Free Education for All

Those who still consider social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace as nothing more than off-task behavior for today’s net generation will likely be appalled to learn that many universities have now begun offering courses in social media.

Of course, it must also be stated that digital natives are likely wondering why anyone would need a course to learn how to socialize on Facebook or converse with Twitter.

Wesch Weighs in on Using Facebook
As for the need for such instruction, we turn to Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State. Wesch is well known for a couple of YouTube videos that took the Internet by storm.

In February of last year, John Battelle interviewed Wesch about his work and views on various new media topics. As for the potential of social media, Wesch had this to say about the use of Facebook as an educational tool:

“As a university professor I have also found Facebook to be useful. I was inspired to use Facebook for teaching by something I saw while visiting George Mason University.

“Like many universities, they were concerned that the library stacks were rarely being accessed by students. Instead of trying to bring students to the stacks, they brought the stacks to the students, placing a small library right in the middle of the food court where students hang out. We can do the same with popular social networking tools like Facebook.

“Facebook is not only great for expressing your identity, sharing with friends, and planning parties, it also has all the tools necessary to create an online learning community. Students are already frequently visiting Facebook, so we can bring our class discussions to them in a place where they have already invested significant effort in building up their identity, rather than asking them to login to Blackboard or some other course management system where they feel “faceless” and out of place.”

Social Media U
Whatever your perspective, Social Media U as it has been dubbed by web sites now has a firm spot in many university arenas, particularly for those students majoring in communications or marketing. While the courses might truly introduce new users to these various social networking opportunities, the reality is that such courses generally involve learning how to use new media as a business tool.

From personal branding to a simple understanding of the entire technology package available with Web 2.0 technology, social media courses have much to offer students. Perhaps one of the most important concepts for all young people is to understand that today’s net offers the chance for a public image. Whether a person has a blog or a Facebook site, the fact is that he or she becomes immediately exposed to the public through a major search engine. Creating a positive image on the internet is now a fundamental aspect of life.

In addition, such social media courses offer expert advice regarding the creation of videos like those that appear on YouTube as well as input on written materials for a personal blog or a wiki site. Other new media courses focus on the use of Twitter and posting on or utilizing sites like Flickr. Still other course have begun taking a look at the potential offered by virtual worlds while many legal study variations examine ethical issues that are developing as a result of new media applications.

Important Topic?
Not everyone is of the mindset that simply because a college offers a course that the material being shared is truly important. We must concur with that general sentiment given some of the esoteric courses offered at many universities.

But in this area, we strongly disagree with any view that seeks to minimize these new media courses. Though currently offered primarily in the communications field, such content is relevant to many other fields. The potential for new media to transform education suggests that such courses should become part of the teacher preparation process.

There is no doubt that educators need a greater awareness of these social media sites if they are to better grasp why students find certain sites so attractive. At the same time, as Wesch notes with Facebook, there are a number of educational applications available utilizing new media.

University courses that seek to help increase understanding would not only help educators remain relevant with digital natives, such courses would provide concrete examples of possible uses within the educational setting.

Photos courtesy of C4Chaos and PShab.

Over the past week, the media focus regarding the Republican ticket has been entirely on the naming of John McCain’s vice presidential candidate. However, on Monday the Republican National Committee finally released the finished copy of its 2008 platform.

Defending Our Nation (PDF) lays out an agenda that does not necessarily match the viewpoint of its candidate, John McCain.
However, from, “Supporting Our Heroes, Securing the Peace” to “Reforming Government to Serve the People” to “Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First,” the platform reinforces the thoughts of recent Republican agendas. And for those who thought that the party would distance itself from the past eight years, one need only turn to the opening section to see that nothing could be further from the truth.

The platform notes:

“With gratitude for eight years of honorable service from President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, the Republican Party now stands united behind new leadership, an American patriot, John McCain.”

A Look at the Education Planks
Subtitled Education Means a More Competitive America, the education section continues the Republican push for accountability and school choice yet the planks conspicuously make no mention of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, while higher education continues to be addressed from a cost standpoint, there is little in the way for a call for educational improvements at either the undergraduate or graduate levels.

As with the Democratic platform, the Republican’s note a need for substantial improvement in public education:

“Maintaining America’s preeminence requires a world-class system of education, with high standards, in which all students can reach their potential. That requires considerable improvement over our current 70 percent high school graduation rate and six-year graduation rate of only 57 percent for colleges.”

