Dr Flavius Akerele III's The E Team Education blog

This is the last day of school for my kids, and I must say I do enjoy spending time with them. They are so vibrant, energetic, and curious; I lucked out with my kids. Actually, I lucked out with a lot of things and that is my point. There are ups and downs for all of us, there are hardships and successes, but do we think about how lucky we are to live here? Are we grateful everyday for the people in our lives, for professional careers we have, for simply being alive? The simple things. I want to close this year out by saying I am grateful everyday for what I do have, and I will continue to strive to not only bring to light the issues in education that need focus, but also collaborate with others for true solutions to educational issues; and I will have funding it. Merry Christmas everyone and see you in 2014 The ETeam is now on vacation!

I found this story today interesting for many reasons, chief among them that the California teacher exams do not tell you who will be a good teacher or not, and they are incredibly expensive. I personally have known people whose teaching career got delayed because of these exams and they ended up being wonderful teachers. By the way I do not like the term minority because there is nothing minor about my culture an heritage. “Professor: Why I Stopped Recruiting Minority Teaching Students” “As one of the few ethnic minority professors in my university's education department, I am frequently, actually always, asked to take on a leading role in attempting to increase minority teacher candidate recruitment at the university.” “Not coincidentally, this initiative becomes a priority exactly at the time when a national accreditation review is due. Among our most pressing tasks is writing up strategic plans for increasing our minority enrollment so that it is, at least, on par wi...

“With GI Bill at Milestone, Veterans Push for Campus Services” “When Jose Roman enrolled at Old Dominion University in the spring of 2012, he thought he would find more services for veterans on the campus than he did.” “Fresh off a deployment to Afghanistan—his final mission in a 22-year career with the Navy and Navy Reserve—Mr. Roman soon linked up with other veterans, and they pushed for a meeting space as well as an orientation just for students affiliated with the military. They succeeded on both fronts.” “The Norfolk, Va., campus, he says, has become a more welcoming place for veterans. They now have their own faculty adviser, a small office, and a Student Veterans of America chapter, of which Mr. Roman, 40, is president. Last month the university held a conference for student veterans from around the state.” “More and more colleges are recognizing veterans as a distinct demographic group, with specific needs. As those students become more visible, they are finding one ...

So for profit schools are under pressure to prove gainful employment; I wonder why this is not across the board for all schools? Anyway, back on track, I read an interesting article today about Corinthian Colleges: “Corinthian Paid for Job Placements” “An Everest College campus located near Atlanta paid employers to hire its graduates for short periods of time in a maneuver designed in part to boost the for-profit college's job placement rate, reported the Huffington Post . The now-defunct Decatur campus in 2011 shelled out $2,000 for each graduate hired, according to company  documents the website published. In most cases those employees were let go one month later, sometimes after pushing a broom around for 40 hours a week.” “The practice was not limited to Everest's Decatur campus. Two California campuses of the chain, which is owned by Corinthian Colleges Inc., paid temp agencies to hire graduates, the Huffington Post reported, citing a lawsuit filed by Cal...

“Highest-Paid Presidents Face Backlash, Study Finds” “When defending compensation of $1-million and more for college presidents, trustees and university officials often repeat a simple refrain: Attracting the best talent costs money. “In 2011 the 10 highest-paid private-college presidents cost their institutions an average of about $2.3-million each. Some trustees would say that's a bargain compared with the amount a high-caliber president can bring in through fund raising. But the actual cost to a university of having one of the highest-paid presidents in the country may be more than just salary and benefits, according to a new working paper.” “Institutions whose presidents appear in The Chronicle's top-10 list of highest-paid private-college executives receive between $2.8-million and $4.5-million less in donations the following year than their peers whose presidents are outside the top 10, according to the paper. ” Read the whole thing here: http://chronicle.com/a...

Rather than report on trials and tribulations of education today, let me search for a ray of sunshine. Let us see: ·          I have a home to live in ·          My kids are healthy ·          My Marriage is healthy ·          I live in a land of plenty I could go and on because when you think about it, you do not have to look far to find sunshine. Be thankful everyday because that is part of true education. Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

This issue is not over, the fate 80000 students is still up in the air. The latest and greatest: “College's Fight Underscores Love-Hate Relation Between Faculty and Accreditors” “Faculty members sometimes grumble about the administrative burdens associated with accreditation, but a conflict between the accreditor and the faculty of City College of San Francisco may have set a new low for such relationships.” “The dispute highlights the ambivalence that many in higher education feel toward accreditation. While most embrace the values and goals of accreditation, the process and procedures are seen as arcane and unwieldy, the result of layers of federal oversight that weigh down both the accreditor and its members.” “In July the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges put City College on "show cause" status, giving the institution less than a year to prove that it is meeting the commission...

