Next Made-in-China Boom: College Graduates

Next Made-in-China Boom: College Graduates By KEITH BRADSHER, NYTimes

China is making a huge investment in its universities, hoping to leverage its enormous population into 195 million college graduates by the end of the decade.

Chinese Graduates Say No Thanks to Factory Jobs

Chinese Graduates Say No Thanks to Factory Jobs By KEITH BRADSHER, NYTimes

Millions of Chinese graduate from college every year, but they struggle to find jobs in an economy that is still dominated by blue-collar industries.

Finance Degree in California Appeals to Chinese

Finance Degree in California Appeals to Chinese

Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is more than 120 years old. In 2009, the university opened Drexel University Sacramento in California. Eleven international students were part of the first class at Drexel University Sacramento. (read more)

The Effects of China’s Push for Education

The Effects of China’s Push for Education NYTimes Room for Debate

The Chinese government is investing deeply in higher education, trying to create an educated work force to expand the economy beyond manufacturing.

Is China becoming more of a competitive challenge to the United States, Europe and Japan through its rapid expansion of education? Will the nation’s focus on technical fields be a strength or a weakness?

Good for China, and the Rest of the World by WANG HUIYAO, CENTER FOR CHINA AND GLOBALIZATION
The investment in education will expand the middle class in China and will increase the consumption of goods and services from all over the world.

China Wasn’t Trying to Take On the U.S. by ZHENG YONGNIAN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
The huge investment in higher education began as an effort to stimulate domestic demand.

Only the Top Students Rival the West by GERARD A. POSTIGLIONE, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
The top-drawer schools are more competitive than ever, but the education system as a whole is not.

Luring Back the Chinese Who Study Abroad by DAVID ZWEIG, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
If China wants to bring back the best, it needs a fundamental reform of its academic and scientific institutions.

A Long To-Do List by EDUARDO VELEZ BUSTILLO, FORMER WORLD BANK OFFICIAL
Despite China’s need for higher education in order to transform its economy, the nation’s system still needs some improvements.

Clarity and Confusion From Tuition Calculators

Clarity and Confusion From Tuition Calculators By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, NYTimes

How much does that college really cost? Colleges are now required to have online calculators to help answer that question, but they pose some challenges.

• Graphic: Calculating the Cost of College
• Graphic: Calculating College Cost

Happy SAT!

Ready for the Test!

Day of the Test:

• Wake up fifteen minutes early to focus your thoughts.
• Eat breakfast (skip the quad latte and Red Bulll--you'll crash during the test).
• Bring Student ID
• Bring pencils, calculators, ear plugs, water, energy bar, etc.
• Leave the house early.
• Arrive early--use the spare time to encourage yourself and your friends to do your best.

During the Test

• Stand up and stretch!
• Drink water.

After the test, meet up with some friends, and celebrate. Good luck!

Twas the Night before the SAT

Don't cram for the SAT!

• Put down that box of flash cards and back away from the BLUE BOOK.
• Follow you normal Friday Night Homework routine.
• Pack all your SAT supplies (ex: CHARGED-UP calculator, pencils, check your transportation/ride, etc) before you go to bed.
• Go to bed early.
• Set you alarm to wake-up fifteen minutes early to focus your thoughts.
  

SAT Jan 2013 Countdown: 1

Critical Reading

• Vocabulary: flash cards, word lists (Latin/Greek roots/prefixes/suffixes), word games--good! But the best way to acquire vocabulary is to READ.

• Use POE (process of elimination)
• Avoid answers that are too extreme (narrow, general, always/never, etc)

Sentence Completion--1 Blank

• Cover the answers.
• Read the sentence.
• Note trigger words (ex: conjunctions, prefixes, modifiers, negation) which change the meaning of the sentence.
• Read the sentence again, substituting your own word in the blank.
• Match your choice with the supplied answer choices.
• Not sure of the meaning? Look at the root--is similar the root similar to the root of a word that you know?
• Use POE to target the correct answer.
• Yes, the word you don't know can be the correct choice.