One noteworthy aspect is the call for greater attention to civics education and for passing our culture to our young:

“It is through education that we ensure the transmission of a culture, a set of values we hold in common. It has prepared generations for responsible citizenship in a free society, and it must continue to do so. Our party is committed to restoring the civic mission of schools envisioned by the founders of the American public school system. Civic education, both in the classroom and through service learning, should be a cornerstone of American public education and should be central to future school reform efforts.”

The proponents of NCLB will note that the accountability set forth by the Bush legislation continues to be a focus of the current platform:

“All children should have access to an excellent education that empowers them to secure their own freedom and contribute to the betterment of our society. We reaffirm the principles that have been the foundation of the nation’s educational progress toward that goal: accountability for student academic achievement; periodic testing on the fundamentals of learning, especially math and reading, history and geography; transparency, so parents and the general public know which schools best serve their students; and flexibility and freedom to innovate so schools and districts can best meet the needs of their students.”

But in stark contrast to the actual law the current platform later notes:

“We reject a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Contradictions Emerge
It is interesting to note that the platform offers the following statements:

“We advocate policies and methods that are proven and effective: building on the basics, especially phonics; ending social promotion; merit pay for good teachers; classroom discipline; parental involvement; and strong leadership by principals.”

Yet later, the platform asserts:

“We renew our call for replacing “family planning” programs for teens with increased funding for abstinence education, which teaches abstinence until marriage as the responsible and expected standard of behavior. Abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100 percent effective against out-of-wedlock pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS when transmitted sexually.”

While those words echo the views of the religious right, data on abstinence only education classes reveals that such instruction has no impact on teen sexual activity.

Better Teachers
A call to give students the best teachers also matches a plank in the Democratic document. However, the Republican platform is clear that the process for increasing teacher talent is a local responsibility, not one for the federal government.

“For students to meet world class standards, they must have access to world class teachers, whether in person or through virtual public schools that can bring high-quality instruction into the classroom. School districts must have the authority to recruit, reward, and retain the best and brightest teachers, and principals must have the authority to select and assign teachers without regard to collective bargaining agreements. Because qualified teachers are often not available through traditional routes, we support local efforts to create an adjunct teacher corps of experts from higher education, business, and the military to fill in when needed.”

Strong on Partnerships and Authentic Education
One real strength of the platform is the focus on reaching beyond the classroom for support and authentic learning experiences for kids:

“We encourage the private-public partnerships and mentoring that can make classroom time more meaningful to students by integrating it with learning beyond school walls. These efforts are crucial to lowering the drop-out rate and helping at-risk students realize their potential.

“Partnerships between schools and businesses can be especially important in STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and math. The need to improve secondary education in those fields can be measured by the number of remedial courses now offered at the college level.

“We applaud those who are changing that situation by giving young people real-world experience in the private sector and by providing students with rigorous technical and academic courses that give students the skills and knowledge necessary to be productive members in a competitive American workforce.”

It is in this arena that the platform reaches its full push for “policies and methods that are proven and effective.”

Higher Education
Reading the higher education section creates the feeling that our colleges and universities are delivering a world class education, albeit one that is too expensive and all too often home to subversive elements.

“Our country’s system of higher education — public and private, secular and religious, large and small institutions — is unique for its excellence, its diversity, and its accessibility. Learning is a safeguard of liberty. Post-secondary education not only increases the earnings of individuals but advances economic development. Our colleges and universities drive much of the research that keeps America competitive. We must ensure that our higher education system meet the needs of the 21st century student and economy and remain innovative and accessible.”

As for costs:

“Students and their parents face formidable challenges in planning for college as costs continue to outpace inflation. Higher education seems immune from market controls and the law of supply and demand. We commend those institutions which are directing a greater proportion of their endowment revenues toward tuition relief.”

Instead of governmental assistance or a service component as advocated by the Democrats, the Republicans focus on 529s for funding options:

“The Republican vision for expanding access to higher education has led to two major advances, Education Savings Accounts and Section 529 accounts, by which millions of families now save for college.”

And as for the subversive aspects:

“We affirm the right of students and faculty to express their views in the face of the leftist dogmatism that dominates many institutions. To preserve the integrity and independence of the nation’s colleges, we will continue to ensure alternatives to ideological accrediting systems.”

Another strong component of the platform is a call for greater higher education portability and the corresponding need for enhanced distance learning options:

“As mobility increases in all aspects of American life, student mobility, from school to school and from campus to campus, will require new approaches to admissions, evaluations, and credentialing. Distance learning propelled by an expanding telecommunications sector and especially broadband, is certain to grow in importance — whether through public or private institutions — and federal law should not discriminate against the latter.”

