Academic Perspective

Americans have become acutely aware of the cost of attending college in the past few years. Tuition had been rising faster than household income even before the recession. Post-recession, income is harder to come by, savings have dwindled, and university endowments, the pool of donations that often fund professorships and scholarships, have shrunk. In a [...]

April is an exciting, desperately anticipated month for countless high school seniors across the country who eagerly await the bulky envelope containing that coveted acceptance letter. However, for an unfortunately large percentage of soon-to-be high school graduates, April means the end of their formal education. This phenomenon, perpetuated by financial concerns, past academic failures, and [...]

For most of us, waking up is unpleasant. The first thing we hear in the morning is a blaring alarm, or the radio turning on, or in many cases, someone walking in and yelling at us that it’s time to get up. With this type of emergence into wakefulness, it is no surprise that most [...]

“When I was your age and we needed to know something, we looked for it in books…books!” Sorry Mom, but I never have spent hours in the library searching for facts and I doubt I ever will. I strive for efficiency, simplicity, and ease when completing tasks, and luckily for me, a paperless world allows [...]

Back in elementary school there was a program for the “gifted and talented” math students called Enrichment. We were given the opportunity to proudly tell our teachers, in front of the entire class, “Excuse me, it’s 2:15. I have to go to Enrichment now.” There, we worked on logic matrices or converting the standard, base [...]

In the early years a child spends in school, nothing is emphasized more than his ability to read. Reading ability is frequently the sole determinant of a teacher’s perception of the child’s intelligence. But most importantly, the development of reading skills promotes a wider vocabulary and gives the child the initial taste of formal English [...]

Nearly a year in office plagued by the economic collapse and now focused on the fiery debate over health care reform has largely distracted the Obama Administration from focusing on education reform. However, this past week the President spoke in Wisconsin exclusively about the topic, hoping to convey the message that Americans must remain committed to the cause…

It was first seen in high schools across the nation during September of 2009. It would be seen on shirts and in speech, and it would be alien to anyone who did not watch TV. Then, slowly but surely, it would make its way into the magazines, into the words of talk show hosts, and [...]