Sentence Completion--2 Blanks

• Cover the answers.
• Read the sentence.
• Note trigger words (ex: conjunctions, prefixes, modifiers, negation) which change the meaning of the sentence.
• Read the sentence again, substituting your own word in the blank.
• Uncover the first column of words. Match them with your choice in the first blank (two answers should be retained, the other three should be dismissed).
• Not sure of the meaning? Look at the root--is similar the root similar to the root of a word that you know?
• Uncover the second column of words. Match them with your choice in the second blank (the target choices in the 1st blank are usually synonyms of each other; and the second blank is usually opposite of each other; OR the target choices in the 1st blank are antonyms of each other and the second blank is are synonyms).
• Remember: there is only one correct answer!).

Short Parassage (updated 1/25/2013)

• Read the questions first.
• The short passage questions are usually about the tone, main idea, or inference.
• There is usually one dual short passage set per SAT test.
• Each of the four questions compare/contrast both passages.
• Draw a quick Venn Diagram to organize the info.
•  Remember WHAT the topic is about, and the AUDIENCE.
• Four Types of Dual Passages
• Pro / Con (opposite positions)
• General / Specific
• 2 different academic disciplines (ex: literary criticism / autobiography)
• Tone (objective / ironic)
• Dual passages can be combination of the Four Types

Long Passage (updated 1/25/2013)

• Read the blurb (who? what? where? when?)
• Skim & underline for information (Proper Nouns, Numeric info, Unusual Punctuation, Lists)
• Proper Nouns: 
• Capitalized words tell us more about Who? What? Where?
• possessive 's tell us more about the Proper Nouns
• compound-words are tailored-made for the passage
• Numeric Info: 
• Numbers (especially years) tell us more about When?  How much?  How many?
• centuries: seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth...
• sequence words: first, second, third, next, prior, former...
• Definitions (unusual punctuation) signals narrative transitions/development
•  :colons. --dashes-- , (parentheses) give us more info about the word/phrase to the left of the punctuation
• "air-quotes" one to four words between quotations--not reported speech, but used to  "signal" non-literal meaning, ironic tome, or that the author disagrees with the term.
• italics, underline, or exclamation point! indicates emphasis.
• Lists 
• List deliver concrete details about the topic
• look for multiple commas ,,,  semicolons ;;;   question marks ??? or repeated words in a close proximity
• Mark-up the passage as per the Questions (Beware of stealth EXCEPT and Inference Questions)
• Read the passage critically (why? how?)
• Answer the questions via POE
• POE: Process of Elimination
• note similar vocabulary between the text and answer choices
• watch out for negation in either the question, text, or answer choices
• use symbols \ = no (not possible), ` = maybe (possible), + = yes (probable)
• Check out The Critical Reader: Inference Questions

Dual Passages


Dual Passage--Intro

• Draw a Venn Diagram
• Read the blurb (who? what? where? when? audience? type of text?)
• Fill out the Venn Diagram--note "dual questions" in the union.

Dual Passage--Passage 1

• Skim & underline the First Passage for information (Proper Nouns, Unusual Punctuation, Lists)
• Mark-up the passage as per the First Passage Questions (Beware of stealth EXCEPT and Inference Questions)
• Read the passage critically (why? how?)
• Answer First Passage questions ONLY via POE
• Skip all Second Passage and Dual Passage Questions

Dual Passage--Passage 2

• Skim & underline the Second Passage for information (Proper Nouns, Unusual Punctuation, Lists)
• Mark-up the passage as per the Second Passage Questions (Beware of stealth EXCEPT and Inference Questions)Read the passage critically (why? how?)
• Answer Passage 2 questions ONLY via POE
• Skip all Dual Passage Questions

Dual Passage--Dual Passage Questions

• Update Venn Diagram (tone +/-) (note if there is a switch in tone/argument)
• Answer Dual Passage questions via POE
• Finish!

