There are two seemingly-contradictory conversations going on right now about kids graduating from college. One conversation focuses on the importance of a college degree. Bob Herbert for instance– his NYT op-ed column last week—bemoaned the fact that the U.S.—once the world leader in college graduation rates—now lags 12th behind other industrialized countries. We should quit [...]
The cost of textbooks is high and getting higher–a 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported an increase in the cost of textbooks that was twice the inflation rate– but there’s some relief in sight. The AP reports that textbook rental programs and online-shopping for textbook bargains are replacing the more traditional and [...]
Greg Sisk at Mirror of Justice– reflecting on Peggy Noonan’s charge that our thought leaders (including university elites) are detached from the essential nature of regular citizens– asks whether the charge applies just as well to profs at Catholic institutions. Hmmmmm….yes.
Tom Bartlett at The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting interview with disgraced historian Michael Bellesiles here. We’ve discussed Bellesiles here, here, here and here. My two favorite excerpts from the interview: One creative critic made up a song and serenaded him over the phone. It included rhymes for the word “a**hole.” And: In [...]
With the economy in a downturn, there have been questions asked lately about the value of a college degree– will kids really earn more than they would have without that piece of paper or will they instead start their adult life with a minimum-wage job and a lot of student loan debt. (We’ll leave aside [...]
As anyone who follows this blog—or who has sat in on any of my university lectures, for that matter—knows, I am a big fan of Teach for America (TFA). And in this—its 20th anniversary year—it’s getting a lot of justly deserved attention in the media, both mainstream and new. But along with all the praise, [...]
Angelo M. Codevilla — professor emeritus of international relations at Boston University—caused quite a stir with his piece in the July/August issue of The American Spectator, America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution. In it, he argues that there are two classes in America, the ruling class and the rest of us–the majority [...]
David Glenn at the Chronicle reports on the use of longitudinal databases to evaluate teacher preparation. Loiuisiana’s is considered one of the better ones. Using a new longitudinal database, it had analyzed the standardized-test scores of fourth- through ninth-grade students and matched those scores to the institutions that had trained their teachers. This isn’t an [...]
Libby Sander at the Chronicle reports that cheerleading does not count in meeting Title IX requirements. That’s because, according to District Judge Stefan R. Underhill, it’s not a sport. According to Title IX: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, [...]
Jim Lindgren’s post heading at The Volokh Conspiracy says it all: Chronicle Review Admits Bellesiles’s Story is False — Blames Student, not Bellesiles The Chronicle‘s statement is here. (Scroll down past Bellesiles’s story.) Somehow I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this. We’ve discussed it before here and here and here.