Notes in the Margins: Smart drugs, STEM complaints and the pace of tuition
Should everyone go to college? A traditional two- or four-year college degree might not be right for everyone. But I do believe in the individual and social benefit of all people having the opportunity to experience what college - broadly defined - can provide: the chance to focus on learning, to spread one’s intellectual wings and test one’s limits. (CNN)
Students Increasingly Using ‘Smart Drugs’ to Aid Performance A growing number of medical and education professionals are raising concerns that certain classes of drugs are being used to enhance the academic performance of students. (Education News)
A sad attack on Advanced Placement I am saddened, as all devotees are, by outbursts of misinformation about Advanced Placement classes. The most recent example is an essay on TheAtlantic.com by former AP government and politics teacher John Tierney, entitled “AP Classes Are a Scam.” (The Washington Post)
The Same Old STEM Complaint U.S. colleges and universities, which are turning out as many STEM degree holders as ever, find their graduates taking jobs in finance and consulting. Who can blame them? Why devote four years or more to a grinding course of study to take a job in a field that pays so poorly? (Education Week)
Pace of tuition hikes slows at four-year public colleges The 4.8% increase in public college tuition nationwide in 2012 is the smallest hike in more than 10 years, a study finds. (Los Angeles Times)
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