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Hi! I am looking for some recommendations for short short stories that are great for getting students talking. I have had great success with The Lottery. [more inside]
posted by maca at 11:51 PM - 38 answers

Hey Mefites! What films could I show to 14-15 year olds to tell stories of marginalized communities? [more inside]
posted by dfm500 at 4:47 PM - 32 answers

I am facing issues with my financial aid in school due to two semesters that had covid related problems and left me behind in SAP. One I took the credit/no credit option, the other I withdrew from due to two direct covid impacts (getting covid, and having housing issues, PUA issues, just a cluster fuck of a bad semester and I've been blaming my self for not managing all of that, but I digress.) Having to file a SAP appeal for aid due to an incomplete i couldn't "absorb" because I fell behind on SAP. Then I found this: which seems to suggest the university has the option to not count those withdrawals [more inside]
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:04 PM - 2 answers

I am learning a language and am struggling with one piece: how to get new words into my brain. I use Anki and also Memrise to re-enforce words/ "break the forgetting curve" (which totally work); I just haven't mastered how to best take a list of new vocabulary and get it into my head (flashcards don't seem to work for me for new words). What's your technique - write them out/ flashcards only/ read and re-read/ something else?
posted by my log does not judge at 11:41 AM - 11 answers

I'm doing a lot of extensive reading this year, and asking my students (near-native English speaking Japanese 7-10th graders with overseas or international school experience) to read several books this year. I would like to have some way to a) track books students are reading, and b) have a community page of some sort where students can share the books they've read, and their responses to them. [more inside]
posted by Ghidorah at 4:22 PM - 6 answers

ok.. google is failing me. all i'm getting are 2021 options.. no surprise, but.. this has to be happening somewhere , right? i'm hoping to find a group or cohort based, ideally, intensive, or couple-times-a-week-ish, virtual summer music camp for a rising sixth grader who recently got into piano (and some other instruments as well) and has been taking private lessons. Unfortunately for health reasons an in person experience is probably not going to work.. any metafilter folk have any leads for virtual experiences? I know of outschool, and that's an option.. but truthfully i was hoping for a summer program at a university or.. a private studio.. that has a group angle! thanks in advance!
posted by elgee at 7:41 PM - 2 answers

School is hard, especially for kids who are different. Where's the highest-leverage place to make it better? Professional opinions preferred. [more inside]
posted by eirias at 5:25 AM - 6 answers

My wife just left her job of nearly 20 years in the food service industry. She is taking the summer off with a plan to return to some type of work full time in September. We plan to travel extensively over the next several years and are hoping she finds a line of work with easy flexibility to come and go. Is substitute teaching a good path? [more inside]
posted by halfsorry at 5:20 AM - 7 answers

I'm a college adjunct at a state school in California. To date, the system has been very cautious and proactive: we went online early in 2020, were given months of advance notice for late 2020 and early 2021, and the university has had vaccine & testing requirements. In 2021 and 2022, I've been teaching in classrooms with all students masked, and myself wearing an N95 (fit tested) mask. [more inside]
posted by soylent00FF00 at 5:16 PM - 15 answers

I just got an invite to apply to a fellowship program. I've never gotten one before, and although, when I click on all of the links, it goes to the named journalism school, I don't know why or why now. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind at 5:15 PM - 4 answers

I've seen a number of media claims that use the Ivy League schools' admittance rates (a miniscule fraction of colleges) and maybe other highly ranked schools as evidence that college is harder to get into than it used to be. I don't really know if that includes all colleges, like a regular state school or a regional liberal arts school. But I've seen the headline "Its harder to get into college now than ever before." Is that true? [more inside]
posted by RajahKing at 11:40 AM - 23 answers

A college aged person in my life is struggling with issues of natural talent, effort and achievement. They are at the age where it is an existential question for them. They were deemed officially “not gifted” in middle school but went on to be ranked first in 7th and 8th grade, and was among a handful top students in high school. In college they have confirmed that they are indeed not naturally talented enough to major in a STEM field. This doesn’t really come as a a surprise since they already knew they weren’t “gifted.” [more inside]
posted by GliblyKronor at 10:21 AM - 38 answers

As with ask versus guess culture, the trying hard versus not trying at all culture seem very much at odds. What are the unwritten rules and expectations of each culture? [more inside]
posted by GliblyKronor at 5:57 AM - 51 answers

My eldest daughter has been accepted to American University in Washington D.C., specifically to the School of International Service. I'm looking for people with experience at AU (or kids @ AU). What was your experience like there, and did you feel like it lived up to your expectations? [more inside]
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:14 AM - 4 answers

Learning a second language (Spanish) as an adult. I'm taking a class and studying with flashcards, but I need to start having conversations in Spanish if I want to become proficient. However, my Spanish is really awful (I'm truly a beginner) and I'm absolutely petrified of using it to converse with native speakers. How do I get over my fears? [more inside]
posted by panama joe at 10:33 AM - 19 answers

I am allowed to spend up to $3000 from work on a professional development activity. I have never had any training in graphic design at all, but would love to use this money for some beginner level graphic design training. I'm leaning towards doing some sort of online community college certificate. [more inside]
posted by forkisbetter at 8:35 AM - 3 answers

Over a period of years, I've wrestled myself out of a liberal arts path into a math-and-logic-y career (software engineering). I know intellectually that I am smart enough to do this job, but on bad days I still feel like I'm weak at math and logic, and all of my hobbies involve liberal arts, community and culture. Are there games/puzzles I could add into my leisure rotation that would build math, reasoning and engineering skills? Bonus if they are not in front of a screen. [more inside]
posted by rogerroger at 7:11 PM - 32 answers

I'm currently finishing up my undergraduate degree and am interested in pursuing a library graduate degree. Unfortunately, the graduate program I'm most interested in doesn't allow people to apply until they've already fully completed their undergraduate degree. I'm looking for ideas on what I should try to accomplish in the 17 months between graduating with my BA and earliest possible start date of this MLIS program. [more inside]
posted by dokodomo at 11:02 AM - 18 answers

My spouse and I are delighted that our younger child will be attending college across the country. This will be a new experience for anyone in our immediate or extended family and friend circles. What do we need to know about having a child attend college on the other side of the country? [more inside]
posted by cheapskatebay at 11:41 AM - 30 answers

So every time I fill my water bottle at work (adding ice, filling the bottle) I suddenly have to pee. Can I train myself not to do this? [more inside]
posted by mecran01 at 8:05 AM - 9 answers