In the first part of this series, I discussed the misguided notion that continues to be perpetuated regarding the ability of humans to multitask.  In this second part, I’m going to talk about one of the reasons why we feel that we need to try to multitask – time management.

Going back again to the experiences we had while we were in school, I’m sure we all remember one time or another where we didn’t finish all the homework we were assigned.  As a result, we’d have either our parents or our teachers telling us that we weren’t managing our time well.  But here’s the thing – how can any of us really manage time?  We can’t put time on hold so we can take a break and do something else, and we certainly can’t get more time if we have to take care of something we hadn’t anticipated.  Whether we lose an hour of work time because we were goofing off or because something unexpected comes up makes no difference since either way, we can’t get that hour back.

So what was it that prevented us from completing our homework assignments in time if it wasn’t poor time management?  Looking back now, I think we can all appreciate that the problem was Click here to continue reading »”Unravelling The Myths of Multitasking and Time Management – Part 2″

There has been a fair amount of discussion – if not debate – over a recent study by Stanford University researchers examining the effectiveness of multitasking. Essentially, the study found that the more people tried to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, the worse they did performing any of those tasks. While some dyed-in-the-wool multitaskers have understandably wanted to challenge these findings, it’s hard to ignore the scientific evidence, if not our own real-world experiences.

As the lead researcher of the Stanford study points out, psychologists have already demonstrated that it’s physically impossible for humans to multitask.  On the surface, this makes sense since, unlike computers, we have only one processor – our brain.  Of course, there’s something more tangible that we can all relate to that further establishes this fact. Click here to continue reading »”Unravelling The Myths of Multitasking and Time Management – Part 1″

One of the things I remember about high school was having all these hardcover textbooks that I would trudge home with in my school bag. And more often than not, when I would drop my bag on the hallway floor with this loud reverberating thump, my mom would ask me why on earth was my bag so heavy. My answer to her query was always the same – I needed those heavy books to finish all the homework assignments handed out to me that day.

I’m sure this is a memory most of you have as well from the rites of passage through the hallowed halls of the high school education system and beyond. And yet, looking back on it now, I can’t help but wonder if our parents worried or obsessed over homework to the degree that parents do these days. To wit, at the school board meeting held this past week, a rather intense discussion was held among the various school representatives over a survey we were asked to fill out regarding the value of homework at the elementary school level. Although the overall issue of our children’s education is sadly one that rarely stirs up any collective emotion or drive to continually examine the system’s current efficacy, one aspect that does draw parents in like bees to a field of flowers is the subject of homework – specifically how much is enough.

Of course, the key factor to addressing this issue is to answer the question of what we expect the goal of homework to be, of what we hope our children will gain from the process of doing homework. Obviously, the first expectation behind homework is that Click here to continue reading »”What Is The Value Of Homework?”

This past Monday night, I experienced a strange sensation – I left one of my education board meetings feeling optimistic that things were finally turning around. To put this in its proper context, I should point out that I currently serve on two education board committees – the Governing Board for our school where we discuss and plan out the school’s operations (school budget, criteria for the principal, school allocation time for various subjects, etc) and the other as the school representative on one of the regional school board committees. I serve on these committees not because I’m hoping to one day enter the political arena, but because I’d rather be a player on the field trying to make a difference instead of just standing on the sidelines complaining about poor game plays. Sure, it can be frustrating at times to see how much inertia has to be overcome for progress to be made, but as I witnessed at Monday night’s meeting for the school board committee, it can happen and when it does, it’s quite elating.

I’m sure my fellow parents feel the same resignation over how our society seems to be continually disregarding the current state of our education system – from the limited resources provided to teachers to attend workshops/conferences to improve and build on their knowledge of teaching to the very building infrastructures wherein which our children are expected to learn. Although my kids are fortunate to attend a school that was recently rebuilt (they had an issue with mold several years ago that resulted in the school basically being torn down and rebuilt from scratch), several other schools in our system are in very poor shape and I can only imagine how that affects the school’s staff morale and subsequently the teaching environment for the children.

During our meeting last Monday, one of the school board Directors informed us about a new plan that our provincial government has implemented, which can be basically construed as a mea culpa in regards Click here to continue reading »”Our Children’s Education – It’s About Time”