How to Fix our Schools?

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/ib286

Here is an article on how to fix schools. Do you agree with this article? I believe we need to have teachers that truely care. What do you think is the main problem on why schools are not succeeding? Here is just some of what was said in the article.

Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City public school system, and Michelle Rhee, who resigned October 13 as Washington, D.C. chancellor, published a “manifesto” in the Washington Post claiming that the difficulty of removing incompetent teachers “has left our school districts impotent and, worse, has robbed millions of children of a real future.” The solution, they say, is to end the “glacial process for removing an incompetent teacher” and give superintendents like themselves the authority to pay higher salaries to teachers whose students do well academically. Otherwise, children will remain “stuck in failing schools” across the country.{i}

Klein, Rhee, and the 14 other school superintendents who co-signed their statement base this call on a claim that, “as President Obama has emphasized, the single most important factor determining whether students succeed in school is not the color of their skin or their ZIP code or even their parents’ income — it is the quality of their teacher.”

Grant Hill's Misfire

In light of our current discussion regarding race, I stumbled upon this interesting article that takes an opposing view to Grant Hill's recent response to Jalen Rose and the Fab-5 documentary. Although I can see both sides of the isle concerning the larger perceptions of Duke, and the hostile environment of Detroit, I think it's important that members of the Black community proceed with caution when responding to racial slurs and perceptions in national media outlets -as to not make erroneous statements that do more "harm" than "good" for African American's. Check out the link below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-weiler/grant-hill-fires-an-airba_b_837040.html?ref=fb&src=sp

Call for HBCU student narratives

http://diverseeducation.com/blogpost/311/an-open-letter-to-hbcu-students-and-alumni.html

Dr. Marybeth Gasman suggest that students on HBCU campuses should share their college experiences in order to debunk myths about Historically Black Colleges. Gasman claims that critics have failed to recognize the pride and achievement of many students on these campuses. These stories could potentially aid positive notions about HCBU.

I agree with Dr. Gasman in that HBCUs seem to get a lot of criticisms and ignore the positive outcomes of the Black student experience. These stories should also be used as tool when recruiting high school students. I believe that having conversation about HBCU's legacies and current influences could encourage more students of color to take pride in these particular campuses.

YouTube video, UCLA in recent news

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366132/UCLA-student-Alexandra-Wallace-posts-repugnant-racist-rant-Asians-YouTube.html

This person shares a respectable response and call for action: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/notes/layhannara-tep/in-response-to-asians-in-the-library/10150425624460084

My question is: what kind of action should UCLA follow? Here is a snippet of what "Layhannara Tep" on Facebook suggests:

Hence, as a community, we demand the following:

1) We call for a public apology from Alexandra Wallace. Her words and actions are not in line with the UCLA Student Code of Conduct, which states:

“The University strives to create an environment that fosters the values of mutual respect and tolerance and is free from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, and other personal characteristics."[2]

2) We call for UCLA to take the appropriate disciplinary measures befitting of Wallace’s violation against the UCLA Student Code of Conduct and UCLA’s Principle of Community, which states:

“We do not tolerate acts of discrimination, harassment, profiling or other harm to individuals on the basis of expression of race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religious beliefs, political preference, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, or national origin among other personal characteristics. Such acts are in violation of UCLA’s Principles of Community and subject to sanctions according to campus policies governing the conduct of students, staff and faculty.” [3]

3) We call for UCLA to issue a statement addressing this incident. UCLA must demonstrate its commitment to a culture of diversity, respect, tolerance, and acceptance for all communities by standing against such acts.

4) We call for the UCLA Academic Senate to pass a requirement in the general education curriculum grounded in the UCLA Principles of Community.

Keep it 'in house', for everyones sake

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110212_us_colleges_and_chinese_students_courting_each_other.html

Tangentially related to Melissa’s post, this article also pertains to admission criteria issues. However, I also raise issues of institutional responsibility to its students well-being. Lets figure out how to provide a college education to 1) ALL US kids and 2) that is equally supportive ACROSS demographics before we accept to many international students...

US colleges are courting Chinese students and the booming Chinese economy is allowing for an increase in Chinese students applying to US colleges.

Issues of admissions criteria (i.e., US admissions rubric not applying to Chinese students, having Chinese teachers write their student’s admission essays in English, etc.) as well as ‘fit’ between student and institution are discussed.

