Education Archives

How to Read a Book: Using External Resources

How and when should you use external resources when you’re reading a book? Is it okay to rely on outside help, or should you try to read a difficult book on your own? In their book How to Read a Book, Adler and Van Doren believe that you should struggle through a book as much as you can on your own. However, when you really need help understanding the material, there are some tools you can use to aid your understanding. Below are the external resources that Adler and Van Doren recommend using.

The Quest for Ideological Purity on College Campuses

How is the “us versus them” mindset causing a quest for ideological purity in colleges? Why is it so important to have diverse viewpoints? In their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff believe that many colleges today are trending towards ideological purity rather than diversity. They state that this way of thinking can lead to persecution of those who are perceived to be dissenters and can lead to intimidation and fear. Keep reading to learn why ideological purity in colleges is dangerous.

How to Identify the Most Important Sentences in a Book

How can you tell which are the most important sentences in a book? What are the best ways to unpack complicated sentences? In How to Read a Book, authors Adler and Van Doren suggest identifying an author’s most important sentences to find their leading proposition. Once you’ve identified the primary proposition, paraphrase it in your own words to make sure you really understand its meaning. Keep reading to learn the best way to find and unpack an author’s most important sentences.

How to Read Fiction With an Analytical Eye

Do you want to know how to read fiction with an analytical eye? How is reading fiction different than reading nonfiction? In their book How to Read a Book, Adler and Van Doren discuss the differences between reading fiction and nonfiction. While most of the book focuses on how to read nonfiction, this section teaches how to actively read fiction with a critical eye and analyze quality. Continue reading to learn Adler and Van Doren’s method to reading fiction.

How Party Polarization Is Spreading to Campuses

What are the negative effects of party polarization on college campuses? How are faculty members getting mixed up in campus politics? In the book The Coddling of the American Mind, the co-authors Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff discuss the growing divide on college campuses due to American politics. They argue that recent events such as presidential elections are further dividing the country and it is spreading to university students and impacting education. Continue below to learn about how party polarization is affecting college students.

What Is Shame? Brené Brown Explains in Her TED Talk

What is shame? How can you determine your proneness to shame, guilt, and blame? In her TED Talk, Brené Brown discusses the differences between shame, guilt, blame, embarrassment, and humiliation. Brown also discusses the TOSCA test for determining your proneness to the above emotions. Continue reading for Brené Brown’s take on what shame is.

How to Evaluate a Book and Its Author

Do you want to know the best way to evaluate a book? How should you handle a disagreement with a book’s author? What are the different categories of disagreement? In their book How to Read a Book, authors Adler and Van Doren discuss the steps you should take to evaluating a book. They say that you must first determine whether the author has answered your questions, evaluate the author’s answers, and then try to understand the author’s point of view before arguing with them. Continue reading for more on how to evaluate a book and its author, according to Adler

College Is a Business: Students Are Just Customers

How did colleges start running like businesses rather than educational institutions? What impact has this had on the students? These days, colleges are run more like big businesses than educational institutions. This is because education is so profitable that the administrators started looking at students as customers and valuable assets that need to be catered to or they’ll lose money. Keep reading to learn why college is a business and students are merely customers.

How Speech Codes Are Threatening Universities

In what ways are speech codes reshaping academic life? Why are professors teaching in an atmosphere of intimidation? In their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff argue that speech codes in universities are damaging free speech on campus. The authors say that college professors are constantly in fear of saying anything wrong or offending a student and so their ability to teach is being impacted. Keep reading to learn more about the dangers of university speech codes.

How Safetyism Is Creating Fragile, Sensitive Children

What is safetyism? How did media coverage lead to an increase in safety parenting? What long-term effects does safetyism have? Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, co-authors of The Coddling of the American Mind, think that safetyism and safety parenting is creating fragile children. This means that when those kids reach college, they are more likely to rely on authority figures to solve all of their problems instead of handling them themselves. Keep reading to learn what Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff have to say about the impacts of safetyism.