There will be an education gap. But this gap will not be exclusively due to Covid creating three months of terrible schooling for most. Instead, there will be a distinct gap between those children who developed themselves during Covid and those that did not. And, of course, while parents cannot take all the credit or […]
Read MoreReading skills predict college attendance Reading skills matter when it comes to getting into college. This isn’t new information, but a study just published its sobering findings. As Michael T. Nietzel’s headline in Forbes sums these up, “Teenage Boys’ Lower Reading Skills Helps[sic] Predict Why Fewer Males Attend College” (June 11, 2020). Reading scores for […]
Read MoreI attended public school with a strange mix of students. Some were from real affluence and some were one step above poverty. When I exaggerate, I note that some kids in our school got Porsches for their 17th birthdays and some kids were taught to steal Porsches for their 17th birthdays! That would be the […]
Read MoreSummer is the perfect time for college-bound seniors to begin working on their application essays. For many, though, getting started is a major hurdle. Parents so often try to help, but even the best parental nudging can create added tension, as we hear regularly from our CT and NY families. The Learning Consultants has the […]
Read MoreA few years ago, Kaleigh Moore wrote a story for Inc., in which she headlines a study that found the majority of employers–73%–favoring job candidates with strong writing skills (https://www.inc.com/kaleigh-moore/study-73-of-employers-want-candidates-with-this-skill.html). Fast forward to May 2020. And the impact of COVID-19 on the economy has surely upped the ante for workplace communication skills. With companies shifting […]
Read MoreAcademic Ramifications of COVID-19 School Closures Just what are we going to do about “covid slide?” After about 8 weeks of “remote learning” in CT and elsewhere, many educators have begun asking this question. Despite the tremendous efforts of everyone involved, our kids just aren’t learning as much remotely as we’d hoped after CT schools […]
Read More“That was the best decision I ever made.” “Daniella” said when I recently reconnected with her. Several years ago, she was a student at The Williams School. She did not get accepted to any college that she was really excited about and her parents contacted me because they knew my deep experience in crafting gap […]
Read MoreIt’s too bad that there are so few alive from the Greatest Generation. Those folks endured The Great Depression and World War II. They embodied Nassim Taleb’s notion of anti-fragility. Some things are fragile, breaking when hit with a force. Some things are robust, staying intact when hit with the same force. And, some things […]
Read MoreWhile I am a perpetual optimist, experience has taught me to adapt my optimism to forces beyond my control. I will no longer drive during a snow storm. I will take precautions if forecasters suggest that hurricanes may hit and I will take seriously notions like the pandemic will stop colleges from opening in the […]
Read MoreYesterday, I was in a conference call with two higher ed administrators in Connecticut. Both are expert researchers in education. They are friendly with one another but have distinctly different philosophical outlooks on education; one is highly practical and the other is more idealistic. Yet, they absolutely concurred on one point: there will be a […]
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