Video Techniques From the Berkley’s Knight School of Journalism

Check out these video techniques from the Knight School of Journalism at UC Berkley. This is an excellent resource as we move forward with video reporting.

Have a Meaning-Full Life, Seniors!

To all our seniors leaving ZIS this year for a variety of exciting adventures, I bid you adieu! I wish you all the best, the richest experiences, the deepest loves, the most profound questions, and the most sweeping fun. In parting, I share with you the power of Toni Morrison’s commencement speech this spring at . . . → Read More: Have a Meaning-Full Life, Seniors!

Why Consider a Gap Year?

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”

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”

On Limerence and More – David Brooks on TED

In this TED talk by David Brooks, he provides an engaging and enlightening discussion of ideas I explored recently. Check it out – the new humanism. Can you connect this talk and Dr. Cornell West’s ideas on what it means to be alive? Does one have it more right than the other? Are both of . . . → Read More: On Limerence and More – David Brooks on TED

Truth & The Examined Life with Cornell West

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”

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

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

Some Excellent Internet Resources of All Sorts

Just in case you’re out of things to do during this vacation time, here are some cool resources for learning, enjoyment, or both.

SAT’s Question of the Day – This is a cool chance to test yourself and learn from the results. There are lots of cool grammar and sentence questions, as well as word . . . → Read More: Some Excellent Internet Resources of All Sorts

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

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!