Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with education

which discipline will give me most information about cancer?

esolo — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:49:51 -0800

I want to learn about cancer. Which discipline should I take courses in? I want to get into psychosocial oncology, and am currently applying to clinical psychology PhD programs. However, my background is mostly in social sciences, so I do not have the medical, biological and sciency info at all. I would like to learn more about what cancer is, treatments, regimens, etc. Ideally, I want to start taking courses at either college or university level. Which discipline should I look at? Chemistry? Biology? epidemiology? what would be most helpful?

It would be most logical to take courses in psychosocial oncology, but apparently it is such a specialized field that courses are usually at a graduate level, and very far and in between...

Certification of M.A.T.?

youcancallmeal — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:39:23 -0800

I want to be a teacher! Should I go for my M.A.T. or just take a certification program? The certification program (at Notre Dame College of Baltimore) would be about half of the classes as the M.A.T. (at either Hopkins or Towson University, mostly likely) and would let me finish much faster and with much less stress. It's about 18 credits vs. 30. Would the M.A. make any any more employable? Less?

I'm getting the specialization in secondary social studies and theatre and would like to move back to New England once I'm certified one way or the other if it matters.

Tell me about professional development for teachers in Canada

terilou — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:19:27 -0800

Help me learn more about teaching in Ontario, please. I'm looking for information about continuing education/professional development for teachers in Ontario. I'm not a teacher--I'm not even Canadian, but I have a good grasp on how teachers' professional development/continuing education works in most states in the United States. I'd like to have a similar understanding of how these things work in Canada. For simplicity, I'm focusing on Ontario, but if you have information that's specific to other provinces, please feel free to share.

I'm not looking for information on BECOMING a teacher, but more about the kinds of education that teachers would undergo to renew their certification, get a pay raise, or become an administrator. In the U.S., this is most commonly accomplished through graduate coursework leading to a Master's degree. Is it the same in Ontario?

I've tried to google for the answers to my questions, but it doesn't seem to be something that's laid out anywhere. I know I'd be hard-pressed to find the information for any state in the United States, also--it's common knowledge among the teachers and principals, but not really written down in any one place. These things sometimes vary

If you know of any good resources for this kind of information, please point me in the right direction. For people who are teachers or know teachers in Ontario, anecdotal or "common knowledge" information is welcome also.

Help us choose a charity!

springo — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:07:14 -0800

Anyone have any information about how good World Education is as a charity? What about Ashoka? We have gotten a small charity gift card for Xmas. Since we don't have an established charity to give to, this means that, in effect, we have been given a charity-organization research project. Truly the gift that keeps on giving.

We have narrowed our choices down to two: World Education and Ashoka.

Before we choose, does anyone have information about either of these organizations that might influence our decision one way or another? Personal stories are great. Biases and opinions are welcome. We'll even consider hard data, too, if you don't think that will be too much of a bummer.

Thanks for any help you can give us.

Moving on from the helpdesk

khaibit — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:41:28 -0800

I graduated with a BA in Religious Studies, and am currently working in a tech support/helpdesk position. I would like to move into actual IT work. What's the best way to go about that?

Help me interview well so I can continue to feed my cats!

rosethorn — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:27:35 -0800

Help me to rock this interview for a teacher's aide position and (finally) land a job! After months of searching and sending out what seems like about a half million job applications, I am finally starting to get interviews. In fact, I have three interviews in the next three business days, and I need your help to make sure I really impress everyone

Are you a teacher's aide? What questions did they ask during your interview? Do you hire teacher's aides? What sort of questions do you ask, and what answers are you looking for? What sort of questions should I ask them? I am nothing but qualified for the positions - I'm a certified teacher with a master's degree in Special Education and experience working as a teaching assistant, but I didn't have to interview for those positions (they were work study positions with my college). I have always interviewed well for general positions, but I have to admit to feeling a bit like a fraud when it comes to teaching, so I'm worried and want to be sure I am extra prepared.

