Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The traditional method of teaching reading by having the child sound out the letters and learn how they fit together to form words, one of the key word-attack skills; also called the phonetics, alphabet, or ABC method. Some children, such as those with learning disabilities, may need extra help in effectively learning the connections between…

A type of vaccine that is normally given in a combination DTP vaccine, covering diphtheria, tetanus (lockjaw), and pertussis (whooping cough).  

A general term for psychological tests focusing on a person’s self, emotions, and behavior; also alternate term for projective tests. Pencil-and-paper tests used to determine the patterns of emotions, behaviors, and attitudes that make up a person’s personality. Most personality tests ask the person taking the test a wide range of questions about their behavior,…

A federally subsidized loan program under which the school lends money to undergraduate and graduate college students; formerly called the National Direct Student Loan Program. The amounts available are (as of 1990) a maximum of $4,500 for vocational programs or the first two years of a college program leading to a bachelor’s degree; up to…

Vision at the sides, rather than straight ahead, lost in some kinds of visual impairment. Vision resulting from rays falling on the retina outside of the macular field. The ability to see things to the side of what one is looking at. Peripheral vision refers to the capacity to perceive objects that are not directly…

Medical care offered in the first 28 days after childbirth, especially immediately afterward. Often suction is used to clear mucus from the infant’s air passages and silver nitrate or other ointment is put in the child’s eyes to prevent blinding infections. An Apgar score is performed in the minutes after delivery to assess quickly whether…

A severe kind of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) affecting a baby in the period just before, during, and after delivery. For physiological reasons not fully understood, babies can generally survive temporary loss of oxygen better than an older child or adult can; that allows them to survive the usually brief period between the time the…

The inability to interpret stimuli received through the senses, though the sense organs them selves—eyes, ears, and so on—are in normal functioning order; a disorder of the sensory skills, including visual skills and auditory skills.  

A type of grant in financial aid that helps under¬ graduate students meet the expenses of attending college. The amounts of grants depend on the program funding, but they ranged up to $2,200 in 1988-89, the money being paid either directly to the student or credited to the school account. Pell Grant recipients have priority…

The use of students to help teach skills to other students, especially those who need extra help, often in heterogeneous grouping of students of varying abilities but sometimes as part of a formal program in which older students tutor students in lower grades. With peer tutoring, students get extra help when they need it, the…