SAT Jan 2013 Countdown: 2

Essay:

• Read the Prompt
• Read the Quote
• Read the Prompt again.
• Think for 1 minute (don't write).
• Brainstorm. Focus, focus, focus your complementary examples and connect these specific examples to BIG CONCEPTS. Organize. (2 minutes)
• Write (20 min)
• Intro Paragraph:
• Thesis plus preview of your examples (Think DEVIL'S ADVOCATE--knock out objection to your thesis in your intro).
• 3 body paragraphs. Topic sentence plus 4-7 sentences of concrete detail.
• 2 body paragraphs is acceptable, but not advisable--write as much as you can to demonstrate the mastery of your tipic.
• Transition between paragraphs.
• Conclusion.
• LAST 2 MINUTES: Fix errors and upgrade vocabulary--(replace to be/to have with stronger verbs).
• Check out The Critical Reader: Essay Tips

Writing Section (multiple choice)


The Fist of No Error (see above and sidebar)

• Subject/Verb agreement (number)
• Tense (verb tense and aspect)
• Pronoun (number, case, antecedent)
• Adjective/Adverb (modifiers; infinitive/gerund)
• Diction (correct word ex: affect/effect;phrasal verb & correct preposition)
• Misplaced Modifiers (modifying phrases and clauses)
• "Patterns": comparison, parallelism, list made of similar parts of speech
• Conjunctions: coordinating, subordinating, correlative ; also relative pronoun clauses

Also checkout:

The Critical Reader: Complete SAT Grammar Rules or General Grammar Tips (updated 1/25/2013)

Improving Sentences
Improving Paragraphs
Identifying Sentence Errors

SAT Jan 2013 Countdown: 3

Before the Test

• Check out CollegeBoard's Practice page.
• Gather all your completed SAT Practice Tests into ONE pile.
• Arrange the tests from oldest to the most recent test taken (so you can track your progress)
• Review a completed test every evening before the Night Before the SAT Test (20-45 min).
• Look-up any difficult vocabulary.
• Note the trigger words in the Sentence completion Questions.
• Note how you used POE (Process of Elimination) to get the right answers in the short, long, dual passage sections.
• Analyze your wrong answers, and adjust your POE (ex. did you consistently choose the 2nd best choice on inference or EXCEPT questions).
• Review the FIST OF NO ERROR for the Writing section and mentally check off the selections (S/V, Tense, Prononous, Adj/Adv, Diction, Misplaced Metaphors, Parallelism, Conjunctions) as you review the wrong answers.
• Compare the errors made in the Paragraph Improvement section and your own essay: Transtions? Sentences out of sequence? Too much/too little concrete detail? Delete extraneous info? etc, etc, etc...

• Re-read NYTimes The Choice Blog: For Those Withholding SAT Scores, Advice on Completing the Common Application By Jacques Steinberg
• Re-Read: To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test By PAM BELLUCK, NYTimes
• Check out The Critical Reader SAT/ACT Study Guides and Eliza Meltzer's books:

• The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar 

• Eight Multiple Choice SAT Writing Tests: The Companion Workbook to The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar

Eyes on the Prize

Martin Luther King Jr Day is today--and every day!

Eyes on the Prize is an award-winning 14-hour television series created Henry Hampton (1940-1998), produced by Blackside, and narrated by Julian Bond. Through contemporary interviews and historical footage, the series covers all of the major events of the civil rights movement from 1954-1985.

For more info (and many more resources), see PBS: The American Experience--Eyes on the Prize.