Other Noteworthy Elements
There are many other educational planks within the document that reiterate long-standing Republican views. For people seeking greater insight into the planks related to higher education, InsideHigherEducation.com has a thorough review of those items.

For OpenEducation.net, the platform was a pleasant surprise and a stark contrast to a McCain campaign that has been devoid of extensive educational discussion and a Republican agenda that seldom strays beyond the concept of school choice. However, we still have major concerns with their improved and fleshed out agenda - we are particularly concerned with its lack of additional support for early childhood education despite its proven success in other countries and for its failure to realize that a federal investment component is necessary if we are to improve teacher quality in our country.

We also must reiterate our concern with the inconsistency of first touting accountability followed by seeking additional support for a specific program (abstinence education) that has been deemed ineffective. Such language appears to be nothing more than an attempt to pander to a single voting group.

Photos and logos from John McCain.com and ImageEditor.

The Onion is well known for its satiric look at the news. Two weeks ago the site posted a piece on the opening day of school for first-grader, Connor Bolduc, 6.

It was a stark contrast to our post celebrating the start of a new school year. Whereas we attempted to offer an upbeat look by offering our eight videos to get the teacher juices flowing, the Onion sought to look at the opening of another year from the viewpoint of a youngster forced to give up free play for the drudgery of compulsory education.

Compulsory Eduation
The Onion portrayal begins:

“Connor Bolduc, 6, experienced the first inkling of a coming lifetime of existential dread Monday upon recognizing his cruel destiny to participate in compulsory education for the better part of the next two decades, sources reported.”

“‘I don’t want to go to school,’ Bolduc told his parents, the crushing reality of his situation having yet to fully dawn on his naïve consciousness. ‘I want to play outside with my friends.’

The Onion piece notes the sheer hell young Connor is in for:

“Basic math—which the child has blissfully yet to learn—clearly demonstrates that the number of years before he will be released from the horrifying prison of formal schooling, is more than twice the length of time he has yet existed. According to a conservative estimate of six hours of school five days a week for nine months of the year, Bolduc faces an estimated 14,400 hours trapped in an endless succession of nearly identical, suffocating classrooms.

“This nightmarish but undeniably real scenario does not take into account additional time spent on homework, extracurricular responsibilities, or college, sources said.”

Fictional sources offered that Connor was already pained by the process though his mother had assured the youngster that he could resume playtime when school was done for the year. Connor of course offered, “I can’t wait.”

The satirical look at the process of compulsory education was then held up against the youngster’s feelings regarding free play.

“The concept of wasting a majority of daylight hours sitting still in a classroom when he could be riding his bicycle, playing in his tree fort, or lying in the grass looking at bugs—especially considering that he had already wasted two years of his life attending preschool and kindergarten—seemed impossibly unfair to Bolduc.”

School Is Not the Answer for All Children
While the Onion is unequivocal in painting a portrait of school as a negative place, most of us in education want to subscribe to a differing view. The educator’s viewpoint would be more in line with the following portrait:

A youngster eager to learn arrives to find a welcoming teacher who not only loves children, but he or she loves teaching and learning. The child enters a classroom that is bubbling with excitement and full of opportunity, offering an environment that furthers the youngster’s natural curiosity.

Wonderful classroom resources and the caring teacher welcome each and every student to the world of learning, a setting that builds upon a student’s innate curiosity and desire for new experiences to introduce him or her to the fundamentals of reading, writing and mathematical skills. With the development of these basic academic skills, children are provided the opportunity to further explore the world around them, offering them even greater opportunities for learning.

Children from less advantageous homes are provided the opportunity to experience things that their parents simply are unable to offer. At the same time, social aspects also abound giving children the chance to gather in one location, to even have lunch with their friends. Meanwhile, playground time provides opportunities for additional play while those same children socialize with their peers.

A Different View of School
While this rosy picture is the view educators want to portray, the reality for many children is that school not only does not inspire them, it is in fact drudgery.

It could be because their school is not a welcoming or exciting place. Or it could be that the basic school expectations contrast so vividly with those of a home that is devoid of structure. For quite a few, weaker academic skills in the student create a sense of frustration when the student is unable to handle the academic expectations set forth.

Whatever the reason, for some students school is not the answer, it is actually the biggest negative in their life.

The description of Connor actually represents the extreme, given his age. The fact is that most kids who tend to dislike school do not begin to get a sense of drudgery or failure until they have been attending for a few years.

But the fact is school does become a problem for many children. And later on, if the feelings of negativity become deeply embedded, that child may even opt to drop out of a system that appears to have little to offer him or her.

