When you start on a PhD, or indeed on any new research project, there’s always a lot of reading to be done. It’s easy to lose track of what this reading is for and to forget why engaging with all of the extant literatures is important. So a brief recap – reading is the way […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: March 2015
All that reading? think of it as tracing your family tree
The end of College? Not so fast
In his new book, The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere, Kevin Carey lays out a dystopian future for American higher education as we know it. Colleges and universities will cease to exist, with the exception of perhaps \”15 to 50\” of them, and will be replaced by […] … learn more→
Choosing the right path to College
While the notification date to college applicants varies dramatically depending upon the path selected for admission consideration, the notifications will largely be complete by April 1, even at the most selective schools. It’s at this point that the ball shifts to the applicant’s court. Until the notification, most of the applicant’s time, and corresponding anxieties, […] … learn more→
I would send my daughter to the University of everywhere
Teacher, education writer, and fellow SUNY alum Robert Pondiscio has written a generous critique of my book, The End of College. Of my arguments that modern colleges and universities are “operating on a deeply flawed and increasingly unsupportable model,” he grants that “I’m sure this is true, and worse.” Yet now that his daughter has […] … learn more→
Another top teacher resigns
I’m hardly alone in suspecting something has gone terribly wrong in education. John Taylor Gatto has done an amazing job of explaining what’s going on, identifying that our current system is designed to keep people ignorant, through a process of enstupidation. Beyond his excellent writing, I find what he has to say important because he […] … learn more→
The meaning of the failure of the online for-profit Universities
Corinthian Colleges have been forced to close their “doors.” As I reported in this blog several years ago, the Washington Post Corporation, which had derived between 50% and 60% of its annual profits from its ownership share of Kaplan University quietly sold off its stock just ahead of the formal release of the Harkin Report […] … learn more→
Unaccredited, for profit…and very legitimate
So a new type of school has popped up to fill the enormous demand for people with computer skills, a demand that is completely unmet by the many bogus “computer science” programs in our schools of higher education. Let’s go over some of Hack Reactor’s policies, which are fairly comparable to other such schools: First, […] … learn more→
Funding university teaching and research separately could reduce student fees
The Australian federal government again failed in its attempt to allow universities to set their own prices for student fees. The key concern with the package was that student fees would rise sharply. However, this is not a necessary outcome of a deregulated university system. Prices could be pressured to stay low if there were […] … learn more→
Writing with your supervisor
I am currently finalizing draft chapters for a book I’m co-writing with my former supervisor. The title of the book is “Twice the fun – a survival kit for doctoral students and their supervisors” and it will be published later this year by Sage. The aim of the book is to support and inspire students […] … learn more→
A ‘promising’ way to help low-income students to and through College
Why do so few low-income students go to college? Is it simply because there is not enough federal financial aid available? Or are there other factors at play? These are vital questions to answer considering that the federal government spends about $35 billion a year on the Pell Grant program, which annually provides low-income students […] … learn more→