Academic Writing… Grade Inflation: What’s Really Going On 3 Sep 201213 Oct 2012 I had the dubious honor of starting college during the first crackdown on grade inflation. My professors overtly ensured that every grade on our transcripts was hard-earned. Then I immediately…
College… Online Learning Success 20 Oct 2011 Online classes can be so efficient. You waste no time in travel or trivia, but only if you manage that time! Here are a few tips for success in the…
Caring… Hamlet in Prison 12 Jul 201111 Jul 2011 Jack Hitt's hour-long report for This American Life on Hamlet performed by prisoners, originally broadcast in 2002, has inspired me all week with its deep insights about Hamlet and encouragement for…
Business… How to Succeed in American Business 11 Jul 2011 Teaching in a multicultural environment often includes overtly explaining American business culture and helping students practice that language. For starters, there's the direct eye contact, the body language, the smiling,…
Collaboration… Friday Flick: Drew in Concert 10 Jun 20113 Jun 2011 Full disclosure: I raised this amazing composer. And I would still love his music even if I hadn't. Drew Nichols is a "third stream" composer, combining classical and jazz, so…
Caring… Dead Grandmothers 9 Jun 20119 Jun 2011 We've been known to joke about it in faculty meetings: how many grandparents some students can lose in a single year. (And yes, we do name names.) Here's one professor's concerns…
Change the World… Copyright Honor 7 Jun 20117 Jun 2011 One of my alma maters is known for the strictest of honor ©odes. To matriculate, we signed our allegiance to academic integrity and high standards of personal ©onduct. From time…
Books… Rhyme Time 2 Jun 20112 Jun 2011 Children's book editors conventionally whine about rhyme. It's so hard to write tight in rhythm and rhyme, they'd rather not brave it. Then they have children of their own, and…
College… College Endeavor 1 Jun 20111 Jun 2011 With the final landing of Endeavor, this shuttle chapter of space exploration will be closing soon. At the moment, I'm closing a college quarter and identifying with NASA. I have…
Academic Writing… My Favorite Kind of Payday 31 May 2011 In my introductory college skills class this quarter, a student told me about repeatedly sabotaging his final Naval promotion because at that level, he'd be required to write reports galore. Writing…
Commitment… Anne Egros on Goal Setting in 7 Steps 18 Apr 201116 Apr 2011 Anne Egros coaches people with international careers. I enjoyed her blog post: "Quick Goal Setting in Seven Steps," especially steps 2, 3, and 4, the steps between writing down your…
Business… HBR on Hiring Humanities Majors 6 Apr 20116 Apr 2011 Second Road's Tony Golsby-Smith writes for a Harvard Business Review guest blog, "People trained in the humanities who study Shakespeare's poetry, or Cezanne's paintings, say, have learned to play with…