Important to Hear the Perspective
The Onion does not simply dump on education - the article offers additional pain while discussing other aspects of Connor’s future:

“It’s difficult to know the effect on his psychological well-being when he grasps the full truth: that his education will be followed by approximately four decades of work, bills, and taxes, during which he will also rear his own children to face the same fate, all of which will, of course, be followed by a brief, almost inconsequential retirement, and his inevitable death.

“The first of Bolduc’s remaining 2,299 days of school will resume at 8 a.m. tomorrow. On the next 624 Sundays, he will also be forced to attend church.”

So The Onion notes that it isn’t just school that is an issue for young Connor. However, school is the place where educators work so it is the school aspect of the Onion’s piece that draws our attention.

Whether we call it a tongue-in-cheek or satirical view, the Onion’s glass half-empty piece is important for teachers to read. At a minimum, it will at least remind educators that not all children arrive at school thinking school is a great place or that education is the answer to any of life’s problems.

Such children offer enormous challenges. And these youngsters quickly separate the professionals from the teacher wannabes.

We remain hopeful that one of these days Connor will arrive in the classroom of a true professional educator. If he does, we think his view of the schooling process will significantly improve.

But we also acknowledge The Onion is on to one of the fundamentals of the world of a six-year old. Nothing can top the feeling that unstructured play provides a youngster.

Photos courtesy of Poppofatticus and Kibondo.

One relatively new topic for educators should have many elementary school teachers rethinking their basic classroom approach, especially those who work with children in the earliest grades.

The concept, dubbed executive function by experts, has actually been around for the better part of 20 years. However, the topic did not really hit mainstream America until Wray Herbert’s in depth look at the concept this summer at Newsweek.com.

MindDisorders.com defines the term executive function as the “set of cognitive abilities that control and regulate other abilities and behaviors.” What makes the concept so intriguing for researchers, and potentially significant for educators, is that “executive functions are necessary for goal-directed behavior.”

MindDisorders.com further notes: Executive functions “include the ability to initiate and stop actions, to monitor and change behavior as needed, and to plan future behavior when faced with novel tasks and situations.” Therefore, “executive functions allow us to anticipate outcomes and adapt to changing situations” while providing us the specific “ability to form concepts and think abstractly.”

EF Could Replace IQ
In his Newsweek piece, Herbert does a great job explaining the importance of executive function, dubbed EF. The writer clearly articulates “why the ability to resist distraction … may be more important to academic success than traditional measures of intelligence.”

Prior to explaining the meaning of EF, Herbert takes a look at a specific group of students that simply do not have either the organizational skills or the attention spans needed to handle school related activities.

“Most people can recall a kid from grade school who couldn’t stay seated, who talked out of turn and fidgeted constantly, whose backpack overflowed with crumpled handouts and who always had to ask other kids what the homework assignment was. Those kids weren’t bad kids, but they seemed to have absolutely no self-control, no internal disciplinarian to put a brake on their impulses, to keep their attention focused.

“Not surprisingly, they were almost always lousy students as well. This kind of student has been tagged with a variety of labels over the years: antisocial personality, conduct disorder, stupid.”

What makes the concept noteworthy is “that a child’s ability to inhibit distracting thoughts and stay focused may be a fundamental cognitive skill, one that plays a big part in academic success from preschool on. Indeed, this and closely related skills may be more important than traditional IQ in predicting a child’s school performance.”

If executive function is a cognitive skill, then the concept could one day “displace traditional measures of ability and achievement” in the school setting.

Pumping Up a Child’s EF
One of the most interesting aspects of the article is the notion that “we can pump up these EF skills with regular exercise, just as we do with muscles.” But in stark contrast to the traditional notion of drill and kill, improving executive function utilizes a completely different style curriculum.

According to Herbert, “dramatic role playing is a cornerstone of the EF philosophy.’ The writer provides the following summary of a group of students working on the development of their executive function skills.

“The preschoolers, all four and five years old, actually design the play’s action by themselves. For example: “Let’s pretend you’re the mommy and I’m the baby. I’ll get sick, and you’ll need to take me to the doctor.” Then they act it out, solving problems along the way.

“The idea is that play of this kind promotes the internalization of rules and expectations and demands mental discipline to stay in character—all cognitive challenges. Importantly, these exercises are not tacked on as a separate teaching, but rather are integrated into every activity of the child’s day, from reading to math.”

In addition to dramatic play, the EF curriculum offers clapping games and interactive sequences that use concrete visual cues to help children understand expectations. While some will insist that these steps should be unnecessary within the school setting, the idea is very consistent with other recent published materials. In fact, those who have spent time reading articles noting the importance of play in helping children develop intellectually will immediately see consistencies with the EF curriculum.