Do US colleges just want the international tuition revenue and/or statistics to demonstrate they have a diverse student body? But, at what cost? Students from China have limited knowledge about the college lifestyle - regarding the focus of this article - in central Iowa…

What measures do institutions eager to accept Chinese students take to ensure a smooth and productive undergraduate career? Is the university responsible to provide student programming that can support the influx of international students they are attracting? Certainly, if large universities struggle to provide for their students, smaller, elite schools will be even more burdened to develop safe places, services and a sense of community for their international students.

Student Records...released?

We have been talking in class about admissions...including the criteria of acceptance; weight of other factors outside GPA and Standardized Tests.

The Chicago Tribune has been very interested in the University of Illinois since the admissions trouble a year ago which they brought forward, and they are currently fighting in court to have student records released, but there are privacy issues (especially with Financial Aid). Recently, a judge ruled that Ferpa doesn't prohibit U of I from releasing student records (you can read more about Ferpa in the article), and the Chicago Tribune has an article stating their victory in the privacy ruling.

This is a topic that has a lot of gray area I believe. While in some cases it is important for the University to have accountability, especially since they are a state institution (lack of funding by the state is another issue), and having other 'agencies' watch over admissions and other issues helps since they may be able to spot problematic trends...I feel like sometimes they can forget about the students and their privacy. If there is an issue with affirmative action, is it fair to call out the student and publish their GPA/Test Scores? Now is it different if it is a student that came to the University because of the Clout issue? How do you protect the student? In most cases, is the student innocent and this issue should be handled in private? But, how do we monitor this issue? I think it is a very hard topic to discuss since each case is different.

Recently, there has been another clout issue at the U of I (I mentioned it in class). This had to do with a student attempting to transfer into a dual-degree program. There are many problems with this situation as I see, not just the University at fault...
First, I am not sure why the parents of this student would turn to their legislator for this issue, unless they felt that there was some sort of issue with how the University made a decision (and obviously we do not have all the information). Maybe the admissions scandal was on their mind and thought this may have played a part in the denial.
Second, the Senator should have instructed the parents to speak with the admissions department. Legislators are NOT suppose to weigh in on admissions at the University.
Third, the GR office should not have been involved...BUT, in many cases your office support staff that may just be following up, not knowing the repercussions or legal restrictions. They see that a Senator is requesting information, and they follow up.

I believe everyone needs to have accountability when it comes to these issues. Those making admissions decisions should really consider the ripple effect they are causing, and cases should be taken seriously. Legislators and those in 'power' should stay out of admissions issues unless there is a clear problem and they need to intervene.

College Basketball Player Suspended for Having Sex

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362563/Basketball-player-Brandon-Davies-suspended-sex-girlfriend-BYU-team.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Although this institution has a honor code intended to maintain the college "values," what does this say about sex? Is engaging in pre-marital sex immoral? What one may think is morally correct can differ from person to person and institution to institution. However, suspension is not a method in upholding their concerns about sex. Having a conversation with Brandon about the implication of pre-marital sex could have served as a better tool in demonstrating the "importance" of adhering to the honor code.

I believe the role of the honor of the code is a way to governs one's body and personal decision(s).  Religion obviously is a way to maintain power within the institution. Brandon Davies is an adult that chose to be human and have sex with his partner.  Sex is a major factor in people's life; it is natural so how does this conflict with "morals and values?" How can we move forward if we can’t get past sex? I sure hope no else on campus is having sex either

Along with this despicable decision, I couldn't help but to think about race relations being that Brandon is a Black male in Utah. I am sure that he was not the only male who has sex on or off campus. What are the underlying assumptions about this "incident" and how it was published? I pose all of these questions in order to create dialogue around institutions, sex, and race.

This entire “case” speaks to the state of religion and how institutions use it as a tool to govern bodies and maintain the status quo.

Bill Gates on state budgets and eduction spending

Here is the link to Bill Gates's speech on state budgets and education spending that Dr. Baber mentioned in class:

http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_how_state_budgets_are_breaking_us_schools.html

I do not see many new concepts in the talk that we have not heard before, but it goes with the work that is done at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is also always good to hear support from industry leaders why education should be funded! "Balance wheel pattern" is an academic analysis of this pattern on budget allocations between different sectors of the economy. Dr. Delaney in the department has done some work in this area. Here is a second link for anyone interested in reading more: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lpo/doyle/balancetime.pdf

Did a Sexual Education course go too far?

