Dr Flavius Akerele III's The E Team Education blog

If I were 22 #IfIWere22 If I could go back and give myself advice, I would let myself know that “you are not invincible” and to always have a plan just in case. At the same time, I would advise myself to take chances on certain things that were outside my comfort zone because life needs risk from time to time. Am I where I want to be? I think the answer is I am where I should be, because what we want and what we need are often very different things Advice I would give those entering the workforce today is to remember that the basics never go away, no matter what the new technology says. Learn the basics things well so you can use all this new technology the way it “should be used” versus the way it is being used. If you want to know what the basics are, just remember the lessons our parents taught us: make real friends and be a real friend, be polite, be kind, be considerate, and think for yourself. Dr Flavius A B Akerele III       ...

 I read a few good insightful articles today, so I thought I would share three of them. “Who Are You Calling Underprivileged?” “The first mailing I received was a brochure that featured a photograph of African-American, Asian, and Latino teens standing around in a cluster, their faces full of laughter and joy. The title of the brochure was "Help for Underprivileged Students." At first I was confused: "Underprivileged" was not a word that I associated with myself. But there was the handout, with my name printed boldly on the surface.” “What does "underprivileged" actually mean? According to most dictionaries, the word refers to a person who does not enjoy the same standard of living or rights as a majority of people in a society. I don’t fit that definition. Even though my family does not have a lot of money, we have always had enough to get by, and I have received an excellent education.” “What angered me most about the label was why ...

I thought these two articles were worth sharing, and I think they speak for themselves… “Bible College’s President Faces Forced-Labor Charges” “Reginald Miller, president of Cathedral Bible College, in Marion, S.C., was arrested on Thursday in connection with allegations that he forced foreign students to work for low wages and threatened to revoke their visas if they did not comply, The Sun News reported.” “Investigators filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Miller stating that they have probable cause to charge him with forced labor, a felony that carries with it a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count. They said he had misrepresented the college to foreign applicants. The college did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.” http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/bible-colleges-president-faces-forced-labor-charges/78399?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en Exploiting foreign students gives every college a bad name.   “A survivor s...

In this day an age of interne popularity contests, online reviews, and rate-my-professors, I thought I would share this article today. “Rating or Defaming?” “Many professors dislike instructor review websites, saying they attract disgruntled students in particular and thus offer a skewed – but very public – account of their teaching abilities. Others say students aren’t always the best judges of teaching ability, and that they tend to rate easier courses and professors more highly than meaningful but challenging ones. But most professors now see being rated on the Internet – good or bad – as an inevitable part of the job.” “Sally Vogl-Bauer, a tenured professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, doesn’t dispute that students retain the right to exchange opinions about professors online. But in a civil suit filed in a Wisconsin circuit court, she says that a former student’s extensive online commentary about her teaching amounts to defam...

Let me start by sharing this article I read today: “For-Profits' Fundamental Difference” “WASHINGTON -- Let's stipulate up front that Bob Shireman is anything but an objective observer of for-profit higher education. For much of President Obama's first term, he made life a living hell for colleges in the sector through his aggressive pursuit of new regulations designed to ensure they were preparing their graduates for "gainful employment."” “As Shireman explains it, for-profit colleges are fundamentally different from nonprofit ones because their owners -- be they shareholders for publicly traded companies or board members for privately held ones -- reap personal financial gain if the institution grows in size or increases its profits.” “The personal profit incentive that owners of for-profit colleges have increases the chances, Shireman argues, that the institutions "compromise student and public needs in pursuit of growth and profit....

Our justice system is far from perfect, we see this obvious stain from the amount of people we jail everyday; often on offenses that harm no one. What is worse is we have an obvious two-tiered justice system, where massive numbers of people who end up in jail are there because they could not pay a fine. So they end up with more fines, in jail, costing the taxpayers unnecessary money. History lesson “A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt . These prisons have been used since ancient times. Through the mid 19th century, debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe. Though increasing access and lenience throughout the history of bankruptcy law have rendered debtors' prisons irrelevant over most of the world, as of May 2013, they persist in countries such as the United Arab Emirates , Hong Kong , Greece , and the United States .” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debtors'_prison “Su...

Always good to pay attention to large players in this industry: “Laureate Looks Forward” “In the 15 years since its creation, Laureate Education has become one of the biggest global players in higher education. While the privately held for-profit has faced a few regulatory setbacks in recent months, Laureate’s leaders plan to keep growing its international footprint .” “Douglas Becker, Laureate’s chairman and CEO, conducted a rare, exclusive interview with Inside Higher Ed to reflect on the company’s expansion and what comes next. He also discussed where Laureate fits in debates over accreditation and for-profit education.” Read the whole thing here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/20/ceo-global-profit-its-expansion-accreditation-and-profit-debate#sthash.I8NUKKJw.dpbs Happy Tuesday Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

Conservative: Believing in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society : relating to or supporting political conservatism marked by moderation or caution <a conservative estimate Liberal: Believing that government should be active in supporting social and political change : relating to or supporting political liberalism broad-minded ; especially :   not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy , or traditional forms http://www.merriam-webster.com “Traditional practice in politics and society” could mean that more than half this country, would not legally be allowed to vote. “Marked by moderation or caution” ok? What is the big deal, since it is   logical to be cautious sometimes. “Believing that government should be active in supporting social and political change” think of civil rights, past present, and future. Not always perfect, but sometimes necessary “ broad-minded ; especially ...