Of course, the most important aspect of this ability to pump up EF is the contradiction to more traditional views, especially those related to IQ. Many experts see a child’s IQ score as fixed, that intellect is fundamentally innate. The concept of executive function clearly contradicts that notion.

Enormous Potential for Education
As for the importance of the concept, experts note that it contrasts with the current push in the school setting for more academics at an earlier age.
Under NCLB, schools have cut play and recess time to devote more time to reading, writing and arithmetic.

Herbert’s final summary details why EF may in fact be the new IQ:

“Executive skills are disproportionately worse in children from deprived economic circumstances, and these skills may account for up to half of the gap in school readiness between white kids and African-American kids.

“These are precisely the kids whom the 2001 No Child Left Behind federal education reforms were supposed to help, but under that law, play has been marginalized as a luxury at best and at worst as an impediment to basic skills training and test scores. These results argue that by neglecting basic brain function we may be leaving our kids behind in a much more destructive way—and depriving them of playfulness in the process.”

Photos courtesy of Ianus, Kyle Jones and RahulG.

Raising children has likely never been more challenging than it is today. The parenting editor of eHow notes in the first two lines of How to Overcome the Challenges of Raising Children:

“Children do not come with a user’s manual nor with a lifetime guarantee. What they do come with is challenges.”

Adding to the complexity for today’s moms and dads is a plethora of information. Too much, maybe. In fact, while there is a wealth of advice available to support parents on the challenging journey, all too often, the instructions of one expert totally contrasts if not patently contradicts that of another.

Kindergarchy
Over at the WeeklyStandard.com, Joseph Epstein, a contributing editor to the online magazine, would certainly not be considered a child expert. However, Epstein has authored a very unique assessment of the changing place of children in American landscape.

It is a piece that will likely have many adults nodding their heads. Those who think today’s parenting advice has led to a generation of exceedingly self-absorbed children will find “The Kindergarchy, Every Child a Dauphin” a very interesting read.

At the same time, those that support the type of parenting advice that appears on a site like ZenHabits will most likely think Epstein is simply someone who should not have had children.

We must state that within his piece Epstein offers some very notable insights. Certainly, one cannot find fault with his assessment that children have in fact “gone from background to foreground figures in domestic life.”

Whereas once upon a time, the idea was that “children are best seen not heard” and adults would say, “speak only when spoken to,” today Epstein notes a different picture:

“On visits to the homes of friends with small children, one finds their toys strewn everywhere, their drawings on the refrigerator,” and the family television set is “turned to their shows.”

This position of prominence has Epstein’s attention, but the writer is clearly critical of this transformation. Epstein notes that “all this concern about children…… has exercised a subtle but pervasive tyranny of its own.”

In not so flattering terms, he notes that today’s children have “more and more attention centered on them, their upbringing, their small accomplishments, and their right relationship with parents and grandparents.”

Epstein even has his own name for the phenomena.

“This is what I call Kindergarchy: dreary, boring, sadly misguided Kindergarchy.”

As with Most Baby Boomers, a Different Childhood
From what we name our kids to visits to Disneyworld, Epstein weighs in on raising kids under the new Kindergarchy. According to Epstein, today’s parenting expectations can be equated to the phrase:

“No effort on behalf of one’s children is too much nor is any expenditure too great.”

Epstein notes a different world during his childhood, one that saw a mom at home and five or six years between siblings. Most of the youth he describes contrasts harshly with current parenting notions.

“My mother never read to me, and my father took me to no ballgames, though we did go to Golden Gloves fights a few times.

“When I began my modest athletic career, my parents never came to any of my games, and I should have been embarrassed had they done so. My parents never met any of my girlfriends in high school.

“No photographic or video record exists of my uneven progress through early life. My father never explained about the birds and the bees to me; his entire advice on sex, as I clearly remember, was, ‘You want to be careful.’”

As for the need for children to be assured of a parent’s love, Epstein notes his childhood experiences never saw such an assurance.

“When we were together, at family meals and at other times, we laughed a lot, my parents, my brother, and I, but we did not openly exhibit exuberant affection for one another. We did not hug, and I do not remember often kissing my mother or her kissing me.

“Neither my mother nor my father ever told me they loved me; nor did I tell them that I loved them. I always assumed their love, and, as later years would prove, when they came to my aid in small crises, I was not wrong to do so.”

Not So Successful Effort at Parenting
Epstein’s tale notes his own efforts as a dad, one that sought to introduce the latest parental advice. Apparently, it did not go well.

