A poll by the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University found that after the rash of debates last week twice as many Americans could recall having seen, read or heard a campaign news story.
As I thought about how to approach this elephant of a subject, my mind meandered back to great teachers I have known--there were many I could recall because I have been fortunate in having teachers in all areas from physics to poetry who, almost physically it seemed, infected me with their enthusiasm--and I asked myself: Why did I find them inspiring?
Generally, parents were satisfied with the support their child had received from school, but many parents could recall specific occasions when schools had been less supportive e.g., "the teacher refused to deliver any care in relation to Harry's diabetes…very scary, everyday leaving him, wondering if he's having a hypo" (P06).
At the end of the week and then again a week later, the students were tested on how many events they could recall.
That's what I did, as I plugged into my own personal jukebox and went through as many as I could recall, and those I went on to discover, with some wonderful surprises and any number of clunkers.
When prompted with the memories they recounted at the earlier interview, many could not recall them at all.
In a report which focused on children in key stage 2 and 3 (ages seven to 14), it also said many could not recall important number facts, such as how to multiply.
Satisfied with their lives, the very happy students "had virtually never thought about suicide, could recall many more good events in their lives than bad ones and reported many more positive than negative emotions on a daily basis," wrote Dr. Diener and Dr. Seligman in their report, which appears in the January issue of the journal Psychological Science.
"He tried to mention as many people as he could recall".
Its declared subject is the killing of a Republican Spanish family, though it could recall many murders committed in the war years.