One job is in a general education classroom, another is in a special ed. classroom, and I'm not sure about the third. These will all be in elementary schools, but I'm not sure of the grades.

I've found a couple things through google, but I'm hoping someone here can offer me a more firsthand experience. What advice have you got for me?

Making like Newton and learning calculus...

dfriedman — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:59:56 -0800

I want to re-teach myself calculus. Or at least its elementary principles. More detail inside. I'm looking for recommendations for an introductory calculus textbook with which to re-learn basic calculus.

What I'm looking for:

--A text book, not "calculus for dummies." Assume at the AP/international baccalaureate/freshman college level.

What I'm not looking for:
--A text book directed toward aspiring physicists/engineers/mathematicians.

Also, the intent here is to learn on my own at my own pace, not to take a formal class. I've been out of college for over a decade, and have always found learning/studying on my own to be more effective than sitting in a class. I took calculus in high school and don't remember much of it. The only math I took in college was several symbolic logic classes as I placed out of math requirements in college.

The overarching goal here: I work in finance, though not in a quantitative/financial engineering position. However I am occasionally exposed to colleagues who work in these areas or who have a much heavier quantitative background than I, and I would like to have at least some grounding in higher level math than I presently do. I do not expect this endeavor to turn me into a "quant jock" or a financial engineer or a physicist. Etc.

Thanks.

College Quandary!!

Griffinlb — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:01:41 -0800

Help a young boy make the right decision! Any and all advice for a soon-to-be-undergrad trying to secure his future! So, this is a little specific, but here's the breaks. Specific suggestions/advice are ideal, but any general comments are also greatly appreciated.

I just got accepted to Reed (in Portland) on Early Decision. I also applied to SVA (an art school in NYC) as a transfer student for Spring '09, and was recently accepted.

I love Reed and want to go there more than anywhere else, but finances are a big issue, (I would have started school at another school over a year ago had my financial aid package not shrunk dramatically). If I don't get the financial aid that I need, I was planning on attending SVA, which is (just barely) affordable.

So, here's the predicament: Accepted to Reed but waiting on financial aid package (which is a make-it-or-break-it issue). Probably wont get this info until friday. In the mean time I have to confirm with SVA whether I will be attending by tomorrow at latest in order to receive the full-housing-scholarship I was awarded. SVA can't extend this deadline, and Reed can't send my financial aid info earlier via email or anything else due to 'federal privacy legislation' or something or other.

I've been left up the creek before and I really really don't want to make a faulty decision here. If Reed is unaffordable, and I've nixed my scholarship (and potentially my admission status) with SVA by waiting too long, then I'm screwed.

So, what can I do? If you wise metafilter gurus have an answer, lay it on me. Otherwise, wild suggestions, off-topic advice, or just about anything vaguely related is welcome.

Thanks folks!

(This is all rather complicated, so if there's any important info that I left out, let me know)

over my head

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:08:35 -0800

Should I resign to finish graduate work and so I can find a position I can again succeed at? I've worked for the same company for 7+ years. I took a management position about a year ago, thinking I'd have enough time to finish up my graduate work (3 courses - I have been taking part-time), but because of the long hours I had to take a semester + off (and my GPA dropped). I asked to move back to my earlier position, and while my boss initially agreed it is no longer in the budget. Right after it was found to not be in the budget I got a written warning because of errors of my team or a few of my own. Also I am now told a may not be able to take a week-long vacation I have planned all year. Would it be better from a future hiring perspective to resign (with the reason of finishing graduate work) or be let go (with a chance of unemployment)?

Help me choose a technical or trade college for IT administration.

loquacious — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:23:24 -0800

Help me research technical schools/colleges for IT, CS and systems administration. I'm looking for a technical school/college along the lines of ITT or similar schools that are affordable and offer financial aid application assistance.

