Write It Out!

While cursive may be going the way of the dinosaurs, handwriting is still alive and kicking.  With the increasing ubiquity of technology, writing has started to diminish.  But, a recent study shows that writing by hand actually makes kids smarter.  Kids who write by hand have more neural activity, actually increase their productivity and seem smarter.  Thankfully technology is keeping up.  Some applications on Apple products allow you to  write on the touch screen, and the computer then generates the corresponding digital letters.  So, while it may not be necessary to write in a flowing, elegant script, writing things out may just be a smart move.

Advanced Placement Causes Advanced Problems

AP testing has become a norm in schools across the nation.  More and more college-bound students are being pushed to take these college-level classes, so that they can go to college with credit to their name or get into a better school in the first place.  But, there is a high price to pay with these classes because they come with college-like amounts of work and college-level work.  Especially difficult are the Calculus, Science and History courses which cram loads of material, all of it testable.  The tests can include anything in the book, and these books can range upwards of 300 pages.  That's a lot to ask of teachers and students, especially those in high school.  Often times, this leads to students just memorizing and cramming, not actually learning or applying.  I took 6 AP classes in high school plus 2 additional courses from a local college.  I can hardly remember anything I learned in most of those classes.  So, while students may get the benefit or credit (if they manage to remember enough to pass the test), they don't get the knowledge.  Thankfully College Board is attempting to revamp the curriculum and tests to better promote student learning, and not just students freaking out about the 5millionfactstheyneedtoknowtopassthetestsotheycangotocollegeandgetajobthatpayswell.

Tweet Tweet

Twitter has become increasingly popular over the past few years, with a huge explosion within the last year or so.  People may think it's creepy (I personally thought it was for a long time), but it actually is a convenient tool.  You don't just have to tweet about where you are and what you're doing every single second of the day.  You could use it to tweet cool facts or random quotes, or follow companies that will give you discounts or a cool link.  In the classroom, Twitter could be used to brainstorm or for students to communicate with each other about schoolwork when they're at home.  Twitter doesn't have to be all about the creeper factor, but it certainly can be, as this article about Charlie Sheen's newest world record related to Twitter reveals.

  Today's question is: How do you tweet?

Save the Arts

Who doesn't like free things?  In today's world, however, there really is no such thing as a free lunch.  But, a warehouse in New York is making art a little bit more affordable, for the low low price of: free.  The warehouse offers new and gently used art supplies for educators & others.  With the budget cut crises in America's education system, this just may be a saving grace to help save the arts in one part of the country.

Lenten Sacrifice

Lent is fast approaching, and with it comes the dreaded question of: what are you giving up?  But, Lent doesn't always have to be about giving up something.  It can also be about taking on something.  You could take on traditional things such as reading the Bible or actually going to church every week or spread your wings and take on giving back more to the community.  Giving up something can also be spiced up, in the past few years more and more people are giving up Facebook for Lent.  This USA Today article provides insight into other ideas about different things people are doing for this season of Lent.  The question is: what are you doing?