“I was always telling my two sons how much I loved them. I told them this so often that I should imagine they must have begun to doubt that I had any real feeling for them whatsoever.”

There is much more about his role in the parenting process, in particular raising children during the 60’s and 70’s, which just so happens to be yet another difficult time to be a parent. There is the world of therapy and Epstein is clearly not enamored with the move from a father being the family provider to not only participating in the child-rearing process but even spending time in the delivery room.

In simplest terms, Epstein’s efforts as a father were part and parcel to the long slippery slope of moving children to their current place of prominence.

As for the future, Epstein is hopeful that the Kindergarchy will one day disappear.

“My own hope is that the absurdity of current arrangements will in time be felt, and people will gradually realize the foolishness of continuing to lavish so much painstaking attention on their children. When that time comes, children will be allowed to relax, no longer under threat of suffocation by love from their parents, and grow up more on their own.

“Only then will parents once again be able to live their own lives, free to concentrate on their work, life’s adult pleasures, and those responsibilities that fall well outside the prison of the permanent kindergarten they have themselves erected and have been forced to live in as hostages.”

Double Negative
Clearly, Epstein sees aspects of today’s parenting practices as being detrimental to both kids and parents. His summary also comes at a time when more and more child experts are in fact noting that today’s parenting practices are serving to shelter children too much.

However, no child expert today would fully support his assertion that adults should be completely “free to concentrate on their work” and “life’s adult pleasures.” As for being held hostage, there is no doubt that those same experts would frown upon those parents who created a “permanent kindergarten.”

We began by stating that raising children has likely never been more challenging than it is today. We also noted, that all too often, the instructions of one expert totally contrasts if not patently contradicts that of another.

But that is because the family dynamic is different in each and every household. No one method could work for everyone.

In the meantime, Epstein has given us further food for thought as we contemplate this incredibly complex process.

Flickr photos courtesy of Billie/PartsnPieces and Angela7Dreams.

We have been watching with great interest the continuing situation in California that has pitted the University against religious organizations. Once again, a federal judge has ruled in favor of the University of California in what has become an ongoing legal debate.

U.S. District Judge James Otero of Los Angeles has ruled that UC may deny course credit to applicants from Christian high schools using textbooks that “declare the Bible infallible.” In his summary, the judge rejected claims of religious discrimination and the stifling of free expression.

Rejecting Credit Based on Legitimate Issues
Though a group of Christian schools continues to suggest otherwise, the federal judge has consistently found in favor of the university. Critical to his summary was the ability of UC to show that the school did not reject specific courses simply because they contained religious viewpoints.

According to Otero, UC’s review committees were able to cite legitimate reasons for rejecting course credit for those classes relying solely on specific texts. The judge had noted previously that UC has approved many courses that contained religious viewpoints, including courses using texts such as “Chemistry for Christian Schools” and “Biology: God’s Living Creation.”

UC has approved courses that featured creationism as long as the course also examined evolution. In contrast, the UC rejected a course using the text, “Biology for Christian Schools.” Otero supported the school’s rejection citing the textbook’s own language as a rational. According to Otero, page one of the text stated, “if (scientific) conclusions contradict the Word of God, the conclusions are wrong.”

The judge also upheld the university’s rejection of a specific history course called “Christianity’s Influence on America.” Here again, UC rejected credit based on the primary resource used in the course.

Published by Bob Jones University, the textbook “instructs that the Bible is the unerring source for analysis of historical events.” In addition to the extreme viewpoint, the text evaluated historical figures based on their religious motivations.

Ongoing Battle
The initial suit, filed in 2005, challenged UC’s process for reviewing of high school courses. The Christian schools, in essence, accused the school of rejecting courses that included any references to a religious viewpoint.

After the recent hearing, attorney Jennifer Monk had strong words for the college’s course evaluation process.

“It appears the UC is attempting to secularize private religious schools,” she stated. “Science courses from a religious perspective are not approved. If it comes from certain publishers or from a religious perspective, UC simply denies them.”

However, Charles Robinson, the university’s vice president for legal affairs, offered a completely different assessment. Robinson noted that the ruling “confirms that UC may apply the same admissions standards to all students and to all high schools without regard to their religious affiliations.”

Robinson went on to add that the plaintiffs were essentially seeking a “religious exemption from regular admissions standards.”

However, thought the suit has been dismissed, a group of Christian schools has subsequently appealed Otero’s rulings to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

With another school year upon us, teachers everywhere are readying rooms, making lesson plans, and aligning curricula. Amidst that work there is a special feeling, one that always comes just before a new school year begins.