I want to learn and brush up on computer/IT administration with a focus on systems/server administration. Specifically Windows Server 2008, Macintosh OS X as well as a side course in Vista and Windows 7.

I'm interested both AA and BA programs.

Please feel free to also name programs to avoid like the plague.

(For the record, I have about a decade of real world IT work and I am returning to school as an independent adult.)

Between the unconference and the lecture

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:58:16 -0800

I'm planning a one-day seminar event. What are some good active learning strategies that I can employ for part of the day? I've heard that phrase, "The real conference happens in the hallway," and would like to facilitate that "hallway" environment within the conference room. We can't do an all-out unconference, mostly because it just is not logistically feasible for our group size (around 30 people).

This is a one-day seminar event for practitioners in my field -- library and information science. In the morning we have panelists lecturing to the crowd, like at a typical conference. But in the afternoon we'd like to do something different and break people up into groups to talk about the conference theme as it relates to them specifically. What are some ways to structure these group discussions?

All I can think of is think-pair-share, and I know that there are other active learning techniques out there. I have a structure for the event (i.e. something for everyone to talk about specifically in their groups) but I'd like to facilitate an active, interesting discussion among the people that are attending the conference. What are some other methods that I could use to achieve an engaging environment? I want to make sure that everyone gets a chance to talk and discuss the issues that have been touched on in the morning lecture sessions as well as issues specific to their own institutions.

I realize that the details here regarding context are fairly slim, but I'm not sure that the context really matters -- I'm really just looking for ways to facilitate discussion about a particular topic that go beyond the typical lecture format that you see at most conferences.

"Science: When You Got It, Flaunt It"

inoculatedcities — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:55:53 -0800

Volunteering opportunities with organizations that promote science education in Boston? I am an undergraduate biology student in Boston looking to volunteer a few times per month to help an organization (similar to the [url=http://ncse.com]National Center for Science Education[/url]) that promotes science education. I'm happy to help out in any way I can but am having a difficult time finding such organizations nearby. Any ideas?

let's NOT do goldilocks, for once.

acidic — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:26:11 -0800

Help me, a teacher, help my energetic, funny and amazing 10-year-old EFL students write and direct a pair of plays. I've been put in charge of a drama club at my school in Korea. We've got 4 weeks to brainstorm, write, rehearse, and film two plays. I have six students, and while they will each act in both plays, they will be written by groups of three. We did some brainstorming and we came up with the following ideas:
1) A crew of superheroes and magical people who have lost their powers-- a comedy
2) A normal school populated by a group of scary people (zombies, ghosts, etc)
but these aren't set in stone. They're a VERY, VERY active group of kids-- at any given moment usually four of them are jumping on their desks. They wanted to do a fighting play (with fake guns?) but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate.

Their English is not strong, so I'm planning to write a plot and help them develop it into a simple script. Trouble is, I know next to nothing about creative writing (especially for children), and I have never really been involved in anything dramatic. How do I develop these ideas into storylines that use all 6 students equally? How long should the script be if we're to tackle it in a month? We have fifteen 40-minute sessions, and the kids are quite hard to control.

(I'm not NECESSARILY asking for you to come up with a brief storyline, but if anything cool comes to mind......)

We are looking for great Minneapolis (& suburbs) pre-kindergarten programs.

rdurbin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:18:06 -0800

Our son will be 5 in July and could go to Kindergarten next Fall but we want to wait a year before we send him. He is currently in preschool but has reached the end this year. What kinds of programs/language schools/preschools are in the Minneapolis or Southern & Western suburbs for 5-6 year olds that are waiting a year before entering school? The main reason we are asking is his current program is going away and is not going to be offered next year. Also +1 for programs that are reasonably priced.

Back to School Alphabet Soup: BA vs BSc vs HonBA vs HonBSc

256 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:53:48 -0800

So, I'm at a transition point in my life. A bunch of things are ending and a bunch of things are beginning. Seems like a good time to finally get around to finishing that degree. Only question is, which degree? (Apologies in advance for how long this is.)

