The death of the exam: Canada is at the leading edge of killing the dreaded annual ‘final’ for good Exam season — that annual academic ritual of last-ditch, high-stress cramming — is upon the students of Canada. But as two major universities, York and Toronto, head into finals after prolonged teacher strikes, some students are fretting about a different sort of stress: The possible cancellation of this year’s big tests. That would mean no risk of choking on exam day, but also no chance to bump up final grades. Either way, it would put any students spared final tests at the leading edge of a movement on campuses, at high schools, even elementary schools — the decline of the exam. For all the energy and attention they demand, educators are pushing to marginalize exams. “We are in the midst of an educational revolution,” says Stuart Shanker, distinguished research professor of philosophy and psychology at York University and a leading figure in educational reform. Greg Southam/Edmonton JournalStudents write exams in the Butterdome at the University of Alberta on December 9, 2014.
Finland: A Society of Trust. | Filling My Map Imagine a world where you simply expect everyone to follow the rules and do the right thing. This is a world where mothers leave sleeping infants in their strollers outside of little shops while they run in for a quick purchase. This is a society where all school doors are left unlocked and public transportation basically operates on an honor system. I find this faith in society absolutely refreshing. I asked someone about this phenomena where the Finns ALWAYS wait for the green light. The trust found in society is especially apparent to me when I observe Finnish schools. I often find kids roaming the halls or grounds freely. Sometimes in middle school and high school the kids have skip periods in the middle of the day. This trust extends to the classroom instruction as well. This underlying current of trust and faith in society is apparent in every aspect of Finnish life. Like this: Like Loading...
A first hand perspective on Finnish schools vs North American schools My twitter feed is varied with every type of account from family, to Moms and Dads, to local breweries, to bird & carrot & bear parody accounts (not kidding), and a smattering of educational tweeters. My Life, represented by social media. This popped into my stream this morning and, well yes I was intrigued. 9 Reasons Finland’s Schools Are So Much Better Than America’s by Libby Nelson. Goodness, that headline is a wonderful example of the term clickbait. I lived in Tornio, Finland between 1999 and 2000. University is free. Going back even younger, I lived with two 7yr old twins for 7 months in my first host family. All of this to say: it’s much different in Finland than it is here. Overall, I would define the Finnish school system in one word: respected. If you like it, maybe they would too? Like this: Like Loading...
Employability Skills Map This “skills map” sets out all the main employability skills in a way that shows their relationships to each other. You may wish to highlight any you feel you are good at and put a question mark against any you feel you need to develop. Does a pattern emerge? You may like to write down a brief example of where you have used your key skills next to each one you have highlighted. Most of the skills link to a relevant page when clicked on. Back to the Skills Menu © These pages are copyright of the University of Kent Careers and Employability Service.
tion Words Using active, positive words (these are normally verbs) in a CV or in an application form can give it additional impact and make a stronger impression on potential employers. Use action words (also called buzz words) to put over what you have achieved in vacation jobs or posts of responsibility - not just the tasks you have carried out. For example, rather than writing: "For my final-year project, I had to carry out a survey of patients' attitudes to health care services for the elderly. You should instead write: "Devised and prepared a survey of patients' attitudes to health care services for the elderly as my final-year project. The first example starts with a number of weak and passive verbs (in red) whereas the second example contains strong targeted active verbs (again in red) such as devised and created which suggests a person who has initiative and takes action. Line up the action words to win some (virtual!) You will need Adobe Flash to use the slot machine below.
Business Skills: How To Answer Job Interview Questions in English – Part 1 For the past two weeks, I’ve had the delight and honour of hosting/teaching a French lady. Fabienne took voluntary redundancy from her job last year and has spent this past year working on her English. She’s now considering her professional options and wanted to focus on her job interview skills with me so as to be ready for the next stage in her career. We spent the two weeks analysing what makes a good interview, what language to use, what is the right attitude to have during an interview and so on. One resource I used as a guide during the course was the excellent Business English Pod. In most first interviews, there is a series of questions that you can be sure to be asked. First of all, let’s see what these commonly asked questions are about: BackgroundCurrent responsibilitiesPersonal characteristicsProudest achievementGreatest strength and weaknessReasons for leaving your current jobQuestions you may have for the interviewer This list is by no means exhaustive but it’s a start.
How anxiety scrambles your brain and makes it hard to learn Olivia admits she’s always been a worrier – but when she started university, her anxiety steadily began to build. One day she was simply too frightened to leave the house. For two weeks she was stuck indoors, before she was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and began to get the help she needed. With support from her GP and university wellbeing service, and courses of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), she was able to stick with her university course and to start enjoying life again. But Olivia is far from alone in her anxiety: the number of students declaring a mental health problem has doubled in the last five years, to at least 115,000. “And that is a very small proportion of the students who are having mental health difficulties,” says Ruth Caleb, chair of Universities UK’s mental wellbeing working group. What does anxiety do to students? What happens in the brain of someone experiencing excessive anxiety is not fully understood.