Equal amounts of trepidation and excitement lead to a positive sense of anxiousness and a desire to get things underway. Such is the case with those who see the endless possibilities before them. Such is the feeling of every educator who hopes to truly make a difference in the life of a child.

As the emotional tension grows, one can count on a sleepless night or two (or even three) just before that magical first day. Yet, we wouldn’t trade that feeling for any other in the world.

For all those educators readying for yet another school year, we present a small additional dose of inspiration, hoping that in doing so we reinforce the very reason that a new school year brings with it such a special feeling for teachers.

1. Approaching 32 million viewers, the moving story of Paul Potts:

2. A traditional slide presentation set to music offering many teaching pearls:

3. The best have unorthodox methods to reach their students:

4. Teaching is a tough road but never quit on those who need you most, your students:

5. A noun is a person, place or thing but a young mind is:

8. And, still, our all-time favorite inspirational message:

Have you found any great inspirational education videos recently?

Last week we noted the thoughts of Professor David Wiley of Brigham Young who had the audacity to suggest that higher education could be on the verge of irrelevance. The day after we posted his summary, social scientist Charles Murray authored an op ed piece for the Wall Street Journal that also criticized higher education as it is currently designed.

“For Most, College Is a Waste of Time” proved to be a strong rebuke of the current college structure. The piece was not new ground for Murray. The W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute has been a consistent critic of the current higher education format.

Last fall, we noted Murray’s prior work in three separate posts, “Eliminate the SAT,” “Half of All Children Are Below Average,” and “Too Many Americans Are Going to College.” While some are quick to dismiss Murray as simply being “anti-college,” the fact is Murray has taken a strong stance against the current one-size-fits-all path that America promotes, a path that states a four-year college degree is the only worthy avenue for furthering one’s education.

Defining Educational Success for Students
Of today’s university structure, Murray writes:

“First, we … set up a single goal to represent educational success, which will take four years to achieve no matter what is being taught. We … attach an economic reward to it that seldom has anything to do with what has been learned. We … urge large numbers of people who do not possess adequate ability to try to achieve the goal, wait until they have spent a lot of time and money, and then deny it to them. We … stigmatize everyone who doesn’t meet the goal. We … call the goal a ‘BA’.”

Murray goes on to call the current structure “cruel” and “insane” though he acknowledges that there may be merit in the current system for those who seek credentials in certain fields. However, in his eyes it is a limited set of study options:

“Outside a handful of majors — engineering and some of the sciences — a bachelor’s degree tells an employer nothing except that the applicant has a certain amount of intellectual ability and perseverance. Even a degree in a vocational major like business administration can mean anything from a solid base of knowledge to four years of barely remembered gut courses.”

Murray’s solution is simple in concept yet would require a complete revamping of the current college structure.

Certifications Should Replace Degrees
“The solution is not better degrees, but no degrees. Young people entering the job market should have a known, trusted measure of their qualifications they can carry into job interviews. That measure should express what they know, not where they learned it or how long it took them. They need a certification, not a degree.”

Murray seeks a model similar to that of the licensure exam accountants take to become a CPA. The key is to create a method for documenting mastery of a certain body of knowledge or a defined set of skills. Murray insists that by creating a set of true credentials, the college playing field would be leveled out for students.

“You may have learned accounting at an anonymous online university, but your CPA score gives you a way to show employers you’re a stronger applicant than someone from an Ivy League school.”

With Murray’s proposal the traditional four-year BA degree would no longer be the sole tool for measuring achievement.

“Under a certification system, four years is not required, residence is not required, expensive tuitions are not required, and a degree is not required. Equal educational opportunity means, among other things, creating a society in which it’s what you know that makes the difference. Substituting certifications for degrees would be a big step in that direction.

“Our obsession with the BA has created a two-tiered entry to adulthood, anointing some for admission to the club and labeling the rest as second-best. An educational world based on certification tests would be a better place in many ways, but the overarching benefit is that the line between college and non-college competencies would be blurred. Hardly any jobs would still have the BA as a requirement for a shot at being hired. Opportunities would be wider and fairer, and the stigma of not having a BA would diminish.”

Growing Criticism of Higher Education
Our recent review of the work of David Wiley and Michael Wesch reveals a viewpoint that colleges are part of a growing digital divide. Their work focuses more on current classroom instructional practices that fail to mirror “The World Is Flat” culture that defines the world today.

“For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time” is yet another call for higher education to take a hard look at its current structure though Murray’s focus is on the very basis that most colleges exist, the ability to award a degree. But of the three, Murray is the only one who seems to be questioning the idea that “too many people are going to college.”

