Stanford has begun using the flipped classroom model, an inversion of the conventional model where the instructor teaches at home through recorded videos, and has students do “homework” in the classroom. The advantage of this is that professors can individually work with students in the classroom and students can collaborate in-person easily. At Stanford, Professors … Read more
On August 30, 2012, Harvard University released a public statement about a cheating scandal “unprecedented in its scope and magnitude” that took place among 125 accused students during the spring 2012 academic term in the government course “Government 1310: Introduction to Congress.” In response to the scandal, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust suggested, “There is … Read more
I find this recent feature by the Harvard Crimson immensely interesting, as a sports fan, and as someone who grew up in team locker rooms. I think people underestimate how much of the homophobia in our culture is- if not born- incubated and perpetuated in high school locker rooms. In particular, the casually homophobic language … Read more
It’s official: Harvard undergrads are incapable of having a rational discussion about race. The last two weeks were thoroughly depressing for any student who hoped that Harvard would be a place where people of different opinions could engage each other in a civil search for the truth. During this time, three articles were published in … Read more
Abstract This election year, the Institute of Politics and the Harvard Political Review at Harvard College co-sponsored a survey of Harvard undergraduates to collect 2012 Election predictions. Overall, 196 students participated in the survey, sharing their predictions on outcomes in the presidential, senatorial, and house races. According to a majority of those who participated in … Read more
Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are going to make professors famous, not for research awards, books, Ted Talks, or columns, but for-dare I say it-teaching. Until now, professors have become famous by venturing outside their profession. While they can only lecture to a few hundred at most, other outlets and positions have offered more. For … Read more
On September 20, the Crimson staff published an editorial titled “Don’t Waste Your Time,” cautioning women at Harvard from running for the Undergraduate Council. Their reason for suggesting this is that the UC is, in their words, a “failed institution.” As a freshman that has been part of the Harvard community for only a short … Read more
Like many people my age, I didn’t “discover” that I was American until after I left America. The story is typical, and it begins like this: Kid leaves suburban hometown to travel the world. It’s his “gap year.” Kid backpacks through Peru, learns to dance salsa, and drinks tea atop Andean mountains. He does this … Read more
Few speakers at Harvard have won a Nobel Peace Prize. Even fewer have been accused of being a war criminal. Henry Kissinger can claim both. The National Security Adviser and later Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford presidencies, Kissinger is nonetheless one of Harvard’s most notable alums. His contentious legacy continued to haunt … Read more