J.C. Ryle: “Youth is the seed time of full-age, the molding season in the little space of human life, the turning-point in the history of man’s mind. By the shoot we judge of the tree, by the blossoms we judge of the fruit, by the spring we judge of the harvest, by the morning we judge of the day, and by the character of the young man, we may generally judge what he will be when he grows up.” From Thoughts for Young Men (Calvary Press) … [Read more...] about The (Often Determinative) Importance of Youth
Thriving at College
Why They Cheat at Harvard
Great observations from Howard Gardner in the Washington Post. Dr. Gardner is a professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-author of Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet. In putting together Good Work, Dr. Garner and his colleagues interviewed "100 of the 'best and brightest' students and spoke with them in depth about life and work." They found: Over and over again, students told us that they admired good work and wanted to be good workers. But they also told us they wanted — ardently — to be successful. They feared that their peers were … [Read more...] about Why They Cheat at Harvard
Interview with Charles Morris on Thriving at College
It was a pleasure to sit down a few weeks ago with Charles Morris of Haven Today for an interview about Thriving at College. The interviews were broadcast this past Tuesday (9/4) and Wednesday (9/5). If you're interested, you can stream the audio for free (at the previous two links), or freely download the programs from the iTunes Store. (The messages are called Keeping Faith, Parts 1 and 2.) Haven Today has been discussing related issues throughout the week. … [Read more...] about Interview with Charles Morris on Thriving at College
Mike Rowe to Mitt Romney: We Need More Trade Skilled Workers
Mike Rowe, creator and executive producer of Discover Channel's Dirty Jobs, writes an open letter to Mitt Romney. An excerpt: Even as unemployment remains sky high, a whole category of vital occupations has fallen out of favor, and companies struggle to find workers with the necessary skills. The causes seem clear. We have embraced a ridiculously narrow view of education. Any kind of training or study that does not come with a four-year degree is now deemed “alternative.” Many viable careers once aspired to are now seen as “vocational consolation prizes,” and many of the jobs this current … [Read more...] about Mike Rowe to Mitt Romney: We Need More Trade Skilled Workers
A Back to School Giveaway Special
Dr. R.C. Sproul has a new book out last month with David C. Cook. It's called The Work of Christ: What the Events of Jesus' Life Mean for You. Recently, Tim Challies interviewed Dr. Sproul about this book and other matters. Here is one of their interactions: What motivated you to write The Work of Christ? Was it an area in which you perceived a lack of theological understanding among Christians? Was it motivated by pastoral concern? Well, the very first series that I did in the field of adult education was in 1969 at a church in Philadelphia, and the series was on the work of Christ. That … [Read more...] about A Back to School Giveaway Special
Don’t Confuse Technology With College Teaching
Good thoughts on the limitations of online learning platforms: Educators are coaches, personal trainers in intellectual fitness. The value we add to the media extravaganza is like the value the trainer adds to the gym or the coach adds to the equipment. We provide individualized instruction in how to evaluate and make use of information and ideas, teaching people how to think for themselves. Just as coaching requires individual attention, education, at its core, requires one mind engaging with another, in real time: listening, understanding, correcting, modeling, suggesting, prodding, … [Read more...] about Don’t Confuse Technology With College Teaching