You can tell that I haven't been reading the news. Can you believe this? Its very interesting. When Harvard stopped early admissions, a dozen other colleges followed suit. I don't think the same will happen here, although Wake-Forest is ranked 30th according to US News and could impact other schools pulling from a similar pool of applicants.
The schools cite the failure of SATs to predict college success and the need to attract a more diverse population of students. Also, and interestingly, many students still submit their SAT scores since they need to do so for other colleges.
I am once again torn between my personal experience and my feeling for what's best for education. I was always proud of my high SAT score, but I'm willing to acknowledge that the fact that I went to great (public) schools and had parents who were engaged in my learning from an early age contributed greatly to those scores. Cultural factors seem to play an important role in how well people do on these tests.
I do think the scores can show a high aptitude for learning, retaining, and analyzing knowledge, but I don't know how well the scores predict in general college success which, depending on your major, requires a wide array of skills. I had always read they were one of the best indicators, the same way that LSATs predict with relative accuracy law school success. I don't know if GREs are the same way... it's such a watered-down test that I feel like it has little meaning.
I'll dig a little and see what I can find.
2 Colleges End Entrance Exam Requirement - NYTimes.com: "Smith College, a women’s college in Northampton, Mass., and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., will no longer require prospective students to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their applications."
Thursday, May 29, 2008
On the Uses and Abuses of Laptops in Education | Beyond School
Another blogger I like (from Beyond School) talking about teachers who view blogs as just another way to turn in homework.
I'm struck by what she's talking about and the similarities to bell hooks and Teaching to Transgress. Creating democracy in the classroom, one of the last bastions of dictatorship, threatens schools as we know them.
On the Uses and Abuses of Laptops in Education | Beyond School: "And it will become drudgery. And the students (not learners here, because “teacher” can’t let go of being “teacher,” dominating, squelching, and dictating to students) will bang out the minimum for “blog homework,” as in old days, and turn to something authentic. Like their MySpace."
I'm struck by what she's talking about and the similarities to bell hooks and Teaching to Transgress. Creating democracy in the classroom, one of the last bastions of dictatorship, threatens schools as we know them.
On the Uses and Abuses of Laptops in Education | Beyond School: "And it will become drudgery. And the students (not learners here, because “teacher” can’t let go of being “teacher,” dominating, squelching, and dictating to students) will bang out the minimum for “blog homework,” as in old days, and turn to something authentic. Like their MySpace."
Another Naysayer Stirs the Pot | 2¢ Worth
Commentary from a blogger I like on Mark Bauerlein's The Dumbest Generation. He's a pro-techie blogger, and I agree with what he says about the internet being the new pencil and paper. I still think students should be engaging with text, though.
Another Naysayer Stirs the Pot | 2¢ Worth: "Computers and the Internet are the pencil and paper of our time — and insisting that our children can learned to be ready for their future by scratching and stamping text on paper and reading published textbooks, is like saying that children could learn with clay tablets, long after paper was widely used. Computers and the Internet have changed how information works and how we work it. Kids can’t learn this in five-year-old textbooks and spiral notebooks."
Another Naysayer Stirs the Pot | 2¢ Worth: "Computers and the Internet are the pencil and paper of our time — and insisting that our children can learned to be ready for their future by scratching and stamping text on paper and reading published textbooks, is like saying that children could learn with clay tablets, long after paper was widely used. Computers and the Internet have changed how information works and how we work it. Kids can’t learn this in five-year-old textbooks and spiral notebooks."
InsideCatholic.com - Chaput on 'Catholics for Obama'
This is interesting. I'm not too keen on the Catholic Church telling me who to vote for, but I feel that my conscience tells me that voting for someone who cares about the preservation of life in Iraq and providing for the poor is important. More important than pro-life issues.
InsideCatholic.com - Chaput on 'Catholics for Obama': "Chaput on 'Catholics for Obama'"
PS It's written by my friend from college!
InsideCatholic.com - Chaput on 'Catholics for Obama': "Chaput on 'Catholics for Obama'"
PS It's written by my friend from college!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Finishing that last darn paper for the semester
Once I'm done with this I'm hoping to write for pleasure again, although this originally should have been a "write for pleasure" type paper.
