Re: what electoral-vote.com guys wish for

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Of course, they are correct.  But, it's hard to get everybody interested
in thinking.  It's definitely an uphill battle, especially when they don't
have any time to be bored or just stare at the sky or any alone time.

 > From: Noelle <noelle>
 > Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2026 17:46:35 -0800 (PST)
 >
 > A.H. in Chevy Chase, MD, asks: I'm the parent of a 9th grader and a 
 > 6th grader. As college professors, what do you wish the parents of 
 > your students had made sure they learned/did in middle and high 
 > school?
 > 
 > (V) answers: I would like students to learn to think and not just 
 > plug numbers into formulas they don't understand.
 > 
 > I would like them to question input data they get to see if it makes 
 > sense and see if the source of information is trustworthy. This is 
 > especially important when getting information from some AI bot, but 
 > even when getting information from teachers and parents.
 > 
 > I would like students to be able to reason logically.
 > 
 > I would like students to be able to clearly explain what they are 
 > doing and why they are doing it that way and make a cogent 
 > presentation of some project they have worked on, both in writing 
 > and orally.
 > 
 > Good math skills are important in computer science, but it is not 
 > important to know specific rules or formulas. Nowadays, 
 > understanding what an algorithm is, is important.
 > 
 > I care about students being able to plan ahead and use their time 
 > wisely when being given a project to do with a deadline.
 > 
 > I value students being able to tell the important stuff from the 
 > not-important stuff.
 > 
 > I don't care much about their knowing specific facts; they can 
 > always look them up.
 > 
 > (Z) answers: I agree with what (V) said, with the obvious caveat 
 > that I would adapt it to the social sciences. For example, students 
 > have been aggressively trained to write down as much information as 
 > possible. It is a constant, and active struggle to try to persuade 
 > them to spend less time writing stuff down and more time listening 
 > and understanding. In almost every lecture, I will say: "Please put 
 > your pens/pencils/keyboards down, and just listen. You don't need to 
 > take any notes for the next 10 minutes, until you hear me say, 'The 
 > two takeaways here are...'"
 > 
 > I also wish parents would do more to persuade their kids that 
 > college is not so much an investment in making more money in their 
 > career, as it is an investment in themselves, and making themselves 
 > a well-rounded person AND worker capable of pursuing many different 
 > paths in life. Of course, often the parents themselves believe that 
 > the only purpose of college is to increase earning power. So, those 
 > folks certainly are not going to tell their kids something 
 > different.