Let's take a trip down memory lane:

The year is 2003 and our hero is three years into a four year Honours Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Toronto. Unfortunately, our hero is also in pretty dire financial straits. Because of decent marks, he has gotten managed to get an indefinite extension from the financial aid department on paying his tuition for the current year, but he'll have to settle up eventually. And paying rent is proving hard enough. So when the tech NGO he works for part-time as a code monkey offers him a salaried position, he jumps at it and never looks back.

In the intervening six years I've worked various coding jobs, published a novella, written a novel, lived in four countries and grown tired of referring to myself in the third person.

I'm thirty years old and considering what my next career move is. I know I don't have the temperament for a career in computer programming. Sad as it is to let those skills go to waste, I've burned out on it. Writing is my primary passion and I am in the process of cleaning up the manuscript for my novel and seeking an agent. I'm sure I'll write another regardless of whether or not i manage to sell this one. I also intend to continue doing freelance work for magazines. That said, it's not a revenue stream that's going to support me and my family.

I think I'm a pretty clever guy, I'm creative and I've got a rather extensive and esoteric skillset. I've got exceptional communication skills and I know I interview well. My real goal is to break into either the publishing (literary press or magazines) or gaming (video or tabletop) industry. Eventually I would love to be in a creative director type position. I'm more than willing to pay my dues and put in my time, but I also don't want to start in the mailroom.

I've also considered the possibility of a career in Public Service Canada.

So, it has occurred to me that before beginning the job hunt in earnest, it might benefit me to have an undergraduate degree on my resume in addition to all my work experience.

Now, the question only remains of how exactly to do that. I'm only two half-credits shy of completing a three year Bachelor of Arts degree. The University of Toronto no longer offers the three year degree but, because they did when I was originally a student, I'm grandfathered in and still have the option of completing it. The trick with getting the three year B. A. is that, should I ever opt to complete the fourth year and upgrade it to an Honours degree, I could only upgrade it to an Hon. B. A., not an Hon. B. Sc..

So, if I want to keep my options open regarding eventually completing my original course of study, I would need to complete seven courses instead of two. This would involve going back to school full time for half a year but, when I was done, I would have a three year Bachelor of Science degree.

The thing is that, since I'm not intending to seek work in a field related to my degree regardless, it's not clear to me what the relative merits are of having a B. Sc. versus a B. A. (or an Hon. B. Sc. versus an Hon. B. A.). Would the fact that I have an irrelevant science degree be more impressive to someone hiring for, say, a publishing company, than an irrelevant arts degree?

The other question is: How much, if at all, are people going to care that I have a three year degree rather than a four year degree? I definitely don't have the money or inclination to complete the rest of my four year degree right now, but I may want to upgrade in the future. I'm not planning to ever go to grad school, but my wife is a German citizen and we may well find ourselves living in Europe (again) at some point. Will my three year degree be looked down upon outside of Canada? Or will anyone even know the difference?

The reason this is important now is because, if I do ever decide to go back and complete a fourth year, I would very much prefer to complete the Hon. B. Sc. in Artificial Intelligence rather than an Hon. B. A. in Cognitive Science. The difference in cool factor should be obvious.

So, yeah... I guess this is a pretty open-ended question with two major parts:

1. Is a B. Sc. (compsci/psychology) significantly sexier than a B. A. (cognitive science/linguistics) to the people that would be hiring in the publishing or game design industries?

2. How likely am I to feel a need to upgrade my three year degree to a four year degree later in life?

---

Below are the actual details about what would be involved for me to finish my degree, for anyone who cares(To even walk back onto campus at U of T, I'll need to pay off the ~$3500 in back tuition that I owe the school.):

1. The fastest way to get out of the school with a degree would involve taking one half-credit psychology course and one half-credit linguistics courses. I would then qualify for a three year Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Cognitive Science. (2 courses. $1100 addtl. fees: $4600 total.)