I am totally revamping this the day before it is due. Of course. Why would I make it easy on myself and just cosmetically edit? I thought by sharing some I could help hash out some thoughts. For a little background, the paper is about the challenges of being both a teacher/administrator to a group of students and performing research "on" them. I put "on" in quotes because my view of the ethnography I do is that I am doing research "with" them but that's another post.
From a historical view, the traditional role of the college as functioning in loco parentis plays a factor in addressing the conflict between teacher and researcher on campus. While the role of the elementary and secondary school to protect the children enrolled there during the day is clear, the role of colleges in protecting their majority students is less well-defined. In colonial America colleges did not see students as adults, and took a role in governing their behavior while on campus (Bowden, Randall. "Evolution of Responsibility: From in Loco Parentis to Ad Meliora Vertamur." Education 127, no. 4 (2007). Until the 1970s, most students on college campuses were legally considered minors. In 1971 the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18 from 21, and many states lowered the age of majority to 18 as well. The doctrine of in loco parentis has transformed from one of pastoral care of students through rules and regulation to a contractual agreement.
How care for students plays out at various campuses varies as well according to tradition and culture. At my undergraduate institution, Sewanee, we had a rich history of care of students body, mind and soul. The school is owned by Southern Episcopal dioceses, and the care for students stems mostly from this religious foundation. The tradition extends to many on campus. When I missed too many French classes, due to what I thought at the time was being "sick" but was actually a nervous breakdown because of my parents divorce, my French teacher called me to tell me I had to come to class. Most of my professors took attendance; if you were absent, they noticed.
The care extended beyond punitive measures. Many senior seminars took place in professors' homes. They often provided snacks and beverages during a break in the sessions. The dress tradition I have already mentioned intends to aid students to take their studies seriously and teach them to dress for their future. Freshmen at Sewanee are grouped into "AP Groups" and have an Assistant Proctor, usually a junior student, to guide them in activities and provide advice throughout their first year at college. Most of the dorms are staffed by a matron, women who were traditionally widows of Episcopal priests who came and spent the rest of their days serving as a dorm mother to students. Most Sewanee students also lived in single-sex dorms, and members of the opposite sex were not permitted in dorms after midnight, even in common areas. From clothing to sexual activity, Sewanee was involved in most aspects of students' lives.
That's good, right? I hope? I hope it doesn't sound too negative - I love the in loco parentis of Sewanee. I'm shocked at how little care the school where I currently work seems to have for students. The fact that I am one of the people who cares for them most and I'm so little involved in their lives - well, to me, it just seems sad. I could never invite students to my house without raising more than a few eyebrows. I really miss the community of learning I had at Sewanee. I felt so well cared for there.
I am totally revamping this the day before it is due. Of course. Why would I make it easy on myself and just cosmetically edit? I thought by sharing some I could help hash out some thoughts. For a little background, the paper is about the challenges of being both a teacher/administrator to a group of students and performing research "on" them. I put "on" in quotes because my view of the ethnography I do is that I am doing research "with" them but that's another post.
From a historical view, the traditional role of the college as functioning in loco parentis plays a factor in addressing the conflict between teacher and researcher on campus. While the role of the elementary and secondary school to protect the children enrolled there during the day is clear, the role of colleges in protecting their majority students is less well-defined. In colonial America colleges did not see students as adults, and took a role in governing their behavior while on campus (Bowden, Randall. "Evolution of Responsibility: From in Loco Parentis to Ad Meliora Vertamur." Education 127, no. 4 (2007). Until the 1970s, most students on college campuses were legally considered minors. In 1971 the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18 from 21, and many states lowered the age of majority to 18 as well. The doctrine of in loco parentis has transformed from one of pastoral care of students through rules and regulation to a contractual agreement.
How care for students plays out at various campuses varies as well according to tradition and culture. At my undergraduate institution, Sewanee, we had a rich history of care of students body, mind and soul. The school is owned by Southern Episcopal dioceses, and the care for students stems mostly from this religious foundation. The tradition extends to many on campus. When I missed too many French classes, due to what I thought at the time was being "sick" but was actually a nervous breakdown because of my parents divorce, my French teacher called me to tell me I had to come to class. Most of my professors took attendance; if you were absent, they noticed.
