think – Page 2

Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science – until they learn a different way

18Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science – until they learn a different way

I found that college students who are taking courses to become teachers can change their beliefs of how science and mathematics should be taught to and learned by K-12 students. Most of these future teachers tell me when they start my course, they believe that K-12 students must memorize science and mathematics knowledge to learn it. They also believe that students cannot acquire knowledge through a process used by scientists and mathematicians called problem-solving. Problem-solving asks students to solve engaging and challenging problems that are provided without a strategy or solution. It also involves group work and a time to present and justify their strategies and solutions to the class. To challenge my students’ beliefs, I ask future teachers to teach science and mathematics to st...

Life on welfare isn’t what most people think it is

12Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Life on welfare isn’t what most people think it is

When Americans talk about people receiving public assistance – food stamps, disability, unemployment payments and other government help – they often have stereotypes and inaccurate perceptions of who those people are and what their lives are like. Statistics can help clarify the picture by challenging false stereotypes of undeserving people gaming the system, but people’s stories about their own experiences can be more memorable and therefore more effective in changing minds. As an anthropologist and folklorist seeking to better understand life on public assistance, I have worked with a team of researchers in North Carolina over the past seven years, recording stories people tell about welfare in America. We’ve talked to more than 150 people and recorded over 1,200 stories and found that...

Black turnout in primaries might make Democrats think twice about swing voter strategy

11Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Black turnout in primaries might make Democrats think twice about swing voter strategy

Big wins for Joe Biden on Super Tuesday and in the South Carolina primary a few days earlier have seemingly bolstered a centrist view of how best to capture the presidency: appeal to the middle, pick up swing voters. It is true that a sizeable chunk of moderates cast a ballot for Biden over his main rival, the more radical Bernie Sanders, in these contests. But a closer look at how the vote broke down suggests a different interpretation: Biden’s surge may be less about moderates and more about getting out the anti-Trump vote. As a political scientist who teaches in South Carolina and studies African American politics, I believe that understanding what drove the outcome of these early primaries may be key to creating a successful Democratic strategy to beat Donald Trump. The Biden bounce...

What Americans think about who deserves tuition-free college

25Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

What Americans think about who deserves tuition-free college

Tuition-free college has gotten a lot of momentum of late. Front-runners in the Democratic presidential field – including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden – have all come out in support of federally funded tuition-free college. And it isn’t just Democrats. Nineteen states have passed tuition-free college policies, including Republican strongholds Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky. So have nearly 300 cities or counties. But there is still debate about who should be eligible. Should there be an income cap, for instance, so that only poor or middle-income families are eligible? Should there be a minimum high school GPA requirement? In my recently published survey, I found that Americans view tuition-free college more positively when it’s open to everyone – compared to when ...

Poll: Black and Latino Americans think Donald Trump’s actions have made life worse for people of color

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Poll: Black and Latino Americans think Donald Trump’s actions have made life worse for people of color

NEW YORK — Large majorities of black and Latino Americans think Donald Trump’s actions as president have made things worse for people like them, and about two-thirds of Americans overall disapprove of how he’s handling race relations, according to a new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About half of all Americans think Trump’s actions have been bad for African Americans, Muslims and women, and slightly more than half say they’ve been bad for Hispanics. Trump’s 33% approval rating on handling race relations makes that one of his worst issues in recent AP-NORC polls. That stands in stark contrast to his handling of the economy: About half say they approve of his handling of that issue, while views of current economic conditions continue to be ro...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

22 Race-Related Films That Will Make You Laugh, Cry, and Think Differently

Research has shown that certain movies have caused social justice change, or simply inspired good things to happen. Some therapists prescribe movies as a form of treatment. Yep, movie therapy, or cinema therapy, is an expressive, sensory-based treatment that uses movies, TV shows, videos, and animation as tools for growth and healing. And it’s been found to enhance the therapeutic process and increase overall engagement with clients whom therapists find difficult to reach. I’ve experienced this to be true. Three years ago, when I switched up the television shows that I watch, choosing only those that feature what I perceived to be real Black lives, I was unknowingly engaged in cinema therapy. Watching shows that affirmed my Blackness and womanhood helped me reflec...

Why Universal Basic Income Is Not the Solution We Think It Is

13Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Why Universal Basic Income Is Not the Solution We Think It Is

The racial wealth gap is real. But a guaranteed income is not going to fix it. Yes, I feel the current distribution of wealth is grotesquely unfair. Yes, I believe that those who cannot or will not work should not be allowed to starve. Yes, I would be against plans to eliminate or cut the existing welfare system as long as it is needed. Yes, I believe that we should build a community in which everyone’s needs are met. Yet I oppose a universal guaranteed basic income. My objections have surprised many people, but they are consistent with what I think is the solution to our economic justice problem. I favor deep democracy replacing the rule of capital in our lives. This would require reparations and the reconstruction of the commons to include the Earth and the financial r...

5Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

The Elite Is Not Who You Think It Is—It Might Be You

To most, the Occupy movement is best characterized by the slogan “We are the 99 percent.” Indeed, a year before Occupy sprang to life, the top 1 percent held roughly 35 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 50 percent held about 1 percent. But the data tell a more complex story, and the bifurcated way that we define “elite” may need adjustment. As senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Richard Reeves describes in his new book, Dream Hoarders, that while the top 1 percent overwhelmingly receives a disproportionate share of economic gains, the upper middle class is also "hoarding" resources. Families in the 80th to the 99th percentiles—or those earning at least $112,000—have made out pretty well over the past 35 years. Since 1980, incomes for the top 1 percent skyrocketed, a...