When I was reading through the Chicago Tribune today, I stumbled upon this interesting article.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-northwestern-president-criticizes-sextoy-demonstration-20110303,0,7493639.story

Seeing an article such as this one brings up a really good question: How far is too far? After reading the title of the article, I instantly thought to myself "no doubt about it, this professor was in the wrong." Once I completely read the piece, however, I had a change of heart.

Even though I believe the actual class session (in which the demonstration took place) SHOULD have occurred OFF campus, I have no actual problem with the demonstration itself. The professor did not require students to attend that particular class, and he gave several warnings before the demonstration transpired.

Female Instructors & Women in STEM

I want to share this article I stumbled upon this morning about the importance of female instructors in STEM courses. Here is a link:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/03/study_suggests_role_of_role_models_in_encouraging_female_undergraduates_in_math_and_science

The researchers found that having a female instructor in an introductory calculus course had a positive effect on students (female more than male). The female students were aware of the negative stereotypes of their gender in STEM. From the article, I especially liked this sentence:

"But these data suggest that the meaning of choices, of what it means to choose math or science, is more complicated. Even talented people may not choose math or science not because they don't like it or are not good at it, but because they feel that they don't belong."

Connecting this back to the importance of high schools, which we talked about on Tuesday, I wonder if there is an effect in those classrooms or if this stereotype is something that becomes more recognized by students when they enter the STEM fields in college. From my personal experience, I will say that I did not truly recognize this "divide" or perhaps even choose to recognize it until my senior year of college. When do students start feeling like "they don't belong"?

Ed. Secretary Duncan Defends $2B Increase in 2012 Education Budget

The Sec. of Ed. proposes a $2b (two billion) budget. Although the secretary's proposed budget suggest that "...[t]he higher education portion of the 2012 request includes a $67 million increase for TRIO programs for a total of $920 million; $323 million for GEAR UP; $651 million in combined discretionary and mandatory funding for Aid for Institutional Development programs at institutions that enroll large numbers of minority and disadvantaged students and $249 million in aid for Hispanic-Serving Institutions programs", questions remain salient regarding the MSI (Minority Serving Institutions) that will receive this funding. Will institutions receive an equal share? What will the time-line be regarding the disbursement of funding? Again, this rhetoric of the proposal sounds great, however(if passed) how will the government follow-up on such an initiative? Please see link for article below:

http://diverseeducation.com/article/14841/ed-secretary-duncan-defends-2b-increase-in-2012-education-budget.html

Does the Undergraduate Stereotype Ignore Diversity?

The lazy apathetic student who wants to be entertained has become one of the worst stereotypes in contemporary discussions about higher education. We’ve all heard about the legions of social media obsessed undergraduates who stumble around in a drunken Facebook stupor, all tweaked up by Twitter, intoxicated on texting and high on television. In conversations, it would seem as if students are too busy suffering technology withdrawal to learn during a 50-minute lecture. These students, with their out of touch helicopter parents and obese inflated grades, as well as egos, from high school are crumbling the state of college learning. The problem with this portrait of undergraduate students is that it ignores the immense diversity among them. Benton exhibits symptoms of this troubling habit in his Chronicle of Higher Education article about the apparent grim reality of undergraduate learning. The blame is placed on uninspired students and “transient faculty”. He states, “More than anything, change in four-year colleges depends on choices made by millions of parents and students.” Evidently, all it takes for instructors to get a raving review from students on course evaluations is to, “Expect little, smile a lot, gesture freely, show movies, praise them constantly, give high marks and bring cookies.” Not only do generalizations demean undergraduate students, they also tend to conjure up a specific image of privilege and license, which excludes many underrepresented students. It becomes assumed that students have support, that students are simply spoiled and that students are being catered to. How is it possible to truly embrace diversity and improve learning if all undergraduates are lumped into a narrow stereotype?

