Posts Tagged Writing
A Big Mistake Made by College Applicants When Writing Their College Admission Essay
There are some common mistakes made by college applicants when writing their college admission essays. As a former recruiter for Yale University, I remember the reactions from admissions officers as they read one essay versus another college admission essay. I would say that there are six mistakes that are the most common and potentially the most deadly to college applicants submitting their college admission essays. One mistake I witnessed in some college admission essays is: not writing from the heart.
A little sincerity goes a long way- a lot goes even further. I realize that sometimes putting yourself out there can be scary and that saying what you want people to say can seem like a safer route to go. However, I have found that even though fewer people may appreciate what you have to say, the ones who do, will truly appreciate, and more importantly, identify with your candor and sincerity. In fact, sometimes I am surprised at the things that people remember about me from presentations or articles I have written, but it usually is something I just stated as an aside.
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The Secret to Teaching Children How to Think
One of the biggest difficulties for teachers is encouraging children to think. It is one thing to have children in a class doing lessons and appearing to complete the lessons satisfactorily by writing in the answers taught as fact. This method of regurgitation is not thinking.
One of the saddest things today that is missing in schools is learning some of the basics by rote. For instance, basic arithmetic and English needs to be learned by rote so children can be given some intellectual tools with which to think. This may seem boring, but every child gets a kick out of knowing that they can recite their times tables. Every child also gets a thrill from being able to pronounce the words they can see on the page of a book, because they have learnt the key syllables of the language.
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Homeschooling Why It’s Important To Everyone
President Obama is pushing for so-called national standards. I worry that if the Education Establishment has its way, we’ll have one type of government school–all mediocre, all overflowing with social engineering and indoctrination. I think everyone should resist Obama’s plans. States should have their separate standards; and every citizen should support as much diversity as possible. Support vouchers. Support charter schools. Support private schools. And support homeschooling.
The following is one of several attempts I’ve made to defend and justify homeschooling on broad strategic grounds:
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