1a. Identical to (1.) except that by adding a second linguistics half-credit, I could complement the Cog. Sci. major with a minor in Linguistics. (3 courses. $1650 addtl. fees: $5150 total.)

2. If I complete four computer science half-credits and three half-credits in psychology, then I can earn a three year Bachelor of Science with no major, but a double minor in Computer Science and Psychology. (7 courses. $3850 addtl. fees: $7350 total.)

2a. Strangely enough, I took several theoretical physics courses as electives and it turns our that I'm just as close to completing a physics minor as a compsci minor. Three year B. Sc. with double minor in Physics and Psychology. (7 courses. $3850 addtl. fees: $7350 total.)

3. To complete the original four year degree I was working towards: Six computer science half-credits, four linguistics half-credits and two philosophy half-credits would net me a four year Honours Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence. (12 courses. $6600 addtl. fees: $10100 total.)

3a. Six linguistics half-credits, four psychology half-credits and two philosophy half-credits would net me a four year Honours Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Cognitive Science and Linguistics. (12 courses. $6600 addtl. fees: $10100 total.)

Teaching English, reading and writing to a 15 yr old street kid who's never been to school.

ferdinandcc — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:42:57 -0800

Do you have any advice for teaching English comprehension, as well as reading and writing, to a fifteen year old Filipino street kid who's never been to school a day in his life? I run a nonprofit in the Philippines, and a 15 year old street kid has sort of adopted me. His mom is incarcerated for life, and his stepdad abandoned him, so he'd been sleeping alone on the streets outside a fast food restaurant. He's never been to school, and doesn't know how to read or write (although he knew how to spell his first name and I've taught him how to spell his last name). I've been pretty impressed, however, with how quickly he learns things (and it's astonishing to see how well he's basically parented himself).

The problem with most ESL learning tools I've found is that they either assume you know your alphabet and can sound out words, or they assume you're a baby.

Right now, I can't afford Rosetta Stone, but I've used Rosetta Stone in the past to help myself learn Tagalog, so I sort of just started recreating the basic flashcard style concept so I can work with him online, over the cam while I'm in the states, and my assistant helps him in the Philippines.

I've also been reading books to him like The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish… etc., but he'd much rather watch older kids' cartoons like Dragonball Z than childish books like these. I also have many age levels of the Kumon books on ESL, but again, the ones at his education level are mostly for kindergartners.

Can you recommend any good activities, books, DVDs, web sites, online videos, games, anything that teaches reading and writing in a way that doesn't patronize an older child?

I think I'm doing pretty good at teaching him (and he's doing amazingly well at learning), but I know there's room for improvement and I've always gotten amazing results from asking questions here. Toss me some of your most creative ideas. Or some of your most obvious ideas. Sometimes it's the obvious ones that most elude me.

How much French could I learn in a year?

curious_yellow — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:07:47 -0800

I'm in London and pondering taking some part time French courses. I'd probably be receiving about 3-6 hours of teaching a week, with some obvious extra study at home. Specifically I'm pondering studying with the Institut Francais. I have almost no knowledge of French beyond Bonjour. How far could I expect to get in a year or two?

For background, I've not been doing too well with some other study I've been doing, and am pondering switching to this a) for variety b) because I think contact time helps, and my previous course was pretty much all work-from-home.

How to set up a project for high school students...

degoao — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:03:42 -0800

I want my students to develop the habit of reading about current events (local to international). Instead of reading a required book over the summer, I would like them to select one to two articles a week from a list of sources I provide them and comment on the articles. (asking for a friend)

I'd like my students to create their own blogs and post their comments once or twice a week. There would be about 600 students for me to keep tabs on throughout the summer. This is for 13-17 year old high school students at a conservative Catholic school.

My questions are:

What publications should I use? I have developed a small list, but I'd like to hear your ideas. (Although the school is conservative, I'd like to get all perspectives)

How can I realistically keep tabs on the blogs of 600 students?

