Select a news topic from the list below, then select a news article to read.

Is Great Art One Potential Benefit of the Economic Downturn?

In effect, such declarations helped lay the cultural groundwork for the New Deal, providing the ideological infrastructure for the new governmental institutions created during the ’30s. It is not yet clear whether the current economic disaster will produce anything like the profound transformation that shook the U.S. during the Great Depression. Our own crises of belief are likely just beginning. If we are fortunate, however, we will have a generation of artists and intellectuals like those of the 1930s to help us imagine our way past confusion. 

 

 

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What Kind of Work Deserves an A?

He attributes those complaints to his students’ sense of entitlement.

“I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed todo and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,” hesaid. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.”

 

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New York Times College Admissions Article

The New York Times has posted an interesting set of responses from college admissions counselors about getting into selective schools that might be of some interest to you. While some of responses seem like standard admissions-speak, the responses do contain some potentially valuable insight. One of the admissions counselors explained the process in a way that might change your perspective a bit:

Jeff Brenzel of Yale University: It is not well understood that we are not aiming to pick out the best candidate in a particular school or from a particular area, as measured by some predetermined criteria. Rather, we are trying to assemble the most varied and most interesting class we can from an extremely diverse group of close to 25,000 outstanding applicants. We do not aim to compare a student primarily with other students from his or her school; we look instead for students who will bring something of particular value to the entering class.

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Site Updates

As you may have noticed, I have made a few changes to the layout and functionality of the site. The new appearance, while simpler, should be faster loading. I’ve posted a poll on the right hand side of the site for you to indicate your preferences, if any. I’d appreciate it if you took a second to answer the question.

I’ve also added a completely new section. If you are logged in, you will see a menu item at the top called “Community.” What it does should be familiar to most of you. I’d appreciate it if you played around with it and saw what worked and didn’t.

Finally, I have tried to clean up all of the links on the site. If you notice any errors, drop me a line.

I hope you’re all enjoying your break.

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Get Bloggin’

If you have missed a quiz in AP English IV or English III, don’t forget that you need to get a blog done for each quiz that you have missed. Wondering what a good blog entry looks like? This page has some sample thoughtful entries.

The world is waiting for your deep insight about literature.

Honest.

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