The care extended beyond punitive measures. Many senior seminars took place in professors' homes. They often provided snacks and beverages during a break in the sessions. The dress tradition I have already mentioned intends to aid students to take their studies seriously and teach them to dress for their future. Freshmen at Sewanee are grouped into "AP Groups" and have an Assistant Proctor, usually a junior student, to guide them in activities and provide advice throughout their first year at college. Most of the dorms are staffed by a matron, women who were traditionally widows of Episcopal priests who came and spent the rest of their days serving as a dorm mother to students. Most Sewanee students also lived in single-sex dorms, and members of the opposite sex were not permitted in dorms after midnight, even in common areas. From clothing to sexual activity, Sewanee was involved in most aspects of students' lives.
That's good, right? I hope? I hope it doesn't sound too negative - I love the in loco parentis of Sewanee. I'm shocked at how little care the school where I currently work seems to have for students. The fact that I am one of the people who cares for them most and I'm so little involved in their lives - well, to me, it just seems sad. I could never invite students to my house without raising more than a few eyebrows. I really miss the community of learning I had at Sewanee. I felt so well cared for there.
Eviction Day
It appears to have been eviction day yesterday in my neighborhood. The first time I saw an eviction, I commented to my boyfriend, "Wow. Someone's getting rid of a lot of stuff." He looked at me and said, "I think they were evicted." It wasn't a concept that I was familiar with growing up in suburban Orlando.
I think that the landlords in my neighborhood are going to kicking more and more families to the curb as the neighborhood gentrifies and they can charge more for rent. The family I saw picking through their stuff the other day looked stoic, resigned. There wasn't an outcry of grief the way that I would expect, or that I would probably feel if someone kicked me out of my home.
This morning on the way to the metro there was a half empty beer bottle on one of the mattresses. This afternoon, on my way back to my apartment, everything was gone.
I think that the landlords in my neighborhood are going to kicking more and more families to the curb as the neighborhood gentrifies and they can charge more for rent. The family I saw picking through their stuff the other day looked stoic, resigned. There wasn't an outcry of grief the way that I would expect, or that I would probably feel if someone kicked me out of my home.
This morning on the way to the metro there was a half empty beer bottle on one of the mattresses. This afternoon, on my way back to my apartment, everything was gone.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Hard Roads Ahead - New York Times
Hard Roads Ahead - New York Times: "As Mr. Wise put it, “The best economic stimulus package is a diploma.”"
I missed this column by Bob Herbert this weekend in the Times. It's a good read and makes a good point, one that I made in my entry about being disappointed at the presidential candidates' failure to talk about education.
The future is scary.
I missed this column by Bob Herbert this weekend in the Times. It's a good read and makes a good point, one that I made in my entry about being disappointed at the presidential candidates' failure to talk about education.
The future is scary.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Capuchins and Priests
I didn't become a active (and baptizes and confirmed) member of the Catholic Church until college. Then I graduated, and my church attendance fell off. Partly it was the priests scandal, partly it was the sudden transformation of a church I thought cared about social justice and the poor into part of the anti-gay, anti-woman Republican machine, and partly it was because it's also weird to go to church randomly and by yourself as a 23, 26, or 29 year old.
The pope visited and my boyfriend and I started talking about how we wanted to help the church care more about social justice than the regulation of people's sex lives. So we decided to join the church, actually the Shrine, across the street from us. Not only did we start attending mass, but we're also engaged now with a group of people who is interested in social justice issues and pursuing them. And everyone else is liberal too - but in the best kind of way, where they care about the poor and those who don't have the blessings we all seem to have.
My new priest is also a Capuchin, and I'm meeting with a college friend of mine today who's getting his PhD in theology. I'm hoping to ask him about how a Capuchin becomes a priest. My priest also wants to learn more about educational research, and how he can influence the order to see how having a college degree doesn't necessarily make one a better priest. I think he feels alienated from many in his order who are craftsmen rather than intellectuals. I'm hoping my research can help!
