h/t George Station

h/t George Station

Originally shared by Gillian Judson

Wonderful to have this guest blog by Rebecca Thomas on #imaginED
http://gillianjudson.edublogs.org/2018/08/09/let-us-play-in-higher-education-playful-learning-18/

This is the kind of crap that gets me all riled up at the fundies.

This is the kind of crap that gets me all riled up at the fundies.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/arizona-official-waters-down-states-science-education-standards/

via Cliff Bramlett

via Cliff Bramlett

Originally shared by brian wang
http://dlvr.it/QPt6rW

Interesting data...

Interesting data...
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/16/592221378/the-fight-over-teacher-salaries-a-look-at-the-numbers

Separate is inherently unequal.

Separate is inherently unequal.
https://apnews.com/e9c25534dfd44851a5e56bd57454b4f5

In an overtaxed educational system, the lowest-effort way to deal with the burden is simply to pass the kids and...

In an overtaxed educational system, the lowest-effort way to deal with the burden is simply to pass the kids and wish them good luck. Is it really a surprise when we hear stories that it happens just that way?

We rely on teachers' personal and professional ethics to remain committed to education even in the face of overwhelming workloads. Some give up due to being stretched too thin and/or paid too little.

And we're relying on administrators to actually care about educational achievement and personal growth more than financial solvency and the appearance of a well-functioning school. Some, who think more like accountants or wardens, do not.

Our kids deserve better than the educational system we've created for them.
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/11/28/564054556/what-really-happened-at-the-school-where-every-senior-got-into-college

First, the GOP wanted to eliminate the student loan interest deduction, and now they're proposing ending tuition...

First, the GOP wanted to eliminate the student loan interest deduction, and now they're proposing ending tuition waiver tax credits. Combined, these could easily end PhD programs at a lot of public research universities. And that will mean higher tuitions for undergrads, or fewer courses being taught...or both. The GOP's war on education continues apace.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/7/16612288/gop-tax-bill-graduate-students

Spending on higher education makes students — and everyone else — richer: Don Pittis

Originally shared by Adrian Parsons
https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4268921

FTA: “Do I think [this new course] is better than 30 students and the Socratic method, Dead Poets Society-style?

FTA: “Do I think [this new course] is better than 30 students and the Socratic method, Dead Poets Society-style? Probably not,” Meer admits.

Exactly. At least he's honest. No, it's not better than a proper in-classroom experience. What it is better than is the horrible, awful, 250-student, auditorium-style, impersonal mass lecture. But that, IMO, is a woefully low bar and one that shouldn't ever have been invented in the first place. But, you know, when scalability is desired and useful technology simply doesn't exist, just making the room bigger is an awfully appealing "fix."

Me? I'll continue teaching small classes the right way as long as I'm able. And I'll put my methods up against the best pure-online instructors in terms of learning outcomes. Will the educate more students? Yes. Will they educate them better? I doubt it.
https://qz.com/1050869/the-college-lecture-is-dying-and-good-riddance/

This might seem to be just about parenting, but it's also about how we approach any kind of negative outcome for...

This might seem to be just about parenting, but it's also about how we approach any kind of negative outcome for people we are educating, mentoring, advising, or even managing.
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/30/lawnmower-parents-raising-generation-entitled-kids-handle-adversity

Precisely.

Precisely.

via Samuel Smith

Originally shared by Rhys Taylor

Yes, that's definitely the answer.
http://existentialcomics.com/comic/197

"profsplaining"

"profsplaining"

[headdesk]

Explaining things you don't fully understand to you is literally that person's job.

So...is this award-winning teacher onto something?

So...is this award-winning teacher onto something?
https://www.moultrienews.com/opinion/teacher-to-parent---positive-reinforcement-doesn-t-work/article_cf5c0206-2522-11e7-98ed-b3a9b0e7d4f6.html?utm_medium=social

The reason a manufacturing plant exists is to produce product.

