Dr Flavius Akerele III's The E Team Education blog

I am taking a vacation until after thanksgiving. Wishing you and yours a good holiday! Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

Sometimes we need to just celebrate the simple things in education rather than pointing out the big bad things, so, on that note I want to share something personal. My now 7 year old daughter told us almost a year and half ago that she was going to the Olympics for gymnastics. As parents, we sometimes do not realize how determined kids can be, myself included. Yesterday, she made the official team, and this particular team has been a feeder for various US national gymnasts. It looks like she is one step closer to the Olympics and I am filled with pride about her! Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

It seems sexual assault ‘embarrasses’ certain types of institutions; professional sports and college campuses. What bothers me about the college campus is that it is supposed to be a place of learning and enlightenment, so they should know better. Instead of absolute outrage at the fact that students were sexually assaulted on a campus, we get outrage that the campus’ good name might be tarnished, we get spin control, we get threats of retaliation; but we do not get a serious solution. It is great that the schools have policies on sexual assault and that on paper they take it very seriously. However, a piece of paper is not going to protect the victim; they can wave it all they want but it will not help them. What are schools doing to put absolute fear in potential rapists? What are schools doing to change the culture to the point where rape becomes a distant memory of barbaric times instead of an everyday occurrence? “Spotlight on Campus Responses to Rape Puts Presiden...

My purpose of sharing this is to make you aware, and hopefully start talking about this issue. “The Hard-Knock (and Downright Dangerous) Lives of Teachers” “The Associated Press this week reports on the dangers teachers face on a daily basis”. “"When a 16-year-old student slammed a metal trash can onto Philip Raimondo's head, it did more than break open the history teacher's scalp, knock him out, and send him bleeding to the floor," the Associated Press writes”. “Violence against teachers isn't new ground, it's just progressively sadder ground dampened by further bloodshed. In September, the Teaching Now Blog's Hana Maruyama wrote about other recent physical assaults on teachers, including incidents in Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; Georgia; the Brooklyn borough of New York” “A master's degree in teaching does not confer upon the recipient any form of invisible shield. It does not bestow super strength or airbags. Teachers are no less im...

“For-Profits Step Up Gainful Criticism” “Representatives of for-profit colleges stepped up their criticism Monday of the Education Department’s efforts to rewrite the “gainful employment” rules that would apply to their institutions and vocational programs at community colleges”. “As a federally appointed panel kicked off a second round of negotiations over the regulations, the for-profit-college members of the committee lamented a lack of information and questioned the department’s rationale for putting forth a stricter, more sweeping proposal than the department originally suggested in its first draft”. “The department is now proposing standards that include a debt-to-income measure, a program-level cohort default rate, and a loan repayment rate. With that more aggressive proposal on the table, the negotiators Monday appeared even further apart than they did during the first round of discussions ”. Read the rest here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/19...

First and foremost, I am simply presenting a piece of information not a political opinion. This information is not new, but the author has presented in what I found was a fresh and riveting way. My hope is that you will read this and see that there is not just a social problem, but a systemic education problem that threads itself through systems from beginning to end. I am a firm believer that educators have or can find the answer to this issue. “The American Police State: A sociologist interrogates the criminal-justice system, and tries to stay out of the spotlight” “ On a winter afternoon in 2004, a woman waits in the detective unit of a Philadelphia police station. Two officers, outfitted with combat boots and large guns, enter the room. The cops place their guns on the table, pointed at her. The woman is 22, tiny, and terrified”. “The officers show her a series of photos of men from around her neighborhood. Two of the men are her roommates, Mike and Chuck, low-le...

“To improve their classroom-management skills, teachers are often advised to seek help from talented peers. To that end, we recently sent out emails and tweets to teachers asking: “What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received regarding classroom management?”” “Over 40 teachers replied with tips on everything from timed activities to relationship building. Here's a selection of their responses:” Read it all here: http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/10/14/cm_advice.html?tkn=YXLFg8Pkn%2BGLNZzj1Eqpx0r4NHi6w3gDHwyv&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2 Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

“Google on Wednesday announced  a $3.2 million grant that four organizations will share to produce data-based research on how student veterans are faring in college. The Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Student Veterans of America, Posse Foundation and Veterans of Foreign Wars will study which colleges are the most successful at supporting student veterans, which campus programs have the biggest impact and how veterans' majors of study match up with employment opportunities. The resulting report will be made public, Google officials said, and the company will fund the expansion of programs that are found to be the most effective”. Read it here: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/11/14/googles-32-million-grant-help-student-veterans I found this interesting and pleasing to see since there is not a whole lot of “tracked” data out there about this subject. A bit of self-promotion here, please feel free to read my dissertation on this subject (much s...

Alcohol is contributing factor to sexual assault on college campuses; there I said it aloud. Couple it with the fact that moderation is a scarce practice when it comes to alcohol on college, and you have the teenage stupidly (yes it does exists). The primary purpose of college is to educate (we can talk about college preparedness later), so you are not attempting to educate yourself accept at the bottom of a beer glass, you should make room for those who want to learn. This is not to say you cannot have fun at college, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere. “Academic Approach to Alcohol” “Beginning this year, University of Idaho freshmen will face immediate expulsion if their grade-point average is below 1.0 at the end of fall semester -- and whether or not alcohol is to blame, it's part of an effort to curb underage drinking”. “The idea may be unprecedented, student affairs officials and substance abuse experts say. But as part of a broader overhaul of alcohol polici...