The pope visited and my boyfriend and I started talking about how we wanted to help the church care more about social justice than the regulation of people's sex lives. So we decided to join the church, actually the Shrine, across the street from us. Not only did we start attending mass, but we're also engaged now with a group of people who is interested in social justice issues and pursuing them. And everyone else is liberal too - but in the best kind of way, where they care about the poor and those who don't have the blessings we all seem to have.
My new priest is also a Capuchin, and I'm meeting with a college friend of mine today who's getting his PhD in theology. I'm hoping to ask him about how a Capuchin becomes a priest. My priest also wants to learn more about educational research, and how he can influence the order to see how having a college degree doesn't necessarily make one a better priest. I think he feels alienated from many in his order who are craftsmen rather than intellectuals. I'm hoping my research can help!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Gen Y = big bucks
This millennial generation business sells a lot of books and creates a lot of consulting opportunities for "experts."
There are so many books and consultants out there that are starting to jump into this. Is it real? Is it an imagined crisis? I think there are some real differences between the current generation in college and mine. I don't know if the reading and writing that students do digitally is making up for the reading and writing we did in books and on paper. I still love books - they are my favorite thing. I'm trying not to pass judgment, to keep an open mind that digital media can open up new ways of learning and appeal to the multiple intelligences... yet I have a strong bias that real knowledge and thinking comes from sitting along, struggling with a text. Now, if you're reading that online through Project Guttenberg, or something to that effect, I think it can have a democratizing effect.
But if thinking and struggling through texts isn't happening... I don't know. It doesn't seem like learning to me.
There are so many books and consultants out there that are starting to jump into this. Is it real? Is it an imagined crisis? I think there are some real differences between the current generation in college and mine. I don't know if the reading and writing that students do digitally is making up for the reading and writing we did in books and on paper. I still love books - they are my favorite thing. I'm trying not to pass judgment, to keep an open mind that digital media can open up new ways of learning and appeal to the multiple intelligences... yet I have a strong bias that real knowledge and thinking comes from sitting along, struggling with a text. Now, if you're reading that online through Project Guttenberg, or something to that effect, I think it can have a democratizing effect.
But if thinking and struggling through texts isn't happening... I don't know. It doesn't seem like learning to me.
More U Kan Reed?
In a review of The Dumbest Generation, Charles McGrath talks about a book by Christine Hassler and how it verifies much of what Mark Bauerlein fears about Gen Y.
Now, I have to include a disclaimer, because as since I am in-between the much-talked about and disparaged Generation X and the much-talked about and much celebrated Millennial Generation. I think some of these generalizations are overblown. I also think they have a tendency to describe the middle-class white part of the generation and not much else. What about students who don't go to college, or who work and attend community college? Are they constantly on IM and text messaging? I think if these researchers relied on more than generalizations about a few students whom they happen to know, they might see beyond and make a more complex and nuanced argument.
But nuance does not sell books. Again, I haven't read the book and I'm not sure that unless I can get it from the library anytime soon that I will - my book budget needs to be cut because I spend too much money on them!
Growing Up for Dummies - New York Times: "According to Christine Hassler, author of “20 Something Manifesto: Quarter-Lifers Speak Out About Who They Are, What They Want and How to Get It,” they’re not just floundering, they’re often anxious and miserable, suffering from something like menu overload: there are just too many choices to make. The result is often a feeling of stasis and letdown that Ms. Hassler calls Expectation Hangover, a phrase she is so fond of she has trademarked it."
Now, I have to include a disclaimer, because as since I am in-between the much-talked about and disparaged Generation X and the much-talked about and much celebrated Millennial Generation. I think some of these generalizations are overblown. I also think they have a tendency to describe the middle-class white part of the generation and not much else. What about students who don't go to college, or who work and attend community college? Are they constantly on IM and text messaging? I think if these researchers relied on more than generalizations about a few students whom they happen to know, they might see beyond and make a more complex and nuanced argument.
But nuance does not sell books. Again, I haven't read the book and I'm not sure that unless I can get it from the library anytime soon that I will - my book budget needs to be cut because I spend too much money on them!
