There are few guarantees in life, but this is one of them: sometimes things won’t go the way you want them to. Maybe you’ll have trouble finding a job, or a disagreement with your boss, or get laid off, or… things go “wrong.” But is […]
Author: Tony
Hi, I’m Tony. I am an engineering professor, family man, and rock climber living in Las Vegas, NV. I write for students, educators, and early-career professionals about how to live a fulfilling life.
College’s Best Kept Secret
We’re in Week 5, already finished with one third of the semester! We’ve passed through the “honeymoon” phase of newness and excitement over the unknown. We’re done with the first big grind of homework and quizzes. Midterms loom. How are you doing? Think back to […]
What You Don’t Know You Don’t Know
We learn incrementally. I often use the image of an onion: Learning looks like peeling back layers, not “aha moments” that bring instant clarity. Yet, when dealing with others we often expect them to make instantaneous leaps. We toss out a well-crafted zinger and think […]
Students: Employees? Volunteers? Gym Customers.
One of my obsessions is Student Motivation. Wonderfully complex, and often unpredictable, students don’t seem to fit into any of the typical leadership boxes. How do we motivate students to put in the hard work and focus that deep learning requires? The spectrum of leadership […]
How to Battle a Dragon
Dragons are real. Characteristics of dragons: We rarely notice them until they awaken. They rarely take notice of the world around them until they see a threat to their hoard. Because they sit and brood, they believe themselves to be cunning. They will defend their […]
Life Lessons from a Mountain
I finally figured out where stress comes from, at least in my life. I start every semester with clarity. I purge my list and keep only the essential items. I arrange my schedule to maximize productivity. I make a simple todo list. And I get […]
We are Human Beings
Have you ever felt as though you were talking past someone, rather than with them? Our culture tends to see roles, not people. People tend to see Professor Ferrar, not Tony. Tony is a guy in his early thirties who has a wife and a […]
Dear Student, Do the Work
Yesterday I shared three keys for designing effective homework: Interest: students need to find the material itself interesting Relevance: students need to believe that the activity will cause them to learn the material Appropriate Level of Challenge: students need to be stretched, not broken When […]
Dear Prof., Your Homework Stinks
Homework. Many students hate it. Many have only one goal: get it done as quickly as possible because they’d rather do anything else with their time. And I don’t blame them. Today, for the first time in over a year, I am writing critically about […]
Homework: Learning Tool or Academic Arms Race?
During my freshmen and sophomore years, I had one goal for my homework: get it done in as short a time as possible. Why? Because I would rather be doing anything else! I know I am not alone. I meet very few students who are […]
