A growing number of US students are heading overseas for their MBAs. This leaves me to wonder: is this a sign of the times, a necessary market evolution due to the stress put on America’s businesspeople and their alma maters? Or is it less complex than that and based on the shorter, less expensive programs? More likely, it’s a convenient combination thereof. (more…)

Being required to do community service brings images of road-side work crews dressed in bright orange with a police officer in charge. This was going to change. One of Obama’s plans for higher education was to offer a tax credit that required community service. This seemed like a great example of that vote-for-change, yes-we-can message that characterized this administration’s run for office, but it didn’t come out the way it was supposed to. (more…)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is a very handy Web site for occupational info of all kinds, showed that there were only two industries that actually added jobs in January of this year: private education and health care. The February numbers are out, too, but they didn’t show growth in education, so we’re going to ignore those for now (incidently, health care continued to show growth–thanks to stimulus packages coming down the pike, it looks like health care is a solid career choice). Education is a big part of this country’s infrastructure, and improvements via stimulus packages have been getting some heavy coverage lately. (more…)

I’m going to cut to it on this one: men are raping women. Just saying that it’s wrong doesn’t do this topic justice. It’s inhuman. It’s cruel. It’s quite possibly the worst thing that one human being can do to another. Yet, it’s happening everywhere. According to the U.S. Justice Department, one in five women are raped during a five-year college career. (more…)

Over a few pints at a local brewery, a friend and I began to talk about education. He’s worried. Now, it seems like there’s a lot of worry going around. These are toughening times for colleges, universities, students, and public education. The budget, though, was not his main concern. What got him all riled up was his belief that America has fallen behind the rest of the world in math and science. (more…)

Ayn Rand told us this would happen. Atlas Shrugged spells out, with spooky accuracy considering it’s more than fifty years old, the financial troubles of a government run amok. She tried to warn us, but we didn’t listen. This blog has taken to waxing financial of late because, well, it’s impossible to avoid it in the news and on America’s lips. We’re all talking about it, but is anyone listening? (more…)

Public School Teachers: Gatekeepers of America’s Future
Kudos to the tens of thousands of public school teachers out there who get up every morning, rush off to school, and work with unmotivated students using out-of-date textbooks in overcrowded classrooms.  You do all of this for 5-8 hours every day, only to take home papers, tests, and quizzes to grade every evening.  Thereafter, you map out some more lesson plans and get ready for bed to repeat the process again tomorrow.  At a median salary of $44K a year, you are missionaries of academia, grossly underpaid for the sheer volume and importance of the work that you do.  It’s time to turn your missionary status into mercenary status.
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Law School = Boot Camp for Politics
The VP Debate took place just hours ago, and while Governor Palin certainly exceeded expectations, the polls, pundits, and media seem to agree that Biden scored a win.  Many might argue that Biden simply had facts and reason on his side.  But if that were undeniably true, the overall race wouldn’t be as close as it is.  Roughly half the country supports Obama/Biden, and roughly half the country supports McCain/Palin.  So why did Biden receive so much praise for his recent performance?  I would argue that Senator Biden is a master of framing the debate, delivering hard-hitting facts, and injecting passion into his arguments.  And I chalk much of this to his extensive legal training.
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Higher Education Has a New Calling
In the years after Sputnik and Kennedy’s “man on the moon” challenge, there was a noticeable spike in science and math funding throughout the nation.  Elementary, secondary, college, and graduate students across the country took a keener interest in space exploration.  This push helped the United States solidify its lead in technology and innovation.  Missions to Mars have continued to fuel some of the interest, but in the face of climate change and deteriorating ecosystems, perhaps our new focus should be on green technologies.
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Public Schools: Eating Your Own Cooking
It’s no secret that many public schools at the elementary and secondary levels are underperforming. Overcrowded classrooms, out-dated textbooks, bureaucratic red tape, rising violence: there are many reasons why the system isn’t working. And every few years (conveniently around election time), politicians start throwing about detailed plans and sound bites about how they will do better. After the polls close of course, it’s back to business as usual. Business as usual often means everything but education. But here’s a novel thought: what if all elected officials had to send their children to public schools? Shocking, I know. How crazy I must be to think that local, state, and Federal politicians should eat their own cooking.
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