Growing Up for Dummies - New York Times: "According to Christine Hassler, author of “20 Something Manifesto: Quarter-Lifers Speak Out About Who They Are, What They Want and How to Get It,” they’re not just floundering, they’re often anxious and miserable, suffering from something like menu overload: there are just too many choices to make. The result is often a feeling of stasis and letdown that Ms. Hassler calls Expectation Hangover, a phrase she is so fond of she has trademarked it."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
One more post before I go to bed...
Thinking about the last post, what does the dearth of reading in this generation mean for teaching? How do you teach to students who don't - or won't - or can't - read?
How can you help them learn to write? I know there are so many people with blogs (and most, like me, have about 4 readers)... practicing writing is good, but it has to be an intentional practice. If I can't form complete sentences.
For example. Hahaha. I think that blogs and online forums have allowed for people to experiment with language, but in many arenas clarity, succinct writing, and basic understanding of grammar is still necessary for communication. Good writing skills shouldn't something amazing - they should be something everyone can attain.
Spelling, now, that's another matter.
How can you help them learn to write? I know there are so many people with blogs (and most, like me, have about 4 readers)... practicing writing is good, but it has to be an intentional practice. If I can't form complete sentences.
For example. Hahaha. I think that blogs and online forums have allowed for people to experiment with language, but in many arenas clarity, succinct writing, and basic understanding of grammar is still necessary for communication. Good writing skills shouldn't something amazing - they should be something everyone can attain.
Spelling, now, that's another matter.
U Kan Reed?
This article makes many of the same arguments (apparently - I haven't read it!) as The Age of American Unreason, by Susan Jacoby. I'm still working through that book, which traces the origins and history of our current disinterest and distrust of learning.
This new book talks about how we're ignoring the lack of intellectual activity going on in the generation coming up. I'm wondering if their ability to manipulate digital and visual media might not reveal some skills that we haven't thought of yet; however, I don't think that anything good can come of the lack of reading and writing.
Can U Read Kant? - WSJ.com: "To Mark Bauerlein, a professor of English at Emory University, the present is a good time to be young only if you don't mind a tendency toward empty-headedness. In 'The Dumbest Generation,' he argues that cultural and technological forces, far from opening up an exciting new world of learning and thinking, have conspired to create a level of public ignorance so high as to threaten our democracy."
This new book talks about how we're ignoring the lack of intellectual activity going on in the generation coming up. I'm wondering if their ability to manipulate digital and visual media might not reveal some skills that we haven't thought of yet; however, I don't think that anything good can come of the lack of reading and writing.
Can U Read Kant? - WSJ.com: "To Mark Bauerlein, a professor of English at Emory University, the present is a good time to be young only if you don't mind a tendency toward empty-headedness. In 'The Dumbest Generation,' he argues that cultural and technological forces, far from opening up an exciting new world of learning and thinking, have conspired to create a level of public ignorance so high as to threaten our democracy."
More on impactful...
The order of these posts got a bit mussed up, since I'm discovering how to highlight text in pages and then click "Post to Blogger" right from my computer. Which is great - because it allows for easier linking and posting.
This exchange about a Coke slogan - Dansani Water. Everyday. - and how it's stupid - appeared in Harper's Magazine and explains, pretty much, why the word impactful is so stupid.
Open Brackets: "Coke. Izzit."
This exchange about a Coke slogan - Dansani Water. Everyday. - and how it's stupid - appeared in Harper's Magazine and explains, pretty much, why the word impactful is so stupid.
Open Brackets: "Coke. Izzit."
Language Snob
We had a discussion about sticklers for grammar in writing workshops in my class the other day. I think that I've gotten a little better about my distaste for split infinitives and ending sentences with prepositions (although I reserve the right to correct my students).
Yet I continue to have a problem with jargon in writing. I have especially come to dislike the following: synergy, impactful, and leveraged. I especially hate it when I find myself using them.
I posted a post below about "impactful" and a funny exchange featured in Harper's.
Yet I continue to have a problem with jargon in writing. I have especially come to dislike the following: synergy, impactful, and leveraged. I especially hate it when I find myself using them.
I posted a post below about "impactful" and a funny exchange featured in Harper's.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Symbolic Leadership
Lately I've been thinking a lot about symbolic leadership. I just finished a class that had us look at organizations through a variety of frames - bureaucratic, collegial, political, cybernetic, and cultural/symbolic.
