MGTutoring.com. A Rational Perspective on Education.

June 17, 2011

Khan Academy

Filed under: Culture,Education,Philosophy — Administrator @ 9:16 am

Some people seem to be sold on the videos of Mr. Khan of Khan Academy. However, in “tutoring” mathematics, Mr. Khan does nothing but deliver the exact same methodology as the texts and as current public education. He is a video version of paper texts, showing, in essentials and fundamentals, nothing original whatsoever. He basically reads from textbooks.

If Mr. Khan comes to grasp his errors, states them publicly, and starts promoting a rational, objective pedagogy, curriculum, and philosophy, then I will give him kudos. Until then, he is part of the problem, not part of the solution, and I recommend against him and his work.

In “The Dangerous Mr. Khan” (National Association of Scholars, June 07, 2011), David Clemens attacks also Mr. Khan’s teaching of history. Mr. Clemens says at the beginning of his article:

So is the Khan video approach a “disruptive technology” which undermines the existing deathbed educational model by doing it faster, better, and cheaper? Mr. Gates thinks so. “It’s a revolution,” he enthuses. “Everyone should check it out.” (www.khanacademy.org) Wearing his education reformer hat, Mr. Gates declares himself “superhappy.”

© 2011 National Association of Scholars. All rights reserved.

Mr. Gates is fundamentally wrong; he certainly knows computer software and business, but he does not know education or philosophy. Khan might do it faster and cheaper, but he does it in the same way, not better. He is in no way different in fundamentals or philosophy from, as Mr. Clemens puts it, “the existing deathbed educational model.” Hence there is no “undermining” or “revolution,” and certainly nothing to be “superhappy” about here; there is merely conformity and agreement, and reason to worry.

Mr. Clemens goes on to say:

Mr. Khan observes that “from FDR’s point of view, Hitler definitely was in the wrong here.” This observation is so odd, that I have to hit the pause button and take a moment to think about it. In Mr. Khan’s History, whether Hitler should have invaded Poland or not is just a matter of viewpoint, wrong in FDR’s (and probably Poland’s) but okey-dokey in Hitler’s. Everything is a matter of viewpoint, perspective, and cultural positioning, therefore nothing is essentially right or wrong, to be applauded or condemned. Here Mr. Khan stands exposed as possessing a historical perspective steeped in academia’s standard issue, postmodern, left-leaning narrative of cultural relativism, multiculturalism, and moral equivalence.

© 2011 National Association of Scholars. All rights reserved.

This is a major criticism. If true (I have not seen Mr. Khan’s history videos), then Mr. Khan is teaching skepticism: the denial of certainty, principle, and timeless truth. No thanks. Skepticism is a major philosophic error, as are moral and cultural relativism, all of which lead to personal and cultural frustration and disaster. And if true, this pretty much trashes Mr. Khan’s videos; they would be of no objective value whatsoever.

Mr. Clemens also wrote:

(more…)

June 16, 2011

Mistakes in Modern (Public) Education

Filed under: Culture,Education,Mathematics — Administrator @ 11:43 am

In “Singapore Math Tough to Adopt” (Education Week, Teaching Now Blog, June 9, 2011), Liana Heitin writes:

And Singapore Math requires extensive (and costly) professional development, and “a depth of understanding most U.S. elementary teachers don’t acquire in their math training,” according to [Bill Turque at The Washington Post].

And in “NAEP History Repeats Itself: Flat Scores Except 8th Grade” (Education Week, Education Week Spotlight, June 14, 2011), Erik W. Robelen writes:

The nation’s 8th graders posted gains in American history achievement compared with four years ago, new data show, but only a small minority, 17 percent, were rated “proficient” or higher in the subject.
…
Meanwhile, at the 4th and 12th grades, history essentially repeated itself, with no statistically significant changes since 2006. Just 12 percent of seniors and 20 percent of 4th graders scored at least proficient.
…
“It should concern us all that 12th graders’ knowledge of history has barely changed since 2001,” [said Diane Ravitch, a research professor at New York University]. “All of these students will be voters in a year, and almost 40 percent were already eligible to vote when they took the assessment. … They should be well informed and capable of weighing the contending claims of candidates, especially when the candidates rest their arguments on historical precedent.”

We need to privatize education, and make it rational and objective. These things would help teachers and students alike, in all sorts of ways. Both teachers and students deserve better.

May 9, 2011

Memory, Learning, and Vitamin B12

Filed under: Biology,Child Development,Education,Exercise, Health & Nutrition,Parenting — Administrator @ 10:33 am

In “B12 deficiency: a silent epidemic with serious consequences,” Chris Kresser says:

What do all of these diseases have in common?

  • Alzheimer’s, dementia, cognitive decline and memory loss (collectively referred to as “aging”)
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological disorders
  • Mental illness (depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychosis)
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Learning or developmental disorders in kids
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Autoimmune disease and immune dysregulation
  • Cancer
  • Male and female infertility

Answer: they can all be caused by vitamin B12 deficiency.

But what does it do? For what do we — and our children — need it?

Vitamin B12 works together with folate in the synthesis of DNA and red blood cells. It’s also involved in the production of the myelin sheath around the nerves, and the conduction of nerve impulses. You can think of the brain and the nervous system as a big tangle of wires. Myelin is the insulation that protects those wires and helps them to conduct messages.

Severe B12 deficiency in conditions like pernicious anemia (an autoimmune condition where the body destroys intrinsic factor, a protein necessary for the absorption of B12) used to be fatal until scientists figured out death could be prevented by feeding patients raw liver (which contains high amounts of B12). But anemia is the final stage of B12 deficiency. Long before anemia sets in, B12 deficiency causes several other problems, including fatigue, lethargy, weakness, memory loss and neurological and psychiatric problems.

You can read more about it on the NIH’s Website, WebMed, Wikipedia, and the Mayo Clinic’s Website.

Chris also says:

B12 is the only vitamin that contains a trace element (cobalt), which is why it’s called cobalamin. Cobalamin is produced in the gut of animals. It’s the only vitamin we can’t obtain from plants or sunlight. Plants don’t need B12 so they don’t store it.

So make sure you — and your children!! — eat meat!! Or at least supplement!!

I’d recommend you read the rest of the article. It has more good, important information.

May 6, 2011

Not All That Glitters Is Gold

Filed under: Culture,Education,Logic,Philosophy — Administrator @ 11:10 am

In “More Argument, Fewer Standards” (Education Week, April 19, 2011), Mike Schmoker and Gerald Graff start off seemingly hot, saying:

If we want record numbers of students to succeed in postsecondary studies and careers, an ancient, accessible concept needs to be restored to its rightful place at the center of schooling: argument. In its various forms, it includes the ability to analyze and assess our facts and evidence, support our solutions, and defend our interpretations and recommendations with clarity and precision in every subject area. Argument is the primary skill essential to our success as citizens, students, and workers.

Sounds good, right? They call for teaching students to use “evidence” and “clarity” and “precision.” Can’t argue with that! Sounds perfect!

But let’s see what else they say. What is their context? What is their underlying epistemology? What is their view of logic and of concepts?

In the meantime, let’s immediately begin, as the new standards urge us, to give students hundreds of opportunities, every year, to dismantle and defend arguments about increasingly rich, complex texts. From the earliest grades, let’s have them argue about the pros and cons of almost anything: literary characters and interpretations, global warming, capitalism vs. socialism, Sarah Palin, or the comparative quality of life in the United States and Canada (based on statistical analysis). Let’s ask students to explain their reasoning for which alternative-energy source we should invest in as they read, talk, and write about what they are learning in novels, textbooks, newspapers, and magazines.

© 2011 Editorial Projects in Education

And there we have what they are really after: divorcing concepts and minds from reality. Students, the authors say, should be encouraged to argue about things about which they know nothing or about which they are cognitively not ready for. The hierarchy of knowledge should be ignored and violated — but, like a building, if you take away the lower floors, the building cannot stand; like a tree, if you take away the roots and grounds, the tree cannot survive, live, and flourish.

Divorce argument from objectivity, hierarchy, context, and the evidence of the senses, and you have a Platonic hash.

May 5, 2011

Failing At Civics

Filed under: Culture,Education,History — Administrator @ 9:51 am

In “Most Students Lack Civics Proficiency on NAEP” (Education Week, May 4, 2011), Erik W. Robelen says:

Many high school seniors may be old enough to vote, but just one-quarter of them demonstrate at least a “proficient” level of civics knowledge and skills, based on the latest results from a prominent national exam.
…
“Knowledge of our system of government is not handed down through the gene pool,” retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said in a statement. “The habits of citizenship must be learned. … But we have neglected civic education for the past several decades, and the results are predictably dismal,” said Justice O’Connor, who has been promoting civics instruction in the United States.

© 2011 Editorial Projects in Education

The consequences of this will be (and are!) profound: the loss of the concept of freedom. Thank goodness for professors and private schools (e.g., the LePorte Schools, the VanDamme Academy, HistoryAtOurHouse) who still teach the American Revolution: those people and schools will be our saving grace.

May 2, 2011

A Brain-Healthy Meal

Filed under: Child Development,Education,Exercise, Health & Nutrition — Administrator @ 3:49 pm

The pic shows my 2 PM breakfast. I last ate yesterday (Sunday) at 2 PM — which says something about the nutritional quality of my meals. Breakfast today was 4 eggs scrambled in grass-fed butter, with some sauteed onion and some precooked sweet potato and asparagus; a pound of ground, grass-fed buffalo; a chopped avocado; and some blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

We need to grasp the idea, for ourselves and for our children, that good fats are critical to proper brain and nervous system development and function! This is the kind of meal a student should eat before a big test!!

April 12, 2011

How Not To Teach Math

Filed under: Education,Logic,Mathematics,Philosophy — Administrator @ 11:02 am

No wonder Dan Meyer is a heralded educator: he’s a pragmatist who would have our kids’ minds be crammed into and restricted to the immediate moment.

  Would he have us look at the universe, look at broad abstractions and large contexts, a la the Greeks and Galileo? No! Heck no! He says to look at the local basketball court — where you can find an application of math no one cares about and no one uses. Such examples are easily dismissed as artificial, since no one ever uses algebra and parabolas to shoot a basket — first-hand experience in the class room tells me so. And such examples are as narrow as the book examples Mr. Meyer is trying to oppose. And such examples do not naturally lead to further thought and investigation.

He responds to Platonism by giving us Pragmatism — but they are two sides of the same false coin. We need a rational approach, a la Aristotle, Archimedes, Newton, Galileo and Gauss.

February 8, 2011

Learning & Diet

Filed under: Biology,Child Development,Education,Exercise, Health & Nutrition — Administrator @ 12:11 am

The modern American diet is a big part of the cause of current learning difficulties and syndromes. We need and must have fats in our diet for proper neurological, and therefore cognitive, function, yet fats are demonized and avoided. I’d recommend you listen to Jimmy Moore‘s interview of Dr. Ann Childers to see what you can do to help yourself, your children, and those you love.

Jimmy Moore describes the interview as follows:  “Ann Childers, MD began her career as an animal behavior researcher and over time she noticed the effects of diet on canine health and behavior. Eventually she decided to become a professional licensed child and adult psychiatrist and a strong advocate for a low-carb approach to improving one’s “mental fitness” as well as physical health. Listen in for some junk food horror stories and what kinds of mental disorders she’s treated with carbohydrate restriction!”  Copyright © 2011 The Livin La Vida Low-Carb Show

Here is Dr. Childers’ bio:  “Dr. Childers is a child and adult trained psychiatric physician with a passionate interest in regaining our physical and mental health through nutrition and sleep. She has published a number of textbook chapters, among them ‘Nutritional Aspects of Psychiatry’ for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: The Essentials (Cheng and Myers, 2010). Her office is in Lake Oswego, Oregon where she sees children, adolescents and adults. A member of the Metabolism Society, she welcomes those who desire an integrated approach to psychiatric care, weight control, and/or metabolic management.”

August 7, 2010

That 1895 Salina, Kansas Exam

Filed under: Education,Fun,History — Administrator @ 4:36 pm

Someone has posted their answers to the exam. Nice.

An example answer:

9. Use the following correctly in sentences, Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
•    a.) The cite which was given as a source for the quote was incorrect.
•    b.) The site was surveyed yesterday.
•    c.) My rifle has a front and a rear sight.
•    d.) We celebrated the re-birth at fane.
•    f.) She would fain stay with her husband.
•    g.) Can she feign surprise and excitement?
•    h.) The vanes on the windmill are broken.
•    i.) It is vain to think you are better than others.
•    j.) Mother has a varicose vein in her leg.
•    k.) Tomorrow they will raze the old barn.
•    l.) Today they started to raise a new barn.
•    m.) The rays of the sun feel good in the spring.

HT: Patrick D.

February 15, 2010

Klaus Nordby, Tutor (Software and Graphics)

Filed under: Announcements,Education,Technology — Administrator @ 12:14 pm

On his Website, he says:

Personal software tutoring via Internet phone

Expert hands-on tutoring in Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and other graphics stuff

I like to teach. I am, in fact, a damn good teacher. And I love talking about and demonstrating graphics software and graphics techniques. Therefore, I have decided to offer private tutoring sessions by phone in Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, XaraX and various graphics subjects. I have conducted such phone tutoring sessions with several people, and it works really well.

You — the student — and I will work on the same image or project in the software of your choice, for instant back-and-forth feedback. If you are online during the tutorial (recommend) we can easily send each other files while we talk.

The Awesome Deal

I charge $30 per 60-minute hour (phoning included) — which is a great bargain, if I may say so myself. I guarantee that you will learn a lot in just one hour. In fact, I am so confident you will be happy with our tutoring sessions that I offer a full money-back guarantee: I’ll refund your money without question if you tell me it wasn’t worth it — or give you some extra time for free, to “fill in the blanks”.

Am I legally required to say I did not, am not now, and will not in the future, benefit financially in any way from this recommendation: no stocks, bonds, money, Monopoly money, gold, silver, jewelry, diamonds, rubies, pirate treasure, books, old wadded up paper or gum wrappers, pencils, certificates, awards or anything else of a material, or spiritual, sort?

Update (2-16-10, 8:15 AM): Corrected a typo: I had written “an” instead of “am” in the last sentence.

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