If there is a cardinal sin committed by the formal institutions of learning, it is that they do little or nothing to help students see the value of mistakes. Mistakes are something to be avoided at all costs. Students graduate … Continue reading
Category Archives: Best Practices
The one indisputable intellectual talent of the human species is the ability to discern patterns. Mythology follows patterns; seasons, sex, the balance of wrongs and retribution, and so forth. Our knowledge of nature and the universe has been one long … Continue reading
When does someone become an “expert”? For the non-academic intellectual this can be a troublesome question, because vagueness that suffuses the word “expert” also renders it versatile. By itself, the word means next to nothing; you don’t go to school … Continue reading
Over the course of the last year or two I’ve become a fervent believer in the power of “projects” as an avenue to learning. Theory can take you quite a ways, but there is nothing quite like actually diggin into … Continue reading
Throughout my college career and ever since then I’ve been fascinated by the way professors and other men and women of learning organize their studies. Some would say that makes me a connoisseur of office chaos, and I’ve seen enough … Continue reading
One of my all-time favorite American writers and thinkers is Henry David Thoreau. I first encountered him in small doses during High School back in the years when “anti-establishment” thinking was the mental subliminal hum of an entire generation. Throughout … Continue reading
One of the biggest problems with learning in the classroom is that the classroom exists as a place unto itself. Most of them are very generic. The best ones are furnished with audio and video gear, have comfortable desks and … Continue reading
“Distance learning” is going from a buzzword to a household name, which is amusing to anyone who is at all familiar with the history of “correspondence schools”. The Internet has simply added a lot of electronic muscle to an idea … Continue reading
By way of taking my own advice about the value of learning languages, after last Thanksgiving I started studying Mandarin Chinese using Pimsleur Comprehensive Mandarin, Level I, which is an absolutely outstanding tool for anyone who wants to learn to … Continue reading