Given my interest in ethnography and cultural traditions, I'm drawn to the symbolic frame. There are several ways to see this frame in an organization. Climate or culture of the organization is one. The heros/heroines of the organization is another. Meanings of actions, how things are interpreted, is another. There are some close linkages between the symbolic frame of leadership and the political frame, which is all about power. He who sets the agenda has power; he who interprets the events for everyone else has power. (orshe. got it.)
I'm looking at a way to tie this to ethnography, because I think its an important notion for looking at organizations as cultures and how leaders operate within them. Also, I have a negative view of symbolic leadership, as emphasizing meaning over action. Roseberg's (2004) controversial article on Brown vs. Board of Education talks about how sometimes, a powerful symbol can fool people into thinking that no more action needs to be taken on a particular issue. (I only know the article was controversial because he says in the article that it was controversial. I guess this is a catch-22. I should find out more.)
I'd like to think a bit more on the positive aspects of symbolic leadership, and how leaders create organizational culture.
Given my interest in ethnography and cultural traditions, I'm drawn to the symbolic frame. There are several ways to see this frame in an organization. Climate or culture of the organization is one. The heros/heroines of the organization is another. Meanings of actions, how things are interpreted, is another. There are some close linkages between the symbolic frame of leadership and the political frame, which is all about power. He who sets the agenda has power; he who interprets the events for everyone else has power. (orshe. got it.)
I'm looking at a way to tie this to ethnography, because I think its an important notion for looking at organizations as cultures and how leaders operate within them. Also, I have a negative view of symbolic leadership, as emphasizing meaning over action. Roseberg's (2004) controversial article on Brown vs. Board of Education talks about how sometimes, a powerful symbol can fool people into thinking that no more action needs to be taken on a particular issue. (I only know the article was controversial because he says in the article that it was controversial. I guess this is a catch-22. I should find out more.)
I'd like to think a bit more on the positive aspects of symbolic leadership, and how leaders create organizational culture.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
How to transform an academic
This article talks about how I might find employment as a tenure-track faculty member one day.
Well, not that specifically. You'll see!
FT.com / Features of the week - How to transform an academic:
How to transform an academic By Rebecca Knight
Well, not that specifically. You'll see!
FT.com / Features of the week - How to transform an academic:
How to transform an academic By Rebecca Knight
More evidence for a professional journal
This came up in class today... quelle surprise, because it's the one thing that I always think that if I did it, my professional life would be enhanced.
Professional journaling allows not only for immediate reflection on your work, but also creates a more long-term record. That way, when you become the leader that you once disagreed with (I hate ending in prepositions, but I'm in class so I have to be quick), you can look back at your journal to improve your practice.
Professional journaling allows not only for immediate reflection on your work, but also creates a more long-term record. That way, when you become the leader that you once disagreed with (I hate ending in prepositions, but I'm in class so I have to be quick), you can look back at your journal to improve your practice.
Disappointed
I'm disappointed in how seldom any of the presidential candidates talk about education. Michelle Obama has said a few things (she's a great speaker, by the way), but my girl Hillary has said nada. I mean, at least in a big way.
Of course, in many ways, that's because traditionally education is a more local issue. Our school boards and local councils and mayors have more of an impact on education than the president does. I know Fenty being the mayor of DC has had a greater impact on schools than Bush.
In a lot of ways the president sets the symbolic tone - sort of the "theme" that will impact education. Accountability, access... whatever the theme is, that's what "street level bureaucrats' (Weatherly and Lipsky, from 1977) will enact on the ground. The reality, of course, ends up being quite different from the goals set on high.
Of course, in many ways, that's because traditionally education is a more local issue. Our school boards and local councils and mayors have more of an impact on education than the president does. I know Fenty being the mayor of DC has had a greater impact on schools than Bush.
In a lot of ways the president sets the symbolic tone - sort of the "theme" that will impact education. Accountability, access... whatever the theme is, that's what "street level bureaucrats' (Weatherly and Lipsky, from 1977) will enact on the ground. The reality, of course, ends up being quite different from the goals set on high.
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