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November 15, 2001
The Back Page
Watch Words
Alpha Pups n. "Cool" boys aged 8 to 13 who market researchers recruit to set product trends among their peers. (See The New York Times Magazine, Aug. 5, 2001, "Here Come the Alpha Pups.")
Carnivore n. Named for the FBI's Internet surveillance program, a carnivore is an electronic wiretapping system that monitors digital transmissions over the Internet.
Facemail n. The courageous act of getting out of your chair, away from your computer and the temptation of e-mail, and walking down the hall to talk with someone face-to-face.
Nanostalgia n. The measurement of memory in seconds, nanostalgia identifies the experience of longing for events only just finished-or in Proustian terms, Remembrance of Things (Just) Past.
Test fatigue n. The result of asking students to fill in one too many bubbles with a No. 2 pencil, as in, "Johnny's test fatigue caused him to lose interest in learning."
Sources: The Word Spy; The New York Times on the Web
Gleanings
Parents Speak Up about Testing
A considerable number of parents believe that standardized tests make teachers "focus too much attention on subjects to be tested," found a recent Teachers' Insurance Plan study, in which 53 percent of public-school parents surveyed said that students' broader education suffers from an overemphasis on high-stakes tests.
Coming Out-Online
Filtering opponents worry that Web monitoring software prevents teen access to community-building sites that for some could be lifesaving. One such site is PlanetOut, which estimates that 10 percent of its 4.6 million visitors are kids under 18 who struggle with their sexuality. With gay teens three times more likely to commit suicide than their straight peers, PlanetOut's youth-moderated chat rooms are designed to create an accepting community for questioning teens.
U.S. Students Dabble in Digital Contraband
SchoolSucks.com, the one-stop digital warehouse of downloadable book reports, term papers, and even doctoral dissertations, reports that of the 10,000 daily visitors to its pages, 8,000 are from the United States, and demand for services is rising at an annual rate of 10 percent. Visitors, mostly middle and high school students, can download free research papers or pay for unique content.
Student Research Trends
In news perhaps related to the item above, a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that students with Internet access rely far more on the Web for research than other sources, with 71 percent revealing that they use the Internet the most for completing school projects, and only 24 percent responding that they're more likely to head to the library.
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