At the same time as these experts call higher education, as it currently exists, into question, it is interesting to note that in their criticisms these men did not address the major concern of the general public, the exorbitant costs associated with earning a college degree. Add that public concern to the growing list of criticisms voiced by these experts and the last bastion of American education could be in for a rude awakening in the not too-distant future.

We are not suggesting that the university system as we know it would necessarily become obsolete. Certainly not with the billions of dollars in endowments currently in place and the current stratification that exists within American society.

But as criticisms mount, more and more people will no doubt begin questioning higher education as it currently exists. The debate will ultimately be a simple one:

Will there be real value in earning a college diploma or will a university degree be nothing more than a costly status symbol?

For the vast majority of readers, the phrase “Taking Online Learning Offline” has to represent the classic oxymoron. Add the fact that some folks are calling the step the latest in “High-Tech” innovation and you no doubt must be scratching your head.

GoCourse Schoolmate
But “Taking Online Learning Offline” (pdf file) is precisely what a Utah valley company called Agilix is doing. The company has begun offering an extension of an existing learning platform to areas of the world that lack broadband access.

The company recently introduced its GoCourse Schoolmate product. The self-contained, client-server learning system is designed to support education initiatives in regions where Internet access is limited or non-existent.

The company’s recent press release notes the need for such a product.

The new product “represents an extension of our GoCourse platform to address the needs of the 95% of the Earth’s population that falls outside the reach of broadband access,” states Curt Allen, CEO of Agilix Labs. “Emerging markets will for the first time enjoy an eLearning experience that isn’t limited by the unavailability of Internet access.”

GoCourse Schoolmate is designed to run on a single laptop or desktop computer and with multiple accounts available for both teachers and students. In addition, the system can be utilized in a computer lab or as part of a learning kiosk.

Taking Online Offline
As for the concept of taking online learning offline, we turn to Agilix VP of Marketing, Jim Ericson for further insight.

“We developed this product to address the needs identified by several local resellers in emerging markets,” notes Ericson. “While our partners will continue to deploy GoCourse under our hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) model, GoCourse Schoolmate provides them with a solution that promises inclusion and equality by extending their services to schools and institutions that don’t have broadband access and to learners that were previously too expensive to reach.”

As for the oxymoron of taking online learning offline, Allen adds:

“I realize it may be a bit startling for people to hear we are taking online learning back offline, but that is how we are going to provide a technology bridge for these learning communities,” offers Allen. “When broadband access becomes a reality, GoCourse will be there waiting to help connect these communities to the rest of the world.”

The concept has at least one blogger wondering aloud if “the future of open education is taking the online offline?”

The news release that a Texas School District could be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection was deemed so preposterous it received a prominent spot on the Nutty News Network.

But the story is legit - the Houston Chronicle website notes that Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District have approved a district policy change that allows school employees to carry concealed firearms. And listening to Superintendent David Thweatt, the move is a necessary one to to deter and protect against school shootings.

School Gun-Free Zones the Problem
Lest there be any doubt about his viewpoints on the matter, Thweatt offered the following comments:

“When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying ’sic ‘em’ to a dog.”

While Thweatt insisted that the school district has other security measures in place to prevent a school shooting, he noted:

“We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, ‘What if somebody gets in?’ What are we going to do? It’s just common sense.”

Common Sense?
In the blogosphere, the headlines have been masterful. Among the beauties were: “Don’t Mess With Texas”; “This Seems Like a Great Idea. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”; “The Teachers Can Now Join the Fun”; “Licensed to Teach and Pack Heat”; and “Gee, Let Me Think A Minute…. Why Do I Homeschool?” And then there was the title that reflected the sad commentary on our entire culture, “Is This the Future of School in America?”

Advocates noted there would be expectations placed on those “allowed to pack some heat.” Staff will be required to “have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.”

Yes, reduced-risk, ricochet bullets!

Return to the Days of the Wild West
News reports were unclear as to “how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall.” According to Thweatt, that information would not be disclosed so that it could not be exploited by students or potential attackers.

Meanwhile, all we can think of is the cartoons that have been the mainstay of the George Bush presidency, the ones depicting the former Governor of Texas as an out-of-control cowboy with the nickname “Dubya.” Our guess is that across the civilized world, the actions of the Harrold Independent School District not only reinforces the image of Bush but gives everyone the impression that we Americans are all a bunch of cowboys.

Because, as Jennifer Radcliffe writes at the Chronicle, this fall in America, it is the 4 R’s: Reading, Writin’, ‘Rithmetic, and Revolvers.

Flickr photos courtesy of Study of Ethics and In Toon With the World.