For all you going back to school, here’s a good way to get more value out of your education. The classic advice about studying says to find a calm quiet space with a clear work table and always go there to do your work. Create a work zone so when you’re in it, you know you’re supposed to work. But it turns out having some disruption actually improves retention. In one study, students who memorized the same list of words in two different spaces did far better than students who memorized the same list in the same space twice. [More]
education
Student Loans, Gateway Drug To Debt Slavery
By 9.2.10
One of the most important lessons students learn in college is how to get into debt and stay there. It’s crucial to the success of the Republic. An indebted population is easier to control; needing to pay off crushing debt – a debt that if defaulted on has been stripped of many normal consumer protections and rights – graduates more willingly shuttle into cubicles, becoming the square pegs demanded by the square holes. After a few futile years of floundering idealism, their souls have been successfully jackbooted into powder and they’re ready to keep the thumb on the next generation of would-be drones so as to protect their empire of matchsticks. But how did we get here? This chunky infographic examines the origins and (d)evolution of the student loan leviathan. [More]
GPS And ID Card Tracks When Your Kid Gets On And Off Schoolbus
By 9.1.10
Before the kid gets on the bus, he has to swipe his electronic ID card. When he gets off, swipe again. The $16,000 kid-tracking system rolled out in a southwest Illinois suburban school district this week lets the school know where every bus and child is at all times. Parents and school administrators say it’s a welcome relief, but is it too Orwellian? [More]
When Will The College Tuition Bubble Burst?
By 9.1.10
This is a chart from the Carpe Diem blog showing the increase in college education costs, U.S home prices, and the consumer price index. If we had a housing bubble, the skyrocketing costs of higher education is a super bubble. [More]
Would You Rather Be Richer, Thinner, Smarter Or Younger?
By 8.27.10
Imagine if you will that you are standing before four doorways, each of which could magically improve one facet of your life — wealth, waistline, IQ, youth. You can only go through one doorway; which one do you choose? [More]
Kaplan Passes Out Free E-Study Guides For Mobile Users, But Download iBooks First
By 8.26.10
If you’re having trouble accessing those free Kaplan test prep books we told you about a few days ago, make sure to download the iBooks app first. It makes the book download happen all lickity split. [More]
5 Reasons Why Every Single College Ranking Is a Pile of Crap
By 8.20.10
It’s almost back-to-school time, which means now is the season to be inundated once again with the annual lists ranking colleges and universities. But in this guest post from Zac Bissonnette, author of the upcoming Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents, he explains why these lists are all a complete crock. [More]
High-Paying Jobs You Can Get With Two-Year Degrees
By 8.19.10
It’s always tantalizing to fantasize about a career change, but only so many people can be astronauts or Yankees outfielders, so it’s more reasonable to think about going back to school and getting a more reasonable job. [More]
Schools Asking Kids To Bring Basic Cleaning Supplies
By 8.16.10
New items on the back-to-school lists this year include cleaning spray, baby wipes, and cotton balls. It’s not for making a diorama or some kind of cheap puppet. Rather, with budgets slashed all over, schools have had to resort to asking the kids to pick up basic cleaning supplies for the school along with their usual TrapperKeepers and notebooks. [More]
Tips For Saving Money On Textbooks
By 8.2.10
The second half of summer is “complain about textbook prices” season, and last week the New York Times put together a special section on the topic and asked experts to weigh in. Too many of the contributors just provide an overview of the situation but no solutions; a publishing industry representative actually defends textbook prices as trivial compared to other educational costs. Fortunately Anya Kamenetz, who writes for Fast Company, suggests Flat World Knowledge. And to be fair, the guy who defended textbooks prices suggests CourseSmart for ebook rentals. The Times also asked students, professors and parents to weigh in with advice. [More]
Health Cops Tell Schools To Cook Up Alternatives To Bake Sales
By 6.18.10
As part of its never-ending battle of the bulge, New York’s health police have found a new target: bake sales that schools use as fund raising events. The sales have already been limited to once a month, and barred during school hours. Now, the city’s Health Department has warned parents that they need to look for other ways to raise dough. [More]
Washington Wants Better Oversight Of For-Profit Colleges
By 6.15.10
Enrollment in for-profit colleges like the University of Phoenix, DeVry University, and Kaplan University–Gawker calls them fake colleges–tripled in the past decade, and has become such a fast-growing segment of the education market that some members of Congress think it needs better oversight. [More]
Skip College, Suggest Some Economists
By 5.18.10
In a country where the mantra “you can be anything you want” is practically a national prayer, it’s still kind of shocking to see someone suggest that a high school student should skip college. Some economists and professors, however, argue that college has become too expensive to throw money at if the odds are high that either you won’t finish, or you’ll go into an industry that doesn’t require a degree. [More]
College Professor Outsources Grading Papers To Asia
By 4.16.10
As you struggle to repay your student loans, you can at least comfort yourself with the knowledge that your papers were graded by qualified professors and teaching assistants, and not by housewives in Bangalore. Students attending college today… may not be so lucky. [More]
Art Institute Of Pittsburgh Decides You Need To Buy One More Class To Graduate… After Graduation
By 3.22.10
Update: The school saw our post and has been in touch with Daniel. Here’s what happened. [More]
How Do I Protect My Gullible Grandma From Psychic Scams?
By 3.10.10
Last week, Jon wrote to us asking how he can help protect his grandmother from falling for any more direct mail scams. She’d answered a piece from psychic Maria Duval, and subsequently her mailing address was sold to all sorts of scammers who thrive on easy marks. We suggested filing a prohibitory order via the USPS, but the core problem remains: how do you convince someone who wants to believe in psychics that she’s being lied to? [More]
It's National Consumer Protection Week!
By 3.8.10
The FTC has designated this week National Consumer Protection Week, so all scams will be put on hold and businesses won’t overcharge you until next Sunday. What, no? That’s now how it works? Ah… it looks like it’s more about consumer education, which is also a good thing since that will help consumers protect themselves year round. For adults, here’s a whole page of various scam prevention tips, fact sheets, and videos. If you’re an educator, you can enroll in the National Financial Capability Challenge and get an “educator toolkit” to help you teach students how to be smart consumers. There’s a section for businesses too, with information on how to protect customers’ personal info and deter ID theft. [More]
Rhode Island High School Fires All 88 Teachers
By 2.24.10
Do you teach at Central Falls High? Not for long. You’ve all been fired. The school is one of the lowest performing in the state and apparently the teachers couldn’t come to an agreement about how much they should be paid to do something about it. [More]