What kinds of exceptions can there be? (For example, what if the student goes to Jamaica for three weeks and has no internet access)

What should the consequences be if a student doesn't do some or all of the project?

MA in Politcal Science v. M Public Policy

brakiwi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:29:26 -0800

¿Master in Political Science or Master in Public Policy? I'm an Spaniard that wants to study a Master in the US next year. After a lot of research my final list of universities I'm applying, is this one:
1.Georgetown
2. U. of Chicago
3. Columbia
4. NYU
5. GWU
6. Northeastern
7. American University
8. Loyola University of Chicago

My question is: ¿Master in Political Science or Master in Public Policy?

Most of this universities has both Masters programs and mainly I know the differences between them, but maybe you can give me more information so i can make my decision with more criterion.
In thinking in applying one program or the other, depending in which university.
Maybe you know someone who took some of this masters...
As you can see the cities and departaments I'm interested are Chicago, Washington DC, NYC and Boston. Do you think this are the most interesting universities in this cities to apply for? (for an MA because others have only PhD).

Thanks in advance,

Help me keep the shutterbugs happy!

man down under — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:27:21 -0800

What should I include in a 3 hour photography workshop aimed at 30 12-15 year olds? This is an activity designed to keep kids interested and busy at school for the final week of the year. The kids weren't picked because of their love of photography, but if they signed up for it we can assume they would rather do this than go bowling.

I'm planning to start off with a compostition workshop, looking at some basics and getting kids to think about what their pictures are of.

I then want them to split off in to groups to run around the school (supervised of course) taking pictures with a checklist / scavenger hunt list. The list will include things like "a photo following the rule of thirds", "a photo from a high angle/perspective", as well as some simpler things like "action", "portrait" etc...

We can round things off with a bit of a show and tell, with prizes for the shots of the day etc...

My questions:

What would you ensure was covered in the initial workshop?

What should be included on the checklist / scavenger hunt list?

Is there anything else I should add to this? (It doesn't feel like a three-hour 'shop to me yet)

Is there anything I haven't considered that will make this better?

Thanks for your help!

Help me get over my stupid complexes so I can enjoy/succeed in college academics/life.

randomname25 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:17:59 -0800

I'm finally on my own and liberal arts school should be the place for me. But I'm still approaching my coursework from the standpoint of "how little can I do and how late can I do it and still not utterly fail," and it's making me hate myself. This is very long, and for that I am sorry. Since I'm talking about a psychological problem it's hard for me to determine which details are important and which aren't.

I'm a sophomore at a small liberal arts school. I went to a Montessori elementary school, where almost no homework was assigned, and started public school in fifth grade, where instantly a ton of homework was assigned (new teacher). My mom would keep me in my room from the time I got home to around 10 or 11 pm (with a break for dinner), making sure I did everything up to her unreasonably high standards. When I protested she would yell at me that all work and no play was how it was going to be for most of my life and that, essentially, I was deeply defective if I didn't adapt. When I would refuse to do my homework entirely, she'd call my dad up and he'd join in. This was the period of tension that preceded my highly educated parents' extremely acrimonious and loud divorce, and this was one of the few activities they could still partake in together. Sitting down to do homework became associated with humiliation and submission. The disgust with which my mom (who was most other times very loving) looked at me when I failed to understand something turned learning from the ongoing adventure I used to see it as into an ongoing anxiety-inducing question of my worth.

Near the end of that year my parents were largely too busy screaming at each other to monitor me constantly and I started slacking off. Sixth grade, I did almost no homework and told my mom most mornings that I had been vomiting so I wouldn't have to go to school. I didn't even hate school itself at first (though I wasn't crazy about it); I just entertained this notion that I could catch up on all my old work in private if I could put off the teachers holding me accountable for one more day. But of course I just stayed on the couch pretending to be sick (my parents were almost never both in the house during the day, so it was peaceful, if mind-numbing). Eventually I stopped pretending I would catch up but lied about vomiting anyway to avoid the glares of the teachers who now resented me and the students who always disliked me (it took me until college to understand and be confident in peer interactions). The staying home mostly stopped when my mom took me for an MRI, the doctors failed to find any brain tumors, and she started demanding to see the puke. My parents would often berate me and tell me I was going nowhere fast in life because I wasn't doing my work, but I steadfastly refused to sit when they told me to, and they gave up on forcing me.

