Child development expert speaks out against weekend schooling
In an effort to raise test scores in elementary and secondary schools, a growing number of educators around the country are calling for the creation of Saturday classes for students struggling in academics. Tufts child development professor David Elkind, however, told The New York Times Magazine that Saturday schooling is not a good solution because the classes could easily become more of a punishment than a study aid.
"I have a real concern about how children are going to feel about themselves if they're being singled out as needing remedial work and having to spend their Saturdays in school," Elkind was quoted ("Weekend Worriers," 1/28).
Elkind stressed that students already spend a concentrated amount of time in an academically charged environment and need balance in their schedule. Placing higher demands on students who are already occupied with classes, extracurriculars, and college preparations would only worsen the problem.
"Down time is important for kids and they don't have enough of it," Elkind said.
Author and Tufts lecturer Andre Dubus III appears on Oprah
Tufts English lecturer and author Andre Dubus III appeared on The Oprah Winfrey show last Wednesday to discuss his book, The House of Sand and Fog. The bestseller was chosen as Oprah's first book club selection of the year and was highly acclaimed by the show's host and audience."This author just won our hearts and minds with his story," Winfrey said during the show. "This is one of my favorite reads of all time."
The talk show host added that Dubus' book received a record response with thousands of letters pouring in from readers nationwide.
In his interview with Oprah, Dubus said that he wrote the book in his car parked outside a graveyard because he enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. The inspiration for his book, he explained, came from a newspaper article about a woman who had lost her home as a result of unpaid taxes, as well as an acquaintance of his who was an Iranian military leader.
The book tells the story of three different people - an immigrant from Iran, a recovering alcoholic, and a married sheriff who falls in love with the alcoholic - who are drawn to the same house in California and find their American dreams going awry.
Dubus said that the most rewarding part of his work has been the spirited discussions led by readers throughout the country.
"What's so gratifying artistically is that you're reading [the characters] as real people. That's all I want," he said.
Other authors featured on Oprah's Book Club have included renowned writers such as Toni Morrison and Wally Lamb.
Education professor doubts value of online tests
Education experts around the country, including Tufts lecturer Steven Cohen, are skeptical about the accuracy of using online assessment tests to review children's performance, according to a New York Times article last week. The idea was endorsed by former education secretary William Bennett, but Cohen told the Times that such tools are not a good way to measure progress."Any number that a machine is giving you, without having a sense of what your child does in school each day, and what that school is like, is arbitrary," Cohen told the Times.
Cohen instead encouraged parents to take a closer look at basic questions, such as whether or not their kids are reading, and not numbers in order to asses their children's progress.
