Matthew earned his Ph.D. in English Literature at Columbia University in New York City. He founded Academic Approach in 2001.
November 18, 2009 – 8:14 PM
Tonight, Academic Approach is thinking of its students, its noble scions, illustrious alum, really, the entire reason why we’re in business.
There’s really no better confirmation of our mission than that moment when an alum writes to us to share one of his or her latest offerings at college, and we can see in that piece the evidence of critical thinking, logical analysis, sophisticated syntax, and perfect usage and mechanics. Well, actually, there is one slightly better confirmation, that is, when the piece also displays real intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm.
Here’s one for you below:
November 17, 2009 – 12:56 AM
I’m often struck by how my students focus on endings—“what happens in the end?”, “where is this story going?” or, more autobiographically, “I can’t wait ‘til high school’s over and I go to college!”
In short, we’re a teleological bunch, racing towards our finish lines frenetically.
In my mind, beginnings are often more interesting, especially literary ones.
November 13, 2009 – 12:33 AM
Somewhere between a coercive language immersion program, like Orwellian Newspeak (except it’s not known at all for its concision), and some odd naturalistic, linguistic emergence, like Nicaraguan deaf children signing their own language (except it’s much more obtrusive), lies academese, that esoteric idiom known only to that precious few meisters and apprentices that occupy the ivory tower of academia.
Now, as someone who is prefers the abstruse to the mundane, I hesitate to cast aspersions on my adoptive mother tongue, academese, yet, even the most foppish don has his limits.
November 11, 2009 – 5:47 PM
How shocking the vivid argot of young people today! Imagine our befuddlement when recently accosted by the indelicate language of the street corner in what was unfolding as an otherwise proper conversation with one of our well-bred and punctilious students. Though this would not be the first time we have been waylaid by the urban patois of our young charges, we were, nevertheless, sufficiently bemused that we paused to consider how we might intervene so as to take full advantage of the teachable moment that had presented itself. Here, after all, was one of our ambitious young students in the midst of a conversation about his summer employment with his SAT/ACT Grammar, Reading, and Essay instructor. As we have stated on previous occasions, our effort to expand the active vocabulary of America’s youth by shepherding them away from the slippery slopes of indolent locution is part and parcel of our ongoing quest to elevate and instruct these lexically challenged youths in the more subtle expressions found in the educated citizen’s vocabulary. Here is the expression that so took us aback:
October 28, 2009 – 10:08 PM
At Academic Approach, we collaborate with our friends in college counseling, support the hard and excellent work they do, and, well, constantly learn from them.
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then tonight’s blog is an homage to one of our favorite college counselors in Chicago, Elisabeth Pleshette, who tells it like it is about Early Decision.
October 14, 2009 – 8:54 AM
In working with young people, we often overhear the colorful patois of their generation. Though we are occasionally flummoxed by their exotic teen argot, we are sometimes nimble enough to discern and exploit such teachable moments when they present themselves. As part of our ongoing mission to encourage our students to expand their active vocabularies by renouncing their slothful locutions and supplanting them with the more nuanced phrasings afforded by sophisticated diction, we offer the following example from a conversation we recently overheard.
“My ACT tutor is one of the most brilliant educators I have ever met, but, when I saw him in the park the other day playing basketball, I realized that he’s really a ‘wack buster.’”
October 6, 2009 – 11:24 PM
If there’s an allegiance we pledge at Academic Approach—before political party, nation, or even deity—it’s to language, specifically the power of logic and rhetoric.
So perhaps with a touch of autumnal, academic nostalgia (i.e., fond thoughts of college freshmen cultivating a new knowledge of ancient texts) or a bit of current resentment against those Olympic judges who snubbed Chicago for Rio, our thoughts turn toward Athens—not for games, but for knowledge. Specifically, I’m thinking of the art of rhetoric, and one of my favorite rhetorical techniques, anaphora.
October 5, 2009 – 1:54 PM
As part of our ongoing effort to educate and elevate, we encourage our students to expand their active vocabularies by cultivating their own speech and, rather than unimaginatively following the herd, forsaking their teen argot with nuanced diction that will, no doubt, impress their friends and enemies alike.
September 29, 2009 – 3:09 AM
We’ve just returned from the 2009 NACAC conference in Baltimore, and it was a great success. It was tremendously enjoyable to re-connect with our college counselor friends from across the country and to make many new friends as well. We met with over 200 college counselors and admissions officers!
September 9, 2009 – 8:13 AM
With protesters a few blocks away holding signs that succinctly conveyed the spirit of their protest gathering— “Obamecation. It takes the Village Idiot; Obama-cation Dumbing Down Students; Mr. President, stay away from our kids”—President Obama addressed the nation’s school children in his back-to-school speech that urged his audience to embrace the quintessential American values of hard work, individual responsibility, and education as a path towards a better life: