What I hope for in 2022

 

#whatihopeforin2022

The past is exactly what it is, the past. While we can learn a lot from it, we can never really go back, and nor should we. However, I do remember a time before social media when we did not have ability to comment on every single thing instantly, I remember when courtesy was paramount when sharing written words with people.

What I hope for in 2022, is that we learn to better use this powerful tool called social media, that we recognize that the person types the fastest is not always right, and that we stop using term like “with all due respect” so disrespectfully. I also hope that we have learned tomorrow is never promised, so spend the energy on being polite rather than rude.

I hope 2022 is a successful year for you all, and I hope it the year of RESPECT.

Dr Flavius AB Akerele III

The ETeam

Collateral Consequences: do we really believe in rehabilitation? If so, let us show it

 

"There are at least 40,000 federal, state and local restrictions across the country, known as “collateral consequences,” that prevent formerly incarcerated people from working in certain jobs and also from accessing various services and opportunities, according to reporting by The Marshall Project, which focuses on criminal justice issues and employs currently and formerly incarcerated reporters. Some of the laws even ban former prisoners from securing public assistance benefits or living in public housing".

"Most of these laws—72 percent—limit people with past convictions from working in certain jobs. The most commonly restricted fields include health care, public service and education, according to a 2021 report by the Council of State Governments Justice Center. The laws range widely, however, and bar people with a conviction history in some states from becoming cosmetologists, manicurists and barbers. These restrictions can prevent formerly incarcerated people from pursuing their fields of choice by denying them licensure for specific careers, forcing them to undergo background checks or prove they’re rehabilitated, or making it illegal for certain types of employers to hire them".

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/12/15/incarcerated-students-face-maze-legal-obstacles-jobs

Four pillars of an educational institution’s existence

 

Imagine the institution is a car, and I prefer the car analogy rather than “ship” because most people will never get on a ship but will have driven in some kind of four wheeled vehicles.

These pillars are not necessarily in order, but they most definitely need to be in balance in order to steer correctly.

·        Financial stability

·        Enrollment

·        Accreditation

·        Retention (of students and staff)

From time to time the tires must be changed; sometimes it is one because of a flat, sometimes it is all four tires because they have expired. You also must check the pressure and tread of each tire on a regular basis.

Can everyone in the school answer these questions with some degree of certainty, or at least know how to readily find the answers (students included):

1.      Does the school have a strategic plan? If not, why not?

2.      How do you measure the benchmarks on your strategic plan (if you have one)?

3.      What is the mission of the school?

4.      What is the vision of the school?

5.      Do you have enough funding to complete the fiscal year?

6.      How many alumni do you have, and do you have an alumni database?

7.      How many teachers stay more than 2 years?

8.      How many students transfer out after a year?

9.      Are you in compliance with your accreditor and when is your next accreditation visit?

10.   Can you name the council person of the neighborhood where your campus is located?

Seems basic right? However, so many schools’ administrators cannot answer all these questions (or know where to find the information), let alone staff and students. This information should not be a secret.

If you can quantify everything on this one sheet of paper, then you are in decent shape. The question is can you?

Dr Flavius Akerele III

The ETeam

Sharing an article: Aggressive Collections for Students but Not Institutions?

 

"A report by the National Student Legal Defense Network highlights how the Department of Education seeks to collect debt from student borrowers while appearing to not put the same energy into collecting debt from hundreds of institutions"

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/07/06/report-institutions-owe-12-billion-education-department?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=a998f0a486-DNU_2021_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-a998f0a486-198173850&mc_cid=a998f0a486&mc_eid=337f2d56fa#

 

Institutions owe far more than students ever could…. #education #highereducation #studentdebt #equity

The problem with buzzwords

 

Every few years, we see new “buzz words” being promoted in the workplace, and even more so in the education industry.  In no particular order or reason, here are a few:

·        Disruptive

·        360 reviews

·        Best practices

·        Consensus

·        Common core

·        Cooperative learning

·        Standards

·        Efficacy

Etc.

Right now, the current trendy buzzword or buzz phrase is “diversity, equity, and inclusion”. I see many companies hiring for those positions, I see these words being incorporated in mission plans, action plans, and so many other areas.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion: seems like a great idea, right? But how many companies are actually doing it? How many people can explain it in simple terms? How many companies try and communicate the message to all employees in ways that are clear?

