Ann Larson’s recent IHE column, in which she dissects the popular idea that that a college education is the key to upward mobility for lower-income Americans, resonated for me in a personal way, because I have two nephews who joined the military after they ran out of money for college tuition. One, in the National Guard, spent a year in Iraq and could be called up again. The other will have shipped out to Afghanistan when this column is posted.
Susan O'Doherty
Susan O'Doherty, Ph.D. (http://www.susanodohertyauthor.com/) is a writer and clinical psychologist who specializes in the creative process. Her stories and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Mama, Ph.D. She is the author of Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued: A Woman's Guide to Unblocking Creativity (Seal, 2007). Her popular advice column for writers, "The Doctor is In," appears each Friday on Buzz, Balls & Hype.
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May 23, 2010
A few weeks ago I met with my son’s advisor to discuss his academic progress as he nears the end of the tenth grade. She was generally positive about his college prospects: “His grades aren’t perfect, but his standardized tests are stellar, and he’ll get great recommendations,” she said. “Besides, he’s a boy.”
I knew what that meant, thanks to discussions on this blog. “I have mixed feelings about that,” I told her. “I’m happy for anything that will help Ben, but…”
“I know. I have a daughter.”
May 16, 2010
The responses to last week’s column have resonated with me in an especially intense way this week.
May 9, 2010
My son's mid-semester report came last week. The news was that he's doing fine in everything but humanities and art. "What is going on with humanities?" I demanded. He explained, and his teacher later confirmed, that he had been unable to hand in his major project before the reports were issued because of a transmission issue I don't understand, but it's been straightened out now and his semester grade is likely to be high. "So I guess you'll forgive the art as long as I'm okay in the serious subjects," he said.
May 2, 2010
“Henry Adams’s” most recent “Academic Bait-and-Switch” column in The Chronicle, in which he discusses all of his misguided reasons for going to graduate school in English, prodded me to reflect on my own experience as an undergraduate drama and English major who aspired to become a college professor.
April 25, 2010
“Indicators” are released to provide data on students, faculty and American life.
April 18, 2010
Ann Zimmerman reports in The Wall Street Journal that, thanks in large part to a viral campaign by female computer engineers, Computer Engineer Barbie will be one of two new models in Mattel's "I Can Be..." line. (The other will be TV Anchor Barbie, elected by young girls around the world.) Here's what she will look like, according to Zimmerman:
April 11, 2010
I don’t think it’s coincidental that recent posts to this blog have focused on the importance of self-care even in the face of others’ needs, the longing for vacation and the need to find and pursue one's passion. April can, indeed, be the cruelest month
April 4, 2010
I have been reading Libby Gruner’s recent “advising” columns with interest, both because I wish I’d had someone like her to advise me when I was a floundering undergraduate, and because my son is (knock wood) about to finish the tenth grade, and we’re starting to talk about future plans in ways that are more focu
March 28, 2010
I take a singing class on Monday nights. This is joyful recreation for me, as well as a nostalgic experience -- I studied acting, singing, and movement at this theater school in my youth, before I was seduced into graduate school by the prospect of regular meals and the possibility of aging gracefully.