There were parent/teacher conferences (the way my parents brought their personal drama into these is more movie material than probably anything else in my life). I was made to see a social worker. In seventh grade I got an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for "emotional disability" and spent one period every day fighting with my caseworker over my right not to do my assignments. This IEP stayed with me throughout high school. I'm pretty sure I failed seventh grade (hurray for social promotion). Eighth grade was mostly C's and D's. My parents' divorce was finalized.

I got to high school not knowing how to try (even though part of me really wanted to, so as to get into college). I paid excellent attention in most classes because I found them interesting, participated enthusiastically (yeah, I was that girl), and did well on tests that didn't require knowledge from homework. My freshman/sophomore year average was maybe a 2.0. My mom's mental health was declining dramatically. The summer before my junior year, my mom died after drunkenly crashing her car. Junior year I got maybe a 2.9 first semester and a 3.5 second semester. Senior year I got around a 2.6 first semester (these are really all estimations, I don't remember that well) and something awful like 1.5 the second since I had already gotten into college (they didn't rescind my admission, bless them). I had gotten into college in spite of these mostly atrocious grades because of my crazy/dead mommy story, 34 on the ACT, and status as a National Merit Semifinalist.

I cared about my grades in a way that made me beat myself up more than try to succeed. I tried to keep my head above water in panicked nights of kicking myself, but that's trying not to fail. I cared deeply and anxiously about my performance on particular assignments. Writing papers was the big one. I would sit at the computer unable to come up with or structure my ideas until insane hours of the night. Often, my almost invariably A papers were severely penalized for lateness. I'd think to myself, "you're disgusting," but ultimately I preferred an A dropped down to a D for lateness over a straight B. Evidence that one fine theoretical day, once I got over my complexes, I could be a serious intellectual was so much more important to me than my grade point average.

This has followed me into college, where I've been for over a year. I used to not be able to write my papers until insane hours of the night immediately before they were due, until I realized that some professors accept late work sometimes, and now I can rarely motivate myself to get them in on time. I almost never do readings, feeling like I'm failing when they're taking too long, preferring the fleeting feeling that I'm not stupid as I read easy articles on the internet. I always start the term out OK, but as soon as my workload becomes even slightly difficult to manage, I retreat into avoidance. It doesn't matter how much I like the subject. Then the absolute due dates come, and I'm up, sleep-deprived, in my room, consumed by fear and intense self-loathing, trying to cry for some feeling of release, and yet unable to. Every time this happens I grow to hate school a little bit more and avoid it a little more eagerly the next time I think I can get away with it. I got a 3.3 first semester freshman year after dropping from 4 classes to 3, a 2.6 second semester freshman year after doing the same thing, and now sophomore year I'm taking 4 classes and am terribly behind in my work.

I talk to my intellectually-oriented, high-achieving friends wondering what they'd think of me if they knew what I really was. I lie in the arms of the girl I like knowing she'd kick me out of bed if she knew of all the assignments I should be working on. I stare at my computer screen at the introductory paragraph of a week-overdue paper, too paralyzed and disgusted by the fact that I haven't read the book to put together a body (even though I've done it countless times before). I sit in class discussions largely silent, because now that I'm in college I can't participate meaningfully without doing the work. I'M SICK OF THIS. I want better grades, yes, but what I want most is to get the education I'm paying for. I no longer believe that screwing around is what's going to make me happy, but spending hours listening to Dan Savage and reading soft news on NYT reminds me so much of Pokemon Red, and I can't help but think that I'm a 19-year-old trapped in a 10-year-old's emotional baggage. Help?

