Of the “big” three academic skills–reading, writing, and math–writing probably lost the most ground last year. Students hardly did any writing last year, especially compared to prior years. And although this isn’t surprising, given the stresses on teaching and learning during the pandemic, it doesn’t bode well for overall academic acheivement. As my summer writing […]
Read MoreThere are many pandemic tragedies well beyond the good part of the college process. I’m sure “first world problem” will be the classification of this particular issue. But I feel badly for both students and parents who are missing the best part – perhaps the only good part! – of the college application process: visiting […]
Read MoreIf your twentysomething is struggling with career issues, you likely feel ill-equipped to help. You might be right. Unless your own experiences have schooled you in the way the New World of Work operates, realize that some part of the way you understood careers has radically changed. More significantly, you now are experiencing that the […]
Read MoreYoung men are opting out of college. That’s the headline in a dozen or so recent articles pointing out the decline in male academic performance. When I wrote Motivate Your Son in 2012, I saw this train wreck coming based on the hundreds of boys who entered our Student Mastery Program. Most of the girls […]
Read MoreI wrote Motivate Your Son in 2012. My “case studies” for the lack of academic motivation were heavily tilted toward boys. I knew that we were on the verge of an epidemic of male underachievement because I was contacted by readers far beyond our Connecticut borders. It has turned out to be worse […]
Read MoreDuring the last few years, The Learning Consultants has been immersed in college counseling. The pandemic increased this focus by almost double. Confusion is the main reason. Our Connecticut clients are generally a highly educated bunch. Even they are utterly confused by changing standards regarding admissions possibilities. But the inability to visit colleges is […]
Read MoreComing of Age Ceremonies Religions and cultures across the globe have celebrations to honor becoming an adult. For that reason, it would seem that transitioning from child or adolescent to adult must be a big deal. Here in the melting pot of the US, many of those religions and cultures still have those celebrations. However, […]
Read MoreFrom Scott Galloway’s blog: While their parents harass doctors at school board meetings and fight epic Facebook comment wars, our kids are not learning to read or count. McKinsey projects that this learning gap will reduce lifetime earnings for K-12 students by an average of $49,000 to $61,000. By the time the majority of these […]
Read MoreHarry Sedgwick spent his last years in Old Lyme. A successful businessman but perhaps better known as the father of Kyra Sedgwick or for those who are keep tabs on “old money” families part of the Sedgwich clan that has been here since the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Through a friend, I got to know Harry […]
Read MoreFrom the Wall St. Journal At the close of the 2020-21 academic year, women made up 59.5% of college students, an all-time high, and men 40.5%, according to enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit research group. U.S. colleges and universities had 1.5 million fewer students compared with five years ago, and men […]
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