http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/arts/19nea.html?em&ex=1195707600&en=19
c57bbd70b9bb6a&ei=5087%0A
The article ("Study Links Drop in Test Scores to a Decline in Time Spent
Reading") in the New York Times (Monday) is interesting but I'm not sure
how impressive the data are.
Marie
****************************************************
Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology
Kaufman 168, Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA 17013
Office: (717) 245-1562, Fax: (717) 245-1971
http://alpha.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm
****************************************************
-----Original Message-----
From: Pollak, Edward [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 8:13 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: Re:[tips] Am I expecting too much?
Suicide bomber is a pretty self-obvious term. But don't bet your life
that they'd know what an IED is, Chris. I just had a student in my
office asking for suggestions/source for a paper on "psychological
warfare" (for a writing class). The conversation drifted to "water
boarding." She'd never heard of that.
Besides, "Kamikaze" is more than ancient history. It's entered the
English lexicon as general term. It's no more "ancient history" than is
the word, "vandal."
Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Chester, PA 19383
Office Hours: Mon. 12 - 2 p.m. & 3 - 4 p.m.
Tuesdays & Thursdays 8 - 9:00 a.m. & 12:30 - 2 p.m. & by appointment.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and
herpetoculturist...... in approximate order of importance.
Subject: Re: Am I expecting too much?
From: "Christopher D. Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:24:44 -0500
X-Message-Number: 15
Pollak, Edward wrote:
>
>
> A few weeks ago I gave an exam in animal behavior and asked a question
> about "Kamikaze sperm." One student asked what species a Kamikaze was.
> I then asked the next 4 students entering my office if they'd ever
> heard the word , "kamikaze." The first three had never heard the word.
> I'm convinced that the problem is that most students no longer read
> for pleasure.
Really? I bet if you ask them what a "suicide bomber" or an "IED" is,
they'd have a pretty good idea (which is the rough equivalent in modern
terms). Kamikazes are ancient history to today's student. *We* know what
they were because they were a stock figure in many popular movies of our
generations (asnd some of us may be old enough to remember them a mews
items). But now they are as arcane as a hoplite phalanx or a Viking
berserk.
Chris
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