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years

1/14 – "Awakenings" (1954–1956)

• Murder of Emmett Till
• Montgomery Bus Boycott

2/14 – "Fighting Back" (1957–1962)

• Central High School and the Little Rock Nine
• James Meredith and the University of Mississippi

3/14 – "Ain't Scared of Your Jails" (1960–1961)

• Nashville sit-ins and boycotts
• Freedom Riders

4/14 – "No Easy Walk" (1961–1963)

• Martin Luther King, Jr. and . . .
• Albany, Georgia
• Birmingham, Alabama
• The March on Washington

5/14 – "Mississippi: Is This America?" (1962–1964)

• Medgar Evers
• Murder of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner
• Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

6/14 – "Bridge to Freedom" (1965)

• Voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama

Eyes on the Prize: America at the Crossroads

7/14 – "The Time Has Come" (1964–1966)

• Malcolm X
• Lowndes County Freedom Organization
• The March Against Fear

8/14 – "Two Societies" (1965–1968)

• Martin Luther King and Chicago
• Detroit Riot of 1967

9/14 – "Power!" (1967–1968)

• Election of Carl Stokes as Cleveland mayor
• Birth of the Black Panther Party
• Community control of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville school district in Brooklyn

10/14 – "The Promised Land" (1967–1968)

• The final years of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City

11/14 – "Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More" (1964–1972)

• Muhammad Ali
• The movement at Howard University
• National Black Political Convention

12/14 – "A Nation of Law?" (1968–1971)

• Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party in Chicago
• Attica Prison rebellion

13/14 – "The Keys to the Kingdom" (1974–1980)

• Busing and the Boston public school system
• Maynard Jackson and the city of Atlanta
• Allan Bakke and affirmative action

14/14 – "Back to the Movement" (1979–1983)

• Miami Riot of 1980 and preceding events
• Election of Harold Washington as Chicago mayor and preceeding events
• Overview of the movement and its effect upon the nation and the world

Welcome to the Brave New World of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)

NYTimes: Welcome to the Brave New World of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)

More top colleges are offering free massive open online courses, but companies and universities still need to figure out a way to monetize them.

Measuring the Success of Online Education

Measuring the Success of Online Education By JOHN MARKOFF, NYTimes

Massive open online courses tend to have low completion rates, but the courses offer an ideal medium for quantifying what works and what doesn’t.

High School Band Members Excited About Inaugural Parade

VOAVideo: High School Band Members Excited About Inaugural Parade

The inauguration of a president is a major occasion for most Americans. The preparations for the inauguration are detailed and extensive. And participants from all walks of society -- both military and civilian - spend a lot of time getting ready for the big day. Zheela Noori, of VOA's Afghan Service, tells us about a group of young people who are excited at the prospect of being involved

The Brain Trainers

The Brain Trainers By DAN HURLEY, NYTimes

IN the back room of a suburban storefront previously occupied by a yoga studio, Nick Vecchiarello, a 16-year-old from Glen Ridge, N.J., sits at a desk across from Kathryn Duch, a recent college graduate who wears a black shirt emblazoned with the words “Brain Trainer.” Spread out on the desk are a dozen playing cards showing symbols of varying colors, shapes and sizes. Nick stares down, searching for three cards whose symbols match. (read more)

Colleges Push Back Early-Admission Deadlines

Colleges Push Back Early-Admission Deadlines WSJ.com

Numerous universities, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, have pushed back deadlines for early applications to accommodate students affected by the storm.

American Documents the Country’s First Exchange Students from China

VOANews: American Documents the Country’s First Exchange Students from China

Many thousands of Chinese are studying at schools in the United States. And writer Liel Leibovitz says the students are following an example that began in the eighteen seventies. (read more)

Online Courses Look for a Business Model

Online Courses Look for a Business Model WSJ.com

Massive open online courses—dubbed MOOCs—have lured venture investors and universities, who have put millions of dollars into companies that partner with schools or instructors to offer free courses.
Educators Debate Academic Merits

Touring Colleges, Without Ever Leaving Home

VOANews: Touring Colleges, Without Ever Leaving Home

Students who want an easy way to get information about a large number of colleges in the United States can visit a website like CampusTours.com. It brings together virtual campus tours and interactive maps of more than twelve hundred colleges and universities. The site plans to add an international database for schools in other countries. (read more)

Digital Natives and Their Customs

Digital Natives and Their Customs--Interview by TAMAR LEWIN, NYTimes

Arthur Levine takes a scholarly look at today’s college students.

Major Decisions

Major Decisions By CECILIA CAPUZZI SIMON, NYTimes

So many choices (1,500!), so few years (4!). With colleges adding new fields of study, picking a major has become harder than ever. How to decide?

Tips From a Professional Cheat

Tips From a Professional Cheat By ABBY ELLIN, NYTimes

Six steps to writing a term paper, from someone who should know.

Puppy Love Can Cost You

Puppy Love Can Cost You By PHYLLIS KORKKI

Anyone thinking of vet school should consider the financial strain as well as the job satisfaction. Average debt: $125,000.

Regrets of an Accomplished Child

Regrets of an Accomplished Child By PAMELA PAUL, NYTimes

I was the bare-minimum student, checking off “to do” boxes, and the plan worked. I didn’t learn much of anything.

I.Q. Rising

I.Q. Rising By PATRICIA COHEN, NYTimes

James R. Flynn has spent more than 25 years trying to explain why each generation has significantly higher I.Q. scores than the previous one.

The American Way of Learning

The American Way of Learning NYTimes, Room for Debate
Should education standards and funding be uniform across the U.S., or should they vary by state?

• What Good Are Standards, if Funding Varies?--CHRIS LEHMANN, PRINCIPAL, PHILADELPHIA
• National, but Not Federal--JEB BUSH, FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR
• Disparity in Schools Is Just One Symptom--ANTONIA DARDER, PROFESSOR OF ETHICS, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• Inspire Lagging Schools; Don’t Hobble the Leaders--VERN WILLIAMS, MATH TEACHER
• States Fare Better Without a National Standard--BARBARA CARGILL, CHAIRWOMAN, TEXAS BOARD OF EDUCATION
• The Same Investment and the Same Standards--TERRY HOLLIDAY, KENTUCKY EDUCATION COMMISSIONER
• Enforcing Conformity Is Risky--FREDERICK M. HESS, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
• Without a Common Standard, Students Pay the Price--RISHAWN BIDDLE, EDITOR, DROPOUT NATION
• Students Differ, and So Should Schools--NEAL P. MCCLUSKEY, CATO INSTITUTE
• Serving the Vulnerable, Not Just Testing--PEDRO NOGUERA, SOCIOLOGIST, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

The Year of the MOOC

The Year of the MOOC By LAURA PAPPANO, NYTimes

Massive open online courses are the educational happening of the moment. Everyone wants in. No one is quite sure what they’re getting into.

Affirmative Action: A Complicated Issue for Asian-Americans

Affirmative Action: A Complicated Issue for Asian-Americans By ETHAN BRONNER, NYTimes

A COLLEGE education aims to guide students through unfamiliar territory — Arabic, Dante, organic chemistry — so what was once alien comes to feel a lot less so. But sometimes an issue starts so close to home that the educational goal is the inverse: to take what students think of as familiar and place it in a new and surprising light. (read more)

Elite Boarding Schools Spreading Through Asia

Elite Boarding Schools Spreading Through Asia By KRISTIANO ANG and YENNI KWOK, NYTimes

The schools are tapping into the demands of Asian parents who want their children to get a high-quality foreign-style education while staying close to home.

Diploma Divide--The Increasing Influence of Class in the Classroom

NYTimes: Diploma Divide: The Increasing Influence of Class in the Classroom

Angelica Gonzales graduated at the top of her high school class and headed off to one of the nation's top universities. Four years later she is back home, without a degree.

READ: For Poor, Leap to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall By JASON DePARLE, NYTimes

The story of three friends from Galveston, Tex., seems less a tribute to upward mobility than a study of obstacles in an age of economic inequality.

Graphic: Affluent Students Have an Advantage and the Gap Is Widening

N.Y.U. and Other Medical Schools Offer Shorter Course in Training, for Less Tuition

N.Y.U. and Other Medical Schools Offer Shorter Course in Training, for Less Tuition
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS, NYTimes

Administrators say students can finish in three years, instead of four, without compromise to their training.