JFK's Very Revealing Harvard Application Essay John F. Kennedy is one of the most mythologized figures in contemporary American history. At age 17, though, he was just a kid trying to get into college (a kid with a wealthy, famous father, of course). The Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has a digitized version of Kennedy's 1935 Harvard application, which includes his grades and his response to the essay prompt, "Why do you wish to come to Harvard?" The reasons that I have for wishing to go to Harvard are several. Business Insider dismisses the essay for being five sentences long (I'm not sure how much more he could have written given the space) and implies that his answer wasn't carefully considered. Still, Kennedy's essay shows a profound, if implicit, understanding of the primary value of attending an elite school: status and personal connections, rather than mastery of academic skills and knowledge. And it is, indeed, an enviable distinction.
How Body Language Can Help You Get a Job Offer - Motto Got a job interview coming up? You can run through practice questions until your tongue goes numb, select the perfect Olivia Pope-meets-Alicia Florrick outfit and send out a Pulitzer Prize-worthy thank you note. But if your body language doesn’t convey the right message, you’re undermining all of your efforts. “There are two conversations going on in any interview,” says Dr. Carol Goman, keynote speaker and author of The Silent Language of Leaders. Utilize these tips in your next interview to make sure your body language says, “Hire me.” 1. Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 2. A better idea? Read more: 8 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Accepting a Job 3. Subscribe to the Motto newsletter for advice worth sharing. She suggests starting with a subtle smile that broadens once you see the interviewer. 4. “Eye contact is like Goldilocks and the three bears—you want just the right amount,” says Goman. Finally, be sure to name drop. 5. Just remember to keep your movements relaxed. 6. 7.
Ninjas wanted as Japan region promotes 'warlord tourism' Image copyright Aichi Prefecture Sharpen your shuriken, Japan's Aichi prefecture is looking to hire six ninjas in a bid to boost tourism. The roles are full time and the pay is ¥180,000 ($1,600; £1,100) a month, the job ad says (in Japanese). Physical fitness and acrobatic skills are a must says Aichi prefecture, which hopes to promote "warlord tourism". Ninjas were 15th Century Japanese mercenaries specialising in espionage, assassination, sabotage and other forms of irregular warfare. Such trickery was considered beneath the samurai, or military nobility, who had to observe strict rules on fighting honourably. Image copyright Getty Images The job specification has been somewhat changed for the advertised roles. It involves stage performances and "PR work" for radio and television. Ideal candidates should "enjoy being under the spotlight even though he or she is a secretive ninja," Satoshi Adachi of the prefecture's tourism promotion unit, told AFP. Image copyright Reuters
Why Finland has the best schools The Harvard education professor Howard Gardner once advised Americans, “Learn from Finland, which has the most effective schools and which does just about the opposite of what we are doing in the United States.” Following his recommendation, I enrolled my 7-year-old son in a primary school in Joensuu, Finland, which is about as far east as you can go in the European Union before you hit the guard towers of the Russian border. OK, I wasn't just blindly following Gardner — I had a position as a lecturer at the University of Eastern Finland for a semester. But the point is that, for five months, my wife, my son and I experienced a stunningly stress-free, and stunningly good, school system. In Finland, children don't receive formal academic training until the age of 7. Unlike in the United States, where many schools are slashing recess, schoolchildren in Finland have a mandatory 15-minute outdoor free-play break every hour of every day. But what if the opposite is true? “Do you hear that?”
18 English words that mean very different things in Britain and America As the old adage famously goes: you say tom-MAY-toes, and I say tom-MAH-toes. We should probably call the whole thing off, right? Ever since the might of the British Empire was expelled from the United States, ordinary folk from both sides of the pond have chuckled at each other's use of the English language and pronunciation. Here are several important examples you need to remember - simply to make sure no one gives you a weird look when you're off on your holidays. 1. UK: A woollen pullover worn in the winter US: Someone who commits suicide by leaping from a building or bridge 2. UK: An eraser for a pencil US: A condom 3. UK: Something a baby wears (noun) US: Frizzy or hairy (adjective) 4. UK: The floor above the ground floor US: The ground floor of a building UK: Flaps attached to a race horse's face to restrict its vision US: Indicators on a car 6. UK: Another word for jewellery box US: Another word for coffin 7. UK: Informal party wear, dressing up as a well-known character 8. 9. US: An old man
The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs A convoy of self-driving trucks recently drove across Europe and arrived at the Port of Rotterdam. No technology will automate away more jobs — or drive more economic efficiency — than the driverless truck. Shipping a full truckload from L.A. to New York costs around $4,500 today, with labor representing 75 percent of that cost. But those labor savings aren’t the only gains to be had from the adoption of driverless trucks. Where drivers are restricted by law from driving more than 11 hours per day without taking an 8-hour break, a driverless truck can drive nearly 24 hours per day. That means the technology would effectively double the output of the U.S. transportation network at 25 percent of the cost. And the savings become even more significant when you account for fuel efficiency gains. Trucking represents a considerable portion of the cost of all the goods we buy, so consumers everywhere will experience this change as lower prices and higher standards of living.
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