I have a rule in my classes:”I do not want to see or hear your noise making devices unless you can prove they are relevant to the class”. That of course does not stop it completely, there are always those who continue to do so (very rudely I might add); and for the most part I can say, their grades are amongst the lowest because they do not pay attention. “Frequent Cell Phone Use Linked to Anxiety, Lower Grades and Reduced Happiness in Students, Kent State Research Shows” “Today, smartphones are central to college students’ lives, keeping them constantly connected with friends, family and the Internet.  Students’ cell phones are rarely out of reach whether the setting is a college classroom, library, recreational center, cafeteria or dorm room. As cell phone use continues to increase, it is worth considering whether use of the device is related to measurable outcomes important for student success, such as academic performance, anxiety and happiness.”  “Kent State...

Show me one person who wants to be poor and I will show you a liar. Prove to me that the working poor receive food assistance because they do not work hard: you cannot. Show me a person who wants the stigma that our society places on them for being poor, and yes, there is stigma. I challenge you to walk into a public assistance office and watch how people are trying not to be seen, to feel the misery, and feel the despair of someone who is missing a piece of paper and therefore cannot get their food for the month. Here is an excerpt from an article I just read:   “Poverty Amid Plenty - America's Continuing Shame” “If that dismissal of American poverty is not to hold sway, we need to go beyond the statistics in the CBO Report, to say other things about the American rich and the American poor. One thing we need to say is that -- as the CBO Report indicates -- both the rich and the poor are still with us. The poor have not gone away, and their conditions of life remain se...

Ongoing battle in K12 education The word ‘common-core’ seems to appear everywhere when reading about K12 education issues. Are you up to speed on this? An interesting story today popped up in the news. I say interesting because it seems to be the beginning of a big fight coming up; one that will be played out in the political arena. “'Day of Action' planned by teachers, union” “Teachers across the state will wear blue and rally for more funding and less testing as part of a national "Day of Action" organized across numerous states.” “Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers, says he's starting Monday at an event at Nyack High School with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, parents and legislators.” “In Rochester, there is a local press conference scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday at the NYSUT Regional Office, at 30 N. Union St., Rochester.” “Speakers scheduled for the local event include K-12 educat...

1918-2013   You lived a life that meant something, enjoy your rest.   Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

Sharing an article December 5 2013 PE in schools is what it is nowadays. I personally think the curriculum could use some beefing up but that is just my opinion. On that note, I wanted to share an article I read today in ‘Education Week’ and get a conversation going about what your opinion is. “One in Four Parents Dissatisfied With Schools' Phys. Ed. Offerings” “One in four K-12 public school parents believe their child's school isn't placing enough emphasis on physical education,  according to a new survey  from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Harvard School of Public Health, and National Public Radio”. “The survey, which drew upon 1,368 parents of public school children in grades K-12 on a range of education-related issues, asked parents to grade their child's school based on its support of physical activity”. “Twenty-eight percent of parents gave their child's school a C, D, or F grade on providing enough time for physical exercise, while 44 ...

A lot of people visit America for so many reasons; a big reason being tourism. We recently had the opportunity to host some random travelers from Germany in our home and it has been wonderful (they are also wonderful) They have been travelling from Canada down the west coast for a few months. I seem to remember that kind of thing happening to me a lot during my youthful travels, and it always left me with fond memories of wherever I stayed.   My point is, we know people want to visit our country and spend their money here. However, let us try to leave them with fond memories that last a lifetime because who knows; you might make a lifelong friend. Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

As I read the headlines for interesting education articles, I realize that sometimes, ‘ the headlines’ are the story. Case in point: ·          “Streaming Suicide” ·          “'Party School'” ·          “ U.S. Achievement Stalls as Other Nations Make Gains ” ·          “Scrutiny for Loan Servicers” ·          “ Another Chance for Controversial Accreditor? ” ·            “U. of Michigan Delays Controversial 'Shared Services' Plan ” ·          “ The Press Dropped the Ball on the Common Core ” ·          “ Fourth Meningitis Case Confirmed at UC Santa Barbara ” ·          “ Ex-Professor at Chapel Hill Indicted...

I have blogged about this subject before and it never gets old because nothing ever changes. There are very ‘few training” programs for university administrators (academic or non-academic alike), most people are handed the job based upon seniority or ‘other’ reasons (you figure out the other). There has been a rise in the ‘professional’ administrator, but that is not the norm. From the Chronicle of Higher Education today: “When Domenick J. Pinto first became a department chair, more than 25 years ago, it was a different job than it is today”.   “Mr. Pinto, who still heads the department of computer science and information technology at Sacred Heart University, created the schedule of classes, advised students, hired adjuncts, evaluated faculty members, and reviewed the curriculum”.   “"It was a very academic post back then," he says. "We were thought of as faculty members with managerial responsibilities."”   “Now Mr. Pinto and department chairs e...