#SexualAssault on #College Campuses latest



As much as I like to see colleges being held accountable for handling this properly, it really should come from within. Why does congress have to be the one to tell you to do the right thing?

“Sex Assault Bill Unveiled”

“WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan group of eight U.S. Senators on Wednesday unveiled legislation aimed at holding colleges more accountable for preventing and dealing with the sexual assaults that occur on campuses.”

“The lawmakers, led by Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, both Democrats, said that the bill responds to a national problem of campus sexual assault and the publicized cases of colleges mishandling investigations.”

““If you are a young woman who goes to college, you are more likely to be sexually assaulted than if you didn’t,” Gillibrand said. “The price of a college education should not be that one in five students is sexually assaulted." (That one-in-five figure, though widely cited, is questioned by some.)”

“The legislation would require all colleges to conduct anonymous surveys of students about their views of sexual assault on campuses. The results of the so-called “climate surveys” would then be published online for prospective students to see. The White House has recommended that colleges conduct such evaluations, but the bill would make them mandatory.”

Read the whole thing here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/31/us-senators-announce-campus-sexual-assault-legislation

What are your thoughts? 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

City College San Francisco July 29 2014

Remember, this is a school that has approximately 85,000 students; their futures are up in the air:

“Accreditor Won’t Reconsider Decision on City College of San Francisco”

“The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges said on Monday that it would not reconsider its 2013 decision to revoke City College of San Francisco’s accreditation, after an independent appeals panel ordered the commission to review the college’s compliance with accreditation standards.”

“The commission told the college last year that its accreditation would be rescinded, but last month an appeals panel directed the commission to once again evaluate the college. The commission said on Monday that its latest review had concluded that the college “did not establish its compliance with accreditation standards as of May 21, 2014.” Therefore, a reconsideration of the decision to terminate the college’s accreditation “was not warranted,” the commission stated.”

“The commission’s decision marks the end of the college’s appeal, but it still has one remedy available: It can apply for “restoration” status, which would give it an additional two years to meet the commission’s standards while retaining its accreditation. The commission proposed that new status last month, after its actions sparked a chorus of protests from policy makers and higher-education leaders.”

“A judge has also blocked the commission from revoking the college’s accreditation until the city’s lawsuit over the matter, which is set to go to trial in October, is resolved.”

Read it here: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/commission-wont-reconsider-decision-on-city-college-of-san-franciscos-accreditation/82501?cid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en

Through all this fighting, I am hearing little or nothing about the students, and actually, we are not hearing from the students either.

Remember, it is all about the student.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam



Sharing an article 7/23/14

I thought this was an interesting, positive, and potentially long reaching way of viewing admissions.

“The 'Best and Brightest' Aren’t Always Obvious”

“I was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to parents whose aspiration of overcoming poverty and giving their children a better opportunity led them to New York. Our version of the American dream began in the projects of the South Bronx during one of the most dangerous times in the borough’s history. Violence, drugs, poverty, and pollution were everywhere.”

 

“One of my most vivid childhood recollections was watching my mother cry as she sat at our kitchen table. She had no idea where she was going to find a dollar to buy milk the next day. That was the moment I realized something was different about my family, and as I grew older I learned we were poor. My first few years in New York, I slept on a cot in the hallway where I heard rats rummaging through the walls each night.”

 

“A high-school counselor and an admission officer saved my life. Midway through my high-school career, a guidance counselor who thought I had potential made sure I went to college presentations in the area, met with admission officers who visited, and even paid for me to visit some colleges. My life changed the day an admission officer came to speak with me about her school. The way she brought college to life and painted a picture of all that was possible changed my aspirations. Most important, she and her team took a huge chance on me.”

 

“I now serve as a leader at a similar institution of higher education. Every day, my life experiences inform my work, and I think about how to help young people who share a similar story to mine. As the years go by, however, I grow increasingly concerned. We seem to care more about the numbers we report to our boards, the government, and U.S. News than we do about individual students applying. Admitting kids that share my story is riskier these days. Take too many and your average GPA or SAT scores decrease. There goes your board report and U.S. News ranking. Admit students who don’t have the best stats and you might damage your yield and retention numbers. There goes your Moody’s bond rating.”

 

Read it all here: http://chronicle.com/article/The-BestBrightest/147795/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

 

What can we be doing for those who start at a disadvantage? Do we look at them just as a number, or do we take real chances and help them succeed?

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam



Sharing an article on #year-round #schools

I always find this an interesting topic:

 “Year-Round Schooling: Why It's Time to Change”

“When public schools first started popping up in the U.S., they were considered secondary to other hands-on pursuits. Learning to read, write and perform basic arithmetic in classrooms was not equal to or greater than the actual work of building the nation and keeping up family farms.”

“Even when a basic public school education became a relative priority, the school calendar revolved around agriculture - a necessity of the American way of life. Three months off in the summer months was not mandated because students needed "down time" or free creative play or time to decompress from the pressures of their studies. Those months off were full of even more work, and little free time, and plenty of hard work for the sake of the family and the nation.”

“Though family farms as a whole have become an antiquated piece of American history, the idea of summers off from school is still alive and well. The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research finds that the average American student receives 13 weeks off of school each calendar year - with 10 or 11 of those coming consecutively during June, July and August (approximately) - while barely any other countries have more than seven weeks off in a school calendar. Around 10 percent of U.S. schools have transitioned to a year-round school calendar with shorter breaks inserted throughout the year but the majority of schools in the U.S. still follow a summers-off schedule.”

“But why? There is no perilous economic reason that keeping children in school during the summer would be detrimental, and there is no medical reason that three consecutive months during the center of the calendar year are necessary for the healthy development of children. The reason the school year remains in a summers-off state is simple: it is easier than changing it. That mentality begins with teachers in the classroom and escalates to educational policymakers. Changing the ways things have always been, even if there is some pretty solid evidence that it would improve things, is too cumbersome - so why bother?”

Read the whole thing here: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2014/07/year-round_schooling_why_its_time_to_change.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam



#Educators you are needed right now, the #world is a mess!

“Monitors reach Ukraine crash site”

“Israel may widen Gaza offensive - PM”

“Many dead' in Nigeria town raid”

“Berlusconi sex conviction overturned”

“India school boycotted after 'rape'”

“Tears for the Border Children”

This is just a sample of some of the main headlines in the news today and I am looking for the proverbial “silver lining”. Has anyone noticed that very little positive news is getting much in the way of press? Has anyone noticed the violence and hate that is spewing from all corners, all sides, and from all sectors (so it seems)?

I am setting a challenge for all educators: for the next week, let us report positive news only, let us show the world the positive power of education.

Tell us about a great school year, a great lesson plan, the positive gains of your students, tell us something that can alleviate this darkness.

I look forward to hearing your positive stories!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam



Education has an obligation to be more inclusive and truly take the high road

Educators have one of (if not the most important) the most important jobs in the world, and that is to prepare people for the future. Educators come in many forms, places, and educate in many different ways, but what they all have in common is that they can have a far-reaching impact with students’ lives depending on how the student perceives them.

 

A lot of the social “issues” we are seeing in the media are not new (e.g. marriage equality, transgender, race, etc), I call them issues simply because society still is discombobulated about these things. However, once the proverbial “cat is out of the bag”, it always a matter of time before these things become accepted, so it is often silly to fight them. As educators, it is my thought that we should be leading the way of tolerance and acceptance of social issues because we are people who can have a profound effect on future generations. Forget religion and personal beliefs for a moment, because our jobs cross all boundaries.

 

When I see stories like the one I am about to share, I get sad a little ticked off because they are educators!

 

“Not the First Exemption”

“Many advocates for gay and transgender students were surprised and angered when they learned that U.S. Education Department had granted George Fox University an exemption from parts of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The exemption will permit George Fox to deny a transgender student the right to live in male student housing. George Fox said, and the Education Department accepted, that its Quaker religious beliefs would be violated by being forced to let the transgender student live in a way that affirms his gender identity.”

“This is not the first time George Fox has sought and received exemptions from Title IX. And the previous exemption (no longer in place) suggests that policies that the university once said were based on Scripture and could not be changed could in fact be changed.”

“In 1985, the Education Department said that because of its religious views, George Fox could -- in what would otherwise have been a violation of Title IX -- decline to enroll or hire divorced individuals or the parents of out-of-wedlock children. Details are not available on Education Department deliberations in the case, but it apparently took years for the department to make a decision; George Fox requested the exemption in 1976.”

Read it all here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/15/george-fox-previously-won-exemption-title-ix-so-it-could-discriminate-against#sthash.msAe9mpN.dpbs

Students are watching us, they are watching how we act, how we behave, and they are learning from us. Hatred, bigotry, and intolerance are not innate, they are learned; educators you have a profound effect.

What are we teaching our students by our actions?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam



#Adjuncts are an important part of your institution so please treat them right

Higher education, especially the non-traditional sector, is increasingly relying on adjuncts to teach their courses. I am not going to discuss pros and cons, or equality versus inequality; what I do want to talk about is blatant abuse of adjuncts. There is a mentality in some places that says, “we can replace you in an instant so just suck it up”; newsflash, a skilled adjunct is a prize worth keeping and not that easy to replace.

“Falling Short”

“Summer means lean times – leaner than usual – for many adjuncts, as fewer courses offered means fewer available sections. So adjuncts at Northern New Mexico College who say they were shorted by a third on their last two paychecks say they’re not only angry but have been thrown into an unexpected financial bind.”

“Adjuncts also say it’s symptomatic of larger, ongoing problems between the college’s faculty and administration.”

““No one would have signed a contract if they’d known – it takes an hour for most of us to commute there,” said Miranda Merklein, a former adjunct instructor of English at Northern New Mexico who has stopped teaching there due to the shorted paychecks. “There are adjuncts taking out payday loans and barely surviving.””

“Merklein was paid just $345 before taxes and other deductions for the first two paychecks of the summer – about $318 net. That’s compared to the approximately $500 gross she was expecting for each paycheck. The difference means not being able to afford gas to commute to the rural college outside of Santa Fe, and rationing food for her teenage son between budgeted trips to the grocery store.”

“Tim Crone, a retired tenured professor of sociology and president of the college’s American Federation of Teachers-affiliated faculty union, said Northern New Mexico was apparently balancing its budget on the backs of its most vulnerable employees: adjunct faculty.”

““What’s disturbing about this is that the budget for summer session is included as part of the annual budget, so the money for these people’s paychecks was provided by the state, and apparently the college spent this money,” he said. “So they’re robbing Peter to pay Paul.””

Read the whole thing here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/11/adjuncts-protest-unexpectedly-small-paychecks-faculty-blacklist-n-new-mexico-college#sthash.mfNPkPQt.dpbs

The sad thing is the school will probably get away with this behavior because not enough people care.

Adjuncts are professionals deserving of respect.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam