some scholars have suggested that we all fit into one of two categories: We are either Warriors or Worriers. Those with fast-acting dopamine clearers are the Warriors, and those with slow-acting dopamine clearers are the Worriers. Warriors do better in environments that need quick thinking and high performance levels, while Worriers are capable of more complex planning.
However, just because your genotype may make it harder for you to take standardized tests doesn’t mean you should stay away from all challenges. Douglas C. Johnson, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, says that shielding Worriers from stress could be worse because they won’t be able to learn how to prepare and deal with high-stress situations in the future.
In the end, Warriors and Worriers both benefit from the stress that comes with test taking: Worriers learn to embrace and handle stress, and Warriors get to use their brains in situations where they work best.
In Taiwan, where you go to high school—or if you even go at all—is determined by how well you do on the Basic Competency Test for Junior High School Students. Only 39 percent of students pass this two-day test, which covers subjects including chemistry, physics, advanced algebra and geometry. Needless to say, there is a lot of pressure on the students taking the exam.
People react to pressure in many different ways, and researchers wanted to understand the genetics behind it. In their study to uncover the answer, researchers took blood samples from 779 students across Taiwan. They then matched the students’ genotypes to their test scores.
Researchers were interested in one gene in particular: the COMT gene. This gene clears up dopamine from the prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain that makes plans, resolves conflicts and makes decisions. Ideally, your brain has a balance between too much and too little dopamine.
There are two different variations of the gene, and we all have either one or a mixture of the two. One variant creates enzymes that slowly remove dopamine, whereas the other variant builds enzymes that rapidly clear dopamine. Under normal occasions having slow-acting enzymes is better. But under stress, we experience the opposite reaction. The brain is flooded with dopamine, you can’t focus well and it takes too long for the dopamine to be removed. Findings of the study support this by indicating that the Taiwanese students who had the slow-acting enzymes scored 8 percent lower than those with the fast-acting enzymes.
Some scholars have suggested that we all fit into one of two categories: We are either Warriors or Worriers. Those with fast-acting dopamine clearers are the Warriors, and those with slow-acting dopamine clearers are the Worriers. Warriors do better in environments that need quick thinking and high performance levels, while Worriers are capable of more complex planning.
However, just because your genotype may make it harder for you to take standardized tests doesn’t mean you should stay away from all challenges. Douglas C. Johnson, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, says that shielding Worriers from stress could be worse because they won’t be able to learn how to prepare and deal with high-stress situations in the future.
In the end, Warriors and Worriers both benefit from the stress that comes with test taking: Worriers learn to embrace and handle stress, and Warriors get to use their brains in situations where they work best.
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