A meditating frog

Keep Calm and Learn On

Calm and concentration are essential to learning. Yet, in the high stakes, fast-paced, memorize and regurgitate modern American academic meritocratic classroom, where secondary school students switch from learning Calculus to Shakespeare in five minutes or less after deftly navigating the social complexity in crowded (even in COVID-affected days) hallways from one class to the next, calm is difficult to find…

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Comic: dinos and comics

Knowledge seekers never graduate

To learn effectively is to practice humility, to admit how little we know, and recognizing the cost of remaining ignorant is the antidote to pride and the beginning of the journey of discovery, fueled by curiosity which results in the acquisition of knowledge which applied in a continuous collaboration with others who are willing, results in resilience needed to navigate…

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Common Application Image

Can I Change My 650 Word Common Application Essay After Submitting It?

Updated: November 2020 from the original posted in July 2018 The short answer is yes…with an *.  [See Below] But, like any life-impacting decision, the short answer doesn’t account for the complexities of choosing a college.  And, the last three words are what’s most important to keep in mind:  YOU, the applicant, are the one who’s doing the choosing of…

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Creative Marbles on the Future Trends Forum

To discuss the successes and implications of Bowdoin College’s iPad initiative to deliver education and maintain community ties, Bryan Alexander of the Future Trends Forum hosted Michael Cato, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Bowdoin College and Creative Marbles’ Jill Yoshikawa EdM. Michael discussed Bowdoin’s ambitious program, distributing an iPad, Apple Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil 2, as…

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When life gives you lemons, make lemonade

Since mid-March 2020, students, parents and educators have been developing ways to ensure a continuity of learning for all students. However, in the uncertainty of the continuing pandemic, 65% of parents worry “whether their children will stay on track and be prepared for the next grade”, with 60% believing school closures will have a negative impact on their kid’s education,…

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Learning to be self-directed

With school closures and the substitution of distance learning, every student is learning to be self-directed, rather than teacher-guided or parent-approved. Although parents worry their children are falling behind, maybe they’re actually catching up, trying to reconnect with their authentic selves, discover more about their interests and aptitudes, which unfortunately, students can lose, in the busy-ness of regular school work…

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Lessons to Learn from The Stanford Experience, Part 2

Students are transforming how they imagine their college experiences and reimagining their relationship with their university. Suddenly, with shifts to online learning and for many students, the eviction from on-campus residences, like those at Stanford, the loss of access to libraries, tutoring centers, guest lectures, panel discussions, late-night dorm conversations about the meaning of the universe, the list goes on,…

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Who’s the Class Clown?

Teachers got jokes Some advice for those students wanting to be the next Jack Ryan: If you’re looking to hide top secret information, insert it into a syllabus or an assignment’s instructions. No one will ever read it. — Typical EduCelebrity (@EduCelebrity) December 2, 2019 And, just to shake things up for those parents who religiously check their kids’ online…

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College Application or Marriage Proposal?

Applying to college isn’t simple.  Metaphorically, choosing a college can be like an arranged marriage—parents are involved in the choosing process, lifelong expectations are being weighted and future prosperity is being forecasted. “Dowries” are paid in the form of tuition, room and board, books etc.   Students seek a college that’s the “right fit“, dating campuses on tour after tour…

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