On Learning | Metonymy

Are You Prepared to Write in College?

By Mr. Hoke, on April 18th, 2012%

Check out this piece by Georgetown University freshman Darryl Robinson on his experience as a writer and student in a world-class school. It’s eye opening!

Fiction, Genre, & Language

By Mr. Hoke, on July 17th, 2011%

A fun episode of On Point with Tom Ashbrook recently featured some writers of fantasy-style fiction novels that have received great acclaim from reviewers. As a not-so-secret science fiction geek, I was stirred a bit by the shock of Tom Ashbrook as he navigated the waters of fantasy creatures in literary fiction, proclaiming that the . . . → Read More: Fiction, Genre, & Language

Read Some Nonfiction – A List from The Guardian

By Mr. Hoke, on June 15th, 2011%

The Guardian has published an excellent and provocative list of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. I’m a nonfiction addict – the creative essay, persuasion in all its guises, academic study, education research, society & culture, the arts, history. I have just finished The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson and am currently reading The Information . . . → Read More: Read Some Nonfiction – A List from The Guardian

Why Consider a Gap Year?

By Mr. Hoke, on April 13th, 2011%

When I ask students about the idea of a gap year prior to entering university, I almost always hear the same thing – I can’t fall behind, I don’t want to miss out, I don’t want to lose a shot at the best school, or, worst of all, what would I do? Only once – . . . → Read More: Why Consider a Gap Year?

Metaphors, Poetry, and Thinking – “Poetry for Everyday Life”

By Mr. Hoke, on April 13th, 2011%

David Brooks is continuing his incredible run of synthesis between the social and cognitive sciences with his latest piece in the New York Times entitled “Poetry for Everyday Life.” Brooks begins by paraphrasing data from a

fine new book, “I Is an Other,” [in which] James Geary reports on linguistic research suggesting that people use . . . → Read More: Metaphors, Poetry, and Thinking – “Poetry for Everyday Life”

Truth & The Examined Life with Cornell West

By Mr. Hoke, on April 7th, 2011%

The way to truth, sustaining the journey to truth – deducing from evidence, drawing reliable conclusions, surrendering one’s arrogance and pride – “ways of acknowledging our finitude and fallibility,” with Dr. Cornell West, Class of 1943 Professor at Princeton University, “a blues man in the life of the mind, I’m a jazz man in the . . . → Read More: Truth & The Examined Life with Cornell West

Thinking About “Tools for Thinking”

By Mr. Hoke, on March 31st, 2011%

Now is an amazing time to be alive, but the context of now is clearly that of the past. A case in point – what you think of the uprisings of “the Arab wave” will likely be determined by how you view the world, based on your upbringing, education, and myriad other factors. The United . . . → Read More: Thinking About “Tools for Thinking”

On Limerence

By Mr. Hoke, on March 8th, 2011%

David Brooks, in his latest piece in The New York Times has covered a fascinating piece outlining the basis of my philosophies of living, learning, and teaching: “The New Humanism.”

Brooks exposes the individualistic, materialistic, uber-rational philosophies of the past and present as single-faceted paradigms which ignore much of what is true about human nature. . . . → Read More: On Limerence

Learning Information is a Reflective Process; Get Started with a Test!

By Mr. Hoke, on January 25th, 2011%

A fascinating study has just been published in the journal Science regarding kinds of study strategies and their effectiveness in improving recall, or retrieval, of information later. An article on the study has been linked below and all quotes come from the linked text.

In brief, when compared to strategies such as repeated reading, cramming, . . . → Read More: Learning Information is a Reflective Process; Get Started with a Test!

Metonymy