The best of the web on education from kindergarten to postsecondary, as chosen by Globe and Mail education editor Simona Chiose.
Part-time jobs for students don't build skills
Students who work off-campus do not get as much of a boost in their communication and people management skills as those who are involved in activities at the university. Counterintuitive as it may seem, some of the job skills employers say young graduates are missing would be better cultivated by taking up opportunities at school rather than part-time employment. Students who were part of student government or residence life were found to be better at taking responsibility for developing their skills, at teamwork and at directing change. Peer helpers were strongest at mobilizing innovation and change - but as the study notes, that may be due to some other personality or background trait that makes them want to become peer helpers in the first place. So rather than look at the job experience – often in services – a young graduate lists on a resume, employers would be better off focusing on extra-curriculars.
Maple Spring graffiti turns to art
The Université du Quebec a Montréal is considering saving the slogans and graffiti from the Maple Spring rather than painting over them. If the university cleans up the drawings the students promise they will put up new ones.
The uses of big data
You want big data analysis? Using the Ngram database, which relies on the Google books collection, researchers have found that over the last century, books written in the United States have more individualistic words while books across the Anglo world have become less emotional.
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