It seems a popular tradition that crosses all countries and cultures of higher education; the classroom that is need of repair. As a teacher, it can be embarrassing, even though you do not hold the purse strings, and as a student, you wonder why there is a brand new BMW outside for one of the higher ups but the lights do not work properly. The article I am going to share speaks for itself; I am not judging any school, and I certainly not recommending teachers do this. However, you do have to admit this was clever: “Classrooms of Shame” “Leaky ceilings, dim lighting, roaches, mold. Those images don't evoke the ideals of higher education, but for the growing number of professors posting pictures of their rooms and offices to the social media feed called " Classrooms of Shame ," they're an everyday reality”. “Karen Kelsky, who runs the academic career counseling website " The Professor Is In ,"  and who is a former tenured professor of anthropology...

“Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day ) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice , signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning . ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. [1] ” “The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces...

I felt this article was worth passing around because the topic is one that often creates strong debate in K12 education. Whether you agree or not, we all need to pay attention. “Momentum Grows Against Zero Tolerance Discipline and High-Stakes Testing” “Across the country, resistance is growing against public education's increased dependence on high-stakes standardized testing and on exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions, expulsions, and school-based arrests. Whether from grassroots demonstrations, test boycott and opt-out campaigns, school board resolutions, or Congressional hearings on discipline, the message is the same: "Enough is enough!"” “Parents, students, teachers and communities increasingly recognize what the research community has already established: overreliance on exclusionary discipline and high-stakes testing does not improve achievement or make schools safer. Instead, these practices damage opportunities to learn, particularly for our most...

The subject of racism almost always opens a ‘can of worms’ in this country. When it comes to racism in education and society, I personally find that it is difficult to have honest and/or non-confrontational conversations with people in this country. If you think about it, civil rights for almost all citizens has only happened recently (within living memory), I say recently because 50, 60 years is not a long time within a 400 year history. We are not color blind, not by a long shot, although the next generation seems to be melding together better. Actually, being color blind and tolerant of differences is still just ‘passing the buck’; that is not healing the problem.   An article I read today got me thinking about how we deal with it in education, or do not deal with it: “Facing Racism” “Adding the element of race to a discussion makes people uncomfortable.  It is as if some illusive, powerful force has entered and takes up all the air. For all the hope we hold ...

News about a major player in the higher education industry: “For-Profit Ashford U. Forms Alliance With Forbes” “Ashford said on Tuesday that it would pay Forbes Media LLC $15-million upfront, plus a minimum $30-million over the initial 12-year term of the deal, for the rights to the company’s online content for use in bachelor’s and master’s programs in business”. “The for-profit university will also rename its business school the Forbes School of Business. (That’s a twist on the way naming rights work for schools and buildings in nonprofit higher education: There, the colleges usually receive money in the form of donations in return for naming rights, rather than paying for the rights to the name.)” Read the whole thing here: http://chronicle.com/blogs/bottomline/for-profit-ashford-u-forms-alliance-with-forbes/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en   Thoughts? Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

The story I am about to share has already been reported in quite a few journals; however, it is showing no signs of going away anytime soon. “Faculty Were Called 'Satan' Through Pay Raises At Cleveland-Marshall College of Law: Complaint” “A group representing faculty at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law claims several members were called "Satan" through specific numbers represented in their pay raises by Dean Craig M. Boise”. “The American Association of University Professors chapter at the law school, part of Cleveland State University, filed an unfair labor practice charge with the State Employment Relations Board of Ohio in late August. It was picked up this week by TaxProf Blog ”. “The complaint alleges retaliation for the formation of a collective bargaining unit at the school, the Wall Street Journal reports”. “Six AAUP organizers received merit pay raises of $666, and two did not receive any raises, according to the complaint. Other faculty...

Whether you have worked as an adjunct or not, you will find this story interesting in some way. “Off Track: Adjuncts Are Addicts” “I know I’m not supposed to admit this, but I’ve lived my entire adult life on the edge of financial ruin. I’ll be 34 in a few months and I’ve never had a positive net worth. Ever. My debt has always overshadowed my savings. About two years ago, I was in the worst financial shape of my life. My debt-to-income ratio was pitiful and I had no idea how to change it”. “I was six months out of my graduate program, and my financial-aid payments were about to kick in. I was buried in credit-card debt that I took out to stay alive as I finished my thesis and began looking for a job”. “Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Wait—what? This is your story, too? If you’re nodding your head in recognition, you might be an adjunct”. “I’ve just started my fourth year as a non-tenure-tracker, and I’ve done some dirty things to feed my teaching habit: sold plasma, gon...

I could pick all kinds of negative stories to talk about today, because the news is full of them. Instead, let me just say it was a joy to watch my kids trick or treating last night. The smiles of children is often the best medicine to cure anything! Dr Flavius A B Akerele III