Mom Behind the Curtain

every mom wants to be an all-powerful wizard

New home for my latest thoughts on education

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My posts about my latest thoughts on the educational system, college, and the college application process are now on my other blog, MomBehindtheCurtain.com.

 

MomBehindtheCurtain logo education college homework. Latest post about education and college are on Mom Behind the Curtain.Most of the ones having to do with education will be under the Education tab in the table of contents at the top of the webpage.

But also, if your interested in reading proficiency and kids books, check out my 96+ best books lists for kids divided by age and grade level and more information about kids books. 

Eventually I will fold all of HighSchoolCollegeSuccess.com into my Mom Behind the Curtain blog, but for quick reference here are my latest posts about education and reading on Mom Behing the Curtain. I hope you find something that interests you!

WHAT THE COLLEGE ADMISSION SCANDAL REVEALS – SECRETS COLLEGES DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW

THE NEW YORK TIMES IS TO BLAME FOR THE INCREASE IN COLLEGE ANXIETY

WHY DOES A UNIVERSITY OR COLLEGE COST SO MUCH?

WHERE SHOULD I GO TO COLLEGE?

IN DEFENSE OF THE SAT

HOW GRANDPARENTS CAN ENCOURAGE GRANDCHILDREN TO READ

13 BEST BOOKS FOR GIRLS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL – MY DAUGHTERS’ FAVORITES

NON-TOY GIFT IDEA – THE BEST BOXED BOOK SETS FOR KIDS

17 GIANT BOXED BOOK SETS – EXCITING GIFTS FOR KIDS AND TEENS

How the college admissions scandal affects the rest of us

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I’m still following the college admissions scandal. I can’t look away. Not because I’m interested in the personal tragedies of the celebrity families of Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, but because of what it reveals about the college admission and selection process. You might be thinking (or hoping) that the college admissions scandal has no affect on your child, but it does. And it doesn’t just affect those students planning on applying to elite colleges. The college admission practices of elite schools affect just about every child in school – every child in America.

You might be thinking (or hoping) that the college admissions scandal has no affect on your child, but it reveals a process that affects every child. - Main Building on the University of Texas at Austin campus

Main Building (or The Tower) on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin against a cloudy sky. This clock tower was completed in 1937 and is a main focal point of the campus.

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What are you willing to do to get into your dream college?

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Georgetown University - one of the universities connected to college admissions fraud. How far would you go to get into your dream college?How far are you willing to go to get into your dream college? What would you do for your kids to get them into their dream college? Pretty far, is the answer for parents charged in a nation-wide federal probe that was exposed yesterday. What does it mean for you?…

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You got bad grades, now what? 10 tips

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You got your grades from last semester, and now you’re panicked about the next one! If you got bad grades last semester in college, first off, know that they’re not permanent. Second, you need a plan to change them for the better. If you got good grades, you’re likely still panicked that you can’t sustain them. You also need a plan – to alleviate your panic.You got your grades from last semester, and now you're panicked about the next one! If you got bad grades last semester in college, first off, know that they're not permanent. Second, you need a plan to change them for the better. If you got good grades, you're likely still panicked that you can't sustain them. You also need a plan - to alleviate your panic.

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Do good students become successful? – Long-term costs of being a good student

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A recent opinion article in the New York Times got me thinking again about whether or not good students become successful. As stress and anxiety in college students increase, you have to wonder if all the homework and stress of being a straight-A student is worth it. Is there a connection between a student’s GPA and their later success?

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An alternative to the SAT and ACT?

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Did you know there may soon be a viable alternative to the SAT and ACT?

A Test Worth Teaching To? How a College Dropout Plans to Replace the SAT and ACT

The benefits of Imbellus’ Test as an alternative to the SAT and ACT

You won’t be able to teach to the test

I think this test, Imbellus, is an interesting alternative, because it tests creativity and problem solving. Unlike the headline suggests, schools might not be able to teaching to it. If they design it well, I think you’ll be able to practice, but I don’t think you will be able to “teach to the test.” It might also mean that it will be harder to coach to the test as well.

Testing creativity will encourage healthy sleep habits, not over-scheduling

Another benefit? Since it requires creativity, it will actually discourage over-scheduling. How? Because as I’ve been reading in Why We Sleep, adequate sleep is necessary for creativity.

Possible limits to Imbellus’ Test

One big possible flaw?
It has been proven that time limits and stress reduce problem solving ability.
Of course, as anyone who had watched Apollo 13 know, sometimes it is important to be able to solve problems creatively while under stress!

So it’s a good idea to practice under stress.

Ideally, Imbellus would be an alternative, not a replacement

As much as I detest teaching to the test, and think AP classes are destroying education, I would like to see this be a complement – another option – to the SAT, ACT, and grades.
There should be many paths, both separate and overlapping, to college.

Success Biography – Connan O’Brian’s school record was no joke

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What does Conan O'Brian's academic success say about the role of educational success?

By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Conan O’Brien) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

As a former top performing student, it has really stood out to me that in my research I’ve noticed most of the anecdotes about people who achieve outstanding success usually don’t get there by the normal academic route. There’s Steve Jobs, of course, who I covered in this series of posts. Then there are several mentions of successful people in Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. The idea that college isn’t needed for success came up again in How Children Succeed, by Paul Tough.

Does this represent a bias or reality? So, I decided to start taking note when I hear of someone who is a success who was a stellar student….

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How important is completing all your homework?

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Even adults should get 8 hrs sleep, teenagers should get more. Not only that, they should sleep later than adults. Late weeknights because of homework?  Even if you have more time to sleep on the weekend, you can't sleep off a sleep deficit.Teachers will tell you that finishing your homework is the most important thing you can do for your future success, but is it? With AP classes, it’s very common for students to have more homework than they can complete and still get a full night’s sleep.

Just how important is sleep?…

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What students can learn from too much homework

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Can anything be learned from too much homework?With our second child in her senior year and our third in high school it’s pretty much official. All of our kids are going to finish high school under staggering homework loads and there is nothing we can do about it. I have talked with administrators. I have talked with teachers. We have insisted our own children take on-level classes in some subjects (with mixed results.) And we have insisted on study halls (fewer classes). But my kids still have too much homework. So what can they learn from all that homework? (Because no, they do not reap enough benefits in college credit.)…

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Conan O’Brian on failure

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Conan O'Brian's academic success and in his university graduation speeches, his changing perceptions on failure after his big career failure.

By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Conan O’Brien) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Conan O’Brian, unlike Steve Jobs and some other hugely successful people that you often hear about, was also successful academically, So I thought it would be interesting to see what he has to say about education….

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