“Of course, all this does not mean that speakers of Spanish or French or German fail to understand that inanimate objects do not really have biological sex — a German woman rarely mistakes her husband for a hat, and Spanish men are not known to confuse a bed with what might be lying in it. Nonetheless, once gender connotations have been imposed on impressionable young minds, they lead those with a gendered mother tongue to see the inanimate world through lenses tinted with associations and emotional responses that English speakers — stuck in their monochrome desert of “its” — are entirely oblivious to.”

In the New York Times, Guy Deutscher explores the ways in which the language we grew up speaking alters our way of thinking about the world.

“”Beach reading” only bugs me because it makes reading in general sound like a chore, and because it drapes a fake aura of naughtiness over mass market books, which sell millions of copies anyway and don’t need the bad publicity. It’s like calling a hot fudge sundae “decadent.”

It’s not decadent: it’s a sundae.”

From Ta-Nehisi Coates of the Atlantic, here is a column that argues against the concept of “beach reading.”

This New York Times article explores the ways in which colleges separate “superinvolved parents” from their children on move-in day.

Lynn F. Jacobs and Jeremy S. Hyman, authors of The Secrets of College Success, offer ten tips for college success.

Write about something you’ve lost.

A recent New York Times article looks at the first student to submit his college application, at 3:30 AM of the day this year’s application became available.  According to deans of admissions interviewed for the article, being the first to apply is not necessarily an advantage.  They suggest that, before applying, students should take time to hone their personal essay and wait until senior year is underway so that they can report on their progress both in and outside of class.

A company called Ultrinsic is making it possible for students to win money by betting on their grades at 36 colleges.  Students can be rewarded for earning A’s or take out grade insurance if they think they will not do well in a class.  Is it wise to motivate students with monetary rewards?  Is betting on grades even legal?

Today’s writing prompt is courtesy of Leo Tolstoy.  Finish the story: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Here is a summer reading list, courtesy of the readers of The Nation.

Ironic Sans has created a video tracking the incorrect use of lay and lie in the TV series Mad Men.  This is a commonly tested diction error on the writing section of the SAT, so pay attention!  Also frequently tested is the difference between raise and rise.  Like lay, raise takes an object; like lie, rise does not take an object.