"A Perfect Storm in Undergraduate Education": http://chronicle.com/article/A-Perfect-Storm-in/126451/#

"Ashlea and Gillian"

Intellectually, I would say this piece from Snacks', Tearing down the gates: Confronting the class divide in American education (2007) did an excellent job of drawing a stark contrast between the lives of Ashlea and Gillian to illustrate the concepts of "cultural, social and economic capital." I was intrigued by the Bourdieu theory he mentioned, of "habitus" and want to learn more about that.
Emotionally, I will share that the reading tapped into a time when I was confronted by that stark contrast every day, in a way that was difficult for me to process. I had two jobs. My full-time job was as an Employment Specialist at a vocational school in the Portland area, helping graduates of the program gain employment in office and computer occupations. In addition to being an Employment Specialist for the company, I was licensed vocational instructor, teaching job search skills and professional development. The overwhelming majority of our students were of very low SES, many of whom had criminal histories, were recovering drug addicts, and/or suffered from mental health challenges. The depictions of Ashlea's family so closely mirrored some of the students I worked with, that it caught me off-guard. My part-time job was in a wealthier area of Portland where I was also employed as a vocational instructor, except that I taught personal development and modeling skills for a national modeling agency and school. The overwhelming majority of those students there were from high SES backgrounds, many of whom had every advantage economically, socially and academically. Though we had students like Gillian, she would have been among those less well-off in the class.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

I'll let you decide what is good, what is bad, and what is ugly about the higher education portion of the budget proposal...


http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/02/15/obama_budget_would_sustain_5_550_pell_cut_subsidy_for_graduate_students

Why do Women Still Earn Less than Men?

I remember in class we were talking about women earning less than men two weeks ago. Here is an article from Time discussing it. For some strange reason the link I posts won't work. Go to time.com Then type in "Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?" by Laura Fitzpatrick. The date is April 20, 2010.

HBCU President Brings Sex and Health Education to the Campus

The disproportionate amount of young, African American students who are effected by the disturbing trends in sexual activity raise alarming concerns among Higher Education administrators. However, there seems to be a lack of publicity around sexual awareness for minority students. Philander Smith University's President, Dr. Walter Kimbrough, has created an initiative to inform students of the implications of "risky behavior" and titled it "Sex Week". This program (taken from a model used at Yale University) provides young adults on college campuses with a comprehensive series of programs that help reinforce safe behavior, and healthy attitudes. Given the alarming rhetoric that suggests that nearly half of all new cases of HIV are attributed to African Americans, and that 72% of African American children are born out of wedlock, how can administrators on all campuses (Community Colleges, Predominantly White Institutions, HBCU's, HSI's...etc) create intervention tools and co-curricular programming models that help to solve this widespread issue?

Link to article: http://diverseeducation.com/article/14752/hbcu-president-brings-sex-and-health-education-to-the-campus.html">href="http://>

Losing a Grip on the Foreign-Student Market

According to the author of this article, Australia (which is known for having one of the largest international student populations in the world) is currently experiencing some events which could ultimately 1.) decrease the amount of international students who attend its' universities and 2.) cause the country's economy to buckle. The issues at hand could have a similar effect on other nations, such as own, if we are not careful.

Link:
http://chronicle.com/article/Losing-a-Grip-on-the/126079/


Chris

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Here is a an article on the National Technical Institute for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. While reading this article, I thought about opportunity for these students and also increased diversity in the workforce. This article reminded me of the NSF report on "Broadening Participation in America's STEM Workforce." Where the authors point out that more effort should be targeted "on two particularly under-attended-to groups in STEM: persons with disabilities and Native Americans."
I thought the later part of the article, where the author talks about the StepWise method for solving mathematical story like problems, was really interesting. It's exciting to see that these methods not only improved the students' learning at NTID, but that they could also be suitable for hearing students.

http://www.prism-magazine.org/jan11/tt_01.cfm

Brown vs. Board

I ran across this article and thought it was interesting to see the institutions involved in the Brown vs. Board case (U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service). It was interesting reading the Anderson piece and how he evaluated the decision and went into more of the history and reactions...and then see how others view the decision and how there are "monuments" symbolizing this time in history.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/121brown/index.htm

Harvard Report Questions Value of 'College for All'

This is a new report released yesterday from Harvard on a project entitled “Pathways to Prosperity” (link to the actual report embedded within the article). The authors suggest establishing career tracks for students as early as middle school. They argue that the tracks would be 'flexible' enough to allow students to switch down the line. I respect the authors of the report (as well as Dr. Anthony Carnevale who is mentioned in the article). But we know that tracking at such an early age (common in Europe) is connected to social inequalities. When a person says "college is not for everyone," they are usually talking about other people's children, not their own.



Harvard Report Questions Value of 'College for All'