From the career perspective is there money in the online/e-learning space?

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:32:20 -0800

From the career perspective is there money in the online/e-learning space? If so, where is it, or where will it be in a few years? I specialize in software training and education and am looking to get my foot in the door if it is worth it. Posting anonymously because in my relatively small world of software training there's a potential for colleagues to identify me and this could jeopardize my position.

In the (admittedly narrow) world of creative software training in the US, I am somewhat well known (think Lynda.com, Deke McClelland). I have published a few books and have been doing trainings for corporate customers and in the classroom for 10 years or so. My personal "brand" centers around digital imaging, web technologies and digital video. The money is ok, but I am employed full-time by a training company and this necessarily limits how far I can go financially and professionally. To get a sense of the "ruler" I'm using for financials: I currently make around $85k a year with some supplemental money dribbling in from the books. I would love to hit over $100k for this next position, but would also be wllling to take a hit on that if there were some startup companies who had some potential.

So I'm looking for the next step, one thought is to leverage all of this experience into doing online trainings or consultations. However I don't know what sort of market there is for this, if there are established companies in the space or how profitable this might be. Alternatively, if there are larger businesses doing this sort of thing in-house, I'd love to hear evidence of this. I'm looking for any insight Mefites might have and would love to hear from people connected to the e-learning, web training or online education space.

Adaptive computer programs for math practice?

Suciu — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:32:22 -0800

Any good computer programs for math practice? Impoverished children need your help. I'm a developing country watching some consultants pitch a computer program that helps students learn basic math. Essentially, students are asked questions and then moved to higher/lower difficulty questions based on their responses. If you do well with simple addition, you are moved to double-digit addition. And then double-digit addition with carryover. If they mess up on addition, then they get sent back down to basic counting. You know.

They've made their business model tremendously complicated. Despite never updating the software, they have the program run online and bill you for the program on a cash per student per year basis. That's whack.

I was wondering if anyone knew about educational software that covers a broad variety of math topics (the broader the better) with this sort of adaptive questioning without this ridiculous payment model. Computers might be easy to get, but this program would be crazy-expensive over time and internet access is no easy thing to provide (expensive and also hard to get in most of the country).

I understand that this kind of program is not going to repair math education, but it's not really going to be a harmful teaching aid (okay, I guess there's a bit of debate there), especially given the inexperience of most teachers in the country. These consultant are trying to sell a bunch of bullshit on how this software pinpoints where students are failing, but the truth is that it just offers personalized practice. A good thing, to be sure, but one that doesn't require their software. Right?

How worthwhile is it, careerwise, to pursue a second Master's degree?

mirepoix — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:28:52 -0800

How worthwhile is it, careerwise, to pursue a second Master's degree? I have one professional Master's degree, but job openings are scarce in that field right now (urban planning, or stuff in the public policy/community-related nonprofit world in general). I'm considering going back to school, but wondering if that would help me or hurt me -- I understand some employers reject candidates with advanced degrees. I also worry that being a specialist rather than a generalist would put me in a box when looking for jobs outside that specialization.

That said, I might be interested in some kind of health policy degree, but it's very early in the game.

What's the best way to teach 8th graders about soil salinity?

bigspoon — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:23:20 -0800

What is the best way to demonstrate to 8th graders the issue of soil salinity as well as showing ways to prevent or reclaim salinized soil? I'm attempting to come up with a lesson plan for 8th graders that would educate them about soil salinity and ideally get them to come up with a creative plan to combat it at least on a small scale. I've read mostly about ways to desalinize using irrigation but if anyone knows about plants which can be used or any other methods that would be even better. The school is located in Lakeview, New Orleans so resources that deal with salinity in humid areas would be helpful. Lesson plan/ educational style resources would be best but really any information on the subject would be appreciated.