The reason a manufacturing plant exists is to produce product. Everything that directly produces product creates external value and should be considered primary. Everything in the plant that does not produce product is there to support those people and systems that do. That is how they create internal value and should be considered secondary. The needs, desires, or preferences, no matter how legitimate, of secondary entities should never outweigh the legitimate needs, desires, and preferences of primary entities unless there is a compelling, customer-value-based reason for doing so.

This is true for manufacturing plants. It is also true for fast food restaurants. And hotels. And landscapers. And, yes, universities.

The reason a college exists is twofold: to produce research and to teach students. In other words, its raison d'être is to generate and disseminate knowledge. Faculty are the primary agents involved in research and teaching. As a result, faculty are primary resources.

In contrast, administrators and staff are secondary resources and are ultimately there either to help the faculty do their jobs or to help students with their needs. Even someone as obscurely related as, say, fundraising is connected in this way. Fundraising staff support the Dean or President, who is supposed to generate and resources that enable research and teaching.

If there is a productivity loop within the organization that doesn't ultimately end in research and teaching, one has to question why it exists. Many colleges and universities have forgotten this basic, common-sense concept.

Also, colleges are increasingly shifting administrative burdens away from staff to faculty (e.g., requiring faculty to process their own travel reimbursement paperwork). This makes zero sense. Why would you ask an employee who can produce primary value (in this case, do research and teach) to do the job of someone who cannot, especially when they're paid more? It would be like having the surgeon clean up the OR after a procedure instead of simply walking across the hallway to another patient who's ready to go.

Ultimately, every organization has a core mission. If someone or something's contribution to the mission isn't clear, it should be scrutinized for possible removal.

Note that they buried the lede, which is that universities are quietly and systematically replacing tenure-track...

Note that they buried the lede, which is that universities are quietly and systematically replacing tenure-track positions with untenured, part-time contract jobs.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/colleges-offer-retirement-buyouts-to-professors/487400/?utm_source=atlfb

Her stance is clear: If you don't like the laws protecting LGBT or disabled kids, get your elected officials to...

Her stance is clear: If you don't like the laws protecting LGBT or disabled kids, get your elected officials to change them, because she (as an appointee) isn't about to go out of her way to place any hardship on religious schools that receive vouchers (your and my tax dollars).
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/06/07/531783226/asked-about-discrimination-betsy-devos-said-this-14-times

"Kids who attend public preschool programs are better prepared for kindergarten than kids who don't."

"Kids who attend public preschool programs are better prepared for kindergarten than kids who don't."

"That while all kids benefit from preschool, poor and disadvantaged kids often make the most gains."
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/05/03/524907739/pre-k-decades-worth-of-studies-one-strong-message?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_medium=social

Hello

Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that I will not be able to make it to class today due to an interview at 2:00pm. Please let me know if I am missing anything by not attending today's class.
Thanks
#####


#####,
Are you missing anything?

No, of course not…we’re going to sit in silence for an hour and 20 minutes, staring at an empty screen.

Please watch the podcast of the lecture since we’ll be discussing rather important issues.

Good luck on your interview.
- Craig

I lecture for free; they pay me to grade.

I lecture for free; they pay me to grade.

This is a preview of the results we can expect to see from cuts to federal education funding.

Originally shared by Marla Caldwell

This is a preview of the results we can expect to see from cuts to federal education funding.

The court ordered lawmakers to devise a plan that would meet constitutional standards by the end of June and mandated a new formula to increase government spending on the state's public education system. The demand for extra education funding couldn't come at a worse time for Brownback, as the governor and Republican-held state legislature are caught in a stalemate on whether Kansas should repeal Brownback's landmark income-tax cuts in order to solve shortfalls that have plagued the state budget in recent years.

"We conclude the state's public financing system, through its structure and implementation, is not reasonably calculated to have all Kansas public education students meet or exceed the minimum constitutional standards of adequacy," the court wrote in an unsigned, unanimous opinion. By underfunding education, the judges said, the state system failed in one-fourth of all its public schools to appropriately educate students in basic reading and math skills and shortchanged half of the state's black students and one-third of its Hispanic students.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/03/kansas-supreme-court-tells-lawmakers-adequately-fund-public-schools