5.29.11
This is an Archival Site
There is now a new Rogovoy Report home
5.18.11
Weekend Preview May 19-24
Bob Dylan tributes, Deborah Voigt, Tom Paxton, Bill Kirchen, John Kirk and Trish Miller
5.18.11
Celebrating Bob Dylan's 70th Birthday in Style
Paying tribute to the greatest rock songwriter ever
5.17.11
FILM REVIEW: In a Better World and Of Gods and Men
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.17.11
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5.12.11
Deborah Voigt Headlines Mahaiwe Gala
Opera star to sing arias, show tunes on Saturday, May 21
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
5.12.11
Special Effects Wizard to Be Honored by Film Festival
Doug Trumbull to be Feted by BIFF
5.11.11
Weekend Preview May 12-16
Cultural Highlights of the Berkshire Weekend
6.4.09
Talk about a small world
Elaine and I grew up together, but only just recently met....
5.8.11
Berkshire Living to Cease Publication
A Farewell from Publisher Michael Zivyak
5.8.11
twiGs Branches Out
Lenox boutique launches new e-tail site
5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.7.11
[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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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