5.29.11
This is an Archival Site
There is now a new Rogovoy Report home
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5.18.11
Weekend Preview May 19-24
Bob Dylan tributes, Deborah Voigt, Tom Paxton, Bill Kirchen, John Kirk and Trish Miller
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5.18.11
Celebrating Bob Dylan's 70th Birthday in Style
Paying tribute to the greatest rock songwriter ever
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5.17.11
FILM REVIEW: In a Better World and Of Gods and Men
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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5.17.11
'LIKE' The Rogovoy Report on Facebook
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5.12.11
Deborah Voigt Headlines Mahaiwe Gala
Opera star to sing arias, show tunes on Saturday, May 21
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5.15.11
Famed Spiritual Teacher to Speak on Nonviolence
Mother Maya in free talk at Sruti Yoga in Great Barrington, Mass., on Friday May 20 at 7pm
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5.12.11
Special Effects Wizard to Be Honored by Film Festival
Doug Trumbull to be Feted by BIFF
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5.11.11
Weekend Preview May 12-16
Cultural Highlights of the Berkshire Weekend
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6.4.09
Talk about a small world
Elaine and I grew up together, but only just recently met....
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5.8.11
Berkshire Living to Cease Publication
A Farewell from Publisher Michael Zivyak
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5.8.11
twiGs Branches Out
Lenox boutique launches new e-tail site
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5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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5.7.11
[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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5.7.11
[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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High-school students are all rank strangers
3.5.06
In "Schools Avoid Class Ranking, Vexing Colleges," New York Times reporter Alan Finder reports that -- much to the dismay of college admissions counselors -- nearly half of America's high schools have done away with old-fashioned ranking systems for graduating seniors, ostensibly to combat "cutthroat competition."
One suspects that another factor motivating high-school administrators to do away with rankings is the general tendency to bolster students' "self-esteem." Apparently the governing rule is "do no harm," and in this case, to deny Johnny the right to believe he's the smartest in the class -- even when he's clearly not -- is potentially too damaging to his psyche to permit rewarding Sally for her hard-earned effort.
Of course, what this winds up doing is further diminishing students' academic achievements, while elevating non-academic pursuits -- such as sports, which is ALL about competition and ranking, with everything quantified in cutting-edge statistics -- to an even more important role than the one they already play.
To wit: all of our local newspapers cover local high-school sports on a daily basis, committing many column inches, including standings, rankings, and stats, to high-school athletes.
Not a single paper covers student academic achievement in any remotely similar fashion.
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