This coming Friday will be the second exam of the semester for my students. As you might imagine, students are starting to get a bit anxious, some more than others. That's why I was so intrigued when I read about this device that could help lower a student's anxiety. The device? A breathing cushion. Researchers … Continue reading I Wonder If I Can Have a Few Dozen of These Delivered Before Friday…
School board members are typically unpaid volunteers, often parents who step forward to shape school policy, choose a superintendent, and review the budget. In most places, and during most times, it was a relatively unremarkable, yet vital position, one that few people paid attention to, or even knew who the members of the local school … Continue reading Why Would Anyone Want to Be on Their Local School Board?
This post was inspired by the following Dan Ariely letter of advice: Dear Dan, Our neighborhood park has seen a surge in litter and trash. As chair of our neighborhood association, I was thinking of putting up signs, informing people about this issue and reminding them to please use the trash cans. Can you think … Continue reading Dear Students: Cheating Is Disgusting
From the Wall Street Journal: A year of remote learning has spurred an eruption of cheating among students, from grade school to college. With many students isolated at home over the past year—and with a mass of online services at their disposal—academic dishonesty has never been so easy. To me, academic integrity is at the heart of … Continue reading Sad: Cheating Surges in Schools
Tomorrow is a big day for many students at Villanova. It is the last day they can withdraw from a course with no academic penalty. Students will receive a grade of WX on his or her official transcript for the course that he or she drops. Such a grade does not factor into their GPA, … Continue reading I’m Curious What You Think
I've used LinkedIn for several years, and it's one of the sites I go to every day. As a college professor, my favorite feature is simply reading through the Notifications to see what my former students are up to. If one of them is starting a new job, has gotten a promotion, or is going … Continue reading Why I Love LinkedIn
This is the 30th in a collection of newspaper ads written by Harry Gray, then CEO of United Technologies, that appeared in the Wall Street Journal from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Here is the text from that ad. This message first ran four years ago. We said it in 1979, and we … Continue reading The Power of Knowledge
As part of my evaluation at work, I have been asked to submit a statement of my teaching philosophy. You would think after 28 years of teaching I would either have such a statement, or at least be able to easily articulate what that philosophy is. Sadly, I do not have a statement, nor am … Continue reading My Teaching Philosophy
In business, there is a practice known as Big Bath accounting. The way the practice works is that when a company is having a bad year financially, it will opt to do everything it can to make it look as bad as possible. This may involve delaying revenue for the current year until the following … Continue reading What’s Your “Big Bath”?
Imagine making a donation to a cause that you really believe in, one that you believe will make a difference. Then imagine getting personalized hand-drawn thank you notes like the one above, telling you how awesome you are. Well that pretty much describes how the online charity DonorsChoose.org works. Its mission is to "engage the public in public … Continue reading Why I Love DonorsChoose.org
Borden's Blather 