Do you assign this position to the only minority (minority is more than just skin color) in the office because you think that is what needed? Do you post a hiring ad for a diversity director and then never fill it?

Buzzwords are not supposed to be just words, they are supposed to be a major shift in the way business is done. They are supposed to be a radical change in something we have been doing wrong or could be doing better. There is the saying in that education has not really changed in 100 years, and while that is not entirely accurate, it is also not completely wrong. Education is just as guilty of creating buzzwords, and then calling it a change, even though it really is not a change from the norm.

Real change is going to make a lot of people very uncomfortable; it really will “disrupt” lives. Real change is hard to come by, because nobody really likes to change and even more people fear it.

We need to do better, leadership needs to do better, and here is a radical thought: how about we start with simple courtesy. Let us use the platinum rule and treat people the way THEY want to be treated.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

 

#diverity #inclusion #change #equity #education #hiring #leadership

Never apologize for growing older and wanting to work

 

There are a lot of people and entities giving advice to people of a certain age looking for a new job; and one thing the pandemic has shown us is that a lot of people still need to and are trying to work.

 

Browsing though various articles such as:

 

·       “Tips for Finding a Job After 50”

·       “7 Tips for Getting a New Job in Your 50s”

·       “Job Searching Over 50: 8 Secrets for Success”

 

I realize that a common theme throughout all, is that there is a sense that being over 50 is a negative somehow, and you need to diminish yourself and your experience in order to get someone to hire you.

 

Since when has experience become an impediment to finding work? Since when did we have to start apologizing and placating potential employers because we had the audacity grow older?

 

Employers need to start looking at things a different way because there is a lot of wasted talent out there becoming discouraged, simply because society only seems to value youth.

 

Things to think about.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Being ghosted after a professional interview

 

Let us assume you did everything correctly as far as interview protocol, let us assume you were a very strong candidate for the position; in other words, you did nothing wrong.

Something we must recognize in these phenomena of employers “ghosting” qualified candidates after an interview, is that a lot of the hiring managers are not professional recruiters, and sometimes professional recruiters are bad at their job. If you think about it, there really is no consequence to them for doing that, especially when so many people might be vying for that one position.

We are a in a different age where the golden and platinum rules of courtesy are not always applied, and the advice candidates must understand is that this will happens sometimes so just move on. Sometimes it is not that easy to move on.

This is an interesting article I am sharing on “ghosting”: https://www.vault.com/blogs/interviewing/3-things-to-do-when-you-re-ghosted-post-job-interview, and the last sentence is important.  It says: “you may never find out why a particular company ghosted you. But why would you want to work for an employer that shows so little consideration for candidates anyway?”

Know your worth, never give up, and for the who ghost just remember, one day this might be you.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

 

PS. I am not trying to be negative, but sometimes you just must stop excusing peoples’ bad behavior

Judgment in the time of COVID

 

We should always be conscious of our words, even in the best of times, because words can have a powerful affect on people, even if they were not consciously said with spite or malice. We are not living in the best of times, not even close. People have been out of work for over a year, they are struggling to pay bills, as well as dealing with the mental health of their families and themselves.

With all the various text forms of communication available, and the growing trend of texting not speaking means that the words you type are very easily misconstrued. Plus, we also have the phenomenon of the “keyboard warrior” where people feel safe cyber bullying people from behind a keyboard.

You do not need to put yourselves in someone else’s shoes to be polite, you do not have to dig deep to ask yourselves some simple questions before you hit send (or digitally open your mouth in some way):

·        Is it true?

·        Is it kind?

·        Is it necessary?

Life is tough right now, so why pick a fight when you can have fun? Why make enemies when we all need friends?

Choose wisely because tomorrow is never promised.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Communication and job interviews

 

This is not a personal story, just an observation, and I have observed this happening more frequently as more people are competing for the same job.

Are you aware that most people can take rejection, even when it is a job that they really want? Professionals understand that rejection is part of the story, but not the final story.

What makes professionals truly mad, especially in today’s world where there are so many forms of communication, is when there is no communication after an interview.

Respect a professional’s time, you respected them enough to interview them, and that often means you could end up working with them in the future. There is no need to create a negative image of yourself by “ghosting” after a professional interview. It just makes you look bad.

Practice what we teach.

Dr Flavius Akerele III

The ETeam