The Blog
As a newspaper columnist, Nancy Devlin, Ph.D. has written over 700 articles on subjects related to education and parenting. Welcome to her Classroom!
The Aim of Education: Moral and Intellectual Autonomy
Once at a school conference, I asked the teacher is my son was empathetic. “If he sees a classmate in difficulty, does he try to help?” “Does he express concern if a classmate is hurt?” “If another child needs help … Continue reading
The Tyranny of the SAT
The Scholastic Appitude Test (SAT) produced by the Educational Testing Service measures verbal and mathematical abilities by means of multiple choice questions. Since most college admission offices use these scores to determine eligibility for admission, it is very important that … Continue reading
TEACHER TENURE
Teacher tenure laws are coming under close scrutiny, usually not in a pleasant way. One headline read: “When teachers should be expelled from class.” “New hope for getting ride of bad apples.” The assumption seems to be that tenure permits … Continue reading
DOES YOUR CHILD REALLY HAVE ADHD?
I just returned from John’s graduation from high school. Not only did he graduate in 4 years, he received two blue ribbons for his sculptures, first honors as a senior and acceptance in to college to study graphic design. Pretty … Continue reading
Cooperative Learning Is the Cure For Bullying
Adults who model violent punitive behavior produce children who become bullies and who lack other techniques for solving problems. Don Olweus, a psychologist from Norway, studied 150,000 Norwegian and Swedish students and found that 8% of the children were bullies … Continue reading
Are Tests For Learning Disabilities Valid?
Learning disabilites and testing to detect them has come under scrutiny lately because it seems to have gotten out of hand. What started as a good idea became mired in bureaucratic regulations and laws to the point where the test … Continue reading
Remember Children Are Concrete Thinkers
Eliza Doolittle of “My Fair Lady” fame sings a song about words. With a few changes this song could well have been written for young children to sing to their parents and teachers. With apologies to Lerner and Loewe, here … Continue reading
Election Time — Educational Reform Time
Election time will be upon us. Many of the candidates try to make educational reform part of their platforms. Their dilemma is they do not know what to say. They know the problems, because their constituents tell them, but they … Continue reading
Birth Rank
Alfred Adler’s theory of personality states that the way we react to people and situations depends upon our lifestyle. This, in turn, reflects our beliefs about ourselves, other people and the world. The